Hands-On | May 2024 Updates
Jo?o Ferreira
Microsoft MVP | Blogger | Book Author | Speaks and Writes about SharePoint, Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 in the Modern Workplace | Program Manager at Appspace
Dear readers,?
May was a busy month in the Microsoft world; it started with the M365 Conference and ended with Microsoft Build. In between, there was the announcement of the public preview of Microsoft Places and the announcement of the Copilot+PC that will transform how we interact with everything we see on our computers.
In May, I tried new formats to bring the latest and greatest of Microsoft content to you. On my YouTube channel, I started a new video format, commenting on and reacting to the announcements for SharePoint from the M365 Conference and Microsoft Build. For the first time, I recorded a podcast for the Appspace WX Hub where I talked about how Microsoft 365 is transforming the workplace experience.
May was also the month when, together with a few friends, we kicked off CollabDays Portugal Portugal. After several years in Lisbon, first as SharePoint Saturday and then as CollabDays Lisbon, it is now time to make it global and bring it for the first time to OPorto.
Hands-On SharePoint
If you’ve been following me for some time, you’ve probably noticed that I like to add personalized greeting messages to my intranet projects. It’s a personal touch that increases user engagement and is not hard to implement. While working on a solution to create a Greetings web part, which I’m making available for free (you can learn more about it in the Hands-On Tek section), I decided to write an article to explain how developers can retrieve the user’s name using PnP JS, thus avoiding the permissions required by Microsoft Graph.
Viva Connections continues to evolve, receiving several updates each month. In May, it introduced the ability for end-users to customize their dashboards. This is great news; if you encounter a card that isn’t relevant to you, you can now simply hide it. Additionally, May brought the OneDrive card to the dashboard, allowing easy access to your recent, shared and favorite files and also Microsoft Lists lists.
From Microsoft Build, we received the first integration of Copilot with SharePoint, and soon it will be possible to create your personalized Copilots directly from a Document Library, utilizing the information stored in your documents.
To close out the month, I’ve compiled all the latest announcements and updates for SharePoint and related technologies from the Microsoft Admin Center and the Microsoft Roadmap. One feature that really stood out to me was the new SharePoint start experience that will soon land in our tenants.
Hands-On Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Places is now available in preview. This application will transform the way we collaborate, enabling us to better plan our activities, both remotely and in the office. If your organization is interested in trying Microsoft Places, you should know that it can be made available to your users directly through Microsoft Teams.
There may be times when you need to record a 1:1 or group call in Microsoft Teams, especially when discussing important topics that you wish to reference later. It can be very frustrating to find the recording option greyed out and disabled by default. In May, I explained how an Administrator can enable recordings for these types of calls and provided a workaround for those who do not have permission to change the organization’s policies.
As usual, each month, I publish a recap post about what’s new for Microsoft Viva, the Microsoft Employee Experience platform. This month, there were some good announcements for Viva Connections and Viva Insights that you don’t want to miss.
Hands-On Lists
In April, I covered extensively the new Microsoft Forms feature that allows you to build custom forms and collect information without sharing the list with the users. This month, I returned to customizations, exploring the new embedded feature that, among other things, allow you to embed the Forms list in an item, opening them in the context of your customization.
Hands-On tek
In May, I released a preview of the new Apps and Services area at Hands-On Tek. This is a central hub where you can access the solutions I’ve been developing over the years. Although most of them are available on GitHub and featured in the PnP Community, this portal offers them compiled and ready for installation in any environment. Currently, the preview includes four solutions, with more to be added in the coming weeks.
领英推荐
With the announcement that Microsoft Places is now available for public preview, I wrote about what this new application entails and explained how tenant administrators can enable it for their organizations.
One of the AI features that caught my attention in May was the Recall feature for Windows, announced during the Copilot+PC event. Recall functions as a personal semantic index, meticulously recording your PC activities and enabling you to search through your historical actions. It’s designed to integrate seamlessly with Windows 11, requiring a Copilot+PC with specific hardware capabilities, including Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chips with NPU.
As usual, I’ve gathered all the latest releases and announcements from Microsoft for Copilot. May was a busy month, especially with updates to Viva Insights with dashboards about Copilot usage.
YouTube Channel
In May, I achieved my goal of consistently publishing videos on my YouTube channel, which has paid off as I’ve gained 1,300 subscribers. ??
To keep you informed of the latest Microsoft updates for SharePoint, I did something a little different this month: I created a video summarizing all the updates announced for SharePoint content creators at the M365 Conference in Orlando. It’s an excellent way to get all the information without having to attend in person!?
To wrap up the month, I produced a similar video for the updates from the Microsoft Build Conference. If you’re a SharePoint user, I recommend watching both to ensure you’re up-to-date with all the new announcements.
Events and Public Speaking
In May, I was selected to speak at two events where I’ll discuss Viva Connections and how to create custom cards without being a developer. On June 13, I’ll be presenting at CollabDays Madrid. This will be my first time there, and tickets are still available if you’d like to join.
I’m also thrilled to announce that later this year, I’ll be speaking at the European SharePoint Conference, this time in Sweden. Don’t miss the chance to take advantage of early bird tickets and join the largest Microsoft 365 conference in Europe.
Together with a few friends, we kicked off CollabDays Portugal . After several years in Lisbon, first as SharePoint Saturday and then as CollabDays Lisbon, it is now time to make it global and bring it for the first time to OPorto. Don't miss the opportunity to register and visit Portugal and my beautiful city. We are waiting for you on September 21.
Working at Appspace , I’m fortunate to explore new technologies like Microsoft Places and Copilot while continuing to build on top of my experience with SharePoint to Microsoft Teams.
In our latest WX Hub podcast episode, I discussed how Microsoft 365 is transforming the workplace experience and how Appspace solutions, in conjunction with Microsoft technologies, are connecting people, spaces, and places, and enhancing the overall employee experience.
See you next month ??
I hope that you have found the content to be informative and engaging. I am committed to keeping you updated with the latest trends and developments in technology and productivity. To stay connected and ensure that you don't miss any updates, I encourage you to follow me on social media.
Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to connecting with you soon. ??
Optimise the use of M365 for your organisation - one app at a time!
5 个月Amazing!!!! Thank you for sharing
Empowering Teams to Work Smarter with Microsoft 365 ? Flexible Consultancy for Optimal Operations ? Microsoft MVP with 20+ Years Experience
5 个月Great newsletter thanks for sharing Jo?o Ferreira