The new asynchronous video chat tool is one of several Teams announcements from Inspire this week, including collaborative annotations and the Excel Live app in Teams meetings. Credit: Microsoft For the times when text messages and emojis just don’t cut it, Microsoft has given Teams users another option for communicating with colleagues: the ability to send short video clips using the chat function. It’s one of a handful of updates to Microsoft’s collaboration platform unveiled during its Inspire partner event Tuesday, including the addition of “stories” posts with the new Teams-based Viva Engage enterprise social network. The video clip feature is accessed by clicking on a small video camera icon in the Teams text chat box, next to the “Send” button. From there, a pop-up screen lets a user record a short clip and edit the length before posting into the Teams chat. Similar to a feature launched last year by rival chat app Slack, it provides an alternative to typing out a message, either to save time or convey meaning more effectively. Co-workers can then view the clip whenever they want, adding an asynchronous element to the instant messaging platform. Following the announcement of PowerPoint Live last year, and the Live Share SDK for Teams two months ago, Microsoft also unveiled Excel Live. This brings the app into Teams meeting screen for co-editing, with participants able to load a spreadsheet and make changes to the document in real-time without switching between apps or having to open Excel separately at all. Alternatively, if a user already has a spreadsheet open during a meeting and wants to bring it into Teams for colleagues to work on, this can be done by clicking the “share” menu and selecting the “Work Together in Teams” option. Excel Live will be available in public preview at the end of August. A couple of previously announced features are also now generally available: Teams Connect Shared Channels, which enables communication with external Teams users, and collaborative annotation. The latter brings tools from Microsoft’s Whiteboard app into Teams screen-sharing to allow participants to interact with content during a meeting. Related content feature Windows 11 Insider Previews: What’s in the latest build? Get the latest info on new preview builds of Windows 11 as they roll out to Windows Insiders. Now updated for Build 22635.3566 for the Beta Channel, released on April 26, 2024. By Preston Gralla Apr 26, 2024 251 mins Small and Medium Business Microsoft Windows 11 news Dropbox adds end-to-end encryption for team folders Dropbox this week unveiled a range of features, including security updates and key management, and the ability to co-edit Microsoft 365 documents from within the file-sharing app. By Matthew Finnegan Apr 26, 2024 3 mins Cloud Storage Collaboration Software Productivity Software feature Android versions: A living history from 1.0 to 15 Explore Android's ongoing evolution with this visual timeline of versions, starting B.C. (Before Cupcake) and going all the way to 2024's Android 15 (beta) release. By JR Raphael Apr 26, 2024 23 mins Small and Medium Business Smartphones Android news analysis The unspoken obnoxiousness of Google's Gemini improvements Google's Gemini chatbot is seeing all sorts of upgrades on Android this week, but those advancements reveal a darker underlying reality. By JR Raphael Apr 26, 2024 12 mins Google Assistant Google Android Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe