FAQ

What is the difference between Office 2013 suites and Office 365 plans?

Office suites have traditionally included applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. In this release all the Office 2013 suites, such as Office Home & Student 2013, include the latest versions of the Office applications, for use on a single PC. The name ”Office 365” is used for products that include features enabled over the internet, such as additional online storage with OneDrive or Skype world minutes for home use. Office 365 business plans include features such as Lync web conferencing and hosted email for businesses. All Office 365 products, such as Office 365 Home, Office 365 University, and Office 365 Small Business Premium, are paid for on a subscription basis. Subscription terms vary by product. Most Office 365 plans also include the full-featured Office 2013 applications, which users can install across multiple computers and devices. Active subscribers receive future rights to version upgrades as a benefit of their subscription. Entitlements vary by product.

How do I know if my computer or devices can run the new Office?

You’ll need Windows 7 or Windows 8 OS to successfully run Office Home & Business 2013 on your PC. Mac users should visit Office 365 Home, Office 365 University, or Office for Mac to find products suitable for their OS.

What is OneDrive? 

OneDrive is a service that enables you to upload files to storage in the cloud and then access them from a computer or phone. You can use OneDrive to store documents, notes, photos, music, videos or other types of file. OneDrive simplifies sharing. You can send photos and files through email, send a short link to them in a text message, or post them to a social network, your website, or your blog—all right from OneDrive. There’s also a desktop app for OneDrive you can install that creates a folder on your PC or Mac that automatically syncs with your cloud folder, so you can access your files offline.

How much OneDrive storage do I get with Office? 

Customers with an active Office 365 Home subscription receive an additional 1TB of OneDrive storage. They can share their subscription benefits with up to four members of their household, and each member who is added to the existing subscription also receives an additional 1TB OneDrive storage. This additional storage is not available during trial periods. This additional 1TB of OneDrive storage is applied to the OneDrive accounts that are linked to the Microsoft account used to create the Office 365 subscription account and any other account (up to four) that the subscription purchaser decides to share their subscription benefits with.

Are my documents stored on OneDrive also available offline? 

With the OneDrive desktop app installed on your computer, your documents are available offline without any action required from you. The OneDrive desktop app creates a folder on your computer that automatically syncs documents between your OneDrive storage in the cloud and your computer, so you can work on your documents offline and be assured that they are always in sync.

Can people with another Office version open documents I create with Office Home & Business 2013?

Yes, a person with a previous version of Microsoft Office can easily open documents created with the latest release of Office. Office 2007, Office 2010, Office 365, or Office 2013 users can open documents created using the latest release of Office applications without any additional action. Customers using earlier versions of Office may need to download and install a compatibility pack.