Tag Archives: microsoft
Prompt engineering 101: Reimagine your workflow with Copilot for Microsoft 365
In the world of AI-powered collaboration, Copilot has emerged as a valuable tool for achieving desired outcomes. Whether you’re a seasoned user or just getting started, understanding the key ingredients for a successful interaction with Copilot is essential.
In the first two blogs in this series on prompt engineering, Prompt engineering 101: Create content in 3 simple steps with ASK AI and Prompt engineering 101 for images: Crafting detailed visual descriptions, we shared some quick tips to get started with effective prompting to get the best results from Copilot. Now we’ll share how to use Copilot prompts within Microsoft 365 to seamlessly pull content and insights from any source into the format and application you need.
Let’s dive into these four crucial elements:
Purpose and context: How can Copilot help?
Before engaging with Copilot, clarify your purpose. Are you seeking assistance with drafting documents, creating presentations, or analyzing data? Knowing your objective will guide your interactions.
Stakeholders: Who’s involved?
Identify the key players. Are you collaborating with a team, clients, or stakeholders? Recognize their roles and expectations. Copilot can adapt its responses based on the context you provide.
Expectations: How could Copilot meet your needs?
Set clear expectations. Specify the level of detail, tone, and format you desire. Copilot can generate content, but it’s up to you to review and refine it to align with your goals.
Information sources: What data should Copilot use?
Be explicit about the sources you want Copilot to draw from. Whether it’s existing documents, research articles, or internal guidelines, Copilot can incorporate relevant information.
Seamless workflows with Copilot
Copilot for Microsoft 365 is available as an AI-powered feature across Microsoft 365. This means that the power of AI can be accessed seamlessly in the apps you already know and use every day – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams and more.
In Word, for example, Copilot appears in a new document to help you kickstart content from a blank page. Select “Draft with Copilot” and enter your prompt to being an outline, summary, or even long-form content.
Copilot can also “sit next to you” as your assistant as you write, edit, or read documents. When you open a document, the Copilot panel lets you quickly summarize, ask for editing suggestions, build an outline, or check for clarity:
The advantage of using Copilot in Microsoft 365 is that the power of AI is available to pull insights and create new content within the tools you already use. Copilot is also interoperable between apps – you can easily turn a Word document into a PowerPoint presentation or pull meeting notes from Teams into an email.
Learn more about the breadth of Copilot for Microsoft 365 and be sure to watch Jared Spataro’s Copilot demo where he shows how quickly you can create insights and content.
Example scenario: Launching a summer mentoring program
Let’s explore how Copilot can assist different teams involved in a nonprofit’s new mentoring program:
1. Program Management Team: Creating Guidelines and a Handbook (Copilot in Word)
Copilot generates a handbook for the summer mentoring program, outlining phases (initiation, planning, implementation, and evaluation).
It includes a checklist for mentors and mentees, clarifying their responsibilities during the program.
A sample schedule for 30-minute weekly check-ins is also provided.
2. Training Team: Crafting a Presentation (Copilot in PowerPoint)
Convert the handbook into a presentation using Copilot in PowerPoint.
Copilot outlines the introduction, phases, and checklist slides.
As an expert, review and tailor the content to match your vision.
3. Marketing Team: Engaging Volunteers via Email (Copilot in Outlook)
Draft an enthusiastic email to promote volunteering opportunities.
Copilot provides coaching, suggesting improvements to tone and formality.
Attach the mentoring program handbook for reference.
4. Fundraising Team: Analyzing Donor Contributions (Copilot in Excel)
Use Copilot in Excel to calculate total donations by donors.
Identify top donors for celebration and recognition.
5. Administrative Tasks: Capturing meeting notes (Copilot in Teams)
Record meeting notes and ask Copilot to summarize key points.
Copilot lists action items, streamlining follow-up tasks.
Remember, while Copilot streamlines tasks, your expertise ensures the final output aligns with your goals. Embrace the collaboration between human and AI, and let Copilot enhance your productivity across Microsoft 365 products.
Keep learning
Explore these resources and learning paths to keep building skills in Microsoft 365:
Microsoft Digital Skills Center for Nonprofits: aka.ms/TechSoup
AI skills for nonprofits collection on Microsoft Learn: aka.ms/AI-for-nonprofits-collection
LinkedIn Learning pathways for digital and AI fluency: aka.ms/MyLearningPathway
Note: This article was created in collaboration between the author and Microsoft Copilot.
Continue the conversation by joining us in the Nonprofit Community! Want to share best practices or join community events? Become a member by “Joining” the Nonprofit Community. To stay up to date on the latest nonprofit news, make sure to Follow or Subscribe to the Nonprofit Community Blog space!
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Partner Case Study Series | Uptale case study
Powerful training experiences with Uptale immersive learning on Microsoft Azure
Uptale is a software-as-a-service company providing an immersive learning platform for large and distributed enterprises in Europe, North America, and Asia. Uptale’s mission is to educate the workforce at scale by enabling anyone to create VR training. Uptale’s immersive learning platform on Azure makes situation-handling skills easy to digitize, distribute, and track. The Uptale solution features an intuitive virtual reality authoring tool to create simulated workplace environments plus distribution options to deliver consistent training content to any device, at any location, in real time. It also provides insights and analytics across workforce enablement programs.
Uptale is built on Azure and takes advantage of Azure Cognitive Services. Uptale utilizes Azure Speech services, including the Text to Speech service with new neural voices and Speech to Text for voice recognition in the Uptale VR Translator.
Continue reading here
**Explore all case studies or submit your own**
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Announcing the Public Preview of Upgrade Policies for Virtual Machine Scale Sets with Flexible Orche
Today we are announcing the public preview of upgrade policies for Virtual Machine Scale Sets with Flexible Orchestration. Upgrade policies allow for more granular control over the upgrade process, ensuring that your services remain available and responsive during updates.
Automatic upgrade policy
With an automatic upgrade policy, the scale set makes no guarantees about the order of virtual machines being brought down. The scale set might take down all virtual machines at the same time to perform upgrades.
Automatic upgrade policy is best suited for DevTest scenarios where you aren’t concerned about the uptime of your instances while making changes to configurations and settings.
Manual upgrade policy
With a manual upgrade policy, you choose when to update the scale set instances. Nothing happens automatically to the existing virtual machines when changes occur to the scale set model. New instances added to the scale set use the most update-to-date model available.
Manual upgrade policy is best suited for workloads where you require more control over when and how instances are updated.
Rolling upgrade policy
With a rolling upgrade policy, the scale set performs updates in batches. You also get more control over the upgrades with settings like batch size, max healthy percentage, prioritizing unhealthy instances and enabling upgrades across availability zones. Additionally, Rolling has the option to enable MaxSurge. MaxSurge deploys new instances running the latest model to replace instances using the old model. MaxSurge allows customers to maintain their full scale set capacity during the upgrade process, ensuring the entirety of their scale set is available to receive traffic
Rolling upgrade policy is best suited for production workloads that require a set number of instances always be available. Rolling upgrades is safest way to upgrade instances to the latest model without compromising availability and uptime.
Key Benefits
Keep scale set instances up to date and secure without impacting availability
Choose an upgrade policy that best fits your workload
Change and modify your upgrade policy at any time
Spend less time manually managing the upgrade process
Setting the Upgrade Policy
The upgrade policy can be set during scale set creation or change any time post creation. If you do not explicitly set an upgrade policy, it will default to manual.
During the Virtual Machine Scale Set creation in the Azure portal, under the Management tab, set the upgrade policy to Rolling, Automatic, or Manual.
Alternatively, for existing Virtual Machine Scale Sets, select the Virtual Machine Scale Set you want to change the upgrade policy for. In the menu under Settings, select Upgrade Policy and from the drop-down menu, select the upgrade policy you want to enable.
If using a Rolling Upgrade Policy, you can configure additional settings such as batch size, max unhealthy percentage or opt to use MaxSurge which will help to ensure your application remains fully up and running during the upgrade process.
Available Now
Upgrade policies for Virtual Machine Scale Sets with Flexible Orchestration are available in all public cloud regions. To get started, see Upgrade Policies for Virtual Machine Scale Sets.
Micah McKittrick
Microsoft Azure Compute Services
Senior Product Manager
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Skype for Business Server Roadmap Update
Today, we are providing an update on our product roadmap for Microsoft Skype for Business Server. Here’s what’s ahead:
We will release a Cumulative Update (CU)—CU8—for Skype for Business Server 2019 in H2 of 2024.
We will release Skype for Business Server Subscription Edition (SE) early in the third quarter of calendar year 2025.
Skype for Business Server SE, the next release of Microsoft Skype for Business Server, will be available for download from the Microsoft 365 admin center (previously the Microsoft Volume License Service Center) in early Q3 of 2025.
The licensing model for Skype for Business Server SE is the same as SharePoint Server Subscription Edition and Exchange Server Subscription Edition, which requires subscription licenses or licenses with active Software Assurance for server and user licenses.
The hardware, operating system, and other requirements for Skype for Business Server SE are the same as Skype for Business Server 2019.
Finally, Skype for Business Server SE will be supported under the modern lifecycle support policy.
Upcoming Changes in CU8
We’re adding Persistent Chat to Skype for Business Server 2019 in CU8 and completing our final phase of the Modern Admin Control Panel.
Persistent Chat
We are adding Persistent Chat (PChat) to Skype for Business Server 2019, which plays a pivotal role in promoting collaboration. PChat lets users create discussion rooms centered around specific topics, with those conversations persisted over time. Based on valuable feedback from our user community, we are providing an option to install PChat in our next CU.
Modern Admin Control Panel
We are also adding functionality to our new admin interface, the Modern Admin Control Panel (MACP), in our next CU.
This is the final phase for our updates to MACP. For information about previous phases, see Phase 1 (2019), Phase 2 (2020), and Phase 3 (2021).
This final phase includes:
IM & Presence: Dedicated tab for instant messaging and presence management.
Security: Centralizes security-related settings, allowing admins to configure access controls, authentication methods, and encryption protocols.
Monitoring & Archiving: Real-time monitoring and archiving capabilities to help admins keep track of system performance, user activity, and compliance requirements.
Network Configuration: Fine-tune network settings, optimize performance, troubleshoot issues, and ensure seamless connectivity.
Clients: Manage client applications, configure client policies, update versions, and address compatibility concerns.
Persistent Chat (PChat): Topic-based discussion rooms that persist over time.
Please start using the MACP today and share your feedback and questions using the ‘Give Feedback’ link.
Upgrading to Skype for Business Server SE from Previous Versions
To help accelerate the transition to Skype for Business Server SE, in addition to being code equivalent to Skype for Business Server 2019 CU8 (plus any subsequent Security Updates (SUs) or Hotfixes (HFs) to CU8), Skype for Business Server SE will support an in-place upgrade from Skype for Business Server 2019.
In-Place Upgrade
The fastest and easiest way to get to Skype for Business Server SE is to perform an in-place upgrade from Skype for Business Server 2019. The upgrade experience is identical to installing a CU. Once a server is running Skype for Business Server SE, it will be updated with our update cadence of periodic CUs and as-needed SUs and HFs.
Update Paths to Skype for Business Server SE
Below is a table that summarizes the available paths based on the version(s) you’re running:
Version in use
Upgrade Path
Skype for Business Server 2013
Upgrade to Skype for Business 2019 now, update to CU8 when available, and then upgrade in-place to Skype for Business Server SE when available.
Skype for Business Server 2015
Upgrade to Skype for Business 2019 now, update to CU8 when available, and upgrade in-place to Skype for Business Server SE when available.
Skype for Business Server 2019
Update to CU8 when available, and then upgrade in-place to Skype for Business Server SE when available.
Call to Action
Skype for Business Server SE will be available shortly before Skype for Business Server 2015 and Skype for Business Server 2019 both reach end of support on October 14, 2025. If you intend to continue to run Skype for Business Server on-premises, we recommend moving to Skype for Business Server 2019 with the latest update now, and upgrading to Skype for Business Server SE when it is available in 2025.
— Skype for Business Server Engineering Team
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June 2024: Azure Updates undergoing maintenance
Azure Updates website is undergoing maintenance. During this time, you may notice limited functionality affecting RSS feeds and search features. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
We are committed to bringing you weekly updates for Azure Updates, and will be posting them here, in the Tech Community every Thursday for the near term.
Critical updates and retirements will also be communicated via emails and service health alerts.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Assigning tasks to multiple people
Hello Planner community, I’m trying to create a recurring Planner task that would be assigned to multiple people (ex. “Submit timesheet”). When assigning to more than one person, the task is “complete” when any one of the people completes it.
I can create a task for each person, but that becomes burdensome if the task is being assigned to a large number of people. I’m curious how others approach this problem and what workaround the community has come up with. Also curious, of course, what the Planner team has to say.
Hello Planner community, I’m trying to create a recurring Planner task that would be assigned to multiple people (ex. “Submit timesheet”). When assigning to more than one person, the task is “complete” when any one of the people completes it.I can create a task for each person, but that becomes burdensome if the task is being assigned to a large number of people. I’m curious how others approach this problem and what workaround the community has come up with. Also curious, of course, what the Planner team has to say. Read More
Pagination in Word
Please help me begin with page 1 on page 3 of document.
Thank you very much
markc12
Please help me begin with page 1 on page 3 of document. Thank you very much markc12 Read More
Export SharePoint Permissions
Hello Experts,
I am the site Owner for a Modern Teams SharePoint site (or Classic). The site permission is Private and I have several Permission Groups created with about 150 users assigned to a specific group (Region Read/Write, Region Read Only, Region Full Control, etc…).
I need to periodically review and reconcile the users assigned to this site’s permission groups with our Access Management tool to ensure that they match.
Does anyone have a solution for exporting a list of all site users with their assigned Permission Groups?
It seems that this is still a challenge without using PowerShell or having full company-level SharePoint Administration.
Is there a way a site Owner can do this?
Hello Experts, I am the site Owner for a Modern Teams SharePoint site (or Classic). The site permission is Private and I have several Permission Groups created with about 150 users assigned to a specific group (Region Read/Write, Region Read Only, Region Full Control, etc…). I need to periodically review and reconcile the users assigned to this site’s permission groups with our Access Management tool to ensure that they match. Does anyone have a solution for exporting a list of all site users with their assigned Permission Groups?It seems that this is still a challenge without using PowerShell or having full company-level SharePoint Administration. Is there a way a site Owner can do this? Read More
Exchange Online Best Practices
From an EMM / MDM perspective and on premise Exchange we would have a Secure Email Gateway (SEG) as a protection layer for email from devices. With O365 migrations is there an equivalent SEG to protect email access only from managed devices for example? And secondly, are gateways as relevant nowadays and should we instead look at 2fa, Purview and Conditional Access signal related stuff?
Any best practices and complete answers I am very grateful for. TIA.
From an EMM / MDM perspective and on premise Exchange we would have a Secure Email Gateway (SEG) as a protection layer for email from devices. With O365 migrations is there an equivalent SEG to protect email access only from managed devices for example? And secondly, are gateways as relevant nowadays and should we instead look at 2fa, Purview and Conditional Access signal related stuff?Any best practices and complete answers I am very grateful for. TIA. Read More
Formula to reveal the row number of where the duplicate value is located
Please help! Last week I found an excellent formula and now am kicking myself for not saving it.
I’m working on a large spreadsheet. On 2 columns, I have run the Conditional Formatting / Duplicate Values and highlighted the duplicates. I need the formula to add the Row Number where the duplicate is located.
Example: 2 columns referred to as A and B. In column C, I want to add the formula that shows the duplicate value is on B20001.
Please help! Last week I found an excellent formula and now am kicking myself for not saving it. I’m working on a large spreadsheet. On 2 columns, I have run the Conditional Formatting / Duplicate Values and highlighted the duplicates. I need the formula to add the Row Number where the duplicate is located. Example: 2 columns referred to as A and B. In column C, I want to add the formula that shows the duplicate value is on B20001. Read More
Microsoft Shared Bookings ignoring the bookings made by staff members
Hello,
I have tried using microsoft shared bookings and noticed the bookings created by staff members are not in sync with the bookings link.
For example If one of my staff members created a booking for 25th June 2024 10:00 AM. This time slot is still showing for our customers to book. It is supposed to block this particular time slot to avoid double booking. Can someone please help
Hello, I have tried using microsoft shared bookings and noticed the bookings created by staff members are not in sync with the bookings link. For example If one of my staff members created a booking for 25th June 2024 10:00 AM. This time slot is still showing for our customers to book. It is supposed to block this particular time slot to avoid double booking. Can someone please help Read More
Common items
Dear Experts,
I have an issue like this
So in Column A,B,C we have TEST sets TEST2/3/4 and have some items( rnti) in Column F/G we have the items( from another object say UE here) with TEST2/3/4 in column”F”,
I want to have the Common RNTI’s in both gNB/UE in Column K/K/L, example shown in J3/J4
Also , want to have the UE rnti’s in the same format as gNB(rnti’s) in column O/P/Q…, tried to do a failed attempt in Column “O”
Thanks in Advance,
Br,
Anupam
Dear Experts, I have an issue like thisSo in Column A,B,C we have TEST sets TEST2/3/4 and have some items( rnti) in Column F/G we have the items( from another object say UE here) with TEST2/3/4 in column”F”, I want to have the Common RNTI’s in both gNB/UE in Column K/K/L, example shown in J3/J4 Also , want to have the UE rnti’s in the same format as gNB(rnti’s) in column O/P/Q…, tried to do a failed attempt in Column “O”Thanks in Advance,Br,Anupam Read More
Unable to create logic app
Hi,
I am new to Azure I am learning the concepts
I am using free subscription and trying to create a logic app it is showing me the below message and not allowing me to create a logic app.
can someone help me with the issue? how to overcome
Thanks
Hi, I am new to Azure I am learning the concepts I am using free subscription and trying to create a logic app it is showing me the below message and not allowing me to create a logic app. can someone help me with the issue? how to overcome Thanks Read More
Simplifying Cloud Security with Azure Firewall Manager and Illumio
Introduction
In today’s dynamic and ever-evolving cloud environment, ensuring strong security measures is essential. This involves not only implementing the right tools, but also having effective processes in place to oversee and maintain these security measures. With Azure Firewall Manager, Microsoft offers a comprehensive and centralized platform to simplify the management of multiple firewalls at scale, addressing the challenges of managing security in a dynamic cloud landscape.
Illumio for Microsoft Azure Firewall helps Azure Firewall customers enforce Zero Trust Segmentation and go beyond network and application filtering. It helps the firewall operations teams understand rules with rich context of the resources they are protecting. With rich context, administrators can easily determine which resource is secured by the rule, who owns it, and perform rule lifecycle management more confidently.
By combining the robust features of Azure Firewall and Azure Firewall Manager with Illumio’s expertise in Zero Trust Segmentation, we aim to provide our customers with a powerful solution to navigate the complexities of modern cloud security effectively.
Illumio support in Azure Firewall Manager
Azure Firewall Manager is a centralized platform for managing firewalls, along with other core network security services, at scale. Illumio for Microsoft Azure Firewall is now directly accessible within Azure Firewall Manager.
Customers can seamlessly enable Illumio for Microsoft Azure Firewall by navigating to the “What’s New” section within Azure Firewall Manager.
This integrated approach enables users to more easily implement Illumio for Microsoft Azure Firewall and enable a comprehensive set of features and tools that seamlessly complement Azure Firewall, streamlining firewall management and bolstering overall network security measures.
Spotlight features
The Illumio platform boasts several standout features designed to streamline network security management and empower administrators of all skill levels. With its intuitive interface and robust capabilities, Illumio simplifies complex tasks and enhances visibility across the network. Let’s delve into some key features and walkthroughs for leveraging the platform effectively:
Comprehensive Network Overview:
Begin your day with a comprehensive view of your Azure network components and their status. Illumio offers a state-of-the art topology dashboard that provides real-time traffic flow data and visualizations. This dashboard enables administrators to visualize all network zones and their interconnections. By identifying which components are communicating with each other, administrators can quickly assess network health and pinpoint any potential security issues or anomalies requiring attention.
Adaptive Zero Trust Segmentation:
Zero Trust Segmentation or micro-segmentation is a critical strategy for reducing the attack surface and containing lateral movement within the network. Illumio micro-segmentation capabilities allows administrators to create logical segmentation policies based on workload attributes and communication patterns.
As an example, Illumio offers a robust labeling system, which adds a layer of contextual understanding and simplicity to the segmentation process. Labels serve as an intuitive way to categorize and identify different components within the network environment. Administrators can assign custom labels to workloads based on various criteria such as function, department, sensitivity, or compliance requirements. These labels, which can be in the form of text descriptors like “Dev workload,” “HR workload,” or “Sales workload,” offer a clear and contextual representation of the resources they represent.
As a result, administrators can create rules that explicitly permit or restrict traffic based on these labeled workloads, instead of relying on a set of IP addresses that are dynamic or more prone to errors. This enhances visibility and situational awareness across the networks, enhancing security posture and streamlining policy management.
Simulating and testing changes of the firewall policies.
Once Azure Firewall rules and policies have been configured, it’s important to validate these changes to ensure your organization’s network security standards are complying. Illumio offers features that streamline the process of simulating and testing firewall policy modifications.
Policy simulation: Illumio provides a policy simulation environment that enables administrators to forecast the impact of proposed firewall policy changes before implementation. By simulating different scenarios, one can assess potential security risks and validate the effectiveness of their policy adjustments without disrupting live production. This proactive approach helps prevent misconfigurations, reducing the likelihood of security breaches or service interruptions.
Traffic analysis: In addition, Illumio offers advanced traffic analysis that allows administrators to inspect network traffic patterns through Azure Firewall in real-time. This visibility enables administrators to adjust firewall policies to ensure that only authorized traffic is permitted, enhancing overall network security posture.
Conclusion
Whether an organization has a handful of firewalls or a vast network with numerous instances, Azure Firewall Manager addresses the common challenges security teams face when scaling Azure Firewall. Illumio helps to fill these gaps by making the deployment process of Illumio for Microsoft Azure Firewall more accessible, faster, and efficient for security teams of any size.
Read a step-by-step tutorial on getting started with Illumio for Microsoft Azure Firewall from the Azure Network Security Blog.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Copilot for Microsoft 365 – Support Tips, Part 2
The Microsoft 365 Commercial Support Team resolves customer support cases and provides support to help you be successful and realize the full potential and value of your purchase. Our support services extend across the entire lifecycle and include pre-sales, onboarding and deployment, usage and management, accounts and billing, and break-fix support. We also spend a considerable amount of time working to improve the supportability of Microsoft 365 services to reduce the number of issues you experience as well as minimize the effort and time it takes to resolve your issues if they do occur.
Today, we’re excited to share more about some of our supportability work with Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365.
In November 2023, we posted our first article on Copilot for Microsoft 365 sharing some initial insights and guidance from the customer support team’s perspective. Even though it seems like yesterday much has happened since then and we’ve continued to learn from all customers as they rapidly adopt and use Microsoft Copilot to increase their productivity, collaboration, and creativity every day.
Our published guidance and resources have continued to grow and expand too, and today we’ll share answers to some of the top questions we hear from customers along with some of our favorite resources to help you better prepare and learn more.
Plan & Deploy
Q: What are the prerequisites for my organization to use Copilot for Microsoft 365?
A: Copilot has specific licensing prerequisites and deployment requirements and most of these parallel the requirements to use Microsoft 365 Apps. Note that Copilot for Microsoft 365 is a user-based license and requires that Microsoft 365 Apps on a Windows desktop are deployed using a user-based license. More information on prerequisites here > Get started with Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn
Q: What model does Copilot for Microsoft 365 use and are there any limits on number and length of conversations or file uploads?
A: Some important updates that apply to this were recently shared on April 2. All licensed commercial customers will have priority access to GPT-4 Turbo in Copilot for Microsoft 365. Limits on the number of chats per day and the number of turns per conversation have been removed. File uploads are unlimited up to 2 GB uploads per day. More information on the recent announcements here > Bringing the latest capabilities to Copilot for Microsoft 365 customers | Microsoft 365 Blog
Q: Are there any special considerations when using Microsoft Purview information protection capabilities with Copilot for Microsoft 365?
A: Yes. Before deploying Copilot, take time to get familiar with information protection considerations and ways to strengthen your data protection solutions when using Microsoft Purview. More information on deploying with Microsoft Purview here > Considerations for deploying Microsoft Purview data security and compliance protections for Microsoft Copilot | Microsoft Learn
Q: How does semantic index work with Copilot and what are the supported content types? Is there anything I can do as an administrator to prepare and manage the sematic index?
A: The semantic index enhances Microsoft Copilot and search results in the Microsoft 365 applications, SharePoint Online, and Microsoft Teams by creating two indexes, one for user-level content and data, and one for tenant-level content and data. Each supports different file types with the latest illustrated here:
There are optional steps that administrators can take if they wish. More information on semantic index here > https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftsearch/semantic-index-for-copilot
Q: Is there anything special I need to think about with network planning and endpoints?
A: Copilot services connect to endpoints within the Microsoft 365 Endpoint taxonomy. As with other Microsoft 365 services, it’s recommended to align networks with the Microsoft 365 Network Connectivity Principles for optimal performance and security.
Q: Where can I learn more about Copilot for Microsoft 365 privacy and security and how our data is handled when my users interact with Copilot?
A: In early March, additional data residency capabilities were announced here. Full details on data, privacy, and security for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 can be found here > Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn
Q: Does Microsoft have a playbook or set of resources to help me plan and implement Copilot for Microsoft 365 for my organization and drive successful adoption?
A: Comprehensive resources are available to assist in discovering, planning, and implementing Copilot for organizations of all sizes. This includes guidance for working across leadership, IT, and end users. A full set of adoption resources can be found here > Copilot for Microsoft 365 – Microsoft Adoption
Manage & Use
Q: What level of controls are available to IT Admins for Copilot for Microsoft 365?
A: By using the Copilot page in the Microsoft 365 admin center, IT Admins can manage how users in their organization interact with Copilot for Microsoft 365. More information on Copilot management capabilities here > Manage Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 with the Copilot page | Microsoft Learn
Q: What languages does Copilot for Microsoft 365 support?
A: Support for an additional 16 languages was recently announced. Details on Copilot supported languages here > Supported languages for Microsoft Copilot – Microsoft Support
Q: I assigned a Copilot license to a user but it’s not showing up for them. What should I do?
A: After assigning a Copilot license to a user, it can take up to 72 hours for the background refresh of the license to take effect and for Copilot to show up in applications. Administrators can force a refresh by applying the File > Account > Update license button (located directly under the Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise logo).
More information here > How to find and enable missing Copilot button in Microsoft 365 apps – Microsoft Support
Q: Ok, so Copilot still doesn’t show up in Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Word… what now?
A: This will happen if Connected Experiences have been turned off in your organization (which enables analyzing of content for Microsoft 365 apps) including when users are using Windows Information Protection or Microsoft Defender Application Guard. To enable Copilot in this scenario, policy settings for connected experiences will need to be turned on. The following are indications that Connected Experiences are disabled:
Office Cloud policy for “Allow the use of connected experiences in Office that analyze content” is disabled.
Office ULS log shows “Data.IsPrivacyEnabled”:false” in the Office.AugLoop.Client.Liblet.StartRuntimeAttempt event.
Either of these registry keys are enabled:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftoffice16.0commonPrivacyusercontentdisabled
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftoffice16.0commonPrivacydisconnectedstate
More information on connected experience settings here > Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn
Q: My users are getting mixed results when working with large documents and Copilot in Word. Any tips?
A: When referencing documents with Copilot in Word, try to limit your document size to 20 pages and 15,000 words or less. This is the sweet spot for Copilot to work effectively. More information on working with Copilot in Word here > Keeping it short and sweet: a guide on the length of documents that you provide to Copilot – Microsoft Support
Q: My users are really excited about the email summarization, drafting, and coaching capabilities with Copilot in Outlook but are running into occasional issues. Any limitations to be aware of?
A: Copilot scenarios in Outlook are only available on a user’s primary mailbox and not with shared, archived, group, or delegated mailboxes. With Coaching by Copilot, a user’s email draft needs to be at least 100 characters to use the Coaching capability. There’s no limit on prompt length when using Draft with Copilot. More information on working with Outlook here > Frequently asked questions about Copilot in Outlook – Microsoft Support
Q: Users are bumping into some latency issues when working with Copilot in Excel. Any suggestions?
A: Copilot in Excel works for Excel tables of up to 2 million cells. Skills like formula column suggestions, highlight, sort, and filter do not have data limits. Keep in mind that it can take some time to get a response when working with large tables. Note that Copilot in Excel only works with files that are hosted in OneDrive or Microsoft 365 SharePoint locations and have Autosave turned on. More information on working with Excel here > Frequently asked questions about Copilot in Excel – Microsoft Support
Q: What are some things my users can do to get better performance when using Copilot in Microsoft Teams?
A: Limit questions to topics covered in the chat or meeting. When conducting meetings and calls, speak or chat in supported languages. With chat scenarios, keep in mind that Copilot can only process as far back as 30 days from the last message sent. This may be further limited by retention policies that are set within your organization. More information on working with Microsoft Teams here > Frequently asked questions about Copilot in Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Support
Q: Some of my users are seeing issues or missing results when retrieving files to reference in Copilot with Word Online, PowerPoint Online, and Excel Online. What’s causing this?
A: For Copilot to work with Office web applications like Word Online, PowerPoint Online, and Excel Online, third-party cookies must be enabled. Blocking third-party cookies will result in a failure when retrieving files to reference. More information on requirements here > https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot/microsoft-365-copilot-requirements
Q: I have users that aren’t seeing relevant documents or information, including personalized content (fx. suggested meeting hours) when using Copilot. Is there a way to fix this?
A: This may be related to semantic index. Check and make sure Enterprise Search is enabled in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. And then make sure Item insights are enabled. Having Item or People insights turned off will reduce the Microsoft Search and semantic index experience. More information here > https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftsearch/semantic-index-for-copilot
Copilot, Your Support Assistant
Finally, keep in mind that you can always use Copilot as your support and troubleshooting assistant and even ask it to provide suggested prompts to use for ways it can help with different scenarios. Below is a quick example using Copilot in the browser. There’s a great mobile app (powered by GPT-4!) too.
As with any scenario, make sure to use good prompting techniques to help Copilot provide the responses and results that you want. This includes:
Providing complete details and sufficient context about the scenario or issue.
Instructing on any specific information sources that Copilot should use when responding.
Guiding how Copilot responds by telling it to act like a certain role or expert (e.g. “act like a technical expert on Exchange Online” or “act like a solution architect specializing in Teams meeting rooms and calling”).
Consider the sequence and order of the context, example, and instruction details in your prompts. Experimenting with the order and when specific sources are referenced can have an impact on the quality of responses.
Focusing on positive instructions and telling Copilot what to do (versus what not to do) often generates the best results.
There’s a ton of great learning and resource material out there on prompt engineering. If you need a starting point, take a look at these resources > Learn about Copilot prompts – Microsoft Support and Copilot Lab (cloud.microsoft).
Hope you found this helpful, and we’ll continue to share updates from our Copilot journey here in Microsoft 365 commercial support!
Brian Stoner is a Director in the CSS Modern Work Supportability Team where he leads a team of technical and business program managers.
The CSS Modern Work Supportability Team delivers innovative self-help solutions and diagnostics, in-service enhancements, and support programs to help customers get maximum value from their Microsoft 365 commercial subscriptions and create an easy-to-use, connected support experience.
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Announcing enhanced multicloud integration enabled by Azure Arc
We are thrilled to announce a new set of capabilities for multicloud customers, making it easier than ever to manage cloud resources from a centralized platform. With the adaptive cloud approach enabled by Azure Arc, customers can quickly and easily access and manage their workloads across Azure and AWS through the multicloud connector, which is free to use!
Microsoft understands and supports customers who run workloads in multiple public clouds. Our goal is to make it easier for you to gain visibility and insights into all your workloads and to have a common set of management tools that you can leverage, saving you time and operational costs. Some customers are already taking advantage of Azure management services for multicloud resources via Azure Arc. With this new multicloud connector, we are making it easier to connect to other public clouds and support new multicloud capabilities in a lightweight manner.
What are the new multicloud capabilities?
With the multicloud connector, customers can benefit from the following features:
Inventory: Get an up-to-date, comprehensive view of your cloud assets across different cloud providers. Starting with a wide range of AWS services (EC2, S3, Lambda, and more), you can now gain insights into your Azure & AWS environments in a single pane of glass. The agentless inventory solution will periodically scan your AWS environment, project the discovered resources in AWS as Azure resources, including all of the AWS metadata like AWS tags. Now, you can easily view, query, and tag these resources from a centralized location.
Azure Arc onboarding: Automatically Arc-enable your existing and future EC2 instances so you can leverage Azure and Microsoft services, like Azure Monitor and Microsoft Defender. Through the multicloud connector, the Azure Arc agent will be automatically installed for machines that meet the pre-requisites.
How do I get started?
You can easily set up the multicloud connector by following our getting started guide which provides step by step instructions on creating the connector and setting up the permissions on the AWS console.
What can I do after my connector is set up?
With the inventory offering, you can see and query for all of you AWS and Azure resources via Azure Resource Graph. Check out some example queries here.
For Azure Arc onboarding, you can apply the Azure management services on your EC2 instances that are Arc-enabled. Learn more here.
We are very excited about the new capabilities. Set up your multicloud connector now for free! Please let us know if you have any questions by posting on the Azure Arc forum or via Microsoft support. Here is the mutlicloud capabilities technical documentation and check out this deep dive video for a demo:
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upgrade to windows 11 with my permission
I’m so f’in mad!!! I have a desktop that I use occasionally. Since the last time I used it several days ago an update occurred. When I opened it up this morning it was upgraded WITHOUT MY PERMISSION from Windows 10 to Windows 11. I did not see any upgrade notices when I used it last and did not (knowingly) grant permission for an upgrade to Windows 11 to occur!! How/Why did this happen??? A restore to 10 isn’t possible from the control panel (grayed out). I DID NOT WANT& DID NOT ASK FOR THIS UPGRADE OCCUR!!! I’d like to know why and how this happened. I have to go thru and refind/reinstall apps now that weren’t carried thru. WHY WHY WHY?????
(apologies for the rant)
I’m so f’in mad!!! I have a desktop that I use occasionally. Since the last time I used it several days ago an update occurred. When I opened it up this morning it was upgraded WITHOUT MY PERMISSION from Windows 10 to Windows 11. I did not see any upgrade notices when I used it last and did not (knowingly) grant permission for an upgrade to Windows 11 to occur!! How/Why did this happen??? A restore to 10 isn’t possible from the control panel (grayed out). I DID NOT WANT& DID NOT ASK FOR THIS UPGRADE OCCUR!!! I’d like to know why and how this happened. I have to go thru and refind/reinstall apps now that weren’t carried thru. WHY WHY WHY?????(apologies for the rant) Read More
Setting up new AVD pool with custom apps installed in Win11
Hi all, I currently have an AVD environment setup with Win10 machines and originally when I set it up, I had created a Win10 VM, installed all the apps on it and then took an image of it. So when I spin up new AVD’s, the users have all of their software needed. I am needing to setup new Win11 AVDs now and want to go about the image a little different. One problem with the Win10 AVDs is that the software doesn’t get updated automatically. I am unsure of an easy way to update them. So I guess I have 2 questions.
1. How can I easily update all the apps on all of my Win10 AVDs that are currently deployed?
2. I am deploying Win11 AVDs and want to make them easier to manage as far as 3rd party software installs/updates. What is the easiest way to do this? I will need VS Code, VS Community edition, Notepadd++, R and R Studio, and several other apps installed.
Right now, I have the Host Pool Type set to Personal on the Win10 environment. With the Win11 environment, I am planning on doing Pooled, so I can cut down the number/cost of the machines that we currently have. I’m roughly at 150 AVDs right now.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!
Hi all, I currently have an AVD environment setup with Win10 machines and originally when I set it up, I had created a Win10 VM, installed all the apps on it and then took an image of it. So when I spin up new AVD’s, the users have all of their software needed. I am needing to setup new Win11 AVDs now and want to go about the image a little different. One problem with the Win10 AVDs is that the software doesn’t get updated automatically. I am unsure of an easy way to update them. So I guess I have 2 questions. 1. How can I easily update all the apps on all of my Win10 AVDs that are currently deployed?2. I am deploying Win11 AVDs and want to make them easier to manage as far as 3rd party software installs/updates. What is the easiest way to do this? I will need VS Code, VS Community edition, Notepadd++, R and R Studio, and several other apps installed.Right now, I have the Host Pool Type set to Personal on the Win10 environment. With the Win11 environment, I am planning on doing Pooled, so I can cut down the number/cost of the machines that we currently have. I’m roughly at 150 AVDs right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!! Read More
Do we have APIs for SharePoint eSignature services?
Hi All,
I have gone through the below YouTube link and documentation. I want to integrate the e-Signature in my system through APIs and I’m not using the SharePoint user interface.
1. Can you confirm if there are any APIs currently available for use?
2. In the video link below, it is only possible to type the name for signature, are there provisions to sign by mouse scribbling?
Securely digitize document workflows with eSignature in Microsoft 365 | OD17 (youtube.com)
Set up SharePoint eSignature – Microsoft Syntex | Microsoft Learn
Regards,
Pandi.
Hi All,I have gone through the below YouTube link and documentation. I want to integrate the e-Signature in my system through APIs and I’m not using the SharePoint user interface. 1. Can you confirm if there are any APIs currently available for use?2. In the video link below, it is only possible to type the name for signature, are there provisions to sign by mouse scribbling? Securely digitize document workflows with eSignature in Microsoft 365 | OD17 (youtube.com)Set up SharePoint eSignature – Microsoft Syntex | Microsoft Learn Regards,Pandi. Read More
From pixels to presence: new features coming to Microsoft Mesh
In January, we announced the general availability of Mesh in Teams. We launched with the promise of unlocking deeper engagement for hybrid and remote teams across the world. Today, we’re thrilled to unveil our latest advancements designed to optimize the avatar creation process with the help of AI and enrich your virtual collaboration.
AI-Enabled Avatar Creation
Our journey of reimagining virtual interactions began with digital avatars. Since the private preview of avatars in October 2022, we’ve added more lifelike skin, increased options for facial and body customization, and expanded hair style and skin tone options. However, with hundreds of combinations available, some users have expressed feeling a little overwhelmed when creating their avatar. We’re excited to announce that we’ve devised an AI-powered solution that makes avatar creation more efficient and more accurate. AI algorithms will analyze the visual features in your submitted photo to predict the best possible matches for your face shape, hair, eyewear, and facial hair. These best matches are combined to create three avatar options for you to choose from.
In public preview this month, simply take or upload a photo of yourself and let our AI-enabled technology¹ craft an avatar that represents you. Find more information about creating your avatar with a photo here. To manage avatars in Microsoft Teams, learn more here.
Show up the way you want
Avatars ensure everyone has a presence in the meeting room, even those who might not feel comfortable on camera. To accomplish this, it is important for your avatar to look and interact like you would. Beginning May 17th, explore the new wardrobe options, more professional attire, and improved texture, fit, and color of the clothes available in the Avatar Builder.
In July, we will add emotes as another way to express yourself in the 3D immersive spaces built into every Teams meeting. While you’re in an immersive space, select the “reactions” button in the menu bar at the bottom center of the immersive space view. Find the new emotes below the original Teams reactions and begin expressing yourself during meetings.
Tailored to your needs
We launched Mesh in Teams with two ready-made 3D immersive spaces, Lakehouse and Oasis, built into your Microsoft Teams meeting². Each space was specifically built for different meeting scenarios. Lakehouse was created for social scenarios and is equipped with various interactive activities to encourage conversation and connection. Oasis offers different seating arrangements and room sizes to accommodate presentations and roundtable discussions. Beginning in June in public preview, we are releasing a new space tailored for workshops, brainstorming sessions, and employee orientations. Let these curated 3D spaces elevate whatever moment you’re planning— whether it’s a networking event in Lakehouse, presenting a PowerPoint in Oasis, or hosting a breakout discussion in our new space.
This is a conceptual visualization of the upcoming event editing feature.
Access these immersive spaces from the View menu³ in any Teams meeting via PC or Meta Quest VR Headset⁴ . . Mesh in Teams will continue to reach more users as Mac access begins rolling out to general availability later this month.
Watch this video to learn more about how to join immersive spaces in Teams.
Enhance collaboration and interaction
In August in public preview, we will release content sharing improvements, including enhanced readability, to ensure ease of comprehension and enable productive discussions. Content refers to anything you can screenshare, whether that’s a PowerPoint presentation, Loop component, or website. With regards to engaging with other teammates in an immersive space, we will also release several avatar interaction improvements. This month, we’ve added different camera perspectives to view your avatar from (i.e., first person, third person, third-person wide view) and, in July, we’ll include improvements to avatar personal boundaries.
This is a conceptual visualization of the improved customization experience.
Expanded connection with custom experiences
For those looking to deliver more customized or larger-scale events, we’re excited to announce several features coming to the Mesh app⁵ in early July.
First, we’ll release an improved customization experience with a more streamlined process for event setup, an easier way to place objects in the space, and turnkey event templates. We’ve also invested in new ways to enable presenters to connect more meaningfully with their audiences. Larger events require multiple rooms to accommodate more attendees. To support this experience, we will enable presenters to visualize reactions of every attendee across all rooms while they present to help capture important real-time audience feedback. If presenters prefer to make more intimate connections with smaller groups of participants, we are also releasing room hopping to allow presenters to move from room to room.
We’re excited that our new features improve one-time event experiences and are equally aware that one-time events are just one of the scenarios custom immersive experiences are built for. Imagine a learning-focused space with a multitude of organization specific resources or a collaboration-focused space crafted to imitate a control room with 3D models, product images, and screens of data. It may not be possible for an attendee to take in all of that useful information during one scheduled time block. In early July, attendees will be enabled to revisit event links whenever they want to revisit content and reconnect with their team.
These enhancements are just the beginning. We’re committed to continuously evolving Mesh to provide you with the best virtual collaboration tools.
Learn more about getting started with Mesh in Teams and creating custom immersive spaces in our Mesh app here.
¹ Your photo is not retained or used for any other purpose. The create avatars from photo feature doesn’t make any other predictions outside of your facial features. Learn more here.
² Find licensing information here.
³ Learn more about how to access Mesh in Teams from any Teams meeting here.
⁴ On the Meta Quest VR headset, Mesh in Teams is only accessible via the Mesh app. Learn more here.
⁵ Find licensing information here.
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