Creating a New Power Automate Flow

When creating a new Power Automate flow, on the home page left navigation bar, click Create. You will be met with several types of flow types to choose from. For this example, we will be selecting the “Automated cloud flow.” (See Image 1) When working with M365 apps (Microsoft Forms and SharePoint Online), this is the most common selection.

Once the “Build an automated cloud flow” screen is available, you have two choices to make. The first is easy, the name of the flow. Give the flow a short but descriptive name. Second you need to select the trigger to cause the flow to start. In our case we want the trigger “When a new response is submitted” for Microsoft Forms. Most often this trigger should be near the top if not in the first spot as you can see from Image 2. This is a testament to the popularity of this type of Power Automate flow.

Inside Power Automate Designer

At the time of my writing this post, Microsoft currently has two designers available to you for use. It will most likely default to the new designer, but you do have the option to switch between the previous designer and the new designer with the toggle in the top right corner. (See Image 3) You will be able to use either, but the location where you will do the configuration will vary slightly depending on which designer you are working it. For this post I will use the new designer.

Connecting Power Automate to Collect Your Microsoft Form Data

You will be greeted with a single box in designer as a visual reference to identify the trigger that is to start the Power Automate flow. Click the box to view the settings of the trigger. In the new designer, a flyout from the left will appear to allow you to make the configurations you need to make. You will be presented a list of Microsoft Forms that are connected to your account. In the case of this post, I have gone with the best practice and tied the Microsoft Form to a Microsoft Team called “Woodology”.

The easiest way to get the Microsoft Form ID is by opening the form in design mode and getting the ID information from the URL. Be sure to click on Custom Value at the base of the drop down to allow you to input the raw ID or the designer will not take the input otherwise. The ID information is at the end of the URL after “&ID=”. Please See Image 4 to understand what you should copy to place in the Power Automate trigger configuration.

Once you capture the ID of the Microsoft Form, place that into the appropriate text box under parameters. This will tie this Power Automate to collect data to the appropriate Microsoft Form and the following steps will be easy to configure. See Image 5 to see what the parameters text box for Form id looks like.

Add the Action to Get the Data

We may have taught Power Automate which form to collect the data from when we configured the trigger, but that is not enough. We need to have Power Automate get the data associated with the Microsoft Form next. To do this we will point just below the trigger box and click the + button that will show when we hover our cursor within the area. Search for the action “Get response details” associated with Microsoft Forms and click to add to your flow. (See Image 6).

Just like we have done with the trigger box, we will click on the action box “Get response details” to open the fly out to allow us to configure the action. Under parameters you will have two text boxes. The first is straight forward. It is looking for the Form ID again. Unless you copied something between the first two steps, the Form ID should be on your clipboard still. Click the drop down and select custom value, once selected, just pasted the Form ID. See Image 7 to see what it should look like.

The second text box is asking for the Response Id. That is also available to you without much difficulty. When you place your cursor in the text box, you will see a blue lightning bolt and function symbol show up at the end of the text box. Select the lightning bolt which will allow you to choose dynamic content. Only one thing will be available. Click Response ID and it will automatically fill in the text box for you. That takes care of the configuration for this action. (See Image 7)

Place the Collected Data into a SharePoint List

This is the final step to configure for this Power Automate to collect data and place it into a SharePoint list. Click on the + found below the previous action Get response details. Search for the SharePoint action Create Item and select it. It will be added to your Power Automate flow and will look like Image 8. As we have done for the previous steps, click the box so the left flyout to configure this action can be seen.

Initially, you will see only two dropdown options. They need to be configured in order. The first dropdown is to select the SharePoint site where the list is located. If you do not see the site, you have the option to select custom value where you can copy and paste the home page URL to the site that contains the SharePoint list. Once the site is selected, the second dropdown will show the lists that are available. Select the appropriate one and wait for a moment for the configuration box to add the columns from the list. (See Image 9)

Within each text field you will now add using the blue lightning bolt to add dynamic content. Each filed in SharePoint will expect the variable type you configured it for. In image 9, you can see Plot Location and Start_Date both were taken directly from the form. Size_in_Acres and Project_Cost both are numbers. In the form we declared them numbers and forced only numbers to be allowed, however, when passed to Power Automate, they are considered strings. We had to use the int() function to revert it from a string back into a number of which SharePoint was expecting. (See Image 9)

A Power Automate Best Practice

Once you create a Power Automate to collect data or any other type of functionality, be sure to share the flow with a Microsoft Team. You want to be sure any flow that is business critical will be able to run beyond your tenure with the company you are working for at the time. This will make sure your parting ways with the company will not leave your team in a bad situation. In this case I have added the team Woodology as a co-owner. (See Image 10)

Conclusion

Utilizing Power Automate to collect data is a creative way to capture data, without relying solely on spreadsheets. Excel has its place, but there are better solutions when dealing with potentially large data sets. Capturing data in a SharePoint list can open up a myriad of other possibilities, such as reports in PowerBI or an application built in Power Apps. Power Automate gives you a multitude of options at your fingertips to propel your business in a data driven world.

The post Using Power Automate to Collect Microsoft Form Data first appeared on David J Pileggi Jr: Blogging to Make a Difference.

This question is legitimate if you want to know what is beyond the current functionality of Microsoft Forms.  It’s true that capturing data is what Microsoft Forms is all about.  However, we may need more than the downloadable spreadsheet with the captured data.  It is possible we need something more robust, more automated, more malleable.  It could be possible; we are looking at the limits of what Microsoft Forms can do. (See: Form, question, response, and character limits in Microsoft Forms).  Another possibility could be we want to automate an entire business process, with the Microsoft Form data as the starting point. The reason could even be a need to build a PowerBI report on the collected data in the SharePoint List without the need for manual intervention.  It will be helpful to know your reason.

Soil Enrichment Form

How to Build a SharePoint List to Capture Microsoft Forms Data

In our fictitious company for reforestation, we have a Microsoft Form for Soil Assessment.  (See Image Soil Assessment Form).  We want to capture the data the form collects and put it in a SharePoint list.  Before that can happen, we need to build the actual SharePoint list the data can fit in.  In our Soil Assessment form, we can see there are five questions.   We need to build a list in SharePoint that mirrors the form.  If you never have created a SharePoint list before, be sure to check out my video Creating a Simple List on YouTube to understand the basics.

Creating the List

The simplest way to create a List is by going to M365, clicking on the waffle in the top left corner of the page and selecting Lists app.  If it is not there, click on more apps and find it in the list of all M365 apps available to you with your current license model.  Be sure to give a clear name to your List using the underscore instead of spaces. (*Best Practice Alert*) You can always take out the underscores and put spaces back in once the list is created in the list settings.  Once you have created your blank list, it is time for the next step.

Adding the Columns

With a brand-new blank list in SharePoint, you already have one field.  Title is the name of the field.  If you want to know about proper building of columns for a SharePoint List or Library, watch my video Best Practices Imperative for the Creation of SharePoint Columns.  Feel free to select the first or most recognizable text question from your form.  In our example, the Soil Assessment form, question 1 seems our best option.  For the rest of the questions, we will need to make a new column.  Renaming the Title field is fine.  Just remember in Power Platform it will still be referred to as Title despite the name change.  Below is a list of how I built my columns for the case of Soil Enrichment.  Below that is an image of the Soil Enrichment List Columns.

• Question 1: (text answer) Title –> Renamed to Plot Location
• Question 2: (choice answer) –> Recommended_Enrichment
• Question 3: (number answer) –>  Size_in_Acres
• Question 4: (number answer (currency in SharePoint list)) –> Project_Cost
• Question 5: (date answer) –> Start_Date

Soil Enrichment List Columns

Please notice in the image Soil Enrichment List Columns, I took the time to remove the underscore from the column Recommended Enrichment.  (*Best Practice Alert*).  I used a shortened name for the column and used underscores instead of spaces.  This gives us easier column names to work with when we want to work with the SharePoint list through the Power Platform and more.  I want to bring your attention to the fact that I ensured to select the correct column type thinking of what information I was gathering with my Microsoft Form Soil Enrichment.

A SharePoint List to Capture Microsoft Forms Data is Complete

Once you have gone through these steps, you have finished the creation of a SharePoint List that is capable to hold the data captured by your Microsoft Form.  This will open up many possibilities to use the data you are capturing with the forms you create in Microsoft Forms.  Creating a list and the columns within the list utilizing best practices will pave the way for simplifying using data in workflow (Power Automate), reporting (PowerBI), and applications (Power Apps).

The post Building a SharePoint List to Capture Microsoft Forms Data first appeared on David J Pileggi Jr: Blogging to Make a Difference.

Changing an existing column

As you may already know, it is possible to change the name of a column in SharePoint or SharePoint Online.  When you do change the name visually it changes.  That’s awesome! However, this does not change the actual field name in the back end, the database.  It is just cosmetic only!  As long as you understand this concept you are good to go.  Look at Image 1 and see I changed the Title column name from Title to Tree Roots in the list for this blog post.

Image 1

This is great, however, when going into the M365 Power Platform, be sure to understand the field name is still Title!  To show you, I have copied the last part of the URL for the now column I just renamed Tree Roots.  You can see clearly, the field name for the column is still Title.  I have changed the color of the text to red to assist with its visibility.  You will need to know this and look out for it when working with the Power Platform.  It may show Tree Roots in some instances, but many will require you to know the actual field name.  After time passes, it could be a problem to remember if you changed the field name or not, so take good notes!

/_layouts/15/FldEdit.aspx?List=%7B0329FAE7-9402-42CF-A5E1-8A7A3FE51DAE%7D&Field=Title

The Behavior of Creating New Columns

Now to delve into column creation best practices for both SharePoint on premises and SharePoint Online.  I have created four different columns using different techniques to name the column.  They are mixed up in Image 2, but certainly show what I did to name the columns. I will go into an explanation for each one and show why they are a ‘best’ practice, ‘okay’ practice, or ‘do not use if you plan on using the Power Platform for your own sanity’s sake’ practice.  (I know, that last one was a mouthful, but I am sure you get the idea.)

Image 2

A Column Name Using CamelCase

Starting with the best practice and with the least amount of con’s we look at the column CamelCase.  When you look at the tail of the URL to edit the column you can see the Field name is clean as you would expect.  There are no extraneous characters added.  This is just like having a one-word column name.  It has the same effect.  Just like the Title field URL above, this one is easy to read, and easy to understand.  You can see as I highlighted the field for you in red.

/_layouts/15/FldEdit.aspx?List=%7B0329FAE7-9402-42CF-A5E1-8A7A3FE51DAE%7D&Field=CamelCase

A Column Name Using an Underscore

This is the second choice I would go with if I absolutely had to go with some sort of visual break in the column name.  I would say this is an okay practice.  The reason why I give it just an okay instead of a best practice is because each underscore in the field name will turn into the hexadecimal number %5F.  Yeah, super memorable, right?  When things get injected into the backend so that things don’t break in SQL, etc, that is something that can cause some discomfort in the Power Platform when you need to make reference to the column in question with this naming convention.  See the area highlighted in red in the URL below so you can see what it actually looks like.

/_layouts/15/FldEdit.aspx?List=%7B0329FAE7-9402-42CF-A5E1-8A7A3FE51DAE%7D&Field=With%5FUnderscore

But wait!  A short time after creating the List and letting things settle down, lo and behold, the URL changed to a nice beautiful, amazing work of art!  Yes, no hexadecimal number and no nonsense.  Long live the underscore!  It is a clean field name easy to work with in the Power Platform on M365!  I would dare say this has stepped from okay into the coveted best practice!  So, if you create a list on the fly to feed data, capture data, or use in some way with the Power Platform, allow M365 time to do all the cleanup, etc. in the background so you have a nice field name to work with.  If you don’t believe me, see below.  It changed in the last 24 hours from creating the list.

/_layouts/15/FldEdit.aspx?List=%7B0329FAE7-9402-42CF-A5E1-8A7A3FE51DAE%7D&Field=With_Underscore

Columns Using a Space or a Dash (-)

These two columns fall in the worst practice as they have a mess added to the field name.  When the list was first created it was even more of a nightmare as the underscores around the four-character indicator also contained the %5F.  Fortunately, after the cleanup run in the backend over time, those did get changed to the actual underscore from the hexadecimal.  Without the cleanup, the field name was nightmare fuel.  Good thing I am posting this is during the Halloween season.  Still take a look below at the URL’s.  I will indicate which is which.  These field names will prove troublesome when having to reference them in the Power Platform on M365.

With Space: /_layouts/15/FldEdit.aspx?List=%7B0329FAE7-9402-42CF-A5E1-8A7A3FE51DAE%7D&Field=With_x0020_Space
With Dash: /_layouts/15/FldEdit.aspx?List=%7B0329FAE7-9402-42CF-A5E1-8A7A3FE51DAE%7D&Field=With_x002d_Dash

I would use the space and/or dash sparingly when naming columns if you are not sure if you are going to use the Power Platform to draw information from the list/library you are adding the columns to.

Best Practices and Conclusion

As you can tell from the way this post was written, over time as things settled down, we have two Best Practices and two worst practices.  The best practice to naming a column is to either use CamelCase or the Underscore (_).  The worst practice to naming a column is to either use a space or a dash (-).  As a simple way to conclude this post, here is a list of dos and don’ts.

• Do use an Underscore when naming a column.
• Do use CamelCase when naming a column.
• Do keep the column name meaningful.
• Do keep the column name brief.
• Use spaces when naming a column sparingly.
• Use dash (-) when naming a column sparingly.
• Do NOT try to write War and Peace for a column name.
• Do NOT EVER use an Asterisk (*) in a column.  Never! See why on my post Keeping an Eye on the Risk in Asterisk

The post Imperative SharePoint Column Creation Best Practices first appeared on David J Pileggi Jr: Blogging to Make a Difference.

Understanding the Scope of an Alert

Take a look at the two images below.  Both are for alerts, but for very different scopes.  The first is an alert for the entire document library, while the second is for just a single document.  Why is it so important to understand the scope of a SharePoint alert?  Everything.  You do not want to have an alert set up sending you too much information.  You will either go into information overload or just end up ignoring the SharePoint alerts and lose any benefit it may have given you.  The same is true for the opposite.  If you are too narrow in your scope, then you will most likely not get alerted for the things you wish to be made aware of.

Image: Scope for entire document library.

Image: Scope for a single document.

Settings of an Alert

Let’s start with an image of what the alert options are and how they can be used.

Image: Choices for an Alert in SharePoint

1. Alert Title – Defaults to the location and scope of your choice.  It can be changed to something more meaningful.
2. Send Alerts To – Will default with your name/email automatically.  If you are the owner of the SharePoint site, you will have the option to add others to the alert as well.
3. Delivery Method – Email or text via SMS.  Most companies will have SMS blocked due to security concerns.
4. Change Type – If you are looking for all types or changes or a specific subtype of change.
5. Send Alerts to These Changes – If you are looking for all changes in the document library, or something of a subset meaning only what you have created or modified vs. everyone who is a contributor.
6. When to Send Alerts – This is to ensure you are able to pick the cadence of email being sent to you.  Do you want immediate or something of a slower pace?

Using Alerts to Your Advantage

There are different scenarios where you may find yourself wanting a Microsoft SharePoint alert.  Some alerts you may need to be more responsive with the cadence due to high priority or expected completion in a short time frame.  In other cases, you are a manager who is looking to just keep an eye on things.

Examples of Use

You are a team who just got an RFP (Request for Proposal) to try to win some business, but you were late to the game.  You have only 24 business hours to complete something that usually takes three weeks to complete.  As a manager, you start the document to answer the RFP and create an alert for the entire team that is to work on this document to keep everyone abreast of the situation.  The Microsoft SharePoint alert will be sent to the entire team, with immediate feedback when any and all changes are made.

A second example might have you as a manager with a team that creates many documents, but nothing is pressing.  You would like to just keep notified at a high level what may have changed.  In a case like this, you can set up a Microsoft SharePoint alert with the daily or weekly cadence.  You select to have the alert sent at 3PM so you have 2 hours remaining in your workday to read the alert and react if necessary.

Final Thoughts

Being both in the know and well informed will help you keep abreast of what is happening around you as an information worker.  With alerts, you can keep up with all that is going on without causing yourself to be overwhelmed by too much information.  Microsoft SharePoint alerts are the most useful yet forgotten feature in SharePoint.

The post MS SharePoint Alerts – The Most Useful Forgotten Feature first appeared on David J Pileggi Jr: Blogging to Make a Difference.

If you are reading this, you most likely have created a Microsoft Form in M365 and are curious about what you may have forgotten.  Most people go to Microsoft Forms, click create a form, build it out, test it, then send out the link by hitting the share button.  Easy, simple, not an issue, right?  Sure, but what happens to that form if you win the lottery to become a towel boy/girl in Tahiti to take it easy for the rest of your life?  You leave, your account is deactivated then is deleted over a specified period according to your companies off boarding protocols.  Suddenly it is not working.  Your team is in a bad place.  Next thing you know, you are receiving pictures of pitchforks and torches from your once beloved coworkers.

Ask the Right Question

When you are about to create a Microsoft Form, be sure to ask this question.  What is the duration of this form going to be?  If you have a form created to last a week to let people on your team identify what they are going to bring to the potluck next Friday afternoon, then you are fine.  The duration is short.  In this situation, winning the lottery won’t cause too much heartache even if you exit the company the same day.  The form will not be immediately lost to the bits of time.   If your answer is for months or more importantly, indefinitely as the answer, then you need to read the next section and understand what the best practice is.

A secondary question you should ask is, “Who is my audience?”  If it is a project team, your HR department, or a large subset of your organization, you will also want to take into consideration going to the next area and ensuring you follow the best practice recommended.

Recommended Best Practice

When you create a Microsoft Form in M365, be sure to have a Microsoft Team or M365 Group own the form in order to give it sustainability.  When you move a form under a Microsoft Team or M365 Group its life expectancy is now for the length of that group, not based off an individual.  This in turn will allow team members to come and go, but the form will not be deleted without understanding what has happened.  There are two ways to give ownership of a Microsoft Form to a Microsoft Team or M365 Group.  Let’s review.

Create as the Owner then Move

1. Finish creating the form as you normally would by going to Microsoft Forms in M365 and just click New Form.
2. Once finished, go back to the landing page of Microsoft Forms.
3. Point at the Microsoft Form you have created with your cursor. (Note: You will see your name in the bottom left corner signifying you are indeed the one who is the owner of the Form.  See Image 1)
   
   Image 1
4. When you point at the Microsoft Form’s card in the bottom right you will see three dots (ellipses) appear.
5. Click the ellipses to get a fly out menu. (See Image 2)
   
   Image 2
6. Click on Move to a group.
7. Select the Microsoft Group of your choice.

Create as a Tab on the Microsoft Team Channel

1. In Microsoft Teams, go to the Microsoft Team of your choice and select a channel where you would like to build the Microsoft Form.
2. Click on the + next to the other tabs of the channel in the top center of the application.
3. In search type out the word Forms.
4. Select Forms.
5. Ensure the radio button for Create a shared form that your team can edit and see results is selected.  (See Image 3)
   
   Image 3
6. Name your Form.
7. Hit Save.

Either path you take to associating the Microsoft Form to a Microsoft Team or M365 Group will align you with this best practice.  Happy polling!

Twitter / X                                                         LInkedIn

The post Microsoft Forms Most Forgotten Best Practice first appeared on David J Pileggi Jr: Blogging to Make a Difference.

First Impression

The way I see Loop components could be compared to SharePoint web parts for Microsoft Office. Sorry, Microsoft Office 365 Apps… yeah… moving on. Loop has different types of information models to choose from. (See Image 1) These loop items can be attached to an email, OneNote, and/or Teams. It is a great way to quickly collaborate with your team, peers, etc. when sharing quick data.

Image 1 (Taken from Outlook)

Let’s face it, having the ability to send an email with a table is good. BUT! Having the ability to embed a Microsoft Loop table into an email that is live and multiple people can edit, make changes, alter, rearrange that data in real time is so much better. A great example is throwing together a table that could potentially be included in a RFP to win your business one million dollars. One table, one version of the truth, one solution will be available to the entire team and save time, heartache, and potential data loss or overwriting. Another example would be a quick task list that is living in your teams Microsoft Team OneNote. Use that as a quick way to do odd tasks outside of the norm. A little thought could make the list of possibilities grow exponentially.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

This section will most certainly be up for debate, however, from what I understand about Loops at this point, I’ll give my thoughts around the strengths. One of the biggest things is the Microsoft Loop components’ versatility. The ability to have the same component show up in email, Teams, and in OneNote could allow quick solutions that could over time be grown into something greater. As expected, if the idea starts to roll into something greater, then upgrading to a more suitable solution is recommended. Loop is a great tool for small data sharing solutions. A great example is the use of the Q&A Loop component. If you find it is getting to the point numerous people are using it, it may be time to upgrade to Viva Engage. (I would have loved to say SharePoint discussion board, but it is still from the 2003 Portal Server dark ages of a solution and needs serious love and care.)

Nearly all the components are used in business daily. So, using them will only be a slight variation in how you add them to your email, lists in OneNote, or tables in Teams. Ease of utilizing the power of Loop is guaranteed with the simplicity it brings. With how busy companies have become during this information age saving time is essential. Using these as tools will be one way to approach fixing the issue of time saving.

Lastly, I want to bring up the fact each of the components are easy to use. They are not overly complex or over engineered. They give information workers a leg up when working with a time crunch.

Weaknesses

There is only one to bring to your attention. As of right now, when you create a Loop component it is saved to your OneDrive. This is the only place it can be saved to currently. This means, a long living Microsoft Loop component with a lot of time and information placed into it can disappear if the owner of the component leaves the company. This is Microsoft Loop’s Achillies heel. The way I can see this being fixed is by having the option to have the Microsoft Loop component save destination be a document library in the associated SharePoint site of the Microsoft Team of your choice.  SharePoint library anywhere for that matter!

The post MS Loop – Amazing Tool for with Achillies Heel first appeared on David J Pileggi Jr: Blogging to Make a Difference.

High Level SharePoint Security Understanding

Each SharePoint site has its own Security Schema, created by Microsoft Teams, Viva Engage (f.k.a. Yammer), M365 Planner, or a standard security schema with a lone standing classic SharePoint site. Each site has three primary security groups on creation that you should know along with the permissions they are given. (See Table 1) When the site is first created, every part of the site will have the same security. Every library, list, page, and item will inherit the same security of the site.

Table 1

When a business case requires for you to share the site, library, list, or item with everyone in the organization, you can use the group Everyone except external users. You must be cautious about using this group as it will allow all employees in your tenant to be able to view/contribute to every object that falls under the level you give the permission at. (See Image 1) If you give permission at the site level, every other square within the Site square will also get the same permissions. Use this image to understand how your giving permission to a SharePoint object at different levels can also unlock many other areas for one person or everyone in your tenant. Everything inside the object you give permission to will also get the same permissions.  Be cautious when breaking inheritance as it will make your job maintaining the security schema more difficult by N + 1 (N = number of inheritance breaks).

Image 1

How to Add/Remove a User to SharePoint Site Directly

If you want to add/remove people from a Microsoft Team, do so through Microsoft Teams. These instructions are specific to adding/removing users who interact with just your SharePoint site, whether based off a Microsoft Team or a classic SharePoint site. Getting to the appropriate page will depend if you are on a Modern Team Site or Classic. I will provide instructions for both.

1. Go to Advanced Site Permissions.
   1. On a Modern Site (i.e., Microsoft Teams SharePoint site, Communication site)
      1. Click on the gear in the top right corner of the page near your profile picture (See Image 2)
         
         Image 2
      2. In the drop-down menu, select “Site Permissions.”  If you do not see this, you may not have the right permission to go further.
      3. At the bottom of slide out, click the Advanced permissions settings Link (See Image 3)
         
         Image 3
   2. On a Classic Site
      1. Click on the gear in the top right corner of the page near your profile picture (See Image 4)
         Image 4
      2. In the drop-down menu, select “Site Settings” If you do not see this, you may not have the right permission to go further.
      3. Under the Users and Permissions group, select Site Permissions (See Image 5)
         
         Image 5
2. Click on the appropriate Group you want to add the individual(s) you want to add them to. (Note: It is good to have 2-3 owners)
3. Click on New and add the individual(s) to the group by finding them with name or email address. (See Image 6)
   
   Image 6
4. Once selected, decide if you want to send an email to the site you are sharing or click show options and uncheck the email checkbox.
5. Click the Share button.

How to Add/Remove Users to a List or Library

Giving a user(s) access to a list or library should be done using the Share button when possible. These instructions are used to give direct access to the list or library instead. To get to the appropriate page will depend if you are on a Modern Team Site or Classic. I will provide instructions for both.

1. Go to List/Library Settings
   1. On a Modern List/Libraries (i.e., Microsoft Teams SharePoint site, Communication site)
      1. Click on the gear in the top right corner of the page near your profile picture (See Image 7)

         
         Image 7

      2. Select List/Library Settings in the flyout menu.
   2. On a Classic List/Library
      1. Click on the List/Library Tab in the top left of the page (See Image 8 #1)
      2. Click on List/Library Settings button to the far right of the ribbon (See Image 8 #2)
         
         Image 8
2. Under Permissions and Management -> Click Permissions for this document library (See Image 9)
   
   Image 9
3. Click the Stop Inheriting Permissions button in the ribbon at the top of the page (See Image 10)

   
   Image 10

4. Click on the appropriate Group link you want to add the individual(s) to.
5. Click on New and add the individual(s) to the group by finding them with name or email address. (See Image 11)
   
   Image 11
6. Once selected, decide if you want to send an email to the site you are sharing or click show options and uncheck the email checkbox.
7. Click the Share button.

How to Add/Remove Users to a Folder, Document, Item

Giving a user(s) access to a folder, document, or item should be done using the Share button when possible. These instructions are used to give direct access directly to a folder, document, or item instead. To get to the appropriate page will depend if you are on a Modern Team Site or Classic. I will provide instructions for both.

1. In a Modern Library/List
   1. Select the folder, document, or item you want to give direct permission to (See Image 12)
      
      Image 12
   2. Click the ellipses (…) just to the right of the document/item Name/Title
   3. Click Manage Access in the drop-down menu (See Image 13)
      
      Image 13
   4. In the manage Access popup window, click the ellipses (…) in the upper right corner and select Advanced Settings. (See Image 14)
      
      Image 14
2. In a Classic List/Library
   1. Select the folder, document, or item you want to give direct permission to (See Image 15)
      
      Image 15
   2. Click the ellipses (…) just to the right of the document/item Name/Title
   3. Click Share in the bottom left corner of the popup (See Image 16)
      
      Image 16
   4. Another Popup will appear, on the left click the Shared with button (See Image 17)
      
      Image 17
   5. Click Advanced in the bottom right corner of the popup window.
3. Click the Stop Inheriting Permissions button in the ribbon at the top of the page (See Image 18)

   
   Image 18

4. Click on the appropriate Group you want to add the individual(s) who should see the document.
5. Click on New and add the individual(s) to the group by finding them with name or email address. (See Image 19)
   
   Image 19
6. Once selected, decide if you want to send an email to the site you are sharing or click show options and uncheck the email checkbox.
7. Click the Share button.

The post Understanding SharePoint Online Security for the non-IT Worker first appeared on David J Pileggi Jr: Blogging to Make a Difference.

The Story

I was working with a client a while back when I stumbled over this issue.  They were creating multiple corporate Content Types in the content type hub to ensure uniformity with the data that was being captured for electronic assets that used OCR technology to place them into SharePoint libraries.  To identify those Corporate Content Types the used an asterisk (*) as a visual cue. It looked something like: Contract Value*.  Simple… right?  At first sight, yes.

The Problem

This was fine the first time the content type(s) were published. Everything seemed to be fine until the republishing of the content types took place.  An employee noticed something odd took place after the republishing.  There were two columns of Contract Value*.  Which one was the correct one?  Why were there two columns to begin with?  Some deleted the second one manually. That fixed it… right? No, the next republishing, the same issue happened.  For those who did not delete the duplicated column now had three columns.  

What was happening?  I came to find out from the client this situation had been going on for 2 years.  A ticket was opened two years prior to my looking at the situation.  After reopening the ticket, I began to work with Microsoft, learning they closed the ticket with no resolution as they could not figure out the issue.

The Enlightenment

After numerous cups of tea and trips to the restroom over a number of days something came to me.  SharePoint uses SQL server as it’s backend.  Ok. Fine.  Wait. Gears are turning in my head.
An asterisk in SQL server is also known as a wildcard. This could very well mean everything found after the first part. In the case of the columns with a asterisk after it, Contract Value* would most likely be grabbing anything that is after that column name. Flags, backend information, dates, whatever it may be following it, it (what does this it stand for?) was using it (and this it?) to name the new columns when it republished. In a situation like this Microsoft had to come up with specialized PowerShell scripts just to clear the offending columns, rename them at the core, or change them completely.

The Bottom Line

Do not use the asterisk in column headers.  They could very well cause you some trouble, though Microsoft I am sure has continued design counter measures, so this doesn’t happen.  I would recommend being safer than sorry.  The level of the mess that it potentially unleashes goes too deep to allow this issue to continue unchecked.

The post Keeping an Eye on the Risk in Asterisk first appeared on David J Pileggi Jr: Blogging to Make a Difference.

Amazing Introduction

My father, who recently passed away, had a quote he loved to tell my brother and I.  “Work smarter, not harder!”  This would certainly apply for any IT employee anywhere in this world.  The reliance on technology has continued to increase and spread into many aspects of our lives.  It has gotten to the point where it could be crazy if someone on a conference was unfortunately given the name Alexa… I know I may or may not have done it on purpose to trigger playing a amusing song. LOL Those who are supporting this technology when their team numbers are low, need to come up with more ingenious ways to give great support and still accomplish their other tasks as well.  In this post I am going to describe how I was able to do just that with the company I am currently working for.  This is certainly something that any individual or company’s IT can duplicate and is encouraged.  Like anything, results may vary.  That being said, take what is stated here and tailor it to the culture of your company.  Just remember you are trying to simplify not add more to your already full plate!

The 411

As you may have ascertained from the title of this post, building a community is your saving grace.  I miss the days of the huge SharePoint user groups, conferences put on by Microsoft, SharePoint Saturday’s and so much more.  Time has become more precious, and the pandemic certainly has done a number on in-person meetings.  Lets face it, virtual pizza is just not that filling.  There are still user groups meeting virtually allowing you to join from anywhere on the planet.  Now I know what you are thinking, what does this have to do with easing my situation at work where a team of one is trying to support hundreds of individuals.  The answer is elementary my dear Watson.  Build a community and raise your own champions.

The Story

Until recent, I was the only expert for SharePoint and many of the other apps in M365 (O365) in my company.  When I walked through the doors, it was a green field.  They never had used SharePoint for corporate.  OneDrive? What was that.  This Delve thing scares me… you get the idea.  To gain exposure when I first started, I would have a meeting with anyone who had any interest shown at all.  A grass roots movement started to form and started to gain some momentum.  After about nine months passing, I was having more meetings than time would allow and still had my ‘day’ job to do as well.  Working with my manager at the time, we produced the idea of office hours that grew into much more.  I believe it has to do with my love for the community, my personality, and the knowledge I had brought to the table that allowed for me to accidentally come across this formula.  The thing is YOU can do it as well.

I created a reoccurring meeting for 2 hours every Friday throughout the year.  I did take the two weeks during the Christmas vacation, so 50 weeks out of the year they were held.  This is the first key, you need to be consistent.  Once people knew that I was there every Friday (same bat time, same bat channel) they knew where to go to ask questions.  Any question about M365 and the apps that come with it was fair game.  When questions were getting answered, others who were waiting for their turn learned things.  Soon, a group of ‘regulars’ started to show up to the office hours.  Why?  They wanted to learn from other associate’s questions.  This let them know what others in the company were doing to collaborate, share information, and innovate new ways of working.

Some of the office hours felt more like a game show called “Stump the Expert.”  Sometimes questions were asked that I may not have known the answer to at the time.  If I did not know, I would let them know.  If there was not a line of questions, we would work together to produce a solution.  If there was a large line, I would put in OneNote their question and research it during the week.  This also helped with the repeat attendees.  Do not be afraid to say you don’t know something.  If you come across someone who says they know everything there is to know about M365…. heck just SharePoint is lying.  The applications are too large, too broad, too deep to know everything.  I have a good friend who has been with SharePoint since it was known as Project Tahoe. If I asked him today if he knows everything there is to know, I bet he would still say no.  Anyone who says they know everything, is someone you want to avoid.  Its just not a reality.

As time progressed, the regulars were absorbing the knowledge.  Soon some of the easy questions, they were answering instead of me.  When that started to happen, the change was well on the way.  The concept of it being just ‘office hours’ was starting to dissolve.  It was the budding of a community.  People would build off other people’s questions with the desire to learn more.  People asking questions found themselves having questions about what they were doing and why more often.  If no questions were brought to the table, the regulars would share stories and interact like SharePint after SharePoint Saturday events minus the alcoholic drinks, but you get the idea.

What brought this concept to a new level was when we introduced Microsoft Teams to the entire company.  We identified multiple regulars who asked questions and asked them if they would like to become champions.  They were from multiple areas of the company such as HR, supply chain, finance, legal, retail, etc.  Once the group was formed and other regulars caught wind, people were asking to join!  The Teams Champions were treated to additional training from Microsoft and gold partners.  Online conferences using Teams to be able to lean and ask questions and so much more.  From that, many started their own office hours modeled from the one that started it all.

Tips and Tricks

1. Always be yourself. I like to think I am funny though my family reminds me I skipped the dad jokes and tell granddad jokes.  I give answers, but I don’t speak like Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
2. Have fun with it.
3. Be encouraging.  Encourage those who do ask questions to stick around, as they may hear something they like.  Encourage them to come back even if they don’t have questions.
4. Don’t answer if you don’t know.  Be honest, if they think you are going to throw shade, they won’t come back.  Remember you are doing this to make your life easier.
5. Have them drive.  Ask them to share their screen so you can walk them through the steps.  They will learn and be more appreciative than you are doing it for them.
6. Make sure your organization knows the value of your office hours.  If you get an email asking questions, just have a canned response telling them how it is an awesome question and to bring it to the office hours so others can learn the answer as well.
7. Don’t get discouraged!  I am in the fourth year of office hours.  It did not happen overnight.

Wrapped in a Bow

I have given you the formula to make this a solution within your own organization.  You can absolutely have success in supporting your company with a block of focused time like the office hours I described to you here.  This will give you a forum to support numerous people with the least amount of effort.  The journey is amazing, enjoy it!  If you have questions or comments, please leave them down below.  I would love to hear from you.

The post M365 Adoption Battle – The Meaning of Life is Community first appeared on David J Pileggi Jr: Blogging to Make a Difference.

It is great to be back, and writing once again.  I have been mulling over the content of this blog post for quite some time now.  We are one full year into the world wide situation known as a pandemic.  No matter what your views are around the current state of the world, here we are.  We, all of humanity, are rising to the challenge and will overcome this obstacle just like we have in the past.  Just like the world is changing, I am dedicating myself to changing as well.  Though my love for SharePoint is still strong, I have evolved and become quite adept with the M365 (previously known as O365) universe and will continue to forge forward.  I tend to be episodic in nature so this will be the first of two posts. This post will be to identify the common problem across the entire globe for companies due to the pandemic.  The second will take you through the steps I took to approach M365 Adoption despite the hurdles.

Current State of Affairs

Currently I work in the retail space and the pandemic has made things very real.  Just like every other company, corporation, restaurant, shop, mechanics garage, etc. we have had to reinvent ourselves and change with the times.  Like most companies, in order to remain in business, tough business decisions had to be made by leaders around the world.  People lost jobs to either layoffs or temporarily to furloughs.  It was no different for us.  We too, had to tighten our belt several loops tighter.  For those of you who fell on the receiving end, I hope that you land on your feet in a better place than before the pandemic hit.

Please understand, it is not just the company I work at.  It is most likely every company around the globe that currently does not have the appropriate staff to deal with the instant need to support their staff working from home.  I would be totally shocked if not every IT across the globe has taken hits in their staff count.  Why? We are infrastructure.  We are not the ones in most cases to make money for the company.  Not directly any ways.  As much as it hurts, the fact of the matter is, “Business is business.”  The safety of the many fall on the shoulders of the few.  This is what I tell myself at least, lest I lose sight of the bigger picture.  It just does not mean I have to like it. The companies that have been able to weather the storm have areas being held together with a skeleton crew that metaphorically has osteoporosis of a 100 year old person who never had milk or calcium in their diet ever.

A few years back, I found myself in a place where my knowledge was needed to be shared with everyone in the company.  The need did not overwhelm as the use of the tools was not needed or mandatory.  Going into the office was the norm and working from home, not so much.  Despite being short staffed for the size of the company, our team was able to handle the workload.

Enter the COVID-19 pandemic. People who had never used SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams or even logged into M365 portal even once, found themselves being forced into working from home.  They needed to use this tool called M365 to help drive business and continue to thrive during these sparse times due to the lack of traffic flow to brick and mortar stores.  Working from home became the instant norm for everyone except essential workers.  Fortunately, with the assistance of my director, more than 3 years ago, I came up with a way to make myself available to nearly 25,000 fellow associates (employees) to teach and train them up on how to use the tools available in M365. I was fortunate to have started this foundation before the quarantine.  To totally steal, I mean permanently borrow a famous movie quote, “If I build it, they will come.” (Psst! We will go over this in the next post)

Conclusion

IT staffs before the pandemic were already wearing multiple hats.  Fortunately the focus for the IT worker was to  maintain the status quo, with well planned and thought out projects to allow for expanding or improving what was already in place.  Once the pandemic hit, there was no planning, no gathering of resources, nor careful time allotment.  The only choice was to move forward and require employees to work from home.  Even if that was never on the radar to begin with.  It was either work from home or the business would ultimately fail and have to close it’s doors.  Reinvention was the new norm, but how do you train such an influx of individuals to use M365 when they were used to going into the office, having their mapped drives readily available?  In part 2, I will go into the solution our company used in detail.

The post M365 Adoption Battle – Welcome to the Pandemic Induced Pain first appeared on David J Pileggi Jr: Blogging to Make a Difference.