Microsoft Office is adding new features all the time, so make sure you have the latest version of the software. If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription, you can update apps from Microsoft Auto-Update app updates, or just allow them to update automatically. Otherwise, if you purchased a standalone version of Microsoft Office, be aware that you may need to upgrade to access some of the features listed below.
Tip 1: Use OneDrive to automatically save changes
OneDrive is a cloud storage service for Microsoft Office that you can use regardless of whether you subscribe to Microsoft 365 or not. Not only does OneDrive allow you to access all your files from anywhere, but you can also connect OneDrive to Microsoft Office software to take advantage of the autosave feature.
Once enabled, changes will be updated to the cloud in real-time. Additionally, OneDrive can store multiple versions of a document so that you can easily compare and roll back to previous versions as needed. Anyone who has ever lost an hour of work due to a computer malfunction or power outage will know how much time this feature can save. To find older versions in Microsoft 365, click File > Information > Version History.
Tip 2: A quick way to understand the scope of your suite
One of the biggest benefits of Microsoft Office is the consistency of the user experience across applications. This means that most keyboard shortcuts work the same way in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Learning these commands can greatly improve your work efficiency. Ctrl + S (⌘S) for saving, Ctrl + P (⌘P) for printing, and even more obscure commands like Ctrl + D (⌘D) for fonts, are available throughout the suite.
A good productivity tip is to provide employees with a list of commonly used shortcuts that they can refer to as needed until it becomes second nature.
Tip 3: Use Tell Me (Word)
The “Tell Me” feature gives you quick access to almost any command. (Image source: Microsoft)
The “Tell me (what you want to do)” feature was added to Microsoft Office 2016, but once you learn how to use it, it’s a godsend. Want to change your style? Type “style”. Crop a photo? Type “crop”. Insert tables, add notes, change layouts, update designs, read text aloud – almost every Office feature is quick and easy to access from this menu, and Smart Suggestions make it easy to find what you’re looking for with just a word or two.
However, Microsoft 365 is constantly updating its feature set, which may not be present in newer versions.
Tip 4: Use the Share button to quickly share a document
The share button is located in the top right corner of the app and can be used to quickly share documents via OneDrive, email, AirDrop (Mac only), and other third-party services. Instead of opening your email client, browsing through the files (“Where did I save this again?”), just click the “Share” button and select your recipients.
Tip 5: Find and replace
If you need to change a word or a group of words in an entire document, you can use the Find and Replace feature to do it quickly. Just press Ctrl + Shift + H (⌘⇧H) and the Find and Replace dialog box will appear. Type the text you want to change in the Find box, type the replacement text in the Replace box, and then click the Replace button. Office will search for the document and make changes as needed.
You can also replace replace with non (leaving the Replacement field blank) to remove multiple instances of a word.
Tip 6: Advanced Find and Replace
There’s so much more to this powerful tool than meets the eye. By clicking the button in the bottom left corner of the dialog box, you can access advanced features to instantly change the font style, paragraph settings, and more for any text you need.
For example, you can find all the bold text and set the font to red, or select all the text for a specific language and italicize italics. Use it whenever you need to make a lot of changes to a particular style of text.
Tip 7: Adjust and style your beautiful documents
It’s amazing how many people use Microsoft Office every day but still don’t take advantage of styles to simplify documents and write faster. Styles can be found under the Home tab, enabling you to apply pre-designed font settings instantly. You can also modify these styles to suit your needs and documentation. When you change the theme, the styles are automatically updated, making it easy to quickly modify the look and feel of your entire document.
Tip 8: Use Spike to copy and paste multiple items
This handy feature allows you to copy multiple items and paste them at once. Just select the first block of text, press Ctrl + F3 or ⌘F3, and move on to the next one. Every time you press Ctrl or Command + F3, the text is saved, and so on. When you’re ready to paste everything, type Ctrl + Shift + F3 or ⌘⇧F3. You can also type “spike” (lowercase) and press Enter, and the saved text will remain in memory for the next time.
Tip 9: Copy and paste formatting
Press Ctrl + Shift + C (⌘⇧C) to copy formatting (font and paragraph styles, colors, alignment, etc.) and Ctrl + Shift + V (⌘⇧V) to paste the formatting onto the selected text to quickly simplify text block formatting.
Tip 10: Personalize the Office ribbon
If you find yourself constantly looking for certain features in your menu or expander, don’t hesitate to add them to the front and middle of the ribbon. You can do this under Ribbon & Toolbars > Preferences, or you can go to File > Options > Customize Ribbon. You might be surprised at the number of features you can add to the ribbon for quick access. You can also hide the ribbon to get more space by clicking once on the open tab, going to View Ribbon, or typing Ctrl+F1 (⌥⇧R) >.
Tip 11: Double-click to select a paragraph
Most people know that you can double-click a word to select it. You can also triple-click a word to select an entire paragraph, which is handy for moving large chunks of text while editing.
Tip 12: Adjust AutoCorrect to suit you
It’s a common complaint that Microsoft Office changes text as you type, even if you’re sure what you mean. You can adjust these settings under Tools > AutoCorrect Options. You can delete any words that bother you, or add words that you frequently type wrong. You can even add symbols, such as replacing (c) with © .
Tip 13: Compare documents side by side (Windows only)
Of course, you can open separate windows and place them side by side, but Microsoft Office’s side-by-side feature goes a step further in synchronized scrolling, which can save a lot of time when comparing and editing long document versions.
Tip 14: Use Split View to see two different parts of the same document
This is a great tool when you need to make changes to one part of a document while referencing another part of the document (for example, when writing the introduction or conclusion). Just go to the View ribbon and select Split View. You can scroll to different sections in each window independently and make changes in one of them.
Tip 15: Copy and paste like a pro
Almost everyone knows how to copy and paste blocks of text, but did you know that you can quickly paste text without formatting, or paste an image or PDF directly into a document? Just type Ctrl + Alt + V (⌘⌃V) and you will see an options dialog box.
In Word, you can use this dialog box to paste text without formatting, while in Excel you can paste just values, formatting or comments, everything except borders, and even additions, subtractions, multiplications, and Division sum.
Tip 16: Customize the shortcut menu
You can add frequently used features to the Quick Access Toolbar in any app’s shortcut menu at the very top of a document. By default, you’ll see commands like Save, Print, and Undo, but you can add almost anything here. Just click the arrow on the right to add commands as needed.
Tip 17: Merge Shapes (Powerpoint)
You can combine different simple shapes to make more complex shapes that look great in your presentations, and you don’t need a fancy tool like Illustrator to do it. Just select the shapes you want to merge and click “Merge Shapes” under the “Format” tab. These merged shapes can be copied and pasted into other applications such as Word.
Tip 18: Use conditional formatting to dynamically format cells (Excel)
Conditional formatting allows you to apply styles to specific cells based on their value or content. For example, you might want to set every positive value to green and every negative value to red. Just select the cells you want to format and use the Conditional Formatting tab in the Home ribbon. There are many presets, or you can define your own rules and equations.
Summarize
Microsoft Office is one of the best office suites with tons of powerful options that help you simplify your employees’ work and increase productivity. Encourage team members to explore the software and actively share tips and tricks. Discovering new features is not only fun and exciting, but it makes collaboration easier and allows employees to get more done in less time while working more comfortably.
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