Introduction to Microsoft Sway

Purpose

This article contains information on Microsoft Sway and instructions on how users can create their first Sway.

What is Microsoft Sway?

Looking for an application within the M365 Suite that can be used to create visually pleasing and informative presentations? Sway is a new app from Microsoft Office that makes it easy to create and share interactive reports, personal stories, presentations, and more. With Sway, you’re no longer limited to picking a pre-designed template that makes your presentations look like everyone else’s, and you don’t have to have any design skills to transform and showcase information in modern, interactive, and attention-getting ways.

You can create presentations, reports, a photo album, newsletters, or any other document type you can think of!

Video Tutorial

Procedure

Sway is free to use for anyone with a Microsoft account (Hotmail, Live, or Outlook.com). You can create more sophisticated Sways with more content when you use Sway as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription.

To access it, you can either login into Sway directly or connect from Microsoft 365 for business.

a) Sway: Go to Sway.Office.com and select Sign in on the top menu bar with your Microsoft account or work or school account for Microsoft 365.

b) Microsoft 365 for Business: Login to the Microsoft Office Home Page and click on the App Launcher icon on the top left corner of the home page. Select Sway from the apps listed.

This image shows ways to launch Microsoft Sway highlighting the App Launcher on the Microsoft homepage and the Apps widget

Note: In case you do not see the application there, click on the below highlighted Apps option and you should be able to see Sway there.

 

How to Create Your First Sway

Microsoft Sway has some amazing templates to choose from for first time users of the app. While you can edit pre-existing templates, Sway also lets you create documents from scratch. Read on to know how!

  1. On the Sway home page, select the template of your choice. Let’s go ahead with the New Blank Sway in this document.
    • Select the New blank Sway option to create your sway from scratch.
    • There is also an option for Start from a topic. This option uses AI powered by Wikipedia to help you create an outline. 
    • You can select Start from a document if you have an already created document to put up.
    • Examples are provided for each option below. 

 The image shows the templates available to create a Sway document

Create new: 

  1. Enter in the Title of your Sway document.
  2. You can add a background image or your own or use the suggested ones, and text following the images.
  3. Multiple headings can be added by clicking the Add icon and format those as per your liking.
  4. Select Design on the top left corner or on Play on the top right corner to preview your Sway.
  5. You can click on the Share option on the top right to send across the document to a wider audience.

 

This image highlights the ways to add in background images, titles and more

Note: Here is an example of how a Sway document could look like.
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