2. How to monitor user activity for a specific file on a SharePoint site?
Tracking user activity for specific files on a SharePoint Online site is crucial for maintaining data integrity and preventing unauthorized access. By monitoring file access, modifications, and deletions, you can identify responsible individuals and take timely action to protect your valuable data.
You can monitor user activity for a particular file using the methods below.
- Open your SharePoint Online site and go to the document library where the file is stored.
- Click on the ellipsis (...) next to the file name and select Version history.
- Tap the drop-down in the date & time field, and then select View.
- This displays all users who edited the file, along with the date/time of each edit and the changes made.
Stay informed about every action taken on your important SharePoint Online files with AdminDroid!
- The SharePoint File/Folder Access report from AdminDroid helps you view all the activities performed by the users on the SharePoint Online files and folders.
- This report includes the user's name, department, job title, activity time, file/folder name, and operation performed, which can help you detect if any unintended users are accessing sensitive files.
Handy Tip: Use the Target File filter to view user activities for a specific file.
5. How to track who has viewed or accessed SharePoint Online pages?
For teams working on collaborative projects, it’s important to ensure that all members are actively engaging with the shared content. By tracking page access, you can monitor team involvement and take steps to ensure that all team members are actively participating and viewing important content.
Understand standard metrics of SPO page views
By default, SharePoint does not display detailed metrics on who accessed or viewed SharePoint Online pages. To view page visitor information, you must activate a specific site-level feature, which requires Site Owner permissions.
- Navigate to the desired SharePoint Online site.
- Go to Settings»Site information»View all site settings»Site Actions and select Manage Site Features.
- Locate SharePoint Viewers and click Activate.
To track who has viewed pages on your SharePoint Online site, follow the steps below.
- Go to the Pages tab of your SharePoint site.
- Right-click on a page file and select Details to view visitors and their access information.
- Alternatively, you can use "Site usage" under Site contents or the "Analytics" option available on the page to see the views and viewers count.
Bring all SharePoint Online page view activities to light in one place with AdminDroid!
- Use the Viewed SharePoint Pages report from AdminDroid to track and monitor all page view activities on SharePoint Online.
- This report simplifies page interaction management and analysis by providing a centralized overview, eliminating the need to navigate individual sites for viewer details.
6. How to audit file usage statistics by users in SharePoint online?
In today's digital age, where data breaches are commonplace, protecting your SharePoint Online files is paramount. Auditing who accesses, modifies, and shares these files adds a crucial layer of security. Therefore, tracking these activities helps prevent unauthorized access and ensures the integrity of your sensitive information.
With the help of the Get-MgReportSharePointActivityUserDetail PowerShell cmdlet, you can get the aggregated information on SharePoint users’ activity. But it doesn't offer in-depth details like a file name, name of the activity performed, user’s IP address, file location, site URL, etc.
Overlooking SharePoint Online user’s activity logs can result in missing critical indicators such as file deletions, modifications, or access patterns, which may indicate accidental or intentional data loss.
Here is a quick glimpse!
- Microsoft Purview compliance portal: It explains how to use the Purview compliance portal to audit SharePoint Online file activities by users and details on file usage.
- PowerShell Script: It provides the script for generating reports on SharePoint Online users’ file usage details with customization capabilities.
- AdminDroid SharePoint Online Reporter: A simple report on SharePoint file usage from AdminDroid enables you to quickly act on managing user interactions with files. It offers automated reporting features and visual analytics focusing solely on important file usage activities.