SharePoint Roadmap Pitstop: August 2020

by | Aug 31, 2020 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

August welcomed some nice innovation, some to help get back to school, some to help you stay more informed, plus new ways to keep sharing and stay better connected.

 

This month brought: SharePoint site templates for Education, our timeline and support for the retiring of SharePoint 2010 Workflows, how to access Visio as a tab within Teams channels, sharing of moved files, and more. Details & screenshots below, including our audible companion: The Intrazone Roadmap Pitstop: August 2020 podcast episode – all to help answer, “What’s rolling out now for SharePoint and related technologies into Microsoft 365?”

 

 

In the podcast episode, I chat with Lincoln DeMaris (LinkedIn | Twitter), principal program manager at Microsoft who works on Microsoft Lists. We talked about the state of the Lists roll out, how it evolves from what we know as SharePoint lists, some of the early feedback, and tackle some of the most common frequently asked questions about Microsoft Lists.

 

Lincoln DeMaris, principal program manager (Microsoft Lists / Microsoft) [Intrazone guest]Lincoln DeMaris, principal program manager (Microsoft Lists / Microsoft) [Intrazone guest]

All features listed below began rolling out to Targeted Release customers in Microsoft 365 as of August 2020 (possibly early September 2020).

 

Inform and engage with dynamic employee experiences

Build your intelligent intranet on SharePoint in Microsoft 365 and get the benefits of investing in business outcomes – reducing IT and development costs, increasing business speed and agility, and up-leveling the dynamic, personalized, and welcoming nature of your intranet.

 

SharePoint site templates for Education

These are for schools and universities, made available via the Microsoft Look Book. Each brings together news, events, highlighted content, quick links and more, pre-configured and designed with a specific scope and audience for a variety of Education scenarios.

 

SharePoint site template: "School home page" - across several screen sizes.SharePoint site template: “School home page” – across several screen sizes.

Here is a quick highlight of each of the four templates:  

 

 

Azure CDN caching for SharePoint and OneDrive video

We are pleased to introduce improved support for videos; aka, better streaming performance for videos you store in SharePoint and OneDrive. Videos that are accesses often will be streamed from the Azure CDN closest to the user to optimize the playback experience. At all times data will remain within the Microsoft 365 compliance boundary.

 

This is a great area for growth that also paves the way for future innovation. Stay tuned to this space.

 

Retiring SharePoint 2010 Workflows

Since the release of SharePoint workflows, Microsoft has evolved workflow orchestration to not only encompass SharePoint, but all the productivity services you use with Microsoft 365 and beyond. With the continued investment in Power Automate as the universal solution to workflow, Microsoft is retiring SharePoint 2010 workflows. We recommend customers to move to Power Automate or other supported solutions.

 

Timeline:

  • Starting August 1st, 2020, SharePoint 2010 workflows will be turned off for any newly created tenants.
  • Starting November 1st, 2020, Microsoft will remove the ability to run, or create, and or execute SharePoint 2010 workflows from existing tenants.

 

Planning to move from classic SharePoint Workflows to Power Automate flows.Planning to move from classic SharePoint Workflows to Power Automate flows.

Note: SharePoint 2013 workflows remain supported, although turned off by default for new tenants starting November 1st, 2020.

 

Resources:  

 

Download SharePoint site usage data in Excel

Site owners, from the Site usage page, will be able to export their site’s 90-day usage data in an Excel report. You can then build out a process that works for you per your preferences or governance requirements, to download the data on a recurring basis and build out the analysis you desire in Excel, or take it beyond and visualize the data in Power BI.

 

View information about how users interact with your site. Export the 90-days site usage data in an Excel file by going to the download button (downward facing arrow) on the upper-right corner of the Site usage page.View information about how users interact with your site. Export the 90-days site usage data in an Excel file by going to the download button (downward facing arrow) on the upper-right corner of the Site usage page.

 

Abd to round out this section, two recent summary blogs for admins managing their intranet; both add a little context across several recent updates:

  1. “Migrate your content into Microsoft 365” [8/24/20]: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-sharepoint-blog/migrate-your-content-into-microsoft-365/ba-p/1604587
  2. “Agile IT management of your SharePoint-powered intelligent intranet” [8/26/20]: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-sharepoint-blog/agile-it-management-of-your-sharepoint-powered-intelligent/ba-p/1604914

 

 

Teamwork updates across SharePoint team sites, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams

Microsoft 365 is designed to be a universal toolkit for teamwork – to give you the right tools for the right task, along with common services to help you seamlessly work across applications. SharePoint is the intelligent content service that powers teamwork – to better collaborate on proposals, projects, and campaigns throughout your organization – with integration across Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, Yammer, Stream, Planner and much more.

 

Updating the list and list item sharing experience

Site owners, members and visitors will now see a Share command when they are viewing a list, even when they do not have any list item selected. Site owners will be able to grant other users access to the list and can specify whether to give View-only, Edit, or Full Control permissions to the list. Other users (e.g. site members and visitors) cannot directly grant other users access to the list, but they can use the dialog to send an approval request to site owners if the site is set up to allow access requests (enabled by default).

 

Sharing lists and list items, so that you can decide whether to let people edit or just view them, and whether the people you share with can share with others.Sharing lists and list items, so that you can decide whether to let people edit or just view them, and whether the people you share with can share with others.

This update also brings sharing links to list items. When users select a list item and click Share, they will see the same Send Link sharing dialog that exists today with new options. Specifically, the “People in your organization with the link” and “Anyone with the link” options will be available based on the policy that your organization has configured.

 

All the sharing policies you have configured for files will apply to list items. For example, if you have set “People in your organization with the link” as the default link type then that will also apply to list items. Similarly, if you have disabled or restricted “Anyone links” then those will also be disabled or restricted when users are sharing list items.

 

SharePoint lists and libraries – improved image columns

It is much easier now to work with images in lists and libraries. Once an Image column is added to a list or library, users can add an image using the list or library form. They, too, can view, replace, or remove the image when viewing the item or file properties in the form. When users are browsing the list on a mobile device, they will be able to upload an image – including taking a photo with the device’s camera.

 

Add an image to a list items using the improved Image column capabilities.Add an image to a list items using the improved Image column capabilities.

 

Move files, and keep sharing

Collaboration requires the flow of work access to go unbroken. When you move a file to a new location in Microsoft 365, you will have the option to continue sharing the file from its new destination. A simple pop-up to confirm and keep moving forward.

 

When you move a file to a new location in Microsoft 365, you will have the option to continue sharing the file from its new destination.When you move a file to a new location in Microsoft 365, you will have the option to continue sharing the file from its new destination.

The new link match permissions just like the source location and we send your collaborators an e-mail that notifies them that the file has been moved.

Learn more:

 

Related technology

Yammer discovery feed

One superpower of Yammer is discovery – discovering new communities and new conversations that help broaden your perspective. This is the place for you to catch up on conversations happening in the communities you belong to.

 

Use the Yammer discovery feed to discover new communities and new conversations.Use the Yammer discovery feed to discover new communities and new conversations.

Note for admins: you can select specific conversations to be *Featured Conversations* for a specific date. These conversations will be highlighted at the top of the Home Feed for everyone, until they have been read by the user or the time passes, and new content gets highlighted.

 

Access Visio directly from a tab within Teams channels

As part of our commitment to make collaborating on Visio diagrams within Teams seamless, we have added the ability to have “Visio as a tab.” This brings co-authoring on a diagram in real time.

 

Visio tabs in Teams allow team members to access services and content in a dedicated space within a channel or in a chat.Visio tabs in Teams allow team members to access services and content in a dedicated space within a channel or in a chat.

You can keep important processes at your fingertips – like giving your sales team a way to visualize specific steps to solve customer questions and concerns. Or simplify brainstorming on business diagrams like SWOT analysis, Venn diagrams, pyramid diagrams.

 

  • Learn more: Visio tabs in Teams allow team members to quickly access content in a dedicated space within a channel or in a chat.
  • Roadmap ID: 20886.

 

Microsoft 365 Network Connectivity Principles

Connectivity is one of the most critical decisions that customers should make to achieve best performance and delightful user experiences. We fine tune the Microsoft 365 for optimal features and connectivity, and there are several things you can do to optimize your network.

 

Microsoft has developed four *Network Connectivity* principles to help customers evaluate their existing network architectures and prepare or optimize readiness for Microsoft 365 – with security and privacy firmly intact. 

 

 

The 4 principles:

  1. Optimize Microsoft 365 traffic from our endpoint and differentiate it from generic Internet traffic for more efficient routing.
  2. Enable local egress | Egress Microsoft 365 data connections through the Internet as close to your users as practical with matching DNS resolution.
  3. Enable direct connectivity | Avoid network hairpins and minimize network latency to Microsoft’s global network.
  4. Modernize security for SaaS | Avoid intrusive network security by bypassing proxies, traffic inspection devices, and avoid duplicating security controls already available in Microsoft 365.

 

And last, did you see OneDrive on the Surface Duo?

Panos Panay looking at photos in OneDrive: https://youtu.be/R1CNwBzYqRs?t=568 – spanning OneDrive on two screens and staying in the flow.

 

Scroll through your OneDrive photo library on one screen, while viewing your selected photo on the other.Scroll through your OneDrive photo library on one screen, while viewing your selected photo on the other.

 

September 2020 teasers

Psst, still here? Still scrolling the page looking for the rolled out goodness? If so, here is a few teasers of what’s to come to production next month…

 

  • Teaser #1: New *Integrate* menu for Microsoft Lists [Roadmap ID: 64869] 
  • Teaser #2: Manage how long guests can access SharePoint and OneDrive [Roadmap ID: 43797]

 

… shhh, tell everyone.

 

Helpful, ongoing change management resources

  • Follow me to catch news and interesting SharePoint things: @mkashman; warning, occasional bad puns may fly in a tweet or two here and there.

 

Thanks for tuning in and/or reading this episode/blog of the Intrazone Roadmap Pitstop – August 2020 (blog/podcast). We are open to your feedback in comments below to hear how both the Roadmap Pitstop podcast episodes and blogs can be improved over time.

 

Engage with us. Ask questions. Push us where you want and need to get the best information and insights. We are here to put both our and your best change management foot forward.

 

Stay safe out there on the road’map, and thanks for listening and reading.

 

Cheers and thanks,

Mark Kashman – senior product manager (SharePoint/Lists) | Microsoft)

 

The Intrazone Roadmap Pitstop - August 2020 graphic showing some of the highlighted release features.The Intrazone Roadmap Pitstop – August 2020 graphic showing some of the highlighted release features.

Brought to you by Dr. Ware, Microsoft Office 365 Silver Partner, Charleston SC.

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