Skip to main content

O365: SharePoint Searching in Office 365 and Teams

 O365: SharePoint Searching in Office 365 and Teams


Earlier posts have discussed the huge advantages of centralising documents, files and communications in SharePoint and Office 365.

One of the strongest functions in Office 365 is the ability to search all content so that locating data is easy. However, the search tools in Office 365 are not always obvious.

Teams Search

Teams is becoming really popular, not least due to the fact that it makes SharePoint very easy to deploy, use and control. At the top of each Teams General Tab is a search box

This is multi function. Type / into the box and you will see a list of commands that will perform all sorts of Teams functions 

 
The /Files option will return files you have recently accessed.

Great, if the file or document you are looking for is actually in the recent file list. What if the information you require is in an older file, or in a different location?

Location Search


Also in Teams there is a Files tab


In a standard set up this will give access to the SharePoint Library for the team, a place where you can share common files for collaboration. 


This can be enhanced by adding Cloud Storage locations. Simply click the Add Cloud Storage item in the top menu and select SharePoint


This will add selected SharePoint library(s) as a resource granting access to the user to all files in the library that they have authentication to view or edit.

 

Broader Search

Provided the user knows approximately where to look the above search and find methods cover the most common search needs of a teams. However, there are frequent occasion when the user has no idea where the file or document resides in the Office 365 domain.

This is where SharePoint Search comes into play

SharePoint Search can be launched from the Office App 

 Or from the App Launcher on any Office 365 screen 

From either select SharePoint



The search box at the head of this page is the most powerful search in Office 365. The entire domain will be searched and the search criteria can be any string that may be in the file name, title or meta data, or embedded in the body of the file or document.


NOTE: The result will show only files and documents to which the user has been granted access.

The result will span all libraries and shared OneDrive entries, along with items from the users own OneDrive, and the results display gives a neat little pre-view of the file plus a drop/expansion function for closer examination.

Users can locate and examine any file or document they require for cross check, validation or update, before progressing a task or workflow.


There are actually seven different ways to search Office 365 - See Here, but most users stick to only one or two.

We can show you how, or we can do it for you.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Law and Order: The Anonymous Text Tip-Off

The following article came out of an interview conducted with Max Doleh - Law enforcement organisations and Crime Stopper programs are turning to technology which enables text tip-off from the public to facilitate a police response. In September 2007 Master Sergeant Charles Phillips of the Oklahoma City Police Department published an item on the Oklahoma City Crime Stoppers web site (http://www.okccrimetips.com/ ) calling for increased resources to bring this technology to OKC. In November 2007 it was announced that Crime Stoppers of Oklahoma City have engaged technology company ProductiveT to develop an SMS system that is radically different to others in use in the country. Max Doleh, ProductiveT president and CEO answers questions – 1 . What makes the Oklahoma City system so different? The ProductiveT technology differs greatly from other offerings. The police department have their own dedicated number for receiving the messages and unlike most systems there is no need for the sender

Team Management – The less stressful way.

It’s your dream team. Everything is in place, all they need is a little bit more tweaking and they’ll be perfect. Then it happens. Somebody hands in their notice and leaves. And it’s not just the loss of one individual. It’s the strain on the others as they try to make up the shortage. Recruitment takes time. Get by that and it’s followed by even more stress as the newbie takes up more resources in the training phase. Even when it’s all done, you know the adjustments will keep them below peak performance for several months. That’s the period when other team members begin complaining about the extra work load and start to look around at other jobs. Control is easy. You just use the good old disciplinary process. Fine tuning a team is harder with many more plates to juggle. People are just plain unpredictable, or are they? Recent research by Gallup Consulting reveals a pretty convincing case for active engagement of employees, claiming that engaged employees are – More profitable More cu

Electronic Document Storage and Management (EDMS)

EDMS is not just a means of storing computer files. A full EDMS system allows for the process of importing both paper and computer generated documents into a computer system and indexing the files for easy and swift retrieval. In effect you can dispose of your traditional paper filing system. No more gathering letters, invoices and orders into filing groups and no more slotting them into the correct folders. Of course, you only use a paper filing system because you know you may need that document again in the future. Equally, when you do want that document it's invariably missing, either misfiled, or on someone else's desk. With EDMS documents are where you placed them and they are available for you to use where ever you are. All you need is a computer, tablet or smart phone and an Internet connection.As most modern businesses already use the Internet for everyday interaction with banks, Inland Revenue, Companies House, insurance companies, suppliers and customers it no longer