Microsoft OneDrive and Microsoft SkyDrive: What's the Fuss?

Microsoft OneDrive vs SkyDrive

 

Microsoft OneDrive and SkyDrive refers to the same cloud storage service (online storage service) provided by Microsoft and, in fact, there is no difference between them in the service they provide. It’s only a name change. Initially, Microsoft’s cloud storage service was called SkyDrive but later, due to a lawsuit that arose due to using of word “sky,” which breached the trademark of British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB), Microsoft had to rebrand the service as OneDrive. So OneDrive is the latest name given to the former name SkyDrive. Now the name SkyDrive is no longer being used.

Microsoft SkyDrive:

In 2007, Microsoft introduced its cloud storage service under the name “Windows Live Folders” where it is an online storage space that the users who created an account got several Gigabytes of space. 

Later, by the end of August 2007, the name was changed to SkyDrive and continued that name until the name was changed as OneDrive in 2014. To get a SkyDrive, account users should create a Microsoft Live account. 

Initially, some free spaces of about 7 GB was provided (Currently users get 15 GB). If extra space is needed, they can be obtained by paying. To upload and download files, a web interface has been provided and it is supported by all major browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome. Apart from the browser interface, client applications exist for various operating systems such as Windows, Windows Phone, iOS, Mac OSX, and Android where they allow synchronization of files in the local SkyDrive Folder with the online SkyDrive storage. 

From Windows 8, Microsoft introduced SkyDrive features into the operating system itself where a metro application came inbuilt into the distribution and also latest Office products such as Office 2013 can work directly on the SkyDrive. In addition, SkyDrive is linked with Office Web applications where users can create office documents in the SkyDrive and, on the fly, use them directly from the web browser itself. 

Apart from the normal SkyDrive, an enterprise service called SkyDrive Pro exists where that gives larger storage capacities integrated with more advanced features for business users. Users get several options to do with the files. One is, they can keep their files private. Another option is that they can share the file with others using a link. The next option is one can make a file publicly appear on web. Users can select whether a file is read-only to others users or whether it is editable.

Microsoft OneDrive:

Microsoft OneDrive (previously SkyDrive, Windows Live SkyDrive and Windows Live Folders) is a file hosting service that allows users to upload and sync files to a cloud storage and then access them from a web browser or their local device.

The concept behind the name OneDrive is spelled out pretty clearly by the refreshed service’s tagline: one place for everything in your life. “One place for all of your photos and videos. One place for all of your documents,” Microsoft said in its first OneDrive blog post. “One place that is seamlessly connected across all the devices you use.”

It is the latest name given for SkyDrive where the name change happened in February 2014. In 2013, British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB), which is a British telecommunications company, filed a lawsuit against Microsoft for using the word “sky. ” After high court decided that Microsoft breached the trademark of Sky Broadcasting Corporation by using word “sky,” Microsoft settled down the case by deciding to drop the name. Then they named their service (rebranded) as OneDrive where SkyDrive became OneDrive and SkyDrive Pro became OneDrive for Business. Only the name was changed and there was no change to services or features. 

OneDrive is Microsoft's competition to Google Drive and Apple's iCloud, attempting to be the place where customers can manage their files on the cloud from anywhere. The name change to OneDrive from SkyDrive doesn't change the overall meaning of what Microsoft is pursuing in the cloud: your one stop shop for file access - old name or new name.

OneDrive is free, personal online storage that you can choose to use at home, work, or school. Your files are available from any device by going to the OneDrive website or using the OneDrive mobile app for your phone. 

Now nearly a year has passed since the name change and Microsoft added and modified features during this time. Currently, OneDrive provides the service of 15 GB of free storage for new users.. Office 365 users would get unlimited storage. The current web interface is a cleanly built interface using latest HTML 5.

The main difference between Microsoft OneDrive and SkyDrive:

• Microsoft SkyDrive is a storage service introduced by Microsoft in 2007. In 2014, the name of the service was changed due to a lawsuit and the new name is OneDrive.
• OneDrive is improving on SkyDrive, there's really no bad way to spin it. If you were a SkyDrive user in the past, you probably won't mind the rebranding and new features.

Finally!

The cloud storage service started by Microsoft in 2007 had the name “SkyDrive” but, in 2013, after a lawsuit filed by British Sky Broadcasting Company regarding the usage of word “Sky,” Microsoft had to drop the name SkyDrive. Then, in 2014, they re-branded the service under the name OneDrive. Hence, SkyDrive and OneDrive refers to the same service but the current name is OneDrive.

Article and Image Source: OneDrive and SkyDrive logos via Wikipedia

Merge Two Images in MS Paint

Paint has come a long way over the years. It is included with every copy of Windows and is more than just a bitmap editor (BMP). The version that comes with Windows 7 and 8 allows us to edit JPG, TIFF, GIF and PNG files and has a better toolbar for editing and cropping.

To edit the photos you take on your camera or phone, there are many options out there , from the complex and expensive Photoshop, to the old stand by MS Paint. Merging images doesn't require the use of powerful software. Microsoft has included a basic photo editor called Microsoft Paint with every operating system since Windows XP. The Microsoft Paint software, included with Windows operating systems provides tools for simple tasks such as combining pictures. It allows an easy and fast process to merge images. It also enables image merging for any size of file in any commonly used image format according to your choice.

Steps:

1 Go to Start-->All Programs-->Accessories-->Paint to open the Microsoft Paint program.

2 Now choose "Open." In the file selection dialog box, highlight the first image to merge and then click the "Open" button.

3 Adjust the image of your requirement by holding the anchor square on the bottom-right corner of the image. 

4 Click on "Paste" and select "Paste From" option. Select your second image from its location on your hard drive and double-click on it. The second image is loaded. It will be pasted on top of the first image. Now, adjust the image of your requirement by holding the anchor square on the bottom-right corner of the image. 

5 Give the new merged image a name by typing it in the "File Name" box and click the "Save" button.

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Want Your “Microsoft Office Picture Manager” Back in Office 2013 ?

Microsoft Office Picture Manager is a software program included with the Microsoft Office suite versions 2003 through 2010.

The Microsoft Office Picture Manager has been a very quick and easy tool to use, built into Office and readily available no matter what machine I have to use. I would rather not have to install 3rd party software to do what it has made easy to do in the past. If you use Microsoft Office 2013 you probably noticed that unlike previous versions of Microsoft Office, “Microsoft Office Picture Manager” is not included in Microsoft Office 2013.

I was used to using Picture Manager as my default picture editor/manager since it came with Office. As a matter of fact, this little program was very useful for many not-that-advanced users since it includes some basic and helpful features like crop, rotate, brightness, contrast, red eye removal, etc. and also a quick tool to make many pictures smaller for sending via e-mail for example.

Microsoft has made several bad decisions with Office 2013. The lack of Picture Manager is one of them. Windows Live Photo Gallery has feature gaps, as does Word and PowerPoint - compared to Picture Manager. Unfortunately, Windows Live Photo Gallery does not do the jobs as well as Office Picture Manager.Removing functionality from a product suite will only promote users to stay on the current platform and will help competitors like Google who are looking to jump on Microsoft's mistakes.

Do we have to turn to some other 3rd party program? No!! So, how to get back your favorite program????

Solution 1:

To have it back on your computer, there’s a solution. Just download and install “Microsoft SharePoint designer”, and use only one feature of this installer. This software is free to download, and you don’t need any serial number/activation key.

Steps:

1. Download the installer (32 bit, 64 bit).

2. Download the installation pack and run it. Don’t forget to click “Customize“.

3. On this screen, click on every program on the list, and choose “Not Available” from the options list:

4. Next, click on the plus sign next to “Office Tools” in order to expand it, and click on “Microsoft Office Picture Manager” and choose “Run from My Computer”:

5. Click “Continue”. YourMicrosoft Office Picture Manager is now installed.

Solution 2:

Following the below steps you can install missing Picture Manager tool in your system containing the latest Office 2013 version.

1. You can use any Office version setup such as Office 2010, 2007 or 2003. Simply run the Office installer, enter product key and when it asks for installation type, click on “Customize” button

2. Click on each given program link and select “Not Available” from the options list

3. Click on “Microsoft Office Picture Manager” program link present in “Office Tools” section and select “Run from My Computer” option.

You will see a screen similar to following where all program entries except Picture Manager will have a red cross icon on them:

4. Click on "Install now" and the set up will install the program.

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Technique to Disable Office 2013 Start Screen

When you open Microsoft Office 2013 program (Any of them like MS Word, MS Powerpoint, etc.), a start screen automatically displays showing the various templates available, list of recent documents opened in the left column, etc. Many of you find this screen annoying and want to avoid it, So here I am to help you guys!!

Method 1: Simple Process

From within the main edit screen, go to File > Options or use the keyboard shortcut, ALT+F, T. Under the General Options tab, go to Startup options and uncheck the box next to "Show the Start screen when this application starts." Perform the same steps for each of the applications in the Office 2013 suite.

The next time you launch your Office application, you'll get the editor first, rather than the start screen. Remember that you'll need to make the change in each of the Office 2013 applications where you want to disable the start screen.

Method 2: Registry Trick

Attention: We are playing with Registry Editor so.... Guys! Be sure to back up before making changes to the registry.

To open the registry editor, press the Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog box. Enter “regedit” (without the quotes) in the Open edit box and click OK.

Note: If the User Account Control dialog box displays, click Yes to continue. Depending on your User Account Control settings you may not see this dialog box.

Now, Just navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Common\General

Search the key called DisableBootToOfficeStart, listed in the right-hand pane. If it’s not in the list, create it by right-clicking on the General key in the tree on the left (or in an empty space in the right pane) and moving the cursor over New on the popup menu and selecting DWORD (32-bit) Value from the sub popup menu.

The new value is called New Value #1 by default and the text is highlighted.

Now, change the name to DisableBootToOfficeStart and double-click on it.

Change the value in the Value data edit box to 1 and click OK. This disables the Start Screen in all Office 2013 applications.

The value displayed changes to 1.

From now on, if you start any Office 2013 product, you won’t see the Start Screen. For instance, if you open Word 2013, it directly opens a new document. Enjoy!!

Source: Google.com, howtogeek.com

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Techniques and Tricks to Change Product Key of Microsoft Office 2013

As I understand many of you are trying to change the product key for the Office suite. Please refer the suggestions in the following and check if it helps you to get your fully activated Office package.

Process 1:

It can be done via the command line.  Open up a Command Prompt (Press the Windows Button and type CMD or navigate to All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt).  Then you just need to use the command below that matches your OS.

For 32 bit Windows:

cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS" /inpkey:yourkeygoeshere 

For 64 bit Windows (assuming you are using 32 bit Office):

cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS" /inpkey:yourkeygoeshere

Obviously, you need to replace yourkeygoeshere with your product key.

Note:  If you are installing a 64 bit version of Office on 64 bit Windows, the command for 32 bit Windows should be used (or just delete the (x86) part since it won't be installing to the C:\Program Files (x86)\ directory).

Process 2:

Click on the button to open the Start Menu. Now, click on the Control Panel and then click on Programs (Uninstall a program), and finally click on Program and Features.

(Windows XP users: Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs.)

From the list of installed programs, find Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013 (or your installed version of Office 2013) or Microsoft Office 2010 (or your installed version of Office 2010), which ever’s key you want to change, select it and then click on Change.

From the newly opened dialog box, select the Enter a Product Key option, and then click Continue.

Type your new product key and check the option that says Attempt to automatically activate my product online to automatically activate your Office 2013 or Office 2010 suite. Now click on Continue and then on Install Now.

Note: Your computer must be connected to the Internet if you want to reactivate Office 2013 or Office 2010 online.You can also activate Office 2013 or Office 2010 later by running any Office 2010 app, and then clicking on the File tab > Help.

Process 3:

The activator provided here for free download not only activates Microsoft Office 2013 but also Windows 8. Instructions are included in the download package so Download and unzip to get your Microsoft Office 2013 activator.

Click here to Download  the Crack/Activator and follow the instructions.

Process 4:

Here is the Office 2013 Activator called KMSpico v4 (KMSpico v4.0 Setup & OEM Directory Portable Repack Version). KMSpico v4 - is the ideal tool to activate the final version of Windows 7/8 and Office 2010/2013. Actuator does not require user intervention, the entire activation process takes place in the background, just run the activator and a couple of minutes to check the activation status of Windows and / or Office. 

Requirements:

- Requirements: .NET 4.0 or Windows 8.

- Activates Windows Vista/7/8 and Office 2010/2013.

- Windows Server 2008/2008R2/2012

Instruction:

1. Run KMSpico.exe or RunTrigger.cmd

2. Done. Enjoy!

Note: Please Keep in mind it activates only Volume License VL Version not RTM Version.

Download the above application from Here and follow the instructions.

Process 5:

I have listed some of the product keys that may work for you. Download the keys from given Link and try them out.

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Fix It Center : A Microsoft's Tool That Fix Common Problems to Windows.

Microsoft has provided a solution to fix common windows problems through a managed interface. Microsoft Fix It Center will scan your system for any kind of problem and then list solution to it. Fix it Center consolidates the diagnosing and repairing a problem into an automated tool.

Fix it Center downloads the latest troubleshooters in the Microsoft library to your PC.

The program can be used on Windows XP,Windows Vista,Windows 7, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Server 2008,Windows Server 2008 R2.

Fix it Center is in beta. It provides you almost 27 fixes. You can see the screenshot below.

Download Microsoft's Fix it Center

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How To Change The Default Font Size In MS Word 2007 & 2010?

Are you frustrated by always having to change the font size before you create a document it Word? Here’s how you can end that frustration and set your favorite default font size for once and for all!

Microsoft changed the default font font to 11 point Calibri in Word 2007 after years of 12 point Times New Roman being the default. Although it can be easily overlooked, there are ways in Word to change the default settings to anything you want. Whether you want to change your default to 12 point Calibri or to 48 point Comic Sans…here’s how to change your default font settings in Word 2007 and 2010.

Changing Default Fonts in Word

To change the default font settings, click the small box with an arrow in the right left corner of the Font section of the Home tab in the Ribbon.

In the Font dialog box, choose the default font settings you want. Notice in the Font box it says “+Body”; this means that the font will be chosen by the document style you choose, and you are only selecting the default font style and size. So, if your style uses Calibri, then your font will be Calibri at the size and style you chose. If you’d prefer to choose a specific font to be the default, just select one from the drop-down box and this selection will override the font selection in your document style.

Here we left all the default settings, except we selected 12 point font in the Latin text box (this is your standard body text; users of Asian languages such as Chinese may see a box for Asian languages). When you’ve made your selections, click the “Set as Default” button in the bottom left corner of the dialog.

You will be asked to confirm that you want these settings to be made default. In Word 2010, you will be given the option to set these settings for this document only or for all documents. Click the bullet beside “All documents based on the Normal.dotm template?”, and then click Ok.

In Word 2007, simply click Ok to save these settings as default.

Now, whenever you open Word or create a new document, your default font settings should be set exactly to what you want. And simply repeat these steps to change your default font settings again if you want.

Editing your default template file

Another way to change your default font settings is to edit your Normal.dotm file. This file is what Word uses to create new documents; it basically copies the formatting in this document each time you make a new document.

To edit your Normal.dotm file, enter the following in the address bar in Explorer or in the Run prompt:

%appdata%\Microsoft\Templates

This will open your Office Templates folder. Right-click on the Normal.dotm file, and click Open to edit it. Note: Do not double-click on the file, as this will only create a new document based on Normal.dotm and any edits you make will not be saved in this file.

Now, change any font settings as you normally would. Remember: anything you change or enter in this document will appear in any new document you create using Word.

If you want to revert to your default settings, simply delete your Normal.dotm file. Word will recreate it with the standard default settings the next time you open Word.

Note: Changing your default font size will not change the font size in existing documents, so these will still show the settings you used when these documents were created. Also, some addins can affect your Normal.dotm template. If Word does not seem to remember your font settings, try disabling Word addins to see if this helps.

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How To Turn Caps Lock Text Back To Normal In MS Word ?

At one time or another, we all accidently click the Caps Lock button while typing. If we are multi-tasking and watching television or Hulu while typing, it is completely possible we will type long strings of text before we realize our mistake.

Rather than retyping the all-caps text, Word has a built-in option to fix the problem. This is so simple you will wonder why you have never used it before now!

Here is what you do:

First, highlight the text you typed in all caps.

Now all you need to do is click Shift + F3. Seriously, that is it! Your text will magically transform to lowercase.

So now you have text that is all lowercase. Would it not be nice to change that lowercase text into nice, sentence case text? Click Shift + F3 a second time and the sentence magically turns to sentence case.

If you click Shift + F3 a third time, the text reverts back to all uppercase. If you ever need to use text in all uppercase, this will work as well. Highlight the text, then click Shift + F3 until the text appears in all uppercase.

Here is an added tip:

If you click Ctrl + Shift + K, your text will revert to small caps. Small caps make great headings in documents.

The amount of shortcuts built into Word can be overwhelming, but some of them are very useful. These can certainly save us all a few wasted hours spent re-typing documents.

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How To Create Chemistry Equations and Diagrams in MS-Word ?

Microsoft’s new Education Labs has recently released the new Chemistry Add-in for Word 2007 and 2010. This free download adds support for entering and editing chemistry symbols, diagrams, and formulas using the standard XML based Chemical Markup Language.

You can convert any chemical name, such as benzene, or formula, such as H2O, into a chemical diagram, standard name, or formula. Whether you’re a professional chemist, just taking chemistry in school, or simply curious about the makeup of Citric Acid, this add-in is an exciting way to bring chemistry to your computer.

This add-in works great on Word 2007 and 2010, including the 64 bit version of Word 2010. Please note that the current version is still in beta, so only run it if you are comfortable running beta products.

How To Start?

Download the Chemistry add-in from Microsoft Education Labs, and unzip the file. Then, run the ChemistryAddinforWordBeta2.Setup.msi.

It may inform you that you need to install the Visual Studio Tools for Office 3.0. Simply click Yes to download these tools.

This will open the download in your default browser. Simply click run, or save and then run it when it is downloaded.

Now, click next to install the Visual Studio Tools for Office as usual.

When this is finished, run the ChemistryAddinforWordBeta2.Setup.msi again. This time, you can easily install it with the default options.

Once it’s finished installing, open Word to try out the Chemistry Add-in. You will be asked if you want to install this customization, so click Install to enable it.

Now you will have a new Chemistry tab in your Word ribbon.

One Screenshot To Show How It Works?

Links:
Download the Chemistry Add-in for Word

Introducing Chemistry Add-in for Word – MSDN blogs

Chemical Markup Language – Wikipedia

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How To Convert A Row To A Column In Excel ?

Sometimes we’ve entered data in a column in Excel, only to realize later that it would be better to have this data in a row, or vise-versa. Here’s a simple trick to convert any row or set of rows into a column, or vise-versa, in Excel.

Note: This is tested in Excel 2003, 2007, and 2010. Here we took screenshots from Excel 2010 x64, but it works the same on the other versions.

How To Convert a Row to a Column?

Here’s our data in Excel:

We want to change these two columns into rows. Select all the cells you wish to convert, right-click, and select copy (or simply press Ctrl+C):

Now, right-click in the cell where you want to put the data in rows, and select “Paste Special…”

Check the box at the bottom that says “Transpose”, and then click OK.

Now your data that was in columns is in rows!

This works the exact same for converting rows into columns. Here’s some data in rows:

After copying and pasting special with Transpose selected, here’s the data in columns!

This is a great way to get your data organized just like you want in Excel.

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