Office 365 Updates: January 2020
AMT’s Monthly Office 365 Updates keep you up to date with new features and important announcements from Microsoft. Office 365 has a continuous roll-out of changes. We filter out the announcements that we think will be most relevant to our customers and send them out in an easily digestible form. Here are the Office 365 January updates.
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Outlook
Updated Feature: FindTime, updating back-end service
FindTime is an Outlook add-in that helps your users quickly find time to meet with others by simplifying group scheduling via a poll. Customers asked that FindTime store application data at the organisation’s location. To address this, the new FindTime service will now store collected data in the meeting organiser’s Exchange mailbox.
The new FindTime service will be supported in Outlook on the web, Outlook for Windows 2016 version 2016.0.7828.100 and above, and Outlook for Mac 2016. Find out what version of Outlook you have.
New Feature: Outlook on the web – sync with Sticky Notes
When your tenant has this feature, your users will see a new experience for the “Notes” folder in Outlook on the web. Sticky Notes created in Windows 10 will continue to sync to this folder, additionally now users can edit a Sticky Note directly from the Notes folder in Outlook on the web and changes will be synced with Sticky Notes in Windows.
If you sign in with the same account across apps, your notes will sync across them like Sticky Notes for Windows 10, OneNote for iPhone and Android Phone, and Microsoft Launcher for Android Phone, Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web.
SharePoint
New Feature: Per-Site Sharing Links can now default to people with existing access
Prior to this change, SharePoint Administrators could choose either “Anyone”, “People in my organisation”, or “Specific People” when setting the default sharing link on a per-site basis.
Microsoft are adding “People with Existing Access” as a new default option. After an admin uses this default, tenant users who click on the Share button or Copy Link will receive an existing access link that does not change the permissions on the item. Additional link types are still available in Link Settings if needed, and this update does not change any existing default settings.
This feature is initially configurable via PowerShell but will be customisable in the modern SharePoint Admin Center in the future.
Teams
New Feature: Lobby control for dial-in attendees
By default, anyone who uses a phone to dial in to a meeting will now bypass the lobby. A meeting organiser will need to set up the lobby if one is needed.
Previously, a single setting controlled the lobby for attendees joining a meeting via the Teams client and those joining via phone dial-in.
Microsoft now have two separate lobby settings on the Meeting Option page: one controls the lobby for those joining via the Teams client and the other manages those joining by phone.
New Feature: Enhanced scheduling experience in Teams
Microsoft are replacing the existing scheduling form with a new form that retains all existing scheduling functionality. The new form provides an improved view of available time; allows changing event information from the scheduling assistant tab; and includes an option for required and optional attendees. The new form also includes search within the location picker.
Additional features for organisers include:
- All day events: a new toggle converts meetings to an all-day event.
- Availability status: both people and location search provide a visual clue (red) to indicate non-availability.
- Cancellation with message: provides a message when cancelling an event if desired.
- Tabs in edit/view mode: tabs provide easy access to chats, meeting notes, files, scheduling assistant, and white board.
- Time zone picker: meeting schedulers can select the time zone they wish to use for the meeting; by default the form selects the system time zone.
Those invited to a meeting may choose whether to RSVP and, if so, to add a message to an RSVP if desired.
Updated Feature: Microsoft Stream cloud recordings
When this configuration change is made the recordings will be stored in the nearest regional data center of Microsoft Stream. This will be the default behaviour once the change takes effect. For customers who prefer to store the recordings in-country, it is recommended customers disable the meeting recording feature in Teams admin center and re-enable once Microsoft Stream is deployed in that country.
Power Automate
New Feature: Use Power Automate to approve hub-site joins
With this feature enabled, hub site owners will have the ability to create approval workflows that designate who can approve a SharePoint site association request.
Administrators can enable or disable hub join approvals for all SharePoint Online site admins in their tenant using the controls in the hub site settings. This feature is off by default.
PowerApps
Updated Feature: PowerApps custom forms integration with SharePoint libraries
PowerApps custom forms is already integrated into SharePoint lists, which provides the ability to create an app for a list directly from the SharePoint list experience.
Microsoft are now enabling this same sort of capability in SharePoint libraries.
