It was yet another fairly quiet week for the Microsoft 365 roadmap, but there were still a few interesting new additions, especially for Microsoft Teams users.
Microsoft Teams - Redirect a call to voicemail on Android without accepting or rejecting it
The roadmap added an upcoming feature for Microsoft Teams that's due to roll out in March 2024 for the Android version which should be helpful for people who just don't want to take a call immediately:
Allows users to easily redirect an incoming call to voicemail without having to accept or reject the call when receiving calls on a Teams certified phone device.
Another feature coming to the web and desktop versions of Teams in December is replacing Channel Meeting Notes:
Collaborative Notes will replace Wiki-based Channel Meeting Notes. Collaborative Notes in channel meetings allow attendees to co-create and collaborate on their meeting agenda, notes, and action items. Since Collaborative Notes are a Loop component, it is always in sync regardless of how many places they live in. Assigned Tasks in Collaborative Notes automatically sync with To Do and Planner.
The roadmap also shows a new search feature coming to the Windows and Mac versions in December:
Users will be able to narrow down their search results and find what they are looking for faster. Get more precise search results by picking up a specific domain like files, group chat or Teams and channels. You can also search files or group chats by entering a person name.
Also in December, Teams users on the desktop will get some new meeting templates for Virtual Appointment, Webinar, and Town hall. Desktop and Mac users will also be able to remove items from their activity feed in December.
Microsoft Outlook - Conditional formatting support and more
The Microsoft 365 roadmap added a feature that's due to roll out for the new Outlook for Windows and the web in December with some new formatting additions:
Conditional formatting is a feature to make messages that meet defined conditions stand out in the message list by using different font colors. The users can specify conditions that an incoming message should meet, such as a sender’s name or email address.
Outlook's Global Address List feature will get some new additions on Windows and the web later in November:
We are making some adjustments to the GAL search and browse experiences. Users will be asked to type in more characters to refine their search in some cases. There will be some other visual improvements in error messaging. Another way to find recipients is by using the suggestion dropdown picker in the To/Cc/Bcc lines.
In case you missed it, Microsoft revealed plans to add a ton of new features to the new Outlook app over the year earlier this week.
That's it for our look back at the last week on the Microsoft 365 roadmap. Come back in seven days for next week's installment.
