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Microsoft Office 365 Setup Guide for New Users

Writer: Anthony McDanielAnthony McDaniel

Updated: May 16, 2022


If you are new to Microsoft Office 365, don't worry! This guide will show you how to set up your account and start using the software. Office 365 is a great way to stay productive, whether you are at home or in the office. With this software, you can create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. Let's get started!


Signup process

  • Provide your contact details

  • Create a new ID (or associate your account with an existing ID)

  • Review your order

  • Place your order

After you've purchased Office 365, you'll receive a welcome letter with instructions for logging in and getting started as a new Office 365 Administrator. Your profile will be added to the company account if the license was purchased on your behalf, and you will also receive a welcome email with your User ID and a temporary password.



Signing on to Office 365


Sign in and go to the Setup Wizard to get started, which will walk you through simple and advanced setup situations. The wizard will guide you through adding new users and mailboxes, configuring directory synchronization, and moving email from other platforms.

To sign in to your Office 365 account, proceed as follows.

  1. Open your web browser and go to the sign-in page at Office 365 sign-in.

  2. Enter your Office 365 username or, if your Office 365 username is already visible on the sign-in page, then simply click on the username.

  3. If prompted, enter your password.

  4. Click Sign in.

Your Office 365 account opens.



Verifying Your Domain Office 365


The majority of businesses desire to link their Office 365 account to their company domain, mostly for email consistency. If you don't have a custom domain name, Office 365 will create one for you, which you can alter at any time. However, for the best end-user experience, it's advisable to start with your own domain rather than dealing with the hassles of change later.


To open the setup process, go to the Domains area of the Office 365 Admin Center's dashboard and click 'Add domain.' Enter your domain name, as well as the six modified DNS records, into the wizard to allow Office 365 to validate domain ownership. The wizard should provide step-by-step instructions for adding the record at the host site based on the DNS host. After you've added the record to your DNS host, return to Office 365 and select 'Okay, I've added the record' to complete the procedure.


It can take anywhere from one to five hours for your hosting provider to notice the changes and make the necessary changes to migrate your email to Office 365, with some updates taking up to 72 hours. Your progress will be preserved until the next time you log into the admin area if you need to interrupt the process at any point. All of your end customers should have Office 365 email addresses after this process is completed.


Completing Setup


The final step is to go through and complete the setup procedure once your domain has been established and your email has been switched to the new domain. If your new domain does not yet have a website connected with it, Office 365 can transfer and handle the appropriate DNS records on your behalf, or you can continue to manage them yourself if you already have one. You'll also be asked to choose the services you want to utilize with your new domain, and you'll be given advice on how to complete any remaining procedures with your registrar.


Using Mail


Your old email account will have been transferred to Office 365 and may be accessed by going to https://outlook.office365.com/ and signing into your Office 365, Outlook on the web, account.


Changes to your Outlook settings


Following your mail migration, there are a few functions that you may have to set up again on your new Outlook account. These include:


  • Auto-complete for mail recipients in new messages will no longer work.

  • Solution: See knowledge article, Managing suggested email recipients with auto-complete

  • Signatures will have reset to blank, and will have to be recreated.

  • Solution: See knowledge article, Creating an email signature

  • Mail rules will have been wiped and will need to be reset.


Solution: See knowledge article, Setting up Outlook on the web mail handling rules.


Using OneDrive


OneDrive is a free online storage service that comes standard with your Microsoft Office 365 subscription. OneDrive can be used as a personal drive for storing papers, but it can also be used to share files or folders with others. Save your files to OneDrive and access them from any computer, tablet, or phone. Files you save to OneDrive are accessible both online and offline through your Office 365 account. That means you can use them whenever you want, even if you aren't online. When you rejoin, OneDrive syncs the modifications you made offline to the online versions.


Accessing OneDrive


To access OneDrive, proceed as follows.

  1. Sign in to your Office 365 account at Office 365 sign-in.

  2. Click the App menu icon in the top left hand corner of your screen and, from the menu options, click OneDrive


More Office 365 assistance


Microsoft has produced a number of useful Help articles for users of Office 365. These are freely available at Microsoft support: Office help and training.


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