- [Instructor] Microsoft Office applications like
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
have collaboration features built in,
that let multiple people open and edit a file
at the same time.
This is known as co-authoring.
But co-authoring only works if the file
is stored and shared on one of Microsoft's
online storage tools,
including OneDrive, SharePoint or Microsoft Teams.
Now I have this document open,
and this file is stored on my OneDrive.
In another video we saw how to share this file
with one of my coworkers.
So if I go to the backstage view by clicking file,
you know, at the top left corner,
then I go to share.
Then I click share with people,
it opens this panel and I can see the people
that this file has been shared with.
So I know this has been shared with my coworker.
So for now I'm just going to close this panel.
And now at any time my coworker can open this file
and start working on it,
even if I already have it open on my computer.
When that happens,
I see this notification telling me
that she is now editing that file.
This is co-authoring,
multiple people with the file open
and editing it at the same time.
And there's also a note here that tells me
that this will work a little smoother
if I open this document in Microsoft Word on the web,
but we'll see that in just a moment.
For now, if my coworker makes any changes,
I can see that happening,
and I can see her cursor.
And if I point at her cursor,
it tells me who that person is.
So we could both make edits and work collaboratively
in real time.
Now that's a file that I shared with somebody.
For now I'm going to close that,
and let's see a file that somebody shared with me.
For that I'm going to go to my email
where I have received a message
telling me that my coworker shared a file with me.
And there's a link to that file right here,
or I could open it from the shared folder on my OneDrive.
But I'm going to click on that to open it up,
and that opens the document that was shared with me,
but it opens it in Microsoft Word on the web.
So this is just a smaller version of Microsoft Word,
that you can work with inside of a web browser.
And we can see how that looks here.
Now this file is not stored on my computer,
I'm only able to access it
because I have a stable internet connection
and a link to that file.
And since my coworker shared the file with me,
she could also open it at the same time.
And now I can see an icon up here at the top
telling me that she is working on the file,
and I can point at that and I can see her name there.
And if either of us makes any changes,
the other will see that happening on the file.
And several people could have the same document open
at the same time, and I would see them listed there as well.
So now I could continue to work in the web version
of Microsoft Word, but it's a little bit limited.
You don't have all of the tools that you have
in the full desktop application
that we've been using the rest of this course.
But I can open this file
in the desktop application from here.
So I'll just go to this editing menu,
and I'll choose open in desktop app.
And as long as you're working on the computer
where you have the desktop application installed,
it will open up there.
And you do have to be signed into the same Microsoft account
in the desktop application that you used
there in the web version.
So now I have that file open,
and I can continue co-authoring from there.
And if other people open the document at the same time,
I'll see the changes they make as well right here.
So that's a quick look at co-authoring shared files
using Microsoft Word and OneDrive.
There are other courses on LinkedIn Learning
for OneDrive, SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams
if you want to see more.