The process of attaching, opening, modifying, and resending documents via email is tedious and time-consuming, but Microsoft hopes to change that with new sharing and collaboration features for Outlook Web App (OWA) and OneDrive for Business. Instead of bothering with attachments, OWA users can now send collaborators a link to a file stored in OneDrive for Business. Because the linked file is stored in the cloud, it can be accessed simultaneously by multiple recipients. OWA's interface supports real-time co-authoring of linked and attached documents, so several collaborators can simultaneously work on a single document. This summer, Microsoft added a new side-by-side view to OWA to help streamline the real-time collaboration process.
The view lets users open linked or attached documents alongside email, allowing them to both modify a received document and reply with an email message from within a single interface. The new OWA features, which launched Wednesday, allow users to insert document links into emails even if the documents aren't yet stored in the cloud.
A user who wants to share a locally stored file can still send it as a traditional attachment. But if the user instead chooses the "Share with OneDrive" option, OWA will automatically upload the file to the user's OneDrive for Business account and generate a sharable link to the location. When OWA is used to share a file stored in a OneDrive for Business account, recipients are given permission to view and edit the file by default. Senders can change permissions directly from the email message, however.
