Office 365 - Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs
- Where do I go to get Microsoft Office?
- Skype, OneDrive for Business, Exchange Online...what's the difference between the services, and if I use one service do I have to use them all?
- What is OneDrive for Business?
- Can I change the picture for my Office 365 account?
- How can I enable or disable apps such as "Bing Maps" that appear in Outlook?
- When I change my NetID password at the NetID web site, how long does it take for my new password to take effect in Office 365?
- How long does it take for new mailboxes and distribution group changes to be available in Office 365?
- How long does a deleted e-mail remain in the "Deleted Items" folder?
- What is Microsoft's Privacy Policy for Office 365?
- What is the restore policy for Office 365 e-mail?
- Why does my name appear in the GAL as my NetID rather than Last, First?
- Is it possible to change the last name portion of my first.last@colostate.edu address to the professional or preferred last name that I use?
- How long after I leave the university do I have access to Office 365 services (ex: Email, OneDrive for Business, Office download, etc.)?
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Where do I go to get Microsoft Office?
Microsoft Office is available for anyone with an active CSU NetID (secondary NetIDs excluded) by logging onto the Office 365 portal at https://portal.office.com using your NetID in the format NetID@colostate.edu. General instructions to download and install Microsoft Office are available on the Download Office page. If you are installing Microsoft Office on your work computer, please consult your local IT support for installation media and assistance.
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Skype (Lync), OneDrive for Business, Exchange Online...what's the difference between the services, and if I use one service do I have to use them all?
Think of Office 365 as an "umbrella" term that covers multiple services – including Skype for Business, OneDrive for Business, and Exchange Online. The driving force behind CSU opting to use the Office 365 service provided by Microsoft was that it provided an upgrade path for Central Exchange e-mail, calendaring, and voice mail services – leveraging Office 365 will significantly decrease the hardware and overhead required to manage e-mail on campus. With that in mind, eventually, your Central Exchange mailbox will be moved to Office 365 Exchange. Skype and OneDrive for Business are additional services that are bundled with Office 365. While there is some tie-in among the different services, each stands on its own and you (or your department) can decide when and if you want to use Skype for Business (Lync) for instant messaging and online meetings or OneDrive for Business for personal cloud storage. Also, because each is a distinct service, it's not a requirement that your Exchange mailbox be moved to Office 365 before you start using Skype for Business (Lync) or OneDrive for Business. Likewise, when your Exchange mailbox is eventually moved to Office 365 it's not a requirement that you must start using Skype (Lync) or OneDrive for Business at that time.
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What is OneDrive for Business?
OneDrive for Business is personal "cloud" storage provided for you through Office 365. You can access it using the Office 365 Portal at https://portal.office.com via the "OneDrive" navigation link (at the top right) or there is also a OneDrive for Business client that can be installed on a Windows PC that allows you to treat your OneDrive for Business storage as a local folder in Windows Explorer that will sync with Office 365. OneDrive for Business also allows you to share files (including large files) with users outside of CSU.
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Can I change the picture for my Office 365 account?
The picture associated with your Office 365 account can be changed using the steps below:
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Log in to the Office 365 portal at https://portal.office.com and with your username entered as NetID@colostate.edu.
- Click the person icon in the top-right corner.
- Click the "change" link under the person icon (or picture that you had previously set).
- Follow the instruction on the resulting screen to browse for and set a photo or image and click "Save".
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How can I enable or disable apps such as "Bing Maps" that appear in Outlook?
You can manage the apps such as "Bing Maps" or "Suggested Meetings" used by Outlook using the steps below.
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Log in to the Office 365 portal at https://portal.office.com and with your username entered as NetID@colostate.edu.
- If you are not logged into your e-mail account by default, click the "Mail" tile to access your e-mail.
- Click the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen and choose "Manage add-ins".
- To disable or enable add-ins, click the appropriate add-in in the list and check or uncheck the "Turned On" checkbox to reflect the desired setting.
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When I change my NetID password at the NetID web site, how long does it take for my new password to take effect in Office 365?
CSU users can use the NetID web site at https://netid.colostate.edu to change their NetID password, which is used toaccess Office 365. When you change your NetID password, please allow 10 minutes before using your new password to log in to the Office 365 portal or other Office 365 services.
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How long does it take for new mailboxes and distribution group changes to be available in Office 365?
Please allow 2-3 hours for new mailboxes (user, shared, room, or equipment mailboxes) to be created in Office 365. Edits made by Resource Coordinators to the membership of distribution lists also can also take up to 2-3 hours to be reflected in Office 365.
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How long does a deleted e-mail remain in the "Deleted Items" folder?
When you delete an e-mail from your Office 365 mailbox, it is placed in the "Deleted Items" folder. Items remain in the Deleted Items folder for 30 days from the date they were deleted. Items in the Deleted Items folder that are older than 30 days will automatically be purged from the folder. In most cases, you can use the Recover Deleted Items tool to recover items that were removed from the Deleted Items folder for an additional 14 days after an item was purged from the Deleted Items folder. E-mail placed in the "Junk Email" folder is also removed after 30 days but cannot be recovered using the Recover Deleted Items tool.
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What is Microsoft's Privacy Policy for Office 365?
The privacy policy for Office 365 is posted at https://products.office.com/en-us/business/office-365-trust-center-privacy.
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What is the restore policy for Office 365 e-mail?
The Division of IT does not maintain local backups of e-mail hosted in Office 365. We can leverage administrative tools built into Office 365 to restore the recent contents of a user's mailbox to an Outlook Data File (pst). Note that the current set of tools only allows us to restore the recent contents of mailbox in a flat folder. We have no means by which we can restore a mailbox (or folders within) to a previous state where e-mail is sorted into folders and subfolders.
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Why does my name appear in the GAL as my NetID rather than Last, First?
By default, Associate NeItDs have directory privacy settings enabled which results in a person's name appearing in the Global Address List as their NetID. Also, e-mails sent by the user have a reply to address formatted as NetID@colostate.edu. This setting can be updated by your area's HR representative.
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Is it possible to change the last name portion of my first.last@colostate.edu address to the professional or preferred last name that I use?
Yes, faculty and staff users can request that a professional/preferred last name be used as the last name portion of their first.last@colostate.edu e-mail address. Professional/preferred last name requests are processed by Human Resources for Faculty/Staff/Associates by their hiring/onboarding Departmental HR Representative. Students can contact the Office of the Registrar for this change. You may also see this page for additional guidance.
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How long after I leave the university do I have access to Office 365 services (ex: Email, OneDrive for Business, Office download, etc.)?
Eligibility for NetID services is tied to user's NetID. When a user's NetID is no longer active, access to Office 365 services including e-mail and OneDrive for Business is also terminated. The standard expiration period for faculty and staff NetIDs after a person leaves the university is 30 days while students typically retain NetID services for 1 year. Please refer to When do my NetID, email and other CSU accounts accounts expire for more information about when different types of NetIDs expire.
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