Microsoft Products Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-11-2025

The Microsoft Power Platform is a suite of applications that offers low-code and no-code development tools organizations can use to streamline and automate business processes. Collectively (and when integrated properly), the Power Platform suite of applications works together to support business transformation. Following is a description of the applications contained in the Power Platform, and some details about how each application functions as part of the suite: Dataverse: Starting your journey with each of the Power Platform applications requires one essential element: data. At the heart of the Power Platform is Dataverse, the common data service for storing and structuring relational data. Dataverse serves as the backbone for capturing and retaining user inputs across the platform's apps. Power Apps: The first step in the low-code/no-code journey to business automation is to create a mechanism for data entry. You can begin, for example, by using Power Apps to build an application that collects and manages data. Power Apps is often the primary tool businesses use to design custom applications that are tailored to their needs. Power Pages: Sometimes, you want the data entered with your Power Apps applications to be available for everyone to see, not just a few users. This is when you use Power Pages to design secure, data-driven external websites. The sites you create with Power Pages can display and collect information directly from Dataverse. Power Pages presents this data in a tabular format or as embedded reports and other media objects. Power BI: For data analysis, you use Power BI to transform data collected through custom apps created with Power Apps into interactive reports and insightful dashboards. Power Automate: You can use Power Automate to automate tasks and processes based on the data in Dataverse, which enhances productivity and efficiency across your organization.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-10-2025

Access makes managing data easy, enabling you to set up a database quickly, enter records into that database, and then use the data however you like. With Access, you can organize data into tables, design forms for editing and reports for presenting, and create queries for finding information!

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-19-2025

Whether you're drafting text in Word, designing presentations in PowerPoint, analyzing data in Excel, or managing your inbox in Outlook, Microsoft Copilot can assist you every step of the way. With this cheat sheet, you'll have a handy reference to quickly understand how Copilot can enhance your productivity and streamline your tasks across various Microsoft 365 programs.

Article / Updated 10-28-2024

A paper database is useful for storing information, but not so useful for finding it again. With Access 2019, searching and finding information is easy. If you have a thousand business cards stored in a Rolodex file, how much time do you want to waste trying to find the phone number of a single person? With Access 2019, that is no longer a concern. Searching a database is crucial to make your data useful, so Access provides two ways to search a database: Search for a specific record. Use a filter to show one or more records that meet a specific criterion. Searching MS Access for a specific record The simplest type of search looks for a specific record. To search for a record, you need to know the data stored in at least one of its fields, such as a phone number or an email address. The more information you already know, the more likely Access will find the one record you want. If you search for all records that contain the first name Bill, Access could find dozens of records. If you just search for all records that contain the first name Bill, the last name Johnson, and a state address of Alaska, Access will likely find just the record you want. To search for a specific record in an Access database table, follow these steps: In the All Access Objects pane on the left of the screen, double-click the name of the database table you want to search. Access displays the Datasheet view of your database. Click the Home tab. In the Find group, click the Find icon. The Find and Replace dialog box appears. Click in the Find What text box and type the data you know is stored in the record you want to find. For example, if you want to find the phone number of a person but you know only the person’s last name, type the last name in the Find What text box. Click the Look In list box and choose Current field or Current document (searches in all fields). (Optional) Click in the Match list box and choose one of the following: Any Part of Field: The Find What text can appear in any part of a field. Whole Field: The Find What text is the only text stored in a field. Start of Field: The Find What text can be only at the beginning of a field. (Optional) Click in the Search list box and choose one of the following: Up: Searches from the record where the cursor appears, up to the beginning of the database table Down: Searches from the record where the cursor appears, down to the end of the database table All: Searches the entire database table Click Find Next. Access highlights the field where it finds the text you typed in Step 4. Repeat Step 8 to search for more records that may contain the text you typed in Step 4. Click Cancel or the Close button. Filtering an Access database Searching a database is easy but somewhat limited because you can retrieve only a single record at a time that matches any text that you want to find. If you want to find multiple records, you can use a filter. A filter lets you tell Access to display only those records that meet certain criteria, such all records that contain people who earn more than $200,000 a year, are currently married, live in Las Vegas, Nevada, and own two or more cats. To filter a database table, you must tell Access which field or fields to use as a filter, and then you must define the criteria for that filter. For example, if you want to filter your database table to see only records listing the names of people who are at least 65, you filter the Age field and set the criterion to Greater than or equal to 65. Filtering simply hides all records in a database table that don’t match your criteria. Filtering doesn’t delete or erase any records. Using an exact match for a filter in Access 2019 The simplest filtering criterion searches for an exact match. When you filter a field by an exact match, you’re telling Access, “I want to see only those records that contain this specific chunk of data in this particular field.” By using an exact match filter, you can display, for example, only the records that contain CA in the State field. To filter a database table, follow these steps: In the All Access Objects pane on the left of the screen, double-click the name of the database table you want to filter. Access displays the Datasheet view of your database. Click the Home tab. Click in the field (column) that you want to use as a filter. In the Sort & Filter group, click the Filter icon.A pop-up menu appears. You can either Select or clear check boxes from this menu. Continue with Steps 5 through 7 for more flexibility. Choose Text Filters. A submenu appears. Choose a filter option, such as Equals, Begins With, or Contains. A Custom Filter dialog box appears. Type the data you want to find and click OK. Access displays your filtered data, and a filter icon appears in the column heading. Access remembers your filter settings. If you want to clear the filter, click the filter icon in the column heading; when a pop-up menu appears, choose Clear Filter. To view all the data in your database table, click the Home tab. Then in the Sort & Filter group, click the Toggle Filter icon. Filtering Access databases by form One problem with defining filters in Datasheet view is that you have all your database table records cluttering the screen. To avoid this problem, Access lets you define filters by using a form, which basically displays an empty record so you can click the fields that you want to use to filter your database table. To define a filter by form, follow these steps: In the All Access Objects pane on the left of the screen, double-click the name of the database table that you want to filter. Access displays the Datasheet view of your database. Click the Home tab. In the Sort & Filter group, click the Advanced icon. A pull-down menu appears. Choose Filter by Form. Access displays a blank record. Click in any field, then type the data you want to filter such as a last name. In the Sort & Filter group, click the Advanced icon and then click Apply Filter/Sort. Access displays a filtered view of your database table. You can click the Toggle Filter icon again to view all the data in your database table. Using a filter criteria in Access 2019 Searching for an exact match in a field can be handy, but sometimes you may want to see records that meet certain criteria, such as finding the names of everyone whose salary is greater than $50,000 a year. Instead of filtering by an exact match, you have to define the filter criteria. The type of data stored in each field determines the type of criteria you can create. Three common types of data stored in fields are text, numbers, and dates, which you can filter in different ways. Common Criteria for Filtering Text Data Filtering Criteria Description Equals Field must match filter text exactly. Does Not Equal Field must not match filter text. Begins With Field must start with the filter text. Does Not Begin With Field must not begin with the filter text. Contains Field must contain the filter text. Does Not Contain Field must not contain any part of the filter text. Ends With Field ends with the filter text. Does Not End With Field does not end with the filter text. Common Criteria for Filtering Numeric Data Filtering Criteria Description Equals Field must equal filter number. Does Not Equal Field must not equal filter number. Less Than or Equal To Field must contain a number less than or equal to the filter number. Greater Than or Equal To Field must contain a number greater than or equal to the filter number. Between Field must contain a number that falls between two filter numbers. Common Criteria for Filtering Dates Filtering Criteria Description Equals Field must equal the filter date. Does Not Equal Field must not equal the filter date. On or Before Field date must be equal or earlier than the filter date. On or After Field date must be equal or later than the filter date. To create the filter criteria, follow these steps: In the All Access Objects pane on the left of the screen, double-click the name of the database table you want to filter. Access displays the Datasheet view of your database. Click the Home tab. Click in the field (column) that you want to use as a filter. In the Sort & Filter group, click the Filter icon. A pop-up menu appears. Select the Filters option, such as Text Filters or Number Filters. A submenu of filter options appears. Click a filter option, such as Between or Less Than. The Custom Filter dialog box appears. The Custom Filter dialog box contains the name of your filter option, such as Between Numbers or Less Than. Type one or more values in each text box in the Custom Filter dialog box, and then click OK. Access filters your database table according to your criteria. Repeat Steps 5 through 7 for each additional filter you want to add. You can click the Toggle Filter icon again to view all the data in your database table. Clearing a filter in Access 2019 When you apply a filter to a database table, you see only those records that match that filter. Access displays a Filtered message at the bottom of the screen to let you know when you’re looking at a filtered database table. To remove a filter so you can see all the records, choose one of the following: Click the Toggle Filter icon in the Sort & Filter group. Click the Filtered or Unfiltered button on the status bar near the bottom of the screen. Access temporarily turns off any filters so you can see all the information stored in your database table. When you choose the Save command (Ctrl+S) to save a database table, Access also saves your last filter. The next time you open that database table, you’ll be able to use the last filter you created. If you want to save multiple filters, you’ll have to save them as a query. See these handy Access keyboard shortcuts for further information.

Step by Step / Updated 08-27-2024

Traditional Word users may be really disappointed that pressing the Ctrl+F key in Word 2013 summons the Navigation pane. They want Ctrl+F to bring forth the traditional Find dialog box, the one that’s now called the Advanced Find dialog box. To make that happen, follow these steps:

Article / Updated 08-28-2023

In Excel 2013, you can insert and delete individual cells or even ranges that don’t neatly correspond to entire rows or columns. When you do so, the surrounding cells shift. In the case of an insertion, cells move down or to the right of the area where the new cells are being inserted. In the case of a deletion, cells move up or to the left to fill in the voided space. Deleting a cell is different from clearing a cell’s content, and this becomes apparent when you start working with individual cells and ranges. When you clear the content, the cell itself remains. When you delete the cell itself, the adjacent cells shift. When shifting cells, Excel is smart enough that it tries to guess which direction you want existing content to move when you insert or delete cells. If you have content immediately to the right of a deleted cell, for example, Excel shifts it left. If you have content immediately below the deleted cell, Excel shifts it up. You can still override that, though, as needed. In the following exercise, you insert and delete cells. In the Lesson 5 Mortgage file from the preceding exercise, select A1:A6 and then choose Home→Delete. Excel guesses that you want to move the existing content to the left, and it does so. Click cell A1, and choose Home→Insert. Excel guesses that you want to move the existing content down, which is incorrect. The content in column B is off by one row, as shown in this figure. Press Ctrl+Z to undo the insertion; then from the Home tab, click the down arrow to the right of the Insert button and choose Insert Cells. The Insert dialog box opens, as shown. Select Shift Cells Right and then click OK. A new cell A1 is inserted, and the previous A1 content moves into B1. Save the changes to the workbook.

Article / Updated 08-17-2023

Word 2016 permits you to use wildcard operators in searches. A wildcard operator is a character that represents characters in a search expression. Wildcards aren't for everybody. Using them requires a certain amount of expertise, but after you know how to use them, wildcards can be invaluable in searches and macros. The following table explains the wildcard operators that you can use in searches. Click the Use Wildcards check box if you want to search using wildcards. Wildcards for Searches Operator What It Finds Example ? Any single character b?t finds bat, bet, bit, and but. * Zero or more characters t*o finds to, two, and tattoo. [xyz] A specific character, x, y, or z t[aeiou]pper finds tapper, tipper, and topper. [x-z] A range of characters, x through z [1-4]000 finds 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000, but not 5000. [!xy] Not the specific character or characters, xy p[!io]t finds pat and pet, but not pit or pot. < Characters at the beginning of words finds information, infomaniac, and infomercial. > Characters at the end of words ese> finds these, journalese, and legalese. @@ One or more instances of the previous character sho@@t finds shot and shoot. {n} Exactly n instances of the previous character sho{2}t finds shoot but not shot. {n,} At least n instances of the previous character ^p{3,} finds three or more paragraph breaks in a row, but not a single paragraph break or two paragraph breaks in a row. {n,m} From n to m instances of the previous character 10{2,4} finds 100, 1000, and 10000, but not 10 or 100000. You can't conduct a whole-word-only search with a wildcard. For example, a search for f*s not only finds fads and fits but also all text strings that begin with f and end with s, such as for the birds. Wildcard searches can yield many, many results and are sometimes useless. To search for an asterisk (*), question mark (?), or other character that serves as a wildcard search operator, place a backslash () before it in the text box.

Article / Updated 08-03-2023

Giving people a chance to fly without all the time, money, and risk that goes into actual piloting makes flight-simulator video games such a fun and rewarding experience. Microsoft Flight Simulator is currently the best of its kind for casual players and hardcore enthusiasts alike. Currently, you can purchase three different versions of Flight Simulator: the Standard, Deluxe, and Premium Deluxe editions. Differences among editions include the number and type of available airports and aircraft, and of course, the price. Even the Standard version of Flight Simulator includes around 37,000 airports! Other good news is that the game is largely the same across platforms (PC and Xbox series), so you won’t compromise the experience when it comes to choosing the platform you want to play on. What platforms can you use to play Microsoft Flight Simulator? Flight Simulator originally debuted as a PC-only title when it first released in August 2020. It also received a special virtual-reality version in December 2020, the first time any flight simulator had done so. Though it remained a PC exclusive title for some time, on July 27, 2021, Flight Simulator debuted on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. The game likely won’t be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, or Nintendo Switch in the near future, given that it’s a Microsoft-owned property. So, if you’re interested in playing, you need to have a PC or Xbox series platform. Here are a couple of thoughts for your platform choice: On an Xbox: You may find that picking up an Xbox console (if you don’t already have one) makes playing the game simpler. Flight Simulator is highly playable on Xbox consoles and may be more accessible for those who aren’t comfortable configuring PC games and software. On a PC: Flight Simulator can be quite demanding on computers that don’t have pricey gaming equipment. On the other hand, you can expect awesome graphics if you play on a gaming PC that has the latest and greatest graphic card and processor. Which version should you buy? Each version of Flight Simulator differs in scope of content, such as airplanes and airports. The versions (depicted below) are priced in tiers, and depending on the experience you want from the game, you can expect more or less content based on how much you’re willing to pay. Hey, becoming a pilot isn’t cheap! Here’s a quick reference guide to what each version contains: Standard Edition: The base version of the game. It comes with 20 different planes and 30 enhanced airports, and it retails for $59.99 (USD, 2023). Deluxe Edition: This version of the game comes with everything in the Standard Edition, plus five additional enhanced airports and five additional airplanes. It retails for $89.99 (USD, 2023). The enhanced airports included are: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (Netherlands) Cairo International Airport (Egypt) Cape Town International Airport (South Africa) O’Hare International Airport (USA) Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport (Spain) The additional airplanes included are: Diamond Aircraft DA40-TDI Diamond Aircraft DV20 Textron Aviation Inc. Beechcraft Baron G58 Textron Aviation Inc. Cessna 152 Aerobat Textron Aviation Inc. Cessna 172 Skyhawk Premium Deluxe Edition: This version of the game comes with everything that the Deluxe Edition includes, as well as five more enhanced airports and another five airplanes. It retails for $119.99 (USD, 2023). The enhanced airports included are: Denver International Airport (USA) Dubai International Airport (UAE) Frankfurt Airport (Germany) Heathrow Airport (UK) San Francisco International Airport (USA) The additional planes included are: Boeing Company 787-10 Dreamliner Cirrus Aircraft SR22 Pipistrel Virus SW 121 Textron Aviation Inc. Cessna Citation Longitude Zlin Aviation Shock Ultra If you decide that you want to upgrade to the Deluxe or Premium Deluxe editions later on, you just have to pay the difference on the platform of your choice. You can download the additional content you were missing to the installation you already have. No pressure! Wait, what are enhanced airports? Don’t confuse the small number of enhanced airports in the different versions of the game with the total number of airports that you can fly out of (around 37,000). More enhanced airports come with the Deluxe and Premium Deluxe versions, which means you get adapted constructions of airports (for example, Chicago O’Hare) that are more true-to-life than what they’d normally be in-game. Game designers handcraft an enhanced airport from the ground up to look exactly like the locations in question; the standard, procedurally generated airports aren’t nearly as detailed. So, if you have a soft spot in your heart for the San Francisco International Airport, you might want to pick up the version of the game that includes its enhanced version so that you can see it just like it looks in your mind’s eye. The enhanced airports may end up making it a much more exciting game to jump into — and you want to get the most out of your money, of course! What do you need to get started? Depending on which version of Flight Simulator you plan on playing, the answer to what you need varies. For the most part, whether you’re playing on PC, Xbox Series X, or Xbox Series S, you need only a copy of the game, your platform of choice, and some type of input. Your input can be a mouse and keyboard, game controller (I recommend an Xbox controller if you have one), or flight stick. Obviously, you can find a wide variety of all these things. But if you want to use a controller, you can simply use the Xbox gamepad that comes with your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S by default. Otherwise, you need your sense of adventure and a little patience. Rome wasn’t built in a day. You can’t earn your fictional pilot’s license in a day, either. You have a lot to learn, but don’t get discouraged. As with all things, practice makes perfect, and the more time you spend learning to fly, the more you retain. The more you retain, the better you perform. The better you perform, the more you want to fly. And then, before you know it, you might want to try your luck behind the controls of a real plane! You might want to; not me. I’m still a little too terrified. Heights are not my thing.

Article / Updated 08-03-2023

To successfully fly in Microsoft Flight Simulator, you need to know how to use the various instruments included in your cockpit. At first, getting to know and understand each instrument may seem confusing. But, with a little time and guidance, you can discover what every instrument does, as well as how to read it during flight. The instruments in Flight Simulator can tell you how fast you’re going (airspeed), how high up you are (altitude), and other vital information you need to know, such as the direction you’re flying (your current heading). Flight Simulator has two primary types of cockpits that you can become acquainted with: An analog cockpit relies on analog instruments that appear as dials and gauges and rely on mechanical measurements to display information. You need to know how to read the various needles and indicators that relay these measurements. A glass cockpit relies on multiple electronic panels to sift through and display important information to you digitally during flight. This means you’ll get a direct readout rather than you having to interpret analog dials and gauges. Reading analog instruments Many of the planes in Flight Simulator have analog cockpits, especially the older planes. In fact, many of the planes that you fly during the game’s tutorial lessons rely on analog instruments for vital information such as heading, altitude, and so on. For that reason alone, you need to know how to read analog instruments early on in your career with Flight Simulator. However, some planes are hybrids with a combination of analog and digital systems. For example, the Cessna 172 includes a digital radio and navigation system but uses analog gauges for nearly everything else. Coming to terms with the instruments in your aircraft is about identifying each panel — where it is and what it does. Although a cockpit may look daunting at first, knowing the basics of each instrument (position and function) can make your flights easier in the long run. Overall, the exact layout, functionality, and appearance of instruments may vary depending on your aircraft. However, several fundamental instrument types are in each cockpit, so get acquainted with them. For this example, I present the cockpit of a Cessna 152, as shown below. The callouts in the figure above correspond with some of the instruments in this list: Airspeed indicator: Displays your airspeed (how fast you’re traveling), measured in knots (which is one nautical mile per hour). Pay special attention to this instrument during flight because aircraft are very sensitive to speed. For example, unlike cars, which will just stop in one place if you run out of speed, an airplane will drop like a rock. This situation is obviously bad for the pilot. The white lines on the airspeed indicator signal that you can extend the flaps at those speeds. Remember that the higher the speed, the lower the tilt (using the rudders to pivot the plane up or down). The green line marks the speed range in which you can safely tilt the rudders at their full range of movement. The yellow range means you’re quickly approaching the limit of the plane’s structural strength. Attitude indicator: Shows the current orientation of the plane in space. You make use of this instrument when you have to fly based on your instruments to ensure your angle of approach does not exceed recommendations. The brown portion in this indicator signifies the ground, and the blue part indicates the sky. Altimeter: Shows you the current ceiling (meaning the maximum density altitude an aircraft can reach) in feet or meters. Keep in mind that the altimeter measures the elevation of your craft Above Sea Level (ASL). Just because you’re on the ground doesn’t mean that you have an altimeter value of zero. When your craft is on the ground, the altimeter shows a value of anywhere from a few hundred feet to several thousand feet, depending on the elevation above sea level of the airport you’re currently visiting. Before takeoff, tune the altimeter to the barometric pressure at the airport’s location. Throttle RPM meter: Shows you the current revolutions per minute (RPMs) of the plane’s engine. Flaps control: Controls the flaps on the rear of the wings. Essentially, you can adjust these mechanisms to provide more load-bearing force — allowing the plane to take off from a shorter distance — or keep the plane airborne at a low speed. Additionally, flaps may be used to slow down the plane. Fuel Mixture control: Regulates how much fuel is injected into the engine. You need to reduce or increase the ratio of fuel to air being injected, depending on the altitude and density of the air that you’re flying through. Throttle: The throttle is pretty self-explanatory; it’s essentially your gas pedal. It controls the amount of fuel and air that is being injected into the engine. The more open the throttle, the more power the engine produces. Unlike cars, which have a gearbox to transfer power to the wheels, airplanes are direct drive, which means an increase in throttle always manifests as a higher RPM. Pitch Trim: By far one of the most important mechanisms in the cockpit. When set correctly, it allows the plane to fly without the pilot having to continuously hold the steering bar (also called the yoke). You may need to make adjustments to the pitch trim (which maneuvers the aircraft elevators) constantly throughout the flight in order to maintain altitude or a steady climb or decent. Vertical Speed indicator: Showcases the current speed of ascent or descent. It measures your plane’s speed in feet per minute. This instrument never sticks rigidly in one place; expect it to fluctuate. When landing or ascending, the standard rate of speed on this instrument varies from plane to plane. Current Heading: Shows the aircraft’s current heading course throughout the flight. The heading is essentially the direction that the aircraft is traveling relative to the magnetic north. The cardinal headings include: North at 360 or 0 degrees East at 90 degrees South at 180 degrees West at 270 degrees The Current Heading indicator itself gets input from a gyroscope, so you can expect it to show the wrong direction when not calibrated properly. Unfortunately, it becomes misaligned by itself often, and you need to calibrate it throughout your flight by resetting it every 10 to 15 minutes and ensuring it lines up with your compass. Parking brake: The parking brake is exactly what it sounds like. Use it at every takeoff and taxi situation to avoid any issues with air traffic control. Remember, when your aircraft’s engine is on, it generates thrust, even at idle. If you don’t make sure your parking brake is on, you may look down to hit a switch and find you’re rolling along.

Article / Updated 06-07-2023

To share Excel 2019 workbooks from your OneDrive, you follow these steps: Open the workbook file you want to share in Excel 2019 and then click the Share button at the far right of the row with the Ribbon. If you’ve not yet saved the workbook on your OneDrive, a Share dialog box appears inviting you to upload the workbook file to OneDrive. Once you have clicked the OneDrive button and the file is uploaded to the cloud, the Share dialog box changes into the Send Link dialog box (similar to the one shown in the figure) where you specify the people with whom to share the file. Begin typing the name or e-mail address of the first person with whom you want to share the workbook in the text box with the insertion point. When Excel finds a match to the person’s name in your Outlook address book or verifies the e-mail address you entered, click the button below this text box to add this recipient. (Optional) Click the Anyone with This Link Can Edit drop-down button to open the Link Settings dialog box where you can modify the people for whom the link works, deny editing privileges to those with whom you share the file, and/or set an expiration date after which the link is no longer operational before clicking the Apply button. By default, Excel 2019 creates a sharing link that enables anyone who can access the workbook file online access to the file even when they are not logged into Office 365 or OneDrive. To restrict access to only coworkers in your company who are logged into Office 365, click the People in <organization> option (where organization is the name of your company as in People in Mind Over Media, the name of my company). To restrict the file sharing to only those to whom you’ve given prior access to the workbook file or its folder on your SharePoint site, click the People with Existing Access option. To create a sharing link that only particular people can use, click the Specific People option before you click the Apply button. Then, in the Send Link dialog box, click the ellipsis (…) to the right of the Send Link title and click Manage Access on the drop-menu to open the Permissions dialog box where you select the names of the people with whom to share the workbook file before you click the back arrow button to return to the Send Link dialog box. By default, Excel allows the people with whom you share your workbooks to make editing changes to the workbook that are automatically saved on your OneDrive. If you want to restrict your recipients to reviewing the data without being able to make changes, be sure to click the Allow Editing check box to remove its check mark before you click Apply. If you wish to set an expiration date after which the sharing link is no longer operational, click the Set Expiration Date button to open the pop-up calendar where you select an expiration date by clicking it in the calendar. After selecting the expiration date, click somewhere in the dialog box to close the pop-up calendar and enter the date in the Link Settings dialog box. (Optional) Click the Add a Message text box and type any personal message that you want to incorporate as part of the e-mail with the generic invitation to share the file.By default, Excel creates a generic invitation. After adding all the recipients with whom you wish to share the workbook file in this manner, click the Send button in the Send Link pane.As soon as you click this Share button, Excel e-mails the invitation to share the workbook to each of the recipients. All the people with whom you share a workbook receive an e-mail message containing a hyperlink to the workbook on your OneDrive. When they follow this link (and sign into the site if this is required), a copy of the workbook opens on a new page in their default web browser using the Excel Online web app. If you’ve given the user permission to edit the file, the web app contains an Edit Workbook drop-down button. When the coworkers with whom you’ve shared the workbook click this button in Excel Online, they have a choice between choosing the Edit in Excel or Edit in Excel Online option from its drop-down menu. When the user chooses Edit in Excel, the workbook is downloaded and opened in his version of Excel. When the user chooses Edit in Excel Online, the browser opens the workbook in a new version of the Excel Online, containing Home, Insert, Data, Review, and View tabs, each with a more limited set of command options than Excel 2019, which you can use in making any necessary changes and which are automatically saved to workbook on the OneDrive when you close Excel Online. While sharing a workbook with the default Anyone Can Edit option, all changes made by the people with whom you’ve shared the workbook are automatically saved by the AutoSave feature. If you happen to have the workbook open in Excel 2019 on your computer with the same worksheet displayed, their editing changes automatically appear in your worksheet (in as close to real time as the speed of your Internet access provides). Likewise, all the editing changes that you make to the workbook in Excel 2019 are automatically updated in their workbooks in Excel Online. Microsoft refers to this process as co-authoring. If a questionable editing change appears in your worksheet when co-authoring with a coworker, add a comment to the cell containing the edit-in-question (Review-->New Comment) that communicates your reservations about the change they made. A small balloon then appears above the cell where you made the comment in the user’s worksheet in Excel Online. When the coworker clicks this balloon, Excel Online displays the text of your comment calling into question their edit in a Comments task pane. They can then reply to your reservations by typing their explanation for the change in the same comment in this task pane and then updating it in your workbook by clicking the Post button or they can just go ahead and make any necessary updates reflecting your reservations directly in the worksheet in Excel Online.