(For reasons unknown, though, the Draw tab is only visible with the Simplified Ribbon view.) The full range of Shapes and SmartArt is also available in PowerPoint.
It’s quite a complete spreadsheet product.ĭrawing is back! It’s also robust and responsive: on Safari with our iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, it was pressure-sensitive and worked flawlessly. There’s also support for conditional formatting, external references, filters, slices, timeline controls, tables, and most charts. In fact, over 400 functions are included online, making this one of the most complete online spreadsheet apps available. We were happy to see that the Insert Function button still exists-it’s just been moved to the Insert tab.Īll that said, most of the actual spreadsheet functions are there. The Formulas tab is present but it might as well not be: its only function is Calculate Workbook. The Page Layout is absent, although most of the layout features are available from the Print dialogue, including scaling. Like Word Online, Excel Online lacks Drawing support. You can track, accept, and reject changes and add, show, and resolve comments. In keeping with Microsoft’s push for greater and easier collaborative tools across its Office suite, the Online Review tab is fully functional. The same goes for math equations and icons, as well as tons of Excel and PowerPoint features.
For example, there’s no Citation manager in Word Online, but you can add Mendeley, SmartCite, and others. On the plus side, Office Online does include Add-ons, which is quite exciting because many of the missing functions can be added as third-party plugins. That said, none of the Online apps support a Sidebar for layout and navigation. The Tell Me dialogue is also missing in Word, although PowerPoint and Excel both have this handy feature.
Office Online supports Styles, but they cannot be edited or even updated to selected text. Mailing, which supports mail merge and designing envelopes, probably won’t be missed, but not having the Design tab severely limits one’s ability to make widespread document changes. The Design and Mailing tab are both absent from Word Online. You also can’t create diagrams or visual aids in the app itself, only add them from elsewhere. Shapes, Smart Art, and Charts are also missing, which limits Word Online to simple text editing.
It is present in PowerPoint and OneNote, where it’s arguably more useful, but it would be nice to have it across the board. Learn how Google Docs compares to MS Word for all the differences to take note of.First, there’s no Drawing support for Word Online, which is disappointing. You can use it as a free MS Word because it lets you view and edit Word files right from your browser or through the mobile app. Google Docs is one of the best online alternatives to Microsoft Word. doc can be opened, edited, and shared in other programs, too.
You’re looking for free ways to use Microsoft Word, you don’t actually have to
It won’t be an instant process like it is for schools already on the list. Your school isn’t recognized, you’ll have an opportunity to request access, but
You’ll be required to open an email sent to that address from Microsoft, and then enter the code from the message into the form to create your free account. You’ll need to enter your school email address to verify that you’re someone in the education field. Visit their Office 365 Education page for all the details. Long, please know that Microsoft offers Office 365 at zero cost for students Trial isn’t enough because you’re a student who needs Microsoft Word all year