It’s Microsoft update roulette! What are the advantages of the new Outlook search bar?Ĭonsistency. Possibly earlier and definitely maybe later. I had reason to reinstall Office from scratch a few days ago and I got the new search bar.Įxpect to see the new search bar at some point between last month and next November. The new search bar is a permanent part of the most recent Office release, but I don’t know when you’ll get that.
If you have a Coming Soon switch in the upper right corner, you might be able to toggle back and forth between old and new search bars, at least for a while. It began rolling out in October 2019 to people in the Office Insiders preview program. When will you see the new Outlook search bar? Okay, maybe that’s not a very good example. I typed in “how do I boldface a word,” and a pane opened on the right to point me to an explanation of “Linear format equations using Unicode Math and LaTeX.” Why, here’s an example from the new search bar. Keep it in mind when you need help with an Outlook feature. My guess is that no one used it, so it’s been combined with the other search box so that all searches are done in one place. It’s a friendly and well-designed help system. In addition to the familiar box to search your mail, there is a second search box labeled “Tell me what you want to do.” When you type what you’re trying to accomplish in plain English, the programs do a very smart search and lead you right to the answer. You might not have realized it but Outlook has had two search boxes for a while now. I don’t recall clicking on any of those things in the last decade. In the above screenshot, my Suggested Actions are Search Tools, Address Book, and Filter Email. Several things come to mind about that box, that very large box.īut let’s start with the Suggested Actions. Apparently, they’re only listed to inspire nostalgic memories. There is also a section of “Recent Searches,” which amuses me tonight because I can’t actually click on anything listed there. When you click on it, a box drops down with a selection of options – “suggested searches,” searches for a few people that you’ve dreamed about recently, and “Suggested Actions” in Outlook. See it up at the top? Above the ribbon, on the title bar. Don’t think about it, just use muscle memory, you’ve done it a million times. If you’re a long-time Outlook user, then click in the screenshot above to search for a message in my mailbox. What is changing about the Outlook search bar? Microsoft is changing the position of the search bar as part of a grand vision that expands Microsoft Search into a universal tool that encompasses web and enterprise data in addition to our own stuff, and uses AI to make our searches so smart that we get over our initial feelings of annoyance.
And just like the monster, you can’t stop it. If you use the Outlook desktop program for Windows, the search bar is going to change and move around and grow and grow and grow like a mutant chicken heart from an old horror movie.
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