Office 365 is now available for all students at the University of Waterloo. This new email and collaboration service also includes the latest versions of Office 2016, including Outlook 2016. This article will outline some of the latest features that are included in Outlook 2016 and how they can improve your Outlook experience and make you more efficient.
One key addition in Outlook 2016 is a feature that makes selecting your latest work to send as an attachment much easier. Selecting “Attach File” will no longer open up a window for you to browse your computer, but will first give you a list of your latest documents, so you can quickly and intuitively hand off your projects to whoever needs them next. This doesn’t replace the standard file browser option, and you can still search your computer for any file you would like to attach. The file browser option is now under “Browse This PC”.
A couple other tweaks in Outlook 2016 include an improved autosuggest search, and the ability to have your most recently used documents list travel with you across devices.
Microsoft has also made several improvements that will lead to faster Outlook performance. These include:
- New Internet-friendly MAPI-HTTP protocol enhances Exchange/Outlook connectivity.
- Outlook is more responsive on unreliable networks with the elimination of foreground network calls.
- Reduced time to download messages, display the message list, and show new email after hibernation.
- New settings let users better manage storage by only retaining 1, 3, 7, 14 or 30 days of mail on a device
Another neat feature that has been introduced in Outlook 2016 is bound to save a few embarrassing moments. Have you ever seen an email that was supposed to include an attachment but forgot to actually attach the file? In Outlook 2016, if Outlook thinks you meant to attach something, before sending the message a dialog will pop up asking if you meant to attach something. This happens if, for example, the word “attached” appears in the body of the message and there is no attachment. You will then have the option to go back and add your attachment.
These tools all combine to make the Outlook experience easier and more intuitive than ever before. Details on these tips and tricks and more can be found on the Microsoft “What’s new in Outlook 2016 for Windows” web page.
References
[i] [Office 365]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.petri.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Office-365-Hero.jpg
