Store your Office documents in SkyDrive, and Office Web Apps lets you view and edit them in your web browser. That’s perfect for making quick updates (no need to start up an Office program), on just about any computer that’s connected to the Web. You can avoid the hassle of sending documents as email attachments, and skip the extra step of saving them as PDFs. Instead, store documents on SkyDrive, where you can link to them in email, on social networks, and in your blog. Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and OneNote notebooks display in the browser just as they look in the Office programs.
To get started, go to http://skydrive.live.com, sign in, and click Add files. Pick documents that you want to be able to share easily, or be able to access on any computer. When you can see the document on SkyDrive, click it. It opens in Office Web Apps.
To sign in to SkyDrive, you need a Windows Live ID. If you don’t already have one, click the Sign up button at the SkyDrive sign-in page and fill out the form. Your ID will be based on your email address. If you want to use an email address you already have (if you don’t want to sign up for Hotmail), click the Or use your own email address link.
In this article
If you have Office 2010 or later, you can save documents directly on SkyDrive from Office.
Save from Office 2010
In Word, Excel, or PowerPoint
- Open an existing document or create a new one in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.
- Click File, click Save & Send, and then click Save to Web.
Click Sign in. enter your Windows Live ID and password, and then click OK. If you use Hotmail, Messenger, or Xbox Live, you already have a Windows Live ID. If you don’t have one, click Sign Up to create a new Windows Live ID.
Select a folder on your SkyDrive, and then click Save As. Type a name for your file and then click Save. The document is now saved on SkyDrive. Click File and Close.
- In your web browser, go to http://skydrive.live.com.
- Select the folder where you saved your document, and then click the file name The document opens in the appropriate Office Web App.
In OneNote
- Open an existing notebook or create a new one.
- Click the File tab, and then click Share.
- Click the notebook you want to save.
- Click Web.
Note If the notebook is not in the OneNote 2010 file format, OneNote prompts you to upgrade it. Click Upgrade, and then in the Notebook Properties dialog box click Convert to 2010. Click OK at the prompt that warns you that users of an earlier version of OneNote will not be able to share the notebook. Anyone with an earlier version of OneNote is able to share the notebook by using OneNote Web App.
- Click Sign In, enter your Windows Live ID and password, and then click OK.
- If you use Hotmail, Messenger, or Xbox Live, you already have a Windows Live ID. If you don't have one, click Sign up for Windows Live SkyDrive to create a new Windows Live ID.
- Select a folder on your SkyDrive, and then click Share Notebook.
- In your web browser, go to http://skydrive.live.com.
- Select the folder where you saved your notebook, and then click it. The notebook opens in OneNote Web App.
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Create new documents in your browser
- Go to http://skydrive.live.com and sign in with your Windows Live ID. If you don’t yet have a Windows Live ID click Sign up to get one.
- At the top of the browser window, click the kind of document that you want to create: Word document, Excel workbook, PowerPoint presentation, or OneNote notebook.
- Type a name for the document, and then click Save.
The document opens for editing in the appropriate Web App.
More information
For more information about using Office Web Apps see Share Office documents in Windows Live.
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Work with Word documents
View your club newsletter in the browser
Distributing your organization’s newsletter is as simple as saving it on your SkyDrive and sending a link. Find text you’re interested in. You can even copy and paste from the document
- Go to where the document is stored on your SkyDrive, by following a link or by signing in at http://skydrive.live.com.
- Click the document.
Word Web App opens the document opens in Reading view.
Make a last-minute change, from anywhere
You’re the newsletter editor. The newsletter is finished, and you’ve saved it on SkyDrive, ready to share. One last look, and you notice you misspelled a board member’s name. That’s quick and easy to update in the browser.
- With the document open in Word Web App in Reading view, click Edit in Browser.
Word Web App switches to Editing view, and the display of the document might change. However, the content is not altered.
- When you’re finished, click Save.
- If you want to make changes beyond what you can do in the browser, click the File tab, and then click Open in Word.
In Word, when you save the document, it is saved back on SkyDrive.
Note In SkyDrive, multiple authors can edit a document at the same time in Word Web App. For more information, see Work together on a document in Word Web App.
Print from the browser
The document that you print from the browser looks the same as it would if you printed it from Word.
With the document open in Word Web App, click the File tab, and then click Print.
Note A PDF viewer is required for printing in Word Web App. If you don’t have a PDF viewer installed, you are prompted to download the document.
More information
For more information about using Word Web App see Word Web App at a glance and Introduction to Word Web App.
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Work with Excel workbooks
Make decisions based on live data
Gathering information in an Excel workbook helps you compare items so you can make informed choices. For example, you could reserve the picnic area for your party for free, but maybe it’s worth the expense of renting an indoor venue in rainy weather. By tracking information in an Excel workbook on your SkyDrive, you can open the workbook in your browser anytime and slice your data in different ways to make decisions.
- Go to where the workbook is stored on your SkyDrive, by following a link or by signing in at http://skydrive.live.com.
- Click the workbook.
Excel Web App opens the workbook.
- Use the ribbon interface to view and interact with the data. Sort and filter rows or columns, expand PivotTables, and refresh the data.
Edit a spreadsheet in the browser
You just found out that the local movie theater is available to rent for private events. You want to add this information to your list of venues. When you edit in the browser, you can change data, enter or edit formulas, and apply basic formatting within the spreadsheet.
- With the workbook open in Excel Web App click Edit in Browser.
- Update the data, add formulas, insert charts, or apply formatting.
Excel Web App saves your changes automatically.
- If you want to make changes beyond what you can do in the browser, click Open in Excel on the Home tab.
In Excel, when you save the workbook, it is saved back on SkyDrive.
Work together at the same time on a spreadsheet
You’re not the only one researching event venues. What if your friend wants to add information to the spreadsheet at the same time you’re working in the workbook? In Excel Web App you can collaborate with other people on the same workbook at the same time. Go ahead and make your changes. Excel Web App indicates if other people are also working in the workbook.
Print from the browser
- If you want to print a range of cells instead of the entire worksheet, select the cells.
- On the File tab, click Print.
- If popups are blocked, unblock them, at least for now. Then repeat steps 1 and 2.
Excel Web App opens a view suitable for printing in a new browser tab or window.
- If you selected a range of cells, but you want to print the whole worksheet afterall, click Entire Sheet.
- Click Print.
More information
For more information about using Excel Web App see Excel Web App at a glance and Introduction to Excel Web App.
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Work with PowerPoint presentations
Use your browser to view or present a slide show
It’s your turn to present the slide show for class, but you forgot to bring your laptop computer. You borrow someone else’s, but they don’t have PowerPoint installed. That’s okay: sign in to SkyDrive, open the slide show in PowerPoint Web App, and present the slide show.
- Go to where the presentation is stored on your SkyDrive, by following a link or by signing in at http://skydrive.live.com.
- Click the presentation.
PowerPoint Web App opens the presentation in Reading view.
- Click the arrow buttons at the bottom of the display to step through the sides, or click Start Slide Show to play the slide show in in full-screen view.
Quickly add some slides
If your classmates want you to add some slides to the group presentation, you can quickly do that in your browser.
- With the presentation open in PowerPoint Web App in Reading view, click Edit in Browser.
PowerPoint Web App switches to Editing view.
- Click New Slide, and edit content as you want.
PowerPoint Web App saves your changes automatically.
- If you want to make changes beyond what you can do in the browser, click the File tab, and then click Open in PowerPoint.
In PowerPoint, when you save the presentation, it is saved back on SkyDrive.
Print from the browser
You might want to print the slides as handouts to share with the class. Click the File tab, and then click Print.
Note A PDF viewer is required for printing in PowerPoint Web App. If you don’t have a PDF viewer installed, you are prompted to download the presentation.
More information
For more information about using PowerPoint Web App see PowerPoint Web App at a glance and Introduction to PowerPoint Web App.
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Work with OneNote Notebooks
Post notes for your friends or family
When you’re planning a group activity Microsoft OneNote gives your group a centralized place for collecting notes, brainstorming an idea, or assembling the bits into a more structured document, such as an itinerary you can share with your contacts as a Word document.
- Go to where the notebook is stored on your SkyDrive, by following a link or by signing in at http://skydrive.live.com.
- Click the notebook.
OneNote Web App opens the notebook in Editing view.
- Add notes to the current page, click a different page to edit, or add new pages or sections to the notebook in the navigation pane.
OneNote Web App saves your changes automatically
- If you want to make changes beyond what you can do in the browser, click the File tab, and then click Open in OneNote (requires Microsoft OneNote 2010).
In OneNote, the notebook is saved back on SkyDrive.
Brainstorm together
Brainstorming loses steam if you have to take turns, waiting for one person to finish editing the notebook before you can add your ideas. By using OneNote Web App you can add your notes while other people are working in the notebook, even if some people have the notebook open in the OneNote desktop application.
- Go ahead and make your changes.
OneNote Web App lets you see who made which changes, and you can roll pages back to an earlier version if someone made changes that you don’t want.
- To keep track of who is contributing which pieces of content, click the View tab, and then click Show Authors.
- To view an earlier version of a page, click Page Versions on the View tab, and then click the time stamp for the version that you want to see.
More information
For more information about using OneNote Web App see OneNote Web App at a glance and Introduction to OneNote Web App.
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Mobile device access
You can use your browser-enabled cellular phone to read Word and PowerPoint files stored on SkyDrive. The following devices provide mobile support for Office Web Apps in SkyDrive:
- Internet Explorer 7 on Windows Mobile 7
- Safari 4 on iPhone 3G or 3GS
To view Word or PowerPoint files, use your phone’s web browser to browse to your SkyDrive page. Its web address is the same URL in your phone’s browser as the one displayed in the address bar of your desktop browser.
More information
For more information about using your cellular phone to view Word and PowerPoint files in Office Web Apps see Use Office Web Apps on your cell phone.
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