This article is more than 1 year old

Upcoming Outlook for Windows app opens to more testers

Office Insider? You might want to check refreshed email client

Microsoft has a preview out for its "Unified" Outlook for Windows app for all users on its Office Insider program, and said it will be available for those on the Windows Insider program in the near future.

This new Outlook for Windows was first unveiled in May, when it was made available only to a restricted group of testers in the Office Insider Beta Channel. Also known as Project Monarch, it is being developed with the aim of bringing consistency across the Windows and web codebases of the email client, Microsoft said, and may eventually replace the dedicated Mail and Calendar UWP apps familiar to Windows 10 users.

Users can try out the new features by simply sliding a toggle control marked "Try the New Outlook" in the upper right corner of the classic Outlook for Windows, according to Redmond, provided they are signed up as an Office Insider and running Beta Channel or Current Channel (Preview) builds. And if they don't like what they see, they can slide it back again.

In addition to "numerous" performance improvements, the updated app provides users with the ability to add personal Outlook.com, Hotmail, or Windows Live email accounts, something most users would regard as a basic capability in an email client and which has long been supported by the traditional desktop Outlook app.

Other updates seem rather more trivial, such as a Quick Steps feature, which shows personalized "triage actions" that can be deployed repeatedly to keep the inbox clean and organized, according to Microsoft, and the ability to adjust the width of columns in the calendar when viewing your weekly schedule.

Also added are tips that let users know about new features as they are rolled out, and Microsoft claims that the Outlook for Windows has been given a simplified Ribbon user interface designed to provide a sleeker look and feel that is easier to navigate.

Capabilities that were already in Outlook for Windows since the May release include support for Microsoft Loop components, which enables teams to "edit and share their thoughts while staying in the flow of their work," shared mailboxes and folders for easy collaboration, an Outlook calendar board view, and the ability to pin important emails.

Meanwhile, Redmond disclosed a bunch of features that have yet to be included, but which it plans to release to Insiders in the coming months.

These include: the ability to support multiple email accounts within the same app, including both work and personal; support for third-party email accounts such as Gmail; offline capability; search folders; and support for web add-ins.

Coming back to today, users need to be an Office Insider running Beta Channel or Current Channel (Preview) Version 2209 (Build 15629.20058) or later of Outlook for Windows in order to get the new features. Also required is for your system to be running Windows 10 Version 1809 (Build 17763) or later, with a Microsoft account. ®

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like