Unlock the full potential of your Microsoft 365 subscription with these expert tips and super new features
Ready to supercharge your Microsoft 365 experience?
We’re about to dive into a treasure trove of expert tips and new features that’ll have you working smarter, not harder!
So, whether you’re a Microsoft 365 newbie or a seasoned pro, these hacks will help you unlock the full potential of your subscription. Trust us, once you start using these tips, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without them!
Microsoft Teams – New up Coming Features June / July 2024
Get ready to supercharge your collaboration with Microsoft Teams’ exciting new features coming this summer! We’re thrilled to share a sneak peek of what’s in store for June and July 2024.
Detecting and Hiding Inactive Channels
Microsoft Teams will automatically detect and hide inactive channels you have not interacted with recently. Allowing you to focus on conversations which matter most.How this will affect your organization
The user can keep the channels hidden or show them again. To initiate or stop channel hiding, go to Teams > Settings > Chats and channels > Hide inactive channels.
When will this happen:
mid-August 2024 and expect to complete by mid-September 2024.
In Chat, “Files” will be renamed to “Shared” and get new features
“Files” tab in Chat will be renamed to “Shared” and will include files, links, and upcoming features like image previews and keyword search.Timelines: mid-July 2024 and expect to complete by late July 2024.How this will affect your organization
After the rollout, the new Shared tab will include recent files, all files, and links.
Coming soon after the rollout:
- Image previews for links
- Keyword search to find content easily
- Next version: Media links (images, videos, GIFs, etc.)
- Like the Files tab, the new Shared tab is on by default and accessible to all Teams users.
- The new Shared > Recent view in Chat:
When will this happen:
mid-July 2024 and expect to complete by late July 2024.
The new Microsoft Teams on the Progressive Web App (PWA)
It is available now on Windows and macOS – Web users in your organization who would benefit from launching Teams on the web as a standalone app can now install the Teams APP directly from the address bar of their browser.
How this will affect your organisation
Web users in your organization who would benefit from launching Teams on the web as a standalone app can now install the Teams PWA directly from the address bar of their browser.
Users can learn more about managing web apps at these links:
- Install, manage, or uninstall apps in Microsoft Edge
- Using progressive web apps in Chrome
Teams Premium Feature Usage Report for Administrators in Microsoft Teams Admin Center
The information provided in the usage report can help you drive general awareness among users about the benefits of using these features and maximize ROI on your organization’s investments in Teams Premium.
How this will affect your organization
The information provided in the usage report can help you drive general awareness among users about the benefits of using these features and maximize ROI on your organization’s investments in Teams Premium.
This report will be available in Teams admin center under Analytics and reports > Usage reports > Teams Premium feature usage report.
When will this happen:
late July 2024 and expect to complete by early August 2024.
Turn Notifications On or Off For a Post in a Channel
Users will be able to turn off or turn on notifications for a post in a channel. This message applies to Teams on Desktop and Mac. Timelines: mid-July 2024 and expected to be completed by late July 2024.
How this will affect your organisation
Users will be able to turn off or turn on notifications for a post in a channel. This message applies to Teams on Desktop and Mac. Select the three-dot menu at the top right of a post to toggle the notifications on or off:
When will this happen:
Mid-July 2024 and expect to be completed by late July 2024.
Microsoft Teams Channel Cards
Microsoft Teams users will soon be able to get a quick overview of a channel using channel cards.
How this will affect your organisation
Microsoft Teams users will soon be able to get a quick overview of a channel using channel cards. Channel cards will roll out across Microsoft Teams for the desktop and web. Channel cards can be found by hovering over the channel name in the header or wherever a channel is mentioned.
Channel cards will provide information about a channel, including the description, last activity time, team name, and membership information. The card also provides a quick entry to notification settings, owner channel management, and the channel roster.
When will this happen:
Early July 2024 and is expected to be completed by late July 2024.
Enhanced Sound Notification Controls
Microsoft Teams introduces enhanced sound notification controls, allowing users to customize sounds for different notification types.
How this will affect your organisation
Microsoft Teams introduces enhanced sound notification controls, allowing users to customize sounds for different notification types. Users now have the ability to select:
- Settings to play/mute sounds for both standard and urgent and priority notifications.
- The option to play/mute sounds while the status is busy or in a meeting.
- A distinctive notification sound for standard, urgent, and priority notifications from the list of pre-defined options.
Users can change notification sound settings in Settings > Notifications and activity > Sound by selecting the desired sound based on preferences and needs.
The Play sounds with notifications setting now offers 8 sound options, including the default Teams sound, through a drop-down menu when the checkbox is selected:
When will this happen:
Mid-July 2024 and expect to be completed by late July 2024.
Microsoft Outlook – New up Coming Features June / July 2024
Get ready for an exciting update to Microsoft Outlook! This summer, we’re in for a treat with a host of brilliant new features that will revolutionise the way we manage our emails and schedules.
Improved Suggested Times for Meetings
To make it easier for a meeting organizer to find a suitable meeting time based on everyone’s availability, Microsoft redesigned the suggestion time tiles to be more intuitive.
How will this affect your organisation?
To make it easier for a meeting organizer to find a suitable meeting time based on everyone’s availability, we redesigned the suggestion time tiles to be more intuitive. Suggested times are now accessed from the new Find a time menu. This message applies to the new Outlook for Windows and the web.
When will this happen?
Early July 2024 and is expected to be completed by late July 2024.
Send Updates Only to Added or Removed Meeting Attendees
Outlook will soon prompt organizers to send meeting updates only to added or removed attendees, affecting Outlook for the web and New Outlook for Windows.
How this will affect your organisation
When updating meeting attendees, organizers will be prompted to send updates only to added or removed attendees or to send updates to all attendees. This message applies to Outlook for the web and New Outlook for Windows.
When will this happen?
Late July 2024 and expected to be completed by late August 2024.
Add Shared Folders to Favorites
Users will be able to add shared folders to their Favorites list in the top left corner of the screen.
How this will affect your organisation
This new functionality will enable users to add shared folders and individual folders from shared mailboxes to their Favorites. This means that users can easily access important folders from shared resources or individual colleagues, directly from their favorites. Users can share calendars, or folders that contain mail, contacts, tasks, or notes.
When will this happen?
Mid-November 2024 (previously mid-July) and expect to complete by early December 2024 (previously mid-August).
Microsoft 365 Apps – New-Coming Features June / July 2024
These updates are designed to boost productivity, enhance collaboration, and make your digital workspace more intuitive than ever before.
Enhanced File Menu and Easier File Renaming
An enhanced File menu, so users can more easily create, open, share, export, and manage files. We have also updated the auto save experience and made file renaming more efficient.
How this will affect your organisation
Coming soon is Microsoft Word for the web, Microsoft Excel for the web, and Microsoft PowerPoint for the web: An enhanced File menu, so users can more easily create, open, share, export, and manage files. We have also updated the auto save experience and made file renaming more efficient.
When will this happen?
Early August 2024 and be expected to be completed by early October 2024.
Modernized user-defined permissions experience for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
There is a new experience for selecting which users should have which permissions when a sensitivity label configured for user-defined permissions is applied to a file in Microsoft 365 apps or when a user applies protection using standalone Information Rights Management.
How this will affect your organisation
There is a new experience for selecting which users should have which permissions when a sensitivity label configured for user-defined permissions is applied to a file in Microsoft 365 apps or when a user applies protection using standalone Information Rights Management.
Users will see a modernized dialog when configuring user-defined permissions, whether these are applied using a sensitivity label configured for user-defined permissions or with standalone Information Rights Management.
There are new names for some usage rights groupings for pre-set permissions levels compared to those in Microsoft Azure Information Protection (AIP):
- Reviewer is now called Restricted Editor.
- Co-Author is now called Editor.
- Co-Owner is now called Owner.
This new feature is available by default.
When will this happen?
Early September 2024 and be expected to be completed by late September 2024.
Set Expiration Available For All Links When Sharing
When you share a link in Microsoft 365, setting the expiration date will let users set a date for a link to expire. After a user sets a date and the link expires, the link won’t work, and the user will need to make a new link or re-share with people so they can continue to access the file. Before the roll-out, users could only set the expiration for links for anyone.
When will this happen?
Early July 2024 and be expected to be completed by mid-July 2024.
Introducing Check Boxes in Excel
How this will affect your organisation
We’re excited to announce the release of check boxes for production in Excel. They are great for checklists, managing tasks and visualizing your data at a glance. With just a few clicks, you can insert check boxes into any cell, making your spreadsheets more dynamic and user-friendly.
Full Announcement: Checkboxes in Excel
When will this happen?
June 26 beginning to roll out, expected to be completed by the end of July 2024
Boost Security With Microsoft Intune Device Attestation
How this will affect your organization
One common way attackers gain access to networks is supply-chain attacks impersonating authorized devices or installing malicious code on devices at the hardware level, which can’t be detected by anti-virus or anti-malware software.
To help protect against these kinds of threats, you can leverage Microsoft Intune to enable hardware-backed device attestation on many common device platforms. Windows device enrollment attestation, which will be available in the coming weeks, requires a device to be hardware-attested so that you can verify that a device is securely enrolled.
The enrollment credentials are the private keys of the enrollment mobile device management (MDM) certificate from Intune and the Microsoft Entra ID access token. These keys are stored on the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 hardware chip and are then confirmed using attestation.
Full Announcement: Boost security with Microsoft Intune device attestation | Microsoft Intune blog
When will this happen?
Rollout starting now
Microsoft Copilot In Microsoft 365 And In Microsoft Teams: The New Catch Up Feature
How this will affect your organization
Copilot users in your organization will see a new Catch-up tab on the Copilot page in Microsoft 365.com and Microsoft Teams. (Teams users may have to add the Copilot app to make it appear on the left side of the screen). On the Catch-up tab, users will see a carousel of cards. Each Catch up card has an update related to an important meeting or document, along with a suggested prompt that users can select to catch up on that card in detail.
When will this happen?
Late June 2024 and be expected to be completed by late July 2024.
Expanded Availability For Copilot For Microsoft 365
Expanded availability for Copilot for Microsoft 365 – As of June 12, the following standalone commercial plans are added to the existing qualifying prerequisites for Copilot for Microsoft 365.
How this will affect your organization
As of June 12, the following standalone commercial plans are added to the existing qualifying prerequisites for Copilot for Microsoft 365:
Microsoft 365 Apps for Business
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise
Microsoft Teams Essentials
Microsoft Teams Enterprise
Microsoft Teams EEA (European Economic Area)
Exchange Kiosk
Exchange Plan 1
Exchange Plan 2
SharePoint Plan 1
SharePoint Plan 2
OneDrive for Business Plan 1
OneDrive for Business Plan 2
Microsoft Planner Plan 1 (formerly Project Plan 1)
Microsoft Project Plan 3
Microsoft Project Plan 5
Project Online Essentials
Visio Plan 1
Visio Plan 2
Microsoft ClipChamp
Full Announcement: June 2024 announcements – Partner Center announcements | Microsoft Learn
Optimized File Link Support In Microsoft Teams Chat And Channels
How this will affect your organisation
Prior to these optimizations, if a user attached a file to a message, it would not appear when someone asked for the files shared in the chat. With these new file support optimizations, attached files will now be included in Copilot’s response.
Additionally, if a user pastes a link to a file in the chat, Copilot will be able to retrieve these links faster and more reliably.
When will this happen?
Mid-July 2024 and expect to be completed by late July 2024.
Improved Time-Based Responses In Chat And Channels
How this will affect your organisation
Improvements to how Copilot in Teams understands and responds to time-related queries in chat and channels. With this rollout, Copilot will provide more precise and relevant responses to prompts such as “yesterday,” “last week,” and “last month.”
Before this rollout, when users asked Copilot about a long time period (such as “Summarize the key action items from March”), Copilot was limited to the last 30 days of data (left side of screenshot).
After the rollout, Copilot will be able to detect and respond to the specified time period (such as March). We have also simplified the timestamp (right side of screenshot):
When will this happen?
Mid-July 2024 and expect to be completed by late July 2024.
Support For Referencing PDF Files In Powerpoint
With the Create from File capability of Microsoft PowerPoint, Copilot will now be able to create a new presentation based on a PDF file.
When will this happen?
Late May 2024 and expect to be completed by mid-June 2024.
Update on the Recall Preview Feature for Copilot+ PCs
How this will affect your organization
Recall is a new way to instantly find something you’ve previously seen on your PC. To create an explorable visual timeline and find content on your Copilot+ PC with Recall, Windows periodically takes a snapshot of what appears on your screen. These images are encrypted, stored, and analyzed locally using on-device AI capabilities to understand their context.
We are updating the set-up experience of Copilot+ PCs to give you a clearer choice to opt in to save snapshots using Recall. If you don’t proactively choose to turn it on, it will be off by default. To learn more about privacy controls and protections in Copilot+ PCs, read Update on the Recall Preview Feature for Copilot+ PCs.
Embrace the Future of Work with Microsoft 365 Today
With these expert tips and hidden features, you’ll be amazed at how much more you can accomplish. Get ready to take your productivity to new heights and leave your colleagues in awe of your tech-savvy skills!