I think you will agree with me when I tell you:
This is usually how it always goes with new software and smarter features. But it's a different thing when every seventh person in the world uses Microsoft Office and so do 83% of Fortune 500 companies. Yes, Microsoft Office 2016 is already in the crosshairs. And it's time you consider upgrading.
But do you need?
Well, you can come to that decision in the few minutes it takes to read the top 13 reasons.
different colors Currently.
Microsoft Office 2016 introduces Colorful which is the default theme and each app gets a different color. Microsoft Word is dark blue, Excel is green, PowerPoint is orange, Outlook is light blue, and OneNote is purple. That helps alleviate the whitish monotony of previous versions.
As always, you can change the color to any of the three options in File> Account> Office Theme .
Pro Tip: If you're visually impaired, the High Contrast Dark Gray theme The Dark Side of Windows 10:Set a Theme and Change Colors The Dark Side of Windows 10:Set a Theme and Change Colors Windows 10 is so bright it can cause eye strain . Setting a dark theme is an easy way to give your eyes a break. We show you how to create a Windows 10 theme and its most common version... Read More
Labels on ribbon tabs are now in the title caption. These are two small changes and just one that will convince you to switch to the latest version. But it's good to make a nice start before you get to heavy functions.
Remember that Clippy 7 indicates that you are an experienced Windows user. 7 who is an experienced Windows user. Windows has been around longer than many of you have been alive. Do you know the curiosity to prove that you are a long-time Windows user? Let's see what you remember. Read more ?
For those who have felt lost among the endless options in Microsoft Office, the Tell me what you want to do He is Clippy's smarter cousin. Notice the little light bulb icon in the middle of the ribbon. It's intelligence personified, you just have to tell it what you want to do. Don't dig for commands or shovel through the Help file.
Type what you want to do into the Microsoft Office program and the little genie not only shows you how to do it, as a help function, but lets you do it right from here.
For example:if you want to adjust the line spacing, but don't know how to do it, just type it in the small field. Line spacing options are displayed in the blink of an eye.
This feature is available in all programs in Microsoft Office 2016 except OneNote . Maybe they'll include it in the next update, but for now the feature makes mastering Office easier and tasks faster. Although I can't say that it came back perfect when I tried it with the unclear commands in Office.
Pro Tip: Alt + Q is the new keyboard shortcut How to find all the Microsoft Office keyboard shortcuts you'll ever need. How to find all the Microsoft Office keyboard shortcuts you'll ever need. Finding a complete list of keyboard shortcuts can be a chore. Let Word automatically generate a list of all your shortcuts! You'll also find keyboard shortcuts for other Office apps. Read More
If the collaboration is not in real time, it is not collaboration in the true sense. Collaboration was not done in real time in Microsoft Office 2013 (via OneDrive) and was affected compared to Google Drive. They are becoming the norm. We decided to see how Microsoft Word compares to Google Docs. Which one will do the best investigative work? Read more . The missing link - real-time co-authoring - Now the core feature of Microsoft Office 2016. Team Workflow Teamwork:10 Tips for Effective Real-Time Online Collaboration Teamwork:10 Tips for Effective Real-Time Online Collaboration Read more is more productive because you can instantly see what your team members are doing in a Microsoft Word document or PowerPoint presentation.
Notice the Share tab at the right end of the ribbon. You will be prompted to Save to cloud . You can save it to a shared OneDrive folder or SharePoint location. Invite others and give them access to view the file or edit. Team members can also open the document in the free Office online app Don't pay for Word! 5 reasons why you should use Office Online Don't pay for Word! 5 reasons why you should use Office Online Office Online is the free, cloud-connected version of Microsoft Office. The limitations are offset by features, useful even for desktop Office users. Best of all is its Read More:no need for the desktop Microsoft Office suite.
Co-authors receive an email invitation, and as soon as they join, you can see their profile pictures in the Share panel next to the document. With real-time typing, see what others are working on and see your edits as they happen. Microsoft Office locks edits so you can't work on the same part. It's a small feature, but makes sense when multiple people are working on the same document.
Also, notice the change to the Save icon at the top right.
Microsoft Office also keeps versions of previous editions in the History section of the File menu. The Microsoft Office Blog explains how to share with a click of a button.
Pro Tip: With Microsoft Office 2016, you can share a OneNote notebook with anyone you want. Add documents, images, videos, worksheets, or emails, and a notebook can be a one-click container for group projects.
Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel get new chart types that help visualize raw data with crisp diagrams 8 Types of Excel Charts and Graphs and When to Use Them 8 Types of Excel Charts and Graphs and When to Use Them Charts are easier to understand than text and numbers Graphs are a great way to visualize numbers. We show you how to create charts in Microsoft Excel and when to best use which type. Read More Data drives richer storytelling 4 Data Visualization Tools to Captivate Data Journalism 4 Data Visualization Tools to Captivate Data Journalism Words and numbers are not enough. In the end, the visual will capture and convince your audience. Here are the tools to help you turn your data into something big. Read More New chart types include Treemap, Waterfall, Pareto, Histogram, Box and Whisker, and Sunburst.
How useful are they? Very.
One Instance:A roadmap chart can be used to show a high-level view of your data. With the correct color coding, your eyes can detect the patterns and proportional differences between different data sets. You can easily get a bird's eye view of large data sets, without getting caught up in the confusing individual elements. For example, compare the population densities of all US states.
Of course, a chart can only be as good as the data it represents. But with multiple charting options now available, Microsoft Office 2016 gives you more ways to work with data. Previously, an additional plugin would have performed a similar function.
Visit the Office Blog to learn more about modern chart types.
Pro Tip: In Excel 2016, use the Quick Analysis button (right-click context menu) to preview the recommended chart based on your data.
Working with math equations is now easier in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Go Insert> Equation> Ink Equation . For touch devices, you can use your finger or a stylus to write mathematical equations by hand. You can also use the mouse on the Write cash register. Microsoft Office software converts it to text.
Pro Tip: The equation editor has a Select and Correct Option if symbols are not recognized by Microsoft Office. Draw a frame around the symbol and choose one of the provided alternatives.
Highlight a term and use Bing-based Smart Search in Microsoft Office 2016 (Insights) to get search results from the web. A sidebar opens on the right side of the apps with search results from various websites like Wikipedia. You can drag and drop the information into your authoring environment.
Pro Tip: In Microsoft Excel, select a cell with a formula and use Smart Lookup to understand its function with the description that Bing displays.
There are some specific features unique to apps in the Microsoft suite. Here's the short look.
Power Query goes native
Power Query is a business intelligence tool that is available as an add-in in Microsoft Excel 2013 and 2010. It also works only with PowerPivot in Microsoft Excel Professional Plus. With the arrival of Query in Microsoft Excel 2016, both obstacles have been removed. Access query from Ribbon> Data> Get &Transform> New Query .
With time grouping improvements in the pivot table, Microsoft Excel 2016 is now above any free Excel alternative 5+ Cross-Platform Excel Alternatives for When You're Out of the Office 5+ Cross-Platform Excel Alternatives for When You're Out of the office Worried about your Excel files when you work from home or switch from Windows to an alternative operating system? Chill out! Here are your cross-platform Excel alternatives. Read More Gavin brings you a short tutorial on how to use Pivot Tables How to Use an Excel Pivot Table for Data Analysis How to Use an Excel Pivot Table for Data Analysis The Pivot Table is one of the most powerful tools in the Excel 2013 repertoire It is frequently used for big data analysis. Follow our step-by-step demo to learn all about it. Read more for data analysis.
Best forecast of time series data
From the linear forecast available in earlier versions, Microsoft Excel 2016 gets a one-click button for exponential forecasting of a data series. Go to Ribbon> Data> Forecast Sheet .
Exponential smoothing of your data might be better at approximating trends compared to linear regression.
Cool geospatial visualizations with 3D Power Maps
The Power Map tool is now called 3D Maps and is built into Microsoft Excel 2016. Use it as an advanced business intelligence tool by visualizing any geospatial data you've already brought into Excel with Power Query and combined with Power Pivot.
Record your screen with PowerPoint
Seamlessly record any process on your screen with a new PowerPoint screencasting tool. Go to Ribbon> Insert> Screen Recording . Capture the portion of your screen with audio and insert it directly into your presentation in a one-click process.
You can style it with the many video style presets. Crop the video to the size you want. PowerPoint also allows you to save the video file to your desktop for use outside of the suite.
Better sharing with conflict resolution
This is a cool feature that helps you avoid conflicts by looking at the changes made by each collaborator, thanks to a side-by-side visual comparison. Choose the slide with the changes you want to keep.
Read important emails first
An intelligent email management feature learns your inbox behavior and removes low-priority messages to a special folder called Clutter . You can also sort them manually and review them later. Clutter needs an Office 365 subscription to work with Office 2016.
Fastest attachment
Email workflow speeds up when attachments just work. Microsoft Outlook 2016 makes it easier to attach recently opened files from the menu.
You can also set file permissions on attached files. Share them as View only or Allow edits so recipients can work together on shared cloud files in OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint. By default, recipients have permissions to edit.
Microsoft has made smart, subtle changes with Office 2016 A Microsoft Office 2016 Preview:Smart, Subtle Changes A Microsoft Office 2016 Preview:Smart, Subtle Changes Office 2016 for Mac has just been released and the Windows version will follow in the fall. We show you the new look and features of the world's most popular productivity suite. Will you update? Read more . It is not a radical change from the previous version. For casual users, older versions will do the job just as well as before, since a standalone purchase of the desktop suite might be a waste of money.
When you Work in a team then upgrading to Office 2016 makes better sense.
From a stand-alone productivity tool, Office 2016 has planted a solid footing in the cloud and collaboration realm. Simpler document sharing and co-authoring could change your idea of productivity. Co-authoring is now a feature of desktop apps:Linked Microsoft Office, Office Online, and Office 365 apps make it a hub for mobile productivity.
For teams, the best deal might be an Office 365 subscription. An introduction to Office 365:Should you buy the new Office business model? An introduction to Office 365:Should you buy the new Office business model? Office 365 is a subscription-based suite that offers access to the latest Office desktop suite, Office Online, cloud storage, and premium mobile apps. Does Office 365 provide enough value to be worth the money? Read More But you have to be cloud and mobile ready to take advantage of the new enhancements. With the subscription model, you will benefit from future automatic updates that will be implemented. There are many updates to look forward to.
New updates like GigJam could be removed in the near future. Then there are some other features that I haven't covered like Outlook Groups which is available with an Office 365 work or school account. Or Skype for Business, which is useful for group chats.
Where do you see yourself in the Windows universe? Working on one PC or working on multiple devices? Working alone or working in a team? For the latter, Microsoft has given you reason enough to upgrade. Could you? Tell us.
