Microsoft Edge may bring Office side panel to the web

What you need to know

• Microsoft is testing an Office side panel in the latest version of Edge Canary.
• The panel includes shortcuts to the most popular Office web apps, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Teams.
• The feature is part of a controlled rollout, so you may not be able to try it out, even if you are running the latest build of Microsoft Edge Canary.

Microsoft is testing a new feature that brings Edge and Office closer together. First spotted by Leo Varela, the latest version of Edge Canary now includes an Office side panel. The feature provides shortcuts to the most popular Office web apps, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. It also has buttons for Outlook, OneDrive, Teams, and OneNote.

At the top of the panel, Microsoft highlights that people can use Office apps for free on Edge. Of course, anyone can use the Office web apps for free on any browser. Some Office users may be unaware of the option to use the productivity suite for free, so the side panel could serve as a quick heads up.

As is the case with many features in Edge Canary, the Office side panel is part of a controlled rollout. That means that even if you're on the latest version of the browser, you still may not be able to try out the feature. If the Office side panel proves popular or is part of Microsoft's long-term plans, it should roll out to more Insiders in the future.