However, this experience will soon be coming to an end.  The company details that there are plans to end support for the feature this month, After which users can no longer access their boards. Instead, they will be redirected to a supported calendar view automatically.

Microsoft further highlighted that:

• Your content (calendars, emails, notes, tasks and files) will remain in your account and you can still access them using the respective apps.
• In Outlook settings (Privacy and data), you can export the metadata of your boards. This can be useful if you want to back up any links you had on your board for future reference.
• URLs to calendar boards will be redirected to a supported calendar view.

The feature created a more sophisticated experience compared to the basic display and features on a supported calendar view. Essentially, the calendar board view in Outlook for web features a customizable visual planner that can display multiple calendars simultaneously, thus making it easier for users to plan accordingly.

Moreover, it also features clocks for different time zones and task lists from Microsoft To Do. It also made it easier for users to create multiple boards and reorder them based on preference. However, you’ll no longer be able to leverage these capabilities from next month. “Calendar board view is not available to GCC/GCCH/DOD Microsoft 365 customers,” says Microsoft.

Do you use the Calendar board view in Outlook? Let us know below.

Per Microsoft’s findings, multifactor authentications completed via push notifications in the Microsoft Authenticator app are far less likely to be susceptible to attacks when compared to those completed via SMS codes. The company further highlighted that:

Authenticator Lite (in Outlook) expands the opportunity to convert users by bringing the enhanced security of push notifications to devices that have not yet downloaded the Microsoft Authenticator App.

With Authenticator Lite (in Outlook) in place, users will be prompted to register for multifactor authentication (MFA) in Outlook on their phones. Once you enter your password while signing into the app, you’ll have the capability to send a push notification to your phone. This option is available for both iOS and Android users.

Microsoft aims to help transition users from text message (SMS) and voice-based authentication to more sophisticated and secure authentication systems such as push notifications with this new entry. “The configuration for this feature is included with all Microsoft Authenticator feature settings in the Microsoft Entra portal and via MS Graph,” says Microsoft.

It’s worth noting that the feature is currently in the “Microsoft managed” phase till June 9 when Microsoft will enable it for everyone automatically.

In related news, Microsoft shipped the number matching feature in the Authenticator app to all users earlier this month. The feature adds an extra layer of protection for users by preventing them from making accidental approvals while simultaneously protecting them from MFA attacks.

As you might already be aware, the email client ships with support for Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook.com accounts, Basically, any email provider with IMAP support. Building on this premise, Microsoft has recently released a new update for the Mac client bumping it to version 16.73. It includes several feature updates as well as improvements.

Here’s everything you need to know:

First up, Microsoft is now introducing Outlook Profiles to the Mac client. It’s designed to help Outlook for Mac users “create a distraction-free experience across multiple accounts.” With the new feature in place, you can create profiles to help separate your accounts from each other. What’s more, once you create these profiles and select one, you won’t get distracted by notifications from another account.

Next up, the update ships with support for Aliases. As such, users will now be able to use their additional email addresses linked to their Outlook accounts to send emails.

Additionally, users will also be able to check the total number of items in a folder. You can easily do this by right-clicking on the folder name you want to check.

The update also ships with a number of fixes as highlighted below:

• Fixed a crash that occurs when setting calendar sharing permissions.
• Fixed an issue with applying default sensitivity label to mail and calendar items.
• Fixed an issue where events more than one year in the future don’t appear on the calendar.
• Fixed a calendar issue where two event compose windows are shown when opening room finder from the event compose popover.
• Fixed an authentication issue with IMAP and iCloud Accounts.

In related news, Microsoft recently shipped a host of new colorful themes inspired by the flags of the LGBTQI+ communities to the Outlook client for Mac users. “You can celebrate Pride by choosing one of five different themes inspired by the Pride, Lesbian, Bisexual, Non-binary, and Transgender flags,” says Microsoft.

‎Microsoft Outlook (Free⁺, Mac App Store) →

Featured image via Bing Image Creator

And as we come to the end of the week, as usual, it’s time to recap all the key features Microsoft announced as coming to its Microsoft 365 suite. Here’s everything you need to know:

Outlook on the web – Work Hours and Location

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a lot of organizations transitioned to hybrid work, and with people working asynchronously across different times, it may be difficult to pass communication appropriately. It is important to strike a balance between work and personal time, you’d not like to be thinking about work while hanging out with friends and family.

Microsoft has now announced a new feature to Outlook on the web that will allow users to set up their work hours and location (WHL). The feature tagged 88822 in the Microsoft 365 Roadmap will let users specify when they’ll be working remotely or in the office.

What’s more, users can set up different working hours per day, or multiple work slots in a day. Additionally, if you use Teams too and have the feature enabled on Outlook, the location status will also be displayed on your Teams profile card.

According to Microsoft:

The new WHL also impacts how “suggested times” work when creating a meeting event in Outlook on the web. Suggested times will take into account the WHL of the attendees before suggesting times when people are available.

The feature is expected to start rolling out to users later this month and hit general availability by early June.

Microsoft Teams: New ‘Sync device buttons’ setting

Microsoft has introduced new Sync device buttons toggle under the Teams Desktop client Settings (Devices tab). The setting is designed to help users disable syncing between their device controls and with Teams.

The feature is already available in preview and is currently in the roll out phase. It’s expected to hit broad availability by mid-May. “The purpose of this feature is to offer an option for end users to disable the syncing of their connected Peripherals with the Teams Desktop client to allow for co-existence scenarios with other HID-enabled or speech-recognition apps,” says Microsoft.

Microsoft Edge management service

For those unfamiliar with the Microsoft Edge management service, it’s essentially a single portal for admins designed to help them manage the Edge browser. And now, Microsoft has announced that admins will have the capability to configure all Edge browser policies for their organization in a configuration profile and set-up the browser to use these settings.

The feature tagged 124856 in the Microsoft 365 Roadmap is expected to start rolling out mid-July and hit general availability by mid-August.

That’s it for this week folks! In related news, Microsoft added a new feature to the Microsoft 365 mobile app for both iOS and Android users that lets them sign PDFs. The feature is currently rolling out to Microsoft 365 Insiders, it’s not yet clear when it will hit broad availability.

Be sure to check out last week’s recap post in case you missed it. Let us know which feature you’re anticipating most in the comments.

Featured image via Bing Image Creator

Microsoft specific wording to Admins regarding the impending Outlook/Edge apocalypse reads, “Web links from Azure Active Directory (AAD) accounts and Microsoft (MSA) accounts in the Outlook for Windows app will open in Microsoft Edge in a single view showing the opened link side-by-side with the email it came from.”

What Microsoft leaves off its notice to admins is that this new behavior ignores users preferred browser settings that are set at the operating system level.

While the Reddit community that’s sharing Microsoft’s latest strong-arm tactic is quick to point out the company’s new policy harkens back to their previously shadowy anti-competitive behavior of past, it should be noted that the company is less than savory loophole to skirt obvious antitrust scrutiny this time around.

The new Outlook for Windows side-by-side policy doesn’t actually affect the default browser settings put in place by users, but is instead a “feature” of the mail client as a stand-alone app, and Microsoft has issued a statement to IT admins justifying the move as a way to “increase productivity.”

The Verge is reporting that IT admins who manage 365 Enterprsie accounts will have 30-days from the time of being first notified, to make preparations for the new policy change where Microsoft will support exceptions that include altering the policy, meanwhile Microsoft 365 for business users will need to manually reset policy changes per associated device.

Couple this recent policy change with the company preparing to do the same thing with Teams as well, and you have many Windows and Office users left with the bitter taste of Microsoft’s seemingly unnecessary aggression in their mouths.

Previously, Microsoft declared it would “ensure user choices are respected” as it rolled out new approach to Settings deep link URL schemes app pinning in Windows 11, and while it’s technically doing so, this new policy ultimately feels like yet another unforced error by the company in attempting to get users behind Edge usage.

On its face, the new policy change will once again confuse the average Windows user who’s set their browser to alternative such as Chrome, Firefox or Opera but are presented with the Edge browser. The only saving grace to Microsoft’s heavy-handed approach is that it will have the Outlook message in a side-by-side view so the user can maybe draw a line from Outlook link to this previously unused browser.

Never the less, IT admins are upset and Microsoft will yet again make their lives unnecessarily complicated following their attempt to backtrack from another Edge-related kerfuffle with default settings in Windows and if they lose the goodwill of this audience, they’ll presumably have more than Edge adoption to worry about.

Pride Themes in New Mac Outlook

Microsoft has announced a host of new colorful themes inspired by the flags of the LGBTQI+ communities making their way to the New Mac Outlook. According to Microsoft the feature tagged 88536 in the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, will help the community “show their Pride.”

By switching to the Pride theme, the Mac Outlook client will feature rainbow accent colors. The company has further added that:

You can celebrate Pride by choosing one of five different themes inspired by the Pride, Lesbian, Bisexual, Non-binary, and Transgender flags. (The Outlook themes will be available on a year-round basis, not just during the month of June.)

The feature is expected to start rolling out to the Preview channel in mid-May and will hit general availability by early June 2023.

Revamped and refreshed Teams admin center

IT admins will soon get a new and improved Teams experience, making the announcement earlier this week, Microsoft has indicated that there are plans underway to “launch a vibrant new look and feel to the Teams Admin Center.”

Microsoft has already begun shipping this experience to some users, though it’s expected to hit general availability in early May this year. The new experience will also feature several key enhancements such as the visual redesign of TA, changes to the navigation menu, and new micro-interactions that have been designed to enhance the user experience for IT admins.

That’s it for this week folks. We invite you to check out last week’s recap in case you missed it. Be sure to also let us know which Microsoft 365 feature you’re anticipating most in the comments.

Featured image via Bing Image Creator

#1: Access your Bookings with me page

Booking appointments can be a hassle, but with Outlook’s Bookings with me page, it’s simple. To get started, open your calendar and click on the “My Booking Page” option on the left-hand side. You can now add different events that people can book with you, and once you’re finished, you can share the page so others can book time on your calendar. If you need help getting started, follow these easy-to-follow instructions.

1. Go to https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/.
2. Click the plus sign (+) icon next to Public to create a new Booking time for people to meet with you. You will be able to create meeting types and times and name them accordingly.
   
3. Now you need to enter the details for your booking time. For this example, I am creating a booking time for 30 minutes chats on Microsoft Teams. Click Save when you are finished.
   
4. After finishing the setup process, it’s time to personalize your Booking page and notify others that it’s ready for scheduling meetings with you. To share your Booking page with others, click on the Share</strong button and select from the available page-sharing options.
   
5. By clicking on Copy link, you can easily share a link to your public Booking page by copying it to your clipboard. If you prefer to share via email, click on Share via email to open an automated send function within Bookings. Additionally, you can automate the process of adding your Booking page to your Outlook email signature by selecting Add to email signature.
6. To change the banner image of your page, simply click on the three dots located next to Share and choose Edit banner image.

Keep in mind that depending on your region, you may not be able to access the Bookings with me feature at this time. Please allow for additional time for your Bookings with me page to completely set up as the feature is currently available in Preview.

#2: Read Outlook emails in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge is an excellent browser, and it’s even better when paired with Outlook. To read your emails in Edge, go to the top right-hand corner of your screen and hover over the Bing logo. This will open up the sidebar, where you can click on the Outlook icon. From here, you can view and manage all your email, as well as access your calendar, contacts, and tasks. It’s a simple and convenient way to stay on top of your email game.

#3: Handle long email threads

Long email threads can be a pain, but this one of the more useful of the hidden Outlook features. Click on the “Reply All with Meeting” icon or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + R. This will open up a new meeting invitation in Outlook, which will pull in the subject, attendees, and context from the email thread. It’s an efficient way to handle long conversations without having to go back and forth over email.

Microsoft Outlook has many features that can help you work more efficiently and effectively. These three hidden features are just a few examples of how Outlook can make your life easier. By taking advantage of them, you’ll be able to manage your email, calendar, and contacts with ease, streamline your workflow, stay organized, and reduce the time you spend managing your inbox. Try these features today and see how they can supercharge your productivity!

In turn, you end up wasting a lot of time trying to track this information or even miss out on important information entirely. However, Microsoft has announced the release of a new feature that’s designed to help Outlook for Mac users “create a distraction-free experience across multiple accounts.”

With the new feature in place, you can create profiles to help separate your accounts from each other. What’s more, once you create these profiles and select one, you won’t get distracted by notifications from another account.

This new addition comes shortly after Microsoft made the Outlook app for Mac free to download and use from the Mac App Store, you no longer need a Microsoft 365 subscription to access it.

For instance, if you have created two profiles, one for work and the other for your personal account and you select the profile linked to your personal account, Outlook won’t send you notifications from the profile linked to your work account.

This way you’re able to keep tabs on everything that’s going on in either account. Microsoft has indicated that users can switch between profiles using a single click or by pressing the Control+Tab keys. Additionally, to make the transition more seamless, users can leverage Siri automation to make the switch automatic at a specific time during the day.

Aside from buffering out distractions using the profiles, Microsoft has also stated that users will be able to:

• Theme your work profile to be a different color than your personal profile.
• Switch between various Outlook to help with work-life balance. For example, you can switch to your personal profile, every weekday after 6pm and switch back to work at 8am, the next day.
• Set up as many profiles as you need to best manage your time and your inbox.
• Define different Outlook window appearance for different profiles.
• Tie your email accounts within Outlook for Mac to Apple’s Focus Filters.

It is worth noting that you need a minimum of two accounts to make use of this feature. You must also have access to the New Outlook for Mac. The feature has started rolling out to Insiders running Version 16.70 (Build 23021201) or later.

In Outlook related news, Microsoft recently announced it had started rolling out third-party account support for its new Outlook preview app. The company announced there were plans to expand this support to iCloud and Yahoo in the future.

Outlook for Windows previews first hit select devices back in September 2022, but it landed with a nice helping of caveats that continue to trip up a larger migration of users looking to do away with Mail for Windows, Outlook for the Web and Outlook Exchange as disparate email destinations and experiences.

One of the largest hurdles for users of the beta preview of Outlook for Windows has been Microsoft’s limited account support for email clients, particularly Gmail accounts. However, that will soon change as Microsoft Group Product Manager Margie Clinton brings news of support for Yahoo, Gmail and iCloud support through IMAP protocols.

Today, we will begin to roll out support for Gmail accounts to those using the preview of the new Outlook for Windows. Soon, we will also add support for Yahoo and iCloud, as well as the ability to connect your mailbox through IMAP. It’s our intention that every person be able to access all of their emails – in one spot – on any Windows 10 or Windows 11 device.

Clinton promises the same level of integration for third party clients as is present with Microsoft email accounts which includes richer Calendar and Contacts support as well as a more comprehensive editing, spelling and autocomplete platform powered by Microsoft Editor. More specifically, Gmail support in the new Outlook for Windows preview will enable the ability to add multiple shared calendars, support for multiple time zones and a new daily weather widget in the Calendar view.

Currently, Outlook for Windows preview can access and display package tracking and flight info, but it is unclear if that level of integration will be extended to data from Google’s email client. Another uncertainty is if Microsoft will bring over labels and filtering sections from Gmail any time soon.

As for what’s next for Outlook for Windows preview, Clinton mentioned the following features should make their way into the company’s next biggest update:

• The ability to track packages and check in to flights directly from your Inbox.
• Reminders about important messages that still need a reply.
• Search folders for quick and easy access to all of your emails.
• The ability to customize your email density and views.

The update with support for third party email accounts is slowly rolling access out starting today for anyone using the beta and meets the minimum required OS specs of Windows 10 Version 1809 (Build 17763).

For those not conversant with the feature, it is designed to read both emails and upcoming events for Outlook users to make it easier for them to stay up-to-date with everything that’s happening in the inbox.

And now, Microsoft is expanding the feature’s capabilities to two more languages, bringing the total number of supported languages to four.

To access the feature in these new languages, you must be either Outlook for iOS or Android. You must also have an Office 365 work account, an Outlook account, or a Gmail account signed in to Outlook mobile.

Next, you must also ensure that you’re connected to a Bluetooth or wired audio device, then select the Play icon in the notification that appears at the bottom of the screen.

Do you use this feature to enhance your productivity? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.