This morning, while attempting to set up a virtual machine in my lab environment, I encountered an error while attempting to install the MSOnline module–the NuGet and PowerShellGet components were not already installed. Easy enough–the installation procedure prompts to install them anyway, so just hit yes, right?… [ Continue reading ]
Announcing the End of a Script with a PowerShell Music!
This week, I was testing something for a customer that required me to check back on a data replication/sync task. The fun part about continuously checking on something is that I’m human and I will eventually forget (or get bored and just stop doing it). … [ Continue reading ]
Using the Bing Maps Actions in Power Automate
Heyo!
I’m working on a project that needs geocoding and decided to see what Power Automate actions are available to me. Sure, I could construct an HTTP REST call to a service, but maybe there’s any easier way?
Enter the Bing Maps connector.… [ Continue reading ]
Available for Pre-Order: SharePoint Server Admin Book!
What a crazy year it has been! This week, I sent off the final drafts for my fifth book published this calendar year.

This hefty book (600+ pages) covers installation and configuration of the SharePoint server platform. Some of the highlights include:
- Designing for performance
- MinRole and custom server role deployments
- Business Connectivity Services walk-throughs
- Detailed deployment of the Power Platform On-Premises Data Gateway
- Using Power Automate with a Data Gateway to interact with SharePoint Server
- Walkthroughs of all the options in the Hybrid Picker / Hybrid Wizard
- Examples of using migration tools to get to SharePoint Online
You can quickly pre-order it on Amazon now!… [ Continue reading ]
Power Automate’s Sweet Spot
We all end up doing a lot of work that we don’t need to do. That’s not to say that it doesn’t need to be done–it might be a critical operation that needs to be performed, but does it need to be done by you?… [ Continue reading ]
Available for Pre-Order: Workflow Automation with Microsoft Power Automate
If you’re wondering (or even if you’re not) why I’ve been quiet on my blog lately, it’s because I’ve been furiously working trying to finish up a new book: Workflow Automation with Microsoft Power Automate.

This is a 100-level book is targeted to users new to Microsoft Power Automate and the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.… [ Continue reading ]
The MS-301 Exam Prep Guide is available for order!
It’s officially available for ordering. Woo!

You can order it at all the usual places, including Amazon and Packt!
If you’re preparing to take the exam, you can get started immediately with the electronic copies. I’ve managed to get a few teaser chapters so you can see what you’re in for.… [ Continue reading ]
AAD Connect Phone/Fax Mappings
Yesterday, while working with my colleague Michael Anderson, I needed to investigate where a particular on-premises value was being synced in AAD. The result is this table:
| AD Property | Get-MsolUser | Get-AzureADUser | Get-User | Get-CSOnlineUser | |
| Friendly name | ldapDisplayName | ||||
| Telephone number | telephoneNumber | PhoneNumber | TelephoneNumber | Phone | Phone |
| Pager | pager | – | – | Pager | – |
| Mobile | mobile | MobilePhone | – | Fax | MobilePhone |
| Fax | facsimileTelephoneNumber | Fax | FacsimileTelephoneNumber | Fax | Fax |
| IP Phone | ipPhone | – | – | – | IPPhone |
| Home | homePhone | – | – | HomePhone | HomePhone |
| {otherMobile} | {AlternateMobilePhones} | – | – | – | |
| {otherIpPhone} | – | – | – | – | |
| {otherHomePhone} | – | – | {OtherHomePhone} | – | |
| {otherFacsimileTelphoneNumber} | – | – | {OtherFax} | – | |
| {otherPager} | – | – | – | – | |
| {otherTelephone} | – | – | {OtherTelephone} | {OtherTelephone} | |
It’s important to note that values displayed in braces { } are multivalued attributes, so if there’s something stored in one on-premises that you need or want to map to a a different attribute in Azure AD, you’ll need to either map it to another multivalued attribute or extract the value so you can write it to a single-valued string attribute. … [ Continue reading ]
MS-301 is Off to the Press!
At long last! I’m super stoked to announce that I just approved the cover artwork for my upcoming MS-301 certification prep book. It’s all done but the crying!

Speaking of crying, there is a bit of sadness–we (somewhat unexpectedly, to me) announced the retirement of the MS-301 exam last month. … [ Continue reading ]
PowerShell OAuth Authentication Two Ways
This past week, I’ve been heads down working on an application to take inbound data from one application that doesn’t have a webhook or API available and query a Dynamics 365 instance.
In order to query Dynamics 365 (or any Azure/Microsoft 365 service, to be honest) successfully, you’ll need to work with OAuth. … [ Continue reading ]
Every last msExchRecipientDisplayType and msExchRecipientTypeDetails value
Or at least, every last one that I know.
Over the years, I’ve amassed quite a collection of these. Yesterday, I was helping out a colleague determine what a particular value meant and referenced a spreadsheet that I’ve been maintaining for my own purposes.… [ Continue reading ]
Using a Group Managed Service Account (gMSA) with a Power Platform Data Gateway
This week, I needed to figure out how to use a group Managed Service Account for an on-premises data gateway cluster. Our documentation says you can do it, but the traditional methods for using a gMSA (i.e., enter the user account and leave the password field blank) don’t work with our documentation for the app (currently here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/data-integration/gateway/service-gateway-service-account… [ Continue reading ]
Removing Password Protection on a PST
This issue comes up from time to time:
- You configure a password on a PST.
- You save your PST to a network share.
- You lose connectivity to the PST and it gets saved in an inconsistent state and is now inaccessible.
Create Teams meeting invite to allow recipients to join via web automatically
Here’s a quick tip:
For organizations that may not have rolled out the Teams client yet and may want recipients to one-click join meetings without having to interact with this page:

There’s a way. It takes a little bit of work when scheduling your meeting, but it can be done.… [ Continue reading ]
Configure Teams to Co-exist with Google Workspace
With the rise of remote work over the past several weeks (now turned months and years), I’ve engaged with many customers who want to use Microsoft Teams to as part of their work-from-home tool set. Many of my customers have investments in both Microsoft Office 365 as well as Google G Suite Workspace or Google Apps (frequently with other third-party IdP, metadirectory, and federation services thrown in the mix), so it’s not always just as easy as “flipping a switch.”… [ Continue reading ]
