Summary

• Microsoft Teams will update devices when not in use to minimize end-user disruption in November.
• New Outlook features include a new location sharing option and the ability to save attachments to a local folder in October.
• OneDrive will allow authorized users to open protected PDF files in read-only mode in October.

Last week was pretty significant for anyone who uses Microsoft's productivity suites, as the software giant announced the roll-out of Copilot to OneDrive, in addition to many upcoming Microsoft 365 features. Compared to the Copilot availability in OneDrive, the announcement of new Microsoft 365 features through the roadmap website is low-key, as is always the case. What's also consistent is our effort to find those upcoming capabilities, which are otherwise hard to find, and bring them to our readers. We're at it again this week, disclosing Microsoft's plans in the coming months for Microsoft 365.

5 Microsoft Teams: New way to update Teams devices

Microsoft announced a plethora of new features back to back in recent roadmap updates, but last week saw a significant drop in the number of changes announced for Teams. The company added only one Teams feature to its roadmap last week, which is a change to how Teams devices are updated. According to Feature ID: 418120, updates from the Teams admin center will be applied to Teams devices only when they're not in active use. According to Microsoft, this will "minimize end-user disruption." This is slated to arrive in November.

4 Microsoft Outlook: New location sharing option, grant access to mailboxes, and more

New location sharing option

Unlike in the case of Teams, Microsoft unveiled a ton of Outlook functionalities it's currently working on. One of the handy features coming to the new Outlook for Windows is a new location sharing option. If you're someone who's not comfortable sharing your location information with other users in the organization, you'll now be able to choose "No location shared." What's more, whatever option you opt for will also be respected in apps like Places and Teams. The tentative release month is October (Feature ID: 418127). Another change coming to the new Outlook next month is the ability to pick a local folder to save attachments (Feature ID: 416076).

Outlook unleashed: Essential tips to master your inbox

Grant mail delegate sharing permissions

Although the new Outlook for Windows is now generally available, Microsoft has yet to add some of the crucial tools to the app. Speaking of which, you can't grant someone access to your mailboxes from the app. If this is what's holding you back from switching to the new Outlook, wait till July next year when Microsoft finally introduces the ability to allow someone to manage your inboxes from the new Outlook app (Feature ID: 417063).

Moreover, if you're someone who already has been granted access to manage someone's calendar, you'll be able to "see calendar event details, including the principal calendar, in the CITI card in the top drawer in meeting invite messages." As per Feature ID: 417478), this will be available in November.

3 Microsoft OneDrive: New PDF feature

Apart from the addition of the Copilot chatbot, more useful tools will be added to OneDrive in the coming months. One of those features will come in the form of allowing users to open PDF files that are protected with Microsoft Purview Information Protection sensitivity labels, as well as read them using the read-only mode. However, it's important to note that only authorized users will be able to access those PDFs (Feature ID: 416077). General availability is planned for October.

2 Microsoft Edge: Microsoft Designer to edit images in browser with AI

Microsoft Designer is already available in the Edge sidebar, helping you generate images with simple prompts without leaving the browser. On top of that, from November onwards, you'll also be able to use the Designer to edit your images on your browser. As described by Microsoft, you'll be able to simply right-click on an image and select "Edit image with Designer" to start editing it with AI support (Feature ID: 418132). Administrators will be able to control the availability of this feature.

1 Copilot for Microsoft 365: Quickly add a prompt

Microsoft highlights every new feature it adds to Copilot every month. Assuming that it'll keep doing so in the coming months, you'll find the ability to "quickly add a prompt" in the list of features added to Copilot in December. If we go by Feature ID: 415449, Microsoft will make it easy to "quickly add a prompt or choose from a range of quick options" from the Copilot icon in your document margin.

Expect fewer new features on the roadmap site as we near the year's end

While it's exciting to learn about Microsoft 365 features that are in the works beforehand, what's frustrating is that the timelines mentioned on the roadmap are always tentative. On top of that, now that we're approaching the end of this year, we expect Microsoft to release fewer new features in the coming months.