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| Microsoft started making the biggest changes to Office in decades |
The biggest change to Microsoft Office documents in decades is imminent: The company's Fluid framework will appear in Microsoft Teams, Outlook, OneNote, and Whiteboard.
Microsoft first launched Fluid last year and demonstrated how the framework enables Office content blocks to exist independently on the web.
This idea is now a reality, and collaborative content can be copied, pasted, and shared with others.
Fluid components are not static tables, charts, and lists linked to specific documents, but collaborative modules found in various applications.
These components will debut in Microsoft Teams this summer and can be integrated into meetings and conversations.
The introduction of fluids coincides with the return of employees to the office and the emergence of a new mixed work experience.
Content that Microsoft creates with Fluid is the biggest change it's made to Office in decades. While Fluid seemed like a futuristic concept when it was first introduced last year, its launch this week shows just how much it has changed.
Microsoft reveals Fluid:
Every Microsoft Teams meeting will soon offer an integrated and collaborative feedback experience. Notes are displayed in a Microsoft Times meeting or Outlook calendar. Each participant can start writing in real time.
When you add a task, it instantly syncs with your other tasks in Microsoft 365. Meeting notes are automatically synced to your Outlook calendar, where you can also edit them in real time.
"We hope to work together before the start of the meeting," Microsoft said. Since meeting recordings are in real time, you can even copy them to apps like OneNote and see everyone working on them.
Fluid components have the potential to change the way everyone works in Microsoft Teams and Office. It's fast and has no sync times, just like Google Docs.
Microsoft has had similar collaboration tools in Office for a while. But only for static files.
Microsoft has also turned its whiteboard app into a canvas for hosting liquid components.
A new collaboration indicator will appear on the whiteboard so you can see what your colleagues have added to your document in real time.
There is also a new virtual laser pointer that you can use to get people's attention or use interactive stickers to make the whiteboard more lively.
Mobile components such as forms or to-do lists can also be integrated into the whiteboard and the entire app now looks the same on all devices and platforms.