Microsoft announces that the file viewer in Microsoft 365 is receiving Copilot soon

Microsoft announced updates to the file viewer in Microsoft 365 applications, including OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams (which will be released later in 2024). When we see performance-wise, files are now expected to load up to twice as fast within the file viewer.

A new “People view” function shows users a list of individuals accessing a specific file. The “Favorites” function lets users add frequently accessed files for quicker retrieval.

Here are the functionality updates:

• The user interface of the file viewer has been redesigned for improved navigation and future feature integration.
• Future updates are planned for integration with Copilot. This will allow users to obtain summaries and key information directly from within the file viewer (availability timeframe not specified).
• The functionality for managing PDFs has been expanded. Users can now remove unwanted pages and merge multiple PDFs into a single document.
• Annotations can now be added to certain file types directly within the viewer, allowing for markups and note-taking (specific supported file types to be confirmed).
• The ability to request electronic signatures within the file viewer is planned for future updates.

The update is currently being distributed to OneDrive and SharePoint users worldwide. Integration with Teams is expected to be available later in 2024.

More here.