Sign and Switch Accounts in PowerPoint 2013 on Windows 10 and 8

Office 2013 programs such as PowerPoint 2013 work with their own Accounts system. Additionally they also integrate with the Account you use to sign in within your Windows based operating system. Many options within PowerPoint show up or change depending on which Account you are signed into, and these include your Recent Files list, your connected services, and even the interface color for your program.

While these customizations show up irrespective of whether you are running PowerPoint 2013 on Windows 7 or a newer version such as Windows 10 or 8, the process in which you sign in and switch Accounts differs. That's because Windows 7 does not provide an Accounts system as well integrated as Windows 8 or newer versions do, and PowerPoint seamlessly integrates with the latter. This tutorial explores Account management for PowerPoint 2013 within a Windows 10 or 8 environment. We also have a separate Sign Out and Switch Accounts in PowerPoint 2013 on Windows 7 tutorial.

By default, PowerPoint 2013 and other Office 2013 programs sign into the Microsoft Account you use to sign into Windows, but that can be changed, as we shall explore later in this tutorial.

Remember that there are two types of Microsoft Accounts you can use within PowerPoint 2013. Of course, you can use the same or different Microsoft Accounts in both these cases:

1. Your Windows Account: This is the Microsoft Account you use to sign into Windows 10 or 8. You can switch to another Account from this one. But you can never sign out or remove this Microsoft Account within PowerPoint 2013. If you need to sign out of this Account or remove it altogether, you will have to do so within Windows 10 or 8 itself. The changes will reflect automatically within PowerPoint 2013.
2. Your other Microsoft Account(s): These are Microsoft Accounts too, but not the one you used to sign into Windows 10 or 8. You can sign out of these Accounts as you wish, and you can even remove all traces of these Accounts altogether. In many ways, these Accounts work like guest Accounts.

We will look at how you can sign in, sign out, and switch Accounts in PowerPoint 2013.

Sign Out (or Remove Accounts)

When you first run PowerPoint 2013 or any other Office 2013 program, you are already signed in to the Microsoft Account associated with your Windows 10 or 8 operating system. You should therefore first learn how you can sign out or switch Accounts. Thereafter, we will explore how you can sign in and add Accounts.

You can only switch to another Microsoft Account if you are signed in using a non-Windows Account. Follow these steps to learn more:

1. When PowerPoint is launched, you are always signed into the Microsoft account used in your last session. You can find which account you have been signed in by looking at the top right corner of the PowerPoint interface, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 1.
2. 
   Figure 1: Signed in account within PowerPoint 2013 interface
2. Click the down-arrow next to the signed in account, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2. This brings up the drop-down menu shown in Figure 2. Now choose the Account settings option from this menu (highlighted in blue within Figure 2).
3. 
   Figure 2: Account settings option
3. This opens the Account options within Backstage view, as shown in Figure 3. Note that you can also get to this screen using the File | Account menu option.
4. 
   Figure 3: Account options within the Backstage view
4. Now, within the Account window, click the Sign out hyperlink (highlighted in red within Figure 3). Depending upon whether you are signed into your Windows account or another Microsoft account, you will see different message windows. We explore them both.
5. If you try signing off your Windows account, you'll see the message window shown in Figure 4. This message warns you that the Windows account you are signed into cannot be removed. Yes, this is a confused message window, and you will understand the concept better if you consider signing off and removing accounts to be one and the same task; that's what PowerPoint 2013 seems to think! So since PowerPoint cannot remove your Windows account, it cannot sign you off that account as well.
6. 
   Figure 4: Windows message window
7. On the other hand, if you were signing off your non-Windows based Microsoft account, you'll actually end up removing that account altogether. The message window you see in that case does warn you, as shown in Figure 5 below.
8. 
   Figure 5: Remove Account window

Note that you cannot sign out from your Windows account unless you switch to another Microsoft account, this procedure is explained in the next section of this tutorial.

Switch Accounts (includes Signing In or Adding Accounts)

Learn how to switch to (or add) another Microsoft Account:

1. Access the Account option within the Backstage view and click the Switch Account hyperlink, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 6.
2. 
   Figure 6: Switch Account option to be selected
2. This opens the Sign in to Office window, as shown in Figure 7. Here you will find two options:

a. Microsoft Account

3. This is the account you use for a Microsoft product / service such as Hotmail, OneDrive Xbox Live,Outlook.com, etc.

b. Oranizational Account

4. This account is typically provided by your work or school, etc. and is connected to an Office 365 account.
5. Since we are only exploring Microsoft Accounts in this tutorial, choose that option.
6. 
   Figure 7: Sign in to Office window
3. This brings up the Sign in window (see Figure 8) from where you can sign in into your Microsoft account. Just type in your Microsoft Account email address and password. Then click the Sign in button to proceed.
4. 
   Figure 8: Sign in to Microsoft account window
4. This will immediately change the account with PowerPoint 2013. You can see the changed account at the top right corner of the PowerPoint interface, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 9.
5. 
   Figure 9: Changed account
5. Now, if you again click the Switch Account hyperlink (highlighted in red within Figure 6, shown earlier on this page), you'll see the Accounts window, as shown in Figure 10. Note that the Accounts window displays the Current account and list of Other Accounts signed in. The latter is always the Microsoft Account you use to sign into Windows 10 or 8.
6. 
   Figure 10: Accounts window
7. Also, you can add another Microsoft account by clicking the Add Account button (refer to Figure 10 again). This brings up the Sign in window (see Figure 8 again). You can thus switch between different Accounts.