Microsoft releases lightweight Office taskbar apps for Windows 11

Microsoft is starting to rotation retired lightweight taskbar apps for Microsoft 365 users connected Windows 11. These taskbar apps volition automatically motorboat astatine startup and supply speedy entree to contacts, record search, and calendar consecutive from the Windows taskbar.

The Microsoft 365 companion apps, arsenic Microsoft calls them, are starting to rotation retired to concern users of Microsoft 365 this month. The People companion provides a browsable org chart, arsenic good arsenic the quality to look up anyone successful your company. You tin besides rapidly commencement a Teams connection oregon telephone with a contact, oregon email them directly.

The File Search companion is designed for speedy entree to Microsoft 365 files from the Windows 11 taskbar. You tin hunt by record name, author, oregon different keywords to find files crossed OneDrive, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and Outlook. There’s besides an enactment to preview a record earlier you unfastened it, and plentifulness of filtering and sharing options.

The Calendar app is simply a speedy presumption of a Microsoft 365 calendar from the taskbar, wherever you tin spot upcoming events, hunt for appointments, oregon articulation meetings.

All 3 apps person been successful beta successful caller months, aft Microsoft originally announced them astatine its Ignite league past year. They are present heading to each concern users of Microsoft 365 arsenic portion of a general availability release this month. The apps volition beryllium automatically installed arsenic agelong arsenic Microsoft 365 apps are installed connected a Windows 11 system. IT admins tin forestall the automatic instal of these Microsoft 365 companion apps, and extremity users tin halt them from automatically launching astatine startup.