After the appearance in recent times of free alternatives such as OpenOffice or Google Drive, Microsoft has modernized its office suite to add features in the cloud, allowing you to use all Office programs in simple steps and with no input requirements other than a connection online and a brand account.
There are many ways to use Office that have appeared in recent times, including 365 subscriptions, but without a doubt the easiest to use is the possibility of opening a version adapted to browsers of the suite, which is also completely free if you have an account from Microsoft.
How to use Word online to edit documents
Access to the online word processor is really easy. The first thing you have to do is go to the home page of Word online and enter the details of a valid Microsoft account (Outlook, Live, Hotmail) to start the suite in its free format. Despite matching the design, it is somewhat more limited in terms of functions compared to the premium version, but we will not miss any of the main features either.
After providing our credentials, we will select Word in the upper left tab (there is also free access to web versions of PowerPoint, Excel or OneNote) or the side menu that has been introduced in one of the latest changes in the user interface. Once activated, we will see that aesthetically it works in a similar way to the Word that we all know , with an initial menu in which we can start a new blank document, use one of the free templates that are included in Word or make use of the quick access to recent or shared documents with us.
Once on the editing screen, we will see that all the basic tools that we may need appear, including changing the type and size of the font, quick access to the clipboard or management of margins and indents. Probably, the main limitation is in the variety of font types, since you have to upgrade to a paid premium plan to have access to all of them, but at least Calibri and Times New Roman will not be lacking.
Beyond that, we can change the page orientation, write and edit table formatting, and switch between a few colors (again, if you want all of them, you have to have the premium pack).
A quite striking feature, especially since it is a limited and online version, is the fact that it incorporates voice dictation as long as we allow access to our microphone in the browser. Speech-to-text detection isn’t as foolproof as direct keyboard input, but if you ever wake up with low energy and a lack of coffee, it can be a good resource.
Free cloud storage
As a Microsoft account is required, we will automatically have the benefit of 5 GB of free storage in the cloud via OneDrive . This is a success mainly because the file that we are editing will frequently save its progress on the servers, which reduces the possibility of losing the text file that we are writing.
Shared files in Word Online
Just as it happens in Google Drive, in the online version of Microsoft Word we can upload our finished documents to share them easily and quickly, being able to access them at any time and from any place and device, being quite useful and allowing us to open the files created with the free version to edit them later on another PC or mobile device with a paid program or subscription in which to put the finishing touches in case you miss any premium feature.
We can even easily embed some images that we have in the same OneDrive account associated with which we have accessed the online tool.
Group work with simultaneous editing
Saving on servers also allows us to assign editing permissions when sharing our documents , even simultaneously. This is a great advantage, especially in academic or work environments, since it allows several people to edit the same document at the same time, as long as they know the shared link or we have previously authorized them to write to our file.
Likewise, we can share a link to it in read-only format for the rest of the guests, but allowing us to update the document live, reflecting the changes in the text in real time for all the viewers we want.