Blog posts

Microsoft Teams Preview

Microsoft Teams Preview is being rolled out for Education tenants.

You can now opt in to get Teams previews by completing the registration form at https://forms.office.com/e/yFmnU9fuMA

This will add you to the group which has the preview policy applied. Once available on our tenant you will be able to switch to Preview mode using the toggle switch on the main title bar in the Teams client for Windows.

Please note that this applies to both Windows and Mac OS clients (as of 01/09/2023).

You can find out more about the Teams Preview by visiting the Microsoft Adoption Pages at this link … New Microsoft Teams (Preview) – Microsoft Adoption

Present Local PowerPoint files as PowerPoint Live in Teams

The “Present in Teams” button in the PowerPoint app is being extended to PowerPoint files that are not stored in Microsoft 365 Clouds.

You will be able to use the “Present in Teams” button in the PowerPoint for Window app to present via PowerPoint Live in your Teams meetings, even if your file is not stored in Microsoft 365 Clouds. This is a new PowerPoint Live entry point for those files, in addition to the “Browse my computer” button in Teams Share tray. Clicking the “Present in Teams” button first leads you to the Save As dialog to store the file to the Microsoft 365 Cloud. Once the file is saved, we’ll automatically trigger PowerPoint Live to present your file in your current Teams meeting.

 

Image of the "Present in Teams" button in PowerPoint
Image of the “Present in Teams” button in PowerPoint

 

Screenshot showing the save to cloud function invoked when using Present to Teams on a local file.
Image showing the save to cloud function


For whom?

This update is only available currently to the PowerPoint app for Windows and is not available in the Mac app yet.

When?

Release is planned for the end of July 2023.


ICT Service Desk Changes – 26 June 2023

Changes to how you contact the ICT Service Desk

ICT are introducing changes to ASK (ServiceNow) to improve how our staff, students, and external customers interact with the ICT Service Desk.

From Monday 26 June, the following changes will be implemented:

  1. Emailing service.desk(at)imperial.ac.uk will no longer automatically create new tickets in ASK.
  2. Improvements to ASK, our online service portal including a new general ICT enquiries form used to access general IT support.
  3. New service status on ASK, displaying ICT services that are unavailable.
  4. New customer facing ASK portal for prospective students and suppliers to submit IT enquires.

 

Why are ICT making these changes?

This work will reduce the reliance on email, providing an efficient, more seamless user experience, with tickets going directly to the right team. It also sets the foundations towards ICT’s vision of a simple, user-friendly portal where staff and students can benefit from knowledge articles, live service status updates and quicker resolution time using automated forms.

ICT’s vision is to continue to improve ASK so that it is a useful resource for all staff and students to find solutions and seek ICT support. You can follow our progress by reading our Cross Functional Product release notes.

Visit ICT’s changes to how you contact ICT Service Desk web page for the latest information including how this change impacts you, the benefits, how you can help and an FAQ section which will be updated in line with feedback from our user testing group.

Yammer rebranding to Viva Engage

Yammer will be rebranded to Viva Engage. Microsoft are beginning the web rebranding exercise in late June and expect it to be complete by mid-July.

Rebranding has already completed for the mobile apps – so if you had the Yammer app on your phone or tablet then it will already have been updated and rebranded to Viva Engage.

When you sign in to Yammer following the completion of the rebranding exercise you will see a notification like this …

 

Image of the Yammer to Viva Engage rebranding message
Yammer to Viva Engage message that will be seen on completion of the rebranding.



There is no work required by users for this to happen – it will automatically update.  All the existing Yammer features will continue to work in Viva Engage.

 

Integrations with other ares of Microsoft 365.

If you are looking to utilise Yammer in Teams then you may need to look for Viva Engage instead.

The Power Automate integration to Yammer will soon be updated to reflect the rebranding to Viva Engage,

Effective Hybrid Meetings on Teams

While reviewing a Yammer (soon to be Viva Engage) community that I am involved in, I came across the following actions that you can take when hosting or participating in meetings to make them effective Hybrid meetings that work like “charms” …

 

CHARMS for Remote and Hybrid Meetings
The six CHARMS to making Teams meetings effective

 

When you join a Teams meeting whether you are joining in person or remotely, use a personal device to join the meeting (ensuring that you are muted if in a meeting room).  This will allow you to then …

 

  1. Join in small talk

    You can use the chat function on your personal device (laptop, tablet or phone) to directly engage with others in the meeting using the chat function.

  2. Participate via chat or by using the hand raise feature

    Ask questions or post suitable information using the chat, or “raise your hand” and when called upon, provide a verbal update.

  3. Pin a participant

    Not so that you can throw darts at them!  Rather to keep the participant in focus – especially useful in a large meeting.

  4. Recognize who is talking

    Transcription will detect who is speaking – so if you use your device it will correctly attribute your comments in the transcription and live captions to you.

  5. Turn on Live captions

    Live captions provide a brilliant way to keep up with who is saying what in a meeting, and for those with accessibility issues they provide a vital additional means of knowing what is going on.

  6. React using emojis

    Emojis add fun and also provide a great way to show recognition, appreciation and engagement.

Work Hours and Location

Setting your Work Hours and Locations for “Hybrid Working”

Did you know that you can now set your work hours and location (Office vs Remote) in Outlook on the web?

This can be really helpful for your colleagues who when organising meetings will be able to see whether you are working remotely or in the office and plan accordingly.

 

To set your hours and location head to Outlook in a web browser (Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge give the best experience). Once in Outlook on the web click on the cog wheel near your profile photo or initials and choose “View all Outlook Settings”.

 

In the resulting settings box choose Calendar and at the bottom of the Calendar options you will find Work Hours and Locations. Click on this and then you can set your work hours and locations. You can even set up “split days” with part remote and part office based locations.

 

Screenshot showing setting of work hours and locations in Outlook Web Access
How to set your work hours and locations



Once you have set your options and clicked Save, your location will appear beside your name in the Scheduling Assistant in Outlook on the Web. There are plans to roll this out to Outlook Desktop and Mobile clients in the future, but for now it just shows up in Outlook on the Web.

Screenshot showing what others see when using the scheduling assistant in Outlook Web Access and where a user has work location set
How work locations show up in the scheduling assistant in OWA

 

Pronouns in Microsoft 365

The new Pronouns feature has arrived for Teams and will be rolling out across contact cards in Microsoft 365 more widely in the coming months.

Using the Pronouns option allows you to easily add your preferred set of Pronouns, either from the suggested set, or by creating your own.

Adding Pronouns is easy to achieve by following these few steps …

1. Click on your profile picture / initials in MS Teams

2. Click on your name to go into the profile “card” where more information about you is available.

3. Underneath your display name there is a “+Pronouns” button (or your chosen pronouns if you have already done this at least once.

 

Screenshot showing how to get to the pronouns feature on your M365 digital contact card
Where to find the pronouns feature


4. Click on the Pronouns button and choose the prnouns that you wish to add.

 

Screenshot showing how to set the pronouns of your choosing
Pronoun setting page



5. Click Save to complete the update of your Pronouns.

Mental Health Awareness Week 2023 – Viva Insights

Have you discovered the free tools available to you in Viva Insights?

What is Viva Insights?

Viva Insights is the new brand name for what was “My analytics” but it’s been built upon and extended to provide much more in the way of resources to help you as an individual to get that work / life balance and to build your mental health.

How do I get Viva Insights?

All staff at College are licensed for Viva Insights and it’s free to use.
Go to Teams and click on the Apps button and search for Viva Insights.  Choose to add Viva Insights by clicking on the Viva Insights app and then choose “Open”. Viva Insights will then open up and you’ll have Home, Wellbeing, Productivity and Teamwork down the left side.

What’s Inside?

The Home page contains an Inspiration Library (click see more and then see all) with pieces focussing on Wellbeing, Culture, Impact and Resilience.
On the Wellbeing page you can set up a “virtual commute”, and set a daily focus plan – giving you that much needed time set aside in your day to focus without meetings or distractions.
Focus time sets your presence to “Do Not Disturb” so you won’t be bothered with calls or notifications from Teams.
The virtual commute can give you a short but useful time to change from work mode to personal mode – something we used to do on our commute home from the office.  You’ll get a chance to review how you are feeling, look at what’s coming up tomorrow (and plan appropriately) and there’s an optional headspace meditation section, to focus on breathing and putting aside work.
The Productivity page shows you your personal meeting habits and the areas that might need focus.  Do you always include an agenda with meeting invitations?  Do you focus in meetings or are you distracted by other things such a email?  Do you join meetings on time?  All the information within the productivity page is personal to you and NOONE else sees that.
The Teamwork page gives you visibility of your interaction with work colleagues.  It shows your network of work relationships and who is moving in and out of your “inner circle”.

Find Out More

Find out more at about Viva Insights on Microsoft’s support page (Viva Insights in Teams and on the web – Microsoft Support) and see how to set up the app on this Microsoft page (Discover and pin the Viva Insights app – Microsoft Support)

Updating your Device(s)

ICT actively encourages users to regularly update devices for a number of reasons …

 

    1. Security patches and updates
    2. Device health
    3. Compatibility with applications and services
    4. Latest features and functionality

 

All of the reasons are important, but in a world where we now work on the basis of “zero trust”, security is of paramount importance.

 

Suppliers and software application work on a similar basis of “trust no-one” and “keep the device up to date”.

 

Many applications will only work on a limited subset of previous versions.  Most of the major software companies, including Microsoft, work on the basis of supporting apps to run on the current and one or two previous versions.

 

On 1st March 2023, Microsoft Teams will only work on iOS 15 and higher.  This ensures security and functionality stay “in step” and provides the best experience to you.

 

If you use Microsoft Teams on any iOS device that has a version of 14 or lower then you should be updating the operating system to the latest version possible for your device so that you can continue to work.  This will also ensure that you have the latest security patches and updates and are not putting yourself or others at undue risk.

 

Updating your device is simple and easy.  Head to the device settings and under General look for Software Update.  Ideally you should turn on automatic updates.  Update your device or upgrade to the latest iOS 16.

SharePoint – Essentials

The Microsoft 365 suite contains many powerful tools and services.  SharePoint is the most fundamental in delivering storage to support almost all these services.

SharePoint can, however, be confusing so in this blog post we’ll aim to try and clear up some of the confusion.

If you take only one thing from reading this post it should be this …

    • One Drive for Business is for Personal file storage.
    • SharePoint is for group files.
    • SharePoint is for much more than just storing group files.

So let’s dig into this a bit more …

 

1. Fundamentals.

SharePoint is NOT just another file share (or the place where your group files are going to be moved to)!  SharePoint contains many useful elements and for some it is the versatile swiss army knife of collaboration.

A SharePoint site can not only deliver file storage so that you and your work group, department or faculty can work together on files.  It can also deliver pages of information, news, and act as a landing page for your team where they can discover what’s happening and see updated information.

For this to work, you are going to need to understand some other concepts and have people who are prepared to manage and update the site and pages.

 

2. OneDrive for Business vs SharePoint.

 

As already stated, OneDrive for Business (ODfB) is for personal file storage.  ODfB is NOT for long term sharing or storage of group files.

You can see our One Drive for Business Basics blog here.

SharePoint is the place for Group files and group working.

 

3. What’s a Site, a Page, a Document Library and a Web Part?

 

SharePoint Site – is the collection of pages, documents and information delivered as a managed area where you can set specific access rights for a group of users.

Page – is a webpage in the SharePoint site.  You can deliver information and dynamic access using “web parts”.  A web part is a function which can help you to show information such as a time in a different location, weather or a collection of files or other useful elements.

Document Library – this is a storage space where you can group files and then grant access to a group of people to the whole library.  So for example you might want to include different sets of useful information or files into a discreet document library – e.g. finance files in a separate document library from HR files or work instructions, or maybe you want a more easily accessible video library of meeting recordings or training videos.

Web Part – this is a small piece of pre-written code that is built to work on a SharePoint page to allow you to deliver some specific information.

 

4. Security in SharePoint

 

When a SharePoint site is created it comes with three default groups – the Owners, Members and Visitors groups.

Owners – these are the people responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the site.  They have the ability to add people to the other groups (Members and Visitors), create new groups and add people to those groups, change the access controls and generally have a large range of controls.

Members – these are the regular collaborating users in the group / department / faculty.  They generally have edit access to the site so can potentially add and update new pages, add, edit and delete files from document libraries and see what is in the site.

Visitors – the people added to the visitors group usually have “read only” permission – so they can read pages of information and view files within the document library, but they can’t edit the files.

So the default permissions are …

Site Owners = Full Control
Site Members = Edit
Site Visitors = Read

It is possible to change the access for a page or a file so that a restricted set of people have access, or to grant additional people access to a resource within the SharePoint site.

The other permissions that can commonly be granted to users or groups of users are as follows:

Full Control – Has full control
Design – Can view, add, update, delete, approve, and customize
Edit – Can add, edit and delete lists; can view, add, update and delete list items and documents
Contribute – Can view, add, update, and delete list items and documents
Read – Can view pages and list items and download documents
View – Can view pages, list items, and documents but not download

NOTE the difference between Read and View – a user with view access cannot download a document but someone with Read access can!

 

5. Metadata

 

Metadata is a means of filtering or refining a data set.  So in SharePoint that might be a list of recordings, but with metadata you can filter based on the subject covered, etc.  In the exaple shown below we have added a column to contain metadata about the subjects covered in some videos.

 

Image of a SharePoint library showing metadata

 

6. Syncing

 

The simple rule here is … DON’T Sync SharePoint libraries.

SharePoint document libraries are generally VERY large.  When you sync a document library (or add a shortcut to OneDrive for Business) then the library or shortcut linked area get synced using the OneDrive for Business sync client.

If you have a whole department’s or research group’s files in a SharePoint document library then you also run the risk of accidental deletion and potentially then not being able to recover files.

As an example, after syncing just 35,000 files from a library containing 230,000 files,  it took over 2 hours to “un-sync” the library!  That’s on a VERY fast (1.2Gbps) fibre optic internet connection with zero contention.

Microsoft’sown documentation has limits and guidance on the total number of files that you should sync across One Drive for Business and synced SharePoint libraries (your “sync set”).  Many SharePoint libraries would breach this recommendation in their own right, let alone as part of a larger “sync set”.

Imperial ICT do NOT recommend syncing of SharePoint document libraries and in fact on many SharePoint sites the functionality is disabled to prevent offline file storage (synced files).