SharePoint – convert a News Post back to a standard Page

SharePoint – convert a News Post back to a standard Page

Why would you need to change a SharePoint News Post back to a SharePoint Page?

In our company intranet we have times where people create Pages and then take up SharePoint’s offer to Promote their Page by making it a News Post. While this sounds good – we don’t want every page becoming a News Post and appearing in various News Feeds across different Microsoft 365 apps.

In the Site Pages library, there is a Promoted State column. Depending on the value stored in this column, you can identify whether it is a site page or a news page. The relationship between the Promoted State value and page type is as follows.

 Promoted State and Page Type

        • 0            Site page
        • 1            News page not yet published
        • 2            News page

Once a page is created as news page, it cannot easily be demoted to a site page because the Promoted State column is read only.

Forget about creating views to show the Promoted State of a Page – doesn’t work, you cant edit the cell the promoted state is in.

I had to find a way to convert a SharePoint News Post back into a SharePoint Page.  It wasn’t easy. But I managed to get some help from one of the dozens of forums I went through trying to solve this.

 

Here’s how to set it up:

  1. Start by creating a new view in your SharePoint Site Pages library – base it on All Items and call it All News Posts
  2. In the view click Add column
  3. click Show or Hide columns
  4. choose Promoted State
  5. click Apply

 

 

Now format the Promoted State column so we can add the code to change the SharePoint News Post back to a standard SharePoint Page.

  • Hover of the heading of the Promoted State column
  • select Column Settings
  • select Format this column
  • on the formatting pane that opens select Advanced mode

Delete the default code displayed in the formatting box shown above and paste the code shown below there.

Select all the code shown below then Paste into the Advanced formatting box

{
"$schema": "https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/sp/v2/column-formatting.schema.json",
"elmType": "div",
"style": {
"flex-wrap": "wrap",
"display": "flex",
"flex-direction": "row"
},
"children": [
{
"elmType": "div",
"txtContent": "=if(@currentField == 0 ,'0 : Page' , if(@currentField == 1, '1 : News (Unpublished)' , if(@currentField == 2 , '2 : News','') ) )",
"style": {
"box-sizing": "border-box",
"padding": "4px 8px 5px 8px",
"display": "flex",
"border-radius": "16px",
"height": "27px",
"align-items": "center",
"white-space": "nowrap",
"overflow": "hidden",
"margin": "4px 4px 4px 4px",
"border": "1px solid"
},
"attributes": {
"class": "=if(@currentField == 0 ,'ms-fontColor-themePrimary ms-borderColor-themePrimary ms-bgColor-white' , if(@currentField == 1, 'ms-fontColor-themePrimary ms-borderColor-themePrimary ms-bgColor-themeLighter' , if(@currentField == 2 , 'ms-fontColor-white ms-borderColor-themePrimary ms-bgColor-themePrimary','') ) )"
}
},
{
"elmType": "div",
"style": {
"font-size": "18px",
"cursor": "pointer",
"padding": "10px",
"border-radius": "50%",
"display": "=if(@currentField == 0 , 'none' ,'')"
},
"attributes": {
"iconName": "MoreVertical",
"class": "ms-fontColor-themePrimary ms-bgColor-themeLighter--hover"
},
"customCardProps": {
"openOnEvent": "click",
"directionalHint": "rightCenter",
"isBeakVisible": true,
"formatter": {
"elmType": "div",
"txtContent": "Demote (Change to 0:Page)",
"style": {
"padding": "10px 20px 10px 20px",
"cursor": "pointer"
},
"attributes": {
"class": "ms-bgColor-themeLighter--hover"
},
"customRowAction": {
"action": "setValue",
"actionInput": {
"PromotedState": "0"
}
}
}
}
}
]
}

Now that you have a list view showing the Promoted State column filter it to show items with Promoted State of 1 or 2 so you can only see news Posts.

Simply click the more options dots next to the Promoted State and choose to Demote the Page to 0 – (Standard SharePoint Page)

Last step – Remember to Republish your page!

sharepoint news post convert to page

Thanks to Tetsuya Kawahara for the solution – Github

Minecraft: Education Edition – Void World

Minecraft: Education Edition – Void World

Hey if you’re looking for a Void World to use in Minecraft: Education Edition you can download one from here:

How to Import Minecraft Education Edition Void World into Minecraft:EE

 

1 – Download the Void World mcworld file and save on your computer

Download Void World for Minecraft Education Edition

 

2 – Open Minecraft: Education Edition and Click Play

minecraft education edition void world download free 1

 

 

3 – Click the Import button and browse your device, select the downloaded Void World, click OK

minecraft education edition void world download free

 

 

4 – Click View My Worlds to open the M:EE Void World in Minecraft Education Edition

minecraft education edition void world download free 1

Minecraft: Education Edition – How to Delete Custom Skins

Minecraft: Education Edition – How to Delete Custom Skins

Ok so here’s how to Delete a Skin you have added to Minecraft Education Edition.

  1. Open File Explorer and click the View tab and select the Hidden Items box
    how to delete skins from Minecraft education edition

  2. Then in File Explorer click – Local Disk (C:) – Users – [your username] – AppData – Roaming – Minecraft Education Edition – games – com.mojang – skin_packs ( for example my location is – C:\Users\csmythe\AppData\Roaming\Minecraft Education Edition\games\com.mojang\skin_packs)how to delete skins from Minecraft education edition file explorer
  3. Then simply right click the folder name for the Skin pack you want to Delete and Delete it, then Restart Minecraft Education Edition
    delete folder with skin pack minecraft education edition

 

Minecraft: Education Edition – What is it?

Minecraft: Education Edition – What is it?

Minecraft is an “open world” game where participants can mine resources and use them to craft things.  Minecraft: Education Edition, is a special version of the game designed for schools and available to staff and students using their Microsoft Office 365 logins.

Using Minecraft: Education Edition students can learn essential skills such as collaboration, creativity, problem solving and being a good digital citizen. Students can design and create their own simulations, scenarios and stories.

Minecraft: Education Edition offers special features for educators such as easy tutorials, classroom management tools, secure sign-in, classroom collaboration and tons of sample lessons, plus a global network of mentors and tech support. It is a well supported classroom resource.

Minecraft: Education Edition guide for teachers

Features of Minecraft – is it just a game?

Good teachers can create learning using anything. 12 months ago I saw Minecraft as a time filler. Just an online interactive space where students could build stuff from stuff.  Since finding out more about it I can see now how a teacher can use Minecraft to provide learning experiences which have students thinking creatively, strategically, engage in problem solving – and these things not necessarily from actually playing Minecraft.

Learn to Code – Code Builder is a feature in Minecraft that allows students to learn coding using tools including Code.org, Tynker, Scratch and Microsoft MakeCode. Students can use blocks of code or JavaScript to build and create in Minecraft. Minecraft Hour of Code also offers a free, one-hour introduction to coding basics.

It’s important to remember that you don’t need to be a Minecraft expert to get started. There is a fantastic course which I found really introduced me to Minecraft in the classroom and got me started with how to actually play the game. The more you get into it the more “play” seems like the wrong word, maybe “engage” would be more accurate!

The course I completed – My Minecraft Journey – is on the Microsoft Educator Centre. A source for all sorts of really great courses for educators.  My Minecraft Journey covers pedagogical, classroom management and game aspects – very helpful when getting started.

So what are some of the other features of Minecraft Education Edition?

Immersive reader – Immersive Reader is a Microsoft tool supporting learners in all Microsoft apps.  Immersive Reader supports learners in reading or translating in-game text, including character dialogue, settings and boards, with Minecraft-specific images added to the Picture Dictionary.

Chemistry Resource Pack Discover the building blocks of matter, combine elements into useful compounds and Minecraft items, and conduct amazing experiments with new lessons and a downloadable world.

Classroom Mode is a companion app for Minecraft: Education Edition that shows a high-level map view of the world, a list of all the students, the ability for a teacher to teleport students, and a chat window to communicate. Classroom Mode is provided for Educators who may want to observe student activity without being in the game, and is not needed for students to play.

Non-Player Characters An educator may create an NPC (Non-Player Character) to act as a guide for students in the game, giving instruction, providing more information, and also allowing educators to insert an active web link to additional references.

Cameras, Portfolio, and writable books An important aspect of teaching with Minecraft is being able to collect evidence of learning in the game, and being able to track student progression. The camera and portfolio features allows students to take screenshots of their work and document the development of their projects.

Chalkboards Creators can use chalkboards to communicate learning goals, provide additional information and give explicit instructions within the game. Chalkboards come in three different sizes – Slate (1×1), Poster (2×1), and Board (2×3).

Tutorial World For educators or students new to Minecraft, a tutorial world is available that will guide players on in-game navigation, crafting, and placing or breaking blocks.

Lessons Full lessons free for educators to download and use in their classroom. These lessons are available for the Education Edition only.

Secure multiplayer Enjoy multiplayer games with other users on your same Office 365 tenant, and easily join others worlds quickly and securely with pictorial “join codes”

Minecraft for educators
Minecraft: Education Edition – How to make a Star Wars Lightsaber

Minecraft: Education Edition – How to make a Star Wars Lightsaber

Who doesn’t want to play Minecraft: Education Edition without a lightsaber?!!

Are you using Minecraft’s Compound Creator?

There are a bunch of YouTube videos showing how to create a lightsaber in Minecraft: Education Edition, but I’ve found them too hard to follow and figured you would as well.

What we will go through is using Minecraft: Education Edition’s Compound Creator to craft a glow stick – which will have you looking like a genuine Jedi Knight (or Sith Lord!) with a lightsaber.

Here’s how to Create a Lightsaber in Minecraft: Education Edition

Step 1 -Add required Elements to your Inventory

Start by opening your Inventory (press the E key) and search for each of the following elements and add them to your Inventory by dragging and dropping them to a free square.

    • Carbon
    • Dye
    • Nitrogen
    • Hydrogen

 

minecraft education edition compound recipe lightsaber

Step 2 -Add a Compound Creator Block to your Inventory

Add to your Inventory the Compound Creator block. Search for this then drag this to an empty box in your inventory.

minecraft education edition compound recipe lightsaber

Step 3 – Place the Compound Creator block in your game

Place (right click) the Compound Creator block in your game and use the elements in your inventory to create the following three compounds by placing the required elements on the Compound Creator (drag then right click to add the required number of elements):

Polyethylene,     Hydrogen Peroxide,     Luminol

    1. Polyethylene – place 10 Carbon and 20 Hydrogen.  Drag the Polyethylene to your Inventory
    2. Hydrogen Peroxide – 2 Hydrogen and 2 Oxygen. Drag the Hydrogen Peroxide to your Inventory
    3. Luminol – 7 Hydrogen, 8 Carbon, 3 Nitrogen, 2 Oxygen. Drag the Luminol to your Inventory

 

Step 4 – Place a crafting Block in your game and use the following recipe to create your lightsaber

The recipe for a Lightsaber in Minecraft is:

  • Polyethylene on the 3 Left and 3 Right columns
  • Dye in the middle square
  • Luminol in the Bottom middle square
  • Hydrogen Peroxide in the top middle square

 

minecraft education edition compound recipe lightsaber

Close the Inventory and select the lightsaber – share a screenshot of your new skin with your friends at school but keep it a secret how you did it!!  😎