Create a Shared Contacts List

Summary

Many organizations require a shared contact list that is accessible by authorized individuals, for example a list of customer email addresses and phone numbers. In this article we will create a Shared Contact list in an Office 365 SharePoint site that will be accessible through a web browser, as well as Microsoft Teams to individuals that are members of the group.

Body

What is this article about?

Many organizations require a shared contact list that is accessible by authorized individuals, for example a list of customer email addresses and phone numbers. In this article we will create a Shared Contact list in an Office 365 SharePoint site that will be accessible through a web browser, as well as Microsoft Teams to individuals that are members of the group.

 

What materials do I need?

  • Internet access
  • A web browser such as Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Apple’s Safari, or Google Chrome
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Contact List, in CSV format

 

How do I use this technology?

 

Creating a Shared Contact List

Note: You can create a Shared Contact list entirely within SharePoint Online, completely skipping the use of Microsoft Teams; however, we have found that starting with Teams to create/define the initial group is easier for most individuals. If you're not sure how to use Microsoft Teams, we suggest you review our Getting Started with Microsoft Teams article first before proceeding.

  1. Determine which group of individuals should have access to the shared contact list. In other words, can you use an existing Microsoft Team, or is it better to create a new one.
  2. Open Microsoft Teams.
  3. Select the desire team, or create a new one.
  4. Click on the Files tab.
  5. Choose a random file, and click the Ellipse (...) button to the right, click Open in SharePoint.

    MS Teams Open in SharePoint Online dialog menu
     
  6. A web browser will attempt to connect to the SharePoint URL. If necessary Login with your UA email address (e.g. cwolfe@alaska.edu) and password.

    Office 365 Login dialog window
     
  7. Once you've successfully accessed the SharePoint Online site, in the left navigation menu, click Home.

    SharePoint Online site with Home button highlighted
     
  8. Click the down arrow ( v ) next to the New button, and click App.

    SharePoint Online new app menu
     
  9. Under Your Apps in the search box type "Contacts" and press return.

    SharePoint Online searching for Contacts app
     
  10. Click the Contacts app, and in the Adding Contacts dialog box in the Name field enter "Shared_Contacts", then click Create.

    SharePoint Online entering a name for new Contacts Apps
     
  11. You will be returned to the SharePoint site's Site contents directory where you will see the newly created Shared_Contacts item.

    SharePoint Online newly created shared contacts
     
  12. Click on the Shared_Contacts link to open the contacts list.

    SharePoint Online new empty shared contacts list


Read on for further instructions on updating, and accessing your groups Shared Contacts list.

 

Adding a single contact

  1. Open the Shared Contacts resource. Either via a Web Page, or through Microsoft Teams, the process is the same for either.

    SharePoint Online Shared Contacts list example
     
  2. Click the New button.

    SharePoint Online Shared Contacts new contact dialog button
     
  3. In the New Item form enter the desired information.

    SharePoint Online Contacts new entry form

    When finished, click Save.
     
  4. The new contact entry will now be displayed in the list.

    SharePoint Online Contacts new entry form

 

Adding multiple contacts at once

  1. Open the Shared Contacts resource. Either via a Web Page, or through Microsoft Teams, the process is the same for either.
  2. Click the Quick Edit button.

    SharePoint Online Contacts new entry form
     
  3. The Quick Edit list view will be displayed. It should appear something like the following.

    SharePoint Online Shared Contacts quick edit list view
     
  4. Open your source contact list in a spreadsheet application such ass Microsoft Excel, or Apple Numbers.
     
  5. Arrange the source contacts columns in the same order shown in your Shared Contacts Quick Edit layout. If you do not have some of the columns in your source contacts file, please insert the appropriate column header and simply leave the data set empty.
    Typically the column order will be something like the following:
    • Last Name
    • First Name
    • Company
    • Business Phone
    • Home Phone
    • Email Address
  6. Select the desired data set range, making sure to not select the header row. Copy the contacts.

    SharePoint Online Shared Contacts sample data set
     
  7. In your Shared Contacts, in Quick Edit layout, go to the first empty row, and click/select the first field. Paste the copied contacts.

    SharePoint Online Shared Contacts quick edit select empty row
     
  8. Wait a few moments, the exact time will depend upon how many contacts you are inserting, the changes to be saved. You will see a spinning process indicator to the left of the row that is currently being saved. See the highlighted portion in the image below.

    SharePoint Online Shared Contacts paste processing
     
  9. Once all the new contacts have been saved a green icon will be next name in the Last Name field. Now click the Exit quick edit button.
     
  10. The new contact entries will now be displayed in the list.

    SharePoint Online Shared Contacts paste processing

 

Adding Shared Contacts as a tab in Microsoft Teams

  1. In a web browser navigate to your Shared Contacts page. In the browser address bar select all the text before the "AllItems.aspx" text, and copy it.

    SharePoint Online shared contacts url example
     
  2. Open the Microsoft Teams application.
  3. In the left column select the appropriate Team, then click the General channel.
     
  4. In the right panel along the top navigation menu, click the "+" button.

    Microsoft Teams add tab to team button
     
  5. In the Add a tab dialog window, click Website.

    MS Teams add webpage to team dialog window
     
  6. In the Website dialog window, do the following:
    • In the Tab name field enter: Shared Contacts
    • In the URL field paste the copied URL from your web browser.

    Microsoft Teams add webpage to team dialog window

    Click the Save button.
     
  7. A new navigation tab will appeared with the name Shared Contacts.

    Microsoft Teams shared contacts tab

 

Change visible fields and fields order

  1. Open the Shared Contacts resource in a web browser.
     
  2. Click the down arrow ( v ) next to the All contacts button.

    SharePoint Online Shared Contacts view menu highlighted
     
  3. Select Edit current view.

    SharePoint Online Shared Contacts edit view button highlighted
     
  4. Find the desired column name, and in the Position from Left dropdown menu select the desired position.

    SharePoint Online Shared Contacts set display column order
     
  5. If desired, you can display additional contact fields by clicking in the Display checkbox next to any additional columns.

    SharePoint Online Shared Contacts set display column order
     
  6. When completed, click the Ok button.

You, and the team, can create as many different views as desired. We suggest that when creating multiple views you come up with a concise and descriptive naming convention by which to save the new views.

Note: If you edit the default All contacts view, the changes to field names and field position will be what everyone who has access to the Shared Contacts will see.

 

Is there any additional information I should know about?

For support, requests may be submitted anytime by Requesting Support for the Office 365 @ UA service. Support Requests are worked by Priority based on the Impact and Urgency of need as well as the order they are received by the IT Employees with the knowledge and permissions to assist with the request.

For immediate assistance please review the Contact IT page for ways to contact the appropriate support group.

Details

Details

Article ID: 106
Created
Thu 4/23/20 11:10 PM
Modified
Wed 7/27/22 1:28 PM

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