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The Microsoft Office Backstage view may appear when you start a Microsoft Office program, or when you select the File tab. In this view, you can create a new file, open an existing file, print, save, change options, and perform other actions. It provides functions that apply to the overall file as contrasted with actions to take in the file content. 

 

Microsoft 365 features a new Start Pane and Backstage experience.

The new Start page in Word for Office 365

Creating new files

To create a new file, choose from one of the templates listed across the top or select the New button to see a larger list of available templates.

Tip: To find and download additional templates, see Microsoft templates.

Open an existing file

The Backstage view displays several of your most recently accessed files. If the file you are seeking isn't on the Recent files list, select the Open button on the left navigation pane. This will display file locations where you may find the file.  

Tip: Use the Search box on the Home, or Open, tabs to search for the file you want.

The recent files section of Word's Backstage screen

To keep a file always on the recent-files list, you can pin it to the list. Hover your cursor over the file name. A pin icon appears to the right side of the file name. Select the pin to keep the file on the list. Optionally select again to unpin. 

To remove an item from the recent-files list, right-click it and choose Remove from list.

Caution: Selecting Delete file will remove the file from the system entirely.

Save a Copy

Save a Copy, on the left-nav pane, enables you quickly create a copy of the current file. Possibly use this to create a second copy in a different location or a copy in which you can edit without affecting the original file. 

Tip: If you're using an existing file as the basis for a new file, be sure to save a copy BEFORE you make any changes. Thus, your new work will only affect the new (copy) file and not the original. See also Use Save a Copy to modify a file without changing the original.

Print or print preview

The Print command is available on the Backstage navigation pane. Optionally use Print Preview to see how your file will look if printed. See also Printing and print preview.

Share and collaborate

The Share command facilitates collaboration with others. Select Share and enter the email addresses of those with whom you want to share the file. Then select Send. Learn more about collaboration here: Collaborate on Word documents with real-time co-authoring. This works essentially the same way across multiple apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint.

Manage Office

At the bottom left corner of the Backstage screen, there are three items to help you manage how Microsoft Office works for you.

The commands for adding accounts, sending feedback, and configuring Office options
  • Account - Lets you add or remove cloud-service accounts like OneDrive or SharePoint so that you can easily save files to those services or open files from those services. 

  • Feedback - Is the best way to let us know if there's something in your Office app that you really like... or really don't like. The feedback we receive goes directly to our product teams and helps to drive future changes and improvements in the products. Learn more here: How do I give feedback on Microsoft Office?

  • Options - This is where you go to configure your app. Everything, from the color theme to the spell check options, editing languages, default file locations, and a lot more.

Getting back to your document

To exit Backstage and return to the document, select the Back arrow at the top left of the navigation pane, or just press the Escape key on your keyboard.

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