Microsoft O365 Questions

a

How Can I Copy Files from SharePoint to a USB Drive?

There are two different approaches needed to copy or move files from SharePoint to a USB drive. The approaches vary based on whether or not you have gone through the SharePoint “Sync” process. More details can be found at : https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/SharePoint_Document_Copy_to_USB.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How Can I Search for a Document in SharePoint?

SharePoint has a very powerful search engine that will look at all directories that you have access to in order to find the document you are interested. Details on this can be found in this document: https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/SharePoint_Document_Search.pdf

a

How Do I Rename Files in SharePoint?

Like everything else in SharePoint, there are several ways to rename documents. Two ways are described in : https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Renaming_Files_in_SharePoint.pdf

a

How Do I Open Documents in SharePoint?

There are several ways to open SharePoint documents. Refer to this memo for more details: https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/OpeningDocs_in_SharePoint.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How Do I Follow a SharePoint Site? (i.e. Getting Automatic Update when Changes Occur)

You can “follow” a SharePoint site so you are notified when something on that site changes. You can also determine HOW you want to be notified by referring to this: https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Following_a_SharePoint_Site.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How Do I eMail Documents from SharePoint?

eMailing documents from SharePoint is very much like emailing standard documents on your PC. Refer to this memo for more information:
https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/emailing_Docs_in_Sharepoint.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How Do I Log in to a SharePoint Site?

You can learn about a SharePoint Site and log in to your SharePoint account by following this guideline:
https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Logging_into_SharePoint.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How Can I View a Previous Version of a Document?

If you have made multiple changes to a document and have saved it and now you want to start over. Can you do that in SharePoint? Yes..SharePoint saves multiple copies of documents and you can access them by following this guide:
https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Prev_Docs_in_SharePoint.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

Can I “Undelete” a File that I Deleted in SharePoint?

If you have deleted a file or directory by mistake, or you have changed your mind, you can get it back by following these instructions:
https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Recovering_Deleted_Files_in_SharePoint.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How do I Delete a File in SharePoint?

You can delete any file in SharePoint, if you have the correct access, by following this article:
https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Deleting_Files_in_SharePoint.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How do I create Documents in SharePoint?

There are several ways to create a new document in SharePoint. For some guidance, review this:
https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CreatingDocs_in_SharePoint.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How Can I Add SharePoint to my PC?

You can add an icon that will allow you to one-click to get to your SharePoint files. Follow the information contained in this document:
https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/AddingSharePoint_to_your_PC.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How Can Recipients Receive Towne Secure email?

You can Create a Rule to Manage eMail by reviewing the following article:
https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/KB-Article-Recipient-Receiving-A-Secured-Email-with-Mimecast.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How can I Send a Secure email?

You can Create a Rule to Manage eMail by reviewing the following article:
https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/KB-Article-Sending-Secure-Email-with-Mimecast.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How Do I Create a Rule to Manage eMail?

You can Create a Rule to Manage eMail by reviewing the following article:https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Setting-Up-Rules-in-O365-Outlook.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

Apartment leads emails are not consistently appearing

In O365, the folder that internet leads go to “behaves” differently. Before O365, that folder could be opened on the desktop and new email would be listed automatically.

In O365, Microsoft has enhanced the security for users. Instead of Internet Browser tabs being consistently open, they now “time out” after 20 minutes. This gives the appearance of email not being there when it is.

To “refresh” the Internet Leads folder, you can either shut Outlook down and restart it OR you can press “F5” in the Outlook window to refresh the display.

a

Outlook Doesn’t seem to be receiving email, what can I do?

We have had a few cases where the desktop Outlook client would stop updating email received. This ONLY affects associates at the Monastery or District Offices. There are two things to do

#1 – Submit a work order (info below)
#2 – In your web browser, go to www.office.com and login using your Towne email and password. This will get you in to the cloud version of O365.

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How to Send Pictures using the Outlook app



           Thanks to George Hope and the NKYDO for identifying this difference and testing

To send a picture from the Outlook client, follow these steps:

Assuming you have taken a pic –

1 – Create a new email message.

2- At the bottom of the email message there is a “paper clip”. (The first time it may ask for access to your photos.)

3-  You can choose where to get the pics…for instance…”choose photo from library” or “choose from photos”.

4 – choose the pic and send


            If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.



a

How do I configure my SmartPhone for email, contacts etc.?



You can Customize the SmartPhone Outlook email Client by reviewing the following article: https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Outlook_SmartPhone_Client.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.



a

I am at an Apartment Community and I can’t find my Outlook icon. What can I do?



You can customize the Outlook Client email Spell Check function by reviewing this article : https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/FindingtheOutlookIcon.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.



a

“To:” Field Contact Completion Issue

I used to be able to type one or two characters in the To:, cc:, or bcc: fields and then I would have choices to pick from. Now, when I type a letter, nothing happens. Have I lost contacts?

This article should answer your question: https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ContactCompletionIssue.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How Can I Customize the Outlook email Client Spell Check?

You can customize the Outlook Client email Spell Check function by reviewing this article : https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Outlook-Spell-Check-Options.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How Do I Customize the Outlook email Client?

You can Customize the Outlook email Client by reviewing the following article: https://towneinfosystems.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/CustomizingtheOutlookDesktopClient.pdf

If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

By Phone – 513-345-6990
By email – help@towneproperties.com
By filling out the form on www.towneinfosystems.com
By submitting a work order via the TISI app, located in the Apple IOS and Android store.

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

Will I Lose my “G:” Drive?

            If you are asking questions about shared drives, like the “G:” drive, you are most likely working at a District Office. Currently, the move to O365 only affects files for our apartment associates, not the District Office Associates.
            You don’t have to do anything with your files, either those on your PC or those in the shared drives (i.e. “G:” or “S:”) at this time.


            If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

What will be the process to move my email to O365?

            Great News! All along, TISI has been copying the contents of your email account to the new email server in the Microsoft cloud. This includes all email (sent/deleted/inbox/folders), contacts, Tasks, and calendar items. We will perform one more copy (just those items that changed since the last copy) and then switch to the new system.


            If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

What About Existing email, contacts, calendar etc.?

            Great News! All along, TISI has been copying the contents of your email account to the new email server in the Microsoft cloud. This includes all email (sent/deleted/inbox/folders), contacts, Tasks, and calendar items. We will perform one more copy (just those items that changed since the last copy) and then switch to the new system.


            If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

Will my email address change?

There is no change to your email address.


            If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

What About Our Email Retention Policy?

            Good News! The 120-day email retention policy that has served us so well in the past will be carried forward and maintained in the cloud version of our email.


            If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How will migrating to O365 change things for me?

            Depending upon your location, the migration will affect you in different ways. There are two pieces of the migration and the impact that these pieces will have on you depends where you are located. The two aspects of O365 that need to be considered are File Storage and Applications.
            For the short term, our apartments associates will notice the biggest difference. For the Monastery and District Office associates, they will notice a different version of the Office apps, but nothing will procedurally change.

File Storage

            File Storage in the O365 world consists of two products, namely, SharePoint and OneDrive. SharePoint is used for files that need to be accessed by more than one person. This is analogous to our existing S: (or other) drives at the District Office or Monastery that allow multiple users to access the same files.
            OneDrive is a cloud-based directory that is analogous to our “G:” drives. These are YOUR business files and the general intent is that they are not shared or available to others. It is very easy to move files to and from SharePoint and OneDrive.
            It is important to point out that neither of these storage locations should be used to store music, videos, or pictures from your cell phone unless they are business related.
            Our apartment associates should have been using SharePoint and OneDrive since 2016. TISI is in the process of migrating files from the existing Monastery based SharePoint and OneDrive accounts to the Microsoft accounts and apartment associates should not have to do anything EXCEPT make sure that existing files on the PC are moved to the appropriate account. If they don’t…well..more on that in the Applications section.
            The associates who call the District Office and Monastery home have not been using any cloud-based files, they have had their files located locally on their PC or on a file server. TISI will be moving these associates to SharePoint and OneDrive on a longer roll out time frame. Certainly, by the end of 2019, all those departments or districts who want to be cloud based will be.

Applications

            In our current environment, all users have applications that are resident on their PC such as Word, Excel, and the Outlook email client. When you click on the appropriate icon, the application starts up using the computers resources. This will change for some when we move to O365.
            At the apartment communities, the office apps such as Word, Excel, and the Outlook email client, will also become cloud based. For instance, when you click on the Word icon, word will open exactly as you expect. However, it will open in a web browser window and not in an app of its’ own.
            Those associates at the Monastery and District Offices will not notice much of a difference. They will still have local apps on their PC as well as in the cloud.

            What is the ramification for the apartments of becoming completely cloud based?

            When the internet is down, the PC is down as well. Since everything is in the cloud and the internet connects you to the cloud; No Internet – No files or apps.
            Secondly, once the user is totally cloud based, the Microsoft Office files on the local PC are no longer directly accessible. They will have to be moved to the cloud (a simple and straight forward process) before they can be opened or manipulated. It is for this reason we have been stressing the need to get all your files into either SharePoint or OneDrive and off the PC.


            If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

What Should be Saved to OneDrive?

            There is a question to consider before we decide what should be saved to OneDrive. That question is “Should anything be saved to my PC?” The answer is NO!
            Now that we all agree that no files should exist on the PC, now the question can be asked, What files Should be Saved to OneDrive?
            The answer is any file that you may need in the course of conducting business should be saved to either OneDrive or SharePoint. For instance, pictures that you took of a damaged unit or downspout may need to be saved for insurance purposes. Pictures that you took over vacation should not!
            Also, consider which files could be needed by someone you report to in the event you took a different job.
            It is important to remember that OneDrive is to be used to store Business Oriented files, not just those things you want to keep. It is not a backup repository of personal pictures, music, or the most recent viral cat video. It is a company provided resource that falls under the Electronic Communications Policy.
            Overall, as a rule of thumb, “If it needs to be safe from a PC failure, upload it to the cloud!”


            If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

What Version of Microsoft products are we going to?

          If you are working at an apartment community, you most likely are using Office 2007. If you are working at a district office or at the Monastery, you are probably using Office 2010.
          This new environment, called O365, is whatever the latest and greatest version is from Microsoft. Microsoft is going away from a Product and Year to just a “suite” of products. Since we are on a subscription with Microsoft, we will always be on O365.

If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.


a

Why do we have to do this?

          The current Microsoft contract has expired. When we signed our first Microsoft agreement over 9 years ago, we purchased Office 2007 for everyone. The Monastery and District Offices had an “upgrade path” as part of their office environment. It was not cost effective to do that for apartments at that time.
          Microsoft is now trying to move everyone to their “cloud-based” system and they are pricing it in such a way that we can provide updated products for all 500 of our users for the same amount we spent for 300 previously.
|          The most critical reason to move to this product suite is that Office 2007 is no longer supported by Microsoft leaving us exposed to viruses and attacks. Office 2010 would come off of support at the end of this year.

Additionally, the newest products have several advantages such as:
  => The latest software features
  => Over time, all our files could be moved to a cloud solution allowing
users access when they are out of the office.
=> We can utilize Microsoft Skype which is a video and messaging solution.



If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How Different is the new version of Word?

For the associates at the Monastery and District offices, the difference between Word 2010 and the Word Version in O365 is minimal. The functionality is the same (if not enhanced). The menus are visually different.
For our apartment associates there is a bit more of a difference. Apartment associates will be moving from Word 2007 to the Word Version in O365. The functionally is the same and certainly enhanced. The menus are somewhat different.
The biggest change at the apartment communities will be that Word will open in a web browser tab instead of a standalone application.
          We will work to provide some information to help with the differences such as “I used to go here for the Mail Merge Wizard. Where is it now?”



If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.



a

How Different is the new version of Excel?

          For the associates at the Monastery and District offices, the difference between Excel 2010 and the Excel Version in O365 is minimal. The functionality is the same (if not enhanced). The menus are visually different.
For our apartment associates there is a bit more of a difference. Apartment associates will be moving from Excel 2007 to the Excel Version in O365. The functionally is the same and certainly enhanced. The menus are somewhat different.
The biggest change at the apartment communities will be that Excel will open in a web browser tab instead of a standalone application.
          We will work to provide some information to help with the differences such as “I used to go here for the Text to Columns Functionality. Where is it now?”




If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

How Do I Upload my Files to OneDrive?

There is an article in the O365 – How To Section on moving your files from your My Documents folder to OneDrive.
https://towneinfosystems.com/o365-how-to/


If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

Getting Started with O365

How do I get started with O365? Here is a link to a Microsoft Video that will give you a Video Intro to O365 : http://tinyurl.com/y6364ejd

OR See the Getting Started with O365 Document in the O365 How To section :
https://towneinfosystems.com/o365-how-to/



If this article doesn’t answer your question, or, if you need more information, have a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

Why Now?

        Office 365 will provide the ability to work together more effectively, as more advanced systems permit better creation, storage, and sharing of information.
        Office 365 provides the most recent versions of email, Office, and SharePoint. Our implementation will provide us with regular updates of these programs without incurring additional costs, so our associates will always be using the newest tools.
        Due to a licensing issue, our apartment associates were using Office 2007! Office 2007 is no longer supported by Microsoft. That doesn’t just mean we no longer get new fonts or features. It also means that as security vulnerabilities and flaws are found (and they will continue to be) Microsoft will no longer be addressing those issues.
        Office 365 has many new features, is more flexible, allows for collaboration among our associates, and supports technologies such as video.
        Several years ago, we undertook a technical direction that would give our associates a more modern workplace. The first step was to upgrade our network between district offices and the apartment communities. This is still underway, and we hope to have a faster and more reliable network connecting all of us by the end of the year! We also have “dual internet” capabilities. In the event Time Warner has an outage, the Cincinnati Bell connection will take over in seconds to keep us going!
        The second step has two phases. The new phone system was the first phase of our technical refresh. We have a system that is modern, has many excellent features, integrates with our network and mobile devices, and has a backup feature in the event the Monastery is “not reachable” for some reason. (Even with the dual internet, it COULD happen)
        The second phase of step two was the migration of Yardi from our server room to their datacenter. The safety, backup, and maintenance of our data is now in the hands of our trusted vendor.
        The next step is O365 – getting up to date applications into our associates hands is very important. We can now standardize on training, application notes, and tools that we can push out. Our associates can also become mobile, accessing their files out of the office and keeping in constant communication with those that support them.




If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

What is O365?

        Office 365 is a set of applications that includes email, document and file creation, and collaboration tools. The good news is you have been using these tools for years.  What will be different for many of us is the introduction of new versions of your old favorites.  This includes the Outlook client for accessing email; Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access); OneNote, a note-taking function; Skype for Video Integration; and SharePoint, a storage and application platform that permits file storage, application development, and collaboration.
        Office 365 is referred to as a cloud-based service, and access to many of the tools is over the internet.  For the majority or our associates, the Microsoft Office application you utilize regularly will continue to be accessed through your computer; however once you have migrated to Office 365, those applications will also be accessible over the internet and accessible from anywhere.
        Office 365 was named to emphasize that your office (applications and documents) are available to you 24 x 7, 365 days a year.

Here is a video that will help you understand what Office 365 for Business is : http://tinyurl.com/yxq8ys8q

If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

What are the advantages to O365?

There are a variety of reasons the decision to move to Microsoft O365 was made. These include:

  • Multiple Versions – Towne Properties was getting in to a situation where apartments were using one version of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel & Outlook), district offices a second and the Monastery a third variation. We have had to adjust our training slides and the way we handle Help Desk requests based on the version of Office the caller might be using. Many new associates were used to using a more modern versions of Office at home or at a previous job or both.
  • The version that the apartments were using (Office 2007) was no longer being supported by Microsoft. The lack of support is more than being left out of software upgrades. Security patches and software vulnerabilities are also not addressed when you are using a product that is no longer under support.
  • As “smart” phones, tablets, and laptop usage becomes more prevalent, TISI needed to make these applications more readily accessible to our associates.
  • For the past several years, the top request from our associates has been access to their files that are currently only accessible at the district office.
  • The cost of protecting our files, emails, and other data is getting very high. Microsoft is better equipped to back up, maintain, and protect our data and email.
  • Microsoft will keep our data and email at various locations. In the event of a network outage, your email or file requests will go to another location without our knowledge. Seamless multi-server support.






If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

What version are we on and what are we going to?

            If you are working at an apartment community, you most likely are using Office 2007. If you are working at a district office or the Monastery, you are probably using Office 2010. This new environment is called O365. It will actually be whatever the latest and greatest version is from Microsoft. There currently is no longer an Office 20XX – just O365.
           One of the benefits to this cloud based model is that we can take advantage of new features as soon as Microsoft releases them. The new features will automatically appear on your desktop.




If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.

a

What is the “Cloud”?

           When you hear that your data is in the cloud, or that you can work in the cloud, it has nothing to do with white fluffy things in the sky. Your data is stored somewhere — lots of “somewhere” — and the network of computers find what you need and deliver it.
           The cloud refers to software and services that run on the Internet, instead of locally on your computer. Most cloud services can be accessed through a Web browser like Internet Explorer. Some examples of cloud services include Yardi, Netflix, and Dropbox.
           The advantage of the cloud is that you can access your information on any device with an Internet connection. It’s what allows you to make changes to a file with your home computer, and then pick up where you left off when you get to the office. Other associates can even collaborate on the same document.
           Meanwhile, a service like Microsoft Sharepoint lets you store, manipulate and view all your documents, without fear of maxing out your laptop, PC, or smartphone’s internal storage.
     Another benefit of the cloud is that, because the remote computers handle much of the computing and storage, you don’t necessarily need an expensive, high-end machine to get your work done.
           The cloud has its downfalls, too. Without an Internet connection — or with a slow one — you’re basically locked out of accessing your data and cloud-based programs. The same applies if there are any technical issues or outages on the server side.




If you need more information, have a question, a suggestion, or need Help, you can contact the Towne Information Systems Help Desk in any one of the following ways:

Of course, supply as much information as you can so we can provide the best help possible quickly.