Day 18 – Viewing and Editing Documents with Office 365 Online Apps
10/08/2014
30 Days with Office 365 for Educators - Day 18
This is a very important post for new users of Office 365 Online apps, please read.
Understanding the basics of viewing and editing documents while online will save you some frustration when you first begin using Office 365 online apps. By default Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote documents are opened in View only mode when using Office 365. To work smarter and not harder, read on.
There are three categories for opening documents when using Office 365 online apps: Viewing mode, Edit with the full Application if it is installed on your local computer, and Edit with the Online App.
Microsoft has developed a three staged approach to interacting with Office 365 documents. The three categories are:
- View only
- Edit with the traditional application installed on your local computer
- Edit with an online app
You must “enable” EDIT mode of the document you are working on for it to be editable. Click on EDIT DOCUMENT at the top of the menu bar to enable editing. If you are opening a document that was shared with you, the person that shared it must also give you editing rights, otherwise you will only be able to view it.
To make a document editable you simply go to the menu bar located at the top of the online document and select EDIT DOCUMENT. When you click on the triangle symbol next to EDIT DOCUMENT you are given two choices, Edit in Word or Edit in Word Online (if it is a Word document). If you were using Excel the two choices would be Edit in Excel or Edit in Excel Online, etc….
Note: Sometimes you may also see the message that the document is in “READ-ONLY” mode and you are offered the choice to “Edit Document”.
This is particularly true when you open attachments within Office 365 as they are typically opened using the appropriate online app. Below is a screenshot of an Excel document opened with Excel Online in Read-Only mode. Note that there is a choice to Edit the Document.
This is particularly true when you open attachments within Office 365 as they are typically opened using the appropriate online app. Below is a screenshot of an Excel document opened with Excel Online in Read-Only mode. Note that there is a choice to Edit the Document.
When you select edit you have the two choices of “Edit with the application” or “Edit Online”. If you want to preserve the original document you can select EDIT A COPY.
Advantages of Office 365 Online Apps
The main advantage of editing with the Office 365 online app is that it is always available to you while you are online, even if you do not own the traditional office programs.
Another huge advantage is that when you work with the Office 365 online apps your edits are saved automatically keystroke by keystroke. There is no Save button for the Office 365 online apps.
To exit the document you are editing when using an online app press the Back arrow of your browser or click on your username from the title bar in the top left corner next to the Office 365 logo. You can still select Save As from the File menu if you want to save a copy of your work somewhere else (to OneDrive or your local hard drive). Saving functionality is automatically built into the Office 365 online apps.
The final HUGE advantage and reason for using Office 365 with an online app rather than the traditional application is that online apps provide COLLABORATIVE editing possibilities for multi-authoring of documents. I will have more to say about this feature in upcoming posts so stay tuned.
Disadvantages of Office 365 Online Apps
The disadvantage of using an online app is that you are reliant upon your Internet connection and if you have a slow connection it can be frustrating working in the cloud.
Another disadvantage is that the online apps are not full-featured and if you require complex editing tasks or the use of macros in Excel you should use the full-featured application. You also have to remember that you DO have to save your changes when using Desktop applications, otherwise they are lost.
You will have to MANUALLY save the document when using the traditional Desktop applications, just press the Save button periodically to sync your changes back to the cloud. Alternatively, you could download a copy to your local computer, make your changes, Save the most recent changes, and then upload the latest version back to your OneDrive storage space.
Because you now have more editing options you will need to pay attention to where you are saving your documents (online or locally) so you can easily retrieve them when needed.
You will have to MANUALLY save the document when using the traditional Desktop applications, just press the Save button periodically to sync your changes back to the cloud. Alternatively, you could download a copy to your local computer, make your changes, Save the most recent changes, and then upload the latest version back to your OneDrive storage space.
Because you now have more editing options you will need to pay attention to where you are saving your documents (online or locally) so you can easily retrieve them when needed.
Summary
I really like the choice of having a tiered approach to editing Office 365 documents. For quick and easy edits I use the online apps. If I need to escalate my editing session for some serious editing, or if the Internet is slow, I can choose the full featured application. This hybrid workflow allows me to choose the option that is best for me in any given situation.
The cloud is great but there are times when old-fashioned editing with “real” local applications trumps convenience, with Office 365 you can easily adapt your workflow as the situation warrants.
Keep on Learning,
Tom Grissom, Ph.D.
Twitter: @tomgrissom
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