Skip to main content

Outlook 2016 for Mac now works with the Touch Bar and all of those cool add-ins

Microsoft has been working hard to bring its Office 2016 productivity suite up to date on Apple’s MacOS machines. As part of the effort, the company added MacBook Pro Touch Bar support for a number of Office apps in a recent update.

Now, Microsoft is making a couple of significant improvements to Outlook 2016 for Mac. Specifically, it’s adding Outlook to the list of MacOS applications with Touch Bar support, and it’s making add-in support available to production builds after the feature spent some time in Office Insider builds.

Recommended Videos

Touch Bar support in Outlook means that Apple’s OLED touchscreen will now respond to a variety of email- and calendar-based tasks. For example, when users compose emails or meeting requests, the Touch Bar will show off common formatting options. In addition, the Touch Bar can be used to switch between calendar views, as well as to join online meetings with a single tap when viewing the reminders window. Touch Bar support is available to Office 365 subscribers, as well as all Office 2016 for Mac customers.

Next up is support for Outlook add-ins, which are basically extensions to Outlook that add more functionality and tie to a variety of external systems. Add-ins are another Outlook feature that is making its way from the Office Insider program, and they work for all Office 2016 for Mac customers connecting to Exchange 2013 Service Pack 1 or higher, or to Office 365 or Outlook.com mailboxes.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Here are some of the add-ins that are now available to Outlook for Mac users:

  • The Nimble add-in provides real-time insights about Outlook contacts.
  • The Dynamics 365 add-in provides business intelligence and email-tracking functionality.
  • Some supported external systems including Evernote, Trello, Microsoft Translator, Smartsheet, and Citrix ShareFile.
  • The Boomerang add-in lets users add email reminders and schedule emails.
  • Users can grant gifts via the Starbucks for Outlook add-in.
  • The GIPHY add-in can help make emails more fun and expressive.

Using add-ins is easy enough. Once you’ve updated to the latest version of Outlook 2016 for Mac, just click on the “Store” icon in the Office ribbon. Next, search for the add-in you want to check out, and then toggle it on. You’ll see the add-in command show up in your inbox, and if you install an add-in on any Outlook for web, Windows, Mac, or iOS client, they’ll be available on any others.

Mark Coppock
Mark Coppock is a Freelance Writer at Digital Trends covering primarily laptop and other computing technologies. He has…
Outlook for Mac is now faster, more efficient, and far more beautiful
Microsoft Outlook for Mac

 

Microsoft launched a huge update for Outlook for Mac, with a raft of new features and improvements coming to the Mac email client. The update comes as part of Microsoft's Ignite event and is calculated to arrive in mid-October, just in time for MacOS Big Sur.

Read more
The robot takeover comes another step closer — at Amazon
An Amazon robot working inside one of the company's warehouses.

Amazon is close to having more robots operating inside its warehouses than humans after the e-commerce giant announced this week that it now has more than a million robots working at its facilities around the world.

Over the years, Amazon has spent billions of dollars on the development and deployment of warehouse-based robots, which handle an array of tasks once performed by human workers.

Read more
This Lenovo ThinkPad laptop is over $1,400 off — hurry while stocks last!
The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 Intel laptop on a white background.

Now's an excellent time to take advantage of laptop deals from Lenovo, which has slashed the prices of a wide range of devices for its Black Friday in July sale. Lenovo's ThinkPad laptops are up to 45% off, and here's one of the most interesting offers available with such a discount — the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 at $1,440 off its estimated value of $3,199, so you'll only have to pay $1,759. That's an excellent price for this fantastic productivity tool, but you're going to have to push forward with your purchase as soon as possible because stocks may run out at any moment.

BUY NOW

Read more