10 Features in Microsoft Loop Different to Notion: Breakdown

Microsoft Loop is growing in popularity amongst Microsoft 365 users, it's really trying to compete with Notion, a fantastic wiki application tons of people use and love. So what's the difference between Microsoft Loop vs Notion?

Let's look at what features make Microsoft Loop stand out and differentiate it from similar applications on the market.

1. Jumpstart

Jumpstart inside Microsoft Loop is a content suggestion feature. To use this feature you will have to enable it in your settings, it's worth using especially if you need to create a workspace from scratch.

When you start a new Workspace inside Microsoft Loop, you'll be given a blank canvas. Use Jumpstart to, well, Jumpstart your workspace. It does this by using AI to retrieve relevant information, documents and content from your Microsoft 365 space.

Give your workspace a title and search keywords to find what you need quickly, then add it to your workspace to get started.

2. Comment Emojis

Inside a document you and those working on projects can use comment emojis and inline comments to asynchronously collaborate and communicate.

There aren't many emojis to choose from, you have a heart, thumbs up and a smiley face, however, this is a great way to quickly react in line and leave comments and questions if you need to.

3. Ideas

In the top left-hand corner inside Microsoft Loop, you have Recents and Ideas. Ideas is basically a private note-taking section for thoughts, ideas, processes, mock-ups and anything you don't want to share with the team just yet. Once you are ready, you can just drag the idea down into the shared workspace for others to read and collaborate on.

Essentially, Ideas is just a holding bay, you can work inside ideas with team members, not inside the Loop workspace, and share when you're ready.

4. Show/Hide in Tables

A simple and easy-to-use feature inside Microsoft Loop is the share/hide feature for tables inside workspaces and pages.

You may have a table with lots of components that are not relevant to you, if this is the case, click to hide certain columns and only view what you need. This saves time and avoids distractions.

5. Basic Task List

This very basic feature is quite useful in terms of assigning tasks, adding due dates and getting the ball rolling with projects and jobs that need to be done. Task Lists can be used as Loop components, and shared with others in the workspace.

All you need to do is use the slash commands (/) and search task lists. From here you will have a little table pop up where you can type in tasks, and set an assignee and a due date.

6. Share Locations of Components

When you create a component inside Loop, which is essentially a shareable, transferable component within your team, you can view where the component has been shared, where it's being used and where the component has last been.

So, for example, you may click on the locations of this component and see it is currently being used inside Outlook by a member of the team. If you have access to this, you can jump in and work there too.

Share Locations inside Microsoft Loop is overall a good way to see where a component is being stored and utilised.

7. Status Inline Comments

With this feature, you can add things like labels and other comments in line with pages. This is helpful for giving a page more context and a better overview if someone is quickly glancing through it.

For example, if a task is incomplete, you can add an inline comment here to show it is still in progress, or you can add other labels and customise them to fit your needs.

8. Voting Columns in Tables

When creating tables you can add the collum type 'Voting' this allows for members of the team to vote on different ideas, projects and whatever you need really. It's a quick and easy way to get opinions and move forwards with a project.

It's just a nice little prebuilt in plugin for tables to further the experience.

9. Add to a Workspace

Add any page you are currently working on, to another workspace inside Microsoft Loop. You can quickly add a duplicate of a page or to another workspace by clicking the Share dropdown at the top.

This sends the page somewhere else, saving time creating the same content again, or sharing with individuals.

10. @Files

We all know you can use the @ mention to add other people to a page, however, this feature is pretty cool inside Microsoft Loop. You can use the @ to add files from other Microsoft 356 apps into your Microsoft Loop workspace. This enhances your pages further, giving more detail to those in your team, and makes the whole experience more accessible.

This feature is great because it doesn't require any additional API, it is already built into all Microsoft 365 apps, making it easy to use documents and other content inside Loop.

Notion: Explained

Notion

An all-in-one workspaces for notes, projects, tasks, documents & lots more.

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Best For

Passionate All-In-One

Availability

Web

iOS

Android

Windows

Mac

Chrome Extension

Pricing

$

Type of Tool

All-In-One Productivity ToolsProject Management SoftwareAI Productivity Tools

Personally, we think Microsoft Loop isn't anywhere near the capabilities of Notion just yet.

Of course with Notion you have a completely customisable space and the possibilities are almost endless with what you can create, and what for. Microsoft Loop however is a great looking tool with high potential, especially for teams and those working inside the Microsoft 365 workspace already.

Want to Get Started With Microsoft Loop?

We have a full tutorial on getting started with Microsoft Loop Here.

This ultimate Microsoft Loop guide will teach you everything you need to know, and go into more depth about Loop's different features from Notion.

The guide is suitable for Microsoft professionals, and beginners. You're sure to find some helpful information here.