Microsoft Windows and App Updates Coming Soon

Outlook Mobile for Android will require Android 9.0+

Beginning on July 10, 2023 Outlook for Android will no longer support Android 8.x or below. Users will need to upgrade their Android operating system to Android 9.0 or newer.

WHEN: If you are using Outlook for Android on phones running an older version of Android, they will no longer be able to update to newer versions of Outlook for Android after July 10, 2023.

Earlier this year we told you that the Planner app on the web and in Teams will be gaining support for rich text (bold, italics, underline, etc.) in the Planner task notes field. This enhancement was originally slated to roll out in mid-March, but was delayed and now planned for mid-July. Because this feature is only available on for Planner on the web and in Teams formatting in the notes field will appear differently when using Planner apps on different platforms. Rich text will be automatically maintained on platforms that support it. However, if a person edits the plain text task notes field in a client which only supports the plain text field, the edits to the plain text task notes field will remove of any pre-existing rich text, or text formatting in the rich text notes field.

WHEN: This feature will be rolled out by mid-July for Planner on the web and in Teams.  Other Planner experiences in iOS, Android, SharePoint, and Power Automate will only support plain text task notes at this time, a future update is planned to allow these apps to support rich text in the notes field. Support for images is planned for a future update.

Microsoft is completely revamping its Sharing and Manage Access features to be more people-centric and more usable. You will see the change in the Sharing dialogue box that pops up when you choose the Share button next to the file name. ​​​​​​You can focus on the people you want to share with and how you want to share with them.

Who the link is shared with and how – share with anyone, share with anyone within my organization or share with specific people – is always at the bottom of the dialog box. Use the gear icon in the upper right corner of the dialogue to modify sharing preferences to best fit your needs.

The new Sharing dialog looks like this:

You can now view the list of all the people who have gained access to your files, search for an individual or a group, and manage their access. You can also drill down into the group or link information for more details.

New Manage Access dialog:

 WHEN: Roll out will be complete by end of July

Microsoft is adding new functionality to contact cards in Outlook and Teams to show a person’s work location if they have been set. Refer to this article for additional details.

To set your work schedule in Outlook on the Web, do the following: 

1. Select Settings > View all Outlook settings > Calendar.
2. Choose work hours and location, and then define your work schedule by choosing days, times, and locations. 

WHEN: These features have rolled out to Outlook on the Web. Desktop and mobile Teams and Outlook clients will receive these updates by the end of August.

Access to Office add-ins will change from the Insert tab to the File Menu and Home Tab. Not everyone uses Office Add-Ins – they enable user to connect familiar web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Project. The new location for these add-ins is accompanied by a new icon. The hexagon icon has been replaced with a unified square icon, which is consistent with other extensibility experiences across M365 services. 

WHEN: Rollout starts in June and will be completed by December 2023

Beginning Aug. 1, how you manage or join distribution groups will be changing. Currently, managing group membership or joining a group is performed under the General>Distribution Groups section under Settings in Outlook on the Web. To manage group membership of distribution groups you own or to join a group, you can do so by navigating to this portal, which provides a list of groups you are a member of and own.  For more details on managing Distribution Groups you can access this Distribution Groups article on Microsoft’s website.

WHEN: This change will be in effect on August 1