The previous name of PowerPoint was Presenter and it was available for Mac Computers. Sway has automated options for easy usage. A key option is publishing to Docs.com(Opens in a new window), a Microsoft Web document-hosting service. It comprises of numbered tiles. Autoplay is another important feature. How to Run Your Own DNS Server on Your Local Network, How to Check If the Docker Daemon or a Container Is Running, How to Manage an SSH Config File in Windows and Linux, How to View Kubernetes Pod Logs With Kubectl, How to Run GUI Applications in a Docker Container. Although you can use Sway on a PC or laptop, its true bedfellow may really be tablets. Consider using Sway as a digital portfolio tool where students can offer highlights of their written and visual work on the web. If Microsoft Sway is not working, the issue may be related to Microsoft and their server, not your PC. Sway comes with a lot of design templates and engines that can help you with your presentation. Time-saving software and hardware expertise that helps 200M users yearly. Allows you to edit pictures to fit your specific needs and color choices. How do you make sure your presentations are clear and compelling when you're not face-to-face? Registered in England & Wales, Company Number 7869834. basic picture editability options in Google Slides, Why PowerPoint crashes and how to prevent it, The ULTIMATE guide to virtual presentations. The Remix! Many features in Office 365 arent compatible with Mac, PCs, or older versions of the Microsoft programs. 6. (If you are not sure how to get the link, read this document. To use the free version with the full accessibility, you may login to Sway.com with your Microsoft account. Teachers can take advantage of Sway's easy design templates and simple creation platform, too. Sway is a Microsoft 365 app that helps you and your co-workers express ideas using an interactive, web-based canvas. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); If you have a tech problem, we probably covered it! It offers 360 degrees of text placement options like left-aligned, right-aligned, scroll texts over an image, and so on. Enter Sway, which is Microsofts attempt to provide a lightweight, cloud-only, story-telling application that is easier to use than PowerPoint and provides more narrative devices than simply slide after slide of bullet points. ), the template options have improved - thankfully. There is a wider choice of languages and this can be selected based on the preferences of the user. Under the Storyline tab you can add various content blocks including text, images, audio, video, and links. Add To Compare. The Microsoft Planner interface makes use of task cards in . Ive been reviewing software for PCMag since 2008, and I still get a kick out of seeing what's new in video and photo editing software, and how operating systems change over time. From the Authors button, you can also send a link to give access to a co-editor. [1] Sway was offered for general release by Microsoft in August 2015. Microsoft has put convenience at the heart of Teams. It's Expensive Although Office 365 is only a fraction of the cost of purchasing Microsoft Office licenses outright, it is still expensive and many companies aren't able to afford those fees. Weve got a great blog post detailing some of the basic picture editability options in Google Slides, Googles version of PowerPoint. PowerPoint is true slideshow software. It also has some new, innovative additions such as Sway (for creating interactive presentations), Delves (for viewing insights about your work and organization), and Teams (for communication, meetings, and chat with coworkers). Get a Hold of the Editing Tools. [2] Sway is distinguished from Microsoft FrontPage and Microsoft Expression Web - unrelated web design programs previously developed by Microsoft - in that Sway includes a method for hosting sites. Sway is a simple tool that can produce some great results. There are six basic layout theme classes, with 50 choices within each group sporting different fonts and colors. When youve finished your Sway, or you want to see what it looks like so far, there is a Design option to help you with the finished product. How to Fix It in 7 steps, Windows Sandbox Failed to Start: How to Fix This Error, 0x80073cfc: How to Fix this Xbox Error Code, Blurry Screen on Windows 11: How to Fix It in 7 Steps. Once the troubleshooter starts, follow the instructions on the screen. Of course, this depends on your privacy settings and who you share your presentation with. You might end up paying for programs that you only use once every few months. With its REST APIs, you can use Office 365 tools to create innovative workflows such as automating data entry or tracking project status. They Have Different Intents. Since we last reviewed Sway (5 years ago! Highlight a Row Using Conditional Formatting, Hide or Password Protect a Folder in Windows, Access Your Router If You Forget the Password, Access Your Linux Partitions From Windows, How to Connect to Localhost Within a Docker Container. Just how versatile is Sway and what should you use it for? When youve got your Sway the way you want, it can be published and shared. What is Microsoft Word Microsoft Word or MS Word is a word processing software that was created on 25 October 1983. It's always a good idea to see a sample finished product to give you an idea of an authoring application's possibilities. PCMag supports Group Black and its mission to increase greater diversity in media voices and media ownerships. The Pros of Microsoft Office 365 are that you can save your documents anywhere and view them anywhere. You can't resize pictures so you have to guess where Sway will put them so that it doesn't look awful; you can't align them with each other either. But unlike websites, Sways are completely linear: You move through them without the option to branch off to different areas the way you can with a website built in Squarespace, Weebly, WordPress, and the rest. Microsoft OneNote vs. Microsoft Sway Comparison Chart. This makes it a popular choice for people who want to access it on the go. If you create a presentation and put it on the web using Sway for everyone to view, there is one interesting feature for you to use, namely, the viewers count feature. Its unusual and should whet their appetite for a bit more information. When we talk about Sway, Microsoft has things organized in this department. We select and review products independently. Or have your students create a digital history presentation, researching a topic and then adding appropriate images to heighten the effect. While Sway lacks the animation features that other presentation tools offer, powerful images paired with a just-right amount of text can offer a polished look and engage your audience. Other text options include bullet and number lists, and regardless of the theme, you can use bold and italics to emphasize text. [9] The Sway feature blog has not received an update since April 2017. Readers can likeand comment on your Sway on Docs.com; your view on Docs.com shows a tally of views and likes, as well as comments. This feature provides a clearer view of the content. Since a few users have complained that Sway is not working on their PCs, lets fix this. For this reason, Sway doesnt have slides;it has a single storyline. My kingdom for the alignment tools! You can also chose different themes/styles which come with different fonts, colours, layouts and backgrounds. You should note that to perform actions like edits, you must be logged in. Once youget the hang of it, creating visually stunning stories in Sway can be a lot of fun. The Office Online version of Sway is remarkably similar to the installed Windows 10 app. You can see some sample Sways linked at the bottom of Microsoft's Sway(Opens in a new window) page, in case you're looking for starting-point Sways to duplicate. on January 10, 2020, 6:45 AM PST. Microsoft released it for general use in August 2015, enabling people with Microsoft accounts to mix media andtextto create a visually appealing website. Keynote, like the worldwide pattern, is lower but a steady constant. Once students completetheirdesign, theycan share a public or private link to it online via the Sway website or just keep their Sway local on the device. Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. Office 365 also offers Business Continuity capabilities that allow organizations to continue operations in the event of a disaster. A gallery of teacher-created lessons would be a great addition as well. Go to sway.office.com. Let's take a look at some of the main disadvantages of Microsoft Office 365. Make sure you contact the Microsoft support team, who will guide you through everything you need to know and do to solve the issue or inform you regarding their problem. But we at BrightCarbon do presentations, so its only right to try and use Sway for that purpose. Microsoft Sway not working means you cannot continue your school or work projects. You may create and share interactive reports, presentations, and more with this application. Microsoft is launching Sway today, a new app that's part of the company's Office family of products. Most people are not specialists in design and layout, so Microsoft has provided a bunch of templates (18 at the time of writing) for common presentations to help get you past the creators block and started designing. This provides a more organized reading structure. This is only possible if your system supports the microphone. Enter a title into the Title card. Sway can be used on all desktops and tablets and can be used without downloading any software or plugins. The interface will be different depending on your browser; however, they should all look very similar. Can Anybody Use It? Occasional errors when opening a project on different devices. Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox. We recommend installing Restoro, a tool that will scan your machine and identify what the fault is.Click hereto download and start repairing. Liven up a lab report by having your students import charts, graphs, and images from their latest lab into Sway, and then have them enter their written responses in between. It removed grid lines and stacks in order to give the readers a bigger and clearer space for the content. Office 365 can be integrated with other productivity software applications and tools to help streamline your work processes. After the troubleshooter is finished, check if the problem is still there. And while it really is easy to figure out, there's no help aside from an explanatory video. If you are an Office 365 user, this feature also extends to video files uploaded in the same way. a data-m='{"id":"n9c1c1m1r1a2","sN":9,"aN":"c1c1m1r1a2"}' href="https://aka.ms/yourcaliforniaprivacychoices" class='c-uhff-link c-uhff-ccpa '> <svg role="img" xmlns . Sway can be accessed from any web browser on any platform . Benefit from faster and secure navigation that assures accesability for various applications. You can also pay an annual rate or even a one-time fee if your budget requires it. Many options in MS Word helps you to create amazing documents and later you can print the document also. Theres a great promotional video for Microsoft Sway. Sway's self-paced experience is nice, but more interactive features such as tools for annotation or commenting would make it even better. Its simply brilliant. Lets take a look at why you might want to use Sway. Version 2.0 was available for both Windows and Mac . Sway almost reminds me more of Tumblr than PowerPoint, though unlike Tumblr, you create self-contained multi-elements sites in Sway, whereas in Tumblr it's an ongoing feed of one-element posts. All rights reserved. I have done, I don't know, a billion or so PowerPoint decks. Sways arent meant to be text-heavy, theyre meant to be full of images and videos like a lot of internet content today. The best way I can describe it is a cross between a notice board and a scrapbook. Its easier to work with, you can edit things (hallelujah), and you can put a presentation on your iPad and show the same eager person in the lift, just with more information and more control over it. Cons: The navigation is a bit outdated, and classroom-friendly options are lacking. Whether youve picked a template, started with a topic, or are beginning with a blank Sway, you add what Sway calls cards to enter new content. Common Sense and other associated names and logos are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (FEIN: 41-2024986). You'll also see a three-line (hamburger) menu at top left, and tapping this reveals five options: My Sways, Feedback, Create New, Open, and your user name. When used correctly, most professional presentation software allows you to create fascinating presentations with minimum effort and leverage templates power to focus and polish the material to be delivered. Watch on. Why not just use PowerPoint? He's also worked as a trainer, technical support person, delivery manager, system administrator, and in other roles that involve getting people and technology to work together. Anybody can use Sway if they sign up for a free Microsoft account. Besides, you can change your privacy settings later in order to limit or modify your audience. Sway also suggests creating a travel log, so I used the suggested images function to gather some gorgeous images of Scotland and gave them over to Sway. It is limited by its lack of editability. All Rights Reserved. It can help you easily organize documents and access data from all over. For this particular feature, Microsoft makes use of a format that goes by the name of Video Text Tracks (.vtt). Its tools are optimized for smartphones so users can access documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and more with ease. It's a fluid and easy-to-control interface; pretty much everything is also drag-and-droppable. What are the disadvantages of sway? With the help of this option, you can put all the slides and content pages in a loop. Learn more on how you can use Office 365 to grow your business with Sherweb! When you turn the accessibility view on, the following happens: This is another important feature. After 7 th grade literature classes at her school and a partner school in Mexico both studied Antoine de Saint-Exupry's "The Little Prince," they made artwork, animated film and live action videos to bring the narrative to life and outline its lessons. You can scroll through your Sway and flick between Storylines and Design to make and review changes. Microsoft Sway is similar to PowerPoint in that both can be used to create eye-catching and informative presentations. You cant in Sway. It allows users who have a Microsoft account to combine text and media to create a presentable website. Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment. While there are advantages to using visual presentations such as PowerPoint, there are also setbacks and traps even the most seasoned presenters can easily fall into. Review by Marianne Rogowski, Common Sense Education Join the BrightCarbon mailing list for monthly invites and resources. Its not complicated, it doesnt require a degree in graphic design to work, but at least you can crop your pictures. Now, in this chart, we break down the main differences between PowerPoint vs Keynote vs Google Slides. Sways can be viewed on mobile phones, but editing on iphones isn't possible and the Sway app for iOS is being discontinued. 1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Sway? If your company doesnt regularly purchase Office 365, it might be easy to forget about renewing the subscription and end up paying much more than you should. Microsoft Office is one of the largest and most widely used productivity suites. Sometimes, the presentations hinder learning when the slides contain distracting elements or contain only text and narration that viewers tune out. Select Backgrounds to add a background image. The idea is that Sway can be used for everything, by anyone. Yes, you can get the online version of PowerPoint with Office 365 with limited features but thats a completely different story. Microsoft doesnt always get things right, but with Sway, theyve created something handy, at the best possible price. But does it work? Weve used Google Chrome as an example. Using it on a laptop feels like youre not getting the most out of it it feels a bit clunky using a mouse or touchpad. One of the disadvantages of Google Slides is that it is lack of features that fulfil users need. Microsoft Sway - Sway is a powerful tool for e-newsletter creation that allows you to blend audio, video, and more into a rolling view that works on any device. No downloadable/transferable files. You can switch between different presentation sections as and when needed. This issue is not unrelated to other problems you may face with the service. At the time of writing, they are roughly equal. Email doesnt do justice to how thrilled I am with this work - its beyond all expectations so a huge, huge, thanks!!! Microsoft Sway. You can kind of see what its trying to do, but the jury is still out on whether it achieves it. A PowerPoint presentation design company. (aka Project Moca), How to Get New Office 365 Features Up to Six Months Sooner, How to Watch UFC 285 Jones vs. Gane Live Online, 2023 LifeSavvy Media. Lately, when I join technology education forums, one of the most talked-about webtools is Microsoft Sway.Though fairly new, Sway has taken over classroom production of visual presentations because the result is visually appealing while minimizing the amount of time students spend formatting a project, giving them lots more time to research and write. One of the most important concerns for people using todays technology is the safety aspect of the applications in question. Microsoft Office 365 is one such productivity suite. Teachers need to be sure to balance images, videos, and text, though -- too much or too little of any will make presentations seem dull or incomplete. Learn more about our privacy ratings. If this still doesnt solve your problem, check our other solution below. Turn your classroom into a laboratory for creative thinking. Sway will also help you with the design elements once youve started getting the content the way you want. You should note that to perform actions like edits, you must be logged in. Also Read: Importance of Microsoft Office. The site offers a short tutorial and a few lessons that highlight what's possible and provide some inspiration to teachers or students who want to make their presentations pop, but without a decent-sized gallery of ideas or lessons, they'll find themselves largely on their own to think of creative ways to present material. Keep an eye on your inbox! As part of the full package with Microsoft 365, it has a monthly fee. Ready to close more Office 365 deals? All Rights Reserved. As such, this is a powerful system for teachers and students to use in the classroom and beyond. Advantage: PowerPoint Presentations have always had a higher hand over others because there is always an excitement about what the slides will reveal. PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering lab-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. In that sense, Sway shares traits of website creators like Squarespace and Weebly, though creating with it is much simpler. Sway on the Web is best experienced when using Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer 11, Firefox 17 or later, Chrome 23 or later, and Safari 6 or later. If you had additional options that enabled you to change things like font, sizes of pictures, placement of text boxes (anything and everything!) We have everything you need to succeed. There is a Start From a Topic option which will bring up a topic selector from which to choose. Optimize resource usage: your RAM memory is used more efficiently than in other browsers, Enhanced privacy: free and unlimited VPN integrated, No ads: built-in Ad Blocker speeds up loading of pages and protects against data-mining, Gaming friendly: Opera GX is the first and best browser for gaming. Of course, it can be difficult to know if what youve chosen will look good to others, and there are plenty of options to choose from, so Sway gives you a Remix button which will apply a random design to your Sway. Sway's design engine helps you quickly and easily produce professional, interactive, and visually appealing designs from images, text, documents, videos, maps, and more. With Sway, your images, text, videos, and other multimedia all flow together in a way that enhances your story. I was able to include a Vimeo video and a SoundCloud song in my Sway using this. You can click Remix as many times as you want, and it will be quite a while before it starts repeating designs. So, no matter how much content you put in your file, the details will stay secure and intact. But when youre sitting with a blank Sway sheet in front of you, its not entirely clear what youre meant to use it for. Disadvantage: In planning the strategies to create a captivating content, the presenters often compromise on the factual . Rob Woodgate is a writer and IT consultant with nearly 20 years of experience across the private and public sectors. The most common cause of Sway not working is issues relating to Microsoft servers; Microsoft Sway may be down. One caveat was that one time when I opened and edited a Sway on an iPhone and then in the Windows 10 app, I got an error message with a long correlation error code. Since there's not a huge learning curve, it's a good fit for kidswho get distracted by more complicated presentation tools. Students of the world, give this a go. Depending on your privacy settings, the viewers can see your Sways online, without having to sign up for anything or having to download the deck. Please let us know if you found our article useful by leaving a comment below. Microsoft's Sway offers a simple, yet powerful, way to create Web-based presentations. Various Text Placement Styles. The Microsoft Office Roadmap did not include any items related to Sway ever since. Welcome to Microsoft Community. Remember, this is a cloud-only app, so theres no file to download, but you can embed a Sway in a web page if you want people to view it without having to go to a specific sharing link. Here are a few pros and cons: Sway is hip. But, if money isnt an issue, you can choose to buy access to Office 365 for free with an education email address. It seems to be amalgamation of different programmes, as well as websites and social channels. The first feature we will look at is the accessibility view of Office Sway. You need an internet connection to use Sway at the moment which most of us have. Suggested searches appear in the sidebar, but teachers should note that studentsare responsible for complying with copyright laws. A newsletter for clients. 6) Security and Privacy One of the most important concerns for people using today's technology is the safety aspect of the applications in question.