Latest Microsoft Edge Canary build includes button for quick access to Office apps

Microsoft is actively testing multiple ways to offer quick access to apps, tools, and web-based platforms in its Edge browser. As spotted by Redditor u/Leopeva64-2, the latest Canary build of the Chromium-based web browser now has a Microsoft Office button. It is not enabled by default, which suggests it is still quite experimental.

Through this new control, Microsoft Edge could soon offer quick access to Microsoft Office apps or web-based platforms such as Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams, OneDrive, and OneNote.

The Microsoft Office button is disabled by default in the latest Canary build of Microsoft Edge but can be activated easily. It is available on the Appearance page. To access the same, fire up the latest experimental version of Edge and enter the following in the search bar:

Edge://settings/appearance

This page allows activating or deactivating the appearance of Internet Explorer mode, Web Capture, Share, Games, and other buttons that appear beside the address bar. The Microsoft Office toggle is available right above the Feedback button. Even if you don't enable it, Microsoft has still added Microsoft Office access to the ellipsis menu, as can be seen below.

Toggling the Microsoft Office button adds a dedicated button to the toolbar. Clicking on it activates a sidebar that offers access to all the Microsoft Office platforms mentioned above.

In its current iteration, clicking on any of the options leads to the web version of the Office platform. For example, clicking on the Excel option leads to Excel available at Office.com. As the feature is geared towards web-based apps or platforms, Microsoft could add more functions or links to other products in the future. According to the Redditor, the feature is part of a controlled rollout, which means that not every Canary user will receive it at the same time.