What’s New in Microsoft Teams - March 2021
With consistent IT and user feedback, Microsoft is constantly updating for better experiences. That’s why you have us! At Excel & Flourish, we understand time is money. When you partner with one of our Microsoft Certified trainers, they’ll be able to sift through the new applications, features, and programs for you when they come out and be able to make the right recommendations based on your company needs, programs, and processes. For now, let’s take a look at some top updates and see what’s new in Microsoft this March.
Faster & Smoother Transitions with Grid View
For the speakers and presenters in the room, this one’s for you. Have you ever wished you could skip certain slides in the PowerPoint deck, or go back to a certain slide for an easy reference or recap? When you choose the PowerPoint option to share content in your Teams meeting, select Go to slide in the lower left of the presentation (or time G) to see a thumbnail view of each slide. All you have to do is choose the thumbnail you’re looking for, and you’ll go to that slide. Read more about that feature by visiting this link.
Goodbye Designated Note Takers, Hello Teams Recap
Record, read chats, review shared files, see who was in attendance, and more by the Teams recap feature. These recaps are automatically shared in the meeting chat tab and are viewable in the details tab of the meeting invite.
Plus, you can add transcriptions to your meetings! For participants who have a hard time hearing or following along in a different language, they’re able to read along with what’s being discussed. For those who missed to meeting or joined late, this feature allows for easy catch-up and searching the transcript by speaker. Learn more about transcripts here.
Note: Meeting recordings and transcripts are only available if someone in the meeting turns them on. Currently, transcription is only available in English.
“I’m free right now to talk if you are…”
Not only can you create an instant meeting by using the Meet Now button at the top of your calendar, you can also name the meeting to help you find the meeting chat later. For more info, see Start an instant meeting in Teams.
Updates for Mac Users
Outgoing video in web meetings is now available to Safari users! Just click the camera icon to start a sharing your video in the meeting, however, this requires Safari 14 or higher on MacOS BigSur.
Touch Bar meetings controls on Mac MacBooks with Touch Bars now have Teams Meeting controls that quickly allow users to access controls without clicking into the window. Users can open the ‘view participants’ panel, open meeting chat, use raise hand, enable video, mute/unmute, open shared tray, and leave the meeting from one place.
Updates for Android Users
New meeting experiences on Android devices enables participants to view content, speakers, and attendees all on one screen up to 20 participants on mobile devices and up to 30 participants on tablets. In addition, attendees are able to view shared content and a spotlighted participant simultaneously, and no longer have to choose between content being presented or pinned speakers.
Want more?
Tune in every month for a quick update on what’s new with Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Office 365 by following Excel & Flourish on your favorite social media channels.
Have any questions? Check out our current trainings, or drop by our live Zoom events where we cover a different topic each month.