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August 29, 2020

How to use Microsoft Programs online and if you don’t have a PC (i.e. if you have a Mac)

I’ve had a few readers email me over the years saying they wanted to take my courses for making printables in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and most recently, making digital planners and notebooks in Microsoft Powerpoint. However they have a Mac not a PC. I don’t have a Mac, however if you do have a Mac you can still use Microsoft products. You can also use Microsoft programs online if you don’t want to purchase and install software on your computer.

I am not affiliated with Microsoft, I just like their software.

How to access Microsoft Programs online

Go to this webpage: https://www.office.com/

If you don’t already have a Microsoft account you can create one by clicking on the ‘Get Office’ button. All you need is an email address. Best of all… it’s free to create an account!

how to use microsoft programs for free online using a mac or pc

On the page after creating an account will be most (not all) of Microsoft’s Program’s. The 3 we care about (the ones I use at the moment for making printables and digital planners) are all listed here 🙂

  • Microsoft Word
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Excel

how to use microsoft programs on a mac tutorial tips instructions making digital planners

Let’s use Microsoft PowerPoint as an example (this is the program I use to make digital planners and notebooks).

Click on the ‘let’s get started with PowerPoint’ text and login to your Microsoft Account. Once you’ve logged in, you’ll be taken to this screen. Click on the ‘New Blank Presentation’ button

microsoft powerpoint 365 online access how to use if you have a mac

Now you can start designing just like you would if you had purchased Microsoft Office. The only difference is that you’re creating online and saving to OneDrive instead of saving directly to your computer. You can access OneDrive from your iPad or other device that you want to use for digital planning. You can also email the files to yourself after you’ve finished designing, and then download them from your emails to your device.

Here’s what Microsoft Powerpoint looks like in the free online version:

how to use microsoft powerpoint online for free

Here’s what Microsoft Powerpoint looks like on my computer

microsoft powerpont for desktop pc

As you can see – they look much the same. The main difference is that the online version compresses the top toolbar. There is a dropdown arrow beside most of the tools and when you click on that you’ll see the rest of the options. For some of the tools (like the textbox tool), once you click on the tool it’s secondary menu appears. If you want to get rid of this function, click on the white oval beside ‘simplified ribbon’ and it’ll give you the option to switch back to classic view. Now it looks the same as if you had the program installed on your computer.

I’ve tested the free online version on both my laptop and iPad – they look exactly the same. While you could design on your iPad or tablet I don’t recommend it. It’s much faster to design with a computer mouse and physical keyboard than using your fingers to select the buttons and using the on-screen keyboard. 

how to use microsoft powerpoint online for free tutorial tips instructions

After experimenting with making something in the online version there are a few limitations I came across.

One is that custom fonts I’ve downloaded (see this post for a tutorial) do not appear (which makes sense as you download and install those on your computer). In the free version there are a few other fonts – you don’t only have to use Calibri. I’m guessing (not confirmed) that the paid version might have more fonts to choose from.

what fonts can i use in microsoft 365 free version

All of the other tools that I use for designing are still there in the free online version EXCEPT the tool I use for linking everything when making digital planners and notebooks. This only appears to work if you link text. In the desktop version I can link shapes and images as well. The function to link shapes and images might be part of the Microsoft 365 subscription i.e. the paid version (which costs $10 per month which, while not free, is still cheap). Since I already own the software I don’t have the online paid subscription (the premium version) to confirm if the linking function is the same as the paid desktop version.

Something a bit extra that I noticed is included in the online version but not my desktop version (mine’s from Office 2016 so this could also be why), are icons. There are surprisingly quite a few free ones.

using icons in microsoft powerpoint 365 free tools for making printables and digital planners

Any with a diamond in the top right corner of the image are part of a 365 subscription which costs $10 per month.

There are heaps to choose from and there’s collections sorted into themes like home, holidays, sports, vehicles, food and drink, animals, people, symbols etc. These icons would look cute on a printable – especially checklists!

microsoft 365 is it worth paying for premium free versus paid verison how to make printables and digital planners

microsoft 365 paid plan what to do get is it worth it

Once you’ve finished designing your digital planner or notebook, see this post for instructions on how to import a digital planner into Goodnotes.

If you’re wondering if there are differences between Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, they appear to be the same online as they are in the paid desktop version.

Microsoft Excel Online

how to use microsoft excel online for free without paying how to use excel for making printables and pretty spreadsheets

Microsoft Excel Desktop version

microsoft excel desktop version versus the free online microsoft version

Microsoft Word Online

how to use microsoft word for free online

Microsoft Word Desktop version

microsoft word desktop version versus the free online version best tools for making printables

You can switch between programs in Microsoft online by clicking the grid of dots in the top left corner:

how to navigate microsoft free online tools

Or by choosing the app in the home screen after logging in

how to switch between apps in microsoft free online programs

If you have any questions, please comment below and I’ll do my best to answer them. 

If you now want to enrol in one of my courses where I teach how to make planner related things using Microsoft Software, here are the links:

How to make printables in Microsoft Word

how to make printables in microsoft word tutorials ecourse step by step calendar weekly daily checklist

How to make printables in Microsoft Excel

how to make printables in excel weekly planner monthly budgeting spreadsheets monthly calendar video tutorials ecourse all about planners

How to make digital planners and notebooks in Microsoft Powerpoint

how to make digital planners and notebooks in microsoft powerpoint tutorials video monthly calendar weekly planner daily contents cover checklist dot grid bullet journal

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how to use microsoft programs online and if you don't have a pc windows computer ie if you have a macbook pro free printables software apps

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Posted In: Digital Planning, Graphic Design, How To - Tutorials, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word · Tagged: how to use microsoft excel for free, how to use microsoft excel on a mac, how to use microsoft powerpoint on a mac, how to use microsoft powerpoint online, how to use microsoft products on an app, how to use microsoft word on a mac, microsoft apps for free, microsoft excel free version, microsoft powerpoint free version, microsoft word free version

Comments

  1. Priscilla says

    August 31, 2020 at 00:16

    Hi Rachael, another wonderful post. Thx for showing us Microsoft users some love! I wanted to pass along to your readers that, at least in the US, MS is offering a much better 365 personal subscription deal than you mention above. For $9.99/month or $99/yr, up to 6 people can have access to 7 MS programs including Publisher and Access, however, those 2 programs can’t be used on Macs. Plus, the subscription includes 6 TB of cloud storage, up to 1 TB per per person.
    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/buy/compare-all-microsoft-365-products

    Students & teachers can get an individual subscription FREE, including the cloud storage.
    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/products/office

    Hopefully some folks ouSide the US can use this offer also,

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Welcome to All About Planners! I’m Rachael, a 20-something Aussie addicted to graphic design and all things planning. On the blog you’ll find more than 1,000 posts about all things planning including planner reviews, tips, favorite supplies and some of my past weekly spreads.

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