Try out Microsoft Loop, now available to the public

Microsoft Loop is coming for everyone and is now in a public preview of this new way to collaborate online. Here’s how to get into the Loop preview and how to get started exploring this new tech.

Loop components are live mini-documents, worksheets or lists that people can collaborate on within other Office features like Teams.  Until now Loop has been available to organizations with Microsoft 365 hosting, now there are Loop workspaces and pages which work outside existing documents or emails.

We introduced Loop over a year ago in Discover Microsoft Loop in Teams

Try Loop now

Now anyone can try Loop from https://loop.microsoft.com/ to make and share dedicated pages with Loop components.

Three or four parts of Loop

According to Microsoft there are three parts to Loop, strictly speaking there are four.

Workspaces – the top level, under each workspace there are …

Pages – where you can add loop components and also add …

Sub-pages – same as Pages but arranged ‘under’ the main page

Components – live on pages and sub-pages

Pages and sub-pages can and should be shared with others since Loop is very much a collaboration tool.

Adding Loop Components

Insert Loop components by typing / in a typing field then inserting a component from the list.

A dozen Loops to choose from

Various Loop components can be added to a page, currently there are these choices:

Discussion

Anywhere you see the chat icon, a discussion is possible. Either a quick emoji response or text – just like an online chat.

Sharing

Loop pages can be shared but so can individual loop components.

Choose an element on a page and choose “Create Loop Component” which might be more accurately labelled “Convert to Loop component”

According to Microsoft you can share that component using other apps.

Why try Loop?

For the moment, sheer nerdy curiosity 😁.

Loop looks like a simpler and more understandable collaboration tool than Teams which is already overloaded with so many ‘bells and whistles’.

To start with Loop, we suggest setting up a Workspace and Page to play with on your own.  Add some components, documents etc.  There are templates to help you get started.

Then invite one or two other curious friends to join you on a page to see how the collaboration and sharing works.

Keep in mind that Loop is a preview product so there’ll be glitches, changes and limitations.

At the time of writing, we can’t get a loop component to share inside a document or email. Nor can we insert an Office file (Word, Excel or PPT) into a loop page.  That might be a problem in the current preview site or us … time will tell.

Copilot with Loop

Microsoft is already boasting about their AI service, Copilot, in Loop pages.

Don’t get excited though, despite the ‘present tense’ in the announcements, Copilot isn’t available in Loop … not yet.

Loop the video

Of course, there’s an upbeat Microsoft video to go with the public preview.  And naturally, it’s not very detailed but might help you understand the basics of what Loop should be able to do.

Some thoughts about the video script

“Transform the way you work” – the same line used for Copilot only two days ago😁

The script has the word “Ideate” which seems like the latest OTT corporate jargon.  “Ideate” was first used in 1610 but that’s no excuse for reviving it when better, simpler words are available </grumble>

Discover Microsoft Loop in Teams