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Office 2016 for Mac gets new features and bug fixes in new Insider update

Microsoft has pushed out a fresh Insider Fast build that brings a bevy of new features and bug fixes to the Office 2016 for Mac. Among other features, the update introduces a Laser pointer in Slide Show for PowerPoint 2016 for Mac, which enables a computer mouse to double as a laser pointer. The new Insider Fast build also addresses issues with the font picker and the slow performance with editing tables.

Outlook 2016 for Mac also received integration with OneNote, letting you send emails to OneNote and save information in Outlook for later use, though the new feature requires an Office 365 subscription.

Other changes to Outlook 2016 for Mac include the following:

  • Text size in mail body in Reading Pane no longer appears smaller or larger after launching Outlook
  • When an Online Meeting is created for an event, “Join by Phone” links now include access codes, so they no longer have to be manually entered when joining by phone
  • Week numbers displayed in calendar grid month view and mini-calendar in sidebar now match, even when “First day of week” preference in Outlook > Calendar doesn’t match “First day of week” preference in System Preferences > Language & Region
  • In Out of Office (Auto-reply Settings), VoiceOver focus no longer enters reply settings for an account when “Send automatic replies for account…” isn’t checked
  • When creating or viewing an event, opening Room Finder in Scheduling assistant no longer switches the view back to Appointment (event header and body)
  • Groups now displays between Sent and Trash folders in Mail sidebar (Office 365 accounts with Groups)

While the above mentioned updates add new features and fixes, the build offers only fixes to the bugs found in Excel 2016 for Mac. These are as follows:

  • New workbooks now open in a smaller window rather than taking up most of the screen.
  • Fixed a problem with the link for “help on this function” when working in the formula builder pane.
  • You can now add a new line of text while editing a cell by pressing OPT+RETURN.
  • Clicking the Excel button in the Visual Basic Editor now shows the Excel window.
  • Fixed a problem where the Visual Basic Editor would appear when you switched to a different sheet in Excel.
  • Fixed a problem with switching to a custom view.
  • Fixed an issue where VoiceOver was not able to announce the number of items found when searching and was not announcing the location when the user navigated to an item that was found by search.
  • Fixed numerous crashes, including when you attempt to use a user-defined function in the formula builder pane.
  • Explanatory notes in the Number Format dialog showed at the wrong time.
  • Fixed a problem with the remove duplicates dialog where some of the buttons and labels were overlapping.
  • With a “right-to-left” oriented worksheet, the horizontal scroll bar would scroll in the opposite direction.
  • Some issues with editing comments have been fixed.
  • Fixed a problem that prevented some VBA macros and add-ins from running
  • Fixed an issue that caused new workbook templates and sign-in pages to show the wrong language after using the VB Editor.
  • Some paper sizes were listed incorrectly in the paper size gallery.
  • Solver would not stop if it reached a configured time limit.

Released two years ago, the Office 2016 productivity suite designed for Office 365 subscribers. For more information on how to become an Insider, or view the release notes, go here.

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