Ask Sympraxis

“Ask Sympraxis” is a bi-weekly webinar series, where we discuss an array of topics and answer your submitted questions. Join us by downloading our recurring calendar event. You can also join us directly in the meeting without downloading the event.

Use our handy form to submit your questions and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date about upcoming webinars and announcements. Not a fan of newsletters? Follow @SympraxisC on Twitter for bi-weekly #AskSympraxis webinar topic announcements.

After each session, we post the recorded sessions and resources below along with a summary. You can also browse our YouTube channel to see all previous Ask Sympraxis sessions.

Topic of the Week

Wednesday, June 28th at 12:30 PM ET: Ask Sympraxis Anything

We welcome you to submit your questions to be answered in the session.

Archive of Previous Sessions

After each session, we post a short recap with a link resources including the full recording. Browse our archives to see all previous Ask Sympraxis sessions:

• Microsoft 365 Conference Announcements Recap – Spring 2023May 17, 2023
  The Microsoft 365 Conference took place in Las Vegas early May 2023. Join the Sympraxis team as we discuss our thoughts on the announcements of Microsoft Copilot, SharePoint Brand Center, and so much more.
• Building a sustainable information architectureMay 3, 2023
  What is information architecture (IA)? What is an information architecture example? Join the Ask Sympraxis team as they explain through a benefits documents use case example and SharePoint best practices.
• When Out of the Box isn’t enoughApril 19, 2023
  This week Derek and Julie are accompanied by two exceptional guests, Andrew Connell (developer and SPFx expert) and Stefan Bauer (developer and designer). Join as they discuss when to extend from out of the box in Microsoft 365, SharePoint and Teams extensibility, and design considerations.
• Empowering users while you implement Microsoft 365April 5, 2023
  Ever wondered how to make your implementation of Microsoft 365 even more successful? Empower your users! Join the Sympraxis team as they discuss how to do this while simultaneously building.
• Customizing and extending searchMarch 22, 2023
  Search is a highly customizable and extendable necessity. Join the Sympraxis team as we dive into different search options and their benefits.
• Employee DirectoryMarch 9, 2023
  Another week, another great Ask Sympraxis episode. In this session we discuss employee directories. Join as we explore user stories, the Maturity Model approach, people profile cards, and much more!
• Search OptimizationFebruary 22, 2023
  Join us as we discuss the important topic of search optimization! Compare search to the Maturity Model and learn the differences between SharePoint Search and Microsoft Search.
• Notifications and approvals in lists and librariesFebruary 8, 2023
  This session of Ask Sympraxis focuses on notifications and approvals in SharePoint lists and libraries. Join as the team discusses UX better practices and how these intersect with the Maturity Model approach.
• Managing your organization’s Quick Links in your intranetJanuary 25, 2023
  Another week, another great session of Ask Sympraxis! This week we focus on Quick Links in your intranet and how they’re managed. Join us now!
• New(s) Years Resolution: SharePoint News to improve your communicationJanuary 11, 2023
  We are back for our first Ask Sympraxis of the year! 2023 is the year we focus on improving communication. Join us as we discuss SharePoint News and how it can increase communication at your organization.
• Business Cases for Viva ConnectionsDecember 14, 2022
  Simplify employees’ day through an integrated and personalized dashboard. Keep them connected with targeted news and info. Sounds pretty great right? This is exactly what you can do with Viva Connections! Join this session as we discuss the app.
• Migrating from Stream ClassicNovember 30, 2022
  Are you still saving videos in Stream Classic? Are you aware that Stream is retiring and you need to transition those videos over to SharePoint so you don’t lose them? Follow along as we share common scenarios, how this works, caveats, tips, and much more on the process of this migration!
• User ResearchNovember 16, 2022
  What is user research? How do I conduct it? At what stage of my project is this important? Have you ever wondered any one of these questions? Then join this session of Ask Sympraxis where we dive into user research!
• OffboardingNovember 2, 2022
  Eventually the time comes when an employee offboards, often resulting in complications within the organization. Thankfully this session of Ask Sympraxis will help you navigate through these transitions as we go through what is needed and our recommendations to smooth the process as best as possible.
• Microsoft IGNITE Recap Fall 2022October 19, 2022
  October 12-14th proved to be an exciting few days for the Microsoft community! Follow along as we recap the Microsoft updates available and those soon to come.
• Create a Policy CenterOctober 5, 2022
  What is a Policy Center you might ask? Tune into this informative session of Ask Sympraxis to learn the about, why, and how to of building and automating one.
• Intro to Microsoft FormsSeptember 21, 2022
  Interested in learning more about the various uses and best practices of Microsoft Forms? Ask Sympraxis is here to help! Give this session of Ask Sympraxis a watch today.
• OneDrive and syncSeptember 7, 2022
  Another insightful episode of Ask Sympraxis! This week focuses on OneDrive’s various manifestations, syncing, and adding shortcuts. Learn more here!
• Making Your Intranet MultilingualAugust 24, 2022
  This week of Ask Sympraxis focuses on making your intranet multilingual, an ever so important topic in our changing business world! We cover the topic thoroughly from uses cases to potential pitfalls. Learn more today!
• Ask Sympraxis AnythingAugust 10, 2022
  Join us for this session of Ask Sympraxis Anything! We cover a range of topics including organization structure to support SharePoint/M365​, task tracking, SharePoint/OneDrive sync, migration recommendations, and more!
• Forming an Intranet Steering CommitteeJuly 27, 2022
  Today’s Ask Sympraxis is all about forming an intranet steering committee. Take a listen to learn more about this crucial process!
• How to be a Good Content OwnerJuly 13, 2022
  Interested in learning to be a good content owner? We have the info for you. Listen to our newest Ask Sympraxis to learn more!
• Content! Content! Content! Nudging along reluctant content ownersJune 29, 2022
  Join us as we discuss content! Learn how to get content, the typical site timeline, and how to nudge along your content owners.
• The Intersection of Collaboration & Communication: Managing Your Content LifecycleJune 15, 2022
  Want to learn about managing your content lifecycle? Join us as we discuss various tools to use, tips and best practices, and permission inheritance.
• Microsoft LoopJune 1, 2022
  Microsoft has begun the initial roll out of a new solution called Loop. Join us as we discuss this new solution including observations and use cases.
• Working Across Tenant & Identities in Microsoft 365May 18, 2022
  Microsoft has recently announced a new account switcher feature for Microsoft 365 web apps. Join us as we discuss benefits and limitations.
• Microsoft 365 April Conference RecapMay 4, 2022
  We attended the Microsoft 365 Conference in Vegas. Here are our top takeaways.
• Modern Content TypesApril 13, 2022
  The Sympraxis team discusses content types from our different perspectives including updates to the content type gallery.
• Ask Sympraxis AnythingMarch 30, 2022
  It is your turn to ask all the questions! The Sympraxis team answers your questions from the mail bag and takes additional live questions.
• The Value of APIsMarch 16, 2022
  Join us as we explore the value of APIs when working with Microsoft 365.
• Help me to help you! How to engage with supportFebruary 23, 2022
  We’ve all had to deal with support at one point or another. As members of the M365 community we are often on the giving end of some of that support. In this session we provide some things to think about before you engage support as well as where to find the support you might need.
• Recent Changes We LoveFebruary 17, 2022
  Join us as we discussed recent changes in Microsoft 365 that we love.
• Building Accessible SolutionsFebruary 3, 2022
  Accessibility is essential for organizations that want to create/provide high-quality tools, and not exclude people from using their products and services.
• Business Solutions Using SharePoint ListsJanuary 19, 2022
  When is good good enough? Join us as we explore our CRM-ish story using SharePoint Lists as a solution.
• The Island of (Microsoft) Misfit ToysJanuary 5, 2022
  In this special holiday episode of Ask Sympraxis we will be exploring the Island of (Microsoft) Misfit toys. This can be products that never panned out, died too early, or weren’t that great of an idea to start with.
• SharePoint & Teams: What To Use When Part 3December 9, 2021
  This session is part 3 of a multi-part conversation about how to leverage SharePoint and Teams and when to use each.
• Microsoft Ignite RecapNovember 25, 2021
  This session is a highlight of the top announcements from Microsoft Ignite Fall 2021.
• SharePoint & Teams: What To Use When Part 2November 11, 2021
  This session is part 2 of a multi-part conversation about how to leverage SharePoint and Teams and when to use each.
• SharePoint & Teams; What to use when Part 1October 20, 2021
  This session is part 1 of a multi-part conversation about how to leverage SharePoint and Teams and when to use each.
• Hosting multiple subsidiaries or business units in Microsoft 365October 6, 2021
  In this session we talked about how organizational complexity and Microsoft 365. At some point, managing all the different subsidiaries or business units in Microsoft 365 becomes difficult. We talked about our approaches to make all this work.
• The Intranet is Dead. Long Live Microsoft Teams!September 22, 2021
  We’ve been asked: Are SharePoint-based intranets dead, to be replaced by apps in Microsoft Teams? We think the answer is no, and we’ll talk about why, and how they are better together.
• How to Protect Your Time, Your Attention and Your SanitySeptember 8, 2021
  This has been a challenging year and a half. The lines between work and home have never been more blurred, and the hybrid workplace has created both new efficiencies and demands. As a 100% virtual organization (even before COVID) we will talk about what we’re doing to protect our time, focus and well-being, and we’d love to hear what’s working for you.
• Migration Scenarios for Mergers and AcquisitionsAugust 25, 2021
  We get asked a lot about splitting content across tenants or moving content from one tenant to another. Usually these are a result of a merger, split, or acquisitions. In this edition of Ask Sympraxis we look at some of the common scenarios and pitfalls we have encountered.
• Ask Sympraxis AnythingAugust 11, 2021
  We opened the mic up to you for this Ask Sympraxis Anything. There were some great questions around themes and branding as well as some other question.
• Viva Topics: What We’ve Learned So FarJuly 28, 2021
  In this installment to Ask Sympraxis we took a deeper dive into Viva Topics. Check out the recap for the TLDR.
• Viva Desktop and your IntranetJuly 14, 2021
  Viva Connections is a marketing term that is being used as a collection of functionality. It isn’t a SKU that you can purchase like some of the other Viva components like Topics. Viva Desktop is one of those pieces of functionality that is available for you to enable in your tenant. In this episode of Ask Sympraxis we talk about Viva Desktop and Viva Connections.
• Ask Sympraxis AnythingJune 16, 2021
  This week we opened things up to you and had a lively conversation running the gambit. Q: Have you encountered any privacy-related issues with public or private content delivery networks (CDNs) in SharePoint? I’m concerned about content being accidentally shared outside of our tenant. A public CDN is exactly what it sounds like, a public endpoint to content. When you enable this you define … Read More Ask Sympraxis Anything
• External Sharing in Microsoft 365: The RestJune 2, 2021
  While we were working on our other sessions on external sharing we realized that there were lots of other miscellaneous things to share about parts of Microsoft 365 that we hadn’t already talked about. So, in this session of Ask Sympraxis we are covering all the rest. OneDrive  OneDrive Tenant Level Settings Tenant administrators can set different external sharing policies for both OneDrive and SharePoint. … Read More External Sharing in Microsoft 365: The Rest
• External Sharing in Microsoft TeamsMay 19, 2021
  Tenant-Level Settings  Teams Admin Center  There are many layers of security which acts like a filter or funnel. When it comes to things like guests or external sharing, it’s important to know that at the tenant level, the tenant admin or teams admin has to turn a couple of switches on or off. The most common factor is differentiating between external users and guest users.  External Users  … Read More External Sharing in Microsoft Teams
• External Sharing in SharePoint OnlineMay 5, 2021
  Team Site vs Communication Site External Sharing  For Team Sites, the external sharing is on by default when you set up your tenant. This is usually where people are doing most of their external sharing and collaboration on documents.   With Communication Sites you can share externally, however, you can’t do it from the site itself until you turn on the external sharing in the Admin Center. There are 3 … Read More External Sharing in SharePoint Online