{"id":410,"date":"2018-03-14T11:00:07","date_gmt":"2018-03-14T18:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-nz\/2018\/03\/14\/new-mail-calendar-and-people-experiences-coming-to-outlook-com\/"},"modified":"2022-06-28T10:50:05","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T17:50:05","slug":"new-mail-calendar-and-people-experiences-coming-to-outlook-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-nz\/microsoft-365\/blog\/2018\/03\/14\/new-mail-calendar-and-people-experiences-coming-to-outlook-com\/","title":{"rendered":"New Mail, Calendar, and People experiences coming to Outlook.com"},"content":{"rendered":"
Last year, we launched the Outlook.com<\/a> beta to bring you a faster, smarter, and more personalized inbox. We\u2019d like to thank the millions of people who opted into the beta over the last six months and provided valuable feedback. We\u2019re wrapping up the first phase of the beta by rolling out the new Mail experience to all Outlook.com users and launching new beta experiences in Calendar and People.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at what you can expect to see in Outlook.com in the coming weeks:<\/p>\n All Outlook.com users now get the benefits of a faster email experience, a smarter inbox, and better personalization. In addition to features we announced when the beta began, we recently added better Skype integration, easier ways to categorize your emails, quicker access to settings, and more streamlined ways to access your favorite add-ins.<\/p>\n Updated Skype integration<\/strong>\u2014<\/span>With improved Skype integration, it\u2019s easier than ever to chat in real-time right from your Outlook.com inbox and see all your contacts. Start an instant message or a free video call and participate in multiple chats at once. Just select the person you want to talk to and your conversation appears in its own chat window.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chat and start a free video call right inside your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n Improved category organization<\/strong>\u2014<\/span>Categories can be a great way to organize your mailbox in a way that suits your unique style. Now you can assign a name and color to each category and apply multiple categories to a single message, for those situations when emails belong in many buckets. Filtering messages by category is now easier than ever\u2014just type the category name in the search bar or add a favorite category to the very top of your left sidebar and your most important messages will be one click away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Assign multiple categories and colors to an email.<\/em><\/p>\n Personalized inbox<\/strong>\u2014<\/span>With Quick settings you can access the most popular ways to personalize your inbox in one click. You can change the theme of your inbox, the way conversations are displayed, and manage your Focused Inbox. Click the gear<\/strong> icon on the top right corner of your inbox to display Quick settings.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Quick settings give you one-click access to our more popular features.<\/em><\/p>\n Simplified add-in experience<\/strong>\u2014With the new Mail experience, we\u2019ve simplified the way you access add-ins, while giving you more control. Outlook add-ins bring your favorite apps right to your inbox, so you can accomplish tasks faster\u2014including saving an email directly to your notebook, translating emails on the fly, paying your friends, or sending them a gift of coffee. With Outlook.com, you can access popular apps and services like Boomerang<\/a>, <\/span>Evernote<\/a>, <\/span>GIPHY<\/a>, <\/span>Gfycat<\/a>, <\/span>Microsoft Translator<\/a>, <\/span>MojiLaLa<\/a>, <\/span>PayPal<\/a>, <\/span>Trello<\/a>,<\/span> and more right from your inbox.<\/p>\n If you were using add-ins in the classic Outlook.com experience, they will show up pinned next to mail actions or in the drop-down menu once you open an email in the new experience. You can also install more add-ins from the Office Store\u2014simply open an email, click the drop-down menu, and select Get Add-ins. Once installed, add-ins will show up in the drop-down menu. You can also choose to pin frequently used add-ins.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Find add-ins by clicking the drop-down menu inside an email.<\/em><\/p>\n We are bringing an updated look to the beta experience of Calendar and new features that make it easier for you to manage and stay on top of your time. Let\u2019s look at a few highlights.<\/p>\n Updated Calendar look and feel<\/strong>\u2014<\/span>The new look brings the best designs and learnings from the Mail experience to the Calendar. You\u2019ll enjoy a modern design that reduces visual clutter and gives you faster ways to navigate your calendar. It\u2019s also easier to find interesting calendars for your favorite activities\u2014from TV shows to sports teams and events. We expanded our collection of event icons and updated the look and feel of existing ones\u2014<\/span>and we now automatically add relevant icons to your events, so you can easily see what is going on at a glance.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Toggle into the beta to see the new look for Calendar.<\/em><\/p>\n Simplified event creation<\/strong>\u2014<\/span>You can now quickly add events and details right from the Calendar without opening a new window. Simply click New event<\/strong> and add details to your event in a few clicks. Or click the calendar surface on the day you want to add an event and start typing to access the quick entry form. You can set up repeating events for all your routines to stay on top of your schedule.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now you can easily see, create, and edit new events and details.<\/em><\/p>\n Refreshed profile card<\/strong>\u2014<\/span>The new beta experience for People makes it easier to create, view, and edit your contacts and contact lists. We updated the look and feel of the People view to match the new profile cards, which are also being introduced across Microsoft products. Now, in every app where your contacts appear, you can hover over a person\u2019s name or photo to see the new profile card.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The new profile card gives you quick access to your contacts\u2019 information across Outlook.<\/em><\/p>\n Expanded contact information<\/strong>\u2014<\/span>Sometimes you want some extra information about your contacts, so we made it easier to add or edit birthdays and personal notes. To add a personal touch, you can now assign a photo to your contact using the new photo control.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add a personal touch by uploading a photo of your contact.<\/em><\/p>\n Enriched People and Mail integration<\/strong>\u2014<\/span>It\u2019s also now easier to send an email or start a chat directly from the People view. You can find recent conversations and attachments from a specific contact and see all the photos they have emailed you at a glance.<\/p>\n You can also mark contacts as favorites to let you more quickly access them from the Favorites folder. Contacts you add as favorites in People will also show up under favorites in Mail, and the other way around.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When you add a contact to your favorites in People, you can also see them in Mail.<\/em><\/p>\n To try out these new experiences in Calendar and People, you can opt in to the beta by switching the Try the beta<\/strong> toggle on the top right of your inbox.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
New look for Mail<\/h3>\n
Improved Calendar features<\/h3>\n
New People experience<\/h3>\n
Opt in to the beta<\/h3>\n