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Microsoft 365

Enabling Microsoft Loop

Enabling Microsoft Loop
Image by Microsoft

Microsoft released the Microsoft Loop app on March 22rd, 2023 as Public Preview. Simply visit loop.microsoft.com and sign in to try the new experience. However, as it is still in preview and not feature complete (e.g. no eDiscovery support), to try it in your tenant, you have to enable it manually.

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To enable the Microsoft Loop app, you'll need the Office Apps Administrator role. To also enable Loop components in Microsoft Teams, you'll also need the SharePoint Administrator role. So PIM now to avoid the wait later!
The new Loop app is disabled by default

Enabling the Microsoft Loop app

Access to the Microsoft loop app and loop components in other M365 apps (Outlook, Word, Whiteboard) is controlled via office policies, also called Microsoft 365 Cloud Policies. Access to Loop components in Microsoft Teams is configured using the SharePoint PowerShell module. Let's start with enabling the Loop app.

Office policies are managed in the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center.

The Microsoft 365 Apps admin center

Navigate to the Policy configurations by clicking on Go to Microsoft 365 Cloud Policy. We are going to create a new policy to specifically enable Microsoft Loop for a specific user group. Click + Create.

All configured office policies in Microsoft 365 Apps admin center

I like descriptive policy names. Consider that you might have an organizational naming scheme. Optionally, add a description. Click Next.

Creating a new office policy in Microsoft 365 Apps admin center

Leave the scope on This policy configuration applies to users in the specified group. Then select a security group with the users which you want to enable Microsoft Loop for. Optionally, create a new one. Click Next.

Configuring the scope of the new office policy in Microsoft 365 Apps admin center

Use the search term 'loop' to find all Microsoft Loop related settings.

If you only want to enable the Microsoft Loop app, only configure the policy Create and view Loop files in Loop to Enabled.

If you also want to enable the Loop components in Outlook, Word for the web and Microsoft Whiteboard, also configure the following policies:

  • Create and view Loop files in Microsoft apps that support Loop to Enabled
  • Create and view Loop files in Outlook to Enabled
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I recommend enabling Loop everywhere, including Microsoft Teams (as described below) to properly try Microsoft Loop as its main idea is collaboration on everything, everywhere, in real time, regardless of the app the user is using to access the data in Loop.

Click Next.

Configuring the policy settings of the new office policy in Microsoft 365 Apps admin center

Review the new policy and click Create.

Review the new office policy in Microsoft 365 Apps admin center

If you have conflicting policy settings in other office policies, you might want to reorder the priorities to make sure your new config takes effect.

View or reorder your new office policy in Microsoft 365 Apps admin center

After about 30 minutes, the new policy should be applied and your users should have access to the new Loop app.

Get started with the new Microsoft Loop app

Enable Loop components in Microsoft Teams

To enable Loop components in Microsoft Teams, you need to configure your SharePoint tenant as all loop components are stored in the creator's personal OneDrive for Business site. The configuration is currently only possible using the SharePoint PowerShell module.

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Keep in mind that the following configuration will enable Loop components in Microsoft Teams for all users in your tenant.

To install the SharePoint PowerShell module, run the following command:

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

For more details about installation types, check the documentation here. After installation, you need to connect to your SharePoint tenant.

Connect-SPOService -Url https://[your-tenant-name]-admin.sharepoint.com

After connecting successfully, to enable Loop components, you need to execute the following command:

Set-SPOTenant -IsLoopEnabled $true

To check if Loop components are already enabled, you can execute the following:

Get-SPOTenant | Select IsLoopEnabled

After configuring, you should properly disconnect from your SharePoint tenant:

Disconnect-SPOService

That's it. Happy looping! ↬

Sources

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