Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Josh French
Josh French
  • Updated

This article compiles common questions and answers related to 4th Court and Microsoft Teams. Refer to it whenever you or your team need a quick clarification.

Q1. Can I give access to someone outside St John’s College?

4th Court (SharePoint):

    • No. Only staff, students, and fellows with College credentials can access 4th Court sites.

Microsoft Teams Shared Channels:

    • Yes. If the external person has a valid University account, you can add them to a Shared Channel without granting full Team membership.

Q2. Who can post to 4th Court’s homepage?

  • Only members of the Communications team have permission to edit the global homepage.

  • Department Editors can edit only their own department’s site.

Q3. How do I know which departmental hub my site belongs to?

On the 4th Court homepage, look for the three labelled hubs:

    1. Working

    2. Living

    3. Academic Life

Each department tile appears under one of these hubs. If you’re unsure, check with your department’s SharePoint Editor.

Q4. Can I restrict a SharePoint page so that only certain Fellows or Staff see it?

Yes. When editing a page or a News post:

    1. Enable Audience Targeting on the News or Page web part.

    2. Select the appropriate audience group (Staff, Fellows, Students, or any combination).

    3. Only members of that group will see the targeted content.

Q5. Who can create new Teams channels?

  • Standard Channels:

    • By default, any Team Owner or any Team Member (if channel creation isn’t restricted by the Owner).

  • Private Channels:

    • Only Team Owners (or members elevated by the Owner) can create.

    • IT are set to be the Team Owners for the 4th Court Teams, you'll need to contact 

  • Shared Channels:

    • Only the IT team can create.

    • To request a Shared Channel, email the IT Helpdesk with your use case.

Q6. How do I request SharePoint Editor access for my department?

  1. Email the Communications Team at 4thcourt@joh.cam.ac.uk.

  2. Subject: “Request for 4th Court Editor Access.”

  3. Body:

    • Your full name and role.

    • Department name.

    • Brief reason (e.g., “I will maintain our department’s news and document libraries, ensuring content stays up to date”).

  4. Wait for Confirmation: Communications will grant Editor permissions and notify you by email.

Q7. What do I do if my News post doesn’t display or “Publish” is disabled?

  • Permissions Check: Ensure you have Editor rights on your department’s site.

  • Required Fields: Confirm that you’ve entered a title, body text, and at least one image or text block.

  • Expiration Date: If you set an expiration date, verify it is in the future.

  • Audience Targeting: If targeting is enabled, ensure the targeted group exists and you have permission to target it.

If the issue persists, contact Communications using 4thcourt@joh.cam.ac.uk.

Q8. How do I restore a previous version of a page or document?

  1. Navigate to the page or document library.

  2. Click the ellipsis (…) next to the file or page name.

  3. Select “Version History.”

  4. Choose the version you want to restore and click “Restore.”

Q9. How do I remove someone who has left College from my Team or Shared Channel?

Contact Communications using 4thcourt@joh.cam.ac.uk.

Q10. Whom do I contact for help?