Office 365 Questions

[lovemountains]

I purchased Microsoft Office 365 when I got a new computer after my laptop died. Why can't I open the Microsoft WORD documents that I had saved to flash drives?

[1492]

OP found their solution here.

[1492]

I was skeptical of software subscription model when Adobe went this path, though now prefer this route. It provides a constant revenue stream to software makers which allows them to introduce new features and bug fixes on a continuous basis. Without having to wait years until a new versions was available that you had to purchase all over again with a lifetime license. Microsoft is not going anywhere. There is no practical alternative in enterprise environments.

I've been using Microsoft 365, which includes Office 365, since 2018. I've not seen stability issues or bloatware mentioned, so would be interested in what these are?

The biggest issue with using outdated software though usable to an end user, is when security support ends for the product. It leaves your system vulnerable when connected to a network where outsiders can gain access. Just because you don't notice anything unusual does not mean you've not been hacked. Our IT office can work on a PC in the background without staff noticing anything unusual is going on.

[Gdetrailer]

1492 wrote:
Office 365 is currently Office 2019. The difference is that Office 2019 is a one-time purchase, and only includes security patch updates. Office 365 is a subscription service that includes new features and updates, bug fixes, and security patches for 2019.

Office 2019 is a "BUY IT, OWN IT" pay ONCE software.

Office365 is a "RENTAL" pay until you are dead or company goes out of business(and it ceases to function if the business goes out of business) software.

Office 2019 is "stable" and not subject to constant changing by MS.

Office365 is not static or stable, MS reserves the right to add or subtract anything they wish calling it "new features and updates" which means in plain language MS reserves the right to add ANYTHING (tools, features, functions, buttons and BLOATWARE) they wish at anytime without your consent.. MS also reserves the right to REMOVE features, functions and other tools/buttons (they won't however remove the BLOATWARE they add though)that you have become dependent on or used to using.

You can buy Office 2019 directly from MS for $440 (should be able to find it at retailers for a bit less)and pay once..

Or, you can rent Office365 for $109 per yr until you die..

After 4 yrs of rental, you now have paid the same price as Office 2019 and yet Office 2019 will still be still be usable for DECADES..

I still use Office 2000 and with the optional Office "compatibility pack" Office 2000 can open, edit, save newer DOCX, PPTX,XLSX files..

Sure, Office 2000 does not have that stupid "Productivity Ribbon" but I AM OK with that as it goes me MORE room on the screen for my documents and all of the tools are much easier to access just by using the pull down menus in ONE CLICK.. The "Productivity Ribbon" requires more clicks as you have to wade through multiple menus to find the same tools..

And yes, I have used Office 2013 and I have a copy of Office 2016 and still prefer the simplicity of Office 2000 with NO "Productivity Ribbon".

And yes, I have Office 2000 installed AND working fine on 64 Bit Win10..

So, if one has a legit licensed copy of any "Office" version you CAN still install and use it on Win10..

And honestly, if you just need basic word processing, spreadsheet, one can get Open Office or Libre Office for free and they can open and edit even the newer MS Office versions documents with the DOCX extensions..

[1492]

Office 365 is currently Office 2019. The difference is that Office 2019 is a one-time purchase, and only includes security patch updates. Office 365 is a subscription service that includes new features and updates, bug fixes, and security patches for 2019. It also includes 1TB of OneDrive storage, and collaboration capabilities allowing multiple users to work on Office files at the same time.

To get similar Office 365 feature capabilities in 2019, you'll have to pay to get the next version of Office 2021.

You can save Office 365 files on your local PC or in the cloud. I do both. Only saving to OneDrive if I need access to work on Office files from both home and office. Or if collaborating on files, though personally save those files to SharePoint.

[BobsYourUncle]

I was running Office 2003 for many many years.
It still worked but was rather outdated.

I wanted to upgrade, but I detest "renting" my software. Buy it outright, own it for as long as I want is how I like it.

I broke my own thing about 3 years ago and decided to give 365 a try. 109 bucks a year. Not bad I guess considering what you get.

I am a very heavy user of Excel for my work. I have created dozens of spreadsheets to keep track of everything from labor costs to product costs, profit margins, customer tracking and much more.
I also use Word heavily and have a bunch of templates I created for various things.
I use OneNote a lot, keep all my customer information and communications in there.
I use PowerPoint for my own personal use. Scanning my fathers slide collection, I put them to PP so my family can all enjoy my tour of Europe as a child. I'm an Air Force brat.
I use Outlook as a secondary account.
I use Skype for family stuff.
I use Publisher to a lesser degree, but do make stuff in there once in a while.
I used to use Access, but drifted away from that in recent years.
I do use OneDrive too, to store some stuff. It's the only way I can sync OneNote across all my devices, including my phone so I can access all customer information from anywhere.

So, for me, it is handy. I do get my moneys worth out of it.
And yes, it is bloated, big time. There is so much useless junk in there that I don't need, but as the expression goes, it comes with the program. There are a bunch of things I don't like about it, but like I say, it comes with the program.

And I couldn't care less about the newest shiny gadgetry. I'm in it for practicality. After all, I was using 2003 up until 17... 🙂

[Bobbo]

coolmom42 wrote:
and the advantage of having cloud storage that you can open from anywhere.

Make that "anywhere as long as you have an internet connection."

[coolmom42]

Gdetrailer wrote:

lovemountains wrote:
I uninstalled Office 365 today, and got my money back at Costco.

I purchased Microsoft Office 2019, but when I tried to install it, Microsoft said that I had two unused copies of Student and Teacher 2016 on our account!

So I installed one of them on my new computer, and it's working great! Now I can return the 2019 version.

AWESOME!

I am shocked that MS just shot themselves in the foot by telling you there were extra unused licenses you had..

Personally, you are not missing anything, newer versions just add in a lot of unneeded bloatware gadgets and 365 is marketed to those folks who try to impress others by having the newest shiny gadgetry that they don't need and don't have a clue how to use or why they have have it.. BUT, they have it none the less.

365 has a lot of features that are useful for group work, and the advantage of having cloud storage that you can open from anywhere. The latter is a big deal for people who work from more than one device. The autosave is also a big deal for those who work on very large documents or elaborate Excel files.

I've had it for years to make my work stuff simple, but not sure I'm going to keep it in retirement.

[Gdetrailer]

lovemountains wrote:
I uninstalled Office 365 today, and got my money back at Costco.

I purchased Microsoft Office 2019, but when I tried to install it, Microsoft said that I had two unused copies of Student and Teacher 2016 on our account!

So I installed one of them on my new computer, and it's working great! Now I can return the 2019 version.

AWESOME!

I am shocked that MS just shot themselves in the foot by telling you there were extra unused licenses you had..

Personally, you are not missing anything, newer versions just add in a lot of unneeded bloatware gadgets and 365 is marketed to those folks who try to impress others by having the newest shiny gadgetry that they don't need and don't have a clue how to use or why they have have it.. BUT, they have it none the less.

[lovemountains]

I uninstalled Office 365 today, and got my money back at Costco.

I purchased Microsoft Office 2019, but when I tried to install it, Microsoft said that I had two unused copies of Student and Teacher 2016 on our account!

So I installed one of them on my new computer, and it's working great! Now I can return the 2019 version.

[monkey44]

Might be a good idea to go to Office 2016 ... that's what I bought a few years ago, and have had ZERO problems ... I use it with Windows10-Pro on an ASUS i7 laptop.

I also use Ext SSD backups and never use the cloud for anything intentionally. Altho, I know the web is a version of the cloud, I still save everything on personal backup, and not cloud.

Monkey is not very tech-smart, and wants to hold it in his hand, not virtual. As in Virtual definition ... Not physically existing 🙂

[Gdetrailer]

lovemountains wrote:
I had researched online about my problem with Microsoft 365 not "seeing" my flash drive before I posted on RV.net.

My files are not corrupted because I can OPEN and SAVE them on my husband's computer which has Office 2016. I can then SAVE them to ONE DRIVE, and access them on my computer with Office 365.

When I use 365 on my computer, my document is automatically saved to the cloud as I type, but I've never seen an opportunity to give my document a name!

I do our taxes with TURBO TAX and I can OPEN last year's taxes on the flash drive and SAVE this year's tax files on it.

I appreciate you taking time to respond to my problem! I will probably purchase Microsoft 2019 and give up on 365.

I believe if I remember correctly there IS a way to stop Office 365 from automatically saving to the cloud.. I bumped across that somewhere, if you did a internet search using "stopping office 365 from saving to the cloud" I suspect you will find your answer on breaking that bad habit.. Oh, sure 365 will whine about not having "features" and you will no longer have "auto save" but in the end, it is YOUR documents and not MS's..

MS WANTS everything to be "in the cloud" for some reason and you might want to do your homework on Office 2019, it to may have the same issue and you may need to "opt out" of that feature..

You should also be able to buy an additional Office 2016 license and use the existing media to install it instead of buying 2019..

[lovemountains]

I had researched online about my problem with Microsoft 365 not "seeing" my flash drive before I posted on RV.net.

My files are not corrupted because I can OPEN and SAVE them on my husband's computer which has Office 2016. I can then SAVE them to ONE DRIVE, and access them on my computer with Office 365.

When I use 365 on my computer, my document is automatically saved to the cloud as I type, but I've never seen an opportunity to give my document a name!

I do our taxes with TURBO TAX and I can OPEN last year's taxes on the flash drive and SAVE this year's tax files on it.

I appreciate you taking time to respond to my problem! I will probably purchase Microsoft 2019 and give up on 365.

[Gdetrailer]

HappyKayakers wrote:
I'd be interested in hearing what the current file types are that you're having problems with. Are they actually docx? Or something else?

You do have a valid point..

MS office general behavior is to save in the same file format of the original document that was opened..

example is opening a txt file, Word will choose to save in txt even if you use "save as"..

Open DOC file and save or save as should default to DOC..

Open DOCX and Word will default to DOCX for save and save as..

I suspect in OPs case they may be opening a ODT file and Word is defaulting to saving in ODT.. But even if this is the case, they should be able to select to save as a DOC or DOCX format and also be able to select "MY PC" and save to their "library" on their PC..

However, in all Office versions I have used, I know that you CAN also modify that behavior.. You can set the default save to ANY of the file extensions that Office supports..

For instance, when my company moved for Office 2000 to Office 2013, not everyone in the company had Office 2013 since it was a rolling change and could not open new DOCX files.. MS had not come out with the Compatibility pack for Office 2000 that gave the older OFFICE DOCX support at the time. I simply set the default file format to DOC and compatibility problem was solved..

OP may not actually be able to see what the real file extension at the end of the file since MS OS by default is set to HIDE "Extensions for known file types" which to me is a big security risk since you may unknowingly open a malicious file or attachment exe file (since the extensions are hidden you will never know that it is a executable program file).

Extensions for known file types can be easily unhidden safely..

[HappyKayakers]

I'd be interested in hearing what the current file types are that you're having problems with. Are they actually docx? Or something else?