Are you keeping up with Microsoft updates? The Microsoft Mondays: Microsoft Service Updates series from Total Solutions is here for your needs, and remember that Total Solutions also provides tailored, expert guidance during our consulting process. We are highlighting a few of the Microsoft announced upcoming updates from February:
- Microsoft Teams: Ultrasound Howling Detection in Teams Meetings
- Suggested Files in 1:1 Chats
- Azure Active Directory: Customize Organizations’ Sign-In and Sign-Up Pages in Company Branding (Updated)
- Microsoft Viva: Meeting Prep Inline Suggestions Coming to Outlook with Viva Insights (Updated)
- Microsoft Edge to replace built-in PDF engine with Adobe Acrobat PDF engine
- Microsoft Viva: Praise Highlights in Profile Card in Teams and Outlook (Updated)
Keep an eye out for Microsoft Mondays for your Microsoft updates or speak with our technical team for your Microsoft needs.
* Updates posted here originally posted by Microsoft in the Microsoft 365 Message Center
Microsoft Teams: Ultrasound Howling Detection in Teams Meetings
[MC514081 · Published Feb 10, 2023]: Currently in Microsoft Teams, when multiple users are in a Teams meeting in the same room, a feedback loop is created, causing an echo. With this update, if multiple users are participating with laptops from the same location, Teams will notify the user that another Teams device has been detected nearby and is already included with audio in the current meeting. Teams will automatically mute the microphone and speakers of the person that joined when a user joins with audio on.
This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 92391.
When this will happen:
Preview: Microsoft will complete rollout in late February.
Standard Release and GCC: Microsoft will begin rolling out in early March and expect to complete rollout in late March.
GCC-High: Microsoft will begin rolling out in early April and expect to complete rollout in late April.
DoD: Microsoft will begin rolling out in early May and expect to complete rollout in late May.
How this will affect your organization:
When a user wants to join a meeting that has other participants in it already that are physically in the same room, the user will be notified before joining the meeting that several people have joined the meeting and that the speaker and microphone switch will be turned off to prevent any echo. The user can turn the switch back on at any time if they wish.
It will be available on Teams Desktop client for Windows and macOS.
ADMINS – What you need to do to prepare: You may want to consider updating your training and documentation as appropriate.
Suggested Files in 1:1 Chats
[MC513664 · Published Feb 10, 2023]: As an extension of Suggested Replies in 1:1 chats, you can now easily save time when you need to send a file in a chat by tapping on a “Share file” suggestion.
This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 95065
When this will happen:
Standard Release: Microsoft will begin rolling this out early March 2023
GCC: Microsoft will begin rolling this out early March 2023
GCC-High: Microsoft will begin rolling this out early April 2023
DoD: Microsoft will begin rolling this out early May 2023
How this will affect your organization:
Once available, users will be able to tap on a “Share file” action in chat whenever intent is detected to send a file.
ADMINS – What you need to do to prepare:
This feature ships default on; review Manage messaging policies in Teams.
If you wish to disable this feature in your tenant, please disable the Suggested Replies setting that is found in Messaging Policies.
Users also have a setting within the app so they can disable the feature.
Azure Active Directory: Customize Organizations’ Sign-In and Sign-Up Pages in Company Branding (Updated)
[MC384784 · Published May 25, 2022 · Last updated Feb 9, 2023]: Updated February 9, 2023: Microsoft has updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.
Update the Azure AD and Microsoft 365 login experience with new Company Branding capabilities. You can apply your company’s brand guidance to authentication experiences with pre-defined templates.
This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93320
When this will happen:
Preview: Microsoft will start rolling out to public preview in late October (previously late September) and is expected to complete by late November (previously late October).
Standard Release: Microsoft will begin in early May (previously late February) and will be completed by mid-June (previously late March).
How this will affect your organization:
Your custom branding won’t immediately appear when your users go to sites such as, www.office.com. Instead, the user has to sign-in before your customized branding appears. After the user has signed in, the branding may take 15 minutes or longer to appear.
All branding elements are optional and will remain default when unchanged. For example, if you specify a banner logo with no background image, the sign-in page will show your logo with a default background image from the destination site such as Microsoft 365. Additionally, sign-in page branding doesn’t carry over to personal Microsoft accounts. If your users or business guests sign in using a personal Microsoft account, the sign-in page won’t reflect the branding of your organization.
ADMINS – What you need to do to prepare:
Adding custom branding requires you to have either Azure Active Directory Premium 1, Premium 2, or Office 365 (for Office 365 apps) licenses.
Learn More:
Microsoft Viva: Meeting Prep Inline Suggestions Coming to Outlook with Viva Insights (Updated)
[MC489163 · Published Dec 20, 2022 · Last updated Feb 9, 2023]: Updated February 9, 2023: Microsoft has updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.
A new inline suggestion in Outlook is being released with Microsoft Viva Insights to support booking meeting preparation time. The book prep time suggestion will enable Viva Insights users to set time aside to review related documents, complete tasks or take on any other preparation steps before the meeting.
This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 109590
When will this happen:
Microsoft will begin rolling out in early January 2023 and expect to complete rollout by mid-February (previously late January).
How will this affect your organization: The new inline suggestion that will support booking meeting prep time will only be available to users with a Viva Insights subscription and will be automatically displayed in Outlook desktop and web when a user receives and reviews an invite for a meeting that has less than 12 attendees, is between 30-60 min, is not recurring, and the user has time on their calendar.
Upon clicking ‘Accept and book time‘ in the suggestion, Viva Insights will accept the meeting on the user’s behalf and open the Outlook add-in, where the user will be presented the option to book 15 min, 30 min, or 1 hour either right before, one day before, or the last working day of the week before the meeting. Once the user chooses between these options, Viva Insights will look for an empty slot in the user’s calendar and book an appointment.
Users can also see additional information about their meeting within the Outlook add-in card, including people invited, acceptance rate, attachments, and related documents.
Note: Users without a Viva Insights subscription will not receive meeting prep time inline suggestions.
ADMINS – What do you need to do to prepare:
Review and assess impact for your organization. Consider updating documentation as appropriate.
To configure access to Viva Insights Outlook add-in and inline suggestions at a tenant level: Personal insights configuration for Microsoft 365 administrators | Microsoft Docs
Microsoft Edge to replace built-in PDF engine with Adobe Acrobat PDF engine
[MC512933 · Published Feb 8, 2023]: As part of the Adobe and Microsoft collaboration to re-envision the future workplace and digital experiences, Microsoft is natively embedding the Adobe Acrobat PDF engine into the Microsoft Edge built-in PDF reader. With the use of the Adobe Acrobat PDF engine, users will have a unique PDF experience that includes higher fidelity for more accurate colors and graphics, improved performance, strong security for PDF handling, and greater accessibility – including better text selection and read-aloud narration. There will be no loss of functionality with the use of the Adobe Acrobat PDF engine and these capabilities will continue to be free of cost. Organizations with Microsoft 365 E5 subscriptions can also view and validate certificate-based signatures and view PDF files protected through Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) at no extra cost.
Organizations with an existing Adobe Acrobat subscription can use the no-cost extension inside Microsoft Edge to unlock their subscription features – such as the ability to edit text and images, convert PDFs to other file formats, and combine files. Those who do not have an Adobe Acrobat subscription can purchase a license that enables access to these advanced features inside Microsoft Edge via an extension. There is no requirement to purchase an Adobe Acrobat subscription to use the Microsoft Edge built-in PDF free capabilities.
When will this happen:
Starting in March 2023, organizations can opt-in to use the Adobe Acrobat PDF engine in the Microsoft Edge built-in PDF reader via Intune policy. The policy will be available as soon as the Adobe Acrobat PDF engine is available. After opting-in, organizations have the option to opt-out of this experience via the same Intune policy.
To meet the needs of organizations with managed devices, the transition to the built-in Microsoft Edge PDF reader with the Adobe Acrobat PDF engine will occur in phases:
- March 2023: Unmanaged device rollout will begin in March 2023. Managed devices can opt-in using policy via Intune.
- September 2023: Rollout to organizations will begin no earlier than September 2023. Organizations with managed devices may opt out of this experience via Intune policy.
- March 31st, 2024: The legacy PDF engine in the Microsoft Edge PDF reader is scheduled to be removed (and opt-out no longer available) on March 31st, 2024.
How this will affect your organization:
As rollout begins in March 2023, there will be no changes to managed devices in organizations unless they choose to opt in. With opt-in, the built-in Microsoft Edge PDF solution with the Adobe Acrobat PDF engine will have full feature parity with the legacy Microsoft Edge PDF solution. No functionality will be lost. Users will also gain higher fidelity for more accurate colors and graphics, improved performance, strong security for PDF handling, and greater accessibility – including better text selection and read-aloud narration. Users will see an unobtrusive Adobe brand mark in the bottom corner of their PDF view. These users will also see an option to try the advanced features, such as converting PDFs, combining files, editing text and images. Users can sign in with their existing Adobe Acrobat subscription or can select the option to purchase an Adobe Acrobat subscription and download the Adobe Acrobat extension to use those features in Microsoft Edge.
ADMINS – What you need to do to prepare:
To prepare, Microsoft recommends selecting users to test the addition of the Adobe Acrobat PDF engine into Microsoft Edge on the stable release in March 2023. For managed devices, admins in commercial organizations will need to enable the “NewPDFReaderOptInEnabled” policy in order to test the Adobe Acrobat PDF engine.
To hide the notification to try the paid Adobe Acrobat features, admins will need to enable the “GetAcrobatSubscriptionButtonEnabled” policy.
Starting no earlier than September 1, 2023, the rollout to organizations will begin. For organizations wanting to opt out of this experience, admins will need to enable the “NewPDFReaderOptOutEnabled” policy. Organizations can opt-out until the legacy Microsoft Edge PDF engine is removed, which is scheduled for March 31st 2024.
Additional information:
- Microsoft Integration with Adobe | Adobe Acrobat – Learn about the Microsoft and Adobe partnership.
- Microsoft Edge for business – Read the Microsoft Edge and Adobe Acrobat PDF announcement.
- Microsoft Edge github posts – Learn about the joint approach by Microsoft and Adobe engineering teams to secure the PDF experience.
Microsoft Viva: Praise Highlights in Profile Card in Teams and Outlook (Updated)
[MC500903 · Published Jan 24, 2023 · Last updated Feb 7, 2023]: Updated February 7, 2023: Microsoft has made the decision to not proceed at this time. Thank you for your patience.
Praise in Microsoft Teams is designed to appreciate the effort that goes into the wide-ranging, collaborative work that Teams users do. Users can send praise to their colleagues through the messaging extension pinned to the Teams messaging bar or through the Microsoft Viva Insights app in Teams. For both, admins can use the Microsoft Teams admin center to enable/disable Praise.
With updates coming soon, praises received will be highlighted on a user’s profile card in Teams and Outlook. There are settings available for users that prevent praise highlights from being visible on their profile card.
This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 109551
How this will affect your organization: When a user receives praise, the title and note will be visible on their profile card in Team and Outlook People in their organization whom they have emailed, chatted, or met with in the past year will be able to view their praise details.
Users can go to settings in their Viva Insights app in Teams and switch the praise visibility toggle off to disable praise highlights from showing.
ADMINS – What you need to do to prepare:
Refer to Praise with Viva Insights | Microsoft Docs which will be updated in sync with this roll out.
Check out previous Microsoft Updates that Total Solutions has posted here -> Microsoft Updates Archives – Total Solutions Inc.
