Microsoft July 2023

• This month Microsoft has lots of new features and feature enhancements.

Microsoft Teams Updates

1. Compact Chat List

NEW FEATURE
How this will affect your organisation:

Compact chat list is a feature addition that is coming to compact mode. Users in compact mode will now have hidden message previews in their chat list. This new design will enable users to keep messages more private, view more chats in their chat list and navigate the chat list more easily. This feature addition to the existing compact mode will be rolling out across Microsoft Teams Desktop and Web and will provide a condensed view of the chat list for compact mode users. Simplified badging is making it easier for users to understand when there are new unread activities in teams. In addition, the simplified design helps users focus on the specific channels which requires the most attention, like channels in which the user was @mentioned. 

Users can access this feature addition by switching to compact mode. To do so, users must navigate to Settings and go to the “Chat density” section under the “General” tab. From there, users can select “Compact”.

2. Make calls through speed dial and call history on Apple CarPlay

NEW FEATURE

How this will affect your organisation:

Users can now easily call their speed dial contacts and get back to their recent calls on Apple CarPlay with Teams after connecting iPhone to vehicles that support Apple CarPlay.

When this will happen:
mid-July and expect to complete rollout by early August.

3. Panels Update

NEW FEATURE

How this will affect your organisation:

With this update, Teams Panels will support reserving a room using a QR code. This feature lets Microsoft Teams users book a room for meetings now, in the future, or add the room to an existing meeting by scanning a QR code on the scheduling panel and using the Teams app on their Android or iOS mobile phones.

To reserve the room:
1. Users need to scan the QR code using their mobile phone.
2. In the Teams app on their mobile phone, users should select if they’d like to ‘Schedule a new meeting’ or ‘Reserve for existing meeting’.
3. If the user schedules a new meeting, the room will be auto added as the location of the meeting. Users can then fill out the other meeting details.
4. If the user selects to reserve the room for an existing meeting that is happening between now and midnight the next day, they will be able to see whether the room is available or booked at those times and can reserve with one click.

When this will happen:
early August and is expected to be complete by early September.

4. Header search: Now Generally Available in Teams admin center

NEW FEATURE

How this will affect your organisation:

The Header Search feature now supports a wide range of entities, including Teams, Users, Policies, Settings, Documentation, and more. This means you'll be able to quickly search for relevant information across these entities within the Teams admin center. Furthermore, we have added the ability for users to access their search history, allowing them to easily revisit their previous searches.

When this will happen:

Late June and will complete the roll out by mid-July 2023.

5. Group chat message copy links are now available!

NEW FEATURE

How this will affect your organisation:

This feature allows group chat members to create and share links to specific messages within the chat, with the intention of improving communication and organization of information in group chats. Links work only for members already in the chat.

When this will happen:
early July and expect to complete by end of August.

6. Attach Cloud Files in Chat and Channel from Teams Mobile

NEW FEATURE

How this will affect your organisation:

We are introducing the capability to upload files from OneDrive from Teams Mobile chat and channel for iOS and Android. Additionally, users will be able to view Recent files and attach the most used files upfront from the Recent section.
To upload files, click on the '+' icon in any chat or channel message when composing and then click on the paperclip icon.

When this will happen:
late June 2023 and expect rollout to be complete by mid-July 2023.

7. Introducing Dark Mode in Teams Admin Center

NEW FEATURE

How this will affect your organisation:

Administrators will see a toggle button on the top right corner of the Teams admin center Dashboard to toggle ON or OFF between the light mode and dark mode.

When this will happen:
early June 2023 and expect to complete rollout by end of June 2023.