Understanding the difference between SharePoint and One Drive

Understanding the Difference Between SharePoint and OneDrive

Why They May Cause Confusion

SharePoint and OneDrive found in Microsoft 365 often cause confusion among users. Both platforms provide powerful functionalities for storing, sharing, and managing files, but they serve distinct purposes and are tailored for different use cases.

SharePoint

SharePoint is a comprehensive web-based collaboration platform designed primarily for organisations, teams and groups of coworkers. It offers a suite of tools that facilitate team collaboration, document management, and workflow automation. SharePoint’s capabilities include creating intranet sites, managing corporate content, and enabling seamless communication within an organization. The platform allows users to create custom sites and libraries, integrate with other Microsoft services, and manage permissions and access controls.

Key Features:

Intranet and team sites
Document libraries and version control
Workflow automation
Integration with Microsoft Office suite
Advanced permissions and access controls

One Drive

OneDrive, on the other hand, is a cloud-based storage service that focuses on individual use. It allows users to store personal files and access them from any device with an internet connection. OneDrive is ideal for users who need a straightforward and secure way to store, share, and sync files across devices. It integrates seamlessly with Windows operating systems and provides features such as automatic photo backup, file sharing, and collaboration.

Key Features:

Personal cloud storage
File sharing and collaboration

Reasons for Confusion

Despite their distinct purposes, SharePoint and OneDrive can cause confusion due to several overlapping features. Both platforms offer cloud storage and file sharing capabilities, which can lead users to believe they serve the same function. Additionally, both integrate with the Microsoft Office suite, further blurring the lines between their intended uses.

Overlap in functionality: Both platforms allow users to store, share, and collaborate on files, making it difficult to distinguish their primary use cases.
Integration with Office: The seamless integration with Microsoft Office can make users question whether they should use SharePoint or OneDrive for certain tasks.
Similar user interfaces: The user experience and interfaces of SharePoint and OneDrive share similarities, which can add to the confusion.
Organisational use vs. personal use: Users may not be aware that SharePoint is designed for organizational collaboration while OneDrive focuses on personal file storage.

Conclusion

Understanding the differences between SharePoint and OneDrive is crucial for choosing the right tool based on specific needs. SharePoint is a robust platform for organizational collaboration and content management, while OneDrive is tailored for individual cloud storage and file syncing. Recognizing their unique features and intended use cases can help users leverage these tools effectively and minimize confusion.

Our courses

We provide a one-day course that explains the difference between SharePoint and One Drive. It’s fully hands on so you get the opportunity to use both throughout the day. We will show you many tips and tricks and best practices, after all we have used both for over 8 years now

Click this link to find out about our SharePoint course

SharePoint Training

Click this link to find out about our One Drive course

One Drive Training

Contact us about the To Do app and Task Management

It’s always easier to contact us via email rather than phone. We’re out training most days of the week

Teams Chat – Turn a message in to a task

How Does a Task List Help You?

A task list, often known as a to-do list, is a simple yet powerful tool that can greatly enhance your productivity and organization. Here are some key benefits of using a task list:

Organization and Clarity

Structure Your Day: A task list helps you organize your day by breaking down your responsibilities into manageable tasks. This provides a clear roadmap of what needs to be accomplished.

Prioritize Tasks: By listing tasks, you can prioritize them according to urgency and importance. This ensures that critical tasks are addressed first.

Enhanced Productivity

Focus and Concentration: A task list helps you focus on one task at a time, reducing the likelihood of getting distracted by other activities.

Track Progress: Marking tasks as completed provides a sense of accomplishment and motivates you to keep going.

Stress Reduction

Reduce Overwhelm: Seeing all your tasks laid out can reduce feelings of being overwhelmed. It breaks down your workload into manageable portions.

Peace of Mind: Knowing that you have a clear plan for your tasks alleviates stress and frees up mental space.

Improved Time Management

Efficient Scheduling: A task list helps you allocate time effectively, ensuring that you make the most of each day.

Deadline Management: By keeping track of deadlines, a task list ensures that you complete tasks on time.

Incorporating a task list into your daily routine can transform the way you manage your responsibilities, leading to greater efficiency and peace of mind. Whether you are a student, a professional, or managing a household, a task list is an indispensable tool for achieving your goals.

Contact us about the To Do app and Task Management

It’s always easier to contact us via email rather than phone. We’re out training most days of the week

Turning your messages in Teams in to tasks

Hover on any message in chat and select the ellipses (…)

Select Create Planner Task

Set the settings as approriate, but ALWAYS set a due date. The task will appear in your To Do app in the Planned , but becasue you set a Due Date it will also appear in the To Do app in the My Day section on the due date.

Excel – Cleaning data with Power Query

Cleaning Data with Excel Power Query: A Guide

Microsoft Excel is a powerhouse for data manipulation, but dealing with messy datasets can be time-consuming. Enter Power Query, an Excel tool designed to clean and transform data efficiently. Whether you’re handling inconsistent formats, missing values, or duplicate entries, Power Query simplifies the process through an intuitive interface and powerful automation.

Why Use Power Query for Data Cleaning?

Power Query automates tedious data-cleaning tasks, reducing manual work and minimizing errors. Instead of manually reformatting columns or filtering rows, you can define repeatable steps that automatically clean your data each time it’s refreshed.

Key Benefits:

Automates Data Cleaning: Saves time by applying transformations automatically.
Handles Large Datasets: Processes millions of rows more efficiently than standard Excel formulas.
Prepares Data for Analysis: Ensures data is structured correctly before further processing.
Creates Reusable Queries: Updates data dynamically without redoing tasks.

Contact us about Excel Power Query

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Some of the tasks you can do in Power Query include

Remove Duplicate Entries
Handle Missing Values
Split & Merge Columns
Change Data Types
Trim & Clean Text
Apply Conditional Filters
Save & Load Clean Data
Merge Tables of data

Excel Macros

We have also completed projects recetnly where broken Macros were removed and replaced with Power Query. the advantage of Power Query over Macros is that involves no coding

Final Thoughts

Power Query is a game-changer for data wranglers in Excel, making cleaning structured and repeatable instead of manual and error-prone. Whether dealing with financial data, customer records, or survey responses, mastering Power Query will save you time and effort while improving accuracy.

Are you already using Power Query? Let me know if you need help with specific transformations! 🚀

Excel – Searching for recently used files

Use the search bar in Excel, Word and PowerPoint

In Excel, Word and PowerPoint you can use the search box above the ribbon to search for recently used files

Simply start typing the name of the file in the search bar and files will appear.

Contact us about Excel

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The Search bar appears above the ribbon in Excel

As you strat typing the name of the file a list of files will appear.

Excel – Searching for features in excel

Use the search bar in Excel, Word and PowerPoint

In Excel, Word and PowerPoint you can use the search box above the ribbon to search for any feature in the application

Simply start typing the name of the feature in the search bar and they will appear.

This stops you searching for it on the ribbon or a right click on the mouse

Contact us about Excel

It’s always easier to contact us via email rather than phone. We’re out training most days of the week

The Search bar appears above the ribbon in Excel

As you start typing the name of the feature a list will appear.

Microsoft Loop in Email

What is Microsoft Loop?

Microsoft Loop is a collaborative workspace designed to help teams think, plan, and create together. It combines a flexible canvas with portable components that sync across apps like Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and OneNote.

Key Features:

Loop Components: Small pieces of content (lists, tables, notes) that stay updated wherever they’re shared.
Loop Pages: Dynamic workspaces where teams can organize ideas, tasks, and links.
Loop Workspaces: Shared spaces that group everything related to a project, making collaboration seamless.

Loop is part of Microsoft 365, offering real-time collaboration and integration with other Microsoft apps. You can explore more about it here.

Here we’ll look at Loop components in Emails

Contact us about Microsoft Loop

It’s always easier to contact us via email rather than phone. We’re out training most days of the week

Loop components can be identified by this icon

In an email you will see the Loop Component icon on the Message and insert tabs of the ribbon

Thre are various types of Loop components you can you, including:

Bulletted Lists
Numbered List
Paragraph
Table
Task List
Q&A

In this post we’ll take a look at The Task List Loop Component

Once you insert a task List component in to an emai it will prompt you for a Title and then Tasks.

Tasks will include Task Name, Assigned to, Due Date and Bucket

Here you ca see this data added

When you send this email to anyone in your organisation they will be able to interact with the Loop component instantly. There is only one Loop Component and anyone with the link will be able to edit it.

The Loop component will update in everyones email instantly whenever a change is made.

Any tasks assigned to you in the task List Loop Component will appear in your To Do app on the due date.

Microsoft Teams – streamlined

Microsoft Teams – Streamlined

The latest changes to Microsoft Teams provide a new strealined layout bringing teams Chat and Channels together in one place

Rather than navigate from Chat to Channels you can access everything from one quick launch pane and even create groups of related discussions

In this article we’ll look at the changes, how to switch between the two and how to customise the new layout into related groups

Contact us about Microsoft Teams

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The new layout

Previously you would access Teams and Chat from seperate icons in the Teams quick launch pane

Now all your Chats and Channel posts can be accessed from Chat, the Teams link has been removed

Switching between old and new Teams layout

You can easily switch from the new Microsoft Teams streamlined view back to the original view by selecting the ellipses and Customse view in Chat

You then have the option to switch between Combined and Separate

Customising the new layout

Sections can now be created in Microsoft Teams to bring together conversations in Chat and Channels

To create a New section, go to the Ellipses and select New Section

Once you have named the section it will appear in Chat

To Add a Channel to the Section go to the Channel ellipses and select show in selecting the appropriate section

To add a conversation in chat to a section, locate the indiviual or group in Chat, select the ellipses and move to and select the appropriate section

You can now see channels and chats in the same section and filter for either using the links at the top of the pane

7 reasons to use Microsoft Bookings

Microsoft Bookings

Bookings has evolved in to a great app for planning meeting with colleagues, clients, suppliers and your Team.

Using bookings will eliminate the need to send emails back and forth trying to agree a date, time and location for a meeting.

Bookings is a Microsoft 365 app and integrates seemlessy with Outlook and Teams calendars and automates the process or booking meetings

Contact us about Microsoft Bookings

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7 reasons to use Microsoft Bookings

Arrange meetings with colleagues, suppliers and customers without the to and fro of emails that begin “can you do…” “are you free on…”
Customise and share various personal booking pages.
Set specific days and time options for meetings.
Set buffer and travel times between meetings.
Set automatic email meeting reminders and follow ups.
Share and publish your booking pages publicly.
Allow colleagues, team members suppliers and clients to book times in your diary.

Let’s go in to bookings in a little more detail

Produced by Microsoft CoPilot

Microsoft Bookings: A Convenient Way to Schedule Appointments

A brief introduction to the features and benefits of Microsoft Bookings

What is Microsoft Bookings?

Microsoft Bookings is an online scheduling tool that allows businesses to create and manage appointments with their customers. It is part of the Microsoft 365 suite of applications and integrates with Outlook, Teams, and other Microsoft products. With Microsoft Bookings, businesses can:

Create a customized booking page that showcases their services, availability, and contact information.
Send automatic confirmations and reminders to customers via email or text message.
Manage bookings from any device, anywhere, anytime.
Reduce no-shows and cancellations by allowing customers to reschedule or cancel their appointments online.
Sync bookings with their Outlook calendar and other staff members’ calendars.
Collect feedback from customers after each appointment.

Why should you use Microsoft Bookings?

Microsoft Bookings can help you save time, money, and hassle by streamlining your appointment scheduling process. Here are some of the benefits of using Microsoft Bookings for your business and your customers:

Improve customer satisfaction and loyalty by offering them a convenient and flexible way to book your services.
Increase your visibility and reach by creating a professional and personalized booking page that can be shared on your website, social media, or email.
Boost your productivity and efficiency by reducing manual tasks and errors, such as double-booking, missed appointments, or miscommunication.
Gain insights and analytics on your booking trends, customer preferences, and feedback to improve your service quality and performance.
Enhance your collaboration and communication with your team members by sharing your booking calendar and availability.

How to get started with Microsoft Bookings?

To start using Microsoft Bookings, you need to have a Microsoft 365 subscription that includes Bookings. You can check your subscription by login on to Microsoft 365, going to the app launcher (aka the waffle) and locate the bookings apps in your list of apps. You can also download the Bookings app for iOS or Android devices from the app store. To set up your booking page, you need to follow these steps:

Sign in to Bookings and create your business profile.
Add your services, staff members, and business hours.
Customize your booking page with your logo, color scheme, and policies.
Publish your booking page and share it with your customers.

For more information and guidance on how to use Microsoft Bookings, contact us to arrange a training session.

7 reasons to use SharePoint Lists

About SharePoint List

Perhaps the best quote we’ve had about Sharepoint lists is that they are some much cleaner and easier to use and collect data in that Excel, and you can’t easily delete them

So what are SharePoint Lists?

They can help you organise and manage your data in one secure place, analyse and visualise the data and create automated workstream flows

Contact us about SharePoint Lists

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7 reasons to use SharePoint Lists

Store, collect, analyse and collaborate on up to 30 million rows of data.

Create real time Power BI reports and dashboards from Lists.

Sort, Filter and format lists.

Add Conditional Formatting and validation rules to list.

Clean, tidy and easy to add records and navigate lists.

Not a file that you lose or delete, but a SharePoint website page.

Version history and alerts available

Create relationships and lookups between lists, track tasks, inventory, feedback, reports and more.

Create Power Automate flows from Lists

Let’s go in to SharePoint Lists in a little more details

Produced by Microsoft CoPilot

What are SharePoint lists?

SharePoint lists are collections of data that can be stored, managed, and shared in a SharePoint site.
SharePoint lists can store various types of data, such as text, numbers, dates, choices, yes/no values, pictures, hyperlinks, and more.
SharePoint lists can be customized to suit different needs and preferences, such as adding or removing columns, changing the order or appearance of columns, applying filters, sorting, grouping, and formatting.
SharePoint lists can be integrated with other SharePoint features, such as workflows, alerts, views, web parts, and apps.

Why use SharePoint lists?

SharePoint lists can help you organize and manage your data in a centralised and secure location.
SharePoint lists can help you collaborate and communicate with your team members and stakeholders, as you can share, edit, and comment on the data in real time.
SharePoint lists can help you automate and streamline your business processes, as you can create workflows, alerts, and rules to trigger actions based on the data changes.
SharePoint lists can help you analyse and visualise your data, as you can create charts, graphs, dashboards, and reports using the data in the lists.

How to use SharePoint lists?

To create a SharePoint list, you can either use a template or start from scratch.
To add data to a SharePoint list, you can either enter it manually, import it from an external source, or use an app or a web part.
To modify a SharePoint list, you can either use the list settings or the quick edit mode.
To share a SharePoint list, you can either use the share button, the permissions settings, or the email option.

5 reasons to use Microsoft Loop Components

Microsoft Loop Components

Loop components are editable chunks of text, lists, paragraphs, table, tasks and voting tables that can be shared and edited instantly.

They are a relatively new app in Microsoft 365 as at April 2024 but will continue to evolve

One of the biggest advantages of using Loop components and a game changer for anyone involved with meetings is its ability to create agendas, create meeting minutes and assigning tasks from meetings all in one place instantly accessible by all meeting attendees.

It will cut out a huge swathe of meeting related emails

Contact us about Microsoft Loop Components

It’s always easier to contact us via email rather than phone. We’re out training most days of the week

5 Reasons to use Mcrosoft Loop Components

Brings together Team meeting agendas, meeting minutes and meeting actions directly in a Team meeting and other easy to find locations.

Collaborate in real time on bullet, number and task lists and document paragraphs.

Collatable and editable in Loop components, Outlook, Team meetings, Whiteboard and One Note

Loop component accessible in Teams chat, Team meetings and Teams Channels

Brainstorm ideas in real time from in the same Loop component from an email, Teams Chat, Teams Channels and One Note.

Let’s go in to Microsoft Loop Components a little more

Produced by Microsoft CoPilot

Microsoft Loop is a new platform that enables collaborative work across teams and applications. It consists of three main components: Loop Workspaces, Loop Components, and Loop Pages.

Loop Workspaces

Loop Workspaces are shared spaces where teams can create, edit, and chat about their projects. They can also integrate data and content from other Microsoft 365 apps, such as Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and Power BI. Loop Workspaces are accessible from any device and sync automatically across the cloud.

You must have a Microsoft Enterprise Licence to use Loop Workspaces

Loop Components

Loop Components are modular and interactive elements that can be added to Loop Workspaces or other apps. They include tables, lists, calendars, notes, and more. Loop Components can be customized and linked to each other, creating dynamic and rich experiences. They can also be embedded in other Microsoft 365 apps, such as Outlook, Teams, and OneNote.

Loop Pages

Loop Pages are web pages that can be created and published from Loop Workspaces. They allow teams to share their work with external audiences, such as customers, partners, or stakeholders. Loop Pages can include Loop Components, as well as images, videos, and text. They can be viewed on any browser and device, and can be updated in real time.

You must have a Microsoft Enterprise Licence to use Loop Pages