Forum Discussion
SharePoint sites vs. Site Collections - CONFUSED!
I'm even more confused. It appears to me that there are 3 kinds of Team sites if you count the group and team that is created using the Teams App from the app launcher. Those sites don't show up anywhere, only the groups. The site looks different, the team site created from the 'Create Site' link looks different, and then the original classic site looks different. Not to mention you have to go to various locations to either edit or delete these things. A freaking nightmare in my opinion. Maybe it will be better when Microsoft gives up the new Admin Center to manage groups.
>there are 3 kinds of Team sites if you count the group and team that is created using the Teams App
IMHO you should not count the "Team" (in MS Teams) as a Site.
I understand it's a "thing" you go to that has stuff in it (which sounds a lot like a SharePoint site that you go to that has stuff in it). But it's really more akin to a Yammer Group or Public Folder than a "site" in SharePoint. And for sure it isn't treated as a site by any of the SharePoint admin functions.
Your other point - that it is a pain to manage the mix of Group Sites and Communications Sites and classic Team Sites and any custom SharePoint Sites... yes. Yes, it is.
- Vivek Jain, you have started a new topic and i would recommend creating your own post for your questions.
Tried the external sharing on the 'Team Site' created via the "+ Create Site" option and YES, it DOES allow the external sharing through the "Site Permissions -> Invite Users". (though there is no 'share' icon on the Team Site itself).
The "Communication Site" created earlier is now giving different message (even though I gave the same external email address and no changes to any settings at all), the message now is "We couldn't find an exact match" (pls see the screen shot below).
For the communication site, also tried going to "Advanced Permissions" and adding my external email to the SharePoint group (see screen shot below). There it gives the similar message as earlier.
In spite of all the errors in external sharing "communication site", the site administrator still receives email indicating the site has been shared (email screen shot below), but the actual gmail address never received that email.
All in all, very uncomfortable using the "+ Create Site" option for creating sites at this point. Unsure how MS clears the "cloud" (how ironic) in coming days.
Thanks Kevin. I think that will be the case with all the sites created through the "+ Create Site" option, the "communication" as well as the "team site". The "Communication Site" sounded like a good option for setting up space for external audience.
MS has been positioning Communications Sites as an intranet-style use case. So, this would explain why it can't be set for external access.
Thanks Dean.
1) After checking the instructions on the page, I see that in my Admin Center that is already turned on, but still it does not allow me to share my communication site externally. Following are all the setting I can think of.
2) Basically I was looking for way of creating a "Communication Site" through the "Site Contents -> New Subsite". That way I will have my "Communication Site" under a known collection and control it's external sharing. But the only way to create a "Communication Site" is through the "+ Create Site" option, which is not allowing me to share it externally.
Thanks.
1. see the instructions at https://support.office.com/en-us/article/share-your-office-365-sites-with-external-users-89502322-bfbb-43d6-9207-4030f8ce26e0
2. i'm not sure exactly what you mean but you cannot convert an existing site to a communication site.
Hi Dean_Gross
Thanks for all your insights, can't appreciate enough.
a) I created a site with the "+ Create Site" option but while sharing the site externally, it stated the the external sharing is not turned on. Now since the collection for sites creates via this option is not listed in "Admin Center" how do we turn the external sharing on?
b) The option of creating a "communication Site" is available only through the "+ Create Site" option. Is there anyway to define a communication site on one of our private site collection?
Thanks a lot.
KevinCrossman wrote:
And for sure it isn't treated as a site by any of the SharePoint admin functions.
How about the new Admin Center that lists all the MS Teams's team sites? I know that this is still in preview but it looks like that is on its way.
