Title: You Won’t Believe the Secret Trick to Make Office Online Apps as Powerful as Desktop Apps
If you’re a frequent user of Microsoft Office programs, you know that using them on desktop applications provides a more powerful and feature-rich experience. However, with the rise of remote work and the need for flexible technology solutions, using Office Online apps has become a popular alternative. But did you know that there’s a secret trick to make Office Online apps as powerful as desktop apps? Here’s what you need to know.
First, let’s address the elephant in the room: Office Online apps have limitations compared to their desktop counterparts. For example, you can’t use macros, advanced formatting, or third-party add-ins in the online version. However, there’s a workaround that can help you overcome these limitations and boost your productivity.
The secret trick lies in the integration between Office Online apps and the Windows 10 operating system. By using the Office app for Windows 10, you can access all your Office Online apps from one central location and experience them as if you were using desktop applications.
The Office app is a gateway to all your Office files and programs, both online and offline. It allows you to create new documents, open existing ones, and access all the features and functions of Office Online apps seamlessly. Once you have the Office app installed, launching an online app such as Word or Excel will open it in a stand-alone window, just like the desktop version.
But that’s not all. The Office app also provides access to advanced features such as add-ins and plugins that are typically only available on desktop applications. For example, you can add the Grammarly or ProWritingAid add-ins to your online Word document and enjoy the same editing and proofreading tools as you would on your desktop.
Moreover, you can also access collaboration and sharing features across Office Online apps and the desktop suite. This means that you can collaborate with other users on online documents while still enjoying the full-featured experience of desktop applications.
In conclusion, the secret trick to making Office Online apps as powerful as desktop apps lies in the integration between Office Online and the Windows 10 operating system. By using the Office app, you can access all your Office Online apps from one central location and experience them as if you were using desktop applications. You can also access advanced features and plugins that are typically only available on desktop applications. If you’re a frequent Office user, give the Office app a try and see how it can enhance your productivity and workflow.
Office Online is the free cloud-based version of Microsoft Office that let you access to the most common apps including: Word Online, Excel Online, PowerPoint Online, OneNote Online, Outlook, Calendar, People, and OneDrive, and for the everyday-user the features and tools offered by this product are more than enough. But it’s still a web-based, an experience that many people feel isn’t the same as using the full-blown application.
Luckily, if you’re using Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, we can easily disguise Office Online apps (Word Online, Excel Online, and PowerPoint Online) and make them feel more like if we’re using the full desktop apps without having to install anything — just do the following:
How to use Office Online as full desktop apps
Basically the only thing you have to do is to link to the right page to create a new document in Word Online, Excel Online, and PowerPoint Online; links that you will open with the Metro-style version of Internet Explorer 11, just because the modern version of IE offers a chromeless full-screen experience and it will feel like you’re using the desktop version of the apps.
- Open the modern version of IE11 and go to the following URL:
- https://office.live.com/start/word.aspx
- Click or tap the star icon to bookmark the page, follow by the Pin to Start button in the top-right corner of the address bar options.
- Now simply type a friendly name for the bookmark, such as “Word Online” and click or tap Pin to Start.
- The new bookmark will then appear on the Start screen, even with the blue color, characteristic of Word.
- Repeat the same steps for the remaining Office Online apps, but for Excel use the following URL:
- https://office.live.com/excel.aspx
- And for PowerPoint use this URL:
- https://office.live.com/powerpoint.aspx
The best part is that not only you’ll get a full screen experience using Office Online, but the links to start a new document will also give you the choice of how you want to create the new document. You can choose to create a new blank document, choose from free templates, and you can even get the link to open a recent document you’ve been working on.
Open the modern version of IE11 and go to the following URL:
https://office.live.com/start/word.aspx
Click or tap the star icon to bookmark the page, follow by the Pin to Start button in the top-right corner of the address bar options.
Now simply type a friendly name for the bookmark, such as “Word Online” and click or tap Pin to Start.
The new bookmark will then appear on the Start screen, even with the blue color, characteristic of Word.
Repeat the same steps for the remaining Office Online apps, but for Excel use the following URL:
https://office.live.com/excel.aspx
And for PowerPoint use this URL:
https://office.live.com/powerpoint.aspx
These shortcuts blend extremely well in the Start screen and they’ll give a faster access to your favorite Office apps. You can do this in your desktop computer, but this is also a great tip for those users with tablets that run the full version of Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 and it didn’t come with Office 2013 pre-installed.
Lastly, if you’re not using Windows 8 yet, you can use this guide as a reference to create shortcuts that you can bookmark in your web browser on Windows 7 or Windows Vista as Microsoft is also ending the support of Office 2003 on April 8th, 2014, altogether with Windows XP and it’s time to move on.
