With Microsoft Office for Mac returning with a whole new look for 2011 this October, one old friend from the past will be emerging after a decade of absence – Outlook for Mac. It’s making its grand re-entry with promises of significant “UI (User Interface) Touch-ups” to make the user experience more Mac like while some adopting popular features from its Outlook for Windows counterpart.
Taking a page from Outlook for Windows will be the conversation and database features.
Conversation View will allow messages from the same topic to be put together so with one click you can see the context of a thread all in one place making reading and responding that much easier.
Gone is the behemoth single database file. The updated version will store data in individual and accessible files which will make working with Apple’s Time Machine much more practical and palatable.
We also all know what a pain it is to actually find something buried deep within the Entourage database, so in the upcoming release, Outlook will integrate with Apple’s Spotlight search to make finding things a whole lot easier.
New Ribbon Interface
It’s not all Windows hand-me-downs. One new feature that Microsoft has started from scratch with is the new “Ribbon” interface. According to Han-Yi Shaw, Microsoft’s User Experience Manager of the Macintosh Business Unit, “It places the most common controls right at your fingertips, making things easier to find.” This UI will also be part of the other applications – Excel, Word & PowerPoint (with Messenger 8 ) that make up Microsoft Office. (Outlook for Mac will not be bundled with Office for Mac Home & Student Edition 2011)
Furthermore, with Outlook resurfacing, we’ll be saying goodbye to Entourage in all versions of Office Mac, introduced 10 years ago to work with Mac OS 8.5 as a replacement for Outlook Express 5.
Office for Mac 2011 is expected to hit store shelves this October.
Greg Gazin is the Real Canadian Gadget Guy.
Follow me on Twitter @gadgetgreg
Tags: Entourage, Gadget Guy, gadgetguy, Microsoft Office, Office Mac, Outlook, productivity
Great gadget!
I really hope that if anything, it’s Entourage rebranded as Outlook.