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Power Automate approval actions: A comparison of Start and wait, Create, and Wait for an approval


If you’re responsible for building flows in Power Automate, you’re certain to be asked to create an approval process at some point. This blog post will cover:

  • Comparison of the three approval action types, descriptions, and business use cases
  • How to create a basic approval flow using Power Automate
  • Dynamic content differences between Power Automate approval actions

Let’s start by comparing your three approval action options.

Comparison of Power Automate approval actions

One of the actions available in Power Automate is the Start and wait for an approval action. This action starts the approval process and waits for it to be completed before executing any additional actions. Actions that follow are typically response-dependent, such as creating an item or updating a status if approved or rejected.

Another action available in Power Automate is the Create an approval action. This action starts the approval process but does not wait for it to be completed. Instead, you can use the Wait for an approval action to wait for the approval to complete that was started by the Create an approval action. You might use these actions…

  • …if you want to have steps between creation and waiting. For example, if you wanted to customize the email that is sent to approvers, you would disable Enable notifications on the Create an approval step, then add a Send an email action afterwards but before the Wait for an approval step. This gives you complete control over the look and feel of the email request, rather than sticking to the default Power Automate branded message.
  • …if your approval process will take more than 30 days and your flow will time out before it’s finished. Create an approval creates the approval in Microsoft Teams (or Power Automate) and approvers can approve it there when they’re ready. Your flow won’t fail as You may not necessarily wait for an approval in the flow itself.

Here is a table that summarizes the differences between the various actions:

ActionDescriptionBusiness Use Case Example
Start and wait for an approvalStarts the approval process and waits for it to be completed.A manager wants to automate the approval process for leave requests. They use the Start and wait for an approval action to ensure that the request is approved before the employee’s calendar is updated.
Create an approvalStarts the approval process but does not wait for it to be completed.A team lead wants to automate the approval process for expense reports. They use the Create an approval action to create the approval record and send notifications, but they don’t want to wait for the approval to complete before executing the next step in the flow. In this case, the approval response may not affect the following steps, but just needed to be requested and logged.
Wait for an approvalUsed to wait for an approval to complete that was started by the Create an approval action.A project manager wants to automate the approval process for project proposals. They use the Create an approval action to create the approval record, send their own custom notifications as a Planner task, an email, or a chat message, and then use the Wait for an approval action to wait for the approval to complete before executing the next step(s) in the flow.

Create an approval and Wait for an approval can be used consecutively to achieve the same result as only using the all-in-one action of Start and wait for an approval. For example, let’s say you use Microsoft Teams to manage your team’s projects. You can use Power Automate to automate the approval process for project proposals. You can create a flow that uses the Create an approval action to create the approval record and send notifications to the approvers. Once the approvers have approved the proposal, you can use the Wait for an approval action to wait for the approval to complete before executing the next step in the flow. This ensures that the project proposal is approved before any additional actions are taken but also gives you the added benefits of flexibility down the road like adding steps between creation and waiting, as well as additional dynamic content that may be helpful (see the dynamic content section below).

How to create a basic approval flow using Power Automate

Here is a step-by-step guide for creating a basic approval flow in Power Automate using reimbursement requests as an example:

  1. Select the When an item is created trigger for SharePoint. This trigger will start the flow when a new reimbursement request is created in the list.
  2. Add the Start and wait for an approval action to your flow. This action will start the approval process and wait for it to be completed before executing any additional actions.
  3. Configure the Start and wait for an approval action by specifying the approvers, the approval type, and any other relevant details. For example, you can specify that the approval should be sent to the employee’s manager and the Accounting department, and that the approval type should be Approve/Reject – Everyone must approve.
  4. Add any additional actions that you want to execute after the approval process has been completed. You’ll almost always have a Condition control that checks to see if the response was Approve or Reject. Then, for example, you might use the Send an email action to notify the employee that their reimbursement request has been approved, and maybe Update item to set the SharePoint item’s status as Approved.

Here is a side-by-side comparison that shows the steps for a flow that uses start and wait for an approval, and a different one that shows using create an approval, send an email, then wait for an approval:

Start and wait for an approvalCreate an approval, send an email, then wait for an approval
1. Add the Start and wait for an approval action to your flow.1. Add the Create an approval action to your flow.
2. Configure the Start and wait for an approval action by specifying the approvers, the approval type, and any other relevant details.2. Configure the Create an approval action by specifying the approvers, the approval type, and any other relevant details. In this example, we would disable the Enable notifications setting so we can send a custom notification.
3. Add any additional actions that you want to execute after the approval process has been completed such as a response-dependent (Condition control) secondary level of approvals.3. Add the Send an email action to your flow to notify the requestor and/or approver(s) of the request details and action required.
4. Add the Wait for an approval action to your flow.
5. Configure the Wait for an approval action to wait for the approval to complete before executing any additional actions like a response-dependent (Condition control) status column update.
Table comparing the steps added to an approval flow using two different approaches

Not only do you use these approval actions in different scenarios, but your choice also affects the dynamic content you can use later in the flow. Let’s take a look at that next.

Dynamic content differences between Power Automate approval actions

The choices you make for which approval actions affect which dynamic content is available to you in later steps. Here’s an example of the dynamic content panel for a step following Create an approval:

A screenshot of selecting dynamic content from a Create an approval step | Click to enlarge

Here’s a listing of all the dynamic content alphabetically listed and which actions provide it for you.

Dynamic contentDescriptionStart and wait for an approvalCreate an approvalWait for an approval
Approval IDThe name of the approvalâś“âś“âś“
ApproversAll of the approvers   
Approvers Approver emailThe email address of the approver âś“ 
Approvers Approver IDThe ID of the approver âś“ 
Approvers Approver nameThe name of the approver âś“ 
Approvers Approver tenant IDThe tenant ID of the approver âś“ 
Approvers Approver user principal nameThe principal name of the approver âś“ 
Approvers Item  âś“ 
body âś“âś“âś“
Completion dateDate the approval was completedâś“ âś“
DetailsAdditional details about the requestâś“âś“âś“
Item linkA link to the item to approveâś“âś“âś“
Item link descriptionDescription of the link to the itemâś“âś“âś“
OutcomeThe outcome of the approvalâś“ âś“
Request dateDate the approval request was sentâś“âś“âś“
Respond linkThe link to respond to the approval âś“ 
Response summaryA summary of the responsesâś“ âś“
ResponsesAll of the responsesâś“ âś“
Responses Approver emailThe email address of the approverâś“ âś“
Responses Approver IDThe ID of the approverâś“ âś“
Responses Approver nameThe name of the approverâś“ âś“
Responses Approver responseThe response from the approverâś“ âś“
Responses Approver tenant IDThe tenant ID of the approverâś“ âś“
Responses Approver user principal nameThe principal name of the approverâś“ âś“
Responses CommentsComments added by the approverâś“ âś“
Responses Item âś“ âś“
Responses Request dateDate the approval request was sentâś“ âś“
Responses responder âś“ âś“
Responses Response dateDate the approval response was sentâś“ âś“
Teams Adaptive CardAn adaptive card that can be posted to users to respond from within Microsoft Teams âś“ 
TitleThe title of the approvalâś“âś“âś“
Table comparing dynamic content for different approval actions in Power Automate

One of the most valuable differences here, in my opinion, is the inclusion of Respond link. It’s only available for the Create an approval action. This allows you to send custom reminders with links that take users directly to the item(s) they still need to approve. You could also consider just sending users directly to the Approvals app in Microsoft Teams to put eyes on all their outstanding requests.

Conclusion

As you can see, a simple action choice comes with a lot of potential for creating rich processes. And with all of the options provided through dynamic content, we can customize the approval process quite a bit. In most cases, you’ll probably use Start and wait for an approval. But as you develop more flows, you may find yourself wanting a greater degree of customization and flexibility so you opt for the Create an approval + Wait for an approval approach.

What sort of approval processes are you working on automating with Power Automate? Let me know in the comments or on LinkedIn.

References and further reading

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How to create a direct link to the Approvals app in Microsoft Teams

yellow arrow led signage

If you want to create a direct hyperlink in an email or chat message that takes a user directly to the Approvals app within Microsoft Teams, it’s luckily pretty straightforward. You might do this if you want to remind users to review any pending/open approvals on a regular basis, nudge a specific person to complete an approval, or create a custom approval request email for a Power Automate flow.

In this blog post I’ll highlight how you can get a direct link to Approvals for enterprise and GCC subscriptions in both Microsoft Teams and Power Automate.

How to create a direct link to the Approvals app in Microsoft Teams

To send users directly to the Approvals app in Microsoft Teams, your URL may be exactly the same as one of these. That’s right, no modification needed! That’s because the alphanumeric content in the URL is the app ID and it stays the same from one organization to the next.

However, the app ID does differ for different versions of the Approvals app. For instance:

Approvals app in Microsoft Teams: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/entity/7c316234-ded0-4f95-8a83-8453d0876592/approvals

US GCC Approvals app in Microsoft Teams: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/entity/2d4edd75-5a69-41da-bead-44c3a268ece8/approvals

As you can see the structure is similar:

  1. Begin your URL with https://teams.microsoft.com/l/entity/
  2. Replace the alphanumeric id before /approvals with the app ID specific to your Approvals app

How to find your app ID

If neither of the examples above (normal Approvals or GCC Approvals) works for you, you may have a different Approvals app or the ID may have changed or been copied incorrectly. To find your app ID:

  1. Go to Manage Apps in the Microsoft Teams Admin Center
  2. Search for and select the Approvals app
  3. Find its ID under App ID
An app details page in the Microsoft Teams admin center | Click to enlarge

How to create a direct link to the Approvals page of Power Automate

If you prefer users complete approvals via the browser using Power Automate (same approvals, different interface), you may instead go to Power Automate in your browser and click on Approvals from the left navigation menu then copy that entire URL. It will be the same for all users in your organization.

It might resemble something like the following:

Approvals page in Power Automate: https://make.powerautomate.com/environments/Default-a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7h8i-9j0k-l1m2n3o4p5q6/approvals/received

US GCC Approvals page in Power Automate: https://make.gov.powerautomate.us/environments/Default-g7h8i9j0-k1l2-m3n4-o5p6-q7r8s9t0u1v2/approvals/received

You can, alternatively, copy one of my fake URLs above and replace everything between Default- and /approvals with your organization’s ID. To get this, visit Power Automate in your browser and copy the ID out of its URL.

Power Automate URL’s ID location | Click to enlarge

References

Deep link to an application – Teams | Microsoft Learn

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Microsoft Teams vs Viva Engage: A comparison guide

Microsoft Teams and Viva Engage (formerly known as Yammer) both empower communication and collaboration within an organization but they have different strengths and purposes. So how do you decide which one to use for your needs?

When I’m asked the question “when do I use which?”, I usually respond with another question: “Are you wanting to accomplish work together, or work on employee engagement and culture?” It’s not that you can’t do both with either tool – but each has its strength for different purposes. This post will help clarify when you might choose one over the other for various needs.

Feature comparison: Teams vs Viva Engage

To help you understand the differences between Microsoft Teams and Viva Engage, I’ve put together a comparison table that highlights their key concepts and strengths. I’ll go into more detail later in this post.

FeatureMicrosoft TeamsViva Engage
CommunicationChat, voice, and video callsCommunity building, leadership engagement
CollaborationFile sharing, co-authoring, and real-time collaborationKnowledge sharing, self-expression
IntegrationIntegrated with other Microsoft 365 appsIntegrated with other Microsoft 365 apps
DeploymentManaged by Teams adminManaged by Teams admin
User InterfaceChat-based interfaceCommunity-based interface
Use CasesReal-time communication and collaborationCommunity building and knowledge sharing
Table comparing core concepts and abilities of Microsoft Teams and Viva Engage

As you can see from the table, Microsoft Teams excels at real-time communication and collaboration, while Viva Engage is focused on community building and knowledge sharing. So when deciding which tool to use, it’s important to consider your goals and the needs of your team or organization.

Not as familiar with Viva Engage yet? I recently posted 3 practical user stories that show how Viva Engage boosts employee engagement.

Next, let’s look at another commonly asked question that gets deeper into each app – when I need a new place for my team/group, should I create a team in Microsoft Teams or a community in Viva Engage?

Teams vs communities: When to use which

You’re going to be at a crossroads occasionally when you need to establish a new group of people in one (or both) apps. While both apps allow you to create groups of people and share resources, they are best suited for different scenarios. So do you need a new team, or a new community?

Microsoft Teams: Real-time collaboration

In Microsoft Teams, you can create a team for real-time communication and collaboration. Teams are ideal for scenarios where you need to work on a project together, coordinate tasks, or share files. With features like chat, voice and video calls, and co-authoring, Microsoft Teams makes it easy to collaborate and get work done.

Viva Engage: Community building

In Viva Engage, you can create a community for knowledge sharing and community building. Communities are ideal for scenarios where you want to share best practices, discuss industry trends, or build a sense of community around a shared interest or goal. With features like community discussions, knowledge sharing, and leadership engagement, Viva Engage helps you foster a strong and engaged community as well as company culture.

Business use case comparison: Teams vs Viva Engage

The following table helps demonstrate when I, personally, would choose one app over the other. There is a great deal of personal preference here and there is no 100% correct answer for all organizations and scenarios. But I hope this helps you form your own decisions, nonetheless.

Business use caseTeamCommunity
Launch a new product and get feedback from customers and stakeholdersâś“âś“
Organize a virtual live event with speakers, Q&A, and pollsâś“*âś“
Coordinate a project with tasks, deadlines, and progress reportsâś“
Share best practices and tips with peers in the same role or functionâś“
Connect with leaders and experts and ask questions or share ideasâś“
Collaborate on a document or presentation with co-authors and reviewersâś“
Celebrate a team milestone or achievement with praise and recognitionâś“âś“
Find relevant information and resources for a specific topic or domainâś“
Manage a sales pipeline and track leads, opportunities, and dealsâś“
Communicate urgent updates and announcements to the whole organizationâś“
Conduct a brainstorming session and generate new ideas or solutionsâś“
Plan and execute a marketing campaign or a product launchâś“
Build a personal network and find people with common interests or goalsâś“
Table comparing when to use a team (Microsoft Teams) vs a community (Viva Engage)

*I would choose Viva Engage over Microsoft Teams for most live events that are this interactive because the features being used imply engagement and broad communication. I lean toward Teams for smaller meetings, typically less produced, and more task oriented.

Summary

In summary, you might choose to create a team in Microsoft Teams when you need to collaborate and communicate in real-time, and you might choose to create a community in Viva Engage when you want to build and foster a community around a shared interest or goal. For more information on Viva Engage, you can check out the official Microsoft documentation.

What do you think? How do you use Microsoft Teams and Viva Engage in your organization? Share your comments below or reach out to me on LinkedIn.

You can continue learning and reading about Microsoft Teams and Viva Engage with these resources:

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3 practical user stories that show how Viva Engage boosts employee engagement

women sitting on chairs inside a room

How can you empower your employees to connect and collaborate across the company, no matter where or when they work? The answer is Microsoft Viva Engage, the new and improved evolution of Yammer, that creates an inclusive and engaging employee experience for everyone. The Viva Engage app in Teams enables organizations to create community, foster engagement with leadership, access knowledge and answers, and develop personal networks.

The app details page for Viva Engage in Microsoft Teams | Click to enlarge

Viva Engage is powered by Yammer services, so you can access the same content and features in Yammer web, desktop, and mobile apps as well as in Teams.

Not sure how Microsoft Teams differs from Viva Engage? Check out my post Microsoft Teams vs Viva Engage: A comparison guide.

In this blog post, we will share three user stories that illustrate how different employees use Viva Engage in different ways to accomplish their goals and work smarter.

User story 1: A frontline worker who uses Viva Engage to stay connected and informed

Maria is a retail associate at a large clothing store. She works on the shop floor, interacting with customers and managing inventory. She doesn’t have a dedicated desk or computer, so she relies on her smartphone to access Viva Engage in Teams.

Maria uses Viva Engage to:

  • Join and follow communities that are relevant to her role, such as the store community, the customer service community, and the product knowledge community.
  • Receive and respond to announcements from her manager and the corporate headquarters, such as new policies, promotions, and feedback surveys.
  • Ask and answer questions in the communities, using the Q&A feature to mark the best answers and upvote helpful replies.
  • Share stories and photos of her work and experience, using the storyline feature to create engaging posts that highlight her achievements and challenges.
  • Learn from her peers and experts, using the topics feature to follow hashtags and @mentions that interest her and help her improve her skills and knowledge.

Maria feels more connected and informed with Viva Engage. She can communicate and collaborate with her colleagues across the store and the company and access the information and resources she needs to do her job well and grow her career.

User story 2: A project manager who uses Viva Engage to manage and coordinate a cross-functional team

David is a project manager at a software company. He leads a team of developers, designers, testers, and marketers who work on a new product feature. He works remotely, so he uses Viva Engage in Teams to manage and coordinate his team.

David uses Viva Engage to:

  • Create and manage a community for his project team, where he can share updates, documents, and feedback with his team members and stakeholders.
  • Host and join virtual events in the community, using the live events feature to stream presentations, demos, and Q&A sessions with his team and the wider audience.
  • Interact with senior executives and thought leaders, using the leadership corner feature to view and join activities from top management, take polls, participate in hashtag campaigns and AMAs, and network with new leaders across the organization.
  • Crowdsource ideas and solutions, using the questions and answers feature to post and pin questions, upvote replies, and mark the best answers to solicit input and feedback from his team and the broader network.
  • Analyze and improve his community’s performance, using the analytics feature to get detailed insights into every community, event, and conversation, and take action to measure and increase activity and engagement.

David feels more productive and collaborative with Viva Engage. He can manage and coordinate his project team effectively and leverage the collective intelligence and experience of the organization to deliver better outcomes.

User story 3: A human resources manager who uses Viva Engage to foster a culture of diversity and inclusion

Lisa is a human resources manager at a manufacturing company. She is responsible for developing and implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives across the company. She works in the headquarters, but she travels frequently to visit different sites and regions. She uses Viva Engage in Teams to foster a culture of diversity and inclusion.

Lisa uses Viva Engage to:

  • Create and support employee resource groups (ERGs), using the communities feature to create and join communities for different affinity groups, such as women, LGBTQ+, veterans, and people with disabilities.
  • Launch and promote diversity and inclusion campaigns, using the community campaigns feature to create and manage organization-wide campaigns with dedicated campaign pages that aggregate posts from across the network into a unified view.
  • Share and celebrate stories of diversity and inclusion, using the storylines feature to create, upload, and share stories that highlight the diversity and inclusion achievements and challenges of the company and its employees.
  • Educate and empower employees on diversity and inclusion, using the learning feature to find and share relevant content from learning providers and company resources, and the live events feature to host and join webinars and workshops on diversity and inclusion topics.
  • Monitor and improve the diversity and inclusion outcomes, using the analytics feature to track and measure the impact of the diversity and inclusion initiatives, and the feedback feature to solicit and respond to employee suggestions and concerns.

Lisa feels more inspired and impactful with Viva Engage. She can foster a culture of diversity and inclusion across the company, and support and celebrate the diverse identities and perspectives of the employees.

Conclusion

These user stories show how Viva Engage helps employees connect and collaborate across the organization, regardless of their role, location, or background. Viva Engage is part of Microsoft Viva, the employee experience platform designed to help people connect, focus, learn, and thrive at work. Learn more about Viva here.

If you want to try Viva Engage for yourself, you can install the Viva Engage app in Teams and start creating and joining communities and conversations. You can also access Viva Engage in Yammer web, desktop, and mobile apps. For more information and guidance on how to use Viva Engage, check out the Microsoft Learn module here. And check out the introduction video here:

References and further reading

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Service principals vs service accounts: Which one should you use for Power Automate flows?

colorful toothed wheels

Power Automate allows you to automate workflows across various applications and services. However, when you create a flow, you need to decide how to authenticate and authorize it to access the data sources and actions it needs. This is where service principals and service accounts come in.

Service principals are special types of users that represent an Azure AD application. They have a system administrator role and use a client secret (a permanent password) to connect to data sources such as Dataverse. Service accounts are regular user accounts that have a username and password. They can be assigned different roles and licenses depending on the flow’s needs.

Recently, I posted How to use service accounts in Power Automate flows and avoid common pitfalls. Check it out to do a deeper dive on just service accounts.

So which one should you use for your Power Automate flows: service principals or service accounts? Here are some pros and cons of each option:

Service PrincipalsService Accounts
Pros:Pros:
– More secure as they do not expose username or password– Easier to set up and manage
– Do not consume a license as they use an application user account– Can be assigned different roles and licenses for different flows
– Can perform actions on behalf of organization users who trigger the flow– Can access more data sources and actions than service principals
Cons:Cons:
– More complex to configure and troubleshoot– Less secure as they expose username or password
– Limited to data sources that support Azure AD authentication– Consume a license for each service account used in a flow
Table comparing the pros and cons of Service Principals and Service Accounts

As you can see, there is no definitive answer to which option is better for your Power Automate flows. It depends on your specific scenario, requirements, and preferences. However, some general guidelines are:

  • Use service principals if you want more security, less licensing costs, and more flexibility in performing actions on behalf of other users.
  • Use service accounts if you want more simplicity, more data source options, and more control over roles and licenses.

This post has explained the high-level differences between service principals and service accounts to consider when building flows in Power Automate. For more information, please refer to these resources:

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How to use service accounts in Power Automate flows and avoid common pitfalls

Do you want to automate your workflows with Power Automate and make sure they can last for years to come? If so, you need to pay attention to how you share your flows and how you sign into the services that you use in them. Using your own user account may seem convenient, but it can also cause trouble if your account gets changed or deleted. In this post, I will show you two examples of what can go wrong when you use personal accounts in Power Automate flows and how to avoid them by using a service account instead.

Consider these two scenarios involving Power Automate flows that connect to different services:

  • Bob creates a flow that triggers when a new item is added to a SharePoint list and sends an email alert to his team. He uses his own user account to create the flow and does not share it with anyone else. A few months later, Bob quits his job and his account is disabled. The flow stops functioning because the connection is lost and no one can access or edit it. The team does not receive any email notifications and has to manually monitor the SharePoint list for new items.
  • Carol creates a similar flow as Bob but she shares it with her colleague Dave as a co-owner. However, she still uses her own user account to authenticate to some connectors or actions within the flow, such as sending emails from her Outlook account. A few months later, Carol resigns from her job and her account is deactivated. The flow still runs but some connectors or actions fail because they rely on Carol’s credentials. The team receives incomplete or erroneous email notifications.

These examples demonstrate the risks of using personal accounts in Power Automate flows. And both scenarios could have been avoided if Bob and Carol had used a service account to create their flows and connect to the various services used in the flow. You may end up with broken connections, failed actions, or loss of access otherwise.

So what exactly is a service account? A service account is a special user account that has a fixed license and does not belong to any individual person. Multiple users may know/share the credentials to use the account for building flows. You’ll treat it much like a user account as you provision a license for it then add it to teams, groups, and roles so that it can perform actions a normal user would.

By using a service account, you can make sure that your flows run reliably and securely no matter what happens in your organization or team. Just be careful, as with any shared security asset, not to share a service account’s credentials with too many flow makers. 2-3 users would be the max I would personally consider for redundancy as people take leave and the organization experiences turnover.

Tips for building sturdier flows in Power Automate by using service accounts

  • Create a dedicated service account with a fixed license and assign it the appropriate roles and permissions (site or team membership, shared mailbox member, security group member, etc.)
  • Consider creating multiple service accounts that have access to different environments, teams, sites, etc. to ensure you don’t have one service account with access to absolutely everything
  • Creating the flow
    • Use a service account to create the flow or
    • Use a service account to create the flow and share it with other users as co-owners for more convenient edit access or
    • Share a flow you have already created with the service account as a co-owner (co-owners keep flows after other co-owners leave an organization)
  • Use the service account to authenticate the connectors or actions that you use in your flows, such as SharePoint, Outlook, or Teams. If any single step’s connection belongs to an individual, there is risk that the step will fail if that person’s account is disabled or even if they have authentication issues.
  • Test your flows regularly and monitor their performance and status using the service account
  • Document your flows and their connections and keep track of any changes or updates using the service account

References

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Supercharge your SharePoint pages and news with these 10 popular web parts

SharePoint is the leading digital workplace platform that lets you create, manage, and share content with your team and your audience (among many other abilities). One of the best features for everyday users when creating content in SharePoint is the ability to easily add web parts to your pages and news. Web parts are like building blocks that let you add different features and functions in a single context alongside other building blocks – for example, Documents next to instructional text or policy reminders for using the library.

But how do you choose the right web parts for your pages and news? Well, it depends on what you want to do and who you want to reach. You should pick web parts that help you achieve your goals and communicate your message clearly and effectively. You should also keep your page design simple and neat, using only the web parts that you really need.

The add web part dialog | Click to enlarge

Here are some of the best web parts to use when creating SharePoint pages and news:

Web PartWhat it does

Highlighted content		Shows content that matches certain criteria or attributes, such as content type, location, custom metdata, or search term. I like this web part a lot because it gives me plenty of flexibility and helps me surface the right content when I need it.

News		Displays the latest news on your SharePoint page, and can include news from multiple sites as well.

Hero		Shows up to five items with images, text, and links to make them stand out. You can use it to add some flair and visual interest to your SharePoint page.

Events		Creates and shows events on your page. You can use it to share important dates, deadlines, meetings, or celebrations with your audience.

Quick links		Adds links to your page for easy access. You can use it to direct your audience to other pages, sites, or external resources that are relevant to your content.

People		Shows information about people on your page. You can use it to introduce your team members, collaborators, or contacts to your audience. You can also display their profile pictures, names, roles, and contact information.

Document library		Shows documents on your page. You can use it to upload or link to files that you want to share with your audience. You can set it to only show a specific view of a library to manage your space better (perhaps a view with minimal columns shown).

List		Displays a list from your site. This surfaces a view of a particular list as a web part. Consider using views that filter a person field to [Me] (the signed in user). This is a great way to personalize pages (your requests, your tasks, etc.) and surface relevant information alongside related resources (countdowns, calendars, files, policies, etc.).

File viewer		Shows files on your page. You can use it to display files such as videos, images, PDFs, or Microsoft 365 app files like Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files. You can also adjust the size and position of the file viewer on the page.

Embed		Shows content from other sites that allow embedding. You can use it to add content from sites like YouTube, Twitter, or Spotify to your page. You can also customize the appearance and behavior of the embedded content on the page.
Table of 10 SharePoint Online web parts to consider for your pages and news

These are just some of the many web parts that you can use in SharePoint. Want a fuller list? Check out my other post: SharePoint team vs communication site web part options.

Each web part can be customized to suit your needs and preferences. Ready to start building better pages? Check out this video, Create pages in SharePoint Online sites, to see the process:

References

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5 essential settings to consider for every team in Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a powerful tool for teamwork and collaboration that has transformed the landscape of digital work. You can create and join teams (groups of people and their shared tools and work), chat with others within and beyond your organization, share and manage files, and much more. However, to make the most of Teams, you need to configure some settings and permissions for your team on a case-by-case basis. In this blog post, I will highlight five important settings to consider for each of your teams in Microsoft Teams.

Not a team owner (yet)? Share these topics with whoever is or keep them in mind for your future teams. I’ll cover:

  1. Team name and description
  2. Team privacy
  3. Team members and owners
  4. Team channels and tabs
  5. Team notifications and mentions

1. Team name and description

The team name and description are the first things that people see when they browse or search for teams. They should be clear, concise, and informative. You can change the team name and description by going to the team name, clicking More options | Edit team, and typing in the new name and description.

Consider using a naming convention to make it clear which region, department, audience, etc. a team belongs to. For example, perhaps an EXT_ prefix will always preceed teams with external participants. Learn more about team naming conventions here: The Importance of a Teams Naming Convention | Microsoft Learn

Edit team name and description steps | Click to enlarge

You can also add a team picture to make your team more instantly recognizable.

Steps to modify the team picture | Click to enlarge

2. Team privacy

The team privacy determines who can see and join your team. You can choose from two options: public or private. A public team is visible to anyone in your organization, and anyone can join it without approval. A private team is only visible to team members, and people need to request to join it or be invited by a team owner. You can change the team privacy by going to the team name, clicking More options | Edit team, and selecting the privacy option.

Team privacy setting | Click to enlarge

3. Team members and owners

The team members and owners are the people who belong to your team. The team members can chat, share files, and participate in meetings. The team owners can manage the team settings and permissions, add or remove members, and delete the team. You can add or remove team members as well as promote or demote roles (i.e. from member to owner) by going to the team name, clicking More options | Manage team, and selecting the Members tab.

Members settings for a team in Microsoft Teams | Click to enlarge

4. Team channels and tabs

The team channels and tabs are the spaces where you can have conversations and access tools within your team. The team channels are typically organized by topics, projects, or departments. You can create standard channels that are open to everyone in the team, or private channels that are only accessible to a subset of team members. You can add or remove team channels by going to the team name, clicking More options | Add channel or More options | Manage team, and selecting the Channels tab. Note that the General channel comes with every team and cannot be deleted.

You can also edit individual channel names, descriptions, and whether or not it’s shown or hidden by clicking More options | Edit this channel.

The team tabs along the top of each channel are the shortcuts to your favorite apps and tools within a channel. You can add tabs for a Planner board, a Power BI dashboard, a OneNote notebook, and more. You can add or remove team tabs by going to a channel, clicking the + sign at the top, and choosing the app or tool you want to add.

The add a tab dialog where you can choose an app | Click to enlarge

You can also reorder the tabs by dragging and dropping them, or delete the tabs by selecting it’s dropdown arrow and choosing Remove.

5. Team notifications and mentions

The team notifications and mentions are two ways to stay updated and alert your team members. The team notifications are the alerts that you receive when something happens in your team, such as a new message, a new file, or a new meeting. You can customize your team notifications by going to Settings and more (…) and then Settings | Notifications, and choosing the notification level and sound for each activity.

Notification settings for the Microsoft Teams client app | Click to enlarge

The team mentions are the tags that you use to get someone’s attention in a conversation. You can mention a person, a channel, a tag, or the whole team by typing @ followed by their name. The team mentions help you communicate effectively and efficiently with your team.

Learn about all four ways to @ mention in Teams, and when to use which, in my other post (includes video): 4 ways to @mention in Microsoft Teams to get attention on your posts and replies

You can also send a message as important, indicating visually that it’s a high priority.

Steps to mark a message as important in Microsoft Teams | Click to enlarge

Learn about more permissions and settings

There are, of course, many more than 5 settings to consider for each of your teams. While I have highlighted specific topics and considerations, I encourage you to keep learning with these resources:

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How to change your profile picture in Microsoft Teams

Using a profile picture in collaborative apps like Microsoft Teams can enhance communication, recognition, engagement, and social connection among coworkers. It can also remove anonymity and add a human touch to the digital workplace.

Updating your profile picture in Microsoft Teams updates your profile picture across all of Microsoft 365 – the same picture will appear when you’re using Office.com, SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook, etc. in the upper right corner.

General location of your profile pic in M365 apps other than Teams | Click to enlarge

Ready to give it a try? Follow these steps:

How to update your profile picture in Microsoft Teams

  1. Launch Microsoft Teams on your device.
  2. Tap or click on your current profile picture at the top left or right of the screen, depending on your device
  3. Tap or click on the camera icon that appears when you hover over or tap on your profile picture.
Steps to update your profile pic in Microsoft Teams desktop app | Click to enlarge
  1. Tap or click on Upload picture to access your photos.
Upload picture option in the Microsoft Teams desktop app | Click to enlarge
  1. Select a .png, .jpg, or .gif image that’s less than 4 MB in size and tap or click on Save.

And that’s it! It may take a small while to see the new photo reflected everywhere throughout Microsoft 365, but there’s nothing more to do. 🎉

Here’s a video demonstration of how to update your profile picture using the Microsoft Teams mobile app:

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How to schedule SharePoint pages and news posts to publish on a specific date and time

Sometimes you may have SharePoint news posts edited and ready to go, but have to wait for an official announcement or date to arrive before you can share the news. Rather than wait for that date and manually publish, we can schedule news posts to go live at a date and time we specify.

In order for this to work, we have to turn on a setting for the Site Pages library in which we’re creating the news.

Note

Only site owners can enable page and news publishing for their site. If you’re a site member, ask your site owner to follow the steps in the first section.

How to enable scheduling for your site’s SharePoint pages and news

  1. Go to your Site Contents (settings wheel | Site Contents) and select your Site Pages library (this is where your site’s pages and news are created and stored).
Site Pages library location in SharePoint | Click to enlarge
  1. Select Scheduling at the top
Scheduling option at the top of the Site Pages library | Click to enlarge
  1. Toggle on the Enable scheduling option

Now your site’s members can use the scheduling feature for their pages and news. The next section shares user steps to do so.

How to schedule SharePoint pages and news

  1. Create your page or news post as you normally would (Site’s home page | New | Page or News post)
Location of new page and news post options on a site | Click to enlarge
  1. When you’re ready to schedule the post, click Page details | Enable Scheduling and add the Publish Start Date/time | Schedule (this button changes from Post/Publish to Schedule after you’ve entered the publish start date)
Scheduling steps for SharePoint pages and news | Click to enlarge