Why does Microsoft withhold features?

Question

I paid for Word, not 365. I bought the program outright. But features like choosing the theme isn't available unless I "sign-in" into word. I don't like using OneDrive. I don't want to be signed into OneDrive, why can't I use features that come with a program that I paid for?

Answer 1

Signing in does not require you to use OneDrive. To save files to your computer, choose File>Options>Save and check Save to Computer by default.

Answer 2

Document Themes can be applied from the Design tab in Word for Windows. Click the Themes button on the far left. See the screen shot below.

Note that if your document is in Compatibility mode, for example because it has been saved to the older *.doc format, Themes won't be supported. The screen shot below illustrates how the Themes command is grayed out.

Answer 3

Signing in does not require you to use OneDrive.

To save files to your computer, choose File>Options>Save and check Save to Computer by default.

I cannot reproduce any similar effect of features being reduced from signing out in Office 2021. Please choose File>Account and post the version of Office that is listed to the right of the Update Now button.

Answer 4

To prevent OneDrive from being used as the place to store and synchronize files, you can "unlink" your PC. See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-to-remove-an-account-in-onedrive-72699268-9e64-45bd-b723-9a19f4512fd1.

In Word, select the option to "Save to Computer by default" (as John has already suggested).

Remember that existing documents, that have already been saved to the cloud, must be downloaded manually.

Answer 5

Thanks for the response. I have deleted OneDrive altogether and then find that the default location is still onedrive; I guess from signing into

Word. But why are features withheld from singing into a program you paid for? How do you change the theme while signed out?