Over the last months we’ve taken many steps towards enabling search-driven publishing for intranet sites in SharePoint Online. We enabled the Content Search Web Part (CSWP), the cross-site publishing feature, and a new group cache that improves the performance of the CSWP.

Now we’ve enabled two features that previously were available only in SharePoint Server 2013—the Taxonomy Refinement Panel Web Part (TRPWP) and faceted navigation.

Introducing the Taxonomy Refinement Panel Web Part

The Taxonomy Refinement Panel Web Part (TRPWP) is similar in both name and functionality to the Refinement Web Part (RWP). With the RWP, visitors can filter content that’s displayed on a page; for example, they can filter to display only items that have the color red. The Taxonomy Refinement Panel Web Part also allows visitors to filter content that’s displayed on a page. But the TRPWP differs from the RWP in two ways: the filters it uses are the categories from the site’s navigation, and it can display category-specific editorial content.

As a site builder, you can use the TRPWP to display content that combines the filtering from a RWP with category-specific editorial content. You can use the TRPWP only on sites that use managed navigation and category pages to display content.

Let’s look at an intranet scenario to see how this works. On the Contoso company’s intranet site, Contoso IT Web, employees can order different IT products.

The Contoso IT Web site builders set up the site to show category-specific editorial content on their category pages. By doing this they can fine-tune the information employees need for each category. In the image below you can see that the editorial content displayed on the Laptops page differs from the content displayed on the Tablets page.

The site also has an RWP that employees can use to filter the content that’s displayed on a page. For example, under the category Computers, they can filter to display only red items (#1 in the image below). When Red is selected from the RWP ,the TRPWP shows the subcategories of Computers that have red items (#2 in the image below).

When employees want to further filter content to show only items from one of the subcategories, for example Laptops, the TRPWP will use the category page that is assigned to the managed navigation term Laptops to display content. The TRPWP also “includes” the filter that the user has selected (Red), so the category-specific editorial content and red laptops are displayed.

Learn more about how to configure the TRPWP.

Introducing faceted navigation

Faceted navigation allows employees to use category-specific filters to narrow down the content that’s displayed on a page. For example, the filters that are available on the Laptops page (#1 on the image below) are different from the filters that are available on the Printers page (#2 on the image below).

You can use faceted navigation only on sites that use managed navigation and category pages to display content. Even though different filters are shown for different categories, content managers do not have to create and maintain one unique page for each category. Content managers configure and maintain faceted navigation in the term store, and apply this configuration to a RWP on a category page.

Learn more about how to configure faceted navigation.

Availability

The Taxonomy Refinement Panel Web Part and faceted navigation features are available in the Office 365 Enterprise E3 and Office 365 Enterprise E4 plans, as well as Office 365 Government G3 and G4, Office 365 Education A3 and A4, and Office 365 E3 for nonprofits.

NOTE: These features are only available for private site collections.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Are these features available for public sites?

A. These features are available only for private site collections for intranet/extranet portal scenarios.

Q. Do I need to activate any SharePoint features at the tenant, site collection, or site level to use the TRPWP and faceted navigation?

A. No, you don’t have to activate anything. If you don’t see these features in your site right now, they will automatically become available soon.

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The Azure Preview Portal now supports the automated creation of a basic or high-availability SharePoint farm in Microsoft Azure.

You can use your Azure subscription, an Azure trial subscription, or your MSDN subscription to set up your farm.

Setting up a farm in the basic configuration requires three servers: a domain controller, a SQL server, and a SharePoint server.

Setting up a farm in the high-availability configuration involves nine servers: two domain controllers, two SQL servers, a SQL Server quorum server, two SharePoint servers in the application tier, and two SharePoint servers in the front-end web tier.

For either of these two farms, you can specify the settings in just a few clicks, and the Azure Preview Portal does the rest.

Once the farms are built, you can access a basic team site as an Internet web client and use Central Administration to configure additional capabilities. For the details, see SharePoint Server Farm.

To see a step-by-step walkthrough, take a look at Step-by-Step: Deploy a Highly Available SharePoint Server Farm in the Cloud–in ONLY 8 Clicks!

For additional information about Windows Azure and Virtual Machines, see SharePoint on Windows Azure Virtual Machines.

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We are excited to announce that the Office Dev Center has gone through a major redesign and content overhaul, as we create a home for the Microsoft Office 365 developer audience. This site not only speaks to developers, but also to the technical and business decision makers by highlighting the opportunity and the getting started experience for building on Office 365. We also want to make sure that we provide the essential training and guidance for developers who are transforming solutions to the cloud.

We also heard the resounding feedback that developers had to constantly hunt and peck for key resources, such as the various events and recordings of our latest announcements and launches. Both upcoming Microsoft and third party events (where Microsoft is speaking), as well as the previous events are now listed on the Events page, in one central location.

Developers also wanted easier access to key sample code and apps that would make the development process easier. Training resources are key components of ramping and engaging developers, which were scattered across various properties—but are now centralized on the Office Dev Center.

Finally, nothing brings developers together and drives engagement and involvement than community resources, forums and discussions. The Office 365 developer community is a thriving and growing one—holding discussions on StackOverflow and the MSDN Forums, providing invaluable product feedback and suggestions on UserVoice, and engaging in architectural discussions on the Office 365 Technical Network.

We are looking for your feedback. Let us know about resources and features that you think would be valuable to include for our Office 365 developer audience.

 

—The Office 365 Dev TPM Team

 

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In episode 12, Jeremy Thake chats to Alex Randall about SharePoint workflow in Visual Studio and some of his open source projects.

http://officeblogspodcastswest.blob.core.windows.net/podcasts/EP12_AlexRandall.mp3

Download the podcast here directly

Weekly updates

• Announcing general availability of Mobile Services .NET support on Microsoft Azure blog
• JSON Light support in REST SharePoint API released on Office Blogs
• Developing and Deploying Multiple SharePoint 2013 Apps to a Single Azure Web Site by Steve Peschka
• Office 365 API My Files CRUD Sample Code by Chaks
• SharePoint 2013: Using the App Only policy and App Principals instead of username and password combos by Wictor Wilen

Show notes

• Alex’s Office 365 Workflow Reusable Components and Examples on GitHub.com
• Extend business processes with Workflow Manager on Channel 9
• SharePoint 2013 workflow fundamentals on MSDN.com
• Fabian Williams blog
• Vesa Juvonen blog

Got questions or comments about the show? Join O365 Dev Podcast on the Office 365 Technical Network.

The podcast RSS has been submitted to all the stores and marketplaces but takes time. Please add directly with the RSS http://feeds.feedburner.com/Office365DeveloperPodcast.

About Alex

Alex Randall is a SharePoint senior consultant in Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS). He advises and helps customers migrate to and customize Office 365/SharePoint Online. He has contributed code to Office 365 Development Patterns and Practices and spoken at SharePoint Conference 2014 about SharePoint workflow. Recently, he spoke at an internal Microsoft training event where he demonstrated advanced workflow scenarios in Office 365—for both SharePoint apps and Office apps. Alex has been in software development and IT fields for over 16 years. Before he caught the SharePoint bug in 2003, Alex gained many years of experience in web technologies, .NET and SQL Server custom application development. Alex holds a B.S. in Computer Science and resides near Washington, DC with his wife and son.

You can find Alex blogging at http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alex_randall/ and tweeting at @alex_randall.

 

About the host

Jeremy is a newly appointed technical product manager at Microsoft responsible for the Visual Studio Developer story for Office 365 development. Previously he worked at AvePoint Inc, a large ISV, as the chief architect shipping two apps to the Office Store. He has been heavily involved in the SharePoint community since 2006 and was awarded the SharePoint MVP award four years in a row before retiring the title to move to Microsoft.

You can find Jeremy blogging at www.jeremythake.com and tweeting at @jthake.

 

Useful links

• Office 365 Developer Center
• Blog
• Twitter
• Facebook
• StackOverflow
  • http://aka.ms/AskSharePointDev
  • http://aka.ms/AskOfficeDev
  • http://aka.ms/AskOffice365Dev
• Yammer Office 365 Technical Network
  • O365 Dev Podcast
  • O365 Dev Apps Model
  • O365 Dev Tools
  • O365 Dev APIs
  • O365 Dev Migration to App Model
  • O365 Dev Links
• UserVoice

 

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Are you a developer or user of Microsoft Access, or know someone who is?  Interested in the new web capabilities in Access 2013 or how to improve your Access client applications?

After successful one-day conferences in Bellevue and Irvine,
J Street Technology is taking Access Day to Denver!  Join us Wednesday, October 8 in Denver, CO for the next Access Day, featuring internationally-respected presenters, including Access MVPs, book authors, and even a member of the Access development team at Microsoft.

Access Day will include sessions by Kevin Bell, Alison Balter, Andy Tabisz, George Young, and Armen Stein that cover a mix of Access client techniques and new Access 2013 Web App development.

Here’s what people are saying about Access Day:

A lot of fun, great information!  Thanks for putting it on!  –Ryan E.

Access Day has provided a welcoming environment for professionals to meet and get acquainted with peers… –Craig R.

The presentations focused on real-world solutions and scenarios and reminded me how much I like Access.  –Luis C.

I really enjoyed the great mix of topics and the enthusiasm of each presenter was excellent.  –Craig A.

Details and registration link are at www.AccessDay.org.  Register by August 28 for a $20 early bird discount.

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Bob Gogel is CEO of Integreon.

To provide our clients with highly scalable legal, research, and document support services from our 17 office locations around the world, we depend on fast, flexible communication technology.

 

For a number of years, we relied on separate software systems for voice, instant messaging, content sharing, and video conferencing that simply didn’t provide the ease of use that our people needed. Our employees found that constantly switching between productivity tools, email, and a separate web conferencing application was a hassle. They also felt tethered to their computers, because they lacked the freedom to collaborate from anywhere through their smartphones or other mobile devices.

Beyond these usability concerns, cost was also a major issue. We couldn’t justify the expense of a standalone web conferencing service that didn’t interoperate with the Microsoft Office applications that we rely on every day.

When I saw the improvements in the latest release of Microsoft Lync, I was convinced that it was the right investment for us. Just in terms of ease of use, I knew that it would give us several advantages over our previous web conferencing solution. With Lync, users can schedule an online meeting in seconds from within Microsoft Outlook, or start a chat or a video call with one click from inside any Office application. Plus, I knew that our employees could use Lync on their smartphones or tablets to stay connected with coworkers—even when they were in an airport or on the road.

Global deployment of Lync

Now that we’ve deployed Lync to our global workforce of 2,500 employees, our business is better connected. We’re able to access Lync in Office 365 as a hosted solution through our Microsoft partner, BT. Our employees appreciate access to their Lync contact list across all of the Office applications they use, so they’re never more than a few seconds away from getting a question answered through instant messaging or following up with a voice call from their laptop, phone, or tablet. Our clients rely on us to move fast, and Lync helps our global team meet that expectation through real-time collaboration from anywhere.

The personalizing power of video conferencing

Members of our executive team are located in different offices around the world. Lync video conferencing gives a personal feel to our executive committee meetings that we didn’t have before, without the need for everyone to be in the same room every month. From different countries and time zones, we’re still able to communicate in a direct, face-to-face way so we can address issues head on and make decisions faster.

Collaboration from anywhere

With Lync, our teams have the ability to truly work from anywhere. I travel several times a month, so I’m constantly navigating airports and transit systems in different countries. I don’t think twice about connecting to meetings through Lync from wherever I happen to be. Recently, my flight home from China was scheduled during one of our executive committee meetings. While we sat on the tarmac waiting to take off, I joined the video conference using my tablet. It’s a great feeling to know that, even with my busy schedule, I can stay in touch.

Hosting a multi-city conference with Lync Room System

For the past four years, I’ve moderated an event called the State of the European Union. The purpose is to connect business leaders and policy makers from across the world to share their experiences and vision of Europe and its future, specifically under the direction of the European Commission. The event has grown over the years, and this past year we piloted the use of Lync to bring together attendees from six different conference locations. We used the Lync Room System to make it happen, and we were thrilled with the result. The high-definition video monitors made it easy to show content and video side by side in full 1080p resolution, and the video and audio quality throughout the conference was excellent. Remote attendees commented that they felt like they were right in the room with us.

Uniting all of the parts of our business with one solution

At Integreon, we believe strongly in giving back to the communities in which we work. Through one of our corporate social responsibility initiatives, our employees provide vocational training to students in places like Mumbai, India, and in other developing nations around the world. Lync is at the heart of this breakthrough program, which we call Edu-Lync. It’s ingrained in our corporate culture to find new approaches to work and to achieve the ambitious goals we set. I love that we can use Lync to drive every part of our business forward—from the work we do for clients to supporting community service projects. To me, Lync embodies the promise of modern technology: breaking down boundaries and bringing people together to do great work.

—Bob Gogel

 

 

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In this special edition of Garage Series Live Under the Hood, Jeremy Chapman goes deep on the operational side of information protection with lead engineer Matt Swann – from Office 365′s blue team – responsible for detecting and analyzing anomalies in the service. They discuss how the service is architected for security across physical, network, access and data vectors then Matt demonstrates how the cloud is used to protect the cloud with real intrusion and anomaly detection examples.

Last week we concluded our Garage Series Road Trip with our final stop in Dubai, where we saw how businesses in the booming Gulf region are using Office 365 and we took a tour of Project, offline support in OWA and OneDrive for Business and saw a video call using Lync from a watch. This week revisit the conversation of trusting the Office 365 service with one of our foremost experts, Matt Swann. His team – aka the Blue Team – is responsible for detecting anomalies in the service and keeping the red team in check.

Office 365 is built to adhere to the toughest security and compliance standards globally. That means every layer in the defense in depth strategy: physical, network, access and data meet stringent standards. In addition to that there are also a few key differences compared to how many organizations run mail and collaboration services on premises – where standing permissions and “super-admins” can represent vulnerabilities in managing data services. Office 365 is operated with zero standing permissions, instead the process is designed to provide just-in-time and time-limited access only when needed. Perry Clark explained this process – called Lock Box – in a From Inside the Cloud video.

The fascinating part of this show for me was when Matt talked about service modeling works to find patterns in known good, known bad and unknown processes. When I started at Microsoft, I was on the team that developed the original Desired Configuration Monitoring Solution Accelerator to do something very similar. In both processes, you define and continually refine a manifest of what health, configuration or allowable behavior means and/or the converse of this. Office 365 uses a similar model and in turn uses the power and scale of the cloud to detect known good and bad processes in an automated way sifting through terabytes of logging data continually. Matt even shows an example of how this works on the show.  Of course machine learning, automation, scale and processing power have improved in the last few years and you’ll want to see the show for all of the details.

Next time we will bring back Mark Russinovich to carry on the conversation of cloud security as we look at the most common perceived threats in cloud computing and how Office 365 and Microsoft Azure rate against them.

See you then!

Jeremy Chapman

 

More resources

From Inside the Cloud Video Channel

Garage Series Video Channel

Garage Series Season 1 Blog Archive

Follow @OfficeGarage on Twitter

Office 365 Garage Series Apps for Windows Phone and Windows 8

                       

About the Garage Series hosts

By day, Jeremy Chapman works at Microsoft, responsible for optimizing the future of Office client and service delivery as the senior deployment lead. Jeremy’s background in application compatibility, building deployment automation tools and infrastructure reference architectures has been fundamental to the prioritization of new Office enterprise features such as the latest Click-to-Run install. By night, he is a car modding fanatic and serial linguist. Matt Swann is a software engineer with ten years of commercial experience testing web applications and driving security across multiple teams at Microsoft. He’s passionate about cloud security, with a particular interest in intrusion detection and incident response.

 

The post Garage Series Under the Hood: Continually Safeguarding your Data in the Office 365 Service appeared first on Office Blogs.

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Just in time for back to school, we are releasing OneNote for Android tablets with handwriting capabilities, along with several OneNote handwriting improvements for Windows 8 and partner devices.

Even in the digital age, some folks still find handwriting more natural than typing. Beyond the benefits of comfort, The New York Times recently reported on research that suggests students are better able to generate ideas and retain information when they write versus type.

We’ve made improvements for handwriting in OneNote that reflect our vision for how people can take advantage of software and the cloud, without compromising the comfort and benefits of pen and paper.

Here’s what’s new:

• OneNote for Android tablets is now available with handwriting support, including touch-friendly navigation and the ability to personalize your notes with improved formatting options. You can download the app from Google Play today.

• OneNote for Windows Store update with student-focused features including ink highlighter, and support for printing, and inserting files and PDFs.
• Livescribe+ update this week introduces Auto-Send capabilities, which allows you to set up any Livescribe notebook with your Livescribe 3 smartpen to automatically send all your handwritten notes to a specific notebook in OneNote.

Going back to class soon? Here are some other recent OneNote developments to help you succeed this school year:

• Magic tricks with OneNote and Surface Pro 3
• OneNote on Surface Pro 3 in education: Writing, annotating, sketching, highlighting and drawing
• OneNote for Mac and iOS get dressed for business and school
• Mod Notebooks as the paper notebook that syncs to OneNote

Check out OneNote today and tell us what you think at our new feedback site, where you can post your own suggestions and vote for others. We appreciate your feedback; it helps us improve OneNote and deliver your top requests.

Visit OneNote.com to learn more, and download OneNote for all your devices.

 

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Today the team is proud to announce updates to the OneNote Windows Store app, including printing, file insertion, and highlighting. These updates significantly improve the OneNote experience for students and help ease the transition to the upcoming school year.

Print your notes

We’ve heard from many customers—students in particular—that they need to print their notes from time to time. In fact, printing is the single biggest feature request. With this update, it’s a breeze to print your notes, and OneNote supports all of the features you’d expect including beautiful full color page previews, portrait and landscape orientations, multiple copies, duplex printing, and more.

To print your pages, swipe from the right to display the Devices charm, then select Devices and then Print.

Another way to print is to bring up the App Bar and select Print Page. You can bring up the App Bar three ways:

• Swipe up from the bottom of the screen
• Right click on the page
• Tap on your selected page preview

And, of course, the normal Ctrl+P works for those of you who like to use keyboard shortcuts.

Insert file attachments and print PDFs for reading and annotating

We’ve also added another top-requested feature: file attachments and PDF printouts. We see a lot of customers saving documents in their notes and, in particular, PDFs. With PDF printouts, students can read slides, assignments, and more directly in OneNote and annotate them with ink or text.

To start adding files, from the radial menu simply select Insert, then File and select the file you want to insert. Files attached to OneNote work similarly to email, so a read-only copy can be opened outside of OneNote, such as in Word or File Explorer.

Selecting Insert and then  PDF Printout, from the radial menu, takes things a step further by printing the entire document to OneNote, allowing you to annotate the PDF. This makes editing an essay on your tablet even better than with hard copy and a red pen.

We also recently added this feature on Mac and iOS, so you can now insert file attachments and PDF printouts with the OneNote Windows Store app, as well as on the Windows desktop, Mac, iPad & iPhone.

Highlight your notes with ink

The highlighter tool is an important way to denote key information, and now you can highlight in OneNote using your pen or finger paint. Highlighter is now included in the radial menu next to the four pen styles, and you can customize the color and thickness to your liking. This feature is especially useful when combined with PDF printouts.

There are many other improvement in this release including accessibility updates and numerous bug fixes.

Try out these updates today and tell us what you think. We appreciate your feedback as it helps us improve OneNote and deliver on your top requests. Check out our new and recently launched feedback site, where you can post your own suggestions and vote for others. We would love to hear from you. Also, remember to tell your fellow classmates how well OneNote helps you keep on top of the school year, from researching, sharing with your study group, and taking notes to keeping track of your busy life.

To learn more about OneNote and download OneNote apps for all your devices go to OneNote.com

 

Get OneNote       |     Follow OneNote     

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