Microsoft has announced a number of new features for its Windows Office 365 desktop users. They include adding new research and editing features for Word, Focused Inbox in Outlook and Zoom in PowerPoint.
For Word power users, the new Research feature offers a faster way to find and incorporate reliable sources for papers. Microsoft stated:
Right within your Word document you can explore material related to your topic and add it—and its properly-formatted citation—in one click. Researcher uses the Bing Knowledge Graph to pull in the appropriate content from the web and provide structured, safe and credible information.
For those of use who need help finalizing papers and documents, the new Editor feature in Word will be a big help:
Leveraging machine learning and natural language processing—mixed with input from our own team of linguists—Editor makes suggestions to help you improve your writing. Initially, it will help you simplify and streamline written communications by flagging unclear phrases or complex words, such as recommending "most" in place of "the majority of." As a cloud-based service, Editor will get better with time. This fall, it will expand upon Word's current spelling and grammar tools to inform you why words or phrases may not be accurate—teaching at the same time it is correcting. In the same release, Editor will overhaul Word's visual proofing cues so you can distinguish at a glance between edits for spelling (red squiggle), grammar (blue double underline) or writing style (gold dotted line).
The Focused Inbox in Outlook, which was first made available for iOS and Android users, is now available for Windows, Mac and on Outlook.com:
Focused Inbox helps you focus on the emails that matter most to you, as it automatically separates your inbox into two tabs. Emails that matter most to you are in the "Focused" tab, while the rest remain easily accessible—but out of the way in the "Other" tab. As you move email in or out of your Focused Inbox, Outlook's intelligence learns from your behavior to become even more tailored to your priorities going forward.
Also, Outlook.com users, along with Windows and Mac Office Insiders, can now access @mentions on Outlook, with plans to make it available on iOS, Android and Windows 10 Mobile in the future. It is designed to quickly find emails that need attention:
To flag someone, just type the @ symbol in the body of the email and pick the desired person. Their name will automatically be highlighted in the email and their email address automatically added to the To: line. If you are mentioned, the @ symbol will show up in Outlook, and you can filter to quickly find all emails where you are mentioned. Within the emails, your name is highlighted in blue, helping you find where you've been flagged.
Finally, PowerPoint Office Insider users can try out Zoom, which offers a way to make interactive presentations:
Captivate your audience with smooth, effortless navigation in and out of any slide or section, starting from a single interactive summary slide. Present your slides in whatever order makes sense based on your audience, without exiting slide show mode and interrupting the flow.
