SharePoint roadmap pitstop – October 2024
I and Count Dracula 365 (you’ll hear my alter ego nudge his way into the podcast episode several times), are excited to bring you a roadmap pitstop filled with jump ScarePoint agents, Little Shop of Clipchamps, chilling OneDrive reanimations, eerie amplified Amplify amplifications, and more.
Yessssssssssss (in the voice the slithering snake, Kaa, from Disney’s “The Jungle Book”), October 2024 brought many spooky and exciting updates – no bones about it (ok, a skull or two, maybe): Copilot agents in SharePoint, Clipchamp for Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, Copilot in Viva Amplify, SharePoint eSignature: Adobe Acrobat Sign and Docusign integration, SharePoint: Design Ideas, Microsoft Lists: Add approvals to any list, Copilot agents in OneDrive (announced), Colorful folders in Windows File Explorer, SharePoint list and library rules will now send notifications from the no-reply@sharepointonline.com email address, New Planner for the Web, Teams new calendar experience, and more. Mwah hah ha ha haaaaah!!!
Details and screenshots below, including our audible companion: The Intrazone Roadmap Pitstop: October 2024 podcast episode – all to help answer, “What’s rolling out now for SharePoint and related technologies into Microsoft 365?”, plus a few audio snippets from the OneDrive October 8th, 2024 event, a new tech song for SharePoint Advanced Management: “SAM – Copiloting Securely” (thanks Dustin Willard), and vonderful visits from my aforementioned vampiric friend, Count Dracula 365!
All features listed below began rolling out to Targeted Release customers in Microsoft 365 as of October 2024 (possibly early November 2024).
Inform and engage with dynamic employee experiences.
Build your intelligent intranet on SharePoint in Microsoft 365 and get the benefits of investing in business outcomes – reducing IT and development costs, increasing business speed and agility, and up-leveling the dynamic, personalized, and welcoming nature of your intranet.
Copilot agents in SharePoint
Copilot agents in SharePoint work for you, your team, and people you work with across your organization to help enhance knowledge sharing and teamwork. In a single click, create and share a Copilot agent in SharePoint, grounded in only the information you want.
From your SharePoint document library, select only the folders or files you want. Agents reason over the scoped set of SharePoint content to answer your questions, summarize information, or provide valuable insights, giving the most current and accurate response.
Copilot agents are automatically enabled in every SharePoint site. And then you can create additional agents with specific purposes, grounded by other content – other document libraries – to serve the purpose of sharing knowledge, without you being the copy/paste/respond person tied to email and chat; create an agent to work for you.
Note: Targeted release is coming soon; look for more availability details in November 2024.
Learn more: “Microsoft 365 Copilot agents in SharePoint” (adoption.microsoft.com)
Microsoft Clipchamp is launching for Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 commercial subscriptions (for business)
Clipchamp is a video editing tool and it’s coming to Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 subscriptions. It will be accessible via its Windows app or on desktops through Edge or Chrome browsers. Users can edit videos in OneDrive or SharePoint, and it will appear activated in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
One new way to get to Clipchamp is to type in: Microsoft365.com/launch/clipchamp – which takes you to its new start page, bringing Stream and Clipchamp home pages closer together.
You’ll see the ability to upload videos, start a web-based screen recording session, create a playlist, start a new video project – where you can add videos, text, music, produce AI-generated voiceovers – with a range of 400 voices in a variety of languages to narrate any video, and more.
MC-ID: MC823281
Clipchamp Help content.
Microsoft 365 Copilot in Microsoft Viva Amplify
Our goal here is to enhance your authoring experience with AI. That’s why we’re bringing Copilot into Viva Amplify. It will be available in the Campaign Brief and Publication authoring canvases.
Microsoft 365 Copilot in Viva Amplify helps you find the best wording to make sure your publications communicate your message effectively.
With our Copilot editor experience, by selecting the rewrite capability, Copilot will suggest diverse ways to rewrite your content, providing options that vary in style, structure, and emphasis. Copilot allows you to shorten or expand your content based on your needs. You can tailor your text to meet word counts without compromising quality. Copilot helps you shift the tone of your writing. The Viva Amplify Copilot rich text editor (RTE) supports the following tones: Casual, Professional, Enthusiastic, Engaging, and Creative.
Some important news: A Microsoft 365 Copilot license is not required to use this new feature. If you have a Viva Amplify license through Microsoft Viva Suite, Microsoft Viva Communications and Communities, or another Viva license, you can use Copilot in Viva Amplify. NOTE: A customer that has a Viva Amplify license but does not have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license will not have access to Copilot on Microsoft SharePoint pages.
This feature is available by default for all Viva Amplify users in the web/desktop experience. Note: Amplify on mobile iOS and Android applications is currently out of scope. Last, a reminder: Disabling Copilot only exists at the tenant level.
Roadmap ID 411300.
SharePoint eSignature: Adobe Acrobat Sign and Docusign integration, rolling out globally
Now you can eSign with choice. It is now possible to use third-party providers, wherever they are supported. You are no longer required to enable native SharePoint eSignature as a prerequisite for enabling either Docusign or Adobe Acrobat Sign.
Microsoft 365 admins can enable a third-party eSign provider without enabling native SharePoint eSignature, and vice versa – here showing SharePoint eSignature and Adobe Acrobat Sign selected – to enable them both for their user base.
From a deployment and enablement perspective, you do have to set up Pay-as-you-go to enable SharePoint eSignature, but Microsoft will not charge customers for using third-party providers. Admins need to enable the feature in the Microsoft admin center at Setup > Automate content with Syntex> Go to Syntex > eSignature – and then admins can enable a third-party provider without enabling native SharePoint eSignature, and vice versa.
Once configured, Microsoft 365 users who have licenses with Adobe Acrobat Sign or Docusign will be able to initiate eSignature requests with these providers directly from SharePoint within Microsoft 365.
Roadmap ID 421194.
Learn more (blog)
Teamwork updates across SharePoint team sites, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams
Microsoft 365 is designed to be a universal toolkit for teamwork – to give you the right tools for the right task, along with common services to help you seamlessly work across applications. SharePoint is the intelligent content service that powers teamwork – to better collaborate on proposals, projects, and campaigns throughout your organization – with integration across Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, Yammer, Stream, Planner and much more.
SharePoint: Design Ideas is now available.
SharePoint page authors and editors will now be able to use Design Ideas on their compatible sections – to enhance sections with new layouts and formatting. Design Ideas identifies the text and webpart content of the section and suggests new layouts, backgrounds, text formatting, and image webparts to enhance the section. You can then select the suggestions to apply them.
When you click into a new section with one blank text webpart, Design Ideas will offer formatting options that you can add to get started. After your section has additional content, Design Ideas will summarize your text to provide appropriate image webparts and background suggestions along with basic text formatting.
Once your section has additional content, Design ideas will then summarize your text to provide appropriate image webpart and background suggestions, along with basic text formatting.
Message ID: MC908121
Microsoft Lists: Add approvals to any list.
This gives you the ability to configure Approvals by going to the Automate dropdown from the command bar in the Lists app, or if you’re working directly in SharePoint. Approvals will be actioned and available from Microsoft Teams. Note that disabling approvals will only hide the relevant columns and in-progress approvals will still be actionable in Teams. At any time, you can manually add approvals columns back into views.
Turning on approvals will add the approval status column to the current view. Users will be able to select an item and enter approval details, submit a request, and generate a Teams notification to the desired approver.
After Approvals are enabled, a user can create a list item and submit it for approval. By creating an approval request and specifying the approver, the request will appear in the Approvals app in Teams or can be approved directly within the list. Once approved, the list item status gets updated.
And there’s a nice fail-safe feature the team built in. If a list item was sent through a review/approval process, and was approved – any change to the item post approval will trigger a warning pop-up that lets the person know that this amount, or date, or status change has been approved and shouldn’t be adjusted; to maintain good governance and process – all auditable throughout the entire review and approval process.
Message ID: MC757613
OneDrive Oct. 8th event + announcements
OneDrive is your gateway to seamlessly managing files, photos, and memories across work, home, and everywhere in between – like your favorite coffee shop. OneDrive is transforming how the world collaborates, stores, and connects.
At the OneDrive event , the team unveiled a great lineup of new features designed to help you work smarter, stay organized, and relive life’s best moments – all through the magic of AI. Whether you’re an IT Pro managing enterprise-grade compliance or a parent organizing family memories, OneDrive has you covered.
Copilot agents in OneDrive: You’ll be able to gather relevant files, documents, and data into a powerful, shareable assistant that knows everything about your project.
Updated Document Libraries: Coming mid-next year, we’ll be making significant improvements to the document library experience – making it easier and faster to navigate, switch to and create custom views, and filter large data sets.
Site Policy Comparison Report: We’re introducing the AI-driven site policy comparison report. With a few clicks, you can identify comparable sites and which policies they are missing, to ensure your organization remains compliant. This will be in public preview at the end of 2024.
Microsoft Graph Data Connect (MGDC): We’ve improved our OneDrive Sync Health Reports by integrating them with MGDC, allowing admins to export data into Power BI or Excel for customized reports. Now available in public preview.
Read the full blog, “Welcome to the New Era of Microsoft OneDrive: AI, Productivity, and Memories at Your Fingertips” by Jason Moore (VP of OneDrive, Microsoft)
OneDrive: Colorful folders, in the OneDrive folder, are coming to the Microsoft Windows File Explorer
That’s right, Explorer.exe gets a full spectrum of light into your desktop folders. You will be able to see folder colors applied from OneDrive on the web in your OneDrive folder in File Explorer; and you can adjust them in File Explorer by right clicking a folder name and then selecting OneDrive > Folder color.
OneDrive is now extending support for colored folders to Windows File Explorer.
It really uplevels the look and feel and useability of your folders, especially as you start to establish what distinct colors mean to your way of working, that now travels and remains consistent no matter where you work with your files.
Roadmap ID 410218.
SharePoint list and library rules will now send notifications from the no-reply@sharepointonline.com email address.
We’re making a change to how emails are sent for customers that use list or document library rules, – created from the Automate dropdown. You specify an automated ‘send to’ email based on when a change occurs: A new file or item is added, a file or item is deleted, and file or item metadata conditions get updated.
To align system generated emails with best practices, these emails will now come from the no-reply@sharepointonline.com email address with the display name “SharePoint Online”. Previously, these emails would be sent on behalf of the user that made a file or item update.
For additional information review: Create a rule to automate a list or library (Microsoft Support)
Message ID: MC915497
Related technology
New Planner for the Web
The new Microsoft Planner for the web (https://planner.cloud.microsoft) brings together the simplicity of Microsoft To Do, the collaboration of Planner, the power of Microsoft Project, and the intelligence of Microsoft 365 Copilot into a simple, scalable solution that spans individual task management to professional project management.
The team started the new Planner work within Teams, and this past month brough that same value to the Web experience. That’s two big tasks completed by the Planner team, to meet your planning where you work.
The new Microsoft Planner for the Web.
Roadmap ID 411777
The new Microsoft Planner (adoption.microsoft.com)
Two new, related blogs:
“Get ready for the new Microsoft Planner for the web”
“The new Planner for the web in targeted release”
Reminder | Microsoft Delve will be retired on December 16, 2024.
Delve will no longer be included in Microsoft 365 and will no longer be supported. New, pervasive technologies like Microsoft Search, people cards, interacting with Copilot, favorites in OneDrive, and more – all live on beyond Delve, often closer to where you are working.
In addition to the details in MC698136, learn more at:
Alternatives to Delve in Microsoft 365
Guidance for retiring Delve in your organization
November 2024 teasers
Psst, still here? Still scrolling the page looking for more roadmap goodness? If so, here is a few teasers of what’s to come to production next month…
Teaser #1: SharePoint: Add approvals to any document library [Roadmap ID: 420336]
Teaser #2: Microsoft Teams new chat and channels experience [Roadmap ID: 415249]
… shhh, tell everyone.
BONUS if you made it this far: “SAM – Copiloting Securely” (the song)
Here are the full lyrics of the “SAM – Copiloting Securely” by Microsoft MVP, Dustin Williard (listen to it at the end of this month’s roadmap pitstop: October 2024 episode on The Intrazone) – “Take the ride!”:
“In the heart of our digital land, at Collab Days New England SharePoint rises, tall and grand, SharePoint Advanced Management’s here to stay, Guiding us through every day.
SharePoint Advanced Management, oh what a sight, Securing our data, day, and night, With M365 Copilot by our side, Together we’ll soar, take the ride!
From encryption tight to access control, Guarding secrets with heart and soul, Policies and logs, they pave the way, For governance and rules we obey.
SharePoint Advanced Management, oh what a sight, Securing our data, day, and night, With M365 Copilot by our side, Together we’ll soar, take the ride!
Dustin Willard leads the charge, MVP, he’ll teach you how SAM secures your M365 Copilot, From sites and files to data streams, Collab Days New England We’re protected, living the dream.
Data growing day by day, Unstructured, in every way, but is it secure, With SAM, we’ll know for sure!
SharePoint Advanced Management, oh what a sight, Securing our data, day, and night, With M365 Copilot by our side, Together we’ll soar, take the ride!
So, Collab Days New England here’s to SAM, our trusty bodyguard, With Copilot, we’ll never hide, In this secure, advanced domain, Our organization will reign!”
Small fact: To generate the song, Dustin referenced his CollabDays-NE PowerPoint from within Word – Using Copilot in Word to generate lyrics for his song. With a little more AI to help generate the actual song MP3, voila, “SAM – Copiloting Securely” now lives for your listening pleasure.
Microsoft MVP, Dustin Willard, sharing insights about SharePoint Advanced Management AND playing the “SAM – Copiloting Securely” for his audience.
Helpful, ongoing change management resources
“Stay on top of Office 365 changes“
“Message center in Office 365“
Install the Office 365 admin app; view Message Center posts and stay current with push notifications.
Microsoft 365 public roadmap + pre-filtered URL for SharePoint, OneDrive, Yammer and Stream roadmap items.
SharePoint Facebook | Twitter | SharePoint Community Blog | Feedback
Follow me to catch news and interesting SharePoint things: @mkashman; warning, occasional bad puns may fly in a tweet or two here and there.
Thanks for tuning in and/or reading this episode/blog of the Intrazone Roadmap Pitstop – October 2024. We are open to your feedback in comments below to hear how both the Roadmap Pitstop podcast episodes and blogs can be improved over time.
Engage with us. Ask those questions that haunt you. Push us where you want and need to get the best information and insights. We are here to put both our and your best change management foot forward.
Stay safe out there on the road’map ahead. And thanks for listening and reading.
Thanks for your time,
Mark Kashman – senior product manager (SharePoint/Lists) | Microsoft)
The Intrazone Roadmap Pitstop – October 2024 graphic showing some of the highlighted release features.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
