Day 2 - Setting the Office 365 Start Screen

09/16/2014

30 Days with Office 365 for Educators - Day 2

Yesterday, I mentioned that I had asked some students about how they were currently using Office 365. To my surprise the vast majority were only using Office 365 for email.

Office 365 is so much more than email!

I think I know why many students think of Office 365 as email and it has to do with the default choice for the Office 365 Start Screen when you first login. Fortunately, users have the ability to set the default Office 365 Start Screen for the way they prefer to work.

When a new account is created there is an option to display the main Office 365 Start Screen for two weeks. After two weeks it will change to go directly to the Outlook Web App for email based upon your organizations Office 365 Site Administrator settings. Since many of our students were not here over the summer they may have missed the introductory Office 365 Start Screen.

If you are using Office 365 solely for email then selecting Outlook as the default Start Screen makes a lot sense and avoids an extra mouse-click to get to the Outlook Web App. However, if you stay in the Outlook Web App for email all day long you may never get to discover the many other features Office 365 offers.

I recommend setting the default Start Screen to the Office 365 home page and not using Outlook as the default for new users. I would keep the Office 365 Start Screen as the default at least until you feel comfortable with navigating to the other features of Office 365. If you prefer going straight to Outlook as your default Start Screen later that is fine as long as you are aware of the other possibilities that Office 365 offers.

Below is an image of the Office 365 Home Page Start Screen:
(click on images to enlarge, press BACK to return to this page)

The Office 365 home page clearly displays many of the other features of Office 365 including: Outlook, Calendar, People, Newsfeed, OneDrive, Sites, Tasks, Word Online, Excel Online, PowerPoint Online, and OneNote Online.

To change the opening Start Screen of Office 365 go to the Gear icon in the upper-right corner, select Office 365 Settings. 

Next go to the Start Screen option and you will be given a pull-down Menu with the choices for your preferred Office 365 Start Screen at login. Be sure to SAVE when you have made your selection.

Note: There are alternative ways to get to the other Office 365 features (blue bar across the top) even when using the Outlook Web App but these are not as in-your-face as the Office 365 Start Screen. Once familiar with the features you can easily change back to the Outlook Start Screen as your default if you prefer.

Another tip, if you do use Outlook as the default Office 365 Start Screen you can click on the Office 365 logo located in the upper-left corner of the blue bar and you will go to the Office 365 Start Screen.

I generally do not customize my apps much but there are a few settings that will help your workflow and are worth changing to improve your productivity. There is always a time period of adjustment and discovery for any new app so take some time to explore.

Keep on Learning,

Tom Grissom, Ph.D.

@tomgrissom

http://eiu.edu/itc