

Limited file support. Office Online only works with the following file formats.As such, they are meant for “lite” editing, and are not intended as a replacement for the desktop software. They are stripped-down (lite) versions of the corresponding desktop applications and do not have the full functionality you have on your PC.

Word Online, Excel Online, and PowerPoint Online are not fully-installed applications on your PC.

This is by design, not so much of a limitation, but you would be surprised how many users question this. They cannot reside on a computer or file share (network drive). To open and edit MS Office documents in the browser (using Office Online), the documents have to reside in either SharePoint or OneDrive. It only works in SharePoint and OneDrive.Limitations of opening and editing documents in the browser For that, you would need Adobe Acrobat software. Please note that it does not support Edit capability for PDF files. In addition to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Office Online can also open PDF documents right in the browser. Since Office Online does not require Word, Excel or PowerPoint to be installed on the computer – this option is great when you need to access files in SharePoint and OneDrive from the computer that does not happen to have this software installed (i.e., connecting remotely from hotel’s computer) It does not require MS Office to be installed on PC to work.So if you make a change and then close the browser – no worries – all changes are saved automatically. Office Online does not have a Save button – all changes are autosaved. A great option when you want to make quick changes to the document – files open up quicker than using the installed version of the software It is easier to share Office Online documents as there is a Share button available in the upper right-hand corner Office Online is included in all Office 365 Business/Enterprise plans, and you don’t need to buy MS Office desktop license for it to work Another way (shortcut) to quickly edit MS Office files is by right-clicking on the file from within SharePoint and OneDrive and choosing Open > Open in Word Online from the menuĪdvantages of opening and editing documents in the browser.

