Microsoft is working on a new feature for Teams that will give users greater control and flexibility when handling Office files shared via the collaboration platform.

As per a new entry to the company's product roadmap, users will soon be able to dictate the platform on which Word, Excel and PowerPoint files are launched when opened through the Teams client.

"Users can set a default of browser, desktop or Teams when opening Office files that are shared in Teams. The desktop setting can be selected if the user has Office version 16 or newer installed and activated,” Microsoft explained.

It is unclear when users can expect to be able to take advantage of the feature, which is said to be "in development” but also set for release in May 2021 (i.e. last month). TechRadar Pro has asked Microsoft for clarification on this point.

Microsoft Teams integrations

Since the transition to remote working, the battle for video conferencing and collaboration supremacy has been fought keenly between services such as Teams, Zoom, Slack and many others.

Although feature sets have become increasingly homogenous as time has passed, with each vendor taking cues from the others, Microsoft Teams stands apart thanks to its tight integration with the wider Microsoft 365 suite of apps and services.

For example, Teams works in lockstep with OneDrive and SharePoint, making file-sharing easy and intuitive. Microsoft is also working on a new PowerPoint integration, designed to make managing remote presentations and engaging with the audience less challenging.

The new options for Office files may seem like a small upgrade, but will contribute nonetheless to characterization of Teams as a central hub at the heart of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

The change will also give users greater flexibility with regards to how they work; whether they prefer to collaborate on documents from within Teams itself or work solo via the desktop clients.