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Microsoft 365 for Windows: Straight Talk

Microsoft 365 for Windows: Straight Talk

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"What Microsoft won't tell you: saving money, configuring and using Microsoft 365 for Windows."

Microsoft 365 for Windows: Straight Talk is the latest in our popular series of comprehensive guides to buying, installing, configuring and using what was called Office 365 for Windows including the many updates since first release.

Copilot and price increases

The 2025 edition covers all you need to know about the huge changes to Microsoft 365:

  • Price increases up to 40%
  • How to avoid the price rise with Classic plans.
  • Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps and how to turn it off.
  • Using Copilot in Word, Excel and PowerPoint
  • All about AI Credits.

Get 'up to speed' with the new and changed features in Office for Microsoft 365 subscribers. That includes additions like Excel Dynamic Arrays and the wonderful Lambda(). Morph, Designer for PowerPoint, Funnel charts and many new functions in Excel.

Copilot - the AI helper for the Office apps. How to use the paid Copilot plans integrated into the Office apps or the free Copilot that can work alongside Office.

Properly prepare for installing Microsoft 365 for Windows the best way and for the least cost. After all it's probably the most used piece of software on your computer, aside from Windows itself - so it's worth getting right. We'll give you information that Microsoft doesn't provide 'up front' so that you can make a properly informed installation and configuration

  • Full Color
  • Over 1,050 pages
  • Fully Updated to February 2025
  • Microsoft 365 for Windows.
  • Fast find, table of contents with links
  • PDF format, compatible with Windows, Mac, Apple and Android tablets and pretty much anything else including, of course, iPads!

Microsoft 365 for Windows: Straight Talk

  • Microsoft 365 Family
  • Microsoft 365 Personal
  • Microsoft 365 Classic (Personal and Family)
  • Microsoft 365 Business plans
  • Microsoft 365 Enterprise and Education plans

We also explain the difference between all those different names <g>.

Microsoft 365 for Windows - Word 365, Excel 365, PowerPoint 365 and Outlook 365.

Save Money

We have detailed advice on how to buy Microsoft Office for less that retail. Our motto is

"Never pay retail"

Microsoft is heavily pushing annual subscriptions to Office over the one-time purchase we're used to. There are many ways to pay less for the same software.

" Your chapter on buying Microsoft 365 saved me waaay more than the cost of entire book." James N, Des Moines.

We also have detailed advice on the computer hardware that's best to run Microsoft 365, far more information than Microsoft's brief and understated system requirements.

We'll take you step-by-step through the online purchase of a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Multiple Languages - how to get and manage multi-lingual Office. A whole chapter devoted to the Language options in Office - on the ribbons & menus, spell check, grammar and more.

Using Microsoft 365

An in-depth look at some of the new and changed Microsoft 365 features.

Word you can now do 'real time' sharing of documents. Several people can edit a document and their changes appearing on each computer almost immediately. The Equation Editor now lets you scrawl your formula on the screen. You can now edit PDF files, insert online video and design tables more easily. Reading mode and Reviewing have improvements

Outlook - has changed the way attachments appear and can be added to a message. Also the option to add a link to a OneDrive file, instead of the entire file. It has an easier way to reply to messages with inline. Quick Peek lets you quickly view contacts and appointments without totally switching windows. At last, you can re-order folders!

Excel - has some really useful improvements. Dynamic Arrays can transform the way your sheets work. Lambda() and helper functions are well worth understanding.

There are chart styles that add interesting and useful options for displaying data. Forecast is a simple and effective way to project future results from past data. PowerQuery lets you easily pull in data from a wide range of sources and analyze it with the familiar Excel tools.. Flash Fill and Quick Analysis plus much easier ways to choose Charts and PivotTables . Also welcome additions like proper multiple windows and animations.

Install

Microsoft likes to push the line that installing their software is simple and easy. For the most part it is easy, but there are things that you should do to make your computing is more stable and efficient.

Step-by-Step with Click-To-Run

This ebook will take you step-by-step through a Microsoft 365 installation.

64-bit Microsoft 365 has special considerations, which we look at in detail.

Configure

What Microsoft wants isn't necessarily what you need. Microsoft chooses the original settings based on what they think people want and, occasionally, some marketing agenda. This book suggests easy changes to make.

The ribbon interface has a lot more going on than most people realize. We go into the ribbon in detail, the features and shortcuts as well as the changed things in Microsoft 365. See how it can be easily changed in Microsoft 365.

The Quick Access Toolbar can also be loaded up with your most commonly used commands - we have step-by-step instructions

Features

  • Copilot in Microsoft 365 <-- NEW!
  • Buying Office
  • Saving money buying Microsoft 365
    • Never Pay Retail!
  • System Requirements
    • The bare minimum
    • What you really need
  • Before installation
  • Office installation
  • Special Installations
    • 64-bit Office
    • Multiple versions of Office
  • After installation
    • Windows Desktop Search
    • iTunes
    • Classic Menu
    • Backups
  • Multiple Languages
    • Proofing Tools
    • Interface
    • Help
  • Configuring Microsoft 365
  • Microsoft 365 interface in depth
  • Read or Speak
  • Accessibility
  • Microsoft Forms
  • Word 365
  • Outlook 365
  • Excel 365
  • PowerPoint 365
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