https://ali.id.au/blog/Occasional longer write-ups from Ali Robertson on fixes, investigations and things worth knowing in Microsoft and Windows land.en-auThu, 01 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +1000https://ali.id.au/blog/use-ai-as-a-classifier/https://ali.id.au/blog/use-ai-as-a-classifier/Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +1000Let it tag, route and extract. Don't let it rewrite or summarise for people.https://ali.id.au/blog/microsoft-365-or-google-workspace/https://ali.id.au/blog/microsoft-365-or-google-workspace/Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +1000Microsoft 365 for most organisations. Google, or a NAS, for a tiny firm that wants set-and-forget tools.https://ali.id.au/blog/reclaim-windows-10/https://ali.id.au/blog/reclaim-windows-10/Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +1100A personal PowerShell gist from 2016 that got a bit out of hand, and what still applies on Windows 11.https://ali.id.au/blog/back-up-every-dataverse-solution/https://ali.id.au/blog/back-up-every-dataverse-solution/Thu, 09 Oct 2025 09:00:00 +1100A short PowerShell script that exports every unmanaged solution in an environment and unzips each into a folder you can commit.https://ali.id.au/blog/should-you-use-sharepoint/https://ali.id.au/blog/should-you-use-sharepoint/Wed, 13 Aug 2025 09:00:00 +1000If you already pay for Microsoft 365, yes for documents and the intranet. No as a database, ERP, public website or custom app.https://ali.id.au/blog/buy-hardware-for-longevity/https://ali.id.au/blog/buy-hardware-for-longevity/Tue, 15 Jul 2025 09:00:00 +1000Pay a little more for the parts you can't change later, nothing for the parts you can add later, and look after the box.https://ali.id.au/blog/replacing-your-file-server-with-sharepoint/https://ali.id.au/blog/replacing-your-file-server-with-sharepoint/Wed, 18 Jun 2025 09:00:00 +1000Where things go, what to leave behind, how people reach their files and how to move them.https://ali.id.au/blog/dynamics-365-is-not-a-small-business-crm/https://ali.id.au/blog/dynamics-365-is-not-a-small-business-crm/Wed, 12 Feb 2025 09:00:00 +1100Under about 50 staff and 10 salespeople, use HubSpot.https://ali.id.au/blog/business-units-are-not-environments/https://ali.id.au/blog/business-units-are-not-environments/Wed, 04 Dec 2024 09:00:00 +1100Separate businesses, customers and apps with environments. Use business units only to model who sees what inside one.https://ali.id.au/blog/who-should-own-your-microsoft-365-tenant/https://ali.id.au/blog/who-should-own-your-microsoft-365-tenant/Wed, 18 Sep 2024 09:00:00 +1000Admin accounts, break-glass access, partners and billing, set up so the business holds the keys.https://ali.id.au/blog/boring-tech-wins/https://ali.id.au/blog/boring-tech-wins/Wed, 17 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +1100Mature, well-documented tools outlast the hype. Render on the server, reach for a library before a framework, and keep SharePoint customisation light.https://ali.id.au/blog/the-cloud-value-ladder/https://ali.id.au/blog/the-cloud-value-ladder/Wed, 23 Sep 2020 09:00:00 +1000Move identity and communications first, ERP and plain VMs last.https://ali.id.au/blog/sharepoint-2010-branding-in-hindsight/https://ali.id.au/blog/sharepoint-2010-branding-in-hindsight/Wed, 20 Nov 2019 09:00:00 +1100Nine gists from 2011 to 2013, what each one worked around, and what modern SharePoint does instead.https://ali.id.au/blog/intranets-fail-on-the-business-case/https://ali.id.au/blog/intranets-fail-on-the-business-case/Wed, 12 Sep 2018 09:00:00 +1000The technology is a minor implementation detail. Find out what the business is trying to change, then pick the tools.https://ali.id.au/blog/chrome-switcher/https://ali.id.au/blog/chrome-switcher/Tue, 02 Jun 2015 12:00:00 +1000Struggling with multiple logins? Chrome’s user accounts let you run separate instances, each with its own history, cookies and bookmarks for each client.https://ali.id.au/blog/office-365-developer-accounts-add-1-free-year-to-your-newexisting-account/https://ali.id.au/blog/office-365-developer-accounts-add-1-free-year-to-your-newexisting-account/Sun, 03 May 2015 12:00:00 +1000After Build 2015, Microsoft’s new Office Dev mailing list offered a free year of an Office 365 Developer account, and you can add it to an existing one.https://ali.id.au/blog/the-html-bit-library/https://ali.id.au/blog/the-html-bit-library/Sun, 07 Sep 2014 12:00:00 +1000A quick and dirty trick for injecting HTML, CSS and JS into SharePoint 2010 pages with .html.bit files and a Content Editor Web Part. You should not do this.https://ali.id.au/blog/another-look-at-enterprise-metro-microsoft-crm-codename-orion/https://ali.id.au/blog/another-look-at-enterprise-metro-microsoft-crm-codename-orion/Wed, 27 Mar 2013 01:41:44 +1100In the next Dynamics CRM user experience, codename Orion, the ribbon gives way to a command bar, and we’re seeing the ribbon hidden in Office too.https://ali.id.au/blog/chrome-quick-search-for-sharepoint/https://ali.id.au/blog/chrome-quick-search-for-sharepoint/Thu, 13 Dec 2012 01:06:12 +1100Chrome’s “tab to search” lets you search a site from the address bar, and it’s easy to set up for SharePoint with an OpenSearch description file.https://ali.id.au/blog/cloudshare-com-a-major-efficiency-boost-for-sharepoint-pros/https://ali.id.au/blog/cloudshare-com-a-major-efficiency-boost-for-sharepoint-pros/Fri, 23 Mar 2012 08:50:03 +1100For tinkering with SharePoint or CRM, CloudShare’s hosted, pre-configured dev and test environments are the easiest way to get started.