Why we are changing Samepage
The Samepage team is always working hard to improve our product, whether through feature releases or behind the scene improvements to our app’s architecture and functioning. This time, however, it was a change to the user interface. You might be asking why we needed to change the UI, and the reason is that too many people from our community found Teams hard to use and hard to navigate.
We listened to you. We made changes that will elevate your experience and make you feel great about using the Samepage to support your work and get more done.
To prepare for the update, make sure to read through the following sections carefully.
What is the new Samepage experience?
New Samepage experience is all about making things easier to use while getting more done. We completely redesigned how we structure content in Samepage. The new Samepage experience organizes everything into folders. This way, you can create rich hierarchies that not only share permissions from top to bottom, but you can also expand them as you go deeper.
We also simplified the navigation to make it easier for you to reach your favorite places, have a quick chat or call without leaving the document you’re working on, and create even more content with our new document types. The new Document agenda will contextualize your tasks and events to make your smaller projects work more smoothly.
Take a quick look into what the new Samepage experience looks like.
Things that change with new Samepage
Teams are updated to Folders
Your current teams will be updated into Folders, and team members will get appropriate folder access rights.
Paid organizations
- Team owner is updated to Folder Manager
- Team member is updated to Full Editor
- Guest is updated to Guest Full Editor
Free organization
- Both team owners and members are updated to Folder Managers
Sub-teams become subfolder where possible
If the sub-team membership is the same or larger than the parent team membership, the team will be updated to a sub-folder within the parent folder. If the sub-team membership is more restricted or different than the parent team membership, the team will be updated to a top level parent folder in the organization’s Workspace.
Archived Teams become visible
Archive Teams will be listed as regular folders. There’s no such thing as an archived folder. If you want to move such a folder out of sight, we recommend creating an “Archive” folder where you can move such folders.
Everyone Team becomes a top level parent folder
If you had the Everyone team visible or had any content there, it will be updated into a top level parent folder among other folders in the organization’s Workspace.
Team Files
If you have files in team files, a subfolder titled “Team Files” is created in the parent folder that was created for that Team, and all your files are moved there. Your files will also become File Documents for Microsoft documents and PDFs.
Team Files Synchronization no longer available
During the update, all files synchronized to your computer are removed from your hard drive and will be kept only on Samepage. File synchronization is no longer available in the new Samepage experience. The OpenIn functionality for direct file editing of MS Office files is preserved.
Team Tasks Changes
If you have the Team Task list then Tasks created directly in team task list are moved into a Task Board document. The Task Board document is switched to a List View, but you can switch it to whatever view you like. To see all tasks inside of a folder, you can create a Task Report document.
Team Calendar Changes
Events created directly in the Team Calendar are moved into a Calendar document inside the parent folder that was created for that Team. You can no longer view task deadlines in the Calendar Document. This functionality is available only for tasks and events assigned to you which are visible in your My Agenda area.
If you were previously subscribed to the team calendar, you need to subscribe to the new Calendar document as the original subscription link stops working.
Team Chat Changes
Messages from the team chat are moved into the Discussion document inside the parent folder that was created for that Team. If you had any Zapier connection enabled on the team chat, you need to reconnect with the new Discussion document and the new Zap for the Folders environment.
Team Page Templates
Page Templates are not available in the new Samepage experience. If you currently use templates we recommend that you create a page for each template you have and store them in a private Team. During the update this private Team will be converted to a Folder and all of the templates pages will be updated as well. In Folders you can use the Copy to or Duplicate and Move to features to make a copy of the template and use it in a Folder.
Page Tasks and Events Updated to Page Agenda
Page Agenda is a new way to manage in-place tasks and events that works with the Pages, Sheets, Mindmaps, and Files. All tasks and events on the page will be accessible through the Page Agenda. The page content will contain read-only references to the tasks and events that were previously on the page so we don’t change the flow of the content on your pages.
Zapier Connection Reset
All Zapier connection to your Samepage organization will stop working. You will need to manually update and reconnect them in Zapier.
Main navigation changes
The main navigation was redesigned to make the things that matter to you the most more accessible. You can see your most recent chats directly in the left panel and you can also add documents and folders into your favorites.
To Review removed
To Review is replaced with the introduction of Favorites. You can now favorite any folder or document, and it will be easily accessible to you in the main navigation.
Shared Pages is No Longer a Separate Tab
Shared pages are now accessible through the organization’s Workspace. You will see them in the Folder context where they belong while the rest of the folder content remains hidden and private.
Chat Tab is Part of the Main Navigation
Your recent chats are listed directly in the main navigation in the app. We also introduced small chat windows so you can easily view multiple conversations at the same time.
My Tasks and My Calendar
My Tasks and My Calendar are now part of My Agenda screen. In My Agenda, you will also receive all task and event reminders going forward. The existing stream of task and event updates will not be accessible in the new Samepage experience.
Custom task reports will not be preserved. But with the introduction of the Task Report document, you can create reports anywhere and share them with other organization members.
Changes to audio and video calling
Audio and Video calling is no longer bound to a particular document or team. Therefore any call is considered private, and only invited people can join the call. It works well together with the auto-call feature on events, where a call automatically starts on the event start time, and all event attendees receive the ringing notification.
Trash Limitations
While many items from the teams’ environment trash will be moved over to the folder environment’s trash, there are some exceptions. The trash items are not updated, and only items compatible with the folder environment can be restored once the update is completed. So all deleted teams, for example, will not be accessible in the folder environment trash.
The Update is Clearing Inbox and Recent Places Caches
The update cannot preserve your notifications in the Inbox nor can it retain your list of most recently viewed places. . Be sure to clear your Inbox prior to the update so you manage those notifications before updating. After the update, your Inbox will soon be updated with new conversations and your recently viewed places will begin to populate as you start accessing your content in the new Folder environment.
What Will Happen Once the Update Starts
Before you update, we recommend you give notice to your members and guests and let them know what changes to expect.
Once the update starts, all members and guests of the organization will be logged out of Samepage. They will be unable to log in while the update is in progress. As soon as the update completes, we will send you an email, and everyone can log back in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Only organization admin can perform the update. Once the update starts all organization members and guests are logged out and need to log in once the update is complete.
Feel free to share this article with your organization so everyone is aware of the change.
