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Posts tagged "look"

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The Microsoft Office app has a fresh new look, but not for everyone
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Microsoft has rolled out a fresh version of Office.com and the corresponding Windows application, with a revamped user interface that’s supposed to maximize productivity.

As explained in a Microsoft blog post, the changes will take effect for business and education customers first, with similar updates for personal accounts to follow “in the coming months”.

The company suggests that business customers took priority in this instance because the new functionalities are largely geared towards managing large volumes of files more efficiently, a challenge that professionals are more likely to encounter.

New-look Microsoft Office

First announced at Microsoft Ignite in November 2021, the changes to the Microsoft Office app and web client are designed to make managing and locating files simpler, by fine-tuning menu screens and introducing opportunities for customization.

“We designed Office.com and the parallel Office app for Windows to be the hub for your content – a place where you can get to all your files and documents, understand what needs your attention, and easily start creating content,” wrote Microsoft.

The most significant upgrade is perhaps the new-look home screen, which now features a Quick Access section that helps surface important files and filter options that allow users to organize files by those most recently opened, shared, favorites and various other parameters.

Microsoft Office

The new Office.com home screen. (Image credit: Microsoft)
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There’s also a new My Content pane, which Microsoft says “helps you get to all the work related to you no matter the file type, where it’s stored, or how it was shared with you”. This page also benefits from infinite scroll, which eliminates the hassle of tabbing through multiple results pages to find a specific file.

Lastly, the Create pane lets users create new documents and spreadsheets with a single click, using a variety of templates as the base.

“Just select the type of content you wish to create and you’ll be presented with various template options across multiple apps all at once so you can decide which works best for you,” Microsoft explained.

These updates should take effect for all corporate and education customers by the end of the week.

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Gmail is getting a sleek new look – but you may not like it
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Your work Gmail client is set for a major makeover within the next few weeks as Google begins to roll out its new view of the future of working.

The company has announced that its new approach to email will be available for users to experience from the end of February 2022, ahead of a wider release by April 2022.

The approach looks to provide users with a one-stop shop for all their communication needs – whether via email, video conferencing, or just good old-fashioned instant messaging – without them having to open up extra tabs or windows.

Gmail integrated view

“We’re introducing a new, integrated view for Gmail, making it easy to move between critical applications like Gmail, Chat and Meet in one unified location,” a Google Workspace update blog noted.

When logged in, users will still see emails displayed front and centre, but shifted significantly over to the right-hand side of the display. This is to make way for a new sidebar on the left side that contains quick links to Chat, Spaces and Meet, shifting your email folders and label options over slightly.

Gmail integrated view

(Image credit: Google)

Google says that the new “integrated view” and navigation menu allows users to easily switch between their inbox, important conversations, and also join meetings without having to switch between tabs or open a new window. To demonstrate, it showed how a Spaces chat let the user jump straight into a Google Sheets without leaving the Gmail window.

The company adds that you'll also see all your notifications in one place, with bubbles flagging when you have a new message or chat to engage with.

Google is also working on the ability to see email and chat results when using the search bar, making it easier to find what you need by eliminating the need to search within a specific product.

“We hope this new experience makes it easier for you to stay on top of what’s important and get work done faster in a single, focused location,” the company added.

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The new-look Gmail will start rolling out to users in the rapid release pipeline from February 8 2022, with other customers following soon after. The new view will become the standard look by the end of Q2 2022. 

It will be available to all Google Workspace user accounts (except Google Workspace Essentials customers) as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers.

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Major WordPress update will make amateurs look like master web developers
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WordPress.org has announced the release of WordPress 5.9, a new version of the famous CMS that will change the way many people build their websites.

The new iteration of WordPress delivers a series of fundamental changes. Perhaps most notable is the introduction of new themes made entirely of blocks, which give users far broader control over the site experience.

To help users make the most of the changes, WordPress 5.9 comes bundled with a new default theme called Twenty Twenty-Two. The theme is designed to be highly flexible and can be moulded and tweaked from the Site Editor, where users can make global changes to color scheme, font combinations, page templates and more.

Beyond block-based themes, WordPress 5.9 also features new typography tools, layout options and detailing controls (for borders, spacing etc.), which WordPress says will give sites an additional feeling of polish.

WordPress 5.9

(Image credit: WordPress)

WordPress 5.9 update

The new release marks the halfway point of the Gutenberg project, a multi-year initiative that will eventually see the entire WordPress publishing experience reimagined. The overall idea is to streamline the building process such that non-technical users are incentivized to get creative with their sites.

“This release is a major milestone on the journey toward being able to manage all areas of your WordPress site using the same basic block concepts,” said Josepha Haden Chomphosy, Executive Director at WordPress.

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“It puts a focus on how people can and should be able to build their space on the web without necessarily requiring that they be a brilliant developer. Because publishing should belong to artists and creators just as much as it belongs to designers and developers.”

WordPress 5.9 is the first build to feature this new set of foundational tools, which will continue to be refined and improved over time with the help of the WordPress community.

To access the new full-site editing facilities, users need to either download WordPress 5.9 directly or update from their site dashboard, then activate Twenty Twenty-Two or another of the block-based themes available.

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WhatsApp for Windows 11 is getting a new look
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Last year we saw many new features come to Meta’s WhatsApp messaging service, and now a recent update to the Windows version looks to make it similar to recently refreshed apps in Windows 11.

The new update of the beta version that’s been available on the Microsoft Store for Windows 10 and Windows 11 since November showcases an updated design that’s more in line with the refreshed apps we’ve seen from Microsoft, such as Paint and Windows Media Player.

Besides the Windows 11-inspired design, there’s integration with the new Action Center where you can manage your messages, alongside the rest of your notifications for other apps on your PC.

Whether you decide to use WhatsApp on your laptop or tablet device, it’s a useful alternative for when you’re working in a coffee shop and you need to quickly reply to a WhatsApp message, without taking your smartphone out of your pocket.

Analysis: an easier alternative to WhatsApp Web

UWP (Universal Windows Platform) apps can use design standards that Microsoft has set, such as the appearance and layout, to match the overall look of Windows 11. Microsoft has done this with some of its older apps and features, such as Focus Assist and Clock.

Previously, WhatsApp on the desktop has been using an appearance that’s been mirroring the design of Windows 10. But with this new update, everything looks like it matches other refreshed Windows 11 apps.

Updated WhatsApp desktop in Windows 11

(Image credit: WhatsApp)

It’s another push by WhatsApp to help its users access the app for difficult situations that require it. There are going to be moments where you’ll be on a train with your laptop open for example, and your phone has run out of charge. Thanks to the multi-device feature in testing where you can manage your messages without your phone being connected, you’ll be able to use the desktop app on its own with no issue.

It solves a potential problem, but it also makes the desktop app ready for launch later this year with the updated look for Windows 11, especially with Sun Valley 2 coming.

However, it remains to be seen if a majority of users will be comfortable in using WhatsApp on their PCs, instead of primarily using their phone or a web browser.

Via Windows Latest

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Microsoft Edge’s half-baked password manager might now be worth a look
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Microsoft is preparing to roll out a new version of the in-built password manager for its Edge web browser.

Currently under development, the new-look password management feature will allow users to add credentials to their roster manually for the first time.

At the moment, Microsoft Edge requires users to visit a website, log in and wait for a prompt from the browser. By introducing a manual option, Microsoft will minimize the friction associated with adding passwords en masse.

The ability to add account credentials manually first featured in an early-access build of Google Chrome, which is based on the same Chromium engine as Edge. Microsoft appears to have built upon this foundation to port the functionality over to its own service.

It’s unclear precisely when the feature will make its way into a full public build, but it is currently available to members of the Edge Canary channel under the Profile menu.

Microsoft Edge password manager

Microsoft first introduced password management functionality to its flagship browser in January last year, offering users a simple alternative to fully-featured services like LastPass and Dashlane, which cost in the region of $ 40/year.

The idea was to give users a cost-effective way to limit the risk of credential stuffing, brute force attacks and identity theft.

However, recent reports suggest it may still be ill-advised to store your account credentials in your web browser, as opposed to using a dedicated service.

According to security company AhnLab, info-stealing Redline malware is capable of both evading antivirus software and stealing passwords and other sensitive data from its victim’s browser.

In a recent incident, an infection resulted in the compromise of a corporate network, after VPN credentials were stolen from a remote employee’s web browser.

From a cybersecurity perspective, although storing unique passwords in Microsoft Edge is better than deploying an identical password across multiple accounts, it shouldn’t be considered the perfect solution.

Via WindowsLatest

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WhatsApp is making voice messages look more exciting
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Voice messages are, by their very nature, an audio experience – but this is something that WhatsApp is looking to change. When you receive a voice message form a contact (or, indeed, if you send one yourself), you will be used to seeing a progress bar during playback.

This is a handy visual aid that helps let you know how long a message is and how much more there is to listen to. But now the feature is getting a bit of an upgrade to make it more visually appealing thanks to voice waveforms.

We've seen WhatsApp playing around with waveforms previously, with Android users who are signed up for the beta program having been given a sneaky glimpse at the feature. But it was only a brief look, as voice waveforms were swiftly disabled without a word of explanation

However, they appear to be back. The fact that the new visual accompaniment to voice messages is now available for iOS and Android beta testers (but still only beta testers) could be indicative of the feature being almost complete and ready for an even wider rollout. But what's all the fuss about?

Sound and vision

On one hand, these are just pretty animations to watch while you listen to a message you have received. On the other, they are helpful visual tools that can be reassuring when there is a period of silence in a message; if there is no activity in the waveform, you can safely assume that there is no sound to hear, rather than there being a problem with your speakers… or ears.

As is often the case with WhatsApp, although this new feature is being made available to beta testers, it is not necessarily going to be available to all beta testers immediately. It's something that's controlled server-side, so while ensuring that you have the latest version of the app installed is undoubtedly a good idea, it's sadly no guarantee of getting access to voice wave forms right now.

WABetaInfo reports that WhatsApp beta for Android 2.21.25.11 and WhatsApp beta for iOS 2.21.240.18 are compatible with the feature, so make sure that you have one of these installed for the best possible change of getting to try out the new feature.

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Microsoft Office has a fresh new look – here’s how to update
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If you've upgraded to Windows 11 and want Microsoft Office to match the look of the company's latest operating system, then you're in luck as Microsoft's visual update for its office software is now available.

Back in June, the software giant announced a new look for Office designed for Windows 11 though it will also improve your experience if you're running Windows 10 according to a new blog post from Microsoft. 

At its core, Microsoft's new visual update for Office delivers a simple and more coherent experience across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook. It's worth noting that the update isn't available for some of the company's other software including Access, Project, Publisher and Visio. 

Once enabled in one of the compatible Office apps such as Word, the visual refresh will also be applied to the others so Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook will have a new look as well.

Office Visual Update with Word Dark Mode

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Enabling the visual update for Office

Microsoft's new visual refresh for Office can easily be turned off or on using the Coming Soon feature which is located in the top right corner of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

To get started, simply click the megaphone icon to open the Coming Soon pane, navigate to the bottom and use the toggle to move between the new and current interface and apply the setting to all of Microsoft's compatible Office apps.

The biggest change in this visual update is the fact that Office now matches your Windows theme by default. This means you can experience it in whichever Windows theme you want including black with Word Dark Mode enabled, white, colorful or dark grey.

Another change is that the Quick Access Toolbar is now hidden by default to make the user interface of Office simpler. To display it again, just right-click the ribbon or click on the Ribbon Display Options icon and then click Show Quick Access Toolbar.

Microsoft's visual update is now now available for users running Windows 11 as well as for those running Windows 10 version 2110 and build 14527.20226 or later but if you don't see the update, restarting Office should make it appear.

We've also rounded up the best Microsoft Office alternatives, best free office software and best online collaboration tools to help you work more productively

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