Athen Tech Bytes – May Edition I

Step right into another thrilling technical edition of our newsletter!

In the upcoming editions, we're excited to embark on a journey delving into the latest developments in React, SharePoint and Teams. Prepare to ignite your creativity and supercharge your productivity with these innovative advancements!

Spotlight:

1. What’s New in Microsoft Teams
2. SharePoint Framework Update ISVs from the Store
3. Revolutionizing React: A Deep Dive into the Game-Changing Features of React 19

What’s New in Microsoft Teams

Explore the latest enhancements to Microsoft Teams, crafted to elevate productivity across the board. With improved chat features and streamlined meeting experiences, there's something for everyone, from regular users to IT administrators and frontline managers. At Athen, we're excited to leverage these upgrades to enhance collaboration, communication, and efficiency within our teams, ultimately driving better outcomes for our projects.

Chat and Collaboration:

• Engage in multi-turn conversations with Copilot for more dynamic interactions.
• Customize your channel list by hiding the general channel, reducing clutter.
• Personalize group chat profiles with custom images for a more inclusive experience.
• Simplify file attachments with context-based suggestions, saving time and effort.
• Experience clear communication with voice isolation, eliminating background noise.

Meetings:

• Stay organized with calendar notifications integrated into Teams.
• Manage Copilot access during and after meetings with improved admin controls.

Webinars and Town Halls:

• Enhance inclusivity with improved live translated captions and Q&A notifications.

Teams Phone:

• Choose notification preferences for incoming calls and meeting nudges in Teams Phone Mobile.
• Access shared call history for greater transparency and collaboration.

Teams Rooms and Devices:

• Explore a variety of certified Teams devices easily with the in-app device store.
• Ensure security with required meeting ID and passcode configurations for Teams Rooms.
• Enjoy sharper presentations with 4K display support on Teams Rooms for Windows.

IT Administration and Security:

• Fine-tune presenter role permissions to enhance meeting control.

Frontline Worker Solutions:

• Customize multiple instances of an app to meet diverse business needs.
• Simplify schedule imports with improved Excel integration in the Shifts app.
• Utilize new task publishing features to enhance worker visibility and task management.

Sign in with ease:

• Streamline sign-in processes with pre-populated domains on Teams for iOS and Android.
• These updates aim to streamline your Teams experience, empowering you to collaborate effectively and achieve more.
• Explore the possibilities and maximize your productivity with Microsoft Teams.

Reference: Click here to view the details

SharePoint Framework Update ISVs from the Store

Exciting news! There's been a significant surge in the adoption of SharePoint Framework (SPFx) for crafting custom experiences tailored to Microsoft Viva and SharePoint. At Athen, embracing innovative tools like SPFx is seen as essential for enhancing productivity and user experiences in the digital workplace.

What's New in SPFx?

• Charts in Viva Connections: Coming soon! SPFx 1.19 will empower you to integrate data visualizations into Viva Connections seamlessly.
• Simpler Sign-in: Older sign-in methods are being phased out, making access to SPFx solutions more straightforward for users. (Rest assured, this transition won't impact existing solutions.)
• More Features: SPFx 1.18 introduces additional features aimed at enhancing your ability to create robust solutions.
• Viva Connections Support: Easily target Viva Connections with your SPFx solutions.
• Work Across Microsoft 365: Extend your solutions to Teams, Viva, Outlook, and more with SPFx 1.16.
• Streamlined Packaging: Developing solutions for various parts of Microsoft 365 has become more streamlined.
• Coming Soon: SPFx in Teams Store: Anticipate the availability of SPFx solutions in the Teams store soon! Customize Lists & Libraries: Soon, SPFx will enable customization of list and library creation, editing, and viewing experiences.

AI is Coming!

Exciting developments are underway to integrate AI capabilities with SPFx later in 2024. Stay tuned for further details at Microsoft Build 2024!

The Future of SPFx

Microsoft is dedicated to making SPFx the premier platform for crafting custom solutions tailored to Microsoft Viva, Teams, SharePoint, and beyond. With SPFx, you can empower users to be more productive and innovative!

Reference: Click here to view the details

Revolutionizing React: A Deep Dive into the Game-Changing Features of React 19

Get ready to optimize your web development workflow! The latest preview of .NET 9 promises to revolutionize web development workflows with its array of enhancements. At Athen, we're eager to explore how these updates can streamline our development processes, boost efficiency, and ultimately deliver better results for our projects.

• Actions: React 19 simplifies data mutation handling with async functions, automatically managing pending states, errors, and optimistic updates.
• New API: use: Introducing the use API for resource reading in render, enhancing component flexibility.

Improvements:

• New function components no longer require forward Ref, streamlining component development.
• Enhanced error reporting for hydration errors in react-dom.
• Support for Document Metadata and stylesheets, improving composability and rendering efficiency.
• Cleanup functions for refs: React 19 introduces cleanup functions for refs, enhancing component unmounting processes.
• Support for async scripts: Better support for async scripts allows for smoother integration within component trees.
• Support for preloading resources: React 19 includes APIs for optimizing resource loading and enhancing performance.
• Compatibility with third-party scripts and extensions: Improved hydration accounts for third-party scripts and browser extensions, reducing errors.
• Better error reporting: Error handling enhancements provide clearer reporting and options for error recovery.
• Support for Custom Elements: Full support for Custom Elements is added, improving interoperability.
• These updates empower developers with more efficient, flexible, and error resilient React applications.

Reference: Click here to view the details

We're thrilled to have you here! Unlock the potential of SharePoint, Teams, and React.js as you embark on a journey of boundless innovation. Get ready to power up for an unforgettable adventure!