Forum Discussion
Modern Publishing Sites
Where does that leave the 'top-level' sites that already exist?
We've got xxxxx.sharepoint.com, which is the top-level site collection in SPO.
It, and all the content below it (and any content that was created before Modern started rolling out) are all in classic. What becomes of all that content? Heck, I created a list a couple of weeks ago; it came out being 'classic'. I created custom collumns, custom content types, set up the list to use everything I had created. Of course, I wanted to make use of SPFx so that I could make a form that didn't require a user to click through four different things just to get to the form. Guess what? Can't use that SPFx 'webpart' on the classic site. So, I get to go back to InfoPath and create forms, then create a new page (and hope like hell it doesn't decide all on its own to be a modern page, since we've had both classic and modern spring up with no rhyme or reason) and add some js to create a couple of buttons to call the appropriate InfoPath form. ARGH!
For that matter, why does the SharePoint 'app' in the App Launcher open the goofy 'almost Delve' page instead of the actual SPO homepage (top-level site in tenant site collection)?
If Microsoft wants the homepage for SPO to be Delve, get rid of the SharePoint 'app' and let it hide behind everything else. From there, admins can create a custom 'app' and then tell all of their users to manually (come on, really) add the app to their App Launcher home.
I'm having a heck of a time getting SPO adoption. Things like this, along with trying to explain the intracacies of the different applications and locations are a nightmare. I get it, but I spend an ENORMOUS amount of time looking this stuff up (when I could actually be getting things done). I get what Groups are, how they are important, how they tie things together. I get Teams. I get OD4B vs SPO vs Groups-based SPO sites vs Teams. Explaining the abstract, sprawling ecosystem to all of these people that are used to there being a company-wide RW share mapped to (InsertLetterHere): is nigh-on impossible. The more I train people, the more things change, the more applications are released, the more confused people get. The level of frustration is through the roof! People that were using personal Dropbox accounts (and sharing them) were told they could no longer do that. Guess what? They are back, and I don't blame them. In the time that we purchased our initial subscription in Spring 2016, to now, there have been three major changes, just in how OD4B works! First, it was "no SharePoint", then it was "SharePoint, if you use this version, and add this registry entry", then it was "Okay, we are letting you use SharePoint, but we are taking away your ability to share OD4B files from Explorer". So I get to retrain everyone every few months. This is completely unsustainable. I have been unable to get buyin for migrating data off of fileshares because no one knows how to use SPO or OneDrive, and they don't trust it, either!
<sigh/>
- Sadly I agree with you. The opaque nature of the releases, the confusing "this work with that but doesn't work with this until release ..." relationships, the concept of a group (Teams, groups, DLs, Yammer, classes, ???), development with InfoPath, or SPFx, or on-prem c#, or PowerShell, Workflow, Flow ...
All these I think are symptoms of the underlying mess that is SharePoint. The hybrid vs on-prem, OD4B sync (or not?), the outdated CSOM vs modern REST vs Graph, the old web-framework vs modern responsive framework, the changing nature of content-management, the public sharing vs internal only, the interconnected identities, cater to developers vs OOTB ....
I like where everything is going (mostly) but I wonder if MSFT might have been better served by cutting ties entirely with the old SP. Leaving it. Creating the new SP in a whole new space and offering migration tools.
Google's G-Suite offers a variation on the same online services but at a CONSIDERABLY lower introductory threshold for admin and users. They have no legacy to hang on to.No, the issue is that people don't understand Sharepoint and the underlying functionality and how it fits together. Classic vs. Modern is little more than a different page structure. You don't need to rip out "old Sharepoint" for any reason. It's the same foundation for old and new. Additionally, the Sharepoint Framework works equally for modern and classic pages.... so there shouldn't be any confusion there.
What's confusing might be how "modern" is presented. The reality is that a modern site is identical to a classic site, however, some of the plumbing isn't available because permissions restrict it. That's it. Same sites, same structure, just with a modern page structure that isn't built on master pages and is more closed off from customization.
Same with modern lists or libraries. They are the same, just with a different page to show the list or library. Again, nothing different, just different presentation.
Unfortunately, all this seems to get lost in translation.
Do not EVER compare G-Suite vs. Office 365. My god what an aweful comparison. G-Suite has about 1/200th of the capabilities and features. It's like comparing a mouse with a rhino.... it just doesn't make sense. Unless you're a company with 7 employees or are looking to get only basic needs out of your platform, Office 365 is the only choice.
The other point is this, Office 365 is in a transitional stage where Microsoft is tying all there products together into a single unified platform. Compared to a year ago, they have come LEAPS AND BOUNDS and continually making rapid improvements. Give them a little more time to get everything pieced together and then we'll see how what the future looks like. Perfect example for me is there PowerBI product which was in shambles over a year ago when they basically scrapped everything and rebuilt it. Here we are over a year later and Gartner rates it as "visionary" with it being not only a contender but a leader over Tableau and others. Trust me, this is not something I saw coming, at least not this fast.
I've seen that same type of growth and change withing Sharepoint/other Office products, but they aren't quite all interconnected (but are getting there). This fall, when OneDrive puts out their big update, I think will be when everything finally takes shape and we will start to see a unified, clear picture.
