Outlook’s future is here, but with some caveats.
Microsoft officially released the new Outlook for Windows on Tuesday afternoon, with features that incorporate Microsoft’s futuristic Loop interface as well as more practical innovations such as quick attachments, a “My Day” summary and reminders to reply. to important emails. For now, however, the new features are only available to members of the Office Insider Programespecially the beta channel.
We’ve seen the “Future of Outlook” many times over the years, from the simple and efficient Outlook apps of 2015 for iOS and Android, to those of 2017. consistent approach to unifying Outlook on various platforms. We also see the first fruits of “Cortex Project”, in the way Microsoft (and rival Google) blurs the lines between different applications. But Microsoft has also worked to clean up the different versions (the web, Office 365, web apps, etc.) and provide a unified version of Outlook for the PC. That leaked earlier this monthand it’s here now.
Microsoft designed Outlook to be familiar, and it is, especially if you’re used to the Outlook web app. Unfortunately, it is not available for many users. To be a member of the Office Insider program, you must either subscribe to the consumer edition of Microsoft 365 or ask your enterprise administrator to activate it. Consumers can easily upgrade to the Insider Program (ffrom any Office application on Windows, click File > Account > Office Insider > Join Office Insiderthen accept the checkbox next to “Sign me up for early access to new versions of Office”). But you’ll also need to use a paid business or educational account as your primary email address to try out the new Outlook, which can complicate the process.
Here are the new Outlook features that Microsoft says you’ll want:
Namechecking documents: In Outlook, you can quickly type an “at” symbol (“@”) and then a person’s name, and it will be called in their email. You can quickly “call” files by using the same “@” symbol in front of files and documents. However, they must be stored in the cloud. Unfortunately, this probably means you’ll have to search for the full name of “SalesPresentationMarch2022final3really” to attach it this way.
Respond to requests: We’ve seen Microsoft’s AI in Cortana and the like “sniff” your inbox for what it sees as an important message, like a request for a customer response. If Outlook thinks it has found such an email, it will be pinned to the top of your inbox until dismissed. You can also manually pin an email to the top of your inbox by clicking the “pin” icon.
“My day” and “To do”: You should start to see a more prominent “To Do” column to the right of your inbox. Also called “My Day”, you will be able to use this space as a place to drag emails into it, which will become tasks that you can check off.
An updated calendar: It looks like while the calendar will remain largely unchanged, a new “Board” view will essentially turn your calendar into a bulletin board, where your work schedule can be added as a card, alongside tasks, documents important and advice. You’ll also be able to reserve a spot on your calendar and let people know you’ll be attending their meeting in person or virtually.
Sweep the clutter: Microsoft also encourages you to use the tools we’ve described earlier, such as Rules, to automatically manage and control email as it arrives in your inbox. Microsoft calls this “sweeping”.
Loop and the future: Microsoft thinks the most important addition to the new Outlook client is Loop, which Microsoft describes than making documents a kind of widget. It blurs the line between a document and a shared workspace – which for some users will be anathema, and for others a natural extension of a tight-knit team. We’ll have to see how Loop evolves over the coming years and months.
For now, the new Outlook is in the hands of the few, as it fixes bugs and adds features. Unfortunately, some of the basic abilities you expect are not there: offline support, multiple accounts, etc. Expect Microsoft to expand its audience by improving its new Outlook client.
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