Learn how to use SharePoint Online, create sites, share and manage documents, work with calendars, integrate with Outlook and more.

SharePoint is as complex as ever, and if you’ve used earlier versions of SharePoint, you’ll find that in the 2016 and Office 365 “next wave” releases, Microsoft has definitely moved the cheese. The interface is different than it was in earlier versions of SharePoint, and some ways you interact with the software have changed. Or perhaps you are new to SharePoint, or are interested in teasing out the power of SharePoint Online as you work with your team. Note: You could be using one of several different editions of SharePoint. This article is about the Office 365 version of SharePoint, known as SharePoint Online — the one for which you or your company pays a subscription fee and that is run within Microsoft data centers and not by your own IT staff. There is also an on-premises version of SharePoint, currently SharePoint 2016, that runs within your company and isn’t licensed by subscription. (See our cheat sheets for the on-premises versions of SharePoint 2013 and SharePoint 2010)

The most common use for SharePoint is as a document repository. You and other team members and colleagues can put documents and files all in one specific place, accessible to everyone, and then avoid the all-too-familiar email blasts with Word documents attached. (I would wager that if you never saw another “please disregard the previous message; I’ve attached the correct newest version of the file here” message pass through your inbox, it wouldn’t be too soon.)