SharePoint References

Good points to remember
Concepts
Validation Tips
SharePoint Formulas
- Common Formulas
Audience Targeting
Styling and Theming
- Theming
- Custom Theming
Tools
Permissions
- External Sharing Settings
  - Get External Sharing Settings via PowerShell
Lockdown Sites
Site Collection Features
Site policies
Formatting
- Lists and Views
  - Formatting JSON Schemas
- Columns
BrandCentre
Training
Microsoft Lists
Teams and SharePoint
Specific Articles to save
- Disabling Comments and Social Bar (for one site only)
References
TODO

Good points to remember

“SharePoint has many personas and personalities” - An Ex CIO turned aviation consultant

“SharePoint is not as forgiving as [some other platforms like] Confluence” - A CIO I worked with

“SharePoint is old pig in lipstick, wearing trendy clothes and trying to fit in with the young kids” - Me

Concepts

SharePoint Online via Microsoft 365 vs SharePoint On-Prem
SharePoint Lists Vs Libraries
There is List/Library Validation and Column Validation
- Column validation only works for new data entries ¹
- List/Library Validation ensures that the data was entered correctly with respect to other columns in the list or library. ¹
- A big limitation of the Column Validation I mentioned above is that you can not reference other columns. This is where the list/library validation comes into play. ¹
Site-Wide Column vs Library Column
Audience Targeting is more about showing/not showing/promoting content and isn’t really security
Hubs vs Sites
Modern vs Classic
Comm Sites vs Team Sites
News posts vs Pages
Roll up
Hierarchy
Copy to vs Move To issues when enforcing uniqueness

SharePoint (Online) Hierarchy

The above diagram is from a MS Learn page about permissions but excluding Hubs, it still shows the correct order. Note that a Document Library is almost the same as List library except its around files and not list items.

SharePoint content types

Introduction to content types and content type publishing

SharePoint content types hierarchy (PDF)
Originally from https://download.microsoft.com/download/0/b/b/0bb74648-212a-4c5d-b8a4-1b991dcf0a7d/sharepoint-default-content-types-hierarchy.pdf

Copy vs Move

https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/office/move-or-copy-files-in-sharepoint-00e2f483-4df3-46be-a861-1f5f0c1a87bc

When you use Move to, the history of the document is copied to the new destination.
When you use Copy to with documents that have version history, only the latest version is copied.
To copy earlier versions, you need to restore and copy each one. For more info about versioning, see Enable and configure versioning for a list or library

If you have a column that has ‘enforce unique values’ enabled in your destination library:

When you try to Move [to] a document from one Document Library to a destination library that has enforce unique values enabled, the move will fail
When you Copy [to] a document from one Document Library to a destination library that has enforce unique values enabled, the file will copy but the meta data won’t.

The Move to operation will fail if you attempt to move the document across libraries and the destination has enforced unique values.²

Validation Tips

If you’re having trouble with the formulas try going into the library settings –> Advanced settings then select the column and enter the formula in the classic style interface.
Today() and Now() seem to not always follow the timezone of the sharepoint site. Google for fixes. They are just semi-shitty workarounds like adding using created/modified dates or doing math to the today function.
- https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/sharepoint-today-function-not-showing-correct-date/7d094e83-2a60-4d53-b06b-73c575008035 (expand to see app replies)

Consider if the regional, language or timezone settings are set which can import this. refer to SharePoint Language Settings for end user and SharePoint Language Settings for end user

Also remember each site has its own regional settings in Site settings which also have a language and timezone setting.

SharePoint Formulas

Examples of common formulas in lists
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/office/developer/sharepoint-2010/bb862071(v=office.14)?redirectedfrom=MSDN

Common Formulas

=[My Column Name] > TODAY(): Column name must be greater than today’s date. =[My Column Name] <= TODAY(): Column name must be less than or equal to today’s date.

Audience Targeting

https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/office/target-content-to-a-specific-audience-on-a-sharepoint-site-68113d1b-be99-4d4c-a61c-73b087f48a81

TIP

Audience Targeting doesn’t work with SharePoint groups, only AD, AAD, M365 etc

Styling and Theming

https://lookbook.microsoft.com/

Theming

TBC

Custom Theming

Create Custom Theming for SharePoint site or hub using https://www.aka.ms/themedesigner

Set Primary Colour
Set Text Colour
Set Background Colour
Check how it looks
Click Export Theme

Create a PowerShell File (assumes SharePoint Online PowerShell already installed)

$themepalette = @.... # paste the contents of the exported theme file
Import-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell
Connect-SPOService -Url https://<<YOUR_TENANT_NAME>>-admin.sharepoint.com
Add-SPOTheme -Identity "My custom theme" -Palette $themepalette -IsInverted $false -Whatif
    Add-SPOTheme -Identity "My custom theme" -Palette $themepalette -IsInverted $false -Confirm
Disconnect-SPOService

More Info: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/declarative-customization/site-theming/sharepoint-site-theming-powershell

Tools

SharePoint Online PowerShell

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/sharepoint/sharepoint-online/introduction-sharepoint-online-management-shell?view=sharepoint-ps
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/sharepoint/sharepoint-online/connect-sharepoint-online?view=sharepoint-ps
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/sharepoint-online/?view=sharepoint-ps

Gallery Module Easier

Rather than download and install the MSI its easier to install and manage the SharePoint Online PowerShell Module via PowerShell Gallery

PS5 Only?

Not sure 100% sure but I think this module may only work in Windows PowerShell 5.1.

Install SharePoint Online PowerShell

PS5 not PS7

this module only seems to work in PS5/Windows PowerShell.

Commands to Install or update module

Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell
# OR for no admin rights
Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -Scope CurrentUser
# To update already installed
Update-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell

Connect via SharePoint Online PowerShell

With MFA:

Import-Module Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell
Connect-SPOService -Url https://contoso-admin.sharepoint.com

NOTE

There is a known issue between the SharePoint Online Management Shell module and SharePoint Client Components SDK where the module will fail to load if both are installed on the same computer. If you encounter this issue, uninstall the SharePoint Client Components SDK.

PnP PowerShell

PnP PowerShell Intro
PnP PowerShell
PnP PowerShell Cmdlets

Installing

Install-Module PnP.PowerShell -Scope CurrentUser

If it hasn’t been used in the tenant before

Import-Module PnP.PowerShell
Register-PnPEntraIDAppForInteractiveLogin -ApplicationName "PnP Rocks" -Tenant [Your-Tenant-Name].onmicrosoft.com -Interactive

Whats in a name

You can change the name away from PnP Rocks to something else if you want just note it and the application id down.

Connecting

https://pnp.github.io/powershell/articles/authentication.html

Connect-PnPOnline [Your-Tenant-Name].sharepoint.com -Interactive -ClientId <client id of your Entra ID Application Registration>
# OR
Connect-PnPOnline [Your-Tenant-Name].sharepoint.com -DeviceLogin -Tenant Your-Tenant-Name.onmicrosoft.com -ClientId <client id of your Entra ID Application Registration>

PnP Provisioning Engine

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/solution-guidance/introducing-the-pnp-provisioning-engine
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/solution-guidance/applying-pnp-templates

CSOM

CSOM: Client-Side Object Model

Download SharePoint Online Client Components SDK
https://www.sharepointdiary.com/2019/04/connect-to-sharepoint-online-using-csom-powershell.html
https://www.sharepointdiary.com/2019/08/connect-sharepoint-online-powershell-using-mfa.html - contains section on connecting with CSOM and MFA

More Info:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/general-development/get-started-using-the-client-object-model-with-external-data-in-sharepoint
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/sp-add-ins/complete-basic-operations-using-sharepoint-client-library-code
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/sp-add-ins-modernize/from-csom-to-pnp-libraries

Permissions

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/understanding-permission-levels - should refer to this more often
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/what-is-permissions-inheritance
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/modern-experience-sharing-permissions
https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/office/customize-permissions-for-a-sharepoint-list-or-library-02d770f3-59eb-4910-a608-5f84cc297782

https://www.reddit.com/r/sharepoint/comments/1c67ms4/create_items_in_libraries_but_not_new_libraries/

https://sharegate.com/blog/sharepoint-permissions-best-practices-2-ways-to-manage
https://www.sharepointdiary.com/2013/04/sharepoint-permission-levels.html

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/change-external-sharing-site
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/change-default-sharing-link

NOTE

To change the default link type for a Teams private or shared channel site, you must use the Set-SPOSite PowerShell cmdlet.

This topic has a lot of twists and turns but i’m just making a note here of some SharePoint PowerShell stuff

See Connect via SharePoint Online PowerShell for how to connect.

Get-SPOSite | Select-object url,sharingcapability | sort sharingcapability shows the external sharing setting for all existing sites.

The result codes don’t exactly match whats in the drop down.

PowerShell sharingcapability result	External Sharing Drop Down value
ExternalUserAndGuestSharing	Anyone
ExternalUserSharingOnly	New and Existing Guests
ExistingExternalUserSharingOnly	Existing Guests
Disabed	Only People in your Organisation

Lockdown Sites

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-au/sharepoint/manage-lock-status

Set-SPOSite -Identity "<SiteURL>" -LockState "<State>"

LockState options:

Unlock to unlock the site and make it available to users.
ReadOnly to prevent users from adding, updating, or deleting content. A message will appear on the site stating that the site is under maintenance and is read-only.
NoAccess to prevent users from accessing the site and its content. If you’ve provided a NoAccessRedirectUrl value for your organization (below), traffic will be redirected to the URL you specified. If you haven’t set this URL, a 403 error will be displayed.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/sharepoint-online/set-sposite?view=sharepoint-ps#-lockstate

Something you can also consier setting is the redirection URL but it is a tenant level setting: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/sharepoint-online/set-spotenant?view=sharepoint-ps#-noaccessredirecturl

See Connect via SharePoint Online PowerShell for connecting.

Site Collection Features

https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/office/enable-or-disable-site-collection-features-a2f2a5c2-093d-4897-8b7f-37f86d83df04

Site policies

Have to be set a root site and applies to all sites.

https://Your-Tenant-Name.sharepoint.com/_layouts/15/ProjectPolicies.aspx

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/sites/site-policy-overview - note this page is about SharePoint server, but some of these should still apply to Office 365

Add a Goverance section and put in MS Supplied stuff and my own thoughts.

Formatting

BrandCentre

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/brand-center-overview

Training

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/training-change-management

Add more of the links from the above
Add links to adoption resources

Microsoft Lists

Add MS Lists Adoption resources

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/control-lists
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/lists-sync-policies - windows
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/lists-sync-policies-macos - mac

Teams and SharePoint

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/teams-connected-sites

Specific Articles to save

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/discussions/sharepoint_general/remove-items-in-new-button/3886747 - good tips on customising new button at site level.
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/discussions/sharepoint_general/hide-folder-and-template-under-upload-on-sharepoint-document-library/3874653 - for use in advanced view formatting
https://www.reddit.com/r/sharepoint/comments/1c67ms4/create_items_in_libraries_but_not_new_libraries/
https://sharepointmaven.com/how-to-copy-an-existing-document-library-in-sharepoint-online/ - also includes how to get around a very obscure error if you have audience targeting enabled on a the library.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1367728/how-do-you-use-powershell-to-copy-a-sharepoint-onl
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/78491086/get-pnpsitetemplate-gets-stuck-for-a-long-time-on-certain-handlers - sometimes running PnP Commands in VSCode has strange issues

To disable comments and/or the social bar for a specific site only and not for the whole Tenant using PnP PowerShell (after connecting)

Import-Module PnP.PowerShell
$SiteURL = https://Your-Tenant-Name.sharepoint.com/sites/comms-site-i-want-comments-and-likes-disabled-on
# Ensure Site URL does *not* have a trailing slash
connect-PnPOnline $siteUrl -DeviceLogin -Tenant Your-Tenant-Name.onmicrosoft.com -ClientId <<PnP App ID GUID for your AAD here>>

Set-PnPSite -Identity $SiteURL -SocialBarOnSitePagesDisabled $True -CommentsOnSitePagesDisabled $True

More Info: [https://pnp.github.io/powershell/cmdlets/Set-PnPSite.html]

Disable “Comments, Likes and Views” in SharePoint modern - Microsoft Community - includes social graph per site SharePoint Online: Disable Page Comments in Modern Sites using PowerShell - SharePoint Diary - powershell per site https://sharepointmaven.com/2-ways-to-disable-modern-page-comments/
https://sharepoint.stackexchange.com/questions/274969/remove-social-and-comments-footer-from-spo-site-page

References

High Level

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/information-architecture-modern-experience

Adoption

https://adoption.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-lists/
https://adoption.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-lists/resources/
https://adoption.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/

Microsoft 365 Community Content

Site Builder/Owner: New Site Checklist
https://pnp.github.io/ - Microsoft 365 & Power Platform Community - used to be called Patterns and Practices. Make some good tools like PnP Tools for SharePoint/O365 plus a tonne of samples.

Misc Sites

https://sharepointmaven.com/ - really good
https://www.sharepointdiary.com/ - older but still ok.

TODO

Reorder topics
Bring in links from process documents
Look into lockdown mode