SharePoint - FAQs

OVERVIEW

This article lists the frequently asked questions for SharePoint .

 

General FAQs

What are the features and benefits on SharePoint?
SharePoint offers a secure place to store, organize, share and access internal content. Such content can be documents, images, videos, lists, links and pages (ie. information or news).
 
This tool is designed to increase efficiency, improve communication and protect sensitive information.
 
What is the difference between Teams-connected Sites and communication Sites?
SharePoint is a content and document management application that is also the underlying technology operating on many of Microsoft's products, including OneDrive and MS Teams.
 
You may find these instances when exploring SharePoint at SFU at https://1sfu.sharepoint.com/ or using SFU's OneDrive weblink at https://1sfu-my.sharepoint.com/ to access your OneDrive.
 
On Microsoft Teams, whenever a new team is created, an underlying SharePoint site is created to facilitate the file management component on Teams.
 
  Teams-connected SharePoint Sites SharePoint Communication Sites
Microsoft product Microsoft Teams SharePoint 
Underlying technology SharePoint (channel/team file management) SharePoint
Purpose Collaboration, communication, document and/or project management Internal websites to publish web content and documents
Audience  SFU units, departments, project and collaboration teams  Broader SFU staff and faculty audience (ie. university-wide)
Type of content Documents, lists, pages Pages, documents
Permissions Model Lots of authors, few readers Lots of readers, few authors
Default external sharing Enabled Disabled
Productivity tools Yes No
URL / Link https://1sfu.sharepoint.com
/teams/<Team Name>		 https://1sfu.sharepoint.com
/sites/<Site Name>

Looking for more details? See Choosing a Document and Content Management Tool at SFU - Comparison Chart.

What is the storage limit for SharePoint Online Sites?
The storage limit for a SharePoint Online site is 100 GB.
How do I KNOW IF A DOCUMENT IS STORED IN SHAREPOINT OR ONEDRIVE?

If a document is stored in SharePoint, the URL will include /sites/ or /teams/, e.g., https://1sfu.sharepoint.com/sites/ or https://1sfu.sharepoint.com/teams/

If a document is stored in OneDrive, the URL will include /personal/, e.g., https://1sfu.sharepoint.com/personal/

 

Access and Sharing FAQs

I can't access A site. How do I gain access?
You will need to ask the site owner to give you access to the site or to investigate the issue. SharePoint communication sites don't allow access to external users (non-SFU individuals).
 
Note: IT Services can assist with identifying who is the site owner.
I can't access a document shared to me. What should I do?
You will need to ask the site owner to investigate the issue.

Note: IT Services can assist with identifying who is the site owner of the site that hosts your file.
My document is missing. How do I recover it?
For instructions to recover an accidentally deleted item, visit Restore items in the recycle bin for SharePoint and Teams sites (Video: 1 min) . You may need to ask the site owner to recover the document for you if you don't have sufficient permissions.

 

Privacy and Compliance FAQs

What is a sensitivity label?
A sensitivity label is a classification method that implements defined boundaries on sharing permissions. The SFU community can apply these labels to files and documents to protect SFU content and data.
How do sensitivity labels affect my document / file?
For details, please review Sensitivity Labels - Microsoft 365.
Are there FIPPA considerations for SharePoint?
SFU's Microsoft environment, that includes SharePoint, has its data hosted on Microsoft's Canadian servers. Information stored on SFU's SharePoint are compliant with FIPPA.

 

Need additional support?

For General Users:

  • Reach out to your site owner if you need general support, including access/permissions troubleshooting.

For Site Owners:

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