We have been working hard to make Office.com and the Office app for Windows the hub for your content. Given the variety of documents and files we encounter in our work and the many means through which they’re accessed and stored, we created a tool to simplify how you work with and manage your content. We designed a place to a) give you access to all your content no matter where it is stored, b) help you understand what needs your attention, and c) make it easy to get started with your work. We believe a tool like this will help people work more efficiently and simplify their lives.
At Ignite 2021 we announced several enhancements that help us fulfil this mission and have released a video explaining these new innovations and showing them in action. Here’s a quick summary of what you will learn more about:
HOME
Right away on the homepage you will see changes to the experience aimed at helping you quickly find what you need and get started with your work. Our objective here was to put your most important work at the forefront of the experience. The power of Microsoft 365 anticipates which files are most important to your work at a given moment based on the activity happening within them and what you need to do to accomplish your work.
At the top of the page you’ll find several Recommended Actions related to your work. Whether someone has @mentioned you in a document and is waiting for a reply, there’s something you might need to add to your To Do list, or you have an upcoming meeting you should be joining – you’ll see that here with a button making it easy for you to take the next step.
Below that you’ll find a Quick Access section which helps you easily find documents relevant to your current work. This is equipped with simple pivots and views to help you hone in on what you’re looking for. You can even make a customized filter in case you often need to find content related to a particular person or file type.
Updated homepage featuring the new Recommended Actions and Quick Access sections.
MY CONTENT
We’re also introducing a new My Content page. Here you can find all the content related to you. It’s more robust than Quick Access in that you can find all your content, not just what’s related to your most recent activity. However, it is also more targeted than what you’ll find in Enterprise Search, which helps you look for content across your organization. Everything you’ll find here is based on files and content you have created or that have been shared with you.
With a variety of pre-populated filters we’ve made it easier than ever to filter through your content to get to what you need. With a simple click, you can sort your files by file type, document activity, and time period, or filter by keyword. Plus you’ll see all your results on one page through an infinite scroll, so no need to click on multiple pages of search results.
Additionally, we’ve added two new filters for people and meetings. When you click on People, you’ll find cards for the various people you collaborate with and a list of documents related to the work you do together. Sometimes it is easier to find content related to a certain person, rather than needing to remember where a file you worked on together is saved, or whether it was shared through a Teams conversation or an email thread. Clicking on Meetings will provide you with a list of all your recent meetings and the content related to them.
The new My Content page where you can find all your content across file types and storage locations.
Additionally, we’re embedding new Actions commands right into the experience to help you get things done quickly. We’ve learned that people often access their content for the same common tasks, so we’re making it easier for you to do them without first opening files and jumping between apps. With a simple right click, it’s now even easier to share a document, create a PDF, and tag files for follow up through To Do or block time for them on your Outlook calendar.
Embedded Actions on the My Content page help you get more done all on one page.
CREATE
The new Office.com experience assists you with more than your existing content. Sometimes it is hard to remember all of the apps you have with your Microsoft 365 subscription, or how to access them. The new Create page within Office.com provides all the apps and tools you need to get started with your work. Right at the top of the page there are tiles for several different content types that you can create with a single click. We’ve also incorporated templates, for those times when you know you need to create a particular type of content, like a tracker or a calendar, but you can’t decide which app is the best one to use. Now you can easily filter templates by content purpose and see options across multiple apps to help you decide where to start. Additionally, you’ll be able to find your organization’s templates in the same place so you can be sure you are working with company-approved branding.
The new Create page templates across apps to help you get started with your work.
NEXT STEPS
We will soon begin releasing these features to users through a gradual roll out over the next couple months. Whether you choose the web experience at Office.com or prefer the app experience through the , we hope you’ll find these tools useful for all your content-related work.
Please make sure to also check out the rest of the Office-related news and information from Ignite. Also, be sure to learn more about some of the amazing progress happening with the Office mobile app, which is the hub for your content specifically tailored for mobile devices.
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