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Why are we changing licenses from ‘A1 Plus’ to ‘A1’?

Microsoft made a change in their licensing model. To keep RRU compliant with legal requirements we need to reassign license types effective <date>Microsoft no longer offers the A1 Plus type license type. Organizations like RRU are required to issue different licenses to remain legally compliant with license agreements. 

We will replace your A1 Plus license type with the new A1 license type effective December 9, 2024.

No action is required by you.

Q&A

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titleWhy is an MS license required?

MS requires that all users of MS applications have an appropriate access license. These licenses also allow Microsoft to provide updates, security enhancements, and support for the tools we use daily.

RRU issues MS licenses to all students, staff, faculty, guests, etc. to ensure that each person has appropriate authorized access to MS software and services.

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titleWhat will change when I am assigned an A1 license compared to when I had an A1 Plus license?

MS has phased out license type A1 Plus, which is the license currently assigned to you. A1 Plus has been replaced with A1 licenses. A1 Plus licenses allowed us download and install MS Office products. The new license - A1 – does not.

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titleAm I affected by this license change?

You may be affected, depending on whether you used the license issued by RRU and even depending on how you used it.

There IS a change for you if:

There is no change for you if:

You previously downloaded and installed Office on your computer at home using the A1 Plus license issued by RRU.

You use your own personal or company MS license on your non-RRU

. Effective <date>

computer.

You use Office 365 through RRU’s license exclusively online.

If you previously installed Office on your computer using the RRU license, the installed version of Office will no longer function

. Instead

either on December 9 or after a 30 day grace period, so January 9.

  • At that point, you’ll need to log into http://office.com/ using your RRU Login and password.

  • Documents already saved on your desktop are accessible from http://office.com/ (popup blockers may prevent this so you may need to adjust the blockers).

  • New documents will be created from http://office.com

. More information about transitioning from the A1 Plus license type to the A1 license is available in the IT Services Knowledgebase.

You use your own personal or company MS license on your personal computer.

You have already been accessing MS tools like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint online at office.com by signing in using a personal login and password OR your RRU Login and password.
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titleHow can I tell if I'm using an RRU Office 365 license or my own?

The fastest way is to open an Office app like Word, Excel, or PowerPooint and look in the upper right of the screen. You’ll see the name of whoever is logged in. Click on the little image (This could be a picture as shown below, or it may be your initials, etc.).

image-20241128-164302.pngImage Added

If you “@royalroads.ca” in the area highlighted in yellow, you’re using an RRU license.

If you see gmail.com, outlook.com, hotmail.com, etc. showing there, you’re not currently logged in using an RRU license.

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titleWhat will change when I am assigned an A1 license? What is different between the two license types?

The new A1 license is primarily designed for lightweight, cloud-based use, which is optimal for educational environments that rely on internet connectivity and browser-based applications​.

A1 Plus 

A1 

  • allowed downloading & installing of Office apps 

  • provides access to web versions of core Office apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote 

  • potentially provided more storage space on OneDrive 

  • supports collaboration and communication through Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Exchange for email 

  • provides access to other tools such as Sway, Forms, and Stream. 

  • provides access to some applications like Access and Publisher

  • does not allow downloading and installing; must use apps online 

  • provides access to web versions of core Office apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote 

  • provides 100GB storage space on OneDrive 

  • supports collaboration and communication through Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Exchange for email 

  • provides access to other tools such as Sway, Forms, and Stream. 

 

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titleAm I required to use Multifactor Authentication (MFA) to access office.com?

Yes, you will be required to use MFA to access this online resource. If you have not set up MFA, please refer to these instructions to do that.

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titleHow should I log into office.com?

  1. Go to https://office.com/

  2. Click the purple ‘Sign in’ button

    image-20241129-001313.pngImage Added

  3. Enter your RRU Login (for me, cdavid@royalroads.ca) and then hit ‘Next’

    image-20241129-001549.pngImage Added

  4. Enter your usual RRU password (the one you use to log into Moodle, email, etc.) then hit ‘Sign in’

    image-20241129-001658.pngImage Added

  5. You may be required to use Multifactor authentication to access office.com.
    If you have not set up MFA, please refer to these instructions to do that.
    *** if you are outside Canada, contact the Helpdesk (see ‘How to get help’ below) for assistance ***

...

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titleHow can I open a document previously stored on my C: drive?

Once logged into office.com, click on the Apps icon on the left of the screen:

image-20241127-002332.png

Then click on the icon representing the app you wish to use, like Word:

image-20241127-002519.png

Under ‘Create’, click on ‘Blank document’:

image-20241127-002832.png

Click on the little right arrow next to ‘Open’, then click on 'Open files from this device

image-20241127-003042.png

Browse to the location where your file exists, highlight it, and click ‘Open’.

You may see a message that says your file is being uploaded to ‘My Files’ in OneDrive… if you don’t see it, check your browser for pop-up blockers“. This message may disappear quite quickly!

image-20241127-003229.png

If your document does not open in a new tab, as expected, look at the far right of the URL in your browser. You will see this little notice saying “Pop-up blocked”. Click on it, then click the radio button for ‘Always allow..”, then click 'Done’. You will only need to do this once.

image-20241127-003407.png

Your document should open in a new tab.

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titleDoes the A1 license type come with a OneDrive space?

Yes, it does. You can save your files there and/or download them if your preference is to keep them on your computer.

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titleCan I save files on my computer instead of on OneDrive?

You can’t save on your computer. Office.com saves to OneDrive by default. But you can download a copy of the document to your computer if you like:

While looking at the document:

image-20241127-014453.pngImage Added

OR while on the office.com landing page and while logged in, click on the ellipses to the right of the file you wish to download, then click ‘download’.

image-20241127-014832.pngImage Added

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titleWill my downloaded Office apps stop working immediately on that date?

Our understanding is that there will be a grace period of 30 days during which the installed apps will function normally. After that, you can continue to open documents and print them, but you can no longer edit them. For that, you’ll need to log into office.com

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titleHow to get help

Please direct questions to <where do we want questions directed?> let us know if you have any questions about this change or connect with the Helpdesk if you have difficulties accessing Office 365.

We appreciate your cooperation as we make this adjustment to better align with organizational requirements and licensing standards.

...