Microsoft has released a preview of its One Outlook for PC, Mac and Web
Microsoft released ‘One Outlook’ to the public through Windows Insiders on May 17, 2023. Timewatch has been tracking the development and release of this forthcoming version for some time, and it’s good news.
What is One Outlook?
One Outlook is a new unified email / calendar client combines the features of Outlook for Windows, Mac and Web in one single system for all. The new system is still under development but it offers a number of new features and improvements over the previous versions of Outlook.
Updated calendar view showing new left and top menus, cleaner calendar view etc – image courtesy of Microsoft.
The Window Insiders preview of the latest version Outlook brings the product closer to official unveiling later in 2023. Some of the key features include:
- A unified inbox that shows all of your emails from different accounts in one place
- A new calendar view that makes it easier to see your upcoming events
- A new task manager that helps you stay organized
- Support for Loop components, which make it easy to collaborate with others on emails, tasks, and meetings
- A new design that is more modern and user-friendly
- The loss of support for Windows and Mac plugins for Outlook
What does the industry say about One Outlook?
Windows Central reports “the new app is pretty much identical to the Outlook Web experience you can find today by heading to Outlook.com. There are a couple of new additions exclusive to this client, such as the ability to configure the ribbon along the top to a more traditional Outlook style”.
The Verge suggests “Outlook will be getting quite a few new features in addition to an updated design… [it will] …integrate with Loop, Microsoft’s system for collaborating on things like polls, task lists, and more throughout Office. There’s also a new system for attaching files. If you’ve got something stored in the cloud, you can type the “@” symbol and then the filename, and you’ll get a list of matching files ready to add to an email”.
What features are in One Outlook?
Microsoft is also pitching your inbox as a to do list and a new calendar view. We’ve written about how, from research we have undertaken, that 13% of people use their Inbox as their to-do list, so this is a welcome enhancement. (We’ve also written about Outlook group calendar views, their limitations and how to overcome them. Although there are improvements in the calendar view, the limitations remain, so this article is still a good read).
“My Day helps you stay in the flow of your work while connecting you to what is important. With the new Outlook and My Day, you can drag and drop email messages as tasks to your To Do so you can return to the message at a more convenient time. You can even use My Day to reserve some time in your calendar to complete those tasks, just drag and drop a task into the calendar”.
“Everyone has a unique style when it comes to staying productive and with the Outlook calendar board view you can make it as unique as you. Calendar board allows you to organize your most important stuff and manage it all in one view. Add calendars, files, To Do lists, goals – The possibilities are endless”.
Where can I check out the new version of Outlook?
If you have Outlook on Mac or PC with a Microsoft 365 subscription, you can switch to “One Outlook” and take it for a test drive. Just turn the “Try the new Outlook” switch in the top right-hand corner of your screen on. Outlook will self-install and load so you can take a look. You can always switch back just by turning the switch off.
Who is Timewatch?
Timewatch are specialists professional services solutions including resource scheduling, time tracking and professional services automation software. We are experts in Outlook and Outlook integration as we develop our tools to work closely with Outlook. For example, our resource scheduling solution has a two-way sync with Outlook to ensure workers see work scheduled for them and schedulers can see what people schedule in their calendars. We also sync with Outlook and use calendar data in people’s timesheet – which saves them several hours each month. As we work closely with Outlook, we track developments and pre-releases to ensure our products remain compatible with new releases from Microsoft.
Contact us
Timewatch’s Whitespace® is so configurable it can perfectly meet your Industry and organizational needs, provides instant resource capacity and availability views, two-way Outlook sync and more. Contact us to chat / speak with a product specialist about your requirements.
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Learn more about One Outlook
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