Microsoft May 2024 Update Digest

A. Microsoft Teams

1. Microsoft Teams: New file image previews in messages

Coming soon in Microsoft Teams: An enhanced content consumption experience in Teams chats and channels. Microsoft are about to release a series of features that will help you to identify, consume, and act on content such as files, lists, and SharePoint pages/posts. In this first release in the series, Microsoft will roll out file image previews in chats and channels, to help users better identify a file in the conversation stream. When a file (such as a JPG or PNG image file, a Microsoft PowerPoint file, or a PDF) is attached to a message in chat or a channel, users will see a small image of the file without opening the file.

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When this will happen:

Targeted Release: Microsoft will begin rolling out early June 2024 and expect to complete by early June 2024.

General Availability (Worldwide): Microsoft will begin rolling out mid-June 2024 and expect to complete by late June 2024.

General Availability (GCC): Microsoft will begin rolling out late June 2024 and expect to complete by early July 2024.

General Availability (GCC High): Microsoft will begin rolling out early July 2024 and expect to complete by late July 2024.

General Availability (DoD, USSec, and USNat): Microsoft will begin rolling out late July 2024 and expect to complete by late July 2024.

How this will affect your organization:

Image preview benefits

·???????? Quickly scan for and find the file you need

·???????? Preview part of the file content before opening it

·???????? Save time and bandwidth by avoiding unnecessary file downloads and file opens

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To use the new file image previews, users will upload or share a file in a chat or a channel, and then see an image preview of the file content (and its metadata) in the message. Users can also select the image preview to open the file.

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When a message has multiple images attached, users will be able to select one image, and then click the right arrow to page between the other attached images.

If the recipient does not have access to the file or if the file is marked Confidential, image previews will not be shown.

Teams message with image previews for three attached files:

What you need to do to prepare:

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation as appropriate.

2. Microsoft Teams: Custom emojis and reactions

In Microsoft Teams, users will be able to add their own custom emojis and reactions by uploading an image or GIF file, and their emojis and reactions will be accessible to all users in the tenant alongside the standard Teams emojis and reactions. Up to 5,000 custom emojis can be added per tenant.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 80659.

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When this will happen:

Targeted Release: Microsoft will begin rolling out late June 2024 and expect to complete by early July 2024.

Worldwide, GCC: Microsoft will begin rolling out early July 2024 and expect to complete by late July 2024.

GCC High, DoD: Microsoft will begin rolling out early August 2024 and expect to complete by late August 2024.

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How this will affect your organization:

This new custom emojis and reactions feature will be turned on by default. Users in the tenant will be able to upload emojis that are visible to the whole tenant. You can pre-emptively turn this feature off or restrict users who can create new emojis via the Teams Admin Center controls described below.

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How do I use this feature?

Custom emojis and reactions will be found in the emoji and reaction menus in the Custom category. Users with upload abilities can add new content through the plus (+) button. Users with delete abilities can right-click any custom emoji to delete. Please note that deleted emojis may take up to 24 hours to reflect for all users in the tenant. Deleted emojis may take up to 24 hours to reflect for other users.

How do I manage this feature?

This feature can be managed through the Teams Admin Center. Admins will have access to the following controls:

·???????? Turn the feature on/off for the whole tenant via the Messaging Settings page (on by default).

·???????? Set which users can create new emojis via the Messaging Policy groups (on for all users by default).

·???????? Set which users can delete emojis via the Messaging Policy groups (off for all users except admins by default).

The Teams Admin Center controls will be made available in early June. Microsoft recommend adjusting your settings as needed prior to the Targeted and Worldwide Releases in late June 2024 to ensure that they are in place when the feature rolls out.

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What you need to do to prepare:

This feature is on by default. If you would like to turn the feature off, please use the provided setting in the Messaging Settings page:

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Messaging Settings

This feature allows all users to create new emojis by default and only allows admins to delete emojis by default. If you would like to adjust emoji creation and deletion permissions, please make the appropriate changes through the Messaging Policy groups:

Emoji Creation Setting (enabled for all users by default)

Emoji Deletion Setting (only enabled for admins by default)

Additional feature capabilities:

View custom emojis in the emoji menu

Press the plus (+) menu to select an image to upload

Set a name for your emoji

Right-click on an emoji to delete or to see the creator

3. Microsoft Teams: Town hall Graph APIs

Microsoft Teams Live Events is replaced by a Teams Town Hall that allows users to create live events built on the meeting infrastructure. Town Hall will be backed by new Microsoft Graph application programming interfaces (APIs) that we expect to release at the end of May, 2024. These new Graph Town Hall APIs will help organizations programmatically do the following:

• Get, create, update, publish, and cancel Town Halls.
• Get and list Town Hall sessions.
• Get, list, create, and delete Town Hall presenters.
• Create or update Town Hall presenter profile photos.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 387128

When will this happen:

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin early July 2024 and is expected to complete mid-August 2024.

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How this will affect your organization:

Going forward, any user who wants to create a Town Hall using APIs will need to use the new set of Town Hall specific APIs.

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What you need to do to prepare:

This rollout will happen automatically with no admin action required. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation as appropriate.

4. Microsoft Teams: Easier discoverability of Workflows templates

In Microsoft Teams, when a Workflow card is received in chats or channels, users can now easily identify the workflow template that was used.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 393923

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When this will happen:

General Availability (Worldwide): Microsoft will begin rolling out early June 2024 and expect to complete by mid-July 2024.

General Availability (GCC): Microsoft will begin rolling out late September 2024 and expect to complete by late November 2024.

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How this will affect your organization:

Templates used for posting Teams cards via a workflow will now feature a footer link. This allows users to directly access and utilize the corresponding workflow template, streamlining the creation of their own Teams Workflows and enhancing efficiency in performing routine tasks.

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This capability is designed for Teams Workflows templates that post cards via the Workflows bot in chat and channels using the Post card in a chat or a channel Teams connector action.

Templates that will not include the footer are the following:

• Custom flows that did not originate from a Workflows template.
• Templates that do not use the Teams connector.
• Workflows Message Extension default actions.
• Power Automate templates that post cards outside of Teams.
• Workflows using "Post your own adaptive card as the Flow bot to a user" or "Post your own adaptive card as the Flow bot to a channel" actions.
• Cards that include an existing Power Automate footer.

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This image shows a footer link:

What you need to do to prepare:

Consider bringing awareness to your users about this change if your tenant uses Workflows to automate routine tasks.

If Admins have disabled the Workflows Teams app, this capability will also be disabled.

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5. Microsoft Teams: Unified settings and policies management in Teams admin center

To simplify Microsoft Teams IT administration, we are introducing a Unified settings and policies management experience in the Microsoft Teams admin center. Now, you'll find the search, locate, and manage settings and policies in one place, which means you won’t have to search under multiple locations in TAC to manage Teams for your users, groups, and organization

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Unified settings & policies page in Teams admin center:

When this will happen:

General Availability (Worldwide): Microsoft will begin rolling out early June 2024 and expect to complete by early July 2024.

General Availability (GCC): Microsoft will begin rolling out early September 2024 and expect to complete by late September 2024.

General Availability (GCC High): Microsoft will begin rolling out early September 2024 and expect to complete by late September 2024.

General Availability (DoD): Microsoft will begin rolling out early September 2024 and expect to complete by late September 2024.

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How this will affect your organization:

You will see this new Settings and policies option in TAC starting June 2024 and should be available to all tenants by end of July 2024.

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Tenants will see this new Settings and policies option in TAC in all Microsoft Teams commercial licenses and will be available in all regions.

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How this will affect your organization:

• The new unified settings and policy experience in Teams admin center will replace the existing separate settings and policy pages for each feature area.
• The new experience will not change the functionality or behavior of the settings and policies themselves, nor will it affect the end-user experience of Teams. It will only change how you access and manage the settings and policies in Teams admin center.
• As an IT Admin, you will see a more consistent and simplified way to configure and customize Microsoft Teams features for your organization and streamlined policies management.
• To further assist with managing settings and policies, the UI now includes additional information and guidance, such as descriptions, tooltips, documentation links, and coach marks for better clarity and support.
• You will be able to see the details of each setting and policy, such as the value, the last updated date and user, and the assigned users and groups.

What you need to do to prepare:

• Once the change reaches your tenant, you can opt-in or opt-out until you become familiar with this change.
• Watch for additional message center communication regarding the mandatory default change; at which time, the option to opt-out will no longer be available. (expected by end of September 2024).
• If you choose the new experience, the current separate tabs for?policies and settings?in Teams admin center will disappear, and the new tab?Settings & policies?will show up as the only tab to manage all your settings and policies.
• You do not need to make any changes to your existing settings and policies, as they will be automatically migrated to the new experience.
• However, you may want to review and update your settings and policies to ensure that they are aligned with your organization's needs and preferences, and that they are applied to the appropriate users and groups.

6. Microsoft Teams: Auto-create Microsoft Loop workspaces to share meeting content

Coming soon: Microsoft Teams meeting organizers of recurring meetings will be prompted in the chat to create a Microsoft Loop workspace after their meetings end. The Loop workspace helps gather shared meeting content into a central, durable Loop workspace to enable ongoing collaboration over time. As a recurring meeting series continues, additional content shared in the meeting chat will be added automatically to the initial Loop workspace.

When this will happen:

Targeted Release: Microsoft will begin rolling out mid-May?2024 and expect to complete by mid-May 2024.

General Availability (Worldwide): Microsoft will begin rolling out mid-May 2024 and complete by early June 2024.

How this will affect your organization:

After rollout, it will be easy for meeting organizers to create Loop workspaces for their meeting members and pull in shared content in the chat such as meeting recordings, Microsoft 365 content (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Whiteboards, and so on), Loop meeting notes, Loop pages, and other shared content. We will support additional content types over time.

After the meeting ends, organizers will be shown a prompt to create a Loop workspace, will be able to review and confirm workspace members as well as the shared content. After confirmation, a Loop workspace will be created, invites will be sent to the meeting members, and the shared content will be linked in a Loop workspace. As the group shares more content in a meeting series Teams chat over weeks or months, the new content will be added automatically to the workspace. Workspace members can also add other content to the workspace and can reconfigure the order of content in the left navigation pane of the Loop app.

For this initial rollout, this feature will be enabled for meeting series with 3-50 invitees. Later, Microsoft will release support for greater than 50 invitees and for Modern Groups.

After a meeting, the meeting organizer can select the prompt in the meeting chat?to create a Microsoft Loop workspace:

Naming and sharing the Loop workspace:

The meeting organizer can review a list of files shared in the meeting series and add the desired files to the workspace:?

What you need to do to prepare:

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation as appropriate.

7. Bringing mentions filter upfront and retirement of other filters in Activity Feed

To solve for discoverability and ease of usage of @Mentions in activity, The ‘@Mention’ filter along with ‘Unread’ will be displayed upfront to the users as selectable pills while the other filters will be retired.

Instead, we recommend the utilization of upfront mentions pill, which address the bullseye of filtering needs in Activity feed and is where we will continue to invest our development resources.

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When this will happen:

Targeted Release:? beginning early May 2024, and the roll out will be completed by mid-May 2024.

General Availability:? beginning late May 2024 and expect to complete by mid-June 2024.

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How this will affect your organization:

You are receiving this message because your organization may be using 'more' filters option including filters for missed calls, replies, reactions, apps in Activity Feed.

Users will no longer be able to go to 'more' filters to choose filters for missed calls, replies, reactions and apps in Activity feed while mentions filter will be brought upfront as an upfront filter pill, when this change is implemented.

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What you need to do to prepare:

Instead of using 'More' filters, we recommend using the upfront filter pills or type search.

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8. Microsoft Teams: New meeting option to control permissions for admitting participants from lobby

?Microsoft Teams: Currently, the capability to admit attendees from lobby and the capability to present are combined into one meeting role: Presenter. This frequently results in situations where meeting participants, who are not in charge of meeting management, are able to admit people from the lobby to enter the meeting, and the meeting organizer has no way to control it.

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With this feature update, we are addressing this gap by introducing a meeting option for meeting organizers to be in control of who can admit people from the lobby:

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?The new option Who can admit from lobby will have two choices:

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?1. Only the organizer and co-organizers can admit from the lobby: This is the more secure option to be used for meetings where only organizers and co-organizers should be able to admit participants from the lobby.

2. The organizer, co-organizers, and presenters can admit from the lobby (default option): This mimics the current system behavior that presenters also get the right to admit participants from the lobby.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 392836

When this will happen:

General Availability (Worldwide): Microsoft will begin rolling out early July 2024 and expect to complete by mid-July 2024.

General Availability (GCC): Microsoft will begin rolling out mid-July 2024 and expect to complete by late July 2024.

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How this will affect your organization:

Based on the above option, people who have access to admitting participants from the lobby, will also have these capabilities:

1. Receive notifications related to lobby activity, such as the lobby meeting start notifications or in-meeting lobby alerts

2. View lobby in the People tab during the meeting

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What you need to do to prepare:

No specific action is needed to enable or utilize this capability for meetings in your organization

All existing meetings will be configured with organizers, co-organizers and presenters with this capability.

For all new meetings, the organizers will have access to set this option during scheduling time.

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The default for this new meeting option can be configured by the tenant admins using the meeting policy:

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9. Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams: Unified management of Teams apps in Teams, Outlook, and the Microsoft 365 app

In 2023, Microsoft introduced Microsoft Teams apps that are compatible with Microsoft Outlook and the Microsoft 365 App (manifest version v1.13 or higher). Before this rollout, admin changes made in the Integrated apps section of the Microsoft 365 admin center would only affect these Teams apps in Outlook and the Microsoft 365 app. Similarly, changes made in the Teams admin center would exclusively affect Teams. Starting in June 2024, Microsoft will roll out Unified App Management to streamline the management of these apps across Teams, Outlook and the Microsoft 365 App, so they are consistently available across all supported clients.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID?393931.

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When this will happen:

This rollout will happen in three major phases. Unified App Management can apply only to tenants that have migrated to app centric management in Teams admin center, as communicated in MC688930?(Updated) Teams admin center: App centric management and changes to app permission policies?(November 2023).

• Phase 1 | General Availability (Worldwide): Microsoft will begin rolling out mid-July 2024 and expect to complete late August 2024: This phase applies to tenants with no modified settings in either the Microsoft 365 admin center (Integrated apps) or the Teams admin center for organization-wide defaults, app deployment, app availability, or block/unblock. No merge rules apply to these tenants, but after this phase, any app management setting configured in either admin centers will apply to all relevant hosts.
• Phase 2: Microsoft will update this post with a timeline and more details. This phase is applicable to tenants with app settings that have differences between Microsoft 365 admin center (Integrated apps) and Teams admin center, and who have maintained a single app setup policy in Teams that has a modified Installed apps section.
• Phase 3: Microsoft will update this post with a timeline and more details. This phase applies to all remaining tenants.

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How this will affect your organization:

Before this rollout, managing Teams apps that work in Outlook and the Microsoft 365 app was fragmented between the?Integrated apps page in the Microsoft 365 admin center for Outlook and the Microsoft 365 app, and the Teams admin center for Teams. This sometimes resulted in different settings for the same app in the two admin centers. With Unified App Management, Microsoft will be consolidating app catalog management into a single platform. You will be able to manage apps on the?Integrated apps?page in the Microsoft 365 admin center or in the Teams admin center, and any changes made in either admin center will synchronize.

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What you can expect

1. App catalog enhancements: Apps will start showing hosts where they are available: Teams, Outlook, or the Microsoft 365 app.
2. Organization-wide settings: App availability default settings will now apply to apps used in Teams, Outlook, and Microsoft 365 app.
3. App installs: Apps deployed from the Integrated apps page in Microsoft 365 admin center will be preinstalled in all applicable hosts for the app. Unlike app preinstallation in the Teams App setup policy, new app installs will provide access to the preinstalled apps, similar to deploying the app for Outlook and the Microsoft 365 App.?For more details on app deployment, refer to MC795355?Microsoft Teams admin center: App centric management for app installation and changes to app setup policies?(May 2024).
4. App availability: Managing app availability will apply to all applicable app hosts.
5. App block/unblock: Blocking or unblocking apps will apply to all applicable app hosts.
6. Consolidation of existing app settings: All existing app settings will be unified between Integrated apps (MAC) and Manage apps (TAC) pages. Merge rules can be found in?Manage apps that work across Teams, Outlook, and Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn. These changes cannot be rolled back.
7. Consolidation report: Phase 2 and 3 tenant administrators will have access to an on-demand report prior to the merging of app settings. This report is designed to help administrators assess the impact of merge rules on their tenant and make any adjustments in advance. We will update this MC post when the report is available.

What you need to do to prepare:

Microsoft recommends that you review app and tenant settings in the Microsoft 365 admin center and the Teams admin center. If these are managed by different departments in your organization, we recommend conducting these reviews collaboratively.

Microsoft also recommends that you review the merge rules and consider their potential impact on apps in your organization. Make any necessary adjustments to unify them in advance, if the merge rules in this message do not align with your expectations.

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to update any relevant documentation as appropriate.

10. Microsoft Teams: The Notify when available feature is now live in the new Teams app

The "Notify when available" feature, which allows Teams users to get notified when a colleague's status changes to available, is going to be available shortly in Microsoft Teams.

A Teams user in your organization can subscribe to get notifications of individuals' availability in two ways:

1) By right-clicking (or tapping "...") on a person in the chat list view, and selecting "Notify when available"

2) In a new "People" section, available in the Teams app Settings -> Notifications and activity -> People

To stop receiving notifications, you can turn them off in your app settings (#2 above).

When this will happen:

Targeted Release: Microsoft will begin rolling out mid-May 2024 and expect to complete by early June 2024.

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCCHigh, DoD): Microsoft will begin rolling out in late May 2024 and expect to complete by early June 2024.

How this will affect your organization:

By using this feature, users can receive notifications from Microsoft Teams whenever the status of a person changes, signifying that the person they are trying to collaborate with is available.

Step 1: Subscribe to a notification

Step 2: Receive notification when the person becomes available

Optional: Can unsubscribe at any time from chat list

Optional: Can manage all subscriptions to "Notify when available" in settings

What you need to do to prepare:

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout. At the moment there is no planned in-app messaging to advertise this change, however that will be assessed in the future based on customer feedback and overall discoverability.

B. SharePoint Online

1. SharePoint Online: A new Start experience

Coming soon to SharePoint Online is a new SharePoint Start experience, featuring a user-friendly approach that reduces the effort required for creating sites and pages. Creators will be able to visit the Start experience hub to refine drafts, review past work, and monitor engagement metrics.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 124824.

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When this will happen:

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, and DoD): Microsoft will begin rolling out early June 2024 and expect to complete by end of June 2024.

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How this will affect your organization:

The new SharePoint Start preview from SharePoint Home:

The reimagined SharePoint Start page:

?Explore the new SharePoint Start page:

After rollout, this feature is on by default. Admins cannot turn it off.

What you need to do to prepare:

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified dates with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation as appropriate.

2. Microsoft SharePoint: Updated Lists in Team Sites, Lists progressive web app (PWA), and Teams

This update improves the overall performance of Lists in Microsoft SharePoint and introduces new features, including the ability to add ratings to any list, drag and/or paste images directly into a list, see who is collaborating with you in real-time, switch views by clicking tabs, and more.

This rollout is a continuation of MC600726 (Updated) Microsoft Lists User Experience Update (June 2023).

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When this will happen:

Targeted Release: Microsoft will begin rolling out early February 2024 and expect to complete by late February.

Standard Release GCC, GCCHigh, DoD: Microsoft will begin rolling out late February and expect to complete by late June 2024.

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How this will affect your organization:

Users in affected tenants will see Lists feature updates as described in Microsoft Lists: Easier, Better, Faster, Stronger - Microsoft Community Hub when browsing to lists in SharePoint sites, the Lists progressive web app (PWA), and Lists in Teams. All Lists in SharePoint sites will maintain the SharePoint site's chrome, theming, and navigation. These improvements will NOT reach Lists that have been configured with these features:

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• SharePoint Framework extensions
• PowerApps forms
• Approvals
• The Playlist template
• Future rollouts will bring support for Lists that are using these features.

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What you need to do to prepare:

No action is needed to prepare for this change. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation as appropriate.

3. Microsoft SharePoint document libraries: Improved Version history controls | Preview opt-in

?Updated May 1, 2024: Note: If you receive an error "The requested operation is part of an experimental feature that is not supported in the current environment", this indicates that the feature has not reached your tenant yet.

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Version history, a critical part of Microsoft SharePoint’s built-in data protection, tells users how a file has evolved over time. Users can easily revert to an older version if business needs change or if files are damaged by user error or malware. Version storage controls allow you as admins to set an appropriate level of recoverability and auditability for your organization. Based on strong customer feedback, Microsoft will release enhanced version storage controls so you can meet your needs efficiently and at scale.

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This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 145802.

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When this will happen:

Public Preview: Microsoft will begin rolling out early May 2024 and expect to complete by late June 2024. Admins can opt into the Public Preview by running the SharePoint Online Management PowerShell cmdlet Set-SPOTenant -EnableVersionExpirationSetting $true. Please make sure that your SharePoint Online Management Shell is updated to version 16.0.24810.12000 or higher so you can run the specified cmdlets. For guidance, refer to Get started with the SharePoint Online Management Shell.

General Availability (Worldwide): Microsoft will begin rolling out late August 2024 and expect to complete by mid-October 2024.

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How this will affect your organization:

What’s New?

Microsoft is introducing new version controls that help admins and content owners reduce storage footprint driven by low value file versions. Previously, document library owners could set count-based version limits at the library level. With this rollout, Microsoft is introducing new automatic version limits that consider important factors such as age and restore probability to offer more intelligent version deleting options. Microsoft is also adding manual settings for version expiration and count limits.

Here is a summary of the new capabilities introduced with this rollout:

• New Version history limit options to meet your organization’s recovery objectives and version storage targets. Set version limits to:

Automatically optimize version recovery and storage without estimating limits; or

Manually limit versions by count or version age.

• Set default organization Version history limits on new document libraries and Microsoft OneDrive accounts for consistent version storage setting on all new libraries and OneDrive accounts created through the organization.
• Set Site or Library level Version history limits to meet specific content needs by breaking inheritance from organization defaults.
• Report on version storage use of a site or library by generating a CSV report to analyze current usage trends or impact analysis.
• Delete versions from a site or library to reduce existing version storage footprint or align with new limits.

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After this rollout completes, you can expect these changes:

1. New Version history limits settings in SharePoint admin center: Admins can set global defaults for all new libraries created in the organization. By default, the organization-level Version history limit will be set to Manually delete versions. Within the Manual limits, the default Number of major versions is set to 500 and the Time period is set to Never expire.

2. New?Version time limit?setting for Document libraries: In addition to existing?Version count limits, users can set?Version time limits?to delete versions based on age.?Version time limits?will be on the library's?Version settings?page. No change will be made to existing version limits applied to the library.

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3. New?Expiring in?column on a file's?Version history?view: Users will be able to:

• View an expiration applied to a file's versions based on the library settings
• Set individual file versions to never expire

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What you need to do to prepare:

Review updated documentation:

• Admin documentation:?Overview of Version History Limits for Document Libraries and OneDrive
• End user documentation:?Enable and configure versioning for a list or library

4. Microsoft Syntex: Microsoft SharePoint Advanced Tenant Rename feature

For organizations that need to change their Microsoft SharePoint domain name due to rebranding, mergers, acquisitions, or consolidations, Advanced Tenant Rename is now available with SharePoint Advanced Management.

With Advanced Tenant Rename, organizations with up to 100,000 total sites can change their domain name. This also offers greater control with the ability to prioritize up to 4,000 sites for early execution within the rename.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 180383

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When this will happen:

General Availability (Worldwide): Microsoft will begin rolling out late April 2024 and expect to complete by early May 2024.

How this will affect your organization:

If you choose to use Advanced Tenant Rename, this will result in all SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business URLs showing the new domain name. Some workloads may need additional actions after a rename. For those not intending to perform a rename, there will be no change.

For additional information, see Change your SharePoint domain name.

What you need to do to prepare:

If you wish to proceed with Advanced Tenant Rename, ensure you have thoroughly reviewed the public documentation first. Once you have SharePoint Advanced Management active in your organization, you can use SharePoint PowerShell to perform the rename. For those not intending to perform a rename, no action is required.

5. Retirement of Office 365 connectors from SharePoint Online Webparts

Due to limited usage, Office 365 connectors will be retired from SharePoint online webparts.

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When this will happen:

June 15, 2024: unable to create new connections.

August 1, 2024: unable to update or manage existing connections.

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How this will affect your organization:

Users will not be able to create new connections in a SharePoint online site starting June 15, 2024. Microsoft will be retiring the feature completely August 1, 2024, and users will not be able to update or manage existing configurations as well. No new notifications will be received in existing configurations as well.

What you need to do to prepare:

You may consider updating your training and documentation as appropriate.

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6. File viewer for Microsoft 365: Updates to opening non-Office files in Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint

The enhanced file viewer for Microsoft 365 offers a quick and easy way to view your files in OneDrive for the web and Microsoft SharePoint Online. Microsoft enhanced the design of the file viewer to make it more useful and intuitive. Microsoft added a new toolbar, new panes, and collaboration features. The file viewer now supports more than 300 file types.

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The enhanced file viewer has begun to roll out, and Microsoft acknowledges that their communication regarding this update has been delayed. We hope that the new productivity tool is already enhancing the experience of accessing non-Office files in OneDrive and SharePoint.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 381752.

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When this will happen:

Targeted Release: Now available.

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): Microsoft began rolling out early May 2024 and expect to complete by late May 2024.

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How this will affect your organization:

Before the rollout: The file viewer had a white background that made it challenging to focus on the content that blended into the background. The command bar was crowded with features with no room to add new features. The file navigation arrows to move from file to file were in the top right corner, and their purpose was not intuitive.

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After the rollout: The new file viewer has a dark mode background, an updated command bar, and file navigation arrows positioned in the middle of the page.

The enhanced file viewer:

What you need to do to prepare:

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified dates with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation as appropriate.

C. Exchange Online

1. Microsoft Outlook: Split view in Month view

In Microsoft Outlook for the Web and new Outlook for Windows, when viewing multiple calendars in Month view, users will be able to select Split view?to see the calendars displayed side by side.

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When this will happen:?

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out early June 2024 and expect to complete by early July 2024.

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How this will affect your organization:

Split view is already provided in Day, Week, and Work Week views. It will now be available in Month view as well. Note that multiple calendars must be selected for Split view to be a selectable option.

This new feature is available by default.

What you need to do to prepare:

This rollout will happen automatically with no admin action required. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation as appropriate.

2. New search folders supported in new Outlook for Windows and web

There are two new search folder options for new Microsoft Outlook for Windows and new Microsoft Outlook for web to expand search capabilities:?Categorized Mail?and?Mail from Specific People.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID?386903

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When this will happen:

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out mid-June 2024 and expect to complete by early July 2024.

General Availability (GCC, GCCHigh, DoD): We will begin rolling out early-July 2024 and expect to complete by late July 2024.

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How this will affect your organization:

With the introduction of the?Categorized Mail?folder option, users can now search across up to 10 categories spread across their folders, streamlining their access to categorized emails. Similarly, the introduction of the?Mail from Specific People?folder lets users locate emails from up to 10 designated individuals across their folders.

For more information, visit?Use Search Folders to find messages or other Outlook items - Microsoft Support

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What you need to do to prepare:

Users that search folders from previous versions of Outlook for Windows and web will not be automatically migrated to the new system. To use these new options, users will need to create them manually in the system.?

3.Microsoft 365 apps: Changes for updating the Windows Mail and Calendar apps to the new Outlook for Windows

Microsoft is updating the default Windows email and calendar applications, transitioning from Mail & Calendar to the new Outlook for Windows.

These include:

1. Changes to the Mail app Windows Taskbar, Start menu pins and Desktop shortcuts:

Mail app pins on the Windows Taskbar and Start menu, as well as the Mail app Desktop shortcut will be replaced with new Outlook for Windows, if the new Outlook app is freshly installed on a Windows 10 or Windows 11 device.?There will be no change to the Calendar app pins. This will not impact Mail app pins or shortcuts on devices that have new Outlook already installed. There will be no change if the new Outlook app is not installed on the device.

2. Changes to the new Outlook for Windows toggle:

The toggle in new Oulook that end users access to go back to the Mail & Calendar app will be moved from the Ribbon, where it is currently located, to the About Outlook page in Settings.

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When this will happen

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC): We will begin rolling out early June 2024 and expect to complete by mid-June 2024.

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How this will affect your organization

1. Windows 10 and Windows 11 users in your organization who have the Mail app pinned to the Taskbar and/or Start menu will see the pins replaced with new Outlook, if they get new Outlook freshly installed on their device. Mail app shortcuts on the Desktop will also be replaced with the new Outlook app in this scenario.

2. Users who are migrated into new Outlook from the Mail & Calendar applications will still have the ability to go back to those applications, like they can today. They will need to click the button in Settings > General > About Outlook, rather than clicking on the toggle in the Ribbon.

• Note: Users who have toggled into new Outlook from classic Outlook for Windows will not see any change to the toggle’s position in the ribbon. Users can also select the “Go to classic Outlook” button in the Help tab of the ribbon. More toggle troubleshooting information can be found here:?Toggling out of the new Outlook for Windows preview - Microsoft Support.

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What you need to do to prepare

1. Changes to the Mail app Windows Taskbar and Start menu pins and Desktop shortcuts:

No action is required to prepare for the rollout. When users receive this rollout, if the new Outlook is newly installed on a user’s device, their Mail app Taskbar and Start menu pins and Desktop shortcuts on Windows 10 and Windows 11 will be replaced with new Outlook. If you would like to avoid this, you can leverage the following options:

a. Unpin Mail from user’s Windows Taskbar, Start Menu and Desktop

• Manage user’s Taskbar –?Configure the Windows taskbar - Configure Windows | Microsoft Learn
• Manage user’s Start menu –?Configure the Start menu - Configure Windows | Microsoft Learn

b. Prevent new Outlook from being installed on user’s devices -?Deployment overview for the new Outlook for Windows - Deploy Office | Microsoft Learn

c. Uninstall Mail app from user’s devices –?Uninstall applications - Configuration Manager | Microsoft Learn

?2. Changes to the new Outlook for Windows toggle: No action is required to prepare for the rollout.

4. Microsoft Defender for Office 365: Tenant Allow/Block List will support blocking top-level domains and subdomains

This message applies to customers with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 or Plan 2.

Soon, you will be able to block sender emails based on their top-level domain by creating block entries in the Tenant Allow/Block List in Microsoft Defender XDR.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 389853.

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When this will happen:

This change will start rolling out in late May 2024 and should be completed by late June 2024.

How this will affect your organization:

Before the rollout: You are unable to block incoming emails from sender email addresses by blocking top level domains or subdomains in the Tenant Allow/Block List.

After this rollout, you will be able to create entries in the Tenant Allow/Block List (via the Microsoft XDR portal or the PowerShell), using the format *.<TLD>, where <TLD> can be any top-level domain such as .net, .biz, .io, .movie, country codes like .in, .us, .ru, and so on. Entries will not be case sensitive and can be uppercase, lowercase, or mixed case.

The top-level domain entries will block all emails received from or sent to any email address or subdomain related to *.<TLD> during mail flow. Inbound emails will be quarantined like other blocked domains and addresses, and outbound emails will be rejected with non-delivery receipt clearly indicating the reason.

This rollout also provides support for subdomain blocking. You can create entries in the following format for subdomains .SD1.TLD, .SD2.SD1.TLD, *.SD3.SD2.SD1.TLD, and similar patterns.

This rollout will not affect your existing Tenant Allow/Block List entries.

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What you need to do to prepare:

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified dates with no admin action required before the rollout. Your existing Tenant Allow/Block List entries as it won't be affected.

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5. Microsoft Defender for Office 365: Reported mailbox notifications messages subject change

?Currently, in Microsoft Defender for Office 365, when a notification message is reported by an end user and arrives at the?reporting mailbox, the subject lines begin with:

• "1|" to denote email messages reported as junk.
• "2|" to denote email messages reported as not junk.
• "3|" to denote email messages reported as phishing.

Moving forward, the subject lines of notification messages reported by end users will start with

• "Junk:" to denote email messages reported as junk.
• "Not junk:" to denote email messages reported as not junk.
• "Phishing:" to denote email messages reported as phishing.

This change is being made to ensure readability and enable you to?create better rules?inside your reporting mailbox.

The subject line for the team's end-user reported notification messages will remain the same, continuing to start with "Security risk:"

When will this happen:

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): We will begin rolling out late May 2024 and expect to complete mid-June 2024.

How this will affect your organization:

After the rollout is complete, notification messages reported by end users will be affected. However, notification messages reported by end users prior to the rollout will remain unchanged.

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What you need to do to prepare:

No action is required on your part. There won't be any change to your existing?user reported settings.

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Thank you,

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