blog.frederique.harmsze.nl my world of work and user experiences

April 30, 2012

Anywhere – SharePoint Online on my Windows Phone

Filed under: Interaction,Office365 — Tags: , — frederique @ 22:18

We are always on, always connected. And we expect to be able to do that on our mobile devices. But we’d better manage those expectations.

Nielsen, in his latest Intranet Design Annual, laments the fact that very few intranets have a mobile version. Recently, I looked into SharePoint Online on my iPad and I was only moderately enthusiastic. Now let me take a look on my smartphone – a Windows Phone, so it is Microsoft all around. Today, I focus on the interface in the mobile Internet Explorer.

Bottomline: Again, quite a lot actually works, but not everything…

What works:

  • Announcements, Links, Custom lists
  • Tasks, including views like My Tasks and functionality to update tasks.
  • Blogs: read the post, read the comments and add a comment
  • View pictures in a library, including their thumbnails and a screen-filling version

What works somewhat:

  • Adding a task worked, because I saw the new task appear on my computer. Unfortunately I did not see it appear on my phone…
  • Calendar is present but unpractical: no weekly or monthly overview.
  • Document libraries: I can read documents – though not in a very practical way on such a small screen. But I cannot add or edit them in the phone browser: there is no Upload document button. For that, I need to open the Office Hub.
  • Picture libraries offer a button to upload a picture, but that did not work for me – I could not activate the Browse option.
  • Movies (mp4) played from their library, but the media webpart to play it from the page does not work.
  • Publishing page libraries show the table of content, but the pages themselves do not open.

What is missing entirely: the more interactive features:

  • Discussion Boards: Missing from All Site Content and I cannot switch on the mobile view in the list settings
  • Surveys: Idem
  • Rating: I can see the rating stars but I cannot rate a document on the phone

Below, you will find some screenshots and other details…

‘Table of Contents’

The Windows Phone wisely does not attempt to display the site in its big screen view, but more like a table of content. The All Site Content overview is your friend, as other navigation options – like the tabs – are missing.

Homepage

Homepage on my Windows Phone

All Site Content

All Site Content

Blog

I can read blog posts, read the comments and add a comment using my Windows Phone.

Read a blog post

Read blog comments

Add comment

Managing my tasks works

I can view the tasks that are assigned to me, update their status and other data, and switch to the view with all tasks. For the selection fields, this is the Windows Phone method.

My Tasks

My Tasks

Edit Task

Update my task

Edit Task - Selection list

Select a status

Libraries
The reader can consult the information in document libraries and picture libraries. Talking back is more difficult in the windows phone browser: I cannot upload or edit the files.

Document Library

Document Library

Document

Document

Picture Library

Picture Library

By the way, I have made these screenshots using the Windows Phone Emulator of the SDK (Software Development Kit) . I am not planning any real development myself, but I have not found an app or any other tool to shoot the screen of my Windows Phone directly.

8 Comments »

  1. Hi Frederique,
    See this
    http://www.shareplusapp.com/
    hm…. not sure but maybe this app can 🙂
    Cheers

    Comment by Patrick — May 2, 2012 @ 02:42

  2. Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you writing this write-up and also the rest of the website is really good.

    Comment by http://diendanmiennam.net/index.php?do=/profile-37/info/ — December 27, 2012 @ 06:34

  3. What is missing entirely: the more interactive features:

    Discussion Boards: Missing from All Site Content and I cannot switch on the mobile view in the list settings
    Surveys: Idem
    Rating: I can see the rating stars but I cannot rate a document on the phone

    Comment by elimark1 — February 8, 2021 @ 18:38

  4. Content is still king

    Include it in the design process

    In order to get a better feel for the content and how it would fit on your pages, don’t use “lorem ipsum” dummy test but real content, right from the beginning.

    Multimedia are going strong

    Photos, videos and other multimedia continue to play an important role. An interesting example are recordings of customer service phone calls, that focus all employees on the customer.

    Languages continues to be a challenge

    In multilingual companies, the primary language is often used for the general pages, while specific local content is in the local language. Some companies translate company-wide into several corporate languages. And some countries leave it up to the author, asking them to tag it with the language.

    Comment by finchalex — April 13, 2021 @ 16:32

  5. What works somewhat:

    Adding a task worked, because I saw the new task appear on my computer.

    Unfortunately I did not see it appear on my phone…

    Calendar is present but unpractical: no weekly or monthly overview.

    Document libraries: I can read documents – though not in a very practical way on such a small screen.

    But I cannot add or edit them in the phone browser: there is no Upload document button.

    For that, I need to open the Office Hub.

    Picture libraries offer a button to upload a picture,

    but that did not work for me – I could not activate the Browse option.

    Movies (mp4) played from their library, but the media webpart to play it from the page does not work.

    Publishing page libraries show the table of content, but the pages themselves do not open.

    Comment by GAMETABLES4LESS LLC — July 8, 2021 @ 21:08

  6. Tasks, including views like My Tasks and functionality to update tasks.
    Blogs: read the post, read the comments and add a comment
    View pictures in a library, including their thumbnails and a screen-filling version

    Adding a task worked, because I saw the new task appear on my computer. Unfortunately I did not see it appear on my phone…
    Calendar is present but unpractical: no weekly or monthly overview.

    Document libraries: I can read documents – though not in a very practical way on such a small screen. But I cannot add or edit them in the phone browser: there is no Upload document button.

    For that, I need to open the Office Hub.
    Picture libraries offer a button to upload a picture, but that did not work for me – I could not activate the Browse option.
    Movies (mp4) played from their library, but the media webpart to play it from the page does not work.

    Publishing page libraries show the table of content, but the pages themselves do not open.
    What is missing entirely: the more interactive features:

    Missing from All Site Content and I cannot switch on the mobile view in the list settings

    I can see the rating stars but I cannot rate a document on the phone

    Comment by Hydro-Lazer — December 10, 2021 @ 20:43

  7. Announcements, Links, Custom lists
    Tasks, including views like My Tasks and functionality to update tasks.
    Blogs: read the post, read the comments and add a comment
    View pictures in a library, including their thumbnails and a screen-filling version
    What works somewhat:

    Adding a task worked, because I saw the new task appear on my computer. Unfortunately I did not see it appear on my phone…
    Calendar is present but unpractical: no weekly or monthly overview.
    Document libraries: I can read documents – though not in a very practical way on such a small screen. But I cannot add or edit them in the phone browser: there is no Upload document button. For that, I need to open the Office Hub.
    Picture libraries offer a button to upload a picture, but that did not work for me – I could not activate the Browse option.
    Movies (mp4) played from their library, but the media webpart to play it from the page does not work.
    Publishing page libraries show the table of content, but the pages themselves do not open.
    What is missing entirely: the more interactive features:

    Discussion Boards: Missing from All Site Content and I cannot switch on the mobile view in the list settings
    Surveys: Idem
    Rating: I can see the rating stars but I cannot rate a document on the phone

    Comment by Seahorse Swim School — January 18, 2022 @ 20:17

  8. I can read documents – though not in a very practical way on such a small screen.
    But I cannot add or edit them in the phone browser: there is no Upload document button.

    For that, I need to open the Office Hub.
    Picture libraries offer a button to upload a picture but that did not work for me I could not activate the Browse option.
    Movies mp4 played from their library, but the media webpart to play it from the page does not work.
    Publishing page libraries show the table of content, but the pages themselves do not open.

    Comment by Garden of Eva Landscape Design Group Inc. — June 8, 2022 @ 20:12

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