The Fluid Framework, which was presented at last year’s build conference, will soon take shape with its upcoming integration into the web version of Outlook and Office.com. With this framework, Microsoft intends to redefine its collaboration environment by breaking the boundaries between applications.
The idea is to give users the opportunity to juggle different content components of different documents and then recombine them as they wish in a dynamic document. For example, a task list or Excel table inserted in an email will be independent of the container and update itself automatically.
(Source: Microsoft)
Fluid workspaces can be created and managed in Office.com and also appear in the document workflow. “The components of the Fluid Framework are lightweight and changes are possible immediately, so you can work quickly and flexibly,” Microsoft promises. The new functions will be available to Microsoft 365 Enterprise licensees in the coming months.
The Fluid Framework becomes open source
In parallel to the introduction of the first functionalities of the Fluid Framework, Microsoft announced the transition to open source. “The full potential of the Fluid Framework can only be unlocked by creating a diverse, open and dynamic developer community. For this reason, Microsoft will offer the Fluid Framework as open source, so that developers and builders can use their key infrastructure in their own applications “says Jared Spataro, corporate vice president for Microsoft 365.
Cited by “The Verge,” Jared Spataro explains that third-party developers could use low-latency data structures that are connected through a relay service. This makes it possible to replace a static string in an application with blocks of data and content that are automatically updated and synchronized between users.
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