News

Microsoft Readying Previews of New SharePoint Online WebParts

Office 365 subscribers will begin seeing previews of new and updated SharePoint Online WebParts in about two weeks' time, according to Microsoft.

WebParts are components that end users can insert into SharePoint pages using a graphical user interface. In a Monday announcement, Microsoft described some upcoming WebParts, including Planner, Office 365 Connectors, Kindle Instant Preview and Twitter.

The new Planner WebPart can be added to any page or news article, showing the overall status of a project along with the progress of individual team members in a graphical display.

Office 365 Connectors WebParts let users connect to information from outside sources. For instance, it's possible to connect to services from "Asana, Bitbucket, Jira, GitHub, Stack Overflow and more," according to the announcement, although these Connectors are "only available for use within group-connected SharePoint team sites."

The Kindle Instant Preview WebPart lets users place links to previews of books for access by Amazon Kindle e-readers.

The Twitter WebPart permits the embedding of Twitter feed links.

Microsoft also plans to update its Power BI WebPart, permitting interactive reports to be added. It's also planning to update the Image WebPart with the ability to automatically suggest "alt-text" metadata tags for use with inserted images.

The arrival of these new and updated WebPart test versions is somewhat ambiguous. Microsoft described a rollout to "Targeted Release" subscribers (meaning those who get test releases) in this way:

New and updated web parts will begin to roll out to Targeted Release customers two weeks from the time of posting and will be completed within 3-4 weeks. We are targeting end of February 2018 for complete worldwide roll out.

That description seems to mean that Office 365 subscribers to SharePoint Online test releases will see the changes at the end of this month or sometime in March.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

Featured

  • An image of planes flying around a globe

    2025 Microsoft Conference Calendar: For Partners, IT Pros and Developers

    Here's your guide to all the IT training sessions, partner meet-ups and annual Microsoft conferences you won't want to miss.

  • Microsoft to Shut Down Skype Services

    Microsoft will discontinue its Skype telecommunications and video calling services on May 5, 2025, marking the end of the platform's decades-long run.

  • Big Blue To Acquire Datastax in Enterprise AI Play

    In a bid to bolster its enterprise-aimed AI capabilities, IBM is planning to acquire Datastax, a leading AI and data solutions provider, for an undisclosed amount.

  • Microsoft Confirms End of HoloLens Mixed Reality Hardware

    Microsoft officially announced this week that it is discontinuing its HoloLens mixed reality hardware, marking the end of its efforts in the space.

Most   Popular