A few weeks ago, we reported on Microsoft's new offline capabilities for OneDrive. This improvement is designed to allow users to complete certain tasks without an Internet connection. While we don't know all the details about this upcoming feature yet, it appears to be different from the currently available OneDrive sync app in that it appears to be a solution involving the web. Offline OneDrive is one of several other features we're noticing on the Microsoft 365 roadmap each week.
Microsoft is now also working on offline support for the new Outlook for Windows version, which was recently released to the public. This is one of several new features Microsoft has prepared for the 23H2 feature update, but it was released early.
On the Microsoft 365 roadmap, Microsoft added this new item under feature ID 178030, which allows users to view mail, calendar events, and contacts as they will be automatically stored offline on the device. Additionally, email operations such as composing, tagging, moving, and deleting will work as expected.
The feature was added earlier today and will begin rolling out next month. In the description of the new project it is written:
Outlook: New Outlook for Windows - Offline support for mail operations and composing
The first set of offline features in the new version of Outlook for Windows. Mail, calendar events, and contacts will be stored on your device, so you can view them even if you're not connected to the Internet. Plus, you can perform key actions on your messages, including tagging, moving, deleting, and composing messages, so you can stay productive even when you're not connected to the Internet.
This option would be a welcome new feature as Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook, experience frequent outages, the most recent of which occurred earlier this month.
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