Managing Microsoft 365 SharePoint sites and content with PowerShell

Managing Microsoft 365 SharePoint sites and content with PowerShell


Managing Microsoft 365 SharePoint sites and content can be a challenging task, especially when dealing with large amounts of data. To simplify this process, administrators can take advantage of PowerShell scripting to automate various management tasks. Our advanced guide delves into the capabilities of PowerShell for managing Microsoft 365 SharePoint, providing practical examples and best practices to help you streamline your SharePoint management workflows. Whether you're an experienced PowerShell user or new to the platform, our guide covers everything from basic concepts to advanced SharePoint management techniques, enabling you to take full control of your SharePoint environment and improve productivity.

Set up the SharePoint Online Management Shell
Before we can start managing SharePoint sites with PowerShell, we need to set up the SharePoint Online Management Shell. Here's how:

Open PowerShell as an administrator and run the following command to install the SharePoint Online Management Shell:

  1. Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell


After the module is installed, run the following command to connect to SharePoint:

  1. Connect-SPOService -Url https://zylker-admin.sharepoint.com


Replace "zylker" with your own organization's name.


Managing SharePoint sites


Now that we have set up the SharePoint Online Management Shell, we can start managing SharePoint sites with PowerShell. Here are some common tasks:

Create a new site:

  1. New-SPOSite -Url https://zylker.sharepoint.com/sites/finance -Title "Finance Site" -Template "STS#0"


This command creates a new site with the URL https://zylker.sharepoint.com/sites/finance, the title "Finance Site," and the template "STS#0."

Delete a site:

  1. Remove-SPOSite -Identity https://zylker.sharepoint.com/sites/finance -Confirm:$false


This command deletes the site with the URL https://zylker.sharepoint.com/sites/finance. The -Confirm:$false parameter suppresses the confirmation prompt.

Set site permissions:


  1. Set-SPOSite -Identity https://zylker.sharepoint.com/sites/finance -Owner "jane@zylker.com"


This command sets the owner of the site with the URL https://zylker.sharepoint.com/sites/finance to jane@zylker.com.

Get site information:

  1. Get-SPOSite -Identity https://zylker.sharepoint.com/sites/finance


This command retrieves information about the site with the URL https://zylker.sharepoint.com/sites/finance.

Managing SharePoint content


In addition to managing SharePoint sites, we can also manage SharePoint content with PowerShell. Here are some common tasks:


Create a new list:


  1. New-SPOList -Title "Announcements" -Template "Announcements" -Url "Lists/Announcements" -Description "Company Announcements"


This command creates a new list with the title "Announcements," the template "Announcements," the URL "Lists/Announcements," and the description "Company Announcements."

Delete a list:


  1. Remove-SPOList -Identity "Lists/Announcements" -Confirm:$false


This command deletes the list with the URL "Lists/Announcements." The -Confirm:$false parameter suppresses the confirmation prompt.

Set list permissions:


  1. Set-SPOList -Identity "Lists/Announcements" -BreakRoleInheritance -CopyRoleAssignments


This command breaks inheritance for the list with the URL "Lists/Announcements" and copies the role assignments from the parent site.

Get list information:


  1. Get-SPOList -Identity "Lists/Announcements"


This command retrieves information about the list with the URL "Lists/Announcements."

Add an item to a list:

  1. $list = Get-SPOList -Identity "Lists/Announcements"
  2. $itemProperties = @{
  3. "Title" = "New Announcement"
  4. "Body" = "This is a new announcement."
  5. }
  6. Add-SPOListItem -List $list -Values $itemProperties


This command adds a new item to the list with the title "New Announcement" and the body "This is a new announcement."

Delete an item from a list:

  1. $list=Get-SPOList-Identity"Lists/Announcements"
  2. $item=Get-SPOListItem-List$list-Id1
  3. Remove-SPOListItem-List$list-Identity$item-Confirm:$false


This command retrieves the first item from the list with the URL "Lists/Announcements" and deletes it. The -Confirm:$false parameter suppresses the confirmation prompt.

Update an item in a list:


  1. $list=Get-SPOList-Identity"Lists/Announcements"
  2. $item=Get-SPOListItem-List$list-Id2
  3. $itemProperties=@{
  4. "Title"="Updated Announcement"
  5. "Body"="This announcement has been updated."
  6. }
  7. Set-SPOListItem-List$list-Identity$item-Values$itemProperties


This command retrieves the second item from the list with the URL "Lists/Announcements" and updates its title and body.

Conclusion


PowerShell provides a powerful way to manage Microsoft 365 SharePoint sites and content. With PowerShell, we can automate common administrative tasks and perform them more efficiently. By following the steps outlined in this article, you should be able to manage SharePoint sites and content with ease.



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