When Google launched Google Docs in 2006, it did a lot of damage to one of Microsoft's spearheads, its popular Office. And more specifically, to its flagship program, Microsoft Word . Everyone knows it and has used it at some time. You may even have had it on your computer. But there is a problem, it has a prohibitive price compared to free alternatives like Google Docs itself, today Google Drive , or software like LibreOffice . Even Apple offers free Pages , its equivalent to Word. But over time, Microsoft has managed to respond with its own alternative, Word online .
Basically, Word online is a browser version of this popular word processor. It may not have all the features of its older brother, but you will find those features that made Word the go-to program. Also, it is the official answer to the DOC and DOCX format. And the best thing is that you can use Word online for free .
On the one hand, the Word of a lifetime is still available through Microsoft 365. It is a service of monthly and / or annual subscription that allows individuals, families and companies to purchase for a time Office products such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Notes, Outlook and Skype . You will also have access to additional space to store files and documents in the Microsoft OneDrive cloud. That and the possibility of installing these applications both on Windows and macOS as well as on iOS and Android.
But if you need to open and edit Microsoft Word documents and you don't want to or can go through the checkout, Microsoft gives you the opportunity to use the basic functions of this popular word processor using Word on-line. Under the name of Office on the Web or Office online, you can use the office automation tools Word, Excel and PowerPoint , among others. Free and without installation.
Open Word documents from the browser
There are many ways to use Word online. The simplest is to go directly to the web or online version of Office at its official link. You can also go directly to the online version of Word from its own link. In both cases, you must log in with your Microsoft account . Come on, the same one you use in Windows 10, Xbox, Outlook, etc. If you don't have one, you can create it in seconds.
Once logged in, you will already have access to Word online. You will see your documents already created and hosted on OneDrive, as well as the most frequent options. For example, Create a blank document or access the free templates .
Another way to open Word documents with Word online is if you have them hosted on OneDrive. Thus, when opening a document with a .doc or .docx extension, it will open in a new tab or window of your browser with Word online.
And since there are no two without three. If you receive a Word document through Outlook, you can open that document in a number of ways. First, with the Outlook preview . Second, from Word itself in its web version if you choose the option Edit in the browser . You can also edit it in Word for Windows or macOS, if you have them installed, save the document in OneDrive or download it to your computer.
Open Word online from everywhere
Now that we know how to open Word online to open or edit Word documents and do the same from OneDrive and Outlook, it's time to make things a little easier outside of the Microsoft ecosystem. For example, we can create a desktop shortcut to open Word online directly from Windows.
From Windows, if you right-click on the desktop, and then go to New , you can create a Shortcut . The location of that link will be the Word online address we saw earlier. Once that link is created, giving it a name, we already have a direct access to Word online . It will open with the browser that you have configured by default in Windows. So you can open Word online instantly. And to open a Word document from your computer, all you have to do is click Load and open… to upload the original to Onedrive and be able to view and / or edit it.
If you usually receive Word documents from Gmail, you will see that this email manager integrates Google Docs. So if you want to open that document from Word online you will have to choose the option Download and then upload it to Word online as we saw before.
Save the document from Word online
Be that as it may, when you open a Word document from Word online, when you are done with it you can do several things. From File> Save as you can choose between:
Save as : the Word document you have edited will be uploaded to OneDrive. Rename : change the file name. By default, it is uploaded to OneDrive. Download a copy : Download a copy in Word format to your desktop. Download as PDF : Download the document in PDF. Ideal for sharing. Download as ODT : Download the document in ODT, LibreOffice format. In short, thanks to Word online you no longer need a large outlay to have text editing software on your computer. Directly from your browser, you can open a Word and edit it at will, save it, export it or easily share it.
