M365 Tips

If you used “labels” to organize your emails in Gmail, the same feature in Outlook is called “folders”. Similarly, if you used “filters” in Gmail to automatically sort your emails, you can use “rules” in Outlook to do the same thing! 

When you’re using a Microsoft App, there are usually a lot of options and functions located in the “ribbon” at the top of the screen.
By default, you will see the “simplified” ribbon that shows only icons for these functions. If you want to see the functions’ labels too, click the “v” caret icon at the far right of the ribbon and select “Classic Ribbon”. It takes up more space, but it can make things a lot clearer! 

You can open Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files directly in your browser, or in a desktop app. Opening in a desktop app gives you more functionality options and often runs faster than using a browser version. To open a file in an app instead of the browser, click the three dots by the title hover over the first option in the drop down that says "Open". Select either "Open in desktop" or "Open in [name of application]" (e.g., "Open in Word" or "Open in PowerPoint").  

Use OneDrive to access your personal files as well as your Teams files! See files stored in your personal OneDrive in the "My Files" section, or view files for specific Teams by clicking on the name of your Team under the "Quick Access" section.  

Did you know you can access and edit a form directly from the spreadsheet of generated responses? From the response spreadsheet, go to the "Insert" tab of the top ribbon, then select "Forms" from the far lefthand section. You'll get a dropdown that allows you to Preview, Edit, and Send your form. You can also edit forms directly from the Forms portal of M365. 

Did you know that you can chat with yourself in Teams? When using the chat function in Teams, you can select your own name in the top left. This is a space where you can brainstorm ideas, take notes during a meeting, store files, draft a message, or whatever you want! 

When scheduling a meeting in Outlook Calendar, you can use the "Scheduling Assistant" feature to see when your meeting attendees are available. Once you invite attendees, select "Scheduling Assistant" to see when everyone is available. The Scheduling Assistant shows the availability of each recipient and the location you selected. It also highlights when attendees are busy, have a tentative appointment, are working elsewhere, or are outside of their working hours.