Switch from Microsoft Word to Zoho Writer
Once you have made your switch to Zoho Workplace from Microsoft 365, you'll need to get your Zoho Writer account set up. To access Zoho Writer, navigate to Writer from your Workplace Dashboard.
Sign Up NowGet started with Zoho Writer
Log in to your Zoho Workplace account using your Workplace credentials, then navigate to Zoho Writer from the header. You can also access Zoho Writer from writer.zoho.com using your Workplace account.
Get started using Writer with the following features:
Features
We built Writer to be an intuitive, powerful platform for editing, collaboration, automation, and publishing. Here are some significant features that Zoho Writer offers to its users.
Create and format documents
Start from the beginning by creating a new document. You can also use the available templates or import an existing document from your desktop and start editing it. In addition to the usual text style and formatting options, you can insert images, videos, symbols, equations, charts, tables, embeds, lists, tables, fields, signature, code, quotes, links, shapes, text boxes, barcode, QR code, and much more. Read more on how to create and format documents with Writer.
Document Design
Writer comes with built-in style sets and themes that help you unify your document. No more tedious style tweaks: you can use these styles to quickly apply a set of consistent formatting options to your entire document. Learn more about document design.
Zia, your writing assistant
Check grammar, understand readability, and monitor your writing quality with Writer's AI-powered writing assistant, Zia. Learn more about Zia, your writing assistant.
Collaborate, review, and revise
You can share your work with others and collaborate with them in real-time. Track their changes and start contextual discussions using comments. For more details, read collaborate, review, and revise with Writer.
Publish documents to share your ideas
You can publish documents inside or outside your organization. When you publish, Writer generates a link will for you to share and embed your document in websites or blogs. Learn more about publishing with Writer.
Sign documents online
Manage agreements and contracts from start to finish with built-in e-signing options. Learn more about signing documents with Writer.
Document merge and automation
Document automation in Writer lets you work with a combination of dynamic and fixed content to generate personalized letters, emails, or contracts in bulk. Create fillable forms and automate sign collection using the document automation tool. Explore document merge and automation.
Work offline
Writer works with or without the internet, so you can take your laptop or mobile devices anywhere and keep writing with no interruptions. Learn more about working offline with Writer.
Work across devices
You can use Writer's desktop and mobile apps to create and edit your documents on any device. Learn more about Writer's desktop and mobile apps.
Feature comparison: Microsoft Word and Zoho Writer
If you've been using Microsoft Word and are ready to switch to Zoho Writer, here's a quick comparison of their features to guide your exploration.
| Microsoft Word | Zoho Writer |
|---|---|
| Basic Features | |
Control the alignment, spacing, setting indents, and more. | Paragraph editing tools Paragraph editing tools in Writer allow you to set indents, line spacing, insert borders to your document, and much more. To change your Paragraph settings, go to More Options (☰) > Format tab. |
Insert images from your photo and file browsers, drag and drop or embed them into your document, and rotate, crop, and edit them. | Insert image Insert non-text elements such as images to better illustrate your point or catch your reader's eye. You can insert images from your existing image library, other cloud applications, or upload images from your desktop. To insert images, go to More Options (☰) > Insert tab. |
Create bulleted and numbered lists, and choose from a range of preformatted list styles | Working with lists Writer provides numerous preformatted bullet-point and numbering styles to help you create and customize simple ordered or unordered lists. To create a new list, go to More Options (☰) > Format tab. |
Organize your data by creating and editing tables. | Working with tables Writer offers a range of smart layouts, tools, and formulas to help you easily create and customize tables. You can create a new table from scratch or paste your spreadsheet from Zoho sheet as a table in your Writer document. To create a new table, go to More Options (☰) > Insert tab. |
Insert and edit mathematical equations in your documents. | Equations and symbols Writer provides a wide range of symbol sets to help you insert punctuation, alphanumeric symbols, emojis, math symbols, and more. Use Writer's LaTeX editor to insert and edit complex mathematical expressions. To insert symbols and equations, go to More Options (☰) > Insert tab. |
Insert hyperlinks to give quick access to related web pages. You can also use the bookmark feature to insert a hyperlink to another location in the same document. | Hyperlinks and bookmarks Add hyperlinks and bookmarks in your documents to direct the reader to a detailed explanation of a concept. To insert hyperlinks and bookmarks, go to More Options (☰) > Insert tab. |
You can insert endnotes and footnotes into your Word document from the references tab, as well as change the location, convert endnotes to footnotes, and more. | End notes and foot notes Use footnotes and endnotes to give your reader further context and relevant information. To insert endnotes and footnotes, go to More Options (☰) > Insert tab. |
Insert and customize text boxes and shapes. You can add effects, fill color, patterns, shades, and more. | Shapes and textboxes Writer offers a variety of shapes, line styles, arrows, and textboxes you can easily insert and customize. To insert shapes and text boxes, go to More Options (☰) > Insert tab. |
With Word, you can insert form fields such as check boxes, textboxes, and more. | Fillable form fields Add fillable fields to your document to create an accessible, convenient form with necessary fields. To insert fillable fields, go to More Options (☰) > Fields tab.. |
You can create a chart or graph directly in your Word document to add visual details. | Insert charts You can now create and update charts in Writer and link them to your corresponding Zoho Sheet file as a source. Transform the table inserted into your document into charts and edit them right away. To insert charts, go to More Options (☰) > Insert tab. |
You can insert the current date and time automatically to your document using the Date & Time field in the Insert tab. You can also insert custom fields to your documents. | Autofields Use Writer's insertable autofields to automatically display document information, such as the current date, page number, page count, author name, document name, and document version without having to find and write that information manually. To insert autofields, go to More Options (☰) > Fields tab. |
You can insert media such as PDF files, charts, and presentations into a Word document by linking or embedding them. | Media and web widgets Insert statistical data, graphs, images, videos, survey results, sales figures, financial data, and more with Writer's media and smart widget tools. To insert media and widgets, go to More Options (☰) > Insert tab. |
| Editing Options | |
Bold, italicize, and underline the text. You can also change the font size, style, and color of the text. | Text formatting In Writer, you can add text to a document and apply formatting options like bold, italics and underline. You can strike through text and change the font size, style and color. To format text, go to More Options (☰) > Format tab. |
Word supports left-to-right (LTR) and right-to-left (RTL) text direction. | Text Direction [LTR and RTL] Writer provides support for both left-to-right languages like English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese,and right-to-left languages like Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and Urdu. To enable RTL and LTR support, go to More Options (☰) > Format tab. |
Word allows you to select multiple different page borders for your document or a specific paragraph. You can select the paragraph and apply borders, and shade the text with a specific colour or pattern. | Border and shading Highlight the paragraphs you want to draw attention to by applying borders and shades to them. Go to More Options (☰) > Format tab. |
| Advanced Options | |
Download and install the Word desktop app to work on your Word documents offline. | Offline editing Writer now works internet-free, so you can take your laptop or mobile device anywhere and keep working without interruptions. To enable offline setup:
|
You can insert a formula in a table cell to perform calculations and logical comparisons in your Word document. | Formulas in tables Writer makes it easy to add formulas to your embedded tables to perform mathematical functions right there in your document. |
| Layout Options | |
Word offers basic page layouts [A4/ Letter], magnification levels, and view types (page view or web view) | Page layout View your document in different layouts to present your writing at its best. Enable full screen, switch to night mode, and much more. To update the page layout options, go to More Options (☰) > View tab. |
| Document Generation and Assembly | |
Word's mail merge feature allows you to create and print form letters and labels. | Document merge With Writer's in-built document merge and automation features, printing customized contracts and forms and sending personalized letters is as easy as sending an email. To get started, go to More Options (☰) > Automate tab. |
Word's Label feature allows you to create and print a page of identical labels. | Label and envelope merge Easily create and print standard shipping labels and envelopes at ease. Our built-in templates and document merge features have you covered. To get started with merging labels, go to More Options (☰) > Automate tab. |
Word allows you to add your encrypted signature to your account to easily sign documents. | Digital signature When you create a document in Writer, you can directly insert your saved signature without having to switch between apps or print and sign your documents. To insert signature, go to More Options (☰) > Fields tab. |
| Document Sharing and Collaboration | |
Word allows you to collaborate with real-time co-authoring and collaboration tools. | Co-authoring and collaboration With Writer, you can share files with individual colleagues or a group of collaborators. Users can work together using track changes, insert comments, lock sections, and much more. |
Word allows collaborators to use Track Changes to make and review changes, accept or remove them, and leave comments. | Track changes Stay in control of collaborator edits using Writer's track changes feature. Clearly see who changed what when, and accept or reject edits one by one. |
Word allows you to proof, print, and publish documents to the web, within your organization, or on WordPress and Blogger platforms. | Publishing documents Publish documents inside or outside your organization. You can share your published document or embed it into your website or blog. |
| Document Review and Proofing | |
Word runs Microsoft Editor in your documents to analyze your writing and offer suggestions for spelling, grammar, and stylistic issues. | Spell check and grammar Identify misspellings as you type. Detect the most common grammar errors, including incorrect verbs, nouns, pronouns, prepositions, articles, punctuation, and more using Writer's AI-powered assistant, Zia. |
Word's Find and Replace feature helps you find words or particular formatting in your document and replace all instances if you need. | Find and replace Writer now supports an advanced Find and Replace tool for almost anything, from simple text to numbers, white space, fields, headings, bookmarks, and more. |
Use the Navigation pane in Word to go to a page or a heading in a Word document without scrolling through the entire document. | Document navigator Manage your document's headings, bookmarks, and fields and manage each section easily with Writer's Document Navigator. Need to restructure a long document? You can easily move and rearrange sections by simply dragging and dropping the section header in the navigation panel. |
| Document Design and Customization | |
With Word, you can apply border styles to each page or an individual page. | Page borders Writer has multiple design options to make your document look professional, unique, and polished. Choose from a set of colorful border designs, use watermarks, add page color, and more. |
With Word, you can apply a formatting theme to an entire document. | Document themes Writer offers with built-in professional themes to help you unify your document formatting. Use these styles to quickly apply a set of formatting options to your entire document. To apply a preset design to your document, go to More options > Design tab. |
| Platform/Device Support | |
Microsoft Word is available on iOS and iPadOS. | Download Writer for iOS. |
Microsoft Word is available for Android. | Download Writer for Android. |
Microsoft Word is available as a desktop app. | Download the Writer desktop app to use alongside the browser version. |