A sure sign SharePoint Online updates faster

Hopefully by now you know that when it comes to SharePoint, SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business there are limitations when it comes to syncing files to your desktop. Most of these are contained in the article:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2933738

Interestingly, when it came to filenames there were certain characters, that if in a filename, would prevent that filename from syncing. Generally, these characters were the same for SharePoint Online and SharePoint on premises. However, as someone pointed out to me this is no longer the case.

The above article details how the ‘&’ character is no longer invalid for SharePoint Online but remains so for SharePoint Server 2013. When you read the article you’ll also see that there are beginning to be quite a few differences in what is permitted between SharePoint Online and SharePoint Server 2013. This is clearly an indication that SharePoint Online is being updated much faster than SharePoint Server 2013.

So now you’ll have to check the above article a little more closely to see exactly what is an isn’t permitted for different versions of SharePoint.

SharePoint Online missing Web Designer Galleries

If you are working with SharePoint Online and you go to Site Settings you might not see Web Designer Galleries displayed like so:

The reason that it no longer appears is because many of the Gallery options require scripting and this comes with security issues. So, Microsoft has elected to disable this by default.

To re-enable this scripting option so you can see the Web Designer Galleries, do the following:

In the bottom left of the Admin portal, select SharePoint under Admin.

This will take you to the Sharepoint admin center as shown above.

Select Settings at the bottom of the list on the left.

Select the option to Allow and save the changes.

It may take up to 24 hours for these changes to flow through to SharePoint Online and until you can see the Web Designer Galleries options in Site Settings.

For more information on enabling these scripting options in Settings from Microsoft visit:

Turn scripting capabilities on and off

Some changes to SharePoint Online

If you have been using Office Online with SharePoint Online via Office 365, you may now notice that the menu structure has changed as you can see above. The majority of options now appear on the right rather than the left.

You can see the old menu structure above with the menu options on the left.

When you actually go in and edit a document with the new interface the familiar Ribbon and menu structure return as shown above.

I find it interesting how menu items move from one side or the screen to the other (and perhaps they are testing to work out the best option??) but if you remember the changes from SharePoint 2007 to 2010 to 2013 you also saw that familiar left, right, left changing of navigation. Most interesting.

The other interesting change that is being reported on OneDrive fro Business only (at this stage), by fellow MVP Benoit Hamet over on his blog:

http://blog.hametbenoit.info/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=664

is that there is now an option to Move or copy a folder or file as shown above in a image from Benoit’s article.

I currently don’t see this option in any of my Office 365 tenants, but I’ll keep an eye out for it as it is a handy feature and makes using OneDrive for Business, at least, more like traditional Windows Explorer on the desktop. Interesting to see whether they bring the same functionality into SharePoint Online Team Sites? Time will tell on that score.

So watch out for these latest updates to SharePoint Online in you tenant soon.

Need to Know podcast–Episode 77

In this episode I speak the David Perks, CEO and founder, of successful Australia cloud and software developer Within Reach Software. We learn how the new app model from Microsoft along with the migration of collaboration software like SharePoint to the cloud have provided David’s business a huge opportunity to grow beyond Australia.

Developing for products like SharePoint Online provide a standard platform on which David can now roll out his software to any tenant in the world. We discuss how custom software and apps are added to SharePoint Online platform and how, if you already have Office 365 you can take advantage of these today.

You can listen to the episode at:

http://ciaops.podbean.com/e/episode-77-david-perks/

or subscribe to this and all episodes in iTunes at:

https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/ciaops-need-to-know-podcasts/id406891445?mt=2

The podcast is also available on Stitcher at:

http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ciaops/need-to-know-podcast?refid=stpr

Don’t forget to give the show a rating as well as send me any feedback or suggestions you may have for the show.

Resources

Within Reach Software

http://store.office.com

Docusign – https://store.office.com/docusign-for-sharepoint-online-WA104218069.aspx?assetid=WA104218069

Need to Know podcast–Episode 76

Tas joins me again to discuss a curly Office 365 and SharePoint Online question – where should you save your document? A SharePoint Team Site or in OneDrive for Business?

There are plenty of good reasons to store your data in each location but what makes the most sense when? Tas shares his experience and thoughts from the field and we come up with some guidelines that you can use to make the decision of where to locate your data easier.

You can listen to the episode at:

http://ciaops.podbean.com/e/episode-76-tas-gray/

or subscribe to this and all episodes in iTunes at:

https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/ciaops-need-to-know-podcasts/id406891445?mt=2

The podcast is also available on Stitcher at:

http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ciaops/need-to-know-podcast?refid=stpr

Don’t forget to give the show a rating as well as send me any feedback or suggestions you may have for the show.

Resources

https://blog.onedrive.com/taking-the-next-step-in-sync-for-onedrive/

http://www.messageops.com/onedrive-vs-sharepoint-comparison-matrix/

Should I save my documents to OneDrive for Business or a team site

Encryption of data at rest in SharePoint Online

A very common question I get is about how secure information is in Office 365. The above video shows you how SharePoint Online data is saved when at rest.

Microsoft do a lot in my books to ensure that data stored in Office 365 is secure as possible and in my books far more secure that most people achieve on premise. That means to me security is a major reason to CHOOSE the cloud over anything on premise.

Security is a journey and not a destination I know but Microsoft have the resources to ensure that the information they maintain is a secure as possible and I’m comfortable with that.

Introduction to Lookup Columns in SharePoint

SharePoint has the ability to act as a basic relational database. Thus, you can create one list that if referred to by other lists. This means that you can maintain only a single location for all your information. The most basic method to achieve this is by using Lookup Columns.

This tutorial will show you how to create a lookup column in a new list and then how to work with the information. You’ll see how to add and update information as well as edit the column headings in the new list so they present better.

This video is another in my Intermediate SharePoint series that you can follow through. Of course don’t forget my Getting Started with SharePoint series which you also get via email or download and install on your own SharePoint Team Site. You can subscribe to the free Getting Started with SharePoint lessons by entering your email below.

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Subscribe to free SharePoint training via email

OneDrive for Business now available for MAC

Yes all you Office 365 and Mac fan boys and girls, Microsoft has just announced that SkyDrive for Business sync client for MAC is available on iOS! You can read all the good news here and how you can procure it:

http://blogs.office.com/2015/01/28/onedrive-business-comes-mac-ios-devices/

There is also an Office Mechanics video that shows you all the features.