Microsoft introduces a new collaboration tool for Office, called Loop

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Key notes

  • Microsoft's Loop is actually a hub for a new way of working in Office.
  • To be more exact, Loop is the new branding for Microsoft’s Fluid work.
  • These blocks of collaborative Office content can live independently.
  • If you want to share them with others, they can be copied and pasted.

One of the biggest changes to Microsoft’s Office documents in decades is about to happen and it’s called Microsoft Loop.

This is actually a hub for a new way of working in Office. Loop is the new branding for Microsoft’s Fluid work, blocks of collaborative Office content that can live independently and be copied, pasted, and shared with others.

Not very different from Fluid, Microsoft’s Loop has three main elements: Loop components, Loop pages, and Loop workspaces.

Components are live pieces of content that can exist across multiple apps, updated in real-time, and free for anyone to jump into.

That could be a list shared in a Teams channel and also editable in a Loop page, or notes in a calendar entry that are also available to be pasted into Outlook and edited in real-time within an email.

It’s important to know that these components can also exist in the main Microsoft Loop hub, inside what Redmond calls shared Loop workspaces.

You can compare it to a project board, where you can see a list of all Loop components and Loop pages and who is currently working on them. Think of it as a modern File Explorer, where everything is live and collaborative.

To better explain, Loop pages are individual canvases where people can share and collaborate on Loop components.

It’s much like a modern version of a whiteboard but far more powerful because you can insert and share components that people have created outside of Loop.

However, not everyone even needs to be part of the entire Loop page, as the individual components could be edited in real-time from other apps.

All of these collaborative Loop components have been the dream of Microsoft for the past couple of years, and it’s clear the company has been adjusting how Loop works to fit the realities of the global pandemic.

A central Microsoft Loop hub looks like an improved way to track and organize these components, and a clear response to the new hybrid work era to which many businesses are adjusting and competition like Notion.

The tech giant’s demonstrations of Loop components have been impressive so far, but we’ll need to experience them for ourselves to really understand whether Loop can truly deliver a seamless experience.

While Microsoft has been talking about Loop for quite some time now, it’s still not something that’s inside Office apps yet.

The above-mentioned Loop components will now arrive in Teams, Outlook, and OneNote this month, and the main Microsoft Loop app will be released at a later date.

What’s your take on this whole situation? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

More about the topics: MS Office