[MacTUG] MS Office 365 for Mac: Insider Fast Update channel try the "New Outlook" prompt

[Keith Peck]

Hi Everyone,
A heads-up that will only apply to Microsoft Office 365 for Mac users who have selected the Microsoft “Insider Fast Update channel” option.

If you are prompted by a window in Outlook for Office 365 for Mac asking you to try the “New Outlook” you can do so, but please be aware that you will need to check for MS-updates after making the change. There will be one update for Outlook that is required, along with quitting and re-launching Outlook before you will be able to send email messages in Outlook.

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If you see the prompt to try the new Outlook it lists some new and improved features related to the Calendar and Searching, however my strong advice is that the New Outlook isn’t ready for daily use yet.

Not mentioned by the Try the New Outlook prompt is that People (Contacts), Tasks and Notes are not ready for use. You only find this out when trying to view these features and being prompted to switch back.

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If you are curious to use the New Outlook, but then decide to switch back to the current view it is extremely easy. Just flip the New Outlook ON/OFF switch now found near the upper-right corner of the Outlook window. Making the change will result in a prompt that Outlook will quit and then restart. You will potentially also see a prompt asking if you would like to save any unsent messages as Drafts.

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The New Outlook window (only the top portion of window) with New Outlook ON/OFF switch at upper-right.

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New Features:

  *   The “My Day” column at the right of the Outlook window will be “ON” initially, but it can be unchecked under the View menu to hide. This is a feature that has been available in Outlook for Windows for many years.
  *   [Not new features but these both turned on when I made the switch]: “Show Message Previews” (a few words from the first line for each email listed in the messages column) and “Show Messages in Groups” are also listed in the “View” drop-down menu.
  *   Adding appointments in the Calendar looks different by showing the most commonly used fields in a pop-up window when you begin to create a meeting. A design improvement that could save time when creating new Calendar items.
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Keith Peck
Computing Consultant, Client Services,
Information Systems and Technology
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1.
EC2 2126B, (519) 888-4567 x.47770
kdpeck at uwaterloo.ca<mailto:kdpeck at uwaterloo.ca>
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