Disable incessant nagware popups
I don't know about everyone else, but I am sick and tired of the nagware pop ups in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc. Every single product harasses me with pop ups trying to tell me "hey, did you know this feature was here?", "you can do this if you click that", "let me hold your hand through using products you've used for decades even though you don't want daddy Microslop to do that". This is a prime example. I keep getting the same ones again and again and again and everything I've read indicates they should only appear once. But they don't. They keep coming back like a psychotic stalker ex who wants alimony even though you were never married. How do I get this nagware to stop?!App Assure Powers Seamless Transitions for the new Outlook
Microsoft is continually evolving its products to deliver greater functionality, stronger security, and better experiences for users. That evolution is now underway for Outlook as we transition from classic Outlook to the new Outlook for Windows, a move that accelerates access to innovations like Copilot and other AI-native tools essential for success in today’s business landscape. Users are already asking for their most critical productivity apps to be ready for this change. And just as App Assure helped software companies transition from Exchange Tokens to Nested App Authentication earlier this year, we now stand ready to help you make the transition to new Outlook seamless and worry-free. Benefits of new Outlook Outlook is your organization’s hub for communication and collaboration. With the transition from COM add-ins to Web add-ins, new Outlook for Windows empowers both customers and partners alike. Customers receive a streamlined interface that provides a consistent user experience across devices and AI-native tools built directly into Outlook, all while benefiting from a lower total cost of ownership and quicker access to new features. Partners benefit from Microsoft’s deep investment in extensibility, allowing them to reach the entire Outlook audience whether those users are working via Windows, Mac, Mobile, or web. This is why App Assure has been working proactively with the most popular add-ins, collaborating with software companies to update, test, validate, and publish their solutions for the new Outlook. Our goal is simple: when customers make the switch, their essential tools are ready to go, with no disruption and no surprises. Most of the 14 most common scenarios for COM add-ins, those that make up 95% of how COM add-ins are actually used, can already be handled by web add-in APIs either fully or at a basic “minimum viable product” (MVP) level. Ecosystem Readiness for our Customers One such app beloved by customers is Applications for Administrative Solutions (AFAS), whose Outlook add-in helps streamline Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) workflows by integrating email-driven tasks directly into daily operations. To ensure a smooth transition to the new Outlook, AFAS partnered with App Assure to modernize their add-in using Graph API to facilitate moving from COM add-ins to web add-ins, aligning with enterprise-grade security and Microsoft Entra policies. Through collaborative testing, technical validation, and direct support from App Assure engineers, AFAS was able to update and publish their add-in with confidence, ensuring that customers won’t miss a beat when they move to new Outlook. But AFAS is just one example. Many software companies have been preparing their mission critical apps for new Outlook with App Assure’s guidance. Here are a number of the most recent software companies we’ve worked with (with many more on the way): Many of our partners remark on how streamlined their updates are with App Assure’s collaboration and how easy it is to work with our team. Here are a couple of their recent comments: AFAS: GnuPG: New Outlook has great momentum with users, and organizations want to ensure that the add-ins that are an essential part of their daily workflows continue to work. App Assure stands ready to assist. Many software companies are already taking advantage of our no-cost service providing guidance on how to transition from COM add-ins to web add-ins. Reach out at achelp@microsoft.com and let’s make your add-in ready for the future!Microsoft Ignite Switzerland 2024
On March 8th, 2024, Microsoft Ignite Switzerland took place at the Kongresshaus in Zürich. The event welcomed Swiss business leaders and developers, for a day of keynote speeches, breakout sessions, and ask-the-expert panels. Microsoft Ignite is one of the best event in Switzerland to inspire and empower attendees with the latest innovations in business and technology. Check out the video of the 2024 edition here. Feel free to join the conversation below, and do not hesitate to connect with me on LinkedIn. Please make sure to use the following hashtags on social networks #MSIgnite #MicrosoftSwitzerland and #MSIgniteCH.
What’s new in Copilot in Microsoft Forms – Ignite 2024
This is the special edition of what’s new in Form covering all of the Copilot in Forms features we’re announcing at Microsoft Ignite 2024. Copilot in Forms launched with a compose capability in February, and this summer, we took it further to cover key steps of the authoring experience; writing, rewriting, theme, settings and creating quizzes. In the next step, we will introduce a new capability to help you collect sufficient responses. Let’s dive into the details below. Form generation First, let’s focus on the new features in form generation. Imagine you are creating an employee feedback survey to assess employees' job satisfaction and find areas for improvement, let’s see how Copilot can assist you throughout the process. Generate a form with Copilot You can either start from prompt suggestions or write your own prompt. In this case, you can tell Copilot to create an employee feedback survey to gauge the satisfaction level. You can specify the number of questions and what aspects you want to ask about. Once the information is provided, Copilot will generate a draft based on your instructions. Generate form draft with Copilot You will have the flexibility to fine tune the draft by providing additional details to Copilot for regenerating, asking to add two more questions for the work from home policy. When you get a good draft, just click “Keep it”, and Copilot will generate the finalized form for you. Add questions to the draft Continue adding questions and rewrite After the survey has been generated, you can continue editing the form manually or with Copilot’s assistance, adding new questions or rewriting existing questions/options for improved clarity and effectiveness. Continue adding new questions Rewrite questions Refine the form with Copilot’s suggestions Once the survey is generated, Copilot will offer smart suggestions to make it better, including eye-catching themes, appropriate settings (such as allowing respondents to receive a receipt for record-keeping and transparency) and the best channels to send out for maximum engagement. Copilot suggestions Collect more answers with Copilot’s help When the survey is ready, Copilot will help you rewrite the default message with more suitable tones, adding details like the form's topic, estimated completion time, and due date. This gives respondents a clearer understanding of the survey's purpose and timeline, making it easier for them to complete on time. Rewrite distribution message with Copilot If you send out the form and don't receive enough responses from the employees after some time, Copilot can help you draft reminder messages to nudge respondents. It offers several options, allowing you to choose your favorite and send it with just one click. Draft a reminder with Copilot Quiz generation In addition to form generation, we've also enabled new features for quiz creation. Imagine you're crafting a quiz for compliance and ethics training at your company—let's explore how Copilot can assist you in building the perfect quiz. Copilot generates a quiz with answer explanations You can provide Copilot with some context of this training or just paste content from any materials on hand to generate a quiz. The quiz will be generated with correct answers and detailed explanations for each question. Generate a quiz with correct answers Copilot helps you refine quizzes too. It will help you rewrite questions, continue adding questions and offer smart suggestions, and you can even rewrite the answer explanations. Additionally, for newly added questions, Copilot can automatically generate detailed answer explanations based on the correct answers you mark, saving you time on manual input. Rewrite answer explanation with Copilot Generate answer explanation for newly added questions Immediate results and answer explanation for responders When respondents submit the quiz, they can view the results immediately and review the answer explanations to understand which areas they already mastered or where they could improve. Check results and answer explanations after submitting What’s next Moving forward, we aim to make Copilot in Forms even more helpful, guiding you with suggestions throughout the journey to achieve your goals. Copilot helps to collect target response In the upcoming experience, you will be able to set your target response number, and Copilot will suggest the right audience, channels for distribution, and appropriate messages to collect more responses. Copilot helps to collect target response Smart reminder Additionally, Copilot will keep you updated on the response status. After some time, if the response count does not meet your target, Copilot will remind you to send a follow-up message to the respondents. With just one click, Copilot will help you send the reminder. Send reminder for more responses Stay tuned - these new updates are coming in January 2025.
Microsoft Ignite Spotlight on Switzerland 2023
On March 2023, Microsoft Ignite Spotlight on Switzerland took place at Kongresshaus Zürich and welcomed Swiss business leaders and developers for a day of keynote speeches, breakout sessions, and ask-the-expert panels to inspire and empower attendees with the latest innovations in business and technology. Event - Microsoft Ignite Spotlight on Switzerland 2023 Do not miss the official Microsoft video below with various interviews. Youtube - Microsoft Ignite Spotlight on Switzerland Feel free to subscribe to my profile to be updated on future articles if you still need to do it. You can find me on Linkedin and Twitter too. Let me know your thoughts, and feel free to join the conversation below. Don’t forget to hit the +1. Thank you! Dimitri Pletschette LinkedIn | Medium | Twitter | Microsoft | MastodonLearn the latest in Office 365 app and deployment innovation at Microsoft Ignite!
With so many sessions at MS Ignite, it can be hard to choose. If you’re specifically looking for O365 Apps and Deployment sessions, here’s a list of some of the must-attends you: Office 365 Apps General Session Microsoft 365: Unlock creativity and empower teamwork in the modern workplace Why you should go: Leadership from Office Marketing and Engineering will review the latest innovation across Office 365, making this a must-see session for those interested in the future of the Office apps and services. Breakouts Redefine modern productivity with Office 365 ProPlus Why you should go: This is the keystone breakout session reviewing the latest in ProPlus innovation across apps and deployment. This session will provide compelling content for why the best time to deploy ProPlus is now. Collaboration in Microsoft Office Apps Why you should go: Office has come a long way over the past ten years. Learn about how the latest version of Office enables industry-leading collaborative capabilities. Learn how to leverage the Office 365 task ecosystem featuring Microsoft Planner and Microsoft To-Do Why you should go: Microsoft has made gigantic strides in enterprise task and work management over the past year, and this session will cover what we’ve done and where we’re going. This session will be demo rich and will provide time to interact with the product teams from Microsoft Planner and To-Do. Office + Everyday AI Why you should go: Office has incorporated intelligence across Office in ways that enable you to do your best and most effective work. Learn how and where Microsoft’s intelligence features surface across the apps. Office 365 ProPlus Deployment General Session Microsoft 365: Modern management and deployment Why you should go: This is the main session to learn what Microsoft is doing to enable organizations to assess, deploy, manage, and protect their environments across Windows 10, Office ProPlus, and EMS. This is a must-attend session for IT Admins who want to learn what Microsoft envisions for the future of desktop deployment and management. Breakouts Moving to the modern Office: Getting your organization onto Office 365 ProPlus Why you should go: This is the keystone breakout session describing the entire lifecycle of Office 365 ProPlus deployment. This session will review deployment best practices, and what new tools and features have been developed to assist the IT Admin. Managing ongoing Office 365 ProPlus client health and applications compatibility Why you should go: Application compatibility is one of the most significant reasons that organizations don’t deploy Office ProPlus. This session will discuss the tools and processes needed to deploy ProPlus with full confidence. Manage Microsoft Office apps on all your devices Why you should go: The modern workforce uses multiple devices and platforms, and expects the same high-level of productivity across all of them. This session reviews how to manage Office apps on iOS, Android, and Windows. Connect with customers who have recently switched to Office 365 ProPlus Why you should go: Sometimes the best inspiration comes from learning about peer organization experiences. Attend this session to hear directly from Microsoft customers about their recent deployment to Office ProPlus. What other sessions do you recommend? Share what sessions are on your calendar or promote a session that you’re presenting. Know of any unofficial O365 events happening in Orlando during the week of Ignite? Let us know.
