Office 365 vs Office 2019/2016/2013
Microsoft have been pushing towards making Office 365 a subscription service. With Office 365 you will always get the latest version of Office. It is possible to purchase a Lifetime license but these are usually more expensive and come with the caveat that your Office Version will become obsolete and you'll need to pay full price again in order to get the latest Office Version.
Product Keys and Purchasing Microsoft Office?
For Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft have typically done away with Product Keys due to the large number of issues people had trying to reactivate Microsoft Office due to the Product Key not being physically tied to the system like Windows 10 OEM Keys are. If you need to purchase Office see here. This is an affiliate link and it will help to fund the running cost of the website:
If on the other hand you have made a Retail Purchase already, you will get a Retail Product Key but it is essentially a 1 time use Product Key. During the first use of the Product Key, you'll register your key with Microsoft in order to Download the Software and then subsequently have an Online Subscription linked to your Microsoft Account. The Product Key Card costs just as much if not more than buying the License online direct from Microsoft:
Rather if you already Purchased Office 365 it should be linked to your Email Account and you can sign into your Account and Reinstall Office 365 or manage your installations. It names the license as your Computer name, for convenience it is recommended to rename your computer something which makes sense to you before activating Microsoft Office on it.
Academic Licensing
Many Universities have subscribed to Office 365 which allows staff and students to obtain a free copy of the Microsoft Office suite, which you can use on up to five different devices. Your subscription will remain valid as long as you are a member of the University and connect online every 7-10 days. Most of these are setup using https://portal.microsoftonline.com/. Log in with your University Credentials. If you can't sign in search for the name of your University alongside Office 365 for institution specific instructions. For schools you may be able to get Office for Free, see here. If it doesn't work for you ask your school teacher if he/she can sign your class up for it: https://products.office.com/en-gb/student/office-in-education.
Renaming your Computers
If you have the 5 user subscription of Office 365, it is advisable to rename your computers to names which make more sense to you than the default random naming Windows 10 carries out automatically during installation. To do this right click the start button and select system:
Select Rename this PC:
I will call this PC OptiPlex7050, then select Next:
You will then have to Restart. Select Restart Now:
Your computer will Restart:
Signing in to Office 365
For a Home License go to:
For a Home License (Store Bought Product key) First Time Use:
For a School/Academic or Work License visit:
https://portal.microsoftonline.com/
Sign in with your Microsoft Account:
Select Yes to Stay Signed In (optional):
To Install Office on the PC select Install Office:
Managing the PCs you are Signed Into Office WIth
Since I can only install Office 365 on 5 PCs and appear to have already done so… I will look at my installs in the list below and Deactivate some:
I donated the old OptiPlex 7010, so I will sign out of Office here:
Select Sign out of Office to confirm:
I can now select Finished:
The top PC, I'm not sure which PC that is actually (I never renamed it). I'll assume it's not important and Sign Out of Office on it also:
Select Sign out of Office to confirm:
Once again select Finished:
Okay that gives me 3 Installs so far, leaving me two to play around with which is what I need for this guide incidentally.
Installing Office
Select Install Office:
By default it will install 32 Bit Office, you can select Other options to get 64 Bit Office:
Normal users should select 64 Bit or 32 Bit.
The Insider Versions are Pre-Release Versions Updated Every Week with the Latest Features untested and thus may be unstable. The Monthly Channel are also Pre-Release Versions which are Updated Every Month. They should be more stable but are not recommended for normal users.
I will actually install Office Insider 64 Bit:
The Office Installer will download:
Accept the User Account Control Prompt:
The Office Installer will Download and Install Office 365 for you:
The installation should proceed. If you get an error message "Another installation is in progress" use the Office Clean-up Tool before proceeding.
When it's done you can select Close:
Go to the Start Menu, you should see the Office Icons under recently added. Select Expand:
Pin them as Desired:
You can pin them directly to the Start Screen or you can drag the icons on top of one another to put them in a folder:
Sharing your 5 User Subscription and Setting Up A Microsoft Family (5 Home User Subscription Only)
To share your 5 user subscription with family members of friends go to:
https://account.microsoft.com/services/office/sharing
Select start sharing:
Select invite email:
Input your friends or family members email:
You will be notified the email is sent:
You will also be asked if you want to invite them to your Microsoft Family, this is useful if you want to purchase stuff for your kids from the Microsoft Store such as Games, without using your Credit Card on their computer;
You opt to add them as an adult or child (child will be the default setting). Enter the capta and select send invitation:
The invitation will be sent:
They will get the two emails:
They can accept to join your Microsoft Family:
They can then select Sign In:
You will see your Microsoft Family:
You alongside other Microsoft Family Members will get the notification email that you have joined the Microsoft Family:
Now you can click on the link to install
They can then select to install Office 365:
They will get very similar instructions to those you got before to install Office:
