SharePoint Maven

SharePoint Maven SharePoint and Microsoft 365 Consulting

06/12/2026

One of the biggest sources of confusion in SharePoint is understanding the difference between sites, pages, and web parts.

Here's the simple version:

📁 Site = Your workspace
📄 Page = A canvas inside the site
🧩 Web Part = The building blocks you add to a page

Sites hold pages.
Pages hold web parts.

Once you understand that relationship, SharePoint starts to make a lot more sense.

Universities are anything but simple when it comes to information architecture.Between schools, departments, faculty, st...
06/11/2026

Universities are anything but simple when it comes to information architecture.

Between schools, departments, faculty, staff, and students, creating a SharePoint environment that feels organized and easy to navigate can quickly become a challenge.

That's where SharePoint Hubs shine.

Hub sites allow colleges and universities to connect related sites under a shared structure, branding, and navigation experience. Whether it's a School of Engineering, Business School, Admissions, Financial Aid, or Student Services, Hub Sites help bring everything together while still allowing each area to maintain its own space.

The result is a more intuitive digital campus that makes it easier for people to find information, collaborate, and stay connected: https://sharepointmaven.com/how-to-design-sharepoint-information-architecture-for-colleges-and-universities/

Want to see new SharePoint features BEFORE they roll out to everyone? Enroll in the Targeted Release Program. Here's how...
06/09/2026

Want to see new SharePoint features BEFORE they roll out to everyone? Enroll in the Targeted Release Program. Here's how 👇

Step-by-step (you need to be a Global Admin):

Go to Microsoft 365 Admin Center (App Launcher → Admin tile)
Settings → Org settings → Organization profile tab → Release preferences
Default is "Standard release for everyone" — don't switch it to Targeted for everyone unless your whole team are tech nerds 😄
Choose "Targeted release for select users" instead
Add specific users, click Save
Wait up to 24 hours for it to kick in

Why bother?

✅ You get weeks (sometimes months) of advance notice on changes
✅ Time to prep your staff before features hit everyone's screens
✅ You can create documentation and comms before the help desk calls start rolling in
✅ You can submit feedback to Microsoft while features are still being fine-tuned

I use this trick myself to stay ahead of what I need to train clients on. Highly recommend adding at least yourself and a few power users.

Full walkthrough with screenshots here: https://sharepointmaven.com/how-to-enroll-in-the-targeted-release-program/

You don't have to display an entire document library on a SharePoint page.If you only want users to see documents from a...
06/04/2026

You don't have to display an entire document library on a SharePoint page.

If you only want users to see documents from a specific folder, such as Benefits, Policies, Forms, or Training Materials, you can configure the Document Library web part to display just that folder's contents.

A few things to know:

• Select the Document Library web part and specify the folder path in the web part properties.
• You can display folders several levels deep by using the full folder path.
• Hiding the Command Bar and "See all" link creates a cleaner experience for employees.
• This works best on communication and informational sites where users need quick access to documents.
• The folder and page must be located on the same SharePoint site for this method to work.

This is one of those small SharePoint customizations that can make a page feel much more organized and user friendly, especially when employees only need access to a specific set of documents rather than an entire library.

Read the full walkthrough here: https://sharepointmaven.com/how-to-display-the-contents-of-a-folder-on-a-sharepoint-page/

06/03/2026

Learning SharePoint can feel overwhelming at first, but understanding what to expect makes the journey much easier.

In this Reel, I'm sharing 5 realities of learning SharePoint and the lessons I've picked up along the way.

Creating a form from a blank page isn't always the hardest part. Sometimes it's figuring out the right questions to ask ...
06/02/2026

Creating a form from a blank page isn't always the hardest part. Sometimes it's figuring out the right questions to ask and how to structure everything in a way that makes sense for respondents.

That's where the Microsoft Forms Template Gallery can help.

Microsoft provides a collection of ready made templates for common surveys, feedback forms, registrations, requests, and more. Instead of starting from scratch, you can use these templates as a foundation and customize them to fit your needs.

Whether you're collecting employee feedback, planning an event, or creating a customer survey, the Template Gallery can save time and give you ideas for building more effective forms.

Read more: https://sharepointmaven.com/how-to-create-forms-and-surveys-from-the-forms-template-gallery/

Microsoft Lists has changed a lot over the years.If you've been using SharePoint for a while, you probably remember when...
06/01/2026

Microsoft Lists has changed a lot over the years.

If you've been using SharePoint for a while, you probably remember when creating a list meant choosing from a handful of basic options and hoping you could make them work for your needs.

Today, Lists are far more flexible, modern, and user friendly. With new templates, views, automation options, and multiple ways to create lists, they're becoming one of the most useful tools in Microsoft 365.

Read more here: https://sharepointmaven.com/9-ways-to-create-a-list-in-sharepoint/

Ever wish people could jump straight to the section of a training video they need?Microsoft Stream includes a feature ca...
05/29/2026

Ever wish people could jump straight to the section of a training video they need?

Microsoft Stream includes a feature called Chapters that works much like YouTube timestamps. Instead of scrubbing through an entire recording, viewers can quickly navigate to specific topics, making training videos, recorded meetings, and presentations much easier to use.

If your organization relies on video content, this is a simple feature that can make a big difference in the user experience: https://sharepointmaven.com/how-to-add-chapters-to-stream-videos/

05/27/2026

In this episode, I break down the five key locations where SharePoint security is configured.

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