User Profiles

User Profiles in SharePoint are a critical feature that serve as a centralized repository of information about users in an organization. This functionality is part of the SharePoint Server and SharePoint Online environments.

1. Profile Properties: User Profiles consist of various properties that can include personal information, job title, office location, skills, and departmental affiliations. These properties can be default or custom-defined.

1. My Site: Each user has a personal site known as “My Site” (or OneDrive for Business in newer versions) where users can manage their profile information, upload documents, and establish connections with colleagues.

1. User Profile Synchronization: This feature allows for the automatic synchronization of user information from Active Directory or other systems into SharePoint User Profiles. This helps keep user data up to date without manual intervention.

1. People Search: User Profiles enhance the SharePoint People Search functionality, allowing users to find colleagues based on skills, expertise, and other profile attributes.

1. Custom Properties: Administrators can create custom profile properties to capture specific information relevant to the organization.

1. Manager and Organization Hierarchy: User Profiles can represent organizational structure, showing direct reports and hierarchical relationships.

1. Social Features: Integrates with social tools in SharePoint, enabling collaboration and connection through shared information.

1. Audience Targeting: User Profiles can be used to target content based on user attributes, allowing for personalized experiences and communications.

1. User Profile Service Application (UPA) is the central service in SharePoint for managing user profiles.
2. Administrators can configure synchronization settings, manage profile properties, and control visibility of information.

User Profiles in SharePoint play a vital role in enabling collaboration, enhancing user engagement, and ensuring that information about individuals in the organization is easily accessible and properly managed.

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