Add custom tiles to the app launcher

In Office 365, you can add your own custom tiles to the app launcher that point to SharePoint sites, external sites, legacy apps, and more. The custom tile appears under the app launcher's All apps, but you can pin it to the Home apps and instruct your users to do the same. This makes it easy to find the relevant sites, apps, and resources to do your job. 

In the below example, a custom tile called "CRM" is used to access an organization's CRM site.


Add a custom tile to the app launcher

In the Office 365 admin center, search for tiles or use the left navigation pane by choosing Settings > Organization profile > Add custom tiles for your organization. Click Edit

NOTE: If you don't see the Custom tiles link, verify you have an Exchange Online mailbox assigned to you and you've successfully signed into your mailbox. Both are required for this feature.

Choose Add a custom tile.

Enter a Tile name for the new tile. The name will appear in the tile.

Enter a URL for the tile. This is the location where you want your users to go when they click the tile on the app launcher. Use HTTPS in the URL.

Enter a Description for the tile. You see this when you select the tile on the My apps page and choose App details.

Enter an Image URL for the tile. The image appears on the My apps page and app launcher.
TIP: The image should be 60x60 pixels and be available to everyone in your organization without requiring authentication.

Choose Save to create the custom tile.

Your custom tile now appears in the app launcher on the All tab for you and your users.

Note: If you don't see the custom tile created in the previous steps, make sure you have an Exchange Online mailbox assigned to you and you've signed into your mailbox at least once. These steps are required for custom tiles in Office 365.

Edit or delete a custom tile


In the Office 365 admin center, search for tiles or use the left navigation pane by choosing Settings > Organization profile > Add custom tiles for your organization and click

Select the Title name and click Edit title

Update the Tile name, URL, Description, or Image URL for the custom tile.

Click Update > Close.


To delete a custom tile, from the Custom tiles window, select the tile, click Remove tile and then click Delete.

Connect web parts in SharePoint Online

When you add a modern page to a site, you add and customize web parts, which are the building blocks of your page. You can connect some web parts to each other to create an interactive and dynamic experience for your page viewers. 

For example, you can connect a Document library web part to a File viewer web part. When a user clicks a file name in the Document library list, the File viewer shows the contents of that specific file. Or, connect a List web part or Document library web part to an Embed web part, and add custom code for a variety of dynamic experiences.

Go to Site Contents >> New >> Page

Enter Page Title, click on + icon (as shown below).

First select a Document Library web part.

next add the File Viewer web part.

Note: If you're adding the File viewer web part for the first time, the Recent documents pane will open. Click Cancel on the bottom right of this pane.

Click Edit web part button on the left side of the File viewer web part.

Click the ellipses (...) at the top right of the property pane, and then click Connect to source button.

Under Connect to source, select the document library you want to use from the drop down list. Click the X at the top of the pane to close it.

 Click Save as draft at the top of the page.

Test your connection by selecting a document from the Document library you chose. You should see the document displayed in the File viewer web part.

When you're ready for your audience to see the page, click Publish at the top right of the page.

You should be able to preview the selected Document as shown below.

History - OneDrive for Business

MySite feature was introduced with MOSS 2007, available with CALs. This was continued with all SharePoint versions including SharePoint Online. In SP 2013, 'Configure hybrid OneDrive and Sites features' in introduced. Going forward these two features (MySite & OneDrive for Business) will be merged and pushed over to OneDrive admin center.  

Both SharePoint admin center and OneDrive admin center will be available for SharePoint Administrator, where still many features are clubbed.

URL evolution

http://sp2007.com:81/personal/vrgurram/default.aspx

http://sp2010.com/my/personal/vrgurram/default.aspx

http://sp2013.com/my/personal/vrgurram/Documents/Forms/All.aspx

https://tenant-my.sharepoint.com/personal/gmr_tenant_com/Documents/Forms/All.aspx


Few things we can do with OneDrive for Business

We can go to Site Settings page of OneDrive for Business by adding (_layouts/15/settings.aspx) as shown below.
https://tenant-my.sharepoint.com/personal/gmr_tenant_com/_layouts/15/settings.aspx

You can enable Site Collection Features, Site Features, Audit Settings and many other settings like we do for regular SharePoint Site. Click on Apps will take you to Site Contents page.

Or you can use (_layouts/15/viewlsts.aspx?view=14) to add at the end of the URL and navigate to Site Contents page as shown below.

https://tenant-my.sharepoint.com/personal/gmr_tenant_com/_layouts/15/viewlsts.aspx?view=14

Like in regular SharePoint Site, you can create new Lists, Document Libraries, Subsites, add Apps.  But, only Documents List will be recognized as OneDrive for Business and will sync with your computer/phone.

The Key Options in OneDrive for Business are given below.

Generic URL - https://tenant-my.sharepoint.com/personal/gmr_tenant_com/
(Note: Add the above generic URL in front of the below links)

Recent                 -  _layouts/15/RecentDocuments.aspx
Shared with me - Documents/Forms/SharedWithMe.aspx 
Followed             - Social/FollowedContent.aspx
Recycle Bin         -  _layouts/15/AdminRecycleBin.aspx?mysite=1

New Experience - https://tenant-my.sharepoint.com/personal/gmr_tenant_com/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx

Classic Experience - https://tenant-my.sharepoint.com/personal/gmr_tenant_com/Documents/Forms/All.aspx 

With New Experience, we can also Create Flow in OneDrive for Business.

Working with MS Teams, SharePoint Online and MS Flow.

In this post, we are going to create a List Library and add it in Teams as tab. Also create a flow to send email notification when new item is created in the List Library thru ShaPoint Online.

Note: We can create Flow in OneDrive and SharePoint Online. From April 2019, MSFT enabled Flow in Teams also.

Microsoft Teams (Teams or MS Teams) is the popular and most used App among the O/M365 suite. Microsoft is adding more new features to Teams.  The back-end for Microsoft Teams is SharePoint Online. Whenever new Team is created, one new Site Collection gets created with Team Site template.

We can view these sites in SharePoint admin center (as shown below).

https://tenant-admin.sharepoint.com/_layouts/15/online/AdminHome.aspx#/siteManagement

I am using MyFamily Team for this activity.

Go to Teams >> under any Channel >> Files tab. You can see 'Open in SharePoint'. clicking on it will open the concerned Team as SharePoint site (as shown below).

Created a new List named 'Teams List' (The same way we do in SharePoint). Also created 3 basic fields and 3 sample items (as shown below).

Click on Add a tab option

You will see all the Apps allowed by your tenant. Select 'SharePoint'

Click on Lists tab, select the 'Teams List', click Save. 'Post to the channel about this tab' check box is optional. Checking this box will post about in the Conversations tab.

Teams List tab was added to the General channel in the MyFamily Team.

Click on the + New to add items to the List. Click on 'Open in SharePoint' to open this List in SharePoint mode.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Note: Microsoft Flow button is not available in the classic experience.

If the default behavior is set to the classic experience then you will not see the Flow button in the command bar of your list or library. If the new experience is available you can enable it for your list or library by going to List Settings, and then clicking on Advanced Settings. To learn more, see Switch the default experience for lists or document libraries from new or classic.
Now we are going to create a flow to send basic notification when new list items was added/created.

Go to the Teams List Library thru 'Open in SharePoint'.  On the menu bar, Click on Flow >> 'Create a flow' (As shown below). 

You will see a window on the right side with existing flow templates. Click on Show more to view more.  Click on 'Send a customized email when a new SharePoint list item is added'. 

This will open a new page with Flow app. Click Create Flow button at the bottom of the page.

Click on Edit Description and add your own Description. Click Save.

Click on Edit

Use the ... at the end of the Workflow item to go to Settings (as shown below). Update the existing steps and also add using + New Step.

Updated few fields as per requirement.

You can see these options in the top-right corner of the Flow page (as shown below).

Once completed, Save it. Click on Flow Checker to view any Errors or messages. Click on Test to perform a test and create a new item in the Teams List. 

You will see a message, Your flow ran successfully.

An email is sent to the receiver's Inbox as shown below.

Add Apps from Microsoft AppSource (For SharePoint Online)

In Microsoft AppSource, you will find many useful Apps for free. Search "SharePoint Online". Once yo find the right app, click on Get it now.

Login with your SharePoint Admin account.

Click on Continue

verify your site to install, click on  Continue

It takes you to the Site's StoreFront page, click on ADD IT

Click on Continue to Confirm that you wish to add the app.

 Check 'Add this app to Home', click on Return to Site.

Click on 'Trust It', to confirm this app as trusted throughout all SharePoint Site Collections.

 Go to Site Contents >> New >> App

Click on Manage Licenses or Apps You Can Add, you will find the app and can add it to the Site.

You can also click on SharePoint Store to get only SharePoint related apps and also filter free apps.

https://spdev.sharepoint.com/sites/dev/_layouts/15/storefront.aspx

Note: If your admin has not configured your site to allow users to buy apps, you may still be able to request an app. The person in your organization who manages the App Catalog site can approve or deny requests for purchasing apps.