Good news for Outlook users: Microsoft this week announced that it is adding several of its customers’ “most requested features” to Outlook 2016 for Mac. The new features, which are rolling out now to various preview and release versions of the app, address four key areas:
Scheduled Emails
A new feature called “Send Later” lets users compose a message in advance and then schedule it to be sent at a later time or date.
It’s available now for Office 365 subscribers on the “Fast Ring” for updates (version 15.36, build 170606) and will be rolled out to all users next month.
Delivery and Read Receipts
For email accounts and services that support it, Outlook 2016 for Mac now lets users request delivery and read receipts for sent emails. The difference is that a delivery receipt confirms only that the email successfully made it to the recipients account, while the read receipt confirms that the email was actually opened by the recipient. Again, not all email accounts and services support these features, and in many cases the recipient can choose not to respond to a receipt request. So, it’s nice to see this feature come to Outlook 2016 for Mac, but don’t rely on it in all circumstances.
Delivery and read receipts are available to all Office 365 subscribers today running version 15.35, build 170610 and up.
Email Templates
Users can now create custom email templates, which makes it much faster to send multiple emails that contain the same information. The templates can also be modified on a per-email basis, so you can always add or remove saved content depending on the email, and they can be exported to share with others in your business or team. Email templates are available today to all users on version 15.35, build 170610.
Create Calendar Events from Emails and Tasks
Outlook Calendar events can now be created by simply dragging and dropping an email or task directly onto the calendar. The email’s subject becomes the calendar event’s name, and the email’s body text is automatically added to the event’s notes field. It’s a quick and easy way to add emailed project info to your calendar, or as a way to set aside time on your schedule to address an important or complicated email.
Like receipts and templates, this feature is available today to all Outlook 2016 for Mac users on version 15.35, build 170610 and up.