Microsoft Office preview benefits from collaborative chat and glitzy inks

Those of you who test Microsoft’s productivity suite will doubtless be pleased to learn that a new preview version of Office for Windows PCs has been rolled out to the Slow Ring complete with a host of changes, including integrated chat for collaborators.

Yes, the latest preview build for Office Insiders introduces in-line chat functionality that allows you to have a chinwag with co-authors in Word, Excel or PowerPoint. In other words, you get a neat little chat window in these respective apps that facilitates real-time discussions with collaborators.

Microsoft has also jazzed up inks to include the likes of rainbow, galaxy, lava, ocean, gold and silver effects, allowing for sparkly and/or glittery touches to be bestowed in the three main Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Swift and streamlined

Furthermore, Excel has been improved so that it opens complex workbooks – the kind featuring huge amounts of sheets – in a swifter manner.

Microsoft has also added a number of fresh functions to streamline other operations and make them quicker, such as a new menu option which gives you quick access to all the attachments which have ever been shared with you (to make finding any given attachment easier).

There’s also a new function in Outlook allowing users to quickly add an appointment to a group calendar, and profile cards now surface the most relevant info about contacts.

For the full list of changes, head over here. Incidentally, regarding the mobile software for office, Microsoft pushed out a new set of preview apps last month which gave us our first taste of the suite’s revamped interface based on the Fluent Design System.

Via: Windows Central

  • Try Microsoft Office for yourself on only the best PC
TOPICS

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

Latest in Software & Services
TinEye website
I like this reverse image search service the most
A person in a wheelchair working at a computer.
Here’s a free way to find long lost relatives and friends
A white woman with long brown hair in a ponytail looks down at her computer in a distressed manner. She is holding her forehead with one hand and a credit card with the other
This people search finder covers all the bases, but it's not perfect
That's Them home page
Is That's Them worth it? My honest review
woman listening to computer
AWS vs Azure: choosing the right platform to maximize your company's investment
A person at a desktop computer working on spreadsheet tables.
Trello vs Jira: which project management solution is best for you?
Latest in News
Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con up-close from app store
Nintendo's new app gave us another look at the Switch 2, and there's something different with the Joy-Con
cheap Nintendo Switch game deals sales
Nintendo didn't anticipate that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was 'going to be the juggernaut' for the Nintendo Switch when it was ported to the console, according to former employees
Three angles of the Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M4 laptop above a desk
Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) review roundup – should you buy Apple's new lightweight laptop?
Witchbrook
Witchbrook, the life-sim I've been waiting years for, finally has a release window and it's sooner than you think
Amazon Echo Smart Speaker
Amazon is experimenting with renaming Echo speakers to Alexa speakers, and it's about time
Shigeru Miyamoto presents Nintendo Today app
Nintendo Today smartphone app is out now on iOS and Android devices – and here's what it does