This Month’s Feature: Microsoft Office Backstage View
There is a good chance you are great at using Microsoft Office to generate great content, use spreadsheets, communicate with others, and/or put together good-looking presentations, but you are unsure how to manage the files themselves and do things like password protect documents or have files open in read-only mode. You know the features exist because you’ve been on the receiving end of them, but trying to figure out how to use these features with all the menus and tabs can seem daunting, to say the least.
There are so many useful features for managing your files, and the good news is, you don’t have to go searching in a variety of places to find them. Microsoft has consolidated most of the features for managing files into one central location, and it is called Backstage View. More so, Backstage View is in a location you are already very familiar with – the File button.
Backstage View consists of all the file management features you are used to: creating new documents, opening existing documents, saving files, and printing as well as other less known features, such as exporting to PDFs, sharing to OneDrive, and turning documents into HTML-friendly webpages.
However, some of the most powerful features in Backstage View can be found under the Info tab. These include:
- Protecting documents
- Inspecting documents
- Viewing and restoring previous versions of documents
- Selecting what people see when they open a document in a browser
- Other useful features
Let’s break down each of these features, what they do, and how they can help you manage your files like a champion.
Protect Documents – Your data is important and protecting it has never been easier. Through the Protect Document button, you can select Always Open Read-Only to prevent accidental changes; Encrypt with Password to password protect the document; Restrict Editing to control the editing permissions of other users; Restrict Access to manage document access; Add a Digital Signature to protect the integrity of the document, and Mark as Final to let users know the document is complete.
Check for Issues – A second set of eyes on your documents never hurts, and Microsoft Office has you covered. Through the Check for Issues button, you can click Inspect Document and Office will scan the file for hidden properties or personal info; Check Accessibility to help individuals with disabilities; and Check Compatibility to make sure the document can be opened in older versions of the application.
Version History – Over the course of working on a document, you make several changes and sometimes it would be beneficial to see an older version of the document. With the Version History button, you can review older versions of the document and even restore previous versions to access previously produced content.
Manage Document – Have you ever been working on a document and your laptop died or power went out and you didn’t have a chance to save your document? By clicking Manage Document, you can review all un-saved documents and recover them. You can also delete any un-saved documents that you don’t need.
Other useful features – some programs have application-specific options, such as in Microsoft Outlook where you can click Automatic Replies and schedule an out of office auto-reply email message for when you are planning to be away. Browser View in Microsoft Excel gives you the ability to choose how a user will see the document when it is shared with them via an internet link. Explore all the Microsoft Office programs to get a full view of these features.
Backstage View in Microsoft Office turns managing and protecting your files into a quick and easy task. Gone are the days of spending valuable time searching the internet to figure out how to use these great features that you always knew existed but were unsure how to access. Backstage View puts all the needed features in one convenient place. The data in your documents is far too important to go unmanaged, so don’t ignore the features provided in Backstage View. Begin managing your documents with ease by using Backstage View today!
Check out this month’s video!