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Microsoft to Force Web Links Shared in Teams to Open with Microsoft Edge (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by dezmd@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

161 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Just got this right before midnight in my MS Admin app alerts. If you dont configure the policy, in September it defaults to opening web links in Edge regardless of OS default browser setting.

I woke up this morning to One Drive doing its usual thing being HOT GARBAGE, now I'm going to bed with Teams becoming HOT GARBAGE.

Full Excerpt:

Web links from Microsoft Teams chats to open in Microsoft Edge; Teams chat will open side-by-side with link

MC669480

Plan for change

Published date: August 21, 2023

Affected services

Microsoft Teams

Tag

MAJOR UPDATEADMIN IMPACTNEW FEATUREUSER IMPACT

The Microsoft Teams desktop app for Windows will open web links from Teams chats in Microsoft Edge to enable a new web and chat side-by-side experience.

By opening web links in Edge, users will be able to see those links side-by-side with their Teams chats—web links will open as new browser tabs and the Teams chats will open next to them in the Edge sidebar. This new, single-view Teams experience in Edge is designed to minimize switching between windows and to help users stay in the flow of work while referencing web links.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 126334.

This change to use Edge to open web links from Teams chats follows a similar, previously announced change in the Outlook for Windows app. Customers impacted by this change in Outlook were notified via MC541626, MC545904, or MC548092.

Admin controls are available as detailed below.

Read more about how we’re optimizing the experience between Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Edge:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2023/02/16/discover-new-ways-to-multitask-with-microsoft-365-and-edge/

What's New in Teams | Microsoft Inspire 2023 Notes:

This change does not affect a device’s default browser setting in Windows.

This only affects commercial users signed into Teams with Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) accounts.

The policy described in the following section configures which browser is used to open web links for both Teams (chat) and the Outlook for Windows app (email), or, if you did not receive an Outlook for Windows app Message center notification, this policy will only apply to Teams (chat).

When will this affect your organization:

Timing:

Microsoft Teams desktop app for Windows: This change will start rolling out late September.

Outlook for Windows: Roll out in progress. If this change affects your users, you will have received either MC541626, MC545904, or MC548092, and can refer to them for specific timing.

Note: Depending on your Outlook for Windows update channel, you may experience the change in Teams first. Action:

Use the Choose which browser opens web links policy to configure which browser will be used to open web links and to set whether users will be able to make changes to which browser opens web links in both the Teams desktop app for Windows (chat) and the Outlook for Windows app (email).

If you did not receive a message center notification for the Outlook for Windows app (email), then the setting only applies to Teams (chat).

If you did receive a message center notification for the Outlook for Windows app (email), then the setting applies to both Teams (chat) and Outlook for Windows app (email). You will not be able to manage each app individually using this policy. If you’ve previously configured this policy for the Outlook for Windows app and wish to maintain that configuration, no action is required.

Note: There are no Microsoft 365 subscription restrictions in using this policy to configure which browser opens web links in Teams.

Use of the policy to manage the change in the Outlook for Windows app depends on your Microsoft 365 subscription. If you received the Outlook for Windows app Message center notification, please refer to MC541626, MC545904, or MC548092 for details on whether configuring this policy will apply.

If you have not configured the policy, or wish to change it, find the details below. How this will affect your organization:

Links from Teams chats will open based on the browser configuration in the Choose which browser opens web links policy. If no configuration is selected using the Choose which browser opens web links policy, web links from Teams chats will open in Microsoft Edge.

Only links set to open via a web browser are affected. Links that are set to open in a client app or within Teams itself will continue to do so. User experiences will vary by policy configuration; please see the next section.

You can manage this experience at any time. What you need to do to prepare:

If you’ve previously configured this policy for the Outlook for Windows app and wish to maintain that configuration, no action is required.

Use the Choose which browser opens web links policy to configure which default browser will be used to open web links and to set whether users will be able to manage which browser opens web links in both Teams (chat) and the Outlook for Windows app (email). You will not be able to manage each app individually using this policy.

The Choose which browser opens web links policy is available using the Cloud Policy service for Microsoft 365 (formerly the Office Cloud Policy Service) or as part of the Administrative Templates for Microsoft 365 Apps.

Enabled: Configures which browser opens web links from the Teams desktop app for Windows (chat) and the Outlook for Windows app (email):

Microsoft Edge

Web links will open side-by-side with users’ chat or email in Edge.

Default browser

Users will not be able to change this from the respective apps’ settings menus.

Disabled/Unconfigured: Web links from the Teams desktop app for Windows (chat) and the Outlook for Windows app (email) will open in Microsoft Edge.

Web links will open side-by-side with users’ chat or email in Edge.

Users can manage the browser change: Via the in-product notifications explaining the side-by-side experience.

At any time via the Teams settings menu: Settings > Files and links > Link open preferences

Note: If you want to manage this change for your entire organization so that Teams only opens web links using the device’s system default browser, you will need to configure the policy to Enabled and select Default browser.

Additional Information

Read more about how we’re optimizing the experience between Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Edge with this feature in our blog: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2023/02/16/discover-new-ways-to-multitask-with-microsoft-365-and-edge/

We always value feedback and questions from our customers. Please feel free to submit either feedback or questions via Message Center.

top 50 comments

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[–] spacedance@sh.itjust.works 283 points 1 year ago (4 children)

A browser so good they have to force their captive audience to use it.

[–] pudcollar@lemmy.ml 107 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It's like the antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft 22 years ago. They are still trying to push their browser.

[–] valkyre09@lemmy.world 92 points 1 year ago (2 children)

When you visit the Chrome website in edge, a pop up in the top right tells you to use edge instead. Imagine going to sign up for a new ISP and your current one injecting a popup telling you they’re better. I have no idea how MS are getting away with it

[–] iminahurry@discuss.tchncs.de 49 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Chrome does the same if you search for Firefox

[–] valkyre09@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

Bloody scoundrels the lot of ‘em

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I know you can get chrome or fox by other means, but I always use Edge to download alternative browsers.

I enjoy seeing Microsoft grovel.

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[–] MyFairJulia@lemmy.world 32 points 1 year ago (7 children)

It's not the same as 22 years ago. What is the difference? Well, Microsoft tricks you into making Edge your default browser with every bigger update.

Windows 10: "oh uuuuh (sweats profusely) hi user-senpai. I made this cute browser, it's called edge and you would make me so happy if you used it."

Me: (looks for "No" button", sighs and then clicks "Later" button on the bottom left)

Windows 10: "oh noooo (sobs uncontrollably) can you at least import your bookmarks and stuff into edge"

Me: (clicks whatever button because that window too lacks a clear "No" button)

Windows 10: "Yaaaay! Thank you user-senpaaaaai! I promise that one day you'll have yes to Edge! I will make it the greatest browser ever!"

I'm in the process to migrate to Void Linux because of this and other issues.

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[–] andallthat@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago

If you didn't like it, you shouldn't have let your laptop walk around dressed so provocatively

[–] HidingCat@kbin.social 17 points 1 year ago (14 children)

The thing is, it's actually decent. I don't know why they have to keep doing this. I used Edge as the main browser on my Surface Go to get a bit more battery life, and it's fine as my second browser; feels like someone is desperately trying to meet their KPIs to keep on pulling shit like this. Parts of the browser are getting worse too, that sidebar is a complete mess at default.

[–] Tatters@feddit.uk 26 points 1 year ago (2 children)

You are probably right, but the more they keeping pushing me to use Edge, the more I don’t want to use it. My experience of it is mostly negative, as a hindrance that gets in my way with its constant nagging, and having to disable it.

[–] ours@lemmy.film 27 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Personally, I don't care how good it is, I refuse to use a Chromium-based browser and insist on supporting its only serious competitor: Firefox.

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[–] Spotlight7573@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago (3 children)

That's one of my main problems with Microsoft at this point. They can make improvements to the underlying technologies (WSL, better security sandboxing, FDE by default on supported hardware, etc) and develop actually decent software (Edge) but then they keep doing things to piss off the users like forced online account logins, the mess they made of the default app selection going from 10 to 11, pre-installed junk, and now this. They just need to get out of their own way and focus on making decent products: ones people want to use, instead of ones they're coerced to use.

[–] darreninthenet@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Edge was my main browser until about six months ago, then they pushed that obnoxious UI change that added a load of buttons to my toolbar that I can't move or disable, and that irritating sidebar that jumps up whenever it can even when the button is disabled, and I went back to Firefox again.

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[–] cantstopthesignal@sh.itjust.works 123 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Microsoft got screwed by antitrust officials for only putting it's browsers in new windows installs 20 years ago. Antitrust enforcement is a fucking joke in this country now.

[–] realharo@lemm.ee 22 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Ironically, the larger market share of macOS (compared to back then), mobile platforms, and the fact that Chrome is now the #1 browser means there's a much weaker case for there being a monopoly now.

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[–] SgtSilverLining@lemmy.blahaj.zone 91 points 1 year ago (4 children)

At my org, edge for all outlook links rolled out last week. Not only does it not let you use your default browser, half of the screen is taken up with a popup asking to make edge your default every time!

[–] transientpunk@sh.itjust.works 88 points 1 year ago (2 children)

This feels like a serious abuse of market position. This should definitely result in legal action

[–] ares35@kbin.social 39 points 1 year ago (1 children)

another wet noodle over the wrist is sure change their behaviour

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[–] peopleproblems@lemmy.world 28 points 1 year ago

There's a setting in outlook options, but it's buried pretty deep.

Open Links with under advanced something

[–] Natanael@slrpnk.net 21 points 1 year ago

I'm in tech support, I've had several users hit by this in office programs as opening links via plugins to sites they need to be logged into would suddenly open a different browser which they weren't logged into. None of them realized what was going on. That alone should cause for a lawsuit, since they're changing defaults for reasons entirely unrelated to eg. preventing security risks.

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[–] 8ender@sh.itjust.works 82 points 1 year ago (5 children)

MS definitely didn’t get in trouble for this in the past and this time it’s going to work out

[–] empireOfLove@lemmy.one 31 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Well yeah they've had 20 years to pad courts with corporate-sympathetic judges and neuter any other forms of government oversight. Course it'll work out this time.

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[–] _jonatan_@lemm.ee 17 points 1 year ago

Back then the anti-trust laws were actually somewhat enforced. Nowadays, not so much.

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[–] Hazdaz@lemmy.world 39 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Didn't this very same issue result in MS being called a monopoly all those years ago. And now they are right back at it again.

[–] 1984@lemmy.today 31 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I don't have Microsoft edge on my Linux system. :)

[–] loics2@lemm.ee 37 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Teams on Linux is already broken af, we won't even notice we can't open links

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[–] saturnonice@lemmy.world 31 points 1 year ago (5 children)

So glad I don't have to use Windows at work

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[–] Vilian@lemmy.ca 30 points 1 year ago (1 children)

how much more IT guys want to be abused before switching to linux in companies, it's not like they use something windows exclusive, only if it's the insecurities

[–] maynarkh@feddit.nl 27 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Just as soon as Linux sales people wine and dine the CTO better than the Microsoft ones. Usually it's not IT people. If it was up to IT in my experience, Jan from Accounting would be using a tiling VM on Linux.

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[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 29 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Didn't Microsoft lose a large anti trust court case about this shit for internet explorer? So we're just going the same route again because fuck the law and fuck our customers?

In any case, I am forced to use teams and since I run Linux I use it in chrome as the teams executable is just non workable.

Besides that, who in their right mond used teams? It's a bit of a rhetorical question, my org uses it (for the moment, still) and it is godawful.

Teams on browsers is a fucking joke. Want gasp two tabs open with chats? Oh nononononon, Can't have that! We'll helpfully display an all page hiding modal asking you "are you still here?" on one of these tabs (almost always, but in typical Microsoft fashion, not always always) and if you click "I'm back" we'll helpfully reload that page. Since many pages don't have their unique URL, as they should because that is how the internet works, the reload just kicks you out of what you were doing... Were you in an important meeting? Well now you're not anymore with mo way to get back unless maybe your boss tries to add you back himself.

Camera randomly just disappears, when you go into a preplanned call sometimes half the people end up in different chats, ahw whatever. I have a long, LONG list of other bugs and not enough energy to write it all down again

People should NOT use teams and should NOT use any Microsoft software, it's all shit. I use Linux for servers and its all fast and easy. i use Linux for desktop and I never have to deal with any of the Microsoft shit

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[–] Hupf@feddit.de 27 points 1 year ago

Was this message helpful? 👍👎

[–] CriticalMiss@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Curious but what if I remove Edge from the machine?

[–] MagneticFusion@lemm.ee 45 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It reinstalls itself with the next Windows update

[–] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 33 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Consumers: "My PC?"

Mucrosoft: "Our PC"

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[–] kescusay@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

You're going to want to remove other parts of Windows as well, such as Windows Explorer, the Win32 runtime, the kernel, etc.

(In other words, install Linux.)

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[–] CumBroth@discuss.tchncs.de 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Edge is so invasive now that people have developed tools to remove it, for example https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil. And you still have to run them after any update that ends up reinstalling Edge! It's like removing malware, but it's even worse because this gets reinstalled by updates from the same legitimate authority that provides your security updates. This recently got me so mad that I decided to quit the games that don't run on Linux and replace Windows with Linux on my gaming PC.

It's a shame I can't avoid Microsoft at work as well.

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[–] Swarfega@lemm.ee 24 points 1 year ago

I used Edge during beta and upon release. It's a decent browser. But Microsoft started adding their bloat to it and now just throws it in my face every chance they get. I no longer use Edge as a result.

[–] LiveLM@lemmy.zip 22 points 1 year ago

will open web links from Teams chats in Microsoft Edge to enable a new web and chat side-by-side experience.

I am so sick and tired of this puffy corpo language every tech company uses these days. "New experience" this, "New experience" that, the only new experience I want is the experience of kicking a shoe up Nadella's ass.

[–] madis@lemm.ee 21 points 1 year ago

Got affected by this, and the Edge literally showed a notification bar on how to disable this (as a user). So, slightly annoying but not too big of an issue as users can opt out right away.

[–] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 19 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Fuck Teams. It's the shittiest experience out of all the options. Discord is better, that's how bad it is.

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[–] Zaphod@discuss.tchncs.de 18 points 1 year ago

me: panik me 5s later realizing I'm on Linux: kalm

[–] xavier666@lemm.ee 15 points 1 year ago

Good luck trying to open it on Edge when it's blocked from installing via policy

[–] malloc@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

I would be so frustrated working for a company like Microsoft when forced to write software “features” like this.

The business of M$ just fucking sucks

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