Microsoft is working on a big redesign for its Outlook for Mac and Windows apps. The software giant revealed teasers for the new design during an, and the goal is to simplify the user interface on both Mac and Windows versions. Spotted by, a lot of the changes look very similar to the Outlook for iOS app, with a single-line ribbon and a smaller set of default commands. Reducing complexity is one of the key aims of the redesign, to make it easier for new and existing Outlook users to navigate the email app. A new customizable ribbon will let Outlook for Mac and Windows users control which buttons are available, so you can tailor the email interface to your own common tasks. The left navigation panel will include quicker access to folders across multiple accounts, and looks like the switcher in Outlook for iOS.
Outlook for Windows Microsoft is also focusing a lot of the design changes on Outlook for Mac. The software maker admits “MacBooks are popular amongst key influencers and decision makers,” and that the company “needs to win these users by delivering the best Outlook has to offer.” The overall interface will pick up the same ribbon changes and left navigation panel, but Outlook for Mac will also include improvements to search and calendar. Search will be faster and more reliable, and easier to discover in the top right corner of the app. Calendar will also be improved with fly-outs of information, and a better interface for managing appointments. While it’s not clear exactly when this design will be made available, Microsoft is already testing internal versions for both Mac and Windows.
Click 'Start > All programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Outlook.' Open the calendar section from the task pane on the left. Click the 'Tools' menu at the top, then select 'Forms > Design a form.' In Outlook 2013, the only place where you can have apps for Office is in the 'App Pane' which is displayed above the message in the Reading Pane. It's currently not possible to add apps to Custom Task Panes in Outlook.
In the interim, features like sliding on a trackpad to delete messages and the ability to insert tables into emails are coming soon to Outlook for Mac. Expect most of these design and feature changes to be made available to Office 365 subscribers first, and then in Office 2019 updates.
Outlook for Mac calendar changes.
Note: and the Outlook for Mac application released as part of the are the same product, so this blog applies to both as long as they are updated to version or higher. The 15.8 update for Outlook for Mac was released on March 5, 2015, and it contains a new feature: Side-by-Side calendars. This feature allows you to view up to 3 calendars side-by-side instead of in overlay view. You can use this feature with your own calendars and shared calendars. Before this feature was introduced (in Outlook for Mac 15.6 and lower versions), multiple calendars could be viewed at the same time in overlay view only. In the screenshot below, notice that 3 Calendars are selected in the navigation pane, and 3 different meetings appear on the calendar. These 3 meetings are located in each of the 3 calendars and are viewed in Overlay view.
Now in version 15.8 and higher with the Side-by-Side Calendar feature, you have the option of viewing multiple calendars in Side-by-Side view, as shown below. Overlay view is still an available option, which is located on the Organize tab in the Calendar. Simply click it to enable or disable Overlay view. You can view up to 3 calendars in Side-by-Side view at a time. When you select more than 3 calendars the view switches to Overlay view automatically. If you have more than 3 calendars selected, you will not be able to click the Overlay button to disable it.
You must deselect calendars until you have 3 or fewer selected to view the calendars in Side-by-Side view again. Collapsing Calendars An option to change the view when in Side-by-Side view is to click the arrows on the calendar tabs in order to collapse the calendars so they are overlaid over the other calendar(s).
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You can click the left arrows on the calendar tabs to collapse them, and then the arrow on the calendar tab changes to a right arrow so you can move it to the side again. You can collapse the calendars in this manner in any combination of calendars that you prefer. This image shows Calendar 2 collapsed with the primary calendar, while Calendar 3 is kept separate on the right. This image shows both calendars collapsed with the primary calendar. Arranging Multiple Calendars You can arrange the calendars when they are in Side-by-Side view by selecting them in a specific order. They will appear in the order you select them from left to right.
For example, if you deselect all calendars, then select Calendar 2, then select Calendar 3, and then select the primary Calendar, they will appear in that order, as shown in this screenshot: As another example, if you have 3 calendars open in Side-by-Side view, and you would prefer have the 2 additional calendars collapsed together and your primary calendar separate on the side, follow the steps below. Step 1: Deselect the primary Calendar, named “Calendar” in the screenshot, so it is not displayed.
Step 2: Click the left arrow on the Calendar 3 tab to collapse it with Calendar 2. Step 3: Enable the Primary Calendar. Results: The primary calendar will now be displayed separately on the right side while the other 2 calendars are collapsed together on the left. Calendar Colors Another new feature introduced in Outlook for Mac for Office 365 version 15.4 is Calendar Color. This allows you to assign a color to each calendar to make it easier to tell them apart. To choose a color, right-click the Calendar, select Color, and click the color you prefer. Each calendar tab will display the color assigned to that calendar.
Meetings that do not have a category assigned to them will appear as the color assigned to the calendar in which they are located. Any calendar item with a category assigned will be displayed with that category color instead of the color assigned to the Calendar. Category colors override the Calendar color. Note: The “Calendar 1 Appt – Categorized Red” meeting in this image appears red. The Calendar Color is blue, but this item appears red because the red category is assigned to it. The Calendar Color feature is also very helpful when you are viewing several calendars in Overlay view, as the colors make it easier to determine which item belongs to which calendar based on the color. Notice in the above screenshot that the Calendar 1 items appear a normal color, while the Calendar 2, 3 & 4 items appear faded.
This is because 'Calendar', which contains the Calendar 1 items, is the highlighted calendar in the Navigation pane on the left. This is another way to determine which items belong to the calendars.