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Microsoft has announced new features in its Office 365 apps to offer improved flexibility and collaboration for hybrid workforce.
Its popular writing application, Word, can now transform a document into a PowerPoint presentation in just a few clicks using artificial intelligence (AI). Users can click on the Export option in the File menu and select ‘Export to PowerPoint presentation’. Next, they can select an AI-suggested design theme for their presentation and click Export.
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Once the document is exported, it can be reviewed in PowerPoint. According to Microsoft, the feature only supports text content as of now, so if users want to add media to their presentation, they can do it manually with AI suggestions for imagery, icons, videos, and fonts. The feature is now available in Word and PowerPoint for the Web to Microsoft 365 customers, the firm said.
The software giant has added Show Changes feature in Excel for the web that allows users to track the changes made in an entire workbook down to a single cell. The feature makes it easier for users to collaborate with others as they can see details about who changed what, where, and when, along with the previous value of a cell for quick reversion, Microsoft explained in a blog post.
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Excel users will be able to track the changes made to workbooks up to 60 days, including bulk edits, within a card in the Show Changes pane. The Excel feature is available to Microsoft 365 customers with support for Windows, Mac, iPads and iPhones, and Android devices, the company noted.
An updated version of Microsoft’s email solution, Outlook, provides quick access to core Outlook functions like email, calendar, and contacts, as well as other Microsoft 365 applications such as To Do, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Yammer, from the left vertical panel in Outlook. The enhancement is currently available in Outlook for the Web and will be coming to Outlook for Windows in the next few months, Microsoft said.
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The software firm has also expanded access for polls feature in Teams to external guests and meeting participants joining via Teams mobile app. Besides, it has added intelligent poll suggestions, post-meeting poll insights, and is bringing two new poll types, open text and multiple-choice quiz, soon. The features will be rolled out over the next few weeks, the company said.
Finally, organisations can now use Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to discover and secure unmanaged workstations, mobile devices, servers, and network devices on their business networks, without deploying new hardware or software or making changes to the network configuration, the Redmond-based company noted. The enhancement is currently available in preview.
