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TonyRedmond
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Joined Jun 23, 2016
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Re: Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell Second Edition
Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell Update #22 The April 2026 update for the Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell eBook is now available for subscribers to download. Refreshed EPUB and PDF files can be downloaded from Gumroad.com. The Kindle and paperback editions are also updated. This month we reflect on V2.36.1 of the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK and why so little has changed in this important component (despie the addition of the beta UTCM module). https://office365itpros.com/2026/03/20/automating-microsoft-365-ps22/15Views0likes0CommentsPlanner Agent Delivers AI Help for Tasks
The Planner agent is now available to users with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses and any Planner license. The purpose of the Planner agent is to help people understand the steps necessary to accomplish assigned tasks. Like any AI tool, the quality of the agent’s output depends on the precision and completeness of the instructions given for a task. But if you’re prepared to iterate, the agent might work for you. https://office365itpros.com/2026/03/19/planner-agent/17Views0likes0CommentsThe Sad State of Microsoft Graph and Other APIs
Some Microsoft MVPs have expressed a strong opinion that Microsoft isn’t doing enough to develop and enhance the Microsoft Graph APIs across Microsoft 365. Problems include inconsistency in implementation, undocumented APIs, assembly clashes, missing coverage, and APIs that never come out of beta. It seems like Microsoft doesn’t dedicate sufficient attention to this important topic. What do you think? https://office365itpros.com/2026/03/18/microsoft-graph-issues/25Views0likes0CommentsTeams Meetings to Block Third-Party Recording Bots
Teams will soon block third-party recording bots from being able to create transcripts and generate AI-based summaries for Teams meetings. The problem is that these bots must export information for processing outside of a tenant, which creates all sorts of compliance issues. The new feature is part of base Teams and will be enabled in all tenants. You can disable the block and allow bots if you want. https://office365itpros.com/2026/03/16/third-party-recording-bots/105Views1like0CommentsTeams Suppresses Sentiments in Meeting Chats
In December 2024, Microsoft introduced a control to block responses to sentiment-related prompts in Teams meeting chat. Now that block extends to every Teams user following a consolidation of the Teams meeting implementation of chat with Microsoft 365 Copilot. Basically, the block stops Copilot responding to prompts that look for opinions about emotions, judgement, or evaluations of other meeting participants. It’s a good thing. https://office365itpros.com/2026/03/13/sentiment-related-prompts/31Views1like0CommentsSharePoint Online Clamps Down on Company-Wide Sharing Links
Company-wide sharing links allow any authenticated user account in a Microsoft 365 tenant to access a shared file or folder. New settings are available to create an expiration policy for company-wide sharing links, with different values supported for SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business. The idea is to stop the potential for abuse of sharing links, including stale links that should not grant access to files and folders. https://office365itpros.com/2026/03/12/company-wide-sharing-links-limits/32Views0likes0CommentsMicrosoft 365 Backup Launches File-Level Restore
The Microsoft 365 Backup solution will soon be able to restore individual files and folders instead of complete sites. That’s a welcome upgrade to restore capabilities to cover situations like the inadvertent deletion of a file. It’s a wonder why Microsoft didn’t make more about this capability when they celebrated SharePoint’s 25th anniversary last week when they discussed departmental billing for Microsoft 365 Backup. https://office365itpros.com/2026/03/11/microsoft-365-backup-file-restore/33Views0likes0CommentsHow to Remove Sensitivity Labels from SharePoint Files at Scale
It’s easy to remove sensitivity labels from SharePoint Online files when only a few files are involved. Doing the same task at scale requires automation. In this article, we explain how to use the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK to find and remove sensitivity labels from files stored in SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business. https://office365itpros.com/2026/03/10/remove-sensitivity-labels-from-file/38Views0likes0CommentsMicrosoft Rushes High-Volume Email to General Availability
Almost two years after it first previewed, Microsoft is making the High-Volume Email (HVE) solution generally available in March 2026. HVE runs on a pay-as-you-go basis, but Microsoft won’t start charging tenants for sending email until May 2026. Two months should be enough for people to decide if they want to use HVE for internal communications as it has no ability to send external email. https://office365itpros.com/2026/03/09/hve-ga/114Views1like0CommentsSharePoint Online Drops One Time Passcodes for External Access
From July 2026. SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business will use Entra B2B Collaboration (guest accounts) to control external access to shared files. This change has been coming since 2021, but it takes time for organizations to get their heads around changing the way to grant external access. It’s time to embrace guest accounts, and that means doing some work to manage guest accounts on an ongoing basis. https://office365itpros.com/2026/03/06/guest-accounts-spo/182Views0likes0CommentsMeasuring KPIs like Response Times for Shared Mailboxes
Shared mailboxes are not CRM systems. However, many Microsoft 365 tenants use shared mailboxes to handle customer queries and then want to measure KPIs such as agent responsiveness to customer queries or the number of queries handled per agent in a month. As explored in this article, it’s possible to use the Microsoft Graph and PowerShell to extract some KPI-like data from shared mailboxes. https://office365itpros.com/2026/03/05/shared-mailbox-kpi/49Views1like0CommentsHow to Test a File Against DLP Sensitive Information Types
Sensitive Information types (SITs) are definitions of data like credit card numbers used by DLP rules to detect potential external sharing violations. Knowing what SIT to use in a DLP rule is often difficult, which is why the Purview developers have added a test option to allow tenants to test files against individual SITs or all SITs to see what happens. https://office365itpros.com/2026/03/04/sensitive-information-type-test/32Views0likes0CommentsMicrosoft Celebrates SharePoint 25th Anniversary with a Bunch of Announcements
Microsoft celebrated the 25th anniversary of SharePoint with a batch of announcements, including AI in SharePoint, intended to help administrators to manage all aspects of SharePoint Online through natural language. Other interesting announcements included department-level payments for Microsoft 365 Backup and the renaming of the Connections app in Teams as the SharePoint app. Well, the last wasn’t that interesting… https://office365itpros.com/2026/03/03/ai-in-sharepoint/54Views0likes0CommentsRe: Announcing Office 365 for IT Pros (2026 Edition)
March 2026 Update for Office 365 for IT Pros We’ve released monthly update #129 for the Office 365 for IT Pros eBook. Current subscribers can download the EPUB and PDF files from gumroad.com. This month we reflect on the 25th anniversary of the release of SharePoint Portal Server 2001 and the 30th anniversary of Exchange Server V4.0. Both servers have experienced great success online and on-premises. Long may they continue! https://office365itpros.com/2026/03/02/office-365-for-it-pros-129/35Views0likes0CommentsPlanner’s Newly Redesigned Interface
Microsoft has launched a redesigned user interface for the Planner app. The big news is the inclusion of task chat. Goals are also available, but only to people with a Microsoft 365 Copilot or Planner Premium licenses. Task Chat is a nice feature, and I am sure that it will be popular. UX redesigns often disappoint. At least this one offers new features. https://office365itpros.com/2026/02/27/planner-new-ux/38Views0likes0CommentsExtending Protection for Confidential SharePoint Online Files
Sensitivity labels offer great protection against unauthorized access, but sometimes files that aren’t encrypted escape from a document library. SharePoint Online can now use sensitivity labels configured with user-defined permissions (UDP) to extend protection to downloaded files. The magic works by configuring permissions on download based on the membership of the user who downloads a file. https://office365itpros.com/2026/02/26/sensitivity-label-extend-protection/37Views0likes0CommentsHow to Use Scoped Graph Permissions with SharePoint Lists
This article explains how to use scoped Graph permissions to restrict app access to lists and list items in SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business sites. It's a follow-up to other articles covering how to restrict app access to SharePoint Online sites and files. Scoping app access to specific objects is important because otherwise apps can access everything in SharePoint Online, and that isn't good. https://office365itpros.com/2026/02/25/scoped-graph-permission-lists/26Views0likes0CommentsMicrosoft Extends DLP Policy for Copilot Protection to All Storage Locations
Microsoft has enhanced the DLP policy for Copilot to cover Office files held in any storage location instead of only Microsoft 365 locations like SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business. The change is made in the Office augmentation loop, a little-known internal component that coordinates use of connected experiences by apps. Extending the DLP policy to cover all locations makes perfect sense. https://office365itpros.com/2026/02/24/dlp-policy-for-copilot-storage/152Views0likes0CommentsRe: Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell Second Edition
Update #21 for Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell Update #21 for the Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell eBook is now available for current subscribers to download from Gumroad.com. Refreshed PDF and EPUB files are available and the paperback version available from Amazon.com is also updated. Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell is packed with practical ready-to-use examples of working with apps, sites, mailboxes, teams, plans, and other data. Every Microsoft 365 administrator should have this book! https://office365itpros.com/2026/02/23/automating-microsoft-365-ps21/42Views0likes0CommentsMicrosoft Takes Aim at ChatGPT
Microsoft would very much like Microsoft 365 tenants to use Copilot instead of ChatGPT. A recent comparison between Copilot and ChatGPT outlines some areas that Microsoft thinks are important when deciding which AI tool to use. Microsoft has a point because Copilot is embedded into Microsoft 365 whereas ChatGPT is more of an add-on. The competition for hearts and minds is very intense in the AI space. https://office365itpros.com/2026/02/20/copilot-and-chatgpt/69Views0likes0Comments
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