SharePoint - FAQs

SharePoint Online is a mobile-friendly technology platform included in the University's Microsoft Office 365 offering. It is used for collaboration through intranet and communication sites, document and records management spaces, and workflow process automation.

• The SharePoint start page is accessed through the Office 365 portal online. (University Login required.)
• To access a SharePoint site, you need to be granted access by the site owner. Once this is done you will receive an email alert containing a link to the site. 
• Alternatively, you can search for a site from the SharePoint start page in Office 365.

To navigate to the SharePoint start page, login to https://www.office365.ed.ac.uk/ using your University Login, navigate to the App Launcher in the top left-hand corner of the screen, and select the SharePoint icon.

The SharePoint Solutions Service offers two core business services, Collaboration Tools and Document Management, and is managed by the SharePoint Solutions Team within the Information Services Group at the University.

SharePoint Online has approximately 11,500 active users and 12,500 sites (as of January 2020) at the University. The Service has two different components, a Standard Service and a Chargeable Service:

• The Standard Service is free-of-charge to all staff and students at the University, and supports the standard out-of-the-box functionality of SharePoint.
• The Chargeable Service includes bespoke project delivery and custom configuration of SharePoint by the Solutions team.

All service requests should be made via the IS Helpline to ensure the request is logged and progress is monitored. 

• Standard requests (intranet site creation, document management best practises etc.) can be made by emailing is.helpline@ed.ac.uk  
• Bespoke work (project delivery, custom configuration etc.) should be made via the SharePoint Consultancy Engagement Form

Unless formally agreed as part of a bespoke project, we do not support custom configuration or code which has not been developed by the SharePoint Solutions Team. (Third party tools and add-ins etc.)

Download SharePoint onto your phone from the Android Play Store for Android phones, App Store for iOS or Windows Store for Windows phones. When prompted, sign in with your University Login.

While the SharePoint Solutions Team can create sites based on requests submitted through the IS Helpline, it is also possible to create your own Modern Teams and Communication sites through your SharePoint Online portal.

Please refer to our User Guides and Training Videos section for more information.

Please refer to our SharePoint Sites section for more information.

Apart from the information detailed under our SharePoint Sites section, more guidance can be found here.

To add users external to the University to your SharePoint Team site (linked to a Group):

• Go to the site homepage and click on the Settings gear icon on the top bar, then 'Site Permissions'
• Click 'Invite people' and select 'Add members to group'
• Click 'Add members' then 'go to Outlook' and a new window or tab will open
  • Optional - bookmark this URL to get quick access to your Group's members page later
• Here, click on the Members tab then 'Add members' and type in the email address of the external user
• The external user should get an email invitation and will be asked to create an O365 account if they don't have one already