Luckily, you can easily save a copy of a file you create or edit to your computer without any hassle. In order to open a file through, you'll need to store it in either OneDrive or Dropbox first. The other big drawback is that you cannot open and edit files that live on your computer. First, the online tools are missing some advanced features you get with the full versions, like tracking changes in Word, advanced chart types in Excel and many slide transitions in PowerPoint.

In many ways, it's similar to Google Docs, which is also exclusively online and free with a Google account. Using, you can edit and create new documents, spreadsheets and slideshows, using many of the same features you'd get with Office on the desktop.

(Of course, if you already use nearly any Microsoft product - Skype, OneDrive, Xbox Live - you already have one.) All you need to use it is a free Microsoft account, which you get here. Around since 2010, the website has largely flown under the radar, overshadowed by the desktop versions of Office. provides completely free, but slightly limited, online-only versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and other tools. To make the decision a bit easier, this guide will go over the three different ways to use Office and what you get with each pick. Microsoft doesn't exactly make it simple to tell the difference between your choices. Because of that, you get several different ways to buy Office 2016, and you'll be forgiven if you don't know which one to pick.

Long gone are the days of grabbing a box of CDs at the store - today, subscriptions are the norm, but they're not the only way to buy. If you're eager to use the new apps, they are available now, but first, you have to figure out how you'll purchase them. This week, Office 2016 arrives for Windows and the software is a major upgrade to the previous versions of Microsoft's productivity suite.

Microsoft office 2016 enterprise suite