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Should We Be Using Office 2019?

Just like in its previous versions, Microsoft Office 2019 includes its popular tools like Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, and updated versions of Publisher 2019, Access 2019, and Visio 2019.

What’s New In Microsoft Office 2019?

Just like in its previous versions, Microsoft Office 2019 includes its popular tools like Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, and updated versions of Publisher 2019, Access 2019, and Visio 2019. Many of our clients in Chicagoland are using Microsoft’s Office 365, a cloud subscription-based service. Office 2019 is different. It allows you to pay a one-time fee to get access to the tools it includes, and you’ll have them forever. Want to know more? We’ll tell you what’s new below.

Why Should You Consider Using Office 2019?

It’s great for businesses that don’t want a cloud solution. It comes with volume licensing so you can use it on any number of computers. You can also use Office 2019 applications on all your mobile devices, where you’ll have access to its basic features.

It’s supported on all devices that run Windows 10 or the three most recent versions of macOS. It supports macOS, macOS Sierra (10.12), Mojave (10.14), and High Sierra (10.13). If you are still using Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 (hopefully you aren’t) you’ll have to purchase a subscription for Office 365 to use Office 2019.

What’s New In Office 2019?

6 Great New Functions In Excel

1. SWITCH. The SWITCH function compares one value against a list of values. It provides a result corresponding to the first match. It will use an optional default value if no match is found. SWITCH allows you to test more than one condition without nesting. This makes it easier to read and create formulas with many conditions.

2. CONCAT. The CONCAT function supports individual cell references, just like CONCATENATE does. But is also supports ranges references as well. CONCAT replaces Excel Mobile and Excel Online.

3. IFS. The IFS function determines whether one or more conditions are met. It will return a value that corresponds to the first TRUE condition. IFS can take the place of multiple nested IF statements. It’s much easier to read when applying multiple conditions.

4. MAXIFS. Use the MAXIFS function when you want to return the largest number in a range. If you want, you can set the returned number to one that meets certain criteria.

5. MINIFS is the same as MAXIFS, except that it will return the smallest number.

6. TEXTJOIN is a unique function that can combine text from multiple ranges. You can choose how each text is separated (for example, with a comma, a full stop, or any other delimiter).

The 2019 version of Excel also brings in some great new functions like Power Pivot, 2D maps, and Power Query enhancements. You’ll have access to new formulas, new charts (like funnel charts and 2D maps), and you can publish your work from Excel to Power BI.

You’ll Really Like These New Features In PowerPoint

  • Morph adds better animation and motion into your presentations. The Morph transition lets you animate smooth transitions from one slide to the next. Apply the Morph transition to slides to create the appearance of movement. And you can do this with a wide range of things like text, shapes, charts, pictures, WordArt and SmartArt graphics.
  • Zoom gives you a more dynamic presentation. When you create a Zoom, you can jump to and from specific slides, sections, and parts in your presentation. And you can do so in any order that you want while you’re presenting. Try using Summary Zoom. It’s like a page where show portions of your presentation all at once. And with Zoom, you can get creative, skip ahead, or revisit parts of your slide show without interrupting the flow.
  • Surface Pen Slide Navigation is another great new feature in PowerPoint. Use your Surface Pen to advance through the slides in your presentation. It can wirelessly move through slides with you standing as far as 30 feet away. To advance a slide, click the eraser button, and press and hold the eraser to go back one slide. It can make a huge difference in your presentations and is so easy to use.

Do You Ink? Then You’ll Like Inking In Office 2019 Even More!

If you use touch-enabled devices, you’ll love the new inking features added to Microsoft Office 2019. Tap into the new inking capabilities across all of Office 2019’s apps, such as pressure sensitivity, and the tilt effect that adjusts the ink’s thickness depending on the angle of the pen.

You can highlight text, or delete whole written words or areas of text with the Ink Tools > Eraser option in the Pens tab. You’ll even have a roaming pencil case to store and organize your favorite pens, pencils, and highlighters to roam with across your different devices.

And Of Course, There Are New Features In Word.

Word has a new look and is black themed. However, it has all the features that you’re used to. Plus, Word in Office 2019 has incorporated learning tools, a new text-to-speech feature and sounds that you can personalize.

What’s New In Outlook?

You’ll like Outlook’s improved user details, its support, and the look of the inbox. Some new features include:

  • Updated contact cards
  • Office 365 Groups
  • @mentions
  • Focused inbox
  • Travel package cards

What About OneNote?

This is an entirely new release in Office 2019. It can replace OneNote 2016 (the 2016 version is still available and supported until 2025). OneNote now has ink-to-text support. This means that you can convert your handwritten words into a typed text.

What Other New Features Will You Find In Office 2019?

  • Easy Sharing: The new version of Office makes sharing easier. Office 2019 comes with a share button located on each application in the upper right corner of your screen. You simply make one click and the document is shared. This lets you share documents in different departments and throughout your organization.
  • Smarter Attachments: In the earlier versions of Office, you had to attach a document to an email to send it to others. And you also had to go searching for the file you needed. Now, if the document that you want to share was recently worked on, it will be displayed when you click on the share button in Outlook along with other recently worked on docs.
  • Improved Version History: Now Office 2019 comes with a History Section on the File Menu to make sure files are easily accessible.
  • Delve: This is a new tool that was integrated into Office 2016. It ensures that you have access to every aspect of your stored data. It includes documents shared or created in Office. This makes retrieving documents much easier.

Microsoft advises that if you want to move to Office 2019 from Office 2016, you shouldn’t delay. This is because Office 2016 cloud support will be dropped in 2020. And Office 2016 installs will be barred from connecting to Microsoft’s cloud-based services, including hosted email (Exchange) and online storage (OneDrive for Business), after Oct. 13, 2020.

Outsource IT Solutions Group is a Microsoft Gold-Certified Partner. This means that we collaborate with, and have a close working relationship with Microsoft. And it shows that we’ve earned the highest standards of Microsoft’s widely-recognized partnership program.

Need more information about Microsoft products or IT in general? Check out our Tech Articles.

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