December 2022 - Microsoft 365 US Public Sector Roadmap Newsletter
Published Dec 20 2022 11:00 AM 24.7K Views
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Newsworthy Highlights

 

What’s New in Microsoft Teams | November 2022

These features currently available to Microsoft’s commercial customers in multi-tenant cloud environments are now rolling out to our customers in US Government Community Cloud (GCC), US Government Community Cloud High (GCC-High), and/or United States Department of Defense (DoD).

 

Basic Authentication Deprecation in Exchange Online – What’s Next

With the protocols most at risk on their way to being secured, we are now turning our attention to one important Exchange protocol that remains untouched by this effort – Autodiscover. The Autodiscover service which is used by Outlook, Exchange ActiveSync, and other Exchange Web Services clients and custom code for service location discovery.

 

Once Basic auth for Outlook, Exchange ActiveSync and Exchange Web Services has been permanently disabled in your tenant, there’s really no reason to keep Autodiscover enabled for Basic auth. So, we’re turning off Autodiscover next.

 

Where to Start with Microsoft Teams Apps in Gov Clouds

Customers in our Office 365 government clouds, GCC, GCCH, and DoD, are continuing to evolve how they do business in the hybrid workplace. As Microsoft Teams is the primary tool for communication and collaboration, customers are looking to improve productivity by integrating their business processes directly into Microsoft Teams via third-party party (3P) applications or line-of-business (LOB)/homegrown application integrations.

 

Microsoft 365 Government Adoption Resources

Empowering US public sector organizations to transition to Microsoft 365

 

Release News

 

Exchange Online

 

Retirement of Distribution List (DL) to Unified Group (UG) in EAC and PowerShell

 

The ability to exclude bulk emails will be soon in Public Preview

 

Microsoft Defender for Office 365: User spam and phish reporting updates

 

Automatic migration of legacy Office 365 Message Encryption to Microsoft Purview Message Encryption

 

SharePoint / OneDrive for Business

 

SharePoint is updating the site detail panel to include Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 Groups inf...

 

We're introducing a vertical layout to the web part to give you greater flexibility when adding it t...

 

OneDrive sync client will be blocked on virtualized machines configured with unsupported versions of...

 

Teams

 

Prioritize up to two other participants' videos for sign language in meetings so they stay visible e...

 

We will be retiring the Get-CsOnlineVoiceUser cmdlet from the Teams PowerShell Module

 

Users can add people to group chats via @ mention, without having to navigate to the add-dialog manu...

 

When occupancy sensors are paired with Teams Panels, Panels will show an occupancy state on the ambi...

 

Approvals in Microsoft Teams lets users easily create, manage, share and print approvals directly fr...

 

Delete chats

 

Teams Rooms on Android is getting a new update, bringing several new features - GCC

 

New webinar experience - GCC

 

Users can now add external (federated) users to group calls – GCC January, GCCH & DoD February

 

Meeting transcripts for mobile (Android and iOS) will rollout to the Government clouds – GCC & GCCH ...

 

Microsoft Purview

 

eDiscovery (Premium): Retirement of classic case format

 

We will be retiring the Reports landing page from the Microsoft Purview compliance portal by the end...

 

eDiscovery (Premium): List, collection, and jobs usability enhancements

 

eDiscovery (Premium): New case creation wizard

 

Intune

 

Upgrade Network Access Control product to use Compliance Retrieval service

 

Ending support for WIP without enrollment (devices not receiving WIP policy)

 

Chrome OS Enterprise connector (preview) - GCC

 

Microsoft 365

 

Windows Enterprise cloud activation now available in GCC

 

Files stored on web servers who use Basic Authentication will be blocked from opening in Microsoft 3...

 

GCC, GCC High and DoD customers will be able to opt-in to Targeted Release

 

Microsoft Whiteboard availability to DoD

 

References and Information Resources

 

Microsoft 365 Public Roadmap
This link is filtered to show GCC, GCC High and DOD specific items.  For more general information uncheck these boxes under “Cloud Instance”.

 

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Stay on top of Microsoft 365 changes
Here are a few ways that you can stay on top of the Office 365 updates in your organization.

Microsoft Tech Community for Public Sector
Your community for discussion surrounding the public sector, local and state governments.

 

Microsoft 365 for US Government Service Descriptions

·     Office 365 Platform (GCC, GCCH, DoD)

·     Office 365 U.S. Government GCC High endpoints

·     Office 365 U.S. Government DoD endpoints

 

·     Microsoft Purview (GCCGCCHDoD)

·     Enterprise Mobility & Security (GCC, GCCH, DoD)

·     Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (GCC, GCCH, DoD)

·     Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Security (GCC, GCCH, DoD)

·     Microsoft Defender for Identity Security (GCC, GCCH, DoD)

·     Azure Information Protection Premium

 

·     Exchange Online (GCC, GCCH, DoD)

·     SharePoint (GCC, GCCH, DoD)

·     OneDrive (GCC, GCCH, DoD) 

·     Teams (GCCGCCHDoD)

 

·     Office 365 Government (GCC, GCCH, DoD)

·     Power Apps (GCC, GCCH, DoD)

·     Power Automate US Government (GCC, GCCH, DoD)

·     Power BI (GCC, GCCH, DoD)

·     Planner (GCC, GCCH, DoD)

·     Outlook Mobile (GCC, GCCH, DoD)

·     Viva Insights (GCC)

·     Dynamics 365 US Government

 

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Be a Learn-it-All

 

 

Public Sector Center of Expertise

We bring together thought leadership and research relating to digital transformation and innovation in the public sector. We highlight the stories of public servants around the globe, while fostering a community of decision makers. Join us as we discover and share the learnings and achievements of public sector communities.

 

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Microsoft Teams for US Government Adoption Guide

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Message Center Posts and Updates for Microsoft Teams in GCC

 

Looking for what’s on the map for Microsoft Teams and only Teams in GCC?

Go right to the GCC Teams Feature Communications Guide

 

Message Center Highlights

 

SharePoint Online / OneDrive for Business

 

MC476027 — SharePoint Apps: Add to teams when enabling an app

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 103610

 

As a SharePoint Administrator or Global Administrator in Microsoft 365, you can acquire solutions from the SharePoint Store or distribute custom apps that can be used across SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and Viva Connections. We improve the process of adding SharePoint Framework solution app to Teams in the modern SharePoint apps site (formerly known as App Catalog). 

 

When this will happen:

Targeted Release: We expect this to begin rolling out in early December 2022.  

Standard Release: We expect this rollout to begin in early January 2023 and expect that rollout to be completed by end of January. 

 

How this will affect your organization:

When deploying a custom app or approving a requested app in the Apps site, if the app is applicable for Teams, we will display a checkbox for adding to Teams. It’s checked by default. And if it’s enabled with this option checked, we will complete the enabling and adding to Teams flow in sequence. Otherwise, if it is not checked, you can click on Add to Teams button in the command bar later. 

 

Note: There is no change to the Apps site availability, it is accessible in all environments (Worldwide, GCC, GCC-High, and DoD).

 

Deploying an app which is applicable to Teams 

 

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What you need to do to prepare:

There is nothing you need to prepare. Please share this information with anyone who manages apps and reviews app requests in your organization. 

 

MC475170 — (Updated) OneDrive Android: Extract PDF Pages

Updated November 29, 2022: We have updated the content below to show as intended. Thank you for your patience.

 

Users of OneDrive for Android can now split PDFs and have PDFs saved back to OneDrive.

 

When this will happen:

Rollout will begin in early January and will complete in late January. 

 

How this will affect your organization:

This feature will be available for licensed Syntex users in OneDrive for Business.

 

To split a PDF:

1.     Open any PDF file in OneDrive for Android.

2.     Click on the horizontal bar or drag the bottom menu upwards to expand the new menu.

3.     Tap Extract.

4.     Select page(s) you want to split and click on Exact.

5.     Select the location of where extracted PDF should be saved.

6.     Once the resulting PDF is ready, click on Open.

 

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Note: Some users may see this feature before other users within your organization. PDF extraction is available for Microsoft Syntex licensed users.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

There is nothing you need to do to prepare for this change. You may want to notify your users about this change and update your training and documentation as appropriate.

 

MC469579 — Video and audio embed code for use on internal web sites

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 98198

 

With this feature users can get an embed code for an audio or video file that is uploaded to or stored in SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, or Yammer. The embed code renders the audio or video source file in a player and can be used on intranets or internal websites. Note: If the user is logged into the internal site or intranet where the embedded player is featured, but is not logged into M365, then they will be asked to login to M365 to view the content. If the user does not have permission to view the content, then a modal will surface in place of the video which will allow the user to request access to the audio or video file.

 

Learn more on how to embed files here.

 

When this will happen:

This feature is generally available now for use in Stream and OneDrive (for Business).

 

Release to GCC, GCCHigh, and DoD is planned to begin rolling out in mid-December and complete late-December.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

No preparation is needed.

 

MC468489 — Retiring 3 entry points to access contents from the SharePoint mobile app

We will be retiring 3 entry points to access contents from the SharePoint mobile app; instead, we recommend the utilization of the search bar, save for later, and other avenues in the SharePoint mobile app to access any content. These spaces were just shortcuts to access contents, but the users can still access them in SharePoint just not at these spaces after the retirement.

 

When this will happen:

December 7, 2022

 

How this will affect your organization:

Users will no longer be able to use the following entry points to access the SharePoint content when this change is implemented:

1. The tab showing popular files from the Level 2 screen for “Find/Files”

 

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2. “Recent Files” section from app-only quick navigation links shown for team sites. Since this feature does not exist on SPO & on OD, we are aligning the same for Mobile and,

 

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3. User's recent activity across SharePoint news, and pages in the “Recent tab”

 

What you need to do to prepare:

Instead of using the retired entry points, we recommend using the save for later option to access the content easily from the saved tab in the SharePoint app.

 

MC467240 — OneDrive/SharePoint Share Control - Simplifying Link Settings

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 103606

 

We're improving Link settings by providing more helpful tooltips, definitions and clearer language to help you understand which link type and permissions best suit your needs prior sharing a file or folder to your coworkers. ​We've also added a quick at-a-glance view of all the collaborators that currently have access which also serves as an entry-point to Manage Access to provide you with even more granular control.

 

When this will happen:

Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out early November and expect to complete rollout by mid-November.

Standard Release: We will begin rolling out mid-November and expect to complete rollout by early December.

 

How this will affect your organization:

Users who interact with the OneDrive/SharePoint share control will be able to see these changes when modifying their sharing settings.

 

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Note: Some users may see this feature before others within your organization.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You may want to notify your users about this new capability and update your training and documentation as appropriate.

 

MC467233 — OneDrive sync client will be blocked on virtualized machines configured with unsupported versions of FSLogix

Note: If your organization does not utilize OneDrive on virtual machines, you can safely disregard this message.

 

OneDrive Sync client connections from a virtual machine using FSLogix releases older than FSLogix 2009 Hot Fix 1 are not supported and will get blocked starting Jan 2023. The hard block will show an error message, and the attempt to run the OneDrive Sync client on the machine will get blocked. 

 

When will this happen:

The deployment will begin in January 2023 and continue through February 2023. Starting January 2023, any user connecting to OneDrive sync client with unsupported version of FSLogix will begin seeing error messages and OneDrive will not run on the machine. You can review the FSLogix release notes for more information.

 

How this will affect your organization:

Any enterprise that is using OneDrive in a virtual environment without a supported version of FSLogix is at risk of having OneDrive blocked for any users running on the virtual machine in an unsupported state. The OneDrive sync client will be blocked for any virtualized configuration using a FSLogix release older than FSLogix 2009 Hot Fix 1.

 

Users will see a dialog explaining that OneDrive cannot sync, and that they should contact their administrator. Once the user acknowledges this dialog, the OneDrive sync client will shut down.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

To avoid user impact, install the latest version of FSLogix on all virtualized machines using the OneDrive Sync client.

 

MC458663 — Updating OneDrive for Business end users ability to create service requests directly

The ability of OneDrive users to contact Microsoft directly in the form of support requests will be retired before the end of the calendar year 2022.

 

Only an administrator will be able to open a support request with Microsoft.

 

We will continue to ramp up our efforts in communication with end users from in product feedback and the Feedback portal.

 

When this will happen:

We will begin rolling out in early-December and expect to complete it by late December.

 

How this will affect your organization:

Users in your organization will no longer be able to create service requests directly from OneDrive clients (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS). This does not affect a user's ability to send feedback from OneDrive clients.

 

There is no change in Administrators ability to create service requests from Microsoft admin center.

·       For Windows and Mac: ‘Contact support’ will be disabled in future updates and for existing or old versions it will not create a service request.

·       For Android: ‘Report a Problem’ will create a feedback item instead of a service request.

·       For iOS: ‘Ask for help’ will be disabled in future updates and for existing or old versions it will not create a service request. ‘Report a Problem’ will create a feedback item instead of a service request.

 

Additional information: Prevent users from contacting Microsoft directly.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You may consider updating your training and documentation as appropriate.

 

MC458661 — New SharePoint site templates

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 102380

 

We are introducing 3 new SharePoint site templates dedicated to helping you create sites for your HR department, to showcase Events, and a template powered by Microsoft Syntex to do contract management.

 

With our new HR and Events communication site templates you will be able to build sites that highlight and showcase your content and share this information broadly with your organization. The HR site brings together all of the information your employees need to navigate the complexities of employment and benefits. Our new Event template includes many great layout suggestions and will highlight any upcoming event you are planning.

 

With the Microsoft Syntex powered contracts management template you can learn more about how Syntex works and be able to get started right away. This template also comes with a prebuilt tutorial and some established models designed to help your team get started with Microsoft Syntex.

 

When this will happen:

Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out in early November and complete rolling out late November

Standard: will begin rolling out in late-November and complete in early December

 

How this will affect your organization:

Users will be able to benefit from the ability to browse, preview, and apply site templates to a new or existing SharePoint site. Users can select a site template that meets organizational business objectives and best fits the site goal while ensuring a higher level of consistency throughout their organization. They can then review pre-populated content and customize the site to address their needs. This feature will be on by default with no admin control.

 

To apply a template to an existing site: Users can choose to browse site templates and can apply a template to an existing site at any time by accessing the template gallery from Settings and then select Apply a site template.

 

To apply a template to a new site: If a site owner is visiting their new site for the first time, they may see a message asking if they want to use a template that will then take them to the template gallery.

 

Choose desired template.

 

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Communication site templates:

Human Resources – provide employees with compensation, benefits, and career resources

Event - share event information with attendees.

 

Team site templates: 

Contracts management – manage, process, and track contracts. 

 

What you need to do to prepare:

Share this template guide with end-users: Learn how to apply and customize SharePoint site templates.

 

MC455520 — SharePoint admin center: Streamlining management of site information across Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 Groups

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 100053

 

SharePoint is updating the site detail panel to include Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 Groups information.

 

Standard Release: We will begin rolling out mid-November 2022 and expect to complete by late-December 2022.

 

How this will affect your organization:

Admins that have permissions to SharePoint, Teams and Groups admin centers can now manage all related attributes (membership, group name, description, etc.) from a single site detail panel in the SharePoint admin center 'Active Sites' tab. SharePoint admins with SharePoint only permissions will have read-only access to the new attributes. 

 

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What you need to do to prepare:

No preparation is required

 

MC454797 — (Updated) SharePoint and OneDrive deploying hard block for IE11 in January 2023

Updated November 18 2022: We have updated the content below for clarification. Thank you for your patience.

 

As communicated in MC278815 (August '21) Microsoft 365 apps and services ended providing support for Internet Explorer 11 in August, 2021.

 

Beginning mid-January, 2023, access to SharePoint Online and OneDrive from Internet Explorer 11 and Edge IE will be hard blocked for all users. Users should access these services through a modern browser, and we recommend Microsoft Edge as a faster, more innovative browser than IE11.

 

When this will happen:

Mid-January 2023

 

How this will affect your organization:

Once the hard block is deployed, the connection requests will fail and users will no longer be able to access these services through IE11. These users would need to use a modern browser, such as Microsoft Edge, to continue accessing SharePoint Online and OneDrive.

 

Current soft block experience:

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Future hard block experience:

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What you need to do to prepare:

If you still use IE11 to access SharePoint or OneDrive content, we strongly recommend you review the following guidelines to help avoid service disruption for users:

1.     Deploy a modern browser such as Microsoft Edge

2.     Prepare your SharePoint environment for the retirement of Internet Explorer 11 for Microsoft 365 app...

 

Note: If your organization has already finished upgrading to Microsoft Edge, no further actions are needed.

 

Please click Additional Information to learn more.

 

MC408694 — (Updated) New 'Activity' Column in OneDrive 'My Files' list view

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 88913

 

Updated November 7, 2022: We have updated this message with a link to additional information. Thank you for your patience.

 

We are introducing a new Activity column in OneDrive My Files list view. The goal of this feature is to help users stay up-to-date on the files that they are working on with others by surfacing relevant activity information. We will show file activity related to actions, such as, user comments, edits, share, and @mentions.

 

When this will happen:

We will begin rolling out this feature in mid-October (previously mid-September) and expect to complete rollout by mid-December (previously late October).

 

How this will affect your organization:

There is no impact to your organization. This feature will be delivered as a user interface update in the form of an additional column in My Files list view with activity information related to files (e.g., file shared, user comment, @mentions).

 

What you need to do to prepare:

There is nothing you need to do to prepare for this change. You may want to notify your users about this change and update your training and documentation as appropriate.

 

MC398248 — (Updated) Microsoft Stream: Stream Web App

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93294

 

Updated November 30, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

We will be rolling out the Stream web app. The web app improves how you view and publish video and audio files that are stored in or uploaded to Teams, Yammer, OneDrive, and SharePoint. The app and player experience works seamlessly with Office.com and brings key features of the Stream (classic) player to SharePoint playing experience.

 

To use the app, simply open an audio or video file from its location in SharePoint, OneDrive, stream.office.com or from a share link. Opening the file will open the Stream web app where you can easily view the video (or listen to the audio file) prepare your video for publishing with a title and description, set a custom thumbnail, add chapters, generate a transcript, share videos, and even share your video at a specific time code.

 

When this will happen:

GA: We will begin rolling out this feature in early August and expect to complete rollout by late September. 

Government Clouds: This will begin rollout to Government Community Clouds in early October and expect to complete rollout by late January 2023 (previously early November 2022).

 

How this will affect your organization:

This feature will provide an enriched playback experience for videos stored in SharePoint or OneDrive.

 

Note: Some users may see this feature before other users within your organization.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

Admins do not need to take any action. If you're organization is storing videos in Stream (classic) there will be no change to how you view those videos or publish changes to them. Videos stored in Stream (classic) will continue to open and play in the Stream (classic) player.

 

Most organizations currently store Teams Meeting recording in OneDrive and SharePoint, and these, along with any other videos stored in OneDrive or SharePoint will automatically be played by the Stream web app.

 

MC394844 — (Updated) Stream on SharePoint: Inline playback of videos in Hero web part

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93351

 

Updated November 22, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

When users click to play a video in the Hero web part section of a SharePoint site, the video will play inline. This feature allows users to watch a video without being taken off the SharePoint page and allows users to browse or scroll through the other contents of the page while the video plays.

 

When this will happen:

We will begin rolling out by mid-July and expect to complete by late November 2022 (previously early November 2022).

 

Note: Some users may see this feature before other users within your organization.

 

How this affects your organization:

Video consumers on Hero webpart will now be able to consume video on the same site page where they encountered the video. That allows them to browse through other site content while watching/listening to the video, thus saving their browsing time.

 

What you can do to prepare:

You may consider updating your training and documentation as appropriate.

 

Microsoft Viva

 

MC476025 — Suggest types for Viva Topics

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 72181

 

Topic types provide better context to users by providing them with a suggested category for topics that helps them distinguish two topics with similar names and determine what type of information they’re viewing. We’ll continue to suggest types like products, projects, events or more, and we’re adding the ability to identify over 150 types which are more granular, like conference, framework, process, and more. As a topic contributor, you can select one or more types for the topic, and set a type to appear at the top of the Topic Card and Page in a pill-shaped designation.

 

When this will happen:

Targeted Release (if applicable): We will begin rolling out late November and expect to complete by early December.

Standard Release (if applicable): We will begin rolling out early December and expect to complete by mid-December.

 

How this will affect your organization:

Users can see types as part of the topic information. The types, if available, will appear on the topic page, card and answer. The contributors and knowledge managers can select one type to be highlighted on the topic as a badge. When possible, types will be suggested on suggested, confirmed and published topics.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

Published topics will not show the type as a badge as default, so you can let your contributors evaluate the suggested types and edit the types as needed.

 

MC475132 — Viva Topics: Update to the experience for collecting feedback on AI quality and correctness through the Topic Card

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 98113

 

You will soon see an updated experience on the Topic Card to better request feedback from users on the quality of a suggested highlight on SharePoint modern pages, and the quality of a suggested topics and its suggested properties. The questions have not changed, but the experience is more noticeable and has a new option to respond with "Not sure". You can learn more about Topic curation and feedback here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/viva/topics/topic-experiences-discovery-curation#topic-curation-an...

 

When this will happen:

Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out late November and expect to complete by early December.

Standard Release: We will begin rolling out early December and expect to complete by mid-December.

 

How this will affect your organization:

This is visual change on the card, so users may notice the feedback questions more. This should help knowledge managers in assessing the Topics, as the feedback is relayed back to them in the Manage Topics view.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You may want to notify your users about this change and update your training and documentation as appropriate.

 

MC467626 — More Layout Options and Yammer Card Content for the Feed Web Part for Viva Connections

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 98108

 

Updates are coming for the Feed web part for Viva Connections. The Feed web part for Viva Connections aggregates organizational communications content from sources across SharePoint, Yammer, and Stream into a single, personalized feed.

 

The updates include a new vertical layout option for the web part to give you greater flexibility when adding it to SharePoint pages and more types of Yammer content that will be displayed as cards in the feed and help create a rich and integrated experience.

 

When this will happen:

The vertical layout option and new Yammer cards will rollout by mid-November and become available to all customers by late November.

 

How this will affect your organization:

The new layout option for the Feed web part for Viva Connections gives editors more flexibility when designing SharePoint pages. 

 

The new cards from Yammer help connect and engage your organization in the following ways:

·       Storylines: Free-form user generated content that’s great for leaders to share updates, experiences, or perspectives with the rest of the organization.

·       Praise: Reward individuals who go above and beyond with personalized messaging and gratitude.

·       Questions and Answers: Route questions in Yammer communities to members of your organization that are subject matter experts.

 

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Note: This is an optional setting and will not impact any existing web parts.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You do not need to do anything to prepare for this update. The new web part layout is an optional setting, and the new Yammer content does not require any set up. Consider sharing more information about these updates with the people in your organization who manage Viva Connections and the employee experience. Please visit this page to learn more. 

 

Microsoft Teams

 

MC477845 — Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows store application 4.15 update

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 9526010365998423

 

Teams Rooms on Windows application version 4.15 includes key new features and improvements to existing functionality.

 

When this will happen:

We will begin rolling out early December and expect to complete by late December.

 

How this will affect your organization:

1.     In-meeting notification improvement

o   This update delivers improvements to in-meeting notifications on Teams Rooms on Windows and aligns them with Desktop's framework and new UI. All critical notifications that require user action will be shown on console.

2.     Meeting chat on Gallery, Large gallery, and Together mode

o   Always know the context by bringing the chat pane on to front of room display for Teams Rooms on Windows. In room participants can use the touch console to show and hide chat on the front of room display alongside meeting participants and/or content. The ability to show and hide chat is available through the view switcher menu. IT admins have configuration control to hide a meeting chat for a room if needed via XML. XML details will be added to https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoftteams/rooms/xml-config-file#create-an-xml-configuration-file

 

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3.     Start whiteboard in Teams meetings

o   Microsoft Teams Rooms users can now share a Whiteboard in a Teams meetings using ‘Share’ user interface on console. With hybrid work, whiteboarding is a key feature to enable collaboration between in-room and remote users. When the Whiteboard is started from the room, it is attributed to the meeting organizer so that the organizer can manage access to the artifact. A touch front of room display is required to use Whiteboard in the room.

4.     Fit to frame Room video roster control

o   'Fit to frame' and 'Fill the frame' options are available for the roster on console. Room users can change remote video participant's status between 'Fit to frame' and 'Fill the frame.'

 

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5.     Overflow meeting support.

o   In large meetings which are at capacity, Microsoft Teams Rooms will be able to join and stream the meeting content. This is a single screen and view-only experience similar to the one on Teams desktop client. Best practices for a large Teams meeting - Microsoft Support

6.     Join Zoom meeting by ID (Direct guest join)

o   Microsoft Teams Rooms will be able to attend a Zoom meeting using a Zoom meeting ID.

7.     Quality fixes for Third party meetings (Direct guest join)

o   Update to Chromium 106 which improves audio and video quality when Microsoft Teams Rooms join Zoom meetings.

8.     Fix for license information in settings showing no license when Teams is not signed in

o   If a device is not signed in, the settings show invalid license today. This is fixed in application version 4.15.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You might want to notify your users about this updated experience and update your training and documentation as appropriate. 

 

MC469578 — Introducing OneNote viewer in Teams mobile apps

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 103097

 

We are excited to announce the OneNote viewer feature within Teams mobile apps.

 

Through this new feature, users will be able to open and view OneNote notebooks right within their Teams mobile apps. Users interested in editing the content will be directed to the standalone OneNote mobile app. The experience will be available as part of the Teams mobile apps on Android and iOS (including iPads) starting with English language users, followed by international languages.

 

When this will happen:

Standard Release: We expect to begin rolling out the OneNote viewer starting early December 2022 and complete the rollout by late January 2023.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

No admin action is needed to support these changes.

 

MC467619 — Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Now Available as Teams Personal Apps

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (WXP) are now available as Teams Personal Apps. There are no changes to the existing file open behavior for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in Teams, however there are new abilities that the WXP Personal Apps can provide. Additionally, this change comes with a number of UX improvements to the Office ribbon in Teams to provide a decluttered experience consistent with Office for the Web.

 

When this will happen:

App rollout has begun and is expected to be completed by late November.

 

How this will affect your organization:

New abilities that WXP Personal Apps will provide include:

·       Ability to pin the apps to the app bar for easy entry point

·       Right click the app icon in the app bar to pop out documents in a new window, to allow multi-tasking between Teams chats and document editing

·       App home page to navigate documents, view recommended files, or create new file

 

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Changes to the Office ribbon in Teams include:

·       Open in Browser and Open in Desktop App move to the mode menu

·       Introduction of the Share menu, consistent with Office for the Web

·       Conversation button is removed

·       Introduction of in-app Search bar in app header

 

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What you need to do to prepare:

No action is required from admins at this time; the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps will be available to all users.  

 

MC466199 — Microsoft Teams: Users ability to delete chats

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 90723

 

Users can now delete 1:1 chats, group chats, and meeting chats if they are a participant in Microsoft Teams. This permanently deletes the chat only for the user, other people in the chat and conversation history for them is not impacted.

 

When this will happen:

We will begin rolling out in early December and expect to complete rollout by mid-December.

 

How this will affect your organization:

Users can now delete 1:1 chat threads or chat groups from the Teams desktop or mobile application. By selecting the ellipsis, users can select the Delete option to clear their chat list.

 

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If Admins want to turn off this capability, they can do so from the admin portal under messaging policies. If turned off, users in the tenant will no longer see the delete option for their chats.

 

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What you need to do to prepare:

This feature will be enabled automatically and there is no action required at this time. 

 

MC465915 — Microsoft Teams: View meeting transcripts on Microsoft Teams on Android and iOS for Gov

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 102390

 

You can now configure the availability of meeting transcription on Teams Mobile for users in your tenant, who can start transcription during the meeting and view meeting transcripts after the meeting on Microsoft Teams for Android and iOS.

 

When this will happen:

Standard Release: We will begin rolling out in GCC in early December, GCCH in mid-December, and DoD in early January.

 

How this will affect your organization:

The existing "Allow transcription" policy for Teams Desktop will now also apply to Teams Mobile so you can configure the availability of meeting transcription for your tenant.

 

If transcription is enabled, users will see "Start transcription" right after "Start recording" in meeting more options menu. They can start transcription during the meeting, and view transcripts after the meeting via Transcript in Meeting Ended message in Meeting Chat or Recording and Transcripts under Meeting Chat More tab.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You can choose to enable or disable meeting transcription via "Allow transcription" policy.

 

MC465914 — Microsoft Teams: View attendance report on Microsoft Teams for Android and iOS for Gov

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 102387

 

You can now configure the availability of attendance report on Teams Mobile for users in your tenant, who can check attendance information for regular meetings or webinars and also the registration information before webinars on Microsoft Teams for Android and iOS as they can do on desktop today.

 

When this will happen:

Standard Release: We will begin rolling out in GCC in December, GCCH in January, and DoD in February

 

How this will affect your organization:

The existing "Allow engagement report" for Teams Desktop will now also apply to Teams Mobile so you can configure the availability of attendance report for your tenant.

 

If attendance report is enabled, users will see Attendance in Meeting Ended message in Meeting Chat or Attendance under Meeting Chat More tab.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You can choose to enable or disable attendance report via "Allow engagement report" policy.

 

MC465913 — Language Interpretation for GCC-High and DoD

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 102411

 

Language interpretation will allow professional language interpreters to translate what the speaker says into another language in real time without disrupting the original flow of delivery of the speaker. This will allow more inclusive and efficient meetings, where participants who may not speak the same language can fully collaborate with each other without waiting for an interpreter to repeat what was said after the fact.

 

When this will happen:

GCC-High: We will begin rolling out early December and expect to complete by mid-December.

DoD: We will begin rolling out early January and expect to complete by mid-January.

 

How this will affect your organization:

The admin policy for this feature will be default on, but user needs to toggle on this feature manually in meeting options if they want to assign language interpreters in the meetings. Tenant admins should ensure the policy for language interpretation is enabled in order for their users to be able to toggle on the feature. If admins do not want this feature to be available to the users, they will need to disable this feature via the policy. 

 

How to enable the feature:

After a meeting is scheduled, the meeting organizer should go to meeting options to enable the Language Interpretation toggle:

 

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Then the user can search for interpreters and assign the source and target language for the interpreters.

 

For more detailed information, please refer to this user guide here: Use language interpretation in a Teams meeting (microsoft.com).

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You may want to notify your users about this new capability and update your training and documentation as appropriate. 

 

MC455896 — (Updated) Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management: Support for Microsoft Teams call data records

Updated November 10, 2022: We have updated the content below for clarity. Thank you for your patience.

 

Microsoft Teams call data records (CDR) are system-generated messages that contain metadata for meetings and calls - for example, who joined and when they joined. Previously, this type of content was not managed by retention policies for Teams.

 

We now are pleased to include support for these types of messages. CDRs will now be retained and deleted by your already-existing retention polices for Microsoft Teams that target individual chats. This includes CDRs that are generated in channel meetings. Currently, this behavior will only apply to CDRs that were generated from October 7, 2022. Call data records generated prior to this date are not yet supported by retention policies, however we are working to add this by mid-2023 and will notify you via Message Center once these are supported. 

 

When this will happen:

This improvement to support retention policies is rolling out now and will include all Teams call data records generated from October 7, 2022, onwards.  

 

How this will affect your organization:

Teams CDRs will now be managed per the rules specified in your Teams user chat retention policies. This inclusion happens automatically, no changes are required to your configuration.

 

Please note that Teams call data records generated from meetings in channels (different from messages in channel conversations) will be managed by the “Teams chat” messages policies. 

 

What you need to do to prepare:

No action is needed to enable this change; however, you may want to communicate this change to the team responsible for Data Lifecycle Management at your organization.

 

Access the Data Lifecycle Management solution in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal: 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC-High cloud environments 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for DoD cloud environments 

 

Learn more: Learn about retention for Teams

 

MC455894 — (Updated) Microsoft Teams Paging on Video Gallery

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 86480

 

Updated November 18, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

When you are in gallery view, and there are more videos than what can be shown at once on the meeting stage (the maximum number can vary depending on your device configuration, internet bandwidth and whether content is being shared), navigation controls will appear to see additional videos of the attendees. You can use these controls to view more video participants.

 

When this will happen:

Preview: We will complete roll out by mid-December (previously late November).

Production & GCC Release: We will begin rolling out early January (previously early December) and expect to complete by late January (previously mid-January).

GCC-H:  We will complete roll out by late February (previously mid-February).

DoD: We will complete roll out by early March (previously late February).

 

How this will affect your organization:

Users can now use pagination controls to see more participants' videos when there are more videos than what can be displayed on a single page. 

 

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What you need to do to prepare:

You may need to update documentation for your users interested in using this feature.

 

MC455518 — Group Policy Assignment for GCCH Tenants

The Microsoft Teams admin center now provides an ability to admins to assign custom policies to a group of users. Admins can create new groups in Microsoft 365 admin center or can use existing groups to assign custom policies in Teams admin center.

 

We understand that as an org grows, their needs become more granular and complex. Therefore, this capability will help organizations have different custom policies for different user groups based on the org needs and not have to rely on Global (org-wide default) policies.

 

When this will happen:

We have begun rolling out this feature and expect to complete rollout by mid-November for all Microsoft Teams GCC-High licenses.

 

How this will affect your organization:

The group policy assignment feature lets you assign custom policies such as meeting policies, calling policies, messaging policies etc. to groups that were created in Microsoft 365 Admin center. Teams admin center supports Microsoft365, Distribution list, Mail-enabled security, and Security groups for group policy assignments.

 

In the case of users who are part of multiple groups, policy assignment uses a ranking mechanism, which determine which policy a user should inherit as their effective policy. For more details, refer assign policies to groups.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

Review how the policy assignment for users and groups works. Login to Microsoft Teams admin center and review the new Group policy assignment tab that is available on the policies page. You can then review groups that you have created in Microsoft 365 admin center or create new groups and add users. Currently, group policy assignment support is added for the listed policies:

·       Teams Messaging Policies

·       Teams Meeting Policies

·       Teams Calling Policies

·       Teams Call Park Policies

·       Teams Policies (Teams Channels policies)

·       Live events policies (Teams Meeting Broadcast Policy)

 

You can then go to any policy page, such as Meeting policies, and assign a custom policy to these groups.

 

MC454809 — (Updated) IT Admin Policy Change for the New Webinars Experience on Teams

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 86826

 

Updated December 1, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

We are excited to announce the upcoming launch of the new webinar experience. This experience is an intuitive end-to-end webinar solution addressing key feedback received since the initial webinar launch last year and is built to scale for advanced webinars in the future. The new webinar will be found by clicking the New Meeting dropdown in the calendar app and selecting Webinar.

 

With the launch of the new webinar experience, we are introducing a new policy called Teams Event Policy to TAP IT Admins and TAP customers. This policy (Settings: AllowWebinars and EventAccessType) will control the new webinar experience, and the current webinar experience will be controlled by the existing Teams Meeting Policy (Settings: AllowMeetingRegistration and WhoCanRegister). As we make this transition from the current and existing webinar experience to a new one, we are giving you the option to either use the new, current/existing, or no webinar experience. When we launch the new webinar experience, this experience will by default be ON (AllowWebinars: ON).

 

When this will happen:

The new webinar experience is targeted for rollout starting in early December (previously late November) and is expected to be completed by late December (previously early December).

 

How this affects your organization:

If you currently have existing webinar turned:

·       OFF (AllowMeetingRegistration: OFF), your organization will not have any webinar experience.

·       ON (AllowMeetingRegistration: ON), your organization will have the new webinar experience.

 

Here are all possible options in summary with existing Teams Meeting Policy and the new Teams Events Policy:

·       AllowMeetingRegistration: ON, AllowWebinar to OFF - Current webinar experience

·       AllowMeetingRegistration: ON, AllowWebinar to ON - New webinar experience

·       AllowMeetingRegistration: OFF, AllowWebinar to OFF - No webinar experience

·       AllowMeetingRegistration: OFF, AllowWebinar to ON - No webinar experience until the end of transition period

 

If you want to just to enable the existing webinar experience and not the new one, you need to take action and turn AllowWebinar to OFF and ensure AllowMeetingRegistration is ON.

 

You can configure the new events policy using Powershell cmdlets: New-CsTeamsEventsPolicy, Set-CsTeamsEventsPolicy, Grant-CsTeamsEventsPolicy, Get-CsTeamsEventsPolicy, Remove-CsTeamsEventsPolicy

 

If you currently leverage the flow of adding registration to a meeting by using the registration option, this experience will continue to work as is and will not be impacted by this change as long as AllowMeetingRegistration is ON. In the future, after this transition period, we will only allow use of the new webinar via the Webinar entry point or no webinar at all and we will provide notice via future MC posts of this change.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

If you want to enable the existing webinar experience and not the new one, you need to take action and turn AllowWebinar to OFF and ensure AllowMeetingRegistration is ON.

 

Learn More:

·       New-CsTeamsEventsPolicy

·       Set-CsTeamsEventsPolicy

·       Grant-CsTeamsEventsPolicy

·       Remove-CsTeamsEventsPolicy

 

MC448362 — (Updated) Changes Coming to the Call Routing behavior for the On-Behalf-Of PSTN Delegate Calling Experience

Updated November 8, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

Based on customer feedback, we will be changing the call routing behavior for the on-behalf-of PSTN calling delegate experience.

 

When this will happen:

We are planning to start rolling out late January (previously mid-December) and complete rollout by early February (previously late December).

 

How this will affect your organization:

If your organization is not using call delegation in Microsoft Teams, please disregard this message.

 

Today, when a Microsoft Teams user (the delegate) makes an outbound PSTN call on behalf of a delegator, the check for appropriate licensing, call restrictions, and the call routing are based on settings on the delegate.

 

For example, today if a delegate with a Microsoft Teams Calling Plan phone number makes an outbound PSTN call on behalf of a delegator with a Direct Routing phone number, we will check that the delegate has the appropriate license, check dial-out restrictions on the delegate, and route the call based on the delegates Teams Calling Plan and called number.

 

We will be changing this, so that the check for appropriate licensing, any dial-out restrictions, and the call routing are based on settings on the delegator.

 

After the change, if a delegate with a Teams Calling Plan phone number makes an outbound PSTN call on behalf of a delegator with a Direct Routing phone number, we will check that the delegator has the appropriate license, check dial-out restrictions on the delegator and route the call based on the delegators Online Voice Routing Policy.

 

The change will cover all the different PSTN connectivity options in Microsoft Teams (Teams Calling Plan, Operator Connect and Direct Routing PSTN connectivity).

 

There will be no change to the personal outbound PSTN call experience for Microsoft Teams users, i.e., when a user makes an outbound PSTN call without calling on behalf of someone else.

 

There will be no change in behavior for Location-Based Routing enabled delegates, it will continue to be based on the settings of the delegate.

 

There will be no user interface changes in Microsoft Teams related to this change.

 

There will be no licensing changes for delegate/delegator scenarios.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You should ensure that any delegator have the necessary PSTN calling license, dial-out restrictions and PSTN call routing settings to enable any delegate to make outbound PSTN calls on their behalf.

 

The change will not be configurable by administrators.

 

Please click Additional Information to learn more.

 

Outbound calling restriction policies for Audio Conferencing and user PSTN calls

 

Share a phone line with a delegate)

 

Shared line appearance in Microsoft Teams

 

MC445202 — (Updated) Microsoft Teams: Browser Screen Pop for Incoming PSTN Calls

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 98054

 

Updated November 3, 2022: We have updated the post with a link to additional information. Thank you for your patience.

 

An automatic browser screen will now launch for users when an incoming PSTN call is accepted in Microsoft Teams. The browser screen will display relevant information to the user (CRM data, case data, etc.).

 

When this will happen:

WW and GCC: We will begin rolling out in early November and expect rollout to be completed by late November. 

 

GCCH and DoD: We will begin rolling out in December.

 

How this will affect your organization:

In Teams Admin Center, under Voice - Policies, admins can enable automatic launch of a web app or URL for their users and specify the app/page to launch, passing the caller ID (phone number) to the selected URL or web app. Admins can also assign policies so that only specific users have access to this capability.

 

Users will now see a browser launch automatically with relevant information including CRM data, case data, etc. when an incoming PSTN call on Microsoft Teams is accepted.  

 

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Users can turn off the automatic launch in the user settings (call section).

 

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The browser screen will not pop out if:

·       Policy is disabled in the Teams Admin Center

·       Teams user turns off the capability in the user setting

·       It's not PSTN incoming call

·       It's an anonymous PSTN call

·       The call is declined by Teams user

 

What you need to do to prepare:

We recommend admins test the target web application and understand how a PSTN number search works with the application. 

 

MC442480 — (Updated) Creation of Contact Groups in Calls App

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 100152

 

Updated November 4, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

Creation of Contact groups are now available in the right rail pane of the Calls App. Users can now create new groups, and edit the membership of existing groups via the Calls app.

 

When this will happen:

The feature will be released in early October and will complete rollout by late November (previously late October). 

 

How this will affect your organization:

Users will now be able to create contact groups directly from Calls App. 

 

What you need to do to prepare:

There is nothing you need to do to prepare. You may want to notify your customers and update any relevant training documentation as appropriate.

 

MC437263 — (Updated) Unread Toggle in Activity Feed

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 88389

 

Updated December 2, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

Unread toggle will help users quickly view all the unread activities in their activity feed. 

 

When this will happen:

Preview: We will begin rolling out late September and expect to complete by early October.

Standard Release: We will begin rolling out early November and expect to complete by late January (previously late November).

 

How this will affect your organization:

There are no tenant level settings. Defaults will not change.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

There is no action needed to prepare for this change. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation as appropriate.

 

MC428506 — (Updated) Expanded reactions in Teams

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 88080

 

Updated November 30, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

This update will allow users to apply any emoji as a reaction to chat or channels messages. Users can choose from over 800 existing Teams emojis to express themselves the way they want. Browse all the reaction options or use the search bar to the find the reaction you want.

 

This feature update will also be delivered with a new reactions user experience to support the expanded reactions options. The reaction hover bar will now feature a reduced number of quick hover options to make space for an expanded reaction button. The reaction summary will also be moved from the top right of the message to the bottom of the message bubble to make space for the wide range of options that can now be added.

 

This will be available for Teams desktop apps (Windows and Mac), Teams mobile (Android and iOS), and Teams on the web.

 

When this will happen:

Preview: We will begin rolling out mid-September and expect to complete by late September.

Standard release: We will begin rolling out mid-December 2022 (previously mid-November 2022) and expect to complete by late January 2023 (previously late December 2022).

 

How this will affect your organization:

No action is required from tenant admins. Users will continue to be able to use the existing reactions, along with the expanded set. The feature does not have any associated settings or ability to enable/disable the feature. Users will also experience a new reactions UX to support the expanded experience.

 

Reaction Menu: Hover over a message to show the reaction menu.

Open picker: Click on the expanded reactions button to open the full menu and browse all the emojis and reactions available.

Reaction summary: Once you select a reaction, it will be shown in the reaction summary starting from the bottom left of the message.

Reaction list: Hover over a reaction bubble to see who added this reaction. You can also click on reaction bubbles to add (or remove) this same reaction with a single click.

Channels: This feature will be available on both chat and channels.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You might want to notify your users about this new capability and update your training and documentation as appropriate.

 

MC424898 — (Updated) Automatically view up to 49 videos (7x7) in Teams meeting

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 86435

 

Updated November 3, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

Microsoft Teams Meetings currently supports a maximum of 9 videos (3x3) on the screen by default (in Gallery view). For seeing more than 9 videos, user needs to manually select the ‘Large Gallery’ view. With this update, users will be able to automatically see up to 49 videos (7x7) on their screen by default without an explicit action. However, Large Gallery view will still continue to exist as an option. 

 

The actual number of videos seen by a user in Gallery will depend on:

·       hardware/device capabilities

·       internet bandwidth

·       whether content is popped out in a separate window or not.

Please note: This enhancement will be supported on devices that meet hardware requirements (CPU, memory etc.). Detailed information regarding hardware requirements will be shared by Sep 22, 2022 (before GA release).

 

When this will happen:

Public preview: Will begin rolling out early September.

 

Worldwide & GCC: Will begin rolling out in late September and complete in mid-December (previously early October).

 

How this will affect your organization:

No explicit user action is needed to enable or use this feature.  

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You may update your user documentation to inform users about this change.

 

MC420059 — (Updated) Custom Download Location for Files in Teams

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 94719

 

Updated November 3, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

Currently all file downloads from Microsoft Teams go to the Downloads folder. We are releasing a new feature that enables users to be able to choose their preferred download location for downloading files from Teams or specify a download location for each download.

 

When this will happen:

We will begin rollout in early September and expect rollout to be completed by late January (previously late October).

 

How this will affect your organization:

To enable this feature, there is a new setting introduced under Files settings, which allows users to change the default download location to their preferred download location.

 

Additionally, there is a toggle, which if enabled, will prompt the user to select the location for each download.

 

Note: These settings will only apply to the files downloaded after the setting is enabled and will not impact any files downloaded in the past.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

There is nothing you need to do to prepare for this change. You may want to notify your users about this change and update your training and documentation as appropriate.

 

MC400204 — (Updated) Microsoft Teams: External Access Chat Invitation Flow for Managed Organizations

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 94646

 

Updated November 18, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

Teams users will now see an invitation pop-up to accept or block an external user when receiving new chats from external users.

 

When this will happen:

We will begin rollout for this feature in mid-August and expect rollout to be completed by mid-January (previously mid-November).

 

How this will affect your organization:

When receiving a new one-on-one chat from an external user, Teams users will receive an invitation to accept or block the external user. This also provides the ability to block external users at any point, which revokes access to presence and incoming messages.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

There is nothing you need to do to prepare for this change. You may want to notify your users about this change and update your training and documentation as appropriate.

 

MC399073 — (Updated) Microsoft Teams: Automatically end stale Teams meetings

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 96710

 

Updated November 23, 2022: Based on learnings from our early rings, we have made the decision to make additional changes before we proceed with the rollout. We will deliver a new Message center post once we re-start the rollout. Thank you for your patience.  

 

Microsoft Teams is enabled with a new feature that will allow meetings to automatically end if they're identified as stale. If a user is the sole participant in a meeting 10 minutes after the scheduled meeting end time has passed, then a dialog will appear in the call prompting them to end the call or dismiss the notification. If no action is taken on the dialog within 3 minutes, the meeting will automatically end.

 

If there is more than 1 user on the call and/or the scheduled meeting end time has not passed yet, then the feature will not trigger.

 

If the user dismisses the notification, they will not see it again for the same meeting, and it will not be at risk to automatically end anymore.

 

When this will happen:

We will communicate via Message center when we are ready to proceed.

 

How this will affect your organization:

Users may see this feature in meetings and be removed from meetings that automatically end.

 

MC397435 — (Updated) Microsoft Teams: Start a Teams Chat with Distribution Groups, Mail-Enabled Security Groups, and O365 Groups

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 62354

 

Updated November 29, 2022: We have updated the content below with additional information. Thank you for your patience.

 

You will now be able to start a Teams Chat with Distribution Groups, Mail-enabled Security Groups, and O365 Groups. This feature will respect the limits on members in a group chat, currently set to 250 members.

 

Organizations rely on Distribution Lists (DLs) as a tool to create groups of users that mirror organizational knowledge and workflows. Bringing this awareness to target audiences for specific content will enhance the core Teams experience. Allowing our customers to leverage DLs can increase workflow efficiency and bridge the gap between legacy knowledge of organization structure and a new Teams structure. 

 

When this will happen:

We will begin rollout in late November and expect to complete rollout by early January (previously late December).

 

How this will affect your organization:

With this update, users will now be able to select Distribution Lists as an audience to begin a chat within Teams. 

 

Admins will be able to toggle this feature on or off for their tenant in the Teams admin center.

 

This feature will support starting a chat with Distribution lists, Office 365 groups or mail enabled security groups

 

As a part of this feature user can only initiate chat if Distribution lists, Office 365 groups or mail enabled security groups having <=250 members. This feature does not allow to initiate chat in situation where member list is >250

 

What you need to do to prepare:

There is nothing you need to do to prepare for this change. You may want to notify your users about this change and update your training and documentation as appropriate.

 

MC395422 — (Updated) Cameo in PowerPoint Live

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 87725

 

Updated December 2, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

With Cameo in PowerPoint Live, users will be able to integrate Teams camera feed into PowerPoint presentation and customize how and where they want to appear on slides.

 

Cameo supports all personalization properties like any other Office graphical object such as those offered by Pictures, Gifs and Shapes. This includes layering Cameo between content, adding motion effects such as morph, changing styles, shapes etc. 

 

Limitation: - Cameo in PowerPoint Live will not be shown in the recording, web or mobile clients.

 

When this will happen:

·       Production will begin rolling out in early September 2022 and expect to complete by mid-September 2022.

·       GCC will begin rolling out mid-December 2022 (previously early December 2022) and expect to complete by end of December 2022 (previously mid-December 2022).

·       GCCHigh and DoD will begin rolling out mid-February 2023 (previously early December 2022) and expect to complete by end of February 2023 (previously mid-December 2022).

 

How this will affect your organization:

Cameo will allow users to insert and fully customize their camera feed directly within PowerPoint slide prior to joining a Teams meeting. Once joined in Teams meeting, users will be able to share PowerPoint Live and see their video integrated into slides.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You may consider updating your training and documentation as appropriate.

 

MC394785 — (Updated) Speaker Coach in Microsoft Teams Meetings

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 88253

 

Updated November 11, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

Speaker Coach provides private, personalized feedback on your speaking and presentation skills in both real-time as well as post-meeting in a summary.

 

When this will happen:

We will begin rolling out in mid-August (previously early July) and expect to complete rollout by late December (previously late October).

 

Note: This feature is currently available in Preview.

 

How this will affect your organization:

This setting is enabled by default. To turn it off, set AllowMeetingCoach to False. Tenant admins can manage the feature through the policy for speaker coach.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You may want to notify your users about this new capability and update your training and documentation as appropriate.

 

Learn More:

·       PowerPoint’s Presenter Coach Expands to Microsoft Teams and Takes on the New Name Speaker Coach

·       Meeting policy settings - Speaker Coach

 

MC387640 — (Updated) Dynamic Caller ID in Calls app for Call Queue Agents

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 86992

 

Updated November 9, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

Call queue agents can now place calls from the Calls app using a call queue phone number, defined in resource account, as their caller ID. This ensures the call is properly identified by the recipient and that the call back number is the call queue number rather than the agent's personal line.

 

When this will happen:

We will begin rolling out in early June and complete rollout by late January (previously late October).

 

How this will affect your organization:

You can assign outbound caller ID numbers for agents by specifying one or more resource accounts with a phone number. Agents can select which outbound caller ID number to use with each outbound call they make.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

The resource account used for calling ID purposes must have a Microsoft Teams Phone System Virtual User license and one of the following assigned:

·       A Calling Plan license and a phone number assigned

·       An Operator Connect phone number assigned

·       An online voice routing policy (phone number assignment is optional when using Direct Routing)

 

Learn More:

·       Create a Call Queue

 

MC387038 — (Updated) Call control with Bluetooth headsets and speakerphones

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 84309

 

Updated November 3, 2022: We have updated the timeline and provided additional details for clarity. Thank you for your patience.

 

This new feature allows users to use the buttons on Bluetooth headsets, speakerphones or certified devices that don't require a USB dongle to answer, end and even mute calls.  

 

Note: This feature supports both Windows 10 and Windows 11. Mac support will be upcoming in first half of 2023.

 

When this will happen:

Public preview: began rolling out in mid-March but support was limited to Windows 10.

Standard and GCC: will begin rolling out in late August (previously late July) with support for Windows 11. Support for Windows 10 versions above 1803 (April 2018) will be enabled late September.

GCC-H: will begin rolling out in late July and be complete in late September (previously late August) for Windows 10 and mid-November (previously late October) for Windows 11.

 

How this will affect your organization:

This feature uses industry standard communication protocol called Hands Free Protocol (HFP) and will work with most headsets that have an answer/end call button.

·       If users can use the headset to answer cellular calls with their cell phone, then it indicates that the headset supports HFP and the user should be able to use it to answer calls with Teams.

·       Mute control leverages industry standard mechanism so will also work for most devices that support a mute button.

Teams button support, which can be used for actions like meeting join, and raise/lower hands during meeting will only be available on certified models. 

 

At this time, if a user has two or more audio devices connected to their PC, answering the call using device button is not supported (this is to avoid activating the wrong device). This limitation will be removed in upcoming updates to Windows that will allow Teams to know which device triggered the call answer action,but we do not have an estimated time at this time.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You might want to notify your users about this change and update your training and documentation as appropriate. Watch for announcements soon about full certification for native Bluetooth headsets which will validate device performance for things like audio quality, and Teams button support.

 

MC379024 — (Updated) Suggested Replies in Teams Desktop

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 92674

 

Updated November 17, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

Suggested Replies present users with an option of three responses to choose from for selected messages and is now available to your users in Teams Desktop.

 

We apologize for not informing you about this change prior to it being released. We continue to work to ensure we are being proactive in our communications. Thank you for your patience.

 

When this will happen:

·       Standard: Complete

·       GCC: mid-May through early June - Complete

·       GCC-High: late July (previously early June) through mid-January (previously late October)

·       DoD: late July (previously early July) through late February (previously mid-November)

 

How this will affect your organization:

Once available, users will be able to quickly reply to a given message by tapping on a suggested reply.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

This feature ships default on; review Manage messaging policies in Teams.

 

If you wish to disable this feature in your tenant, please disable the Suggested Replies setting that is found in Messaging Policies.

 

Users also have a setting within the app so they can disable the feature.

 

Microsoft Purview

 

MC478692 — Configuration Change: Azure Information Protection Add-in will be disabled by default for Office apps

We're making some changes to how Microsoft 365 Apps choose between the built-in client for sensitivity labels and the legacy Azure Information Protection (AIP) Add-in.

 

Starting with version 2212 in Office Current Channel and Monthly Enterprise Channel, all users of this add-in will be migrated to the modern, built-in interface for sensitivity labels in Office. This version is estimated to be available in mid/late January 2023. This will simplify admin configuration of sensitivity labels for Office documents and substantially improve end-user productivity from improvements to performance. For users who need to continue using the AIP Add-in during its support lifecycle, you need to deploy a new configuration for Office to explicitly allow the AIP Add-in to be used for viewing and applying labels in Office. 

 

The new configuration setting is available for you to deploy via group policy or cloud policy. Use this to configure an exception to allow the AIP Add-in to continue providing sensitivity labels once the minimum version is deployed. For users in the Insider Beta channel of Office, the AIP Add-in will be automatically disabled by default.

 

How this will affect your organization:

You are receiving this message because our reporting indicates your organization may be using the Azure Information Protection Add-In for Office. For organizations that use the Microsoft 365 Add-Ins Health Dashboard, you can view the list of affected devices for your organization.

 

When this change is implemented:

·       If you've previous disabled "Use the Sensitivity feature in Office to apply and view sensitivity label": Users will not be able to view or apply sensitivity labels in Office apps. To avoid losing access to sensitivity labels, you must deploy the new setting "Use the Azure Information Protection add-in for sensitivity labeling".

·       If you hadn't configured "Use the Sensitivity feature in Office to apply and view sensitivity label", the AIP Add-in will be disabled automatically and replaced with sensitivity labels using the built-in labeling client.

·       To continue using the AIP Add-in, you must configure the new policy setting "Use the Azure Information Protection add-in for sensitivity labeling". If you disable thew new policy setting or don’t configure it, the default labeling experience that’s built-in for Office apps is used to view and apply sensitivity labels.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

The new policy setting "Use the Azure Information Protection add-in for sensitivity labeling" is available for you to configure for users in Current Channel and goes into effect starting in version 2212.

 

When this change takes effect, you will need to configure the policy setting "Use the Azure Information Protection add-in for sensitivity labeling" to keep using the Add-in.

 

Please click Additional Information to learn more.

 

MC477840 — Microsoft Purview | Records Management: User experience update for Disposition Review dashboard

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 106105

 

Currently available in public preview for GCC cloud environments (MC437257), we're adding a "Progress" column to the Disposed Items tab in the Records Management > Disposition Review dashboard.

 

When this will happen:

Rollout will begin in late December and is expected to be complete by end of January.

 

How this will affect your organization:

This feature will add a "Progress" column to the Disposed Items tab in the Disposition Review dashboard. This will give Records Management admins and designated Disposition Reviewers insight into the status of the deletion process for an item that was approved for deletion. 

 

What you need to do to prepare:

No action is needed to enable this new feature.

 

Get started with Data Lifecycle Management in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal:

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC cloud environments

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC-High cloud environments 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for DoD cloud environments 

 

Learn more: Disposition of content - Microsoft Purview (compliance) | Microsoft Docs 

 

MC476021 — Microsoft Purview | eDiscovery (Premium): General availability of data purge capabilities for Microsoft Teams content

Microsoft 365 Roadmap IDs 8212588975, and 93368

 

Currently available in public preview (MC343797, MC375741), this new feature extends data purge functionality to Microsoft Teams content to facilitate the purge of sensitive or misplaced data.

 

When this will happen:

Rollout will begin in early December and is expected to be complete by end of December.

 

How this will affect your organization:

Data spillage occurs when a confidential document is released into an untrusted environment. An eDiscovery case provides an effective way to manage data spillage investigations, so you can quickly assess the size and locations of the spillage, examine user activities around it, and then permanently purge the spilled data from the system.

 

With this update, you will be able to include Teams content in the scope of the data purge. 

 

Note: Data purge can't delete items in a review set in eDiscovery (Premium) because the review set contains copies of items in the live service that are stored in an Azure Storage location. To delete items in a review set, you have to delete the eDiscovery (Premium) case that contains the review set. The purge signal will be available via the eDiscovery (Premium) Graph APIs. For more information, see Close or delete an eDiscovery (Premium) case

 

What you need to do to prepare:

Get started with eDiscovery (Premium) in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for WW and GCC cloud environments

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC-H cloud environments

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for DoD cloud environments 

 

Learn more: Search for and delete chat messages in Teams 

 

MC469569 — Microsoft Purview Audit: General availability of New Search functionality

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93237

 

We're introducing new search functionality for Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) and Audit (Premium).

 

When this will happen:

Rollout will begin in early December and is expected to be complete by end of January.

 

How this will affect your organization:

Microsoft Purview Audit is announcing an update to the Audit Search available for both Audit (Standard) and Audit (Premium) customers. This revamp of the search tool builds on the familiar search interface that currently enables searching across critical audit log events to understand user actions and gain insight into the security of company data.

 

The launch of New Search also introduces the following feature updates:

·       Users can run 10 concurrent audit search jobs and review the progress percentage, number of results, and job status all from the UI.

·       Historical search job results are stored for 30 days and can be accessed after completion; users can filter and export this data.

·       Search jobs continue to run, even if you close the browser. Active jobs and detailed results will be available to view and access when you return to Audit Search home page.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

No action is needed to enable New Search. To use New Search, click on the New Search tab in the search tool on the Audit homepage. To utilize the existing Search functionality (Classic Search), click on the Search tab instead.

 

Get started with Audit in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal:

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC cloud environments

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC-High cloud environments 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for DoD cloud environments 

 

Learn more: 

·       Microsoft Purview auditing solutions 

·       Audit New Search 

 

MC468186 — Microsoft Purview | Compliance Manager: Upcoming changes to included assessment templates

We're making updates to the compliance assessment templates included with your Microsoft 365 license for use in Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager.  

 

When this will happen:

Rollout will begin in mid-December and is expected to be complete by end of December.

 

How this will affect your organization:

Your Microsoft 365 license enables access to Compliance Manager within the Microsoft Purview portal. To better meet your organization's compliance needs, you will soon be able to choose from the more than 350 compliance assessment templates available for you. The first three templates you activate from the premium templates list, will be included as part of your Microsoft 365 subscription at no additional charge. Note, as part of a government cloud, you also have access to the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Levels 1 through 5 templates included in your subscription.

 

Additional premium assessment templates will continue to be available for purchase, with new pricing to be announced December 1, 2022.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

No action is needed to prepare for this change.

 

Get started with Compliance Manager in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal: 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC cloud environments 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC-High cloud environments 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for DoD cloud environments 

 

Learn more: 

·       Learn about assessment templates in Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager 

·       Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager templates list 

·       Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager - Service Description 

 

MC467617 — Microsoft Purview | eDiscovery (Premium): Review set – Pin metadata and pagination support

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 101508

 

We're rolling out several usability enhancements to Review sets for the eDiscovery (Premium) solution in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.

 

When this will happen:

Rollout will begin in late November and is expected to be complete by early January.

 

How this will affect your organization:

The following user experience and workflow enhancements will soon be available for eDiscovery (Premium) Review sets to improve usability of the document list viewer and document viewer: 

 

Jesse_Tedoff_2-1671553601311.png

 

1. Turn on/off pagination 

 

2. Page navigation and configuration for numbers of items (25/50/100/250/1000 items) per page 

 

3. Pin metadata fields 

 

What you need to do to prepare:

No action is needed to enable this change.

 

Get started with eDiscovery (Premium) in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal: 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for WW and GCC cloud environments 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC-High cloud environments 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for DoD cloud environments 

 

Learn more: 

·       Manage review sets in eDiscovery (Premium) 

·       Query the content in a review set 

 

MC467245 — Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management: New data leaks policy template enabled by HR data connector (GA)

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 83959

 

Currently available in public preview for Insider Risk Management (MC382820), we're rolling out a new data leaks policy template that leverages data from an HR connector

 

When this will happen:

Rollout will begin in mid-November and is expected to be complete by mid-December.

 

How this will affect your organization:

The data leaks policy template enabled by the HR 1.2 connector starts scoring user activity when an indicator associated with data security risk signals is identified. Activities may include downloading files from SharePoint Online and copying data to personal cloud messaging and storage services.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

To utilize this template, you must first configure an HR connector. Set up a connector to import HR data

 

Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management correlates various signals to identify potential malicious or inadvertent insider risks, such as IP theft, data leakage, and security violations. Insider Risk Management enables customers to create policies to manage security and compliance. Built with privacy by design, users are pseudonymized by default, and role-based access controls and audit logs are in place to help ensure user-level privacy.

 

Get started with Insider Risk Management in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal:

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for WW and GCC cloud environments 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC-High cloud environments 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for DoD cloud environments 

 

Learn more: 

·       Learn about insider risk management 

·       Insider risk management policies 

 

MC458652 — Microsoft Purview eDiscovery (Premium): List, collection, and jobs usability enhancements

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 100707

 

We're introducing several usability improvements on list pages, collection details, and job-related detail within the eDiscovery (Premium) service in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.

 

When this will happen:

Rollout will begin in mid-November and is expected to be complete by mid-December 2022. 

 

How this will affect your organization:

With these usability enhancements on case overview and list pages, you will be able to identify case formats between “new” and “classic”. You will also see improved empty and error state on list pages with details on actions to take.

 

Jesse_Tedoff_3-1671553625597.png

 

Indication of case format on Overview page

 

Jesse_Tedoff_4-1671553635548.png

 

Indication of case format on Case Settings page 

 

Jesse_Tedoff_5-1671553648698.png

 

Updated empty list state on Data sources tab 

 

Jesse_Tedoff_6-1671553662829.png

 

Updated empty list state on Jobs tab 

 

With this update, we’ve also made copy collection more user friendly by including the source collection name in the copied collection name by default. You will be able to freely update/modify the collection name based on the default name of “Copied from <source collection name>”. This makes the new collection easily linked to the original source collection without losing reference of the original collection. 

 

Jesse_Tedoff_7-1671553676910.png

 

Copied collection’s name includes the source collection name by default 

 

On the collection detail flyout pane for committed collections, the target review set name is also shown to facilitate the ease of tracking where the content has gone to in the eDiscovery workflow. Review set will also be available as a column in the collections list to improve ease of use. 

 

Jobs-related updates include cleaned up jobs name as well inclusion of job duration detail to inform customers on the hours/minutes the jobs ran from start to completion (successful or errored jobs). 

 

Jesse_Tedoff_8-1671553690808.png

 

Jobs list now shows duration for completed jobs

 

What you need to do to prepare:

No action is required to enable these usability updates. You may want to notify your users about these changes, and if your training and documentation contains screenshots of the current views, you might want to update the contents with the updated views.

 

Get started with eDiscovery (Premium) in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal: 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for WW and GCC cloud environments 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC-High cloud environments 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for DoD cloud environments 

 

Learn more: Microsoft Purview eDiscovery solutions 

 

MC455898 — Microsoft Purview compliance portal | Retirement of Reports page

We will be retiring the Reports landing page from the Microsoft Purview compliance portal by the end of December 2022.  

 

How this will affect your organization:

Once this change is implemented, you will no longer see Reports as an option in the left navigation of the Microsoft Purview compliance portal. Labeling and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) reports will continue to be accessible via the relevant pages within the Data Classification solution area as indicated below.

 

Labeling reports 

·       Aggregate reports: Data Classification > Overview

·       Detail reports: Data Classification > Overview

 

DLP reports 

DLP rule match report: Data Classification > Activity Explorer (E5 license is required) 

 

For other DLP reports, you can use the following cmdlets: 

·       Get-DlpDetectionsReport

·       Get-DlpDetailReport

·       Get-DlpIncidentDetailReport

·       Get-DlpSiDetectionsReport

 

Cloud App Security reports 

For Cloud App Security reports, please visit the Microsoft Defender portal

 

What you need to do to prepare:

No action is needed to enable this change. You may want to inform users of the alternate locations for accessing these reports and update any documentation that references the retiring Reports page.

 

Access the Data Classification landing page in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal:

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for WW and GCC cloud environments

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC-High cloud environments

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for DoD cloud environments

 

Learn more: How to use the Microsoft data classification dashboard 

 

MC455895 — (Updated) Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management: Support for Microsoft Teams call data records

Updated November 10, 2022: We have updated the content below for clarity. Thank you for your patience.

 

Microsoft Teams call data records (CDR) are system-generated messages that contain metadata for meetings and calls - for example, who joined and when they joined. Previously, this type of content was not managed by retention policies for Teams.

 

We now are pleased to include support for these types of messages. CDRs will now be retained and deleted by your already-existing retention polices for Microsoft Teams that target individual chats. This includes CDRs that are generated in channel meetings. Currently, this behavior will only apply to CDRs that were generated from September 21, 2022. Call data records generated prior to this date are not yet supported by retention policies, however we are working to add this by mid-2023 and will notify you via Message Center once these are supported. 

 

When this will happen:

This improvement to support retention policies is rolling out now and will include all Teams call data records generated from September 21, 2022, onwards. 

 

How this will affect your organization:

Teams CDRs will now be managed per the rules specified in your Teams user chat retention policies. This inclusion happens automatically, no changes are required to your configuration.

 

Please note that Teams call data records generated from meetings in channels (different from messages in channel conversations) will be managed by the “Teams chat” messages policies. 

 

What you need to do to prepare:

No action is needed to enable this change; however you may want to communicate this change to the team responsible for Data Lifecycle Management at your organization.

 

Access the Data Lifecycle Management solution in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal

 

Learn more: Learn about retention for Teams 

 

MC437550 — (Updated) Microsoft Purview | Communication Compliance: New features coming to GA for U.S. government clouds

Microsoft 365 Roadmap IDs 88996 and 93195

 

Updated November 7, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

New features are coming soon to general availability for the Communication Compliance solution in the Microsoft Purview compliance center. 

 

When this will happen:

Rollout will begin in mid-October 2022 and is expected to be complete by mid-March 2023 (previously mid-November 2022).

 

How this will affect your organization:

The following features will soon be generally available:

Detect customer complaints: Available as an option in the Communication Compliance policy setup, this new classifier helps detect messages that might indicate customers are submitting complaints about an organization’s products or services. This classifier can help customers manage regulatory compliance obligations such as FINRA Rule 4530, FINRA 4513, FINRA 2111, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 – Food and Drugs, Federal Trade Commission Act.  

 

Recommended policy actions: Recommended policy actions help organizations discover data risk trends they might not be aware of, like the sharing of sensitive information. Insights for both sensitive information types and trainable classifiers are designed to help organizations identify potential areas of risk and determine the type and scope of policies to be configured. Recommended policy actions displays the aggregate number of matches per classification type, with none of the insights containing any personally identifiable information. 

 

What you need to do to prepare:

Microsoft Purview Communication Compliance helps organizations detect explicit regulatory compliance violations (e.g. SEC or FINRA obligations), such as inappropriate sharing of sensitive or confidential information, harassing or threatening language, and sharing of adult content. Built with privacy by design, usernames are pseudonymized by default, role-based access controls are built in, investigators are explicitly opted in by an admin, and audit logs are in place to ensure user-level privacy.

 

Get started with the Communication Compliance solution in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal: 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC cloud environments 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC-High cloud environments 

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for DoD cloud environments 

 

Learn more:

·       Learn about Communication Compliance 

·       Learn about trainable classifiers 

·       Get started with communication compliance - Recommended actions 

 

MC423139 — (Updated) Microsoft Purview | eDiscovery Premium - Collections progress, statistics, and workflow enhancements (preview)

Microsoft 365 Roadmap IDs 93381 and 93382

 

Updated November 3, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

Coming soon to public preview, we're rolling out enhancements for eDiscovery (Premium) Collections to simplify workflow and provide additional insights for eDiscovery admins.   

 

When this will happen:

Rollout will begin in early December (previously late September) and is expected to be complete by late December (previously late October). 

 

How this will affect your organization:

With this preview update, eDiscovery admins can better understand the progress of Collections, see statistics on what content contributed to changes between estimated items with hits and actual collected items, and commit the collection directly from the estimate without navigating through the entire collection wizard.  

 

What you need to do to prepare:

Get started by visiting the eDiscovery (Premium) solution in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal:

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC cloud environments

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for GCC-High cloud environments

·       Microsoft Purview compliance portal for DoD cloud environments

 

Learn more: Learn about collections in eDiscovery (Premium)  

 

Exchange Online

 

MC469568 — Introducing Threat Explorer V3 by Microsoft Defender for Office 365

We are happy to share that Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is rolling out the Threat Explorer-Version 3. Threat Explorer has been an integral part of security operations workflow allowing users to explore the email data and take remediation actions on threats. And we strive to make the security operations experience better for the users by enhancing the filtering, navigation and data visualization experiences.

 

With this new version, we are improving the filtering experience by adding four new filtering conditions. The existing “Advanced Filters” functionality has been made available with the new filter, thereby reducing the complexity in applying multiple filter conditions and providing users an easy to navigate and rich filtering experience. 

 

When this will happen:

GA: We will begin rolling out in late November and expect to complete rollout by early December.

 

Gov Clouds: We will begin rolling out in early December and expect to complete rollout by mid-December.

 

How this will affect your organization:

With the new version of Threat Explorer, we will now support the following conditions in the filters:

·       Equals any of – returns values matching the exact user input

·       Equals none of - returns values not matching the exact user input

·       Contains any of - returns values partially matching user input

·       Contains none of - returns values not partially matching user input

 

These conditions are available based on the filter type as following:

Jesse_Tedoff_0-1671554214176.png

 

Before change:

Jesse_Tedoff_1-1671554240371.png

 

After change:

Jesse_Tedoff_2-1671554252661.png

 

What you need to do to prepare:

There is nothing you need to do to prepare for this change. You may want to notify users and update training documentation if required. Please visit this page to learn more.

 

MC466195 — Outlook for the web - End user Reporting integrated with Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (Exchange Online Protection)

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 101515

 

Updated November 15, 2022: We have updated the content below with additional information. Thank you for your patience.

 

New built-in report buttons will be added to Outlook on the web (OWA) starting the end of November 2022. Admins can control the appearance and behavior of these buttons that allow users to report emails as phishing/ junk / not junk from the User Reported setting page in the Microsoft 365 Defender portal (security.microsoft.com). Admins can also customize where messages get reported to (custom mailbox, Microsoft, or both) and what the user sees when they report a message from these buttons. 

 

Information to keep in mind:

• Other Outlook clients such as Mac, Windows 32, Mobile (iPhone and android) will remain unaffected by this change. The reporting buttons in other Outlook clients are still being worked upon.

 

• If you have the reporting feature turned off in the Microsoft 365 Defender user reported settings page or are using a third-party add-in, the report buttons in OWA won't be visible.

 

• The Microsoft reporting add-in (the Microsoft report message add-in & Microsoft phishing add-in) will be supported till further notice. It will exist alongside the built-in reporting buttons for the time being, but the goal is to have a consistent button reporting experience across all the Outlook clients in the future.

 

• The selections you make on the user reported settings page will determine the reporting experience for your users whether they choose the add-in or built-in reporting option in Outlook. Either option will report to the same place (Microsoft, custom mailbox or both) based on the settings selected.

 

• The built-in reporting buttons in OWA will not include the customizable pre and post reporting pop-ups like the Microsoft reporting add-in currently does. We are working to include the pop-ups in 2023.

 

When this will happen:

We will begin rolling out the change for Outlook for the web by the late November 2022 with the goal of having it completed late December 2022.

 

How this will affect your organization:

If you are using Microsoft reporting add-ins in Outlook for web, your users will see two reporting surfaces - one from the built-in Outlook buttons (added by this change) and one from the add-in. Both options will behave the same for the users (except for the customized pop-ups) and the reported messages will end up in the same place, causing minimal disruption.

 

Jesse_Tedoff_3-1671554277157.png

 

What you need to do to prepare:

No changes are required from your end as your current settings in the user reported settings page will not be changed.

 

If you have any feedback, please provide it from this Message center post using the text box after you do thumbs up or thumbs down as it will directly reach the responsible team

 

MC468486 — Microsoft Defender for Office 365: Migration of quarantine notification frequencies

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93304

 

This communication is an extension of the previous communication in MC383901

 

We are updating the frequency interval available for user quarantine notification.

 

When this will happen:

Standard: will begin rolling out in late November and be completed by late February 2023

 

Government: will begin rolling out in early June 2023 and be completed by late July 2023

 

How this will affect your organization:

Currently, these are the frequency interval available for user quarantine notification for Admins to choose from:

·       Within 1 day

·       Within 2 days

·       Within 3days - current default

·       Within 4days

·       Within 5days

·       Within 6days

·       Within 7days

·       Within 9days

·       Within 10days

·       Within 11days

·       Within 12 days

·       Within 13 days

·       Within 14 days

·       Within 15 days

 

With this change, these will be the new intervals:

·       Within 4hours

·       Within 8hours

·       "daily" - new default

·       "Weekly"

 

For customers that currently have notification frequencies > 1 day and < 7days, we will migrate to 1 day (i.e daily) 

 

For customers that currently have notification frequencies > 7 days, we will migrate to 7 days (i.e weekly)

 

What you need to do to prepare:

Admins should update their quarantine global policy configuration frequency as they see fit and training documentation

 

MC468187 — (Updated) AntiMalware Default Policy: Common Attachment Filter Settings Updates

Updated November 18, 2022: We have updated the content to show as intended. Thank you for your patience.

 

We are making some changes to the common attachment filter settings for the Default policy (only) in the Anti-malware policy. The earlier default selection value of the 'Quarantine the message' is now changed to 'Reject the message with NDR'. 

 

When this will happen:

This configuration change will take effect beginning January 5, 2023.

 

How this will affect your organization:

This change will update the specific setting in the default policy. Any message which was quarantined until now because of the matching file type will now be rejected with an NDR. 

 

In Anti-malware policies, under the protection settings for ‘Enable the common attachment filter’, there are two notification options when an email contains any attachment matching the configured file types:

·       Reject the message with a non-delivery receipt (NDR)

·       Quarantine the message

These two notification options were added to the common attachments filter previously. When this was added, the option ‘Quarantine the message’ was selected as the default policy.

 

The change now being introduced is to update this option to ‘Reject the message with a non-delivery receipt (NDR)’ for all customers. This change is to allow faster response on the part of the sender to resend any important emails which might be quarantined (and delayed to the intended receipt) due to any attachment with matching blocked file type. We’re also aligning the setting for this control in the Standard and Strict preset security policies to ‘Reject the message with a non-delivery receipt (NDR)’. This change will also reduce the messages in quarantine. Quarantined messages need to be reviewed and released by the SecOps team and allow the sender to take action.

      

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What you need to do to prepare:

If you would rather quarantine the message, then you will need to create a new policy with 'Quarantine the message' or you will need to revert the selection to 'Quarantine the message' after this change is rolled out.

 

MC467234 — (Updated) Offboarding exchange online archives to on-premises when auto expanding archives are enabled is not supported

Updated November 23, 2022: We have updated the content below with additional information. Thank you for your patience.

 

This message is related to moving (offboarding) users who have auto expanding archive enabled from exchange online to on-premises servers.

 

When this will happen:

Preview: We will begin rolling out mid-November 2022 and expect to complete by late November 2022

 

Standard Release: We will begin rolling out mid-December 2022 and expect to complete it by late December 2022

 

How this will affect your organization:

For Exchange Online users who have auto expanding archives enabled, we will block offboarding/moving their archives to on-premises. This is because offboarding/moving content from auto-expanding archives is not a supported feature today. Please see details in the public documentation regarding Enable auto-expanding archiving. To quote "Auto-expanding archiving is supported for cloud-based archive mailboxes in an Exchange hybrid deployment for users who have an on-premises primary mailbox. However, after auto-expanding archiving is enabled for a cloud-based archive mailbox, you can't off-board that archive mailbox back to the on-premises Exchange organization. Auto-expanding archiving isn't supported for on-premises mailboxes in any version of Exchange Server."

 

Scope:

·       If you have an account with auto-expanding archives enabled

o   You cannot offboard the archive (main or auxiliary archive). This was always an unsupported feature, but we are now programmatically restricting it.

o   You can continue to offboard the primary mailbox (no change here)

No Change to the following scenarios:

·       If you have an account with a regular (no auto expanding archive enabled) archive

o   you can offboard both primary and archive for that account (no change here)

 

What you need to do to prepare:

For accounts with auto-expanding archive enabled, offboarding of archives from exchange online to on-premises is not supported. Archive offboarding already started before this change will complete. The change we are putting out is to fail early and gracefully with no data loss by adding a check whether the auto-expanding archive exists for a user.

 

MC455516 — Automatic migration of legacy Office 365 Message Encryption to Microsoft Purview Message Encryption

Microsoft Purview Message Encryption will replace and retire the legacy Office 365 Message Encryption (OME) in the Exchange admin center. If you don’t do anything, Microsoft will process all mail flow rules that currently applies OME protection to Microsoft Purview Message Encryption protection. With this change, recipients will receive a much more customizable notification mail. 

 

Starting April 1, 2023, admins will no longer be able to make configuration changes to apply or remove Office 365 Message Encryption protection in mail flow rules. Deployment will begin to automatically apply Microsoft Purview Message encryption in mail flow rules. The deployment will be completed by July 1, 2023. 

 

How this will affect your organization:

Microsoft Purview Message Encryption is a more secure and flexible solution to provide encrypted mail to anyone inside or outside your organization, with an enhanced user experience for recipients. For example, with OME, all recipients receive an HTML attachment to open an encrypted mail. This has been greatly improved with Outlook clients for Microsoft 365 users who can now view the message inline. Non-Microsoft 365 users will instead receive a linked-based experience to open the mail. Additionally, supported attachments are also encrypted on download to protect sensitive data at rest.  

 

Office 365 Message Encryption

 

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Microsoft Purview Message Encryption

 

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The behavioral differences and different types of recipients are described in the following table.

 

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*The encrypted attachments provide extra security by protecting the stored file at rest. Applications that can open Office documents may not be compatible with RMS protected Office documents. Admins can provide the same behavior as OME by enabling a global configuration to download Encrypt-only attachments without encryption: Set-IrmConfiguration – DecryptAttachmentForEncryptOnly $true

 

**By modifying existing the mail flow rules to apply Purview Message Encryption protection, external M365 recipients will receive encrypted mail containing a message.rpmsg attachment and supported Outlook clients can provide show the mail content directly in the application.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

If you want to compare the behavior before the deprecation, you can modify and test the changes with your mail flow rules by following the steps outlined in this documentation: Define mail flow rules to use Microsoft Purview Message Encryption

 

Learn more: How Microsoft Purview Message Encryption works 

 

MC455512 — (Updated) Microsoft Defender for Office 365 to stop honoring ReportJunkEmailEnabled in OwaMailboxPolicy

Updated November 8, 2022: We have updated the content below with additional information. Thank you for your feedback.

 

Beginning November 25, 2022, ReportJunkEmailEnabled property in OwaMailboxPolicy will no longer work in favor of the consolidated User reported settings page in the Microsoft 365 Defender portal. From the Settings page, you’ll be able to customize the way users report messages in Outlook as phishing, junk, or not junk. Reported emails will be sent to the mailbox of your choice and appear on the Submissions page of the Microsoft 365 Defender portal.   

 

When this will happen:

We'll be gradually rolling this out to customers around November 25th, 2022, and the roll out will be completed by December 10th, 2022.

 

How this will affect your organization:

You are receiving this message because you as an admin might be using this setting or might be looking to use this setting in the future.

 

Use the Get-OwaMailboxPolicy to see what your ReportJunkEmailEnabled property has been configured to, and then make sure it’s set up that way in the Settings page.  

 

Administrators will no longer be able to use this property to turn end user reporting on or off in outlook, when this change is implemented. Instead, they will use the Settings page with its added functionality.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

Instead of using ReportJunkEmailEnabled property in OwaMailboxPolicy, we recommend using user reported settings page in the Microsoft 365 Defender portal to manage how users report messages.

 

Learn more about user submissions.

 

MC445411 — (Updated) Exchange: Message Recall Option to Disable the Recalling of Read Messages

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 59438

 

Updated November 17, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

We are releasing a new Message Recall for Exchange Online feature that will recall messages that are flagged as "read” – the classic Message Recall in Outlook doesn’t recall read messages. Before we release the new feature, we want to let you know that tenant admins now have the option to disable the recalling of read messages for your organization.

 

When this will happen:

The new Message Recall feature will begin rolling out in mid-January 2023 (previously mid-November 2022). The ability to disable the recalling of read messages for your organization is available now.

 

How this will affect your organization:

Once the new Message Recall is rolled out, by default the feature will recall read messages, which is different from how the classic Message Recall feature in Outlook behaves. This change in behavior will be welcomed by many, but it could be confusing for recipients who read a message only to have it disappear from their mailbox shortly thereafter.

 

While recalling read messages can significantly increase the success rate of recalls, tenant admins concerned about potential user confusion or frustration can disable the ability to recall read messages for their entire organization. 

 

What you need to do to prepare:

If you want to accept the default behavior for the new Message Recall to recall read messages, there’s nothing you need to do to prepare. If you want to disable the recalling of read messages for your organization, you can do it either via the EAC or via Remote PowerShell:

1) Via the EAC uncheck the following setting:

EAC > Settings > Mail Flow > Message Recall > Allow users to recall messages read by the recipient

 

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2) Via Remote PowerShell:

Set-OrganizationConfig -RecallReadMessagesEnabled $false

 

MC383901 — (Updated) Microsoft Defender for Office 365: Hourly option for notifications

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93304

 

Updated December 2, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

We are adding a new hourly option to end user quarantine notifications, which will allow users to rely on receiving prompt notifications about quarantined items when appropriate. With this feature, users will be updated frequently once new items land in their quarantine folder.

 

When this will happen:

Standard: will begin rolling out in late November 2022 (previously early October 2022) and be completed by late June 2023 (previously late February 2023).

 

Government: will begin rolling out in early July 2023 (previously early March 2023) and be completed by late July 2023 (previously late March 2023).

 

How this will affect your organization:

Using the quarantine policy, Admins will be able to configure an hourly notification frequency for users in their organization. 

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You might want to notify your users about this change and update your training and documentation as appropriate. 

 

MC383875 — (Updated) Microsoft Defender for Office 365: updates to quarantine folder storage

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93302

 

Updated December 2, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is making some changes to quarantine folder storage. The experience for users will remain the same and users can leverage the delete action to maintain the storage folder for their quarantined messages.

 

When this will happen:

Standard: will begin rolling out in mid-June and be completed by mid-November (previously mid-September). - Complete

 

Government: will begin rolling out in mid-January 2023 (previously mid-November 2022) and be completed by early April 2023 (previously late November 2022).

 

How this will affect your organization:

Non delivery report (NDR):

In the case that a user’s quarantine storage is full, new incoming messages routed to quarantine will be rejected and an NDR will be generated for those messages.

 

In the case of Zero hour Auto Purge, where malicious items need to be zapped from inbox to quarantine but there is no space, these messages will be instead, added to the junk mail folder.

 

Note: When there is a False positive Zero hour Auto Purge, messages wrongly moved to the Junk mail folder can be added back to their original location. 

 

New hard delete experience:

Previously, when messages were deleted by users from quarantine, those deleted messages could still be retrievable within a 30-day period after deletion was made. To help users better manage their storage, we will be introducing a hard delete experience whereby once the messages are hard deleted, they can’t be recovered. 

 

Note: End users will only be able to delete quarantine messages that their Administrators has given them access to through the quarantine policy. 

 

What you need to do to prepare:

The goal for this communication is mostly for informational awareness. You may consider updating your training and documentation as appropriate.

 

Identity

 

MC477013 — Microsoft Entra admin center unites Azure AD with family of identity and access products

Microsoft Entra admin center gives customers an entire toolset to secure access for everyone and everything in multicloud and multiplatform environments. The entire Microsoft Entra product family is available at this new admin center, including Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) and Microsoft Entra Permissions Management, formerly known as CloudKnox.

 

Starting this month, waves of customers will begin to be automatically directed to entra.microsoft.com from Microsoft 365 in place of the Azure AD admin center (aad.portal.azure.com).

 

You will still be able to complete all your Azure AD management tasks from the Microsoft Entra admin center – all the capabilities are available under the Azure AD tab in the navigation. Also, you’ll be able to return to the Azure AD admin center from a link on the Entra admin center.

 

When this will happen:

We will begin rollout in December 2022 and expect rollout to be completed in March 2023.

 

How this will affect your organization:

During the rollout customers who click the Azure Active Directory links in the Microsoft 365 admin center will now be redirected to the new Entra Admin Center.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

To ensure uninterrupted access to the management experience, you might need to update your firewall rules to allow *.entra.microsoft.com.

 

The Microsoft Entra admin center is available today at http://entra.microsoft.com, and we encourage you to explore it in preparation for the full migration.

 

MC468492 — Authenticator number matching to be enabled for all Microsoft Authenticator users

Microsoft Authenticator App’s number matching is Generally Available! Microsoft will start enabling this critical security feature for all users of the Microsoft Authenticator app.

 

When this will happen:

Beginning February 27, 2023

 

How this affects your organization:

To prevent accidental approvals, admins can require users to enter a number displayed on the sign-in screen when approving an MFA request in the Microsoft Authenticator app. This feature is critical to protecting against MFA fatigue attacks which are on the rise.

 

Another way to reduce accidental approvals is to show users additional context in Authenticator notifications. Admins can now selectively choose to enable the following:

·       Application context: Show users which application they are signing into.

·       Geographic location context: Show users their sign-in location based on the IP address of the device they are signing into.

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Number match behavior in different scenarios after 27-February 2023:

1.     Authentication flows will require users to do number match when using the Microsoft Authenticator app. If the user is using a version of the Authenticator app that doesn’t support number match, their authentication will fail. Please make sure upgrade to the latest version of Microsoft Authenticator (App Store and Google Play Store) to use it for sign-in.

2.     Self Service Password Reset (SSPR) and combined registration flows will also require number match when users are using the Microsoft Authenticator app.

3.     ADFS adapter will require number matching on versions of Windows Server that support number matching. On earlier versions, users will continue to see the “Approve/Deny” experience and won’t see number matching till you upgrade.

Windows Server 2022 October 26, 2021—KB5006745 (OS Build 20348.320)

Windows Server 2019 October 19, 2021—KB5006744 (OS Build 17763.2268)

Windows Server 2016 October 12, 2021—KB5006669 (OS Build 14393.4704)

4.     NPS extension versions beginning 1.2.2131.2 will require users to do number matching after 27-February 2023. Because the NPS extension can’t show a number, the user will be asked to enter a One-Time Passcode (OTP). The user must have an OTP authentication method (e.g. Microsoft Authenticator app, software tokens etc.) registered to see this behavior. If the user doesn’t have an OTP method registered, they’ll continue to get the Approve/Deny experience. You can create a registry key that overrides this behavior and prompts users with Approve/Deny. More information can be found in the number matching documentation.

5.     Apple Watch – Apple Watch will remain unsupported for number matching. We recommend you uninstall the Microsoft Authenticator Apple Watch app because you have to approve notifications on your phone.

 

What you can do to prepare:

We highly recommend that you leverage the rollout controls (via Azure Portal Admin UX and MSGraph APIs) to smoothly deploy these features (number match and additional context) for users of the Microsoft Authenticator app.

 

Learn more at: 

·       Number match documentation

·       Defend your users from MFA fatigue attacks - Microsoft Community Hub

·       Advanced Microsoft Authenticator security features are now generally available! - Microsoft Communit...

 

MC467909 — Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on Mac is retiring support of Catalina (10.15)

Note: this message applies only to organizations with macOS devices in their environments.

 

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint will no longer support macOS version Catalina (10.15) as Apple ended support for Catalina (10.15) in December 2022.

 

Key points:

·       Timing: December 15, 2022

·       Action: review version of macOS devices in your environment and ensure macOS devices that are still running macOS version Catalina [10.15] are updated to a more recent macOS version.

 

How this will affect your organization:

On December 15, 2022, if your environment still has macOS devices running macOS version Catalina (10.15), after the change any macOS Catalina machine running Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (Mac) will remain protected until the agent expiration, however it will fail to update (error will be logged in /Library/Logs/Microsoft/autoupdate.log ).

 

What you need to do to prepare:

To eliminate risk of losing protection, ensure to update all macOS devices in your environment to a macOS version newer than macOS Catalina.

·       Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE) on Mac currently supports macOS versions Ventura (13), Monterey (12) and Big Sur (11).

Refer to MDE (Mac) public documentation for list of system requirements: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on Mac

 

Monitor “what’s new on Mac” page for incremental changes across versions of MDE (Mac): What's new in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on Mac

 

MC467232 — Changes to Cloud App Catalog and Risk score calculation

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps are making some changes to the Cloud App Catalog as part of improving the scoring of Apps.

 

1) As part of the changes, the following non-relevant/redundant indicators are being removed from the catalog:

·       Consumer Popularity Index

·       Safe Harbor

·       Jericho Forum Commandments

·       Heartbleed patched

·       Protected against DROWN

 

2) The following indicators are being removed from the score calculation; however, they will continue to be presented in the catalog for information and will also continue to be available in Filters.

·       Founded

·       Holding

·       Domain Registration

·       FedRAMP level

·       FISMA

 

3) Indicator “Disaster Recovery Plan” is being moved from “General” to “Security” section

 

4) Indicator “SSAE 16” is being replaced with “SSAE 18”.

 

When this will happen:

Standard Release: We will begin rolling out mid-Dec 2022 and expect to complete it by late Dec 2022.

 

How this will affect your organization:

Due to the above changes, the risk score of some applications might change and new alerts might trigger if customers have created discovery policies based on total score of apps or removed indicators. Also, any existing policies that were created based on the removed indicators will also be removed

 

What you need to do to prepare:

Therefore, please review your existing discovery policies and modify them or create new policies as needed.

 

Microsoft 365

 

MC478688 — Reminder: IE11 desktop app will be permanently disabled in 2 months in February 2023 Windows security update "B" release

As previously announced, the Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) desktop app has been retired as of June 15, 2022. IE11 retirement is occurring through two phases:

1.     a redirection phase, currently in progress with devices progressively redirected from IE11 to Microsoft Edge and

2.     an upcoming Windows Update phase that includes IE11 being permanently disabled. The Windows security update (“B”) release that will permanently disable IE11 is scheduled to be available for roll out on February 14, 2023.

 

When this will happen:

·       The Windows Update containing the permanent disablement of IE11 is scheduled to be available in the following releases:

·       January non-security preview release, also known as 1C, scheduled for January 17, 2023

·       February security release, also known as 2B, scheduled for February 14, 2023

·       The permanent disablement of IE11 will be included in all subsequent Windows Updates after the January non-security preview release and February security release

 

How this will affect your organization:

·       All IE11 activity, including shortcuts using IE11 and invoking iexplore.exe will be redirected to Microsoft Edge

·       Opening shortcuts or file associations that use IE11 will be redirected to open the same file/URL in Microsoft Edge

·       The IE11 icons on the Start Menu and the taskbar will be removed

·       This Windows Update will only affect in-scope SKUs (see our FAQ for in-scope SKUs)

 

At this time, IE11 has been retired for over five months, but if your organization has not yet completed your transition away from IE11, continued reliance on IE11 when the Windows Update becomes available may cause business disruption.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

For organizations that are ready to remove IE11, it is strongly recommended to use the Disable IE policy to remove IE11 on your organization’s devices to control the timing of permanent IE11 disablement on your own schedule before the Windows Update. This way, if you discover any parts of business where IE11 disablement is disruptive, you have the time and ability to roll back and remediate with low risk. Please see the Disable IE blog for information on how and when to configure the Disable IE policy to replicate the effects of the Windows Update.

 

If you need help moving off IE11, please open a support ticket for help with technical issues or reach out to the App Assure team for help with app compatibility issues. Many customers have already made the move to Microsoft Edge and seen performance and productivity benefits. Microsoft Edge brings you a faster, more secure, and more modern web experience than Internet Explorer and is the only browser with built-in compatibility for legacy IE-based sites and apps with IE mode.

 

Support

·       If you have site compatibility issues or concerns with functionality in IE mode, reach out to App Assure for free assistance

Additional Information

·       Read the June 15, 2022 blog on IE11 retirement

·       Read the FAQ to help answer your questions.

 

We always value feedback and questions from our customers. Please feel free to submit either feedback or questions via Message Center.

 

MC478686 — Whiteboard application for Windows and Surface Hub - (GCC-High)

The Whiteboard application for Windows and Surface Hub is now available for your tenant.

 

When this will happen:

This functionality is now available.  

 

How this will affect your organization:

In addition to Whiteboard on the web and in Teams desktop, the Whiteboard application for Windows and Surface Hub can now be made available to your users.  

 

What you need to do to prepare:

We are providing an environment-specific version of Whiteboard for Windows and Surface Hub for your tenant, which means you should not use the version in the Microsoft Store. 

 

How to install and update Whiteboard for your environment:  

·       Uninstall any prior versions of Whiteboard on the device using an endpoint manager, such as Intune (Apps for GCC High and DoD environments - Microsoft Intune | Microsoft Learn).

·       Download the application (.appxbundle) from App Center at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2216206

·       Deploy the package through an endpoint manager onto your users’ devices. Ensure that the application is not set to automatic updates, they should be updated only through controlled distribution via your endpoint manager.

When you get an MC post update informing you of a newer version, you will follow the steps to download and deploy the package, but you don’t need to uninstall the version. 

 

In the future, we'll bring an automatic update solution so that the app only needs to be deployed utilizing the above instruction the first time. 

 

The process is the same for Windows and Surface Hub devices.  

 

MC477852 — Modern Commenting Experience Coming to Whiteboard

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID: 98083

 

With comments you can share your thoughts, celebrate with your teammates, or just have a conversation in Microsoft Whiteboard.

 

When this will happen:

Rollout will begin in late January and is expected to be complete by late February.

 

How this will affect your organization:

Your users would have the following experiences:

·       The ability to add comments on a whiteboard to aid in discussion with board participants.

·       This will include a comments pane to see all comments on a given whiteboard.

 

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Note: The commenting experience initially will not be supported for the Android and IOS apps. We eventually plan to bring this experience to mobile as well. 

 

What you need to do to prepare:

There is no action required at this time. Continue checking the Microsoft Whiteboard Blog and support pages on details about upcoming features and how best to use them.

 

MC477010 — Basic auth retirement for Office 365 Reporting Web Service

We originally communicated this change in MC318316 (January 2022). We have updated the timeline for this change and are now ready to proceed.

 

Currently, users accessing Reporting Web service use “Basic Authentication” and must provide their credentials. With this feature update, Microsoft will improve the security of your tenant by replacing “Basic Authentication” access in favor of the recommended OAuth user interface which is where we will continue to invest our development resources.

 

Key points

·       Timing: Rollout will begin in late January and is expected to be complete by late February.

 

How this will affect your organization:

No immediate action required. Users could start migrating their programmatic access to Office 365 Reporting Web Service from "Basic Authentication" to "OAuth".

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You might want to notify your users about this change and update your training and documentation as appropriate.

 

Learn more:

·       Administrator permissions

 

MC476026 — Visio Services discontinuation starting 10th Feb 2023

Beginning 10th Feb 2023, Visio Web Access (Visio Service) and its Web Part for SharePoint Online will no longer be available. Instead of Visio Web Access you will be able to use Visio Web to migrate your organization’s web parts to a newer experience with the new Javascript (JS) APIs for Visio Web. Visio Web enables high fidelity viewing, sharing, and collaboration in your favorite browser, without installing the client for all Office 365 licenses. It also supports embedding Visio diagrams in SharePoint Online using a modern file viewer part and with IFrame along with JS API programmability.

 

How does this affect me?

 

Beginning February 10th, users in your organization will not be able to switch to Visio services and will not be able to use their Visio Services embedded web parts. As an alternative, Visio Web viewing is available to most Office 365 subscriptions.

 

What do I need to do to prepare for this change?

 

Instead of using Visio Web Access (Visio Service) and its Web Part for SharePoint Online, we recommend using either:

·       Visio Web and the File viewer Web part (link: Use the File viewer web part)

·       iFrame in SharePoint Online for Visio Web Part (iFrame with new Visio Web APIs instead of Visio Web Part with Visio Services JS APIs). (link: Visio package)

 

Learn more link: Updates to Visio Web Access (also called "Visio Services")

 

MC470781 — Microsoft 365 admin center: New ways to find advanced deployment guides

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 102402

 

The Advanced deployment guides & assistance page in the Microsoft 365 admin center and the setup.microsoft.com website are both getting new looks and additional features. We’re updating the search tools, recommendations, and layout of both locations so it’ll be easier to find guides for the product you’re deploying. Included in the new layout are views that highlight guides for Secure Score, Compliance Score, and Adoption Score improvement. You’ll also see new guides on setup.microsoft.com that are currently available only within the Microsoft 365 admin center.

 

When this will happen:

Updates to the search tools, recommendations, and layout for both locations will be available in mid-December. Secure Score and Compliance Score views on the Advanced deployment guides & assistance page will also be available mid-December, with the Adoption Score view coming at a later date. 

 

How this will affect your organization:

Advanced deployment guides give admins tailored guidance and resources for planning and deploying tenant settings, apps, and services in step-by-step instructions. They include automated configuration tools, scripts, and best practices from Microsoft FastTrack deployment specialists. 

 

In the Microsoft 365 admin center, the Advanced deployment guides & assistance page hosts more than 40 guides that cover Microsoft products, such as Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Viva, and Exchange. We’ll remove the All guides and Overview sections and replace them with a combined view that has improved search and filtering features. There will be new pages to highlight guides that help with improving your security, compliance, and adoption scores.

 

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The Secure Score view on the Advanced deployment guides & assistance page.

 

Other key features include:

·       Share your deployment journey with key stakeholders by exporting your progress to a .csv file.

·       See the most important actions front and center in the Suggested guides section. In future updates, these suggestions will be tailored to your configuration and licenses.

·       Tags to notify you when a new or updated guide has been released since your last visit to the page.

 

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The Suggested guides view on the Advanced deployment guides & assistance page.

 

Setup.microsoft.com is the home for Advanced deployment guides outside the Microsoft 365 admin center. You can’t use guides on this site to directly configure your tenant, but they still offer step-by-step deployment tips for users who can’t directly sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center, or who only have permissions to access other admin centers. This site also hosts guides to help you discover and try Microsoft 365 services before making a purchase.

 

Key updates to this site include:

·       New child pages for each product so you can find more details about the product along with the related deployment guide.

·       Find guides for specific products or for deployment scenarios with our updated search functionality.

·       Guides currently only available in the Microsoft 365 admin center will be added to this site by January.

 

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The updated design of the setup.microsoft.com site with new areas to find guides by product or scenario.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

If you’ve bookmarked sections of the Advanced deployment guides & assistance page, those links will redirect to the new Deployment guides section. You might need to make IT staff in your org aware of the new navigation. You don’t need to do anything to prepare for the changes on setup.microsoft.com.

 

MC470146 — Announcing the retirement of ‘Getting Started’ in the Expanded View of the Power BI Service

The Power BI Service’s expanded view gives you the option to view “Getting Started” content at the end of your Home Page. From the “Getting Started” section, you can utilize information on how to get started using Power BI, tips and tricks on how to create/utilize reports and dashboards, etc.

 

Jesse_Tedoff_0-1671554756046.png

 

Support for the “Getting Started” section will be removed and you will no longer be able to access the content above through this area.

 

When this will happen:

The ability to view ‘Getting Started’ content through the expanded view from the Power BI service will be retired starting mid-December.

 

How this will affect your organization:

You are receiving this message as a warning that the option to view ‘Getting Started’ content through the expanded view from the Power BI service will no longer be supported. With the retirement of the ‘Getting Started’ content location, you will no longer be able to find this content at the end of your expanded Home page.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

The ability to view ‘Getting Started’ content through expanded view from the Power BI Service is being retired. Though users will not be able to view the ‘Getting Started’ content directly through the Power BI service, the content is still publicly available. For new Power BI users, some of the content from the “Getting Started” section will be available through the “Recommended” carousel.

 

The “Getting Started” content is still publicly available through the links below:

 

Power BI Basics

·       Explore basic Power BI concepts

·       Intro: What is Power BI?

·       Quick Start: Getting around in the Service

·       View and understand a Power BI report

·       How to: Know your Power BI content is up to date

 

Sample Reports

·       All Sample reports are viewable in the ‘Knowledge Center’ (Located on the left navigation pane from the Power BI Service)

 

How to create reports

·       Learn how: Connect to data sources

·       Learn how: Read reports in the Service

 

MC467906 — (Updated) GCC, GCC High and DoD customers will be able to opt-in to Targeted Release

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93055

 

Updated December 1, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

GCC, GCC High and DoD customers will be able to opt-in to Targeted Release in Microsoft 365 Admin Center and get early access for OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online, Outlook for the web and Microsoft 365 Admin Center features.

 

When this will happen:

Standard Release: We will begin rolling out in early December (previously end of November) and expect to complete by end of December (previously early December).

 

How this will affect your organization:

You can select Targeted Release Entire Organization for a test tenant. Or you can select Targeted Release for selected users in your production tenant by going to Settings -> Org Settings -> Release preferences in Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

 

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This tenant/set of users will be the first ones to see features before they roll out to the rest of the organization.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

Please update any documentation for the users opted-into Targeted Release. 

 

MC467624 — Text Formatting Support for Microsoft Whiteboard

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 100497

 

The ability to format all or a portion of text in text boxes, notes and shapes is coming soon to Whiteboard web, Teams and the Windows app (mobile users will be able to view formatted text but not format it).

 

When this will happen:

Roll out will begin in mid-November and is expected to be completed by late November. 

 

How this will affect your organization:

Users will be able to apply BoldItalics and/or Underline formatting to all or a portion of text in text boxes, notes & shapes. They can also choose to format the color of text in text boxes. Moreover, each new text box that will be added will have Segoe UI font for higher legibility & also coherence with text in notes & shapes.

 

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Note: The font of existing text boxes will not be changed.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

The feature will be rolled out automatically on Whiteboard web, Teams and the Windows app to all customers.

 

To learn more, visit the Microsoft Whiteboard Help Hub page

 

MC467622 — Office.com transition to Microsoft365.com

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 98173

 

This week we are rolling out the Microsoft 365 app for the web. This was first announced at Microsoft Ignite in October 2022 and is being implemented as a phased roll out. It’s expected to reach all customers in the next few weeks.

 

This experience replaces the Office.com experience and aligned with the Office apps for web, Windows, and mobile. The change includes a rebranding of Office.com as well as various enhancements. Customers can expect to see a new URL, new visual style, and a new favicon. In addition, we will introduce a few new features in the coming weeks.

 

The Microsoft 365 app enables you to create, share, and collaborate all in one place. You can create new content using a wide variety of apps and templates, access your files and apps, and leverage the intelligence of Microsoft Graph to deliver insights and recommendations for making work easier. The app also integrates third-party apps and storage solutions you’ve purchased.

 

When this will happen:

This feature is now rolling out and will complete by late November 2022.

 

Starting in January, links across Microsoft websites pointing to www.office.com will be updated to point to www.microsoft365.com. In the future, www.office.com will begin redirecting traffic to www.microsoft365.com. No date has been set for that transition yet.

 

This rollout only applies to the web experience. The Office app for Windows, iOS, and Android will become the Microsoft 365 app starting in January 2023.

 

How this will affect your organization:

Once the change happens, the current Office app web experience will automatically update to the new Microsoft 365 app web experience. At that point users can go to www.microsoft365.com to access the Microsoft 365 app on the web; customers with strict firewall protections will need to first add the new domain to their allow lists in order to use it.

 

Office.com users will see various changes with the new Microsoft 365 experience including a new background and styles, as well as a new favicon that matches the new Microsoft 365 icon. 

 

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Soon new features will be added including:

·       Feed: a new page that uses intelligence from Microsoft Graph to surface relevant content based on who you work with and what you do.

·       Tagging: a new feature that helps you organize content with custom “tags”, regardless of where the content is stored. Tagging is done on an individual basis and is not seen by others across the organization.

·        A new Apps module: a more robust experience that connects you to your Microsoft 365 apps, including third-party apps integrated with Microsoft 365.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

Organizations with strict firewall protections should add www.microsoft365.com to their allow list.

 

Update any internal documentation referencing the Office.com app to reference the Microsoft365.com app.

 

Update internal documentation or bookmarks for www.office.com to use www.microsoft365.com

 

Ensure your organization is aware of the Microsoft 365 app at www.microsoft365.com and encourage them to adopt. We have designed the experience to help users maximize the value they get from Microsoft 365 by connecting to them the files, tools, and intelligence they need for their work.

 

MC465552 — (Updated) Office for the web rebrand on Service health and Message center

Updated November 16, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

In October we announced at Microsoft Ignite that the Office app for web (office.com), Windows, IOS, and Android will be rebranded to become the Microsoft 365 app (MC446132). As a continuation of this, the service listings on Service health and Message center will also be rebranded. In the month of November, the service titled “Office for the web” will be retitled “Microsoft 365 apps for the web”.

 

When this will happen:

This will be rolled out to Service health and Message center by end of December (previously Thursday, November 17th, 2022).

 

How this will affect your organization:

Communications related to “Office for the web” will appear under “Microsoft 365 apps for the web”.  

 

What you need to do to prepare:

You might consider updating your administrator training and documentation as needed.

 

MC394516 — (Updated) We're bringing Microsoft Search to GCC High

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93249

 

Updated November 9, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

Beginning late August 2022 (previously late July 2022), we are bringing Microsoft Search to GCC High. This includes:

·        Organization-wide Search via the Search Box navigation header in SharePoint and OneDrive, Office.com, and on Microsoft Search in Bing

·        Search suggestions based on Files and Sites in GCCH for Office.com, SharePoint and OneDrive; and on Bookmarks, Q&A, and history in GCCH on Microsoft Search in Bing

·        People Answer and Customizable Bookmarks and Q&A Answers

·        Search and Intelligence Admin Center

·        Search Usage Analytics enabled in the Search and Intelligence Admin Center

 

When this will happen:

We expect to begin rolling out Microsoft Search to GCC High customers in late August 2022 (previously late July 2022), and we expect to finish in late November 2022 (previously late October 2022).

 

How this will affect your organization:

Microsoft Search brings work answers and search results to familiar search experiences, like SharePoint Online, Office.com, and Bing.

 

End users will be able to enter search queries into the Search Box in SharePoint and One Drive and Office.com and get organization-wide search results. They'll see People, Bookmarks, and Q&A Answers in the search results.

 

When enabled, users who go to Bing.com and sign in with a valid work account can easily and securely find the work information they need with Microsoft Search in Bing. For GCC High customers, Microsoft Search in Bing is off by default. Search Admins can turn on Microsoft Search in Bing in the Admin Center (Settings > Search & intelligence settings > Configurations > Microsoft Search in Bing settings). Choose Change settings and turn on Allow your organization to use Microsoft Search in Bing. 

 

Search Admins will be able to customize Bookmarks and Q&A Answers via the Search & Intelligence Admin Center. Search Admins will find Search Usage Analytics in the Search & Intelligence Admin Center.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

For GCC High customers, Microsoft Search in Bing is off by default.

·        Search Admins can turn on Microsoft Search in Bing in the Admin Center (Settings > Search & Intelligence settings > Configurations > Microsoft Search in Bing settings).

·        Choose Change settings and turn on Allow your organization to use Microsoft Search in Bing.

 

Instructions to turn on Microsoft Search in Bing

 

Learn more about Microsoft Search and customizing Answers here

 

Find information about Microsoft Search in US Government environments here This documentation will be updated to reflect the upcoming changes during the release process.

 

MC390753 — (Updated) Personal query history in Microsoft Search

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93347

 

Updated December 5, 2022: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

 

We're adding a new option in Microsoft Search that allows users to view and manage their personal query history.

 

When users get results for a search in Outlook, SharePoint Online, and Office.com, the issued query is recorded in their search history. A user’s search history is personal, it isn’t shared with your organization or with Microsoft. Their search history helps them quickly get back to things they’ve found before. As they type a query, matches in their search history are suggested back to them in the search box.

 

Users can review their search history at any time by downloading it. They can also clear their history at any time. Both actions are done from the My Account portal of their work or school account. Go to the Settings & Privacy page and open the Microsoft Search section. Recording of history can’t be paused.

 

When this will happen:

We will begin rolling out personal query history in mid-August 2022 (previously early July 2022) and expect to complete the rollout by late February 2023 (previously late November 2022).

 

How this will affect your organization:

With personal query history, users will see recent search queries across SharePoint Online and Outlook (web) as they begin typing in the search box.

 

This prompt makes it easier to return to recently accessed insights and information. No need to bookmark or memorize your frequent queries.

 

Personal query history is managed and downloaded through the Microsoft 365 My Account settings.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

Review the Microsoft Search documentation for US Government environments at and the Microsoft Search documentation.

 

MC295027 — (Updated) Rich text and images in Planner task notes

Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 85688

 

Updated November 3, 2022: We have updated the content below to reflect support for images will be coming in the future and we will communicate via Message center when available. Thank you for your patience.

 

We are adding support for rich text (bold, italics, underline, etc.) in the Planner task notes field. Support for images is coming in the future.

 

NOTE: We will update this post once we have Microsoft Graph documentation for the new rich text task notes field available.

 

When this will happen:

We expect to begin rolling out the new rich text task notes field in early December (previously late October) and we expect to complete the rollout by mid-December (previously mid-November).

 

How this will affect your organization:

To support this capability, we are introducing a new rich text enabled task notes field in the Planner Microsoft Graph API. This will result in two task notes fields in our API – the new “rich text task notes field” and the existing “plain text task notes field.” When this feature launches, Planner for the Web and for Teams (Tasks app) will support rich text in task notes. Other Planner experiences in iOS, Android, SharePoint, and Power Automate will only support plain text task notes, but we plan to update these apps to support rich text at a later date.

 

When this feature update is deployed, all existing task notes content will be preserved in the new rich text enabled task notes field, so users will be able to continue viewing and editing notes without interruption.

 

We will maintain compatibility between the rich text task notes field and plain text task notes field by ensuring both fields’ contents stay in sync.

 

If a user edits the rich text task notes field, all content is synced to the plain text task notes field automatically. Any rich content is converted to plain text and synced to the plain text task notes field.

 

If a user edits the plain text task notes field via the Microsoft Graph API or via a client which only supports the plain text field, the contents in the plain text task notes field is synced to the rich text task notes field without modification. Therefore edits to the plain text task notes field will result in the removal of any pre-existing rich text, or text formatting in the rich text notes field.

 

What you need to do to prepare:

If your organization has custom applications interacting with our Microsoft Graph Planner API, make sure to update the apps to support the rich text task notes field as soon as it is available to take advantage of the new notes capabilities. We will maintain support for the existing plain text task notes field in our Microsoft Graph Planner API for at least 36 months.

 

If your organization has applications or workflows which parse the task notes to trigger logic based off contents in the notes field, we recommend users continue to input only plain text in task notes and not apply text formatting into task notes. Such apps should also be updated to avoid parsing task notes or applying logic to contents in the task notes as these are not recommended uses of the task notes field in our API.

 

Microsoft 365 IP and URL Endpoint Updates

 

Documentation - Office 365 IP Address and URL web service

 

November 29, 2022 - GCC

September 29, 2022 – GCC High

September 29, 2022 - DOD

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