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Category: Office 365

Exploring the OneDrive homepage

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

The OneDrive homepage isn’t just for simple file access; it’s a central hub for efficiently managing your files across Microsoft 365, regardless of their source. Think of it as a one-stop shop for all of your files. Plus, you can easily access OneDrive within Outlook and Teams (left navigation pane), streamlining your file management process.

Navigating the OneDrive Homepage

The left-hand menu provides quick access to different file locations:

  • My files – Your personal files and folders stored in OneDrive.
  • Shared – View files and folders that you have shared or that have been shared with you.
  • Favorites – Mark important files as favorites for easy access.
  • Recycle bin – Contains deleted files, which can be restored or permanently removed.
  • Browse files by: Filter files by people, meetings or media.
  • Quick access: Links to your frequently used storage locations.

Main Content Area

The center of the homepage displays your files and folders. You can organize and sort them by:

  • Name: Alphabetical order.
  • Modified Date: Sort by most or least recently edited.
  • File Size: Arrange files by their storage size.
  • Owner: View file ownership details.

Benefits of Using OneDrive

  • Access anywhere – Work on your files from any device with an internet connection.
  • Real-time collaboration – Edit documents with colleagues simultaneously.
  • Secure storage – Microsoft’s built-in security features help protect your data.

By understanding the OneDrive homepage layout, you can maximize your productivity and streamline file management. For more advanced features, explore OneDrive’s integration with Microsoft 365 applications.

Microsoft New Homepage Layout
Click to enlarge.

Homepage Layout

The homepage features:

  1. Add New: Add new documents, folders or upload existing documents/folders.
  2. Left navigation pane: various ways to browse your files.
  3. For you: file recommendations designed just for you.
  4. Recent: recent files where you can view all files or filter by application or person.

Continue reading “Exploring the OneDrive homepage” →

Email collaboration with Microsoft Loop

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

Loop components in Outlook make collaboration more manageable by allowing you to co-create content. No more back-and-forth messages or version confusion. With Loop, updates are instant, and everyone stays on the same page.

Click to enlarge.

Types of Loop components 

  • Bulleted list
  • Checklist
  • Numbered list
  • Paragraph
  • Table
  • Task List
  • Q&A
  • Voting table
  • Progress tracker
  • Kanban board
  • Team retrospective

Inserting Loop component

  1. Start an email as usual, then click the Loop button on the toolbar.
  2. Select the Loop component you want to use.
  3. Note: The Loop component is saved automatically, so you can instantly start collaborating.

If you have any questions, join the KSU Teams Support channel.

Save time by using Outlook templates

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

Microsoft Outlook logoDo you find yourself writing the same email over and over? Save time and streamline your workflow by using templates in Outlook on the web. Whether you frequently send meeting requests, status updates, or responses to common inquiries, templates can help you work smarter, not harder.

Creating and using email templates in Outlook on the web

Creating a template

  1. Compose a new email message as you normally would and then copy the message.
  2. On the toolbar, click the Message tab.
  3. On the toolbar, click the My Templates button.
  4. Click the + Template link.
  5. Give your template a name and paste your message into the text box.
  6. Click Save to store your template for future use.

Using a saved template

  1. Open a new email.
  2. On the toolbar, click the Message tab.
  3. On the toolbar, click the My Templates button.
  4. Click on the three-dot menu in the email toolbar.
  5. Customize as needed and hit Send.

By integrating email templates into your workflow, you’ll reduce repetitive typing, improve response times, and maintain consistent messaging.

Send an encrypted email in Outlook

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

Email encryption is used to encode the content of email messages to protect potentially sensitive information from being read by anyone other than the intended recipients. Encryption makes the content of your emails unreadable as they travel to the recipient.

You can encrypt messages by using the encrypt button on the toolbar or by typing one of the following keywords at the beginning of the subject line followed by a colon:

  • PCI:
  • PHI:
  • confidential:
  • secure:
  • encrypt:

Encrypt an email using the Encrypt button in Outlook on the web

  1. Sign in to Outlook on the web.
  2. Create your email message as usual.
  3. Click the Options tab and then click the Encrypt button.
  4. Choose Encrypt or any of the other permission options.
  5. Send the message.

You can also encrypt email in the desktop apps. See the Sending encrypted email in Outlook knowledge base article for instructions on how to encrypt emails on the desktop apps.

Organize your workflow with Microsoft Lists

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

Microsoft Lists is a simple yet powerful app that helps you organize, track, and collaborate on tasks and information. It integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365, making managing work across your existing tools easy.

Why use Microsoft Lists?

  • Boost productivity: Reduce manual tracking and let Lists do the heavy lifting.
  • Improve collaboration : Keep everyone aligned with a central source of information.
  • Stay flexible: Customize lists to match your unique workflow.
  • Enhance visibility : See project progress at a glance with different viewing options.

How to Use Microsoft Lists for workflow organization Continue reading “Organize your workflow with Microsoft Lists” →

Microsoft 365: Free for students, faculty and staff

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

Microsoft 365, an office collaboration suite, is available for free for K-State students, faculty, and staff. It includes tools such as email, calendar, office applications, file storage space, and more. You can access the suite from your desktop, web browser, or phone.

What’s Included?

Microsoft 365 gives you access to a range of apps and services designed to simplify your workflow and spark your creativity. The following are a few of the basic apps:

  • Microsoft Word for creating polished documents.
  • Excel for crunching numbers and analyzing data.
  • PowerPoint to design standout presentations.
  • Outlook for managing your email and calendar.
  • Teams for seamless communication and collaboration.
  • OneDrive for secure file storage and easy sharing.
  • OneNote for organizing information and collaborating with others.

Continue reading “Microsoft 365: Free for students, faculty and staff” →

Schedule email in Microsoft Outlook on the web

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

Microsoft Outlook logoAre you going to be out of the office but need to send an email on a specific day? If so, use the Schedule Send feature in Outlook on the web.

How to Use Schedule Send

  1. Compose your email: Create a new email as you normally would.
  2. Set the time: Click the dropdown arrow next to the “Send” button and select Schedule send.
  3. Pick a date and time: A calendar will pop up. Choose the best day and time for your email to go out.
  4. Confirm: Click Send when you’ve finalized the schedule.

Outlook will send the message at the scheduled date and time.

Rehearse your presentation in PowerPoint

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

Speaker Coach recording screenDid you know you can practice rehearsing your PowerPoint presentations by using the Speaker Coach feature?

Speaker Coach evaluates your pacing, pitch, your use of filler words, informal speech, euphemisms, and culturally sensitive terms, and it detects when you’re being overly wordy or are simply reading the text on a slide.

After each rehearsal, you get a report that includes statistics and suggestions for improvements.

Get started

  1. Open your presentation in PowerPoint for the web.
  2. On the Slide Show tab, select Rehearse with Coach.
    Note: If you don’t have a     Slide Show tab, use the View tab to start Speaker Coach. The presentation opens in a full-screen view, similar to Slide Show.
  3. Select Start Rehearsing in the lower-right corner of your screen when you are ready to begin rehearsing.
  4. As you speak, Coach gives on-screen guidance (in the lower-right corner of the window) about pacing, inclusive language, use of profanity, filler words, and whether you’re reading the slide text.
  5. When you’re through, exit the full-screen view. Coach opens a Rehearsal Report that summarizes what it observed and offers recommendations.

Streamline your workflow with Quick Steps in Microsoft Outlook on the web

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

Quick Steps are shortcuts that allow you to perform multiple actions on an email with one click. Instead of doing each task separately, Quick Steps helps you streamline your work.

How to set up Quick Steps

  1. Open Outlook and go to the Home tab.
  2. On the toolbar, click Quick Steps.
  3. Click Add quick step
  4. In the Name box, type a name for the new Quick Step.
  5. Under Choose an action, select the action that you want the Quick Step to do. Select Add another action for any additional actions.
  6. Click Save.

Quick Step examples

Continue reading “Streamline your workflow with Quick Steps in Microsoft Outlook on the web” →

Make your Excel data stand out by using conditional formatting

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

How to do conditional formatting in ExcelExcel is a powerful tool for managing and analyzing data. Conditional formatting allows you to apply formatting to cells based on specific conditions. This can help you identify important information in your spreadsheet and make your data more visually appealing.

How to apply apply formatting

  1. Select the cells you want to apply the formatting to.
  2. On the Home tab, click the Conditional Formatting menu.
  3. Choose a conditional formatting option, such as Highlight Cell Rules, Top/Bottom Rules, Data Bars, Color Scales, or Icon Sets.
  4. Customize the formatting options to suit your needs, such as choosing the color and font style for the highlighted cells.
  5. If necessary, add multiple conditional formatting rules to a range of cells.
  6. Apply the formatting to the selected cells by clicking the OK button.

Note:

  • Highlight Cell Rules: allows you to highlight cells based on their value. .
  • Top/Bottom Rules: allows you to highlight the top or bottom values in a range of cells.
  • Data Bars: allows you to add a data bar to each cell in a range, which visually represents the cell’s value.
  • Color Scales: allows you to apply a color scale to a range of cells, which will change the color of each cell based on its value.
  • Icon Sets: allows you to add icons to a range of cells, which represent the cell’s value.

For more information on conditional formatting, see Microsoft’s Use Conditional formatting to highlight information article.