Getting started with Microsoft Sway

Get started with Microsoft Sway, an application specially designed for users who enjoy to design and share their creativity through interactive reports, personal stories, presentations and colorful canvases. In this article you will learn how to add or embed content and share your creations with your friends.

To begin, with the help of Sway you will find endless creative and attractive templates to give your documents a personalized touch. Moreover, you can add your own text or images and import relevant content from other sources. But no worries, to achieve a modern look for your reports you don’t need to be a professional designer because the application’s processor is equipped with all the necessary tools to make your creation look amazing. Also, it gives you the opportunity to adjust as many times as you require.

On the other hand, all the content you create on Sway can be easily viewed by your relatives, friends and your colleagues through the official website without the need to register in advance.  By the way, this software is free for those who have an active Microsoft account (Hotmail, Live or Outlook.com). Nevertheless, if you want to acquire more sophisticated templates and designs, you can choose to become part of a Microsoft 365 subscription.

But then what can I create with Sway? The software has no limits when it comes to designs, in fact, it all depends on the user. You can design anything, from a report to a personal photo album. However, as we mentioned before, it is not necessary to have previous knowledge, so if you’re not quite sure which other formats you can create, one you are logged in, you can explore other users’ designs by going to the “Get inspired by a featured Sway” tab at the bottom of the site.

Well, now let’s talk a little bit about how you can start using Microsoft Sway. The first thing to do is to login or register with one of your accounts (you can use one of your Microsoft accounts). After that, on the page that opens after sign in, you must click on Create new to start creating your first design.

There are several modalities that you can try, one of the most recognized is Storyline, where you have the possibility to tell a story; editing, embedding images and playing with all the possible text formats to reach a completely customized result. It is important to mention that the whole story is organized sequentially and automatically in cards whose content varies from simple text to images, videos and even Office documents. Also, the sheets can be rearranged according to your preferences.

Title of the work?

To give a name to your design is as easy as clicking on the placeholder text Title of your Sway that is shown on the first card in the story. There you have to type a short description of what your Sway will talk about. Remember that the title and the description you provide it, it will be the first thing that will appear as soon as you share your finished work.

Images? Text? How do I insert it?

To add this kind of content, you just click on the icon “+” at the bottom of the card on which you want to insert it or if you prefer, you can drag and drop the files directly onto your Storyline.

Adds additional content

Entering the menu Insert you can select different content sources as your PC, your mobile or go to the Suggested tab for Sway to do an automatic search for the most relevant content on the web, for this you will need to write a keyword or a phrase in the Search Sources bar.

Preview

Once you have finished your Sway, you can locate the Design tab to find a preview of your work to give you an idea of what it will look like once you share it with your contacts. In other matters, if you want a more complete experience, you can click the Play button on the top menu. Lastly, to return to the Sway, click on the Storyline tab.

I am not satisfied, can I change it?

Sway is a software designed to focus on the intention you want to convey with your layout, but at the same time allows you to make all the changes you require. Therefore, if the design recommended by the platform does not suit you, you can always go to the Design section and then select Styles. 

Now, if you prefer that Sway chooses a theme according to your mood, you can click on Remix! until you find the perfect color scheme. If you want to decide the color, font and textures yourself, click on the Customize button in the Styles panel.

Valentina Tota