(Apparently) Unpredictable crazy colors in Excel dark mode
Hi, At LAST, there is a so-called Dark Mode in Excel, thanks for our eyes! Unfortunately, if the developpers wanted to discourage us from using it, they probably wouln't have done it any other way! In short, I tend to use colors in my spreadsheets to highlight value, especially inconsistent or unwanted ones, obviously. Now, someone at Microsoft seems to have deemed it a decent idea to (apparently randomly) display a dirty brown when I ask for yellow, Except in the buttons backgrounds, which renders the text unreadable, to break the "automatic color" feature that should make the text readable whatever the background color, and not to provide any way to predict what will be the end color of a random pick. Is there any way to set Excel so the color I pick is the one that is displayed in Dark Mode? At worst, is there any way to get a formula that will tell me what values I need to enter so I get the color I really want in my cell? Thanks for any decent update to this really needed feature!
M365 Developer Program Provisioning
Hello Team, I’m unable to complete the setup of my Microsoft 365 E5 Developer subscription. After signing in, the process gets stuck at: “Please wait while we load your personal information…” and eventually shows: “You can’t use a personal account here. Please sign in with a work or school account.” Steps I’ve already tried: * Used a brand-new email ID * Logged out of all Microsoft accounts on all devices * Cleared cache/cookies * Tried Edge InPrivate, Chrome Incognito, and mobile incognito * Tried accessing the portal directly (admin.microsoft.com / developer.microsoft.com) Still facing the same issue. Is this a known provisioning problem with the Developer Program? Any help or guidance would be appreciated. Thank you!Extending SharePoint capabilities - Lightning Tools - SharePoint Partner Showcase
We are excited to share a new episode on our partner showcase series focused on SharePoint in Microsoft 365. In this post, we focus on Lightning Tools which is providing a set of additional features and capabilities directly on top of SharePoint.Unlocking AI-Driven Data Access: Azure Database for MySQL Support via the Azure MCP Server
Step into a new era of data-driven intelligence with the fusion of Azure MCP Server and Azure Database for MySQL, where your MySQL data is no longer just stored, but instantly conversational, intelligent and action-ready. By harnessing the open-standard Model Context Protocol (MCP), your AI agents can now query, analyze and automate in natural language, accessing tables, surfacing insights and acting on your MySQL-driven business logic as easily as chatting with a colleague. It’s like giving your data a voice and your applications a brain, all within Azure’s trusted cloud platform. We are excited to announce that we have added support for Azure Database for MySQL in Azure MCP Server. The Azure MCP Server leverages the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to allow AI agents to seamlessly interact with various Azure services to perform context-aware operations such as querying databases and managing cloud resources. Building on this foundation, the Azure MCP Server now offers a set of tools that AI agents and apps can invoke to interact with Azure Database for MySQL - enabling them to list and query databases, retrieve schema details of tables, and access server configurations and parameters. These capabilities are delivered through the same standardized interface used for other Azure services, making it easier to the adopt the MCP standard for leveraging AI to work with your business data and operations across the Azure ecosystem. Before we delve into these new tools and explore how to get started with them, let’s take a moment to refresh our understanding of MCP and the Azure MCP Server - what they are, how they work, and why they matter. MCP architecture and key components The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an emerging open protocol designed to integrate AI models with external data sources and services in a scalable, standardized, and secure manner. MCP dictates a client-server architecture with four key components: MCP Host, MCP Client, MCP Server and external data sources, services and APIs that provide the data context required to enhance AI models. To explain briefly, an MCP Host (AI apps and agents) includes an MCP client component that connects to one or more MCP Servers. These servers are lightweight programs that securely interface with external data sources, services and APIs and exposes them to MCP clients in the form of standardized capabilities called tools, resources and prompts. Learn more: MCP Documentation What is Azure MCP Server? Azure offers a multitude of cloud services that help developers build robust applications and AI solutions to address business needs. The Azure MCP Server aims to expose these powerful services for agentic usage, allowing AI systems to perform operations that are context-aware of your Azure resources and your business data within them, while ensuring adherence to the Model Context Protocol. It supports a wide range of Azure services and tools including Azure AI Search, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Storage, Azure Monitor, Azure CLI and Developer CLI extensions. This means that you can empower AI agents, apps and tools to: Explore your Azure resources, such as listing and retrieving details on your Azure subscriptions, resource groups, services, databases, and tables. Search, query and analyze your data and logs. Execute CLI and Azure Developer CLI commands directly, and more! Learn more: Azure MCP Server GitHub Repository Introducing new Azure MCP Server tools to interact with Azure Database for MySQL The Azure MCP Server now includes the following tools that allow AI agents to interact with Azure Database for MySQL and your valuable business data residing in these servers, in accordance with the MCP standard: Tool Description Example Prompts azmcp_mysql_server_list List all MySQL servers in a subscription & resource group "List MySQL servers in resource group 'prod-rg'." "Show MySQL servers in region 'eastus'." azmcp_mysql_server_config_get Retrieve the configuration of a MySQL server "What is the backup retention period for server 'my-mysql-server'?" "Show storage allocation for server 'my-mysql-server'." azmcp_mysql_server_param_get Retrieve a specific parameter of a MySQL server "Is slow_query_log enabled on server my-mysql-server?" "Get innodb_buffer_pool_size for server my-mysql-server." azmcp_mysql_server_param_set Set a specific parameter of a MySQL server to a specific value "Set max_connections to 500 on server my-mysql-server." "Set wait_timeout to 300 on server my-mysql-server." azmcp_mysql_table_list List all tables in a MySQL database "List tables starting with 'tmp_' in database 'appdb'." "How many tables are in database 'analytics'?" azmcp_mysql_table_schema_get Get the schema of a specific table in a MySQL database "Show indexes for table 'transactions' in database 'billing'." "What is the primary key for table 'users' in database 'auth'?" azmcp_mysql_database_query Executes a SELECT query on a MySQL Database. The query must start with SELECT and cannot contain any destructive SQL operations for security reasons. “How many orders were placed in the last 30 days in the salesdb.orders table?” “Show the number of new users signed up in the last week in appdb.users grouped by day.” These interactions are secured using Microsoft Entra authentication, which enables seamless, identity-based access to Azure Database for MySQL - eliminating the need for password storage and enhancing overall security. How are these new tools in the Azure MCP Server different from the standalone MCP Server for Azure Database for MySQL? We have integrated the key capabilities of the Azure Database for MySQL MCP server into the Azure MCP Server, making it easier to connect your agentic apps not only to Azure Database for MySQL but also to other Azure services through one unified and secure interface! How to get started Installing and running the Azure MCP Server is quick and easy! Use GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code to gain meaningful insights from your business data in Azure Database for MySQL. Pre-requisites Install Visual Studio Code. Install GitHub Copilot and GitHub Copilot Chat extensions. An Azure Database for MySQL with Microsoft Entra authentication enabled. Ensure that the MCP Server is installed on a system with network connectivity and credentials to connect to Azure Database for MySQL. Installation and Testing Please use this guide for installation: Azure MCP Server Installation Guide Try the following prompts with your Azure Database for MySQL: Azure Database for MySQL tools for Azure MCP Server Try it out and share your feedback! Start using Azure MCP Server with the MySQL tools today and let our cloud services become your AI agent’s most powerful ally. We’re counting on your feedback - every comment, suggestion, or bug-report helps us build better tools together. Stay tuned: more features and capabilities are on the horizon! Feel free to comment below or write to us with your feedback and queries at AskAzureDBforMySQL@service.microsoft.com.
App Validation Issue - Bot must send a proactive welcome message in personal scope
I'm working on a bot application for MS Teams using the Python SDK and encountered a challenge with app validation and the proactive welcome message requirement. What Happened: Initially, our bot handled the welcome message through on_installation_update, but app validation failed with the error: "Bot must send a proactive welcome message in personal scope." To satisfy validation, we added on_members_added_activity to send the welcome message for personal scope, which resolved the validation error. However, this created a new problem: on_members_added_activity is being triggered when we call the Graph API to query chats or users: {graph_url}/me/chats $filter=chatType eq 'oneOnOne' and installedApps/any(a:a/teamsApp/id eq '{teams_app_id}') {graph_url}/users/{user_id}/chats $filter=chatType eq 'oneOnOne' and installedApps/any(a:a/teamsApp/id eq '{teams_app_id}') According to a Stack Overflow discussion (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/57496329/proactive-messaging-bot-in-teams-without-mentioning-the-bot-beforehand), this appears to be a known issue: calling this API triggers a conversation update event even though there were no actual updates, resulting in duplicate events and duplicate welcome messages. Questions: What is the official/recommended way to handle known issue: calling this API triggers a conversation update event? Whats the recommended way to read personal chat history of a user? Should we be using a different approach for this app validation requirement? Any guidance or pointers to official documentation would be greatly appreciated!
Automating CRUD operations in MS Places
Hi, Has anyone been able to automate CRUD operations in MS Places yet? Given that the Places API calls support user access tokens only currently and Application access tokens isn't yet supported? We were able to do Get operations using App tokens but when run anything to modify, For Ex: Create a building using Set-Placev3 cmdlet it gives error. When raised an MS ticket they confirmed that the calls doesn't support application tokens yet.. We have a showstopper kind of situation.
Unable to remove old account sing up form Teams on Mac OS
I cannot remove an old sing account from Teams on Mac OS. I have to delete the keychain, I delete the temp folder, and remove and reinstall Teams, and the old account is still there. I have a case open with the Microsoft team, and they cannot figure it out. Where is the login info store, and why has Microsoft not provided a solution where users can remove accounts as easily as they can add? Please help!
