Maynooth University IT Services

This release of Microsoft Teams Meeting ID will be rolling out across Microsoft Teams Desktop, Mobile and Web and will provide an additional way for users to join a Microsoft Teams meeting by entering a digital ID.

Expected: early July 2021

Details: All meetings will have a Meeting ID that is automatically assigned to a Microsoft Teams user and added to the meeting invite under the meeting link. Meeting attendees can join the meeting by entering the Meeting ID. For all meeting attendees, the pre-join, lobby and security will remain the same. 

Source: 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 80668

Microsoft Teams desktop users on Windows and Mac will soon have a revised share experience while in meetings.

Expected: Mid-May 2021

Details: In Microsoft Teams desktop client on Windows and Mac, users will see a new design when sharing their screen, window, Whiteboard, or PowerPoint during meetings, as shown below. 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 70560

This release of Multiple spotlights in Teams meetings will allow organizers and presenters to spotlight up to 7 participants simultaneously for everyone to see during meetings and will roll out across Microsoft Teams Desktop, Mobile and on the Web.

Expected: Mid-May 2021

Details: Users, when they are the meeting presenters or organizers, can now spotlight more participants in Team meetings than ever before. The spotlighting of selected participants will be maintained on their videos or avatars for everyone to see until turned off by the presenter or organizer. Presenters/organizers can now:

• Start spotlight on multiple participants by accessing their context menu from the participant roster or from the stage
• Stop individual spotlights or stop all spotlights in bulk from the roster
• Spotlight a maximum of 7 participants simultaneously in a meeting

Source:

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 80425

Within the desktop app in-meeting experience, organizers can choose to lock their meetings to prevent subsequent unwanted join attempts. Users attempting to join a locked meeting by any means (e.g. from web, desktop, mobile, PSTN, and devices) will not be able to do so. There will be a message to say that the meeting is locked.

Expected: End of May 2021

Details: When the change has rolled out meeting organizers will have the option to Lock the meeting: 

Source: 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 80669

This coming calendar board release will bring a new view to the calendar in Outlook on the web. In addition to the current views, users will soon be able to select a board view which will provide an expanded view where they can manage workloads like calendar, tasks, goals, flagged emails, and files.

Expected: Late June 2021

Details: When this feature is rolled out, users will see a new option in their calendar views. Users will be able to select the Board view in their calendar in Outlook on the web and create their own personal board with calendars, goals, files, task lists, sticky notes and manage them in one place. 

Source:

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 70746

Microsoft are adding persistent breakout rooms; the ability to reassign participants when rooms are open; and the ability for organizers to set timers for breakout sessions.

Expected: Late April 2021

Details: Organizers who are configuring and managing Breakout Rooms on a Teams desktop client will have access to these three options. For participants, the feature is supported by all devices and clients that support breakout room participation.

• Room assignment retention (new default behavior): Participants remain assigned to their breakout rooms unless the meeting organizer chooses to change them. The assignment persists across subsequent sessions or recurring meetings. 
• Participant reassignment while rooms are open: Organizers may reassign joined participants across rooms and the main meeting room when the breakout rooms are open. Currently reassignment works only when breakout rooms are closed.
• Set timers for breakout sessions: Organizers can set a timer for all breakout rooms created in a meeting session via the Breakout rooms settings panel.

When the organizer has set a timer, the clock will show participants the time left in the room (countdown) rather than time elapsed. The timer alerts participants that the breakout room session will close in 60 seconds. The organizer can choose: 

• to automatically redirect participants to the main meeting room (auto-move On) or 
• to provide participants with the option to return to the main meeting room or disconnect. Should the timer expire before participants take action, they will see an alert informing them that the session has ended which contains a button to return to the main meeting.

Additional notes:  

• Once the organizer opens a timed breakout room, participants are invited to join; the timer starts when the first participant joins.
• If no participants join, the breakout room will not open.  
• If all participants leave a breakout room before the timer expires, the room will close automatically. 

Source: 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 67174

This new PowerPoint for the web feature release will provide access to PowerPoint Live in Teams and with just one click, will make it easier for presenters to present their presentations from PowerPoint directly to their remote meeting audience.

Expected: Mid-May 2021

Details: While in a Teams meeting, users will be able to present their slide presentations with one click of the Present in Teams button in PowerPoint for the web to the remote audience in Teams in PowerPoint Live mode. 

There are two access points users can choose from. One is in the top right corner and the other is under the Slide Show tab. 

Requirements:

• Install Teams Desktop app
• Files must be stored on SharePoint or OneDrive for Business
• Presenter must join a meeting or a call before clicking the Present in Teams button in PowerPoint

Source:

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 80600

Microsoft are updating the Microsoft Teams Meeting lobby settings to enable organization participants to skip the lobby while holding guests in the lobby until they are admitted. This feature is applicable to Teams desktop apps, Teams mobile apps, and Teams on the web.

Expected: Early April 2021

Details: Currently, meeting organizers can choose to allow all or selected users to bypass the meeting lobby. 

With this update, meeting organizers can allow only organization members to bypass the lobby. 

Source: 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 81376

Further information:

• Change participant settings for a Teams meeting

Microsoft are expanding access to My Day from Outlook on the web to Office.com.

Expected: Early May 2021

Details: My Day is a summary panel that currently provides quick access to calendar events and tasks while using Outlook on the web. With this update, end users will also be able to access this information across Office.com. 

Toggle the panel on or off from the My Day icon in the Office suite header, then switch from Calendar events to To Do tasks.

Source: 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 72174

Users who have set up additional contact folders in Outlook on the web, or in Outlook for Windows or Mac, see those folders as a new category in Outlook mobile (iOS and Android). The category label corresponds to the folder name in Outlook on the web or Outlook for Windows or Mac.

Expected: End April 2021

Details: Users who have set up additional contact folders in Outlook on the web, or Outlook for Windows or Mac, will see those folders as a new categories in Outlook Mobile. The category label will correspond to the folder name. As part of the synchronization, each category is assigned a color.

• If a user has created a single additional contact folder, a cataegory will be created and assigned a category color.
• If a user has created multiple folders, a category will be crerated for each folder and assigned to the associated contacts. Users will have the option to upgrade those categories and assign them a color if needed.
• Changes to category labels in Outlook mobile will not affect folders in the other Outlook experiences.

Users will see changes to the Contact list by navigating to Search > People (iOS) or by navigating to Contacts (Android).  

Source: 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 69139 and 71507

This new slide translation feature in Microsoft Teams (desktop) will enable all meeting attendees to translate presentation content, presented via PowerPoint Live in a Teams meeting, into a language of their choice while in private view.

Expected: Late April 2021

Details: Meeting attendees will see the slide translation feature when the presenter uses PowerPoint Live in a Teams meeting. Each meeting attendee will be able to convert the slide show content into one of nineteen languages of their preference. This unique experience will only occur for the user requesting slide translation without interrupting the presenter or any other attendees in the meeting.

PowerPoint slide translation available in nineteen languages: 

Source: 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 80601

Microsoft Teams meeting organizers will be soon be able to create a custom registration page for any meeting, although the feature is designed for webinars. The feature is available for meeting organizers using Teams desktop applications (Win/Mac) and Teams on the web.

Expected: Early May 2021

Details: When a meeting organizer uses the custom registration option, those who are invited receive an email with the registration link.

• Recurring and channel meetings do not currently support registration functionality.
• By default the registration page will be accessible only to those from the same tenant.
• The meeting organizer can set up a registration page from the Meeting scheduling form. The organizer will then customize and save the registration page in a pop up window. The organizer can monitor registration activity via the registration report download that is provided on the Meetings 'Details' tab pre, during and post meeting. 

Source: 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 66586

Currently, Microsoft allow only 300 users to be added to interactive meetings. Soon, there will be an increase in the meeting participant and chat size from 300 to 1000.

Details: Once this change has rolled out, interactive meetings and chats will support 1000 participants.

Expected: End April 2021

Source:

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 65951 and 68844

Previously, some of the Microsoft Teams web app calling and meeting features were not supported on Safari. Users could not use their camera. Microsoft confirm that this new Microsoft Teams web app feature release will allow MacOS users to now be able to use their camera during meetings in Safari, enabling other meeting participants to see their video.

Expected: Late March 2021

Details: MacOS users who join Teams meetings will have an improved experience when joining in Safari. This new feature will only be supported in Safari, version 14 or higher.

Source:

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 81381

Soon ​the default and dark theme colors will be updated in Teams on web, Windows, and Mac. This update will include Fluent icons to align other Microsoft 365 applications.

Expected: End February 2021

Details: When your users access Teams on the web, the default and dark themes will be updated as well as the icons for all themes. 

Microsoft uses the Fluent design system to ensure a cohesive and accessible design for all Microsoft products and users. Most changes are subtle, such as:

• Added drop shadows between panels
• Rounded corners for square graphical elements (like buttons)
• Color adjustments to the default and dark themes

Current design: 

Updated design: 

Source:

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 68721

When an online meeting or class is recorded via Microsoft Teams, the recording is processed, and the video saved in the Stream app. The default privacy setting for these recordings is to restrict access to only those who participated in the recorded meeting. The guide below provides an overview on how to share these recordings saved in Stream to a class team in Microsoft Teams. 

• How to share content from Stream to Teams ​ 

With this update, end users will be able to use the ink capabilities and highlighter to annotate in Excel for the web.

Expected: Late May 2021

Details: When using Excel for the web, end users will see a new Draw tab in the ribbon. 

In addition, when using Excel on the web, end users will now see marked up spreadsheets. Prior to this update, Excel on the web did not display ink contained in a spreadsheet. 

Source:

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 66260

Soon the number of members that can be added to a team will be increased from 10,000 to 25,000. 

Expected: Late February 2021

Details: Once the feature is available, all new and existing teams will be able to grow and host up to 25,000 members.

Source: 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 68723

You will soon be able to rotate page orientation while viewing PDF documents in the Microsoft OneDrive iOS app. Any changes made are saved to OneDrive.

Expected: Mid-March 2021

Details: Users will be able rotate page orientation while viewing PDF documents in OneDrive. Any changes made are then saved to OneDrive.

Perform bulk rotation using thumbnail mode in grid view. 

Source: 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 68855

This new Teams feature allows users to change layout to Together mode or Largegallery during a meeting conducted in Edge or Chrome browsers.

Expected: Late February 2021

Details: This release will improve the experience for users who join Teams meetings in Edge and Chrome browsers by positioning up to 50 invitees into a virtual space by removing each individual background people have and replacing them with a common background.

Turn on Large gallery: 

Turn on Together mode: 

Source: 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 70573

When organizing Teams meetings in Outlook for Windows for 40 or more participants or 10 or more distribution lists, Teams users will soon see a prompt to set meeting options.

Expected: Late April 2021

Details: This feature is part of the Teams add-in for Outlook for Windows and ships with the Teams Windows desktop build. It is available when the correct version of Teams is automatically updated on the user’s desktop. It does not rely on an Outlook update. The following prompt will appear when organising large meetings: 

If the meeting organizer, who is a Teams user, selects the Set Options button, the Teams Meeting Options dialog offers the user options, such as who can bypass the lobby and who can present, as shown below. 

Source:

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 68918

Soon there will be a new way for meeting presenters to poll attendees. 

Expected: Early Decemeber 2020

Details: Any meeting presenter can add the Forms app as a tab in the Teams meeting. Before the meeting, the presenter can create draft polls. During the meeting, the presenter can create and launch polls that any attendee can view and answer. All attendees will be able to see the results in real time, and respondents can respond to a poll after the meeting if the poll has not been closed.This feature is available on Teams desktop (Windows and Mac, version 1.3.00.30829) and Teams on the web. 

Useful Resources:

• Change participant settings for a Teams meeting
• Create a Poll in Microsoft Teams

Source: 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 68837

Soon you will be able to return to a specific page in a PDF document easier and quicker with bookmark in OneDrive for iOS. 

Expected: late Decemeber 2020

Details: This bookmark feature allows end users to add or remove bookmarks using either the bookmark icon on the toolbar or via the context menu in long-press gesture, whether that press is on text or in a non-text area. 

Source:

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 68842

During a Teams meeting, participants will receive a notification when there are five minutes remaining in a scheduled meeting. This is an informational notification and will not automatically end the meeting.

Expected: early Decemeber 2020

Details: Teams will inform participants when there are five minutes remaining during any scheduled private or channel meeting. The notification will appear on screen for 10 seconds and disappear without any user action. This is an informational notification and will not automatically end the meeting. 

Source:

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 67122

Designer in Word Online is a feature which offers formatting consistency and style variety for every document.

Expected: Early November 2020

Details: Designer helps writers create documents with a consistent look-and-feel. It provides a variety of themes to help writers create documents that better communicate ideas visually. Once this arrives, to access Designer, open a document in Word Online and then select Home > Designer. 

Source:

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 63455

Further information: 

• Microsoft Guide: Use Designer to create more polished documents

During your meeting, if you wish to share different files across various browsers and applications, select 'Desktop' from the share tray so that anything you display within the red share boundary line will be displayed to your audience. This works particularly well if you are using a dual screen setup - share your secondary screen, usually labelled 'Screen 2'. Please be aware that until you stop sharing your screen, anything that is displayed on your shared desktop screen can be viewed by everyone on the Teams meeting. To share your desktop screen during your Teams meeting:

1. Select the 'Share content' icon, as shown below.
    
   
    
2. The share tray will appear across the bottom of your screen. Select 'Desktop' from the available options. Note: if you are working from a single screen, i.e. a laptop or single desktop screen, only one screen will be displayed as an option and not two screens, as shown below.  
    
   
    

Soon text predictions in English will be supported worldwide via Outlook on the web. 

Expected: Early December 2020

Details: When this update rolls out, users will see text predictions when writing an email message in English. Users can accept the predictions by clicking the "Tab" key; keep typing to ignore the predictions; or turn off predictions. Text predictions are on by default and can be disabled in Settings or while composing an email message. 

Source:

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 68833

Introducing new scenes in Together Mode. 

Expected: Mid-December 2020

Details: Soon you will be able to choose a new Together Mode scene. 

Source: 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 68749

Microsoft Forms owners will be able to easily collect survey responses from specific users or groups.

Expected: End of November 2020

Details: When creating a form or editing an existing form, you will see a new response collection option: Share > Send and collect responses. When a Form owner selects Specific people in my organization can respond, they can then specify one or more individuals or user groups by using their email address. The specified people or groups can then view and submit a response to the form/quiz. Other users will be prevented from seeing the form. This allows a form owner to manage the response collection more precisely than using the current anyone or organization wide options. Because of its more restrictive permissions, this setting is optimal for forms with more sensitive content or in cases where the responses are meant to be more controlled. 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 67157

When you share content during a Teams meeting that involves any audio, e.g. to play a video via YouTube or recorded content via PowerPoint, you must also share your computer sound with others on the meeting. To share sound on a Windows device during a Teams meeting:

1. Select 'Share content' in the upper right of your teams call.
    
   
    
2. Then, before selecting the desktop, screen or app you wish to share, use the slider on the left of the share tray to 'Include computer sound'   
    
   
    

On Mac OS, you will soon be able share a screen using Teams via the Safari browser (13.1 and higher).

Expected: Late October 2020

Details: You will be able to share your screen (entire desktop screen only, not a specific window) during a Teams meeting via the Safari browser. 

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 67174

If you have organised a Teams meeting and you wish to manage who is able to record the meeting content, you must assign yourself as the 'Presenter' of the meeting and everyone else will be automatically assigned the status of an attendee. Attendees cannot record the meeting. To do this:

1. Before the meeting, open Teams, select Calendar and open the event in question
2. Select 'Meeting Options'
    
   
    
3. From the 'Who can present?' drop-down menu, select 'Only me' or select one or more nominees as the 'Presenter'. Everyone else will be assigned the status of an attendee. An attendee cannot record a meeting or share their screen. Note: Guests to MU cannot be assigned the Presenter status.
4. Click 'Save'
    
   
    

When you join a Teams meeting, it is advisable to mute your microphone unless you are speaking, to reduce any background noise on the call. To do this:

1. Select the microphone icon on the toolbar in the upper right of your active meeting screen
    
   
    
2. To unmute your microphone, select the same icon, as shown below
    
   
    

Whether you have 10, 50 or up to 300 attendees joining your Teams meeting, you may have cause to mute all attendees at some point, to reduce any background noise and/or to get attention for the start of the meeting/class. To do this:

1. Select the 'Show Participants' icon
    
   
    
2. Select 'Mute all' or select the mute icon next to each and every participant. Note: the attendees will be able to unmute themselves if they wish to add something to the meeting/class.
    
   
    

If you wish to mute everyone and also, manage whether they can unmute themselves during the meeting/class, you must assign yourself and/or one or more nominees as the 'Presenter' of the meeting and then toggle the setting on/off to allow all other attendees to unmute themselves. To do this:

1. Before the meeting, open Teams, select Calendar and open the event in question
2. Select 'Meeting Options'
    
   
    
3. From the 'Who can present?' drop-down menu, select 'Only me' or select one or more nominees as the 'Presenter'. Guests to MU cannot be assigned the Presenter status.
4. For the 'Allow attendees to unmute', move the slider to 'No'
5. Click 'Save'
    
   
    
6. During the meeting, to manage if attendees can unmute themselves, select 'Participants' and then the 'More Options' menu. Finally, select the 'Allow attendees to unmute' option from this menu.
    
   
    

This new PowerPoint for the web feature release will provide access to PowerPoint Live in Teams and with just one click, will make it easier for presenters to present their presentations from PowerPoint directly to their remote meeting audience.

Expected: Mid-May 2021

Details: While in a Teams meeting, users will be able to present their slide presentations with one click of the Present in Teams button in PowerPoint for the web to the remote audience in Teams in PowerPoint Live mode.

There are two access points users can choose from. One is in the top right corner and the other is under the Slide Show tab. 

Requirements:

• Install Teams Desktop app
• Files must be stored on SharePoint or OneDrive for Business
• Presenter must join a meeting or a call before clicking the Present in Teams button in PowerPoint

Source:

• Microsoft 365 admin message center
• This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 80600