Office 365 for Dummies

Everything you need to get productive in the Cloud with Office 365 

With 70 million users worldwide, Microsoft Office 365 combines the familiar Office desktop suite with cloud-based versions of Microsoft’s next-generation communications and collaboration services. It offers many benefits including security, reliability, compatibility with other products, over-the-air updates in the cloud that don't require anything from the user, single sign on for access to everything right away, and so much more. 

Office 365 For Dummies offers a basic overview of cloud computing and goes on to cover Microsoft cloud solutions and the Office 365 product in a language you can understand. This includes an introduction to each component which leads into topics around using each feature in each application.

• Get up to speed on instant messaging  
• Use audio, video, and web conferencing
• Get seamless access to the Office suite with Office Web apps
• Access information anywhere, anytime

Office 365 is the key to office productivity — and now you can put it to use for you!

Rosemarie Withee is President of Portal Integrators and Founder of Scrum Now with office in Seattle, WA and Laguna, Philippines. Ken Withee is a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist in SharePoint, SQL Server, and .NET. Jennifer Reed is a Microsoft Certified Professional in Office 365 Administration and founder of Cloud611.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

How to Use This Book 2

Beyond the Book 3

Let’s Get Started! 3

Part 1: Keeping Up with the Cloud Computing Environment 5

Chapter 1: Understanding Cloud Computing and the Current Threat Landscape 7

Understanding Cloud Computing 9

Breaking down the cloud deployment models 10

Knowing the common cloud service models 12

Determining the Right Office 365 Plan for Your Organization 14

Choosing between Small Business and Enterprise plans 15

Office 365 Small Business 16

Office 365 Enterprise 17

Taking care of the firstline workforce 18

Getting to Know the Security Features in Office 365 18

Stepping through the anatomy of a modern attack 19

Overview of the built-in security in Office 365 21

Managing security and privacy in a single dashboard 22

Updating the anti-spam settings 23

Chapter 2: Moving to the Office 365 Cloud 25

Discovering Office 365 Features and Benefits 26

Generating greater productivity 26

Accessing from anywhere 26

Working with what you know 28

Robust security and reliability 28

IT control and efficiency 29

Getting Familiar with Office 365 Products 29

Microsoft Office 29

Severing Ties to Your Desk 33

Using Outlook Online 33

Grouping conversations in your inbox 33

Getting organized with Office 365 Groups 34

Archiving just got personal 35

Collaborating made easy 35

Creating communities for the corporate world 36

Sharing information with customers and partners with extranet sites 37

Going Virtual with Intuitive Communications 37

Text/voice/video in a single app and service 38

From conversations to ad hoc meetings — yes, it’s possible 39

Online meetings unleashed 39

Interacting with photos and activity feeds 39

Keeping up with your teammates on your own time 40

Part 2: Communicating with Exchange Online 41

Chapter 3: Unleashing the Power of Exchange Online 43

Gaining Flexibility and Reliability 44

Deployment flexibility 44

Deployment predictability 45

Flexible provisioning 46

Continuous availability 46

Simplified administration 46

Accessing from Anywhere 47

From your Outlook email client 48

From the web 48

From multiple devices 49

From any email client 49

Manage inbox overload 49

Efficient collaboration 50

Enhanced voicemail 51

Protecting Information 51

Archiving and retention 51

Information protection and control 52

Chapter 4: Being Productive, Staying Secure 53

Incorporating Bots to Get More Done 54

Your very own AI personal assistant 55

Time to leave alerts 57

Integrating Cortana in Office 365 59

Securing Your Email 60

Licensing requirements for Office 365 Message Encryption 60

Enabling Office 365 Message Encryption 61

Sending an Encrypted Email 62

Using the Encrypt policy 63

Using the Do Not Forward policy 64

Making Outlook Work for You 64

Filtering out the noise with Focused Inbox 64

Diagnosing common Outlook problems with SARA 65

Part 3: Exploring Sharepoint Online 67

Chapter 5: Collaborating Effectively Anytime, Anywhere 69

Touring the SharePoint Landscape 70

Getting to know the SharePoint personas 70

Landing on the SharePoint Online home page 71

Be careful what you share! 72

Knocking Down Collaboration Barriers 72

Choosing between Team sites and Communication sites 73

Creating a Team site 73

Sharing and co-authoring documents 75

Restoring a previous version of a document 76

Getting Social at Work 77

Five rules for Yammer success 77

Becoming a groupie with Office 365 Groups 78

Chapter 6: Going Beyond Websites with SharePoint and OneDrive for Business 81

Managing Digital Content 82

Document libraries 82

Viewing PowerPoint presentations 85

Document Sets 88

OneDrive for Business 91

Using Search Functionality 92

Using SharePoint with Office Online 94

Excel Online 94

Word Online 95

PowerPoint Online 95

Chapter 7: Integrating the Mobile Experience 97

Office and SharePoint Integration 98

Creating a SharePoint document library 98

Encouraging interaction with ratings 100

Sharing documents from Word Online 100

Knowing when to use OneDrive for Business 102

Office 365 Mobile Apps Keep You Going 104

Installing the mobile apps 104

Collaborating on a Word document from an iPhone 105

The Scoop on External Sharing 109

Chapter 8: Demystifying SharePoint Online Administration 111

Appreciating the Concept of a SharePoint Farm 112

Administering the SharePoint farm and why you don’t want to do it 113

Multitenancy explained 114

Delegating administration tasks 115

Understanding SharePoint Online Administrator Responsibilities 116

Turning on external sharing 117

Creating a new site collection 118

Assigning a new site collection owner to the new site collection 120

Managing user profiles 120

Importing a new custom taxonomy into the Term Store 121

Exercising the Powers Vested on the Site Collection Administrator 123

Sharing your site externally 123

Creating a new team subsite and/or new document libraries 123

About content and content types 124

Managing the look and feel 126

Managing the web designer galleries 126

Managing permissions and groups 128

Chapter 9: Customizing SharePoint Online 129

Going Over SharePoint Development 129

Using a Web Browser as a Development Tool 130

Developing SharePoint sites 131

Adding apps (lists and libraries) and pages 134

Part 4: Diving Into Office Online 141

Chapter 10: Introducing Office Online 143

Benefitting from Office Online 144

Boosting team collaboration, intelligently 144

Keeping malicious actors at bay 146

Experiencing Office Online 147

Getting the most out of Office Online 148

Getting your voice heard 149

Chapter 11: Getting into Word Online 151

Comparing Word Online and Word 151

Getting the Basics 153

Using the Word Online interface 153

Working with documents 156

Editing Mode and Reading View 157

Working with Advanced Functions 158

Styles 159

Tables 159

Chapter 12: Getting into Data with Excel Online and Power BI 161

Comparing Excel Online and Excel 162

Covering the Basics 163

Using the Excel Online interface 163

Working with workbooks 166

Editing Mode and Reading View 167

Using Advanced Features 167

Adding functions 167

Manipulating data 169

Coauthoring workbooks in the cloud 169

Building Reports with Power BI 169

Pulling data into Power BI 170

Creating reports in Power BI 173

Displaying reports in Office 365 174

Chapter 13: Presenting Like a Pro with PowerPoint Online 175

Starting with Basic Tasks in PowerPoint Online 176

Getting started with PowerPoint Online 177

Creating a blank presentation 178

Taking Your Presentation to the Next Level with AI 179

Designing a beautiful presentation with a few clicks 179

Adding an image and making your file accessible 181

Chapter 14: Staying on Top of Things with OneNote Online 183

Exploring Basic Functions 184

Introduction to Microsoft OneNote 184

Using the OneNote Online interface 185

Working with notebooks 187

Using Advanced Features 188

Viewing and restoring page versions 188

Keeping up with your meetings 189

Making your notebook fun and social 191

Part 5: Using the Right Tool For the Right Purpose 193

Chapter 15: Supercharging Your Team with Microsoft Teams 195

Benefitting from Teams 196

Touring the user interface 196

Getting help from the Command bar 199

Collaborating in the Teams Hub 200

Creating and managing a Teams hub 200

Chatting in Teams 202

Sharing files in Teams 202

Meeting and Conferencing the Teams Way 204

Setting up an impromptu meeting 204

Scheduling a Teams meeting 205

Chapter 16: Choosing the Right Collaboration Tool 207

Exploring the New Era of Teamwork 208

Trends in today’s modern workplace 209

Collaboration questions to ask yourself 209

Tools for Teamwork in Office 365 210

Office 365 Groups 210

Outlook/email 211

Teams 211

Yammer 211

SharePoint 211

Picking your tool set 212

PART 6: PREPARING TO MOVE 213

Chapter 17: Meeting Office 365 Requirements 215

Cloud Attraction 216

Looking at the Pros and Cons of the Cloud 217

Overall Office 365 Requirements 219

Geographic requirements 219

Software requirements 219

Device requirements 220

Internet access requirements 220

Identifying browser requirements 221

Microsoft Teams requirements 221

Chapter 18: Planning for Your Office 365 Implementation 223

Choosing an Office 365 Plan 224

Laying the Groundwork 227

Planning phase 228

Preparing phase 232

Office 365 Online Documentation 234

Choosing a Partner 235

Chapter 19: Implementing Office 365 237

Getting Started with Office 365 For Home Plans 238

Getting Started with Office 365 For Business Plans 239

Getting Users Ready for Office 365 240

Training 240

Support 241

Migrating to Office 365 242

Activating licensing 242

Migrating mailbox data (Exchange) 243

Migrating portal content and functionality (SharePoint) 245

Throwing the switch 247

Configuring mobile phones 247

Chapter 20: Administering Office 365 249

Going Over Office 365 Management 249

Managing Exchange 253

Managing recipients 254

Managing permissions 256

More Exchange management 256

Managing Teams and Skype for Business 257

Managing Teams 258

Managing legacy Skype for Business 258

Managing SharePoint 259

Managing site collections 260

User profiles 260

SharePoint Term Store 261

Managing apps 262

Part 7: The Part of Tens 263

Chapter 21: Ten Signs It’s Time for You to Move to Office 365 265

Your Team Likes to Collaborate 266

Your Employees Are Facebook Friends 266

You Are the IT Department 266

Your Emails Got (Almost) Obliterated 267

You Love Paying Only for What You Use 267

You’re a Tree Hugger (or Wannabe) 268

You Don’t Say “No” to Opportunities 268

You Want to Web Conference Like the Boss 269

You Freaked Out Over a Lost Phone 269

You Don’t Want to Be the Next Hacking Victim 270

Chapter 22: Ten Office 365 Value Propositions 271

Offloaded Responsibility 272

Reduced Infrastructure 272

Predictable yet Flexible Costs 273

Reduced Complexity 273

Anywhere Access 274

Synchronized Data 275

Integrated Software 275

Mobile Access to Enterprise Data 276

Increased IT Efficiency 277

Enter the Self-Service Software Revolution 277

Chapter 23: Ten Tips for Increasing Productivity with Office 365 279

Self-Serve from the Service Health Dashboard 280

Act Like the IT Guy 281

Use the Scheduling Assistant 282

Share Your Calendar 283

Sync Your Files 284

Kill the Email Tree with Teams 284

Stay Focused with Focused Inbox 285

Accessibility Features Make Everyone Productive 285

Send Info to OneNote — Fast 286

Automatically Add Subtitles to Your Videos at Work 287

Glossary 289

Index 293

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