January 2016 Office 365 News Summary

Microsoft recently shared all of the enhancements and new features that have arrived to start of the new year.

Richard Hay, Senior Content Producer

January 25, 2017

2 Min Read
January 2016 Office 365 News Summary

Yesterday, Microsoft's Kirk Koenigsbauer, the companies Corporate VP for Office, shared details about several updates to Office 365 that are being made available this month to subscribers of the service.

Among them are new features for OneDrive For Business, an Activity Feed for Office programs, Office Lens integration on Android, a new Office Insider program for iOS, and the new StaffHub scheduling service.

Here is a quick snapshot of the announcements in each area.

OneDrive for Business

  • Latest sync client can now sync SharePoint Online team sites and OneDrive For Business shared folders.

  • Web interface to OneDrive For Business files now has better UI for sharing files and selecting how long they remain shared.

  • New OneDrive admin center and stand alone Mac client allows for better IT deployment and management of the service.

More details are available at the official OneDrive blog.

Activity Feed

  • This service is now available on files saved to OneDrive. 

  • It was initially released for documents stored on SharePoint or OneDrive For Business.

  • It tracks changes to cloud based documents and allows users to revert the document to a previous version.

  • The Activity Feed is enabled for commercial subscribers using Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on the desktop. Consumer subscribers to Office 365 can access this feature if they are in the Office Insider Program.

Instructions for using the Activity Feed are on the Microsoft Office Support site.

Office Lens on Android

  • This scanning capability uses your smartphones camera to capture and archive images from whiteboards, blackboards, and paper documents to store them digitally.

  • Previously available as a separate app, it is now integrated with Word and PowerPoint apps on Android devices.

  • Future updates will add the feature to Excel and add options like OCR and searchable text from images.

Office Insider for iPhone and iPad

  • This new insider program gives users access to Office Insider Fast level builds to devices running compatible versions of iOS to test new features in early preview builds.

  • You can apply to join here and read more about the Office Insider Program here.

More specifics about the Office Insider program for iPhone and iPad are also available here.

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About the Author

Richard Hay

Senior Content Producer, IT Pro Today (Informa Tech)

I served for 29 plus years in the U.S. Navy and retired as a Master Chief Petty Officer in November 2011. My work background in the Navy was telecommunications related so my hobby of computers fit well with what I did for the Navy. I consider myself a tech geek and enjoy most things in that arena.

My first website – AnotherWin95.com – came online in 1995. Back then I used GeoCities Web Hosting for it and WindowsObserver.com is the result of the work I have done on that site since 1995.

In January 2010 my community contributions were recognized by Microsoft when I received my first Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award for the Windows Operating System. Since then I have been renewed as a Microsoft MVP each subsequent year since that initial award. I am also a member of the inaugural group of Windows Insider MVPs which began in 2016.

I previously hosted the Observed Tech PODCAST for 10 years and 317 episodes and now host a new podcast called Faith, Tech, and Space. 

I began contributing to Penton Technology websites in January 2015 and in April 2017 I was hired as the Senior Content Producer for Penton Technology which is now Informa Tech. In that role, I contribute to ITPro Today and cover operating systems, enterprise technology, and productivity.

https://twitter.com/winobs

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