Office 365 Cloud Computing

With an Office 365 account, Web Apps can be accessed via the Internet from any computer that has an Internet connection, but functionality is limited. As a busy attorney, you won't want to put too much emphasis on the legal document formatting in your Word Web App documents. The bulk of your legal document formatting will need to be done in Office 2013. Consider using the Web App for content editing and headings.

Cloud Locations

Microsoft provides their signature “SkyDrive” location for storing your files in the cloud. By default, each user account gets about 7 GB of free storage space from Microsoft. Additional storage space is available for a price. On the other hand, your firm may be using a separate cloud location. This column uses SkyDrive in all examples.

Logging in and Saving

If you do not have a firm log-in process, go to https://office.microsoft.com, and click the “My Office” tab. Sign in with your Office account e-mail address and password.

The top half of the screen shows your recently edited documents. This may be empty if you haven't created any files yet. The bottom half offers the Office on Demand streaming. Between “Recent documents” and “Office on Demand,” click the “SkyDrive” link (it may be labeled “See more documents in SkyDrive”). If you do not see this screen as described, you should see a “New Document” link.

While in the SkyDrive screen, click the “Create” button in the toolbar and choose “Word document.” Name the document and click “Create.” Your file is now saved to the SkyDrive. Microsoft automatically saves your file, so you won't need to click “Save.” Actually, you won't even see a “Save” button; you'll only have a “Save As” option in the File tab to download the file to your computer, if needed.

The document is edited in a Web browser tab. You won't find a “Close menu” item either, you'll simply close the tab when you're finished.

Opening a File

Once you have some files saved to the SkyDrive, you'll need to know how to find and edit them. Click the SkyDrive button above the menu items from the “My Office” tab in the browser, or the SkyDrive link you used to save a file (if you don't see the file in the “Recent documents” section). When the file is open, click the “Edit Document” menu and choose “Edit in Word Web App.” Always remember the “Edit Document” button for editing!

Word Web App Functionality

You'll mostly see formatting options in the Word Web App. If you've been around legal documents for a while, you probably know that applying direct formatting is not always in the best interest of a legal document ' as many editors have their own method of formatting, copying and pasting document text, and re-using documents. Ideally your document is formatted using styles.

The good news is the Web App does come with some built-in styles. When adding content to your document, you can apply, for example, the Heading and Quote styles as you type. Then, when you or your legal assistant is working with the document in Word 2013 or lower, those styles can be easily updated to the preferred format.

Printing from the Web App

A PDF viewer is required for printing in Word Web App, and more than likely one will be available. If you don't have a PDF viewer installed, you are prompted to download the document, and you can print from the installed Word application.

Once Microsoft converts the file, you can print that file. It should look just the same as if printing from Word. From the “File” tab choose “Print,” and click “Print to PDF.” Click the link “Click here to view the PDF of your document.” Confirm the correct printer is chosen at the Print dialog and click “Print.” Close the browser tab your document is previewing in.

Track Changes and Comments

The Web App does not offer the Track Changes functionality. However, when you change the view to Reading View, you can click on the “Comment” icon where you can view the comments that were inserted in the installed Word version, and reply to, delete and insert new comments. Be sure to click the “Edit Document” button and choose “Edit” in Word Web App when finished working with comments.

When you open a SkyDrive document in the installed version of Word, you will see the “Save” button icon changes to a “Save/Refresh” icon. This indicates the file is shared.

Sharing

This is the main point of working in the cloud. While in the document, click the Share menu. Type the person's address you want to share the file with and type a message. Microsoft will send an e-mail to the person with a link to the file. It is your decision if you want the recipient to be able to automatically edit the document, or if they need to log into their Office 365 account. Click “Share” to send the e-mail, and then click “Close.”

Once the person opens the document and starts editing, you'll see either their name in the upper right corner of the Web browser (just beneath “Sign out”) if they logged in, or you'll see “Guest editor.” Editing is real-time, so you'll see their changes as they edit the file.

Watch for More on Collaboration

Collaboration, or Co-Authoring will be covered in more depth in my next column. It will include the collaborative process using documents in Microsoft Word 2013, Office 365, and SharePoint.

Conclusion

Cloud computing is becoming more and more popular. As an attorney, one of the important things to remember is not to use the Web App for your legal formatting, other than the styles mentioned in this column. Being able to add and edit content and share the file ' anywhere, anytime proves to be the best reason for learning how to work in the cloud.

Sue Hughes is the Security Products Division Specialist at PayneGroup. In this capacity, she serves as subject matter expert on all things metadata and Microsoft Office. A member of this newsletter's Board of Editors, she is a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Instructor (MCASI), and Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) for Office 2007.

The world is getting smaller as technology changes enable us to share documents with those on the other side of the globe. When sharing documents “in the cloud” it is possible to see real-time updates when using the Microsoft 365 Office Web Apps. As most legal documents are created in Word, this column will focus on the Word Web App.

365 Web Apps vs. Microsoft Office 2013

Depending on the Office subscription you purchase, you'll get either the ability to install Office 2013 on your machine, or run “Office on Demand.” Office on Demand temporarily streams the full Office 2013 apps, but does not install them on your PC. There are many subscription packages available, and it is a good idea to understand them prior to the purchase.

With an Office 365 account, Web Apps can be accessed via the Internet from any computer that has an Internet connection, but functionality is limited. As a busy attorney, you won't want to put too much emphasis on the legal document formatting in your Word Web App documents. The bulk of your legal document formatting will need to be done in Office 2013. Consider using the Web App for content editing and headings.

Cloud Locations

Microsoft provides their signature “SkyDrive” location for storing your files in the cloud. By default, each user account gets about 7 GB of free storage space from Microsoft. Additional storage space is available for a price. On the other hand, your firm may be using a separate cloud location. This column uses SkyDrive in all examples.

Logging in and Saving

If you do not have a firm log-in process, go to https://office.microsoft.com, and click the “My Office” tab. Sign in with your Office account e-mail address and password.

The top half of the screen shows your recently edited documents. This may be empty if you haven't created any files yet. The bottom half offers the Office on Demand streaming. Between “Recent documents” and “Office on Demand,” click the “SkyDrive” link (it may be labeled “See more documents in SkyDrive”). If you do not see this screen as described, you should see a “New Document” link.

While in the SkyDrive screen, click the “Create” button in the toolbar and choose “Word document.” Name the document and click “Create.” Your file is now saved to the SkyDrive. Microsoft automatically saves your file, so you won't need to click “Save.” Actually, you won't even see a “Save” button; you'll only have a “Save As” option in the File tab to download the file to your computer, if needed.

The document is edited in a Web browser tab. You won't find a “Close menu” item either, you'll simply close the tab when you're finished.

Opening a File

Once you have some files saved to the SkyDrive, you'll need to know how to find and edit them. Click the SkyDrive button above the menu items from the “My Office” tab in the browser, or the SkyDrive link you used to save a file (if you don't see the file in the “Recent documents” section). When the file is open, click the “Edit Document” menu and choose “Edit in Word Web App.” Always remember the “Edit Document” button for editing!

Word Web App Functionality

You'll mostly see formatting options in the Word Web App. If you've been around legal documents for a while, you probably know that applying direct formatting is not always in the best interest of a legal document ' as many editors have their own method of formatting, copying and pasting document text, and re-using documents. Ideally your document is formatted using styles.

The good news is the Web App does come with some built-in styles. When adding content to your document, you can apply, for example, the Heading and Quote styles as you type. Then, when you or your legal assistant is working with the document in Word 2013 or lower, those styles can be easily updated to the preferred format.

Printing from the Web App

A PDF viewer is required for printing in Word Web App, and more than likely one will be available. If you don't have a PDF viewer installed, you are prompted to download the document, and you can print from the installed Word application.

Once Microsoft converts the file, you can print that file. It should look just the same as if printing from Word. From the “File” tab choose “Print,” and click “Print to PDF.” Click the link “Click here to view the PDF of your document.” Confirm the correct printer is chosen at the Print dialog and click “Print.” Close the browser tab your document is previewing in.

Track Changes and Comments

The Web App does not offer the Track Changes functionality. However, when you change the view to Reading View, you can click on the “Comment” icon where you can view the comments that were inserted in the installed Word version, and reply to, delete and insert new comments. Be sure to click the “Edit Document” button and choose “Edit” in Word Web App when finished working with comments.

When you open a SkyDrive document in the installed version of Word, you will see the “Save” button icon changes to a “Save/Refresh” icon. This indicates the file is shared.

Sharing

This is the main point of working in the cloud. While in the document, click the Share menu. Type the person's address you want to share the file with and type a message. Microsoft will send an e-mail to the person with a link to the file. It is your decision if you want the recipient to be able to automatically edit the document, or if they need to log into their Office 365 account. Click “Share” to send the e-mail, and then click “Close.”

Once the person opens the document and starts editing, you'll see either their name in the upper right corner of the Web browser (just beneath “Sign out”) if they logged in, or you'll see “Guest editor.” Editing is real-time, so you'll see their changes as they edit the file.

Watch for More on Collaboration

Collaboration, or Co-Authoring will be covered in more depth in my next column. It will include the collaborative process using documents in Microsoft Word 2013, Office 365, and SharePoint.

Conclusion

Cloud computing is becoming more and more popular. As an attorney, one of the important things to remember is not to use the Web App for your legal formatting, other than the styles mentioned in this column. Being able to add and edit content and share the file ' anywhere, anytime proves to be the best reason for learning how to work in the cloud.

Sue Hughes is the Security Products Division Specialist at PayneGroup. In this capacity, she serves as subject matter expert on all things metadata and Microsoft Office. A member of this newsletter's Board of Editors, she is a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Instructor (MCASI), and Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) for Office 2007.