Microsoft is starting to deliver on its ambitious cross-app collaborative experience as Loop components can now be applied to OneNote.
According to the Microsoft 365 blog, Loop components are now accessible in the OneNote web app as well as in the dedicated OneNote app for Windows and Teams.
A little over a year ago, Microsoft introduced a new copy/paste/insert paradigm called Loop that would allow users to embed live interactive elements from various Office 365 apps across the suite enabling a new real-time collaborative experience. The vision of Loop was that users of Office 365 apps would be able to select, clip, crop, cut, and paste elements such as charts, agendas, progress trackers, budgets graphs, and more across the productivity suite and that those components would remain interactive nestled in their new respective areas.
Loop components are sharable, editable pieces of content, such as lists, tables, and tasks, that are accessible and stay in sync across all the places they’re added across M365 apps. They represent the most elemental portable piece of a Loop workspace, and by using them in your notebooks, you can remain focused on your personal content while collaborating with others in real time without having to switch between different apps. without having to switch between different apps.
Gokul Subramaniam – Microsoft
However, Microsoft has been slow to roll out Loop components for any of the other Office 365 apps outside of the new Loop app itself. While the Loop app acts as a OneNote-like replacement experience as well as the best showcase of collecting and applying Loop components from various productivity apps, Microsoft’s ambitious marketing pitch has felt more like vaporware than the future of cross-app collaboration it once sold.
Even as Microsoft begins to open Loop components to OneNote, it does so with a couple of stipulations such as suggesting users join the Office 365 Insider Beta channel as well as encouraging them to seek confirmation that their organization is intending to rollout the feature to employees.
Loop components are not yet available for OneNote mobile or Mac and iOS operating systems. Loop components are also only available for enterprise Microsoft 365 accounts, which means even those who sign up to become beta testers for the new feature experience will still not receive it.
As for those who can get their hands on the new OneNote Loop component experience, just know that Loop components are automatically saved to a user’s OneDrive account, so don’t be alarmed when cloud storage begins to disappear.
