Summary

This article provides an FAQ about the basics of SharePoint and its operations.

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Content

What is SharePoint?

Microsoft SharePoint allows individual schools and departments to develop and design customized SharePoint site collections where faculty, staff, and students can do everything from sharing and editing documents in real-time to creating fully interactive web environments.

Some of the most popular SharePoint benefits include:

• Customizable web forms
• Shared calendars and tasks
• Document libraries with file versioning
• Microsoft Office integration
• Online discussion forums
• Sites for teams and projects
• Business intelligence and reporting
• Custom intranet portals

What versions of SharePoint are available at USNH?

UNH currently has two environments available:

• SharePoint Online (Office 365) - https://universitysystemnh.sharepoint.com
  • Available online within the Office 365 suite, available from anywhere, no VPN required.
  • Available to faculty, staff, and students for free.
  • Modern or Classic SharePoint experience.
  • Mobile apps available for Android and iOS
  • External sharing allowed.

Will SharePoint become my school or department's preferred collaborative file sharing solution?

SharePoint is not required on a University level; its use will be the decision of each school or department. Consult with your local technical support contact for further guidance. Review the table below for USNH IT recommendations on several common file sharing solutions.

*SharePoint Online Only

What type of information can I store in SharePoint?

For the most current information about the approved storage locations at USNH, please check the USNH IT File Storage Data Classification article.

Who can access SharePoint sites?

SharePoint sites must be accessed via UNH ID and password. USNH SharePoint 2013 sites are only available from the USNH network or by connecting to the VPN, SharePoint Online sites are available from anywhere and do not require a VPN connection. By default, only the site collection owners can access a newly created SharePoint site.

How is access to SharePoint sites granted?

SharePoint access is distributed and managed by independent local site owners. Access to new site collections is initially limited to the predetermined site owners, who will then designate appropriate user permissions in their area for faculty, staff, and students.

Access can be given to entire site collections, individual sites, libraries and/or lists, and individual documents or other items. Five user roles may be granted by site owners:

• Visitors
  • Read and download site content
  • Browse site content
  • Search site content
  • Request higher access level
• Members
  • All rights and responsibilities of the above role
  • Create and edit site content
  • No access to any secure areas of the site
• Approvers
  • All rights and responsibilities of the above roles
  • Approve site content additions and changes
• Designers
  • All rights and responsibilities of the above roles
  • Create/Edit lists and libraries
  • Change page structure and visual design
  • Add/Edit web parts
• Owners
  • All rights and responsibilities of the above roles
  • Administer permissions

What are SharePoint groups?

SharePoint groups only manage access for people within a SharePoint site collection. SharePoint groups can be managed by the owners of the respective sites, and are typically not managed by the SharePoint administrators. Most sites allow site access requests to be sent to the site owners, however, if you need access to a SharePoint site and are unsure of the owner you can request access via the SharePoint Support Form. Please note the address of the site in your request to expedite the process.

Why does a SharePoint URL contain "%20"?

A space in any site name, web part, document, list, library, or other file is converted into "%20" in the URL. This can increase the length of your URL. To avoid this, keep names of sites, lists/libraries, and other files short and omit spaces.

SharePoint Online

What browsers are supported by SharePoint Online?

SharePoint Online generally supports several commonly used web browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari. SharePoint Online modern page design is responsive by default, which means the page layouts adjust to the viewers' screen automatically.

SharePoint Online also has mobile apps available in the Google Play store and the App Store on iOS.

Read the Microsoft Support article for the most up to date browser compatibility information.

What is the SharePoint Online storage quota?

Each SharePoint Online site collection is entitled to 25 TB per site collection or group.

Individual file sized stored in SharePoint Online are limited to 250 GB.

How do I get started with SharePoint Online?

The best place to start with SharePoint Online is the Microsoft SharePoint Online training center. Here, you can learn how to sign in, create and manage sites, and much more. If you would like to request training or consultation from IT, please fill out a request.

Need Additional Help?

Please fill out the Microsoft 365 Support webform with as much detail as possible, or contact the ET&S Help Desk team on your local campus.