SharePoint Maven

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/

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/

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/