Side-by-side editing simplifies the revision process.
Side-by-side editing simplifies the revision process.

As part of its migration to Office 365, Microsoft is previewing an updated Outlook.com starting today. New features include improved search, quicker collaboration and an inbox management feature called Clutter.

It’s the latest salvo in the ongoing webmail battle between Microsoft and Google’s Gmail, which has previously implemented some features similar to those previewed by Microsoft today.

Outlook.com’s Clutter works by automatically sorting your messages into separate folders, hiding the messages you’re likely to skip over and reducing the clutter in your inbox. You can train the feature by manually moving messages, as well.

Composing messages should be easier with the new update. Inline images can be copied and pasted from any source, while link previews help recipients see where they’ll be browsing when they click. Third-party add-ins are also coming, including extensions from Uber, Boomerang and PayPal.

Collaborative features include seamless movement between Skype and email and a side-by-side view. When you’re sent an Office document, you can open it next to the message and edit it without opening another program. When you’re done, reply back to the message and the document is saved and attached. You don’t have to download or reattach anything.

An improved calendar is also included.  Built-in country- and religion-specific calendars make it easy to stay on top of upcoming events around the world, while sharing and searching for calendars gets speedier.

The updates are rolling out to Preview users today and other users will be able to opt into the program in the coming months. You can get all the details on the update over at the Microsoft Office Blog.

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