Microsoft is making three big changes to its renowned email feature, Outlook.
The development team of Microsoft which is responsible for the Outlook mobile app and Outlook.com has been very responsive in the recent years to the requests of the users, especially regarding its integration with any third-party services.
The latest updates revolving around the always improving software only prove this even further. Upon receiving a lot of positive feedback from Android-based and other users regarding the Dropbox integration, the developing team has planned of extending its list of storage options that will be available for both the web browser and mobile version of their email app. To be more specific, in addition to the Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and Box, Outlook will also be soon updated with support for Facebook Photos.
The company has finally made the decision of bringing the Google Drive Support for the web version of Outlook so that the users can edit and receive the files from its email client. The company has also added support for Facebook so that searching for attachments in the long conversations becomes easier with the recent update to Outlook.
Microsoft Outlook and Google Drive Support
The iOS and Android versions of Outlook have already been introduced with this support feature, which supports Google Drive access and allow the users to edit and receive files from Google Drive from within the app. However, the users can now edit the documents saved in their Google Drive from the web version of the email client Microsoft Outlook.
To attach a file, all the users will have to do is open a new message window and click on the icon for attachments. Then select Google Drive and enter the user’s account credentials. With this, the Google Drive account will now appear as a source while trying to attach files to messages. The users can also open Google Slide, Doc or Sheet files from within Outlook instead of having to open another new window.
Microsoft had mentioned in a blog post that the Google files will open next to the message window in Outlook, just like the way the Office files and photos are opened and can also be edited there itself so that the workflow of the users will not be disrupted. If the users have permissions for editing data, then they can use the Google Drive links and will be able to edit the documents using the functionality that is available on the Google Drive.
Microsoft Outlook Support for Facebook
Along with the Google Drive support, Microsoft has also brought out some support for Facebook, which was forced to be scrapped last year. The users can now connect their Facebook account with their Microsoft Outlook account and can now browse and attach the photos more easily and directly from Facebook to the email account in Outlook.com. It is a very easy way to search for content from Facebook and share it with friends especially if they are outside the user’s Facebook friends list.
Further, Microsoft has made it even easier to search for attachments from within the app with the introduction of an attachment icon that will be present at the top of every thread. Upon clicking this icon, a drop down list will be opened which will display all the attachments of the conversation. The users can then select a file which they are looking for and open it instead of expanding the thread or without having to click through each and every reply.
Attachments in Long Conversations
The final and third addition by Microsoft is an advancement for attachments that are in the long conversations. The company is working to improve on how the attachments should be listed in long group conversations, allowing the user to search through a core list of all the attached documents instead of jumping into each and every thread of the whole conversation.
All these new and updated features will need Microsoft Outlook to run on its latest web-based version, which is rolling out currently. So if the Microsoft is not yet updated then the features should be out by the end of summer.