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3 recommended updates: Microsoft Graph connectors for Microsoft Search

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By Jasper Oosterveld
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Thought leadership and industry insights for IT professionals working with the Microsoft cloud.

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Version 20.12.03

Microsoft MVP Jasper Oosterveld on the availability of Microsoft Graph connectors for Microsoft Search, additional Microsoft Teams settings for multiple accounts and organizations, and new ‘Undo’ and ‘Redo’ commands in Microsoft Lists.

ShareGate’s easy-to-use SaaS tools enable organizations to achieve more than ever before with Microsoft cloud technologies. In our ongoing series, Jasper Oosterveld brings you up to speed on the latest and greatest from the world of Microsoft 365.

I hope you enjoyed my last update—where I discussed the new file sharing experience in Microsoft Teams, a sensitivity label configuration update, and upcoming changes to topics and hashtags in Yammer.

Let’s move on to the latest installment!

In this release, you’ll find my opinion on the availability of Microsoft Graph connectors for Microsoft Search, additional Microsoft Teams settings for multiple accounts and organizations, and new ‘Undo’ and ‘Redo’ commands in Microsoft Lists.

Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at three Microsoft 365 updates I think you need to know about now.

Table of contents

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Microsoft Graph connectors for Microsoft Search

During the SharePoint on-premises days, we received a lot of requests from our customers to integrate line-of-business systems into the search results of SharePoint. Those requests diminished with the rise of SharePoint Online—mainly due to the limited integration options and shift in priorities for most customers.

Now, with the modernization of search in SharePoint Online, those requests have returned. Luckily, Microsoft is stepping up their game with the release of improvements to Microsoft Search.

Microsoft Graph connectors for Microsoft Search provide a set of out-of-the-box search connectors that enable Microsoft 365 customers to connect Microsoft Search to disparate data sources outside of Microsoft 365. Microsoft Graph connectors for Microsoft Search include the following connectors available within the Microsoft 365 Admin Center: Windows File Share, ServiceNow, Microsoft SQL Server, intranet websites, MediaWiki, Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2, Azure DevOps, and Azure SQL.

Microsoft 365 Roadmap, Featured ID: 67139

Microsoft Search indexes all of your data across Microsoft 365 to make it searchable for users. With Microsoft Graph connectors, your organization can also index third-party data so that it appears in Microsoft Search results. An exciting development!

Good to know:

  • Customers planning to use this service may need to purchase additional Graph connector index quota.
  • Customers actively using Microsoft Graph connectors prior to November 2020 will not being charged until February 2021.
  • Upon rollout completion, index quota used to ingest content from Graph connectors will become subject to billing. Check out the official documentation for more information on license requirements and pricing.
  • Head over to the Microsoft Graph connectors gallery for a detailed list of available connectors.

Microsoft already started rolling out the update for targeted release customers. The update will be made available to standard release customers in February 2021.

Microsoft Teams: Additional settings for multiple accounts and organizations

We cannot have an article in our series without a Microsoft Teams update!

Although this isn’t a major update, it’s still a great update for the user interface of the Microsoft Teams application. Microsoft is reorganizing the account info and settings shown in the profile menu (in the application’s title bar) in order to facilitate account and tenant switching.

We’re adding support within Teams desktop to be able to add one personal account, along with one work/school account, change their profile picture, and switch between accounts and orgs through Settings.

Microsoft 365 Roadmap, Featured ID: 68845

This is especially useful for users who have been invited to join a team in another organization as a guest, or who are using Teams with a work/school account and a personal account side by side.

Screenshot of Teams app.

The ability to switch accounts and organizations has been moved to a second-level menu:

Screenshot of account switching in Teams.

Good to know:

  • This update only impacts users who have been invited to join a team as a guest in another organization, or who are using Teams with a work/school and a personal account side by side.
  • Start updating your user training and documentation, and prepare your employees by sending out a news post announcing this update and its benefits.

Microsoft started rolling out the update in mid-November 2020, and expects rollout to be completed by mid-December 2020. GCC customers will receive the update in early December 2020.

Microsoft Lists ‘Undo’ and ‘Redo’ commands

Microsoft Lists, an evolution of SharePoint lists that was released earlier this year, is steadily releasing new updates. Including this one:

As you work across rows and columns within Microsoft Lists, mistakes will happen and it needs to be easy to recover information. Similar to how you can remove sentences and phrases in a Word document, you will be able to do this in Lists by using the undo button. The same is true in reverse if there was something in a field previously that you want to bring back—just click the redo button.

Microsoft 365 Roadmap, Featured ID: 68810

This update allows users who edit their lists in grid view to retract any unwanted changes or bring back previously entered information. They will see Undo and Redo commands while modifying lists—whether they’re working on the list in SharePoint, the Lists app in Microsoft 365, or the Lists app in Microsoft Teams.

This can be seen in the following example:

Image of Undo and Redo options in Lists.

Good to know:

  • Users will be able to use the following keyboard shortcuts to perform undo and redo operations while editing from grid view:
    • Undo for Windows: Control + Z
    • Redo for Windows: Control + Y AND Control + Shift + Z
    • Undo for Mac OS: Command + Z
    • Redo for Mac OS: Command + Shift + Z
  • Start updating your user training and documentation, and prepare your employees by sending out a news post announcing this update and its benefits.

Microsoft gradually rolled out the update for targeted release customers in November 2020. Standard release customers started receiving the update at the end of November 2020 with rollout continuing through late December 2020.

Important reminder: Microsoft 365 apps and services to end support for Internet Explorer 11

I want to conclude this week’s edition by bringing an important reminder to your attention: As of November 30th, 2020, the Microsoft Teams web app no longer supports Internet Explorer 11.

Now, Teams will need to be accessed via the new Microsoft Edge, another supported browser, or through the Teams Win-32 app. Let me repeat: The Teams web app is no longer accessible from Internet Explorer 11.

Don’t be mistaken, there are still plenty of customers running old software like Internet Explorer 11. Is this you? Then now is the time to take action! Head to the official Microsoft documentation for more details on Microsoft 365 apps and services ending support for Internet Explorer 11 and end of support coming to the legacy version of Microsoft Edge.

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