Don’t forget the date October 22, 2018. This is the date when Microsoft announced vision, strategy, timeline, and investment areas for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2019 at Microsoft Ignite.
Microsoft announced general availability of SharePoint Server 2019 and Project Server 2019. SharePoint Server 2019 represents new generation of SharePoint. It was born in cloud and provides ease of use delivered in SharePoint Online. SharePoint Server 2019 is built upon same core platform of SharePoint Server 2016.
Table of Contents
What’s in SharePoint Server 2019
Access Services 2013 now supports Send Email
The Access Services 2013 service application now supports the SendEmail action for sending email messages from apps
Additional documentation links for Central Administration site
To provide more help for farm administrators, SharePoint Server 2019 has provided additional documentation support. You can add links to Public Updates in the SharePoint Central Administration homepage.
Communication sites
Communication sites are a place to share news, showcase a story, or broadcast a message to other people. Hero web part can display up to five items with compelling images, text, and links to draw attention to your most important content. Users can easily create communication sites for themselves from SharePoint Home.
Fast site creation
Fast site creation in SharePoint Server 2019 allows users create new sites in a few seconds. But it supports below mentioned site templates:
- OneDrive personal site [SPSPERS#10]
- Team site (modern only) [STS#3]
- Communication site [SITEPAGEPUBLISHING#0]
Fast site creation is used when creating sites in the following entry points:
- OneDrive personal site auto-provisioning
- The Create Site button in SharePoint Home
- The New-SPSite PowerShell cmdlet with the -CreateFromSiteMaster switch parameter#
Increased storage file size in SharePoint document libraries
You can now store files up to 15 GB in SharePoint document libraries. This is up from 10 GB in SharePoint Server 2016.
Modern lists and libraries
SharePoint Server 2019 contains the modern experiences for lists and libraries in Team sites. This brings the experience up to date with that found in SharePoint Online.
Modern sharing experiences
You can now easily share links to content with others in your organization. You can also be warned if you’re sharing to a large group or sharing a large number of items.
Modern Site Pages, modern web parts and authoring
SharePoint Server 2019 users can now add modern site pages and modern web parts on team sites. Do this in the Add a Page in Site Actions or in the pages library by clicking New > Site Page.
Modern search experience
SharePoint Server 2019 offers a modern search experience in addition to the classic one.
In the modern search experience, the most visible difference for users is that they see results before they start typing in the search box, and the results update as they type.
Modern Team sites
Modern team sites bring a fresh and responsive user experience to team collaboration. The redesigned homepage improves the discoverability of the most common collaboration tasks while putting your team’s news front and center. Users can easily create modern team sites for themselves from SharePoint Home without needing to contact IT.
SharePoint Server 2019 will continue to support creating classic team sites.
SharePoint using modern Internet Information Services (IIS) APIs
SharePoint has modernized its integration with IIS by removing all of our dependencies on the legacy IIS6 APIs. SharePoint now uses the IIS7+ APIs to manage IIS, which are the latest and best supported APIs from the IIS team. This allows us to more easily adopt new IIS features and stay compatible with future Windows Server releases.
SharePoint home page
The SharePoint home page is a modern UI experience that gives users unified access to all of their sites—online and on-premises. It allows users to navigate seamlessly through their intranet, catch up with activity across their sites with just a glance, and provides a personalized view of all team news.
From the SharePoint home page, you can create sites in different web applications
The self-service site creation experience in the SharePoint home page now supports creating new sites in a different web application, regardless of whether the web application is hosted on the local farm or a remote farm.
To create sites in the same web application, select this web application.
To create sites in a different web application on the local farm, select The following web application and then select the web application from the drop-down field. Ensure self-service site creation is enabled in the target web application.
To create sites in a different web application on a remote farm, follow these steps:
- In the local farm hosting the SharePoint home page, use the Map to External Resource feature in Alternate Access Mappings (AAM) to provide the URL of the web application you want to create sites in.
- In the local farm hosting the SharePoint home page, on the Self-service Site Collection Management page for the web application hosting the SharePoint home page, select The following web application, and then select the remote web application from the drop-down field.
- In the remote farm, use the Map to External Resource feature in Alternate Access Mappings (AAM) to provide the URL of the web application hosting the SharePoint home page.
- In the remote farm, on the Self-service Site Collection Management page for the web application you want to create the sites in, ensure self-service site creation is enabled.
Self-service site creation on the SharePoint home page now supports AAM zones
The self-service site creation experience on the SharePoint home page now fully supports non-Default Alternate Access Mapping (AAM) zones. When creating sites in a different web application on a remote farm, make sure that an external resource has been created in AAM on both the local farm and the remote farm. This applies to sites created in the same web application, sites created in a different web application on the local farm, and sites created in a different web application on a remote farm.
SMTP authentication when sending emails
SharePoint Server 2019 now supports authenticating to SMTP servers when sending email messages. Authentication can be configured through the Central Administration website and through PowerShell. SharePoint Server 2019 will still support anonymous connections to SMTP servers that don’t require authentication. This makes it easier for customers to integrate SharePoint into highly secure environments where authentication is required to send emails. Customers no longer need to configure smart host relays for SharePoint in these environments.
Sync files with OneDrive sync client (NGSC)
Users can use the new OneDrive sync client (NGSC – Next Generation Sync Client) instead of Groove.exe to sync files in your SharePoint Server 2019 team sites and personal sites with your devices. The OneDrive sync client supports advanced features such as Files On-Demand, push notification, and IRM protection, while still being easy to use.
Use of # and % characters in file and folder names
SharePoint Server 2019 now supports # and % characters in file and folder names, completing our support for all valid Windows file and folder name characters. This makes it easier to sync to content from personal storage devices to SharePoint.
Detailed description of new Microsoft PowerShell SharePoint Server cmdlets
New User Profile Synchronization PowerShell cmdlets
The “stsadm.exe -o sync” command has been converted into several PowerShell cmdlets:
- Get-SPContentDatabase – You can now use the Get-SPContentDatabase cmdlet with the optional parameter -DaysSinceLastProfileSync to return content databases that haven’t been synchronized with User Profile for the past n days.
- Clear-SPContentDatabaseSyncData – The new Clear-SPContentDatabaseSyncData cmdlet clears User Profile synchronization information from the content databases in the farm that haven’t been synchronized for the past n days.
- Update-SPProfileSync – The new Update-SPProfileSync cmdlet updates the User Profile synchronization settings to specify the main synchronization schedule, the sweep schedule to identify new users, and which web applications should be excluded from synchronization.
The “stsadm.exe -o sync” command will still be supported for backward compatibility.
New Get-SPContentDatabaseOrphanedData PowerShell cmdlet
The “stsadm.exe -o enumallwebs” command has been converted into a PowerShell cmdlet. You can now use the new Get-SPContentDatabaseOrphanedData cmdlet to find orphaned objects within a content database. The “stsadm.exe -o enumallwebs” command will still be supported for backward compatibility.
New Set-SPApplicationCredentialKey PowerShell cmdlet
The “stsadm.exe -o setapppassword” command has been converted into a PowerShell cmdlet. You can now use the new Set-SPApplicationCredentialKey cmdlet to set the application credential key on the local server for the SharePoint People Picker and SMTP authentication. The “stsadm.exe -o setapppassword” command will still be supported for backward compatibility.
New Remove-SPApplicationCredentialKey PowerShell cmdlet
The new Remove-SPApplicationCredentialKey cmdlet allows you to remove the application credential key from the local server. The impact level of this cmdlet is set to high, as removing the application credential key from the local server may degrade or block the functionality of features if they’re configured to use the application credential key. For example, the SharePoint People Picker or SMTP authentication.
Detailed description of new SharePoint Health Analyzer rules
People Picker health rule
SharePoint has added a new health analyzer rule for the People Picker. This health analyzer rule detects if servers in the farm are missing the encryption key needed to retrieve People Picker credentials, such as when the People Picker is configured to search for users in another forest or domain with a one-way trust to the SharePoint farm’s domain. If so, it will notify the SharePoint farm administrator so that they can correct the problem.
SMTP authentication health rule
SharePoint has added a new health analyzer rule for SMTP authentication. This health analyzer rule detects if servers in the farm are missing the encryption key needed to retrieve the credentials for authentication. If so, it will notify the SharePoint farm administrator so that they can correct the problem.
Detailed description of improved features
Distributed Cache now uses background garbage collection by default
Distributed Cache will now configure AppFabric Velocity Cache to use background garbage collection. This helps provide a more reliable experience for features that depend on Distributed Cache.
File path limit of 400 characters
SharePoint Server 2019 has increased the maximum file path length limit from 260 characters to 400 characters. The file path is everything after the server name and port number in the URL. File path includes the name of the site and subsites, document library, folders, and the file itself. This file path length limit increase makes it easier to sync deeply nested content from personal storage devices to SharePoint.
Hybrid experiences improvements
- The “OneDrive by Default” experience for SharePoint Server 2013 is now available in SharePoint Server 2019. When enabled, any attempt to browse to the My Site Host welcome page will be redirected to Office 365.
- A SharePoint hybrid status bar was added to the top of Central Administration. The hybrid status bar will appear once the SharePoint Server 2019 farm meets the minimum system requirements needed to enable hybrid, and will give you direct access to launch the SharePoint Hybrid Configuration Wizard.
- We’ve added and updated hybrid links throughout Central Administration to launch the SharePoint Hybrid Configuration Wizard. This lets you skip clicking through multiple pages in the SharePoint Online Admin Center just to get to the SharePoint Hybrid Configuration Wizard.
Recycle Bin restore improvements
SharePoint Server 2019 users can now restore items that they’ve deleted themselves, and also items that other users in the site have deleted. Users need edit permission on the deleted items so they’re visible in their SharePoint recycle bin.
Sharing email template
Sharing email notifications have been refreshed to use a modern template design. Customers can set the SPWebApplication.SharingEmailUseSharePoint2016Templates property to true if they want to continue using the previous sharing email template.
Suite Navigation and App Launcher improvements
We’ve refreshed Suite Navigation and App Launcher in SharePoint Server 2019. The user interface now is closely aligned with what is seen in Office 365 so that SharePoint hybrid customers will have a seamless experience as they move between SharePoint Server 2019 and SharePoint Online.
Telemetry privacy experience
SharePoint Server 2019 now has an updated telemetry management experience. When you first set up a farm or browse to the SharePoint privacy settings page in Central Administration, you can now provide an email address for the telemetry contact of your organization. This is in anticipation of future telemetry reporting capabilities that will allow customers to associate SharePoint Server and OneDrive Sync Client telemetry with their hybrid tenancy.
The email address provided is not sent outside of the SharePoint farm, not even to Microsoft. It is used in combination with other farm data to generate a unique hash value to represent your farm when uploading telemetry data to Microsoft. When customers want to associate telemetry with their hybrid tenancy, this email address will be part of the process to prove ownership of the telemetry data.
Customers can opt in and opt out of the telemetry experience at any time.
Visio Services accessibility
Visio Services is introducing several accessibility improvements for high contrast displays, keyboard navigation, and Narrator. Users will be able to access different panes with the following shortcuts:
- Move focus to Comment pane = Alt + R
- Move focus to Shape data pane = Alt + S
- Move focus to Canvas = Alt + C
What’s deprecated or removed from SharePoint Server 2019
Deprecated features are included in SharePoint Server 2019 for backward compatibility but customers are recommended to explore new features as potential alternatives.
Access Services 2010
Access Services 2010 will remain supported, but deprecated, for the SharePoint Server 2019 release. Customers are recommended to explore Microsoft PowerApps and Flows as potential alternatives to Access Services 2010.
Access Services 2013
Access Services 2013 will remain supported, but deprecated, for the SharePoint Server 2019 release. Customers are recommended to explore Microsoft PowerApps and Flows as potential alternatives to Access Services 2013.
Aggregated Newsfeed
The aggregated newsfeed feature (available at newsfeed.aspx and typically accessed via the Newsfeed tile on the app launcher), will be set to read-only in SharePoint Server 2019. Both the tile in the app launcher and the option to implement the newsfeed capability will also be removed from this version forward. For customers who are currently using the aggregated newsfeed, we recommend considering options such as Team News, Communication Sites, Yammer and/or Teams. Please note that the Site Feed feature on an individual site is not impacted and will continue to be supported across all versions of the product.
Custom Help
To ensure that users receive highly relevant help content, Microsoft is moving from away from our legacy on-premises SharePoint help engine, which is based on help collections being installed in the on-prem farm. The new SharePoint help system is now rendered in the cloud and will have updated, synchronized content with Office 365. Custom help based on the legacy SharePoint help engine will remain supported, but deprecated, for the SharePoint Server 2019 release.
Groove Sync Client
The Groove sync client is our client for syncing documents between your personal devices and SharePoint Server 2010, 2013, and 2016 Team sites. SharePoint Server 2019 introduces support for the new OneDrive Sync Client (a.k.a. the Next Generation Sync Client), which provides a more reliable and feature-rich syncing experience. If Groove detects that your existing sync relationships are to a site that has been upgraded to SharePoint Server 2019, it will attempt to migrate those sync relationships to the OneDrive Sync Client. Administrators can control this migration experience.
The Groove sync client will remain supported, but deprecated, for the SharePoint Server 2019 release.
InfoPath Services
As we announced in the Microsoft 365 blog, InfoPath Services is a deprecated feature and customers are advised to explore alternatives for this feature. InfoPath Services will remain supported, but deprecated, for the SharePoint Server 2019 release.
There will not be a new InfoPath client shipped with this release. Microsoft will ensure that the InfoPath 2013 client will work with SharePoint Server 2019 for the remainder of the client support lifecycle (2026). InfoPath 2013 client will not be supported beyond that timeframe.
Lists Web Service
The following SOAP endpoints in the Lists web service depend on the Microsoft Sync Framework, which was necessary to support the Groove sync client. Because the Groove sync client is now a deprecated feature, these SOAP endpoints are also being deprecated for the SharePoint Server 2019 release.
Machine Translations (and Variations)
The Machine Translation Service will remain supported, but deprecated, for the SharePoint Server 2019 release.
PerformancePoint Services
PerformancePoint Services has a significant dependency on Microsoft Silverlight, which is a technology that will no longer be supported as of October 12, 2021. PerformancePoint Services will remain supported, but deprecated, for the SharePoint Server 2019 release. Customers are recommended to explore Microsoft PowerBI as an alternative to PerformancePoint Services as we are making many new business intelligence investments in PowerBI.
SharePoint Designer
There will not be a new SharePoint Designer client shipped with this release. Microsoft will ensure that SharePoint Designer 2013 will work with SharePoint Server 2019 for the remainder of the client support lifecycle (2026). SharePoint Designer 2013 will not be supported beyond that timeframe.
Site Mailbox
As we announced in the SharePoint Community Blog, site mailboxes are being deprecated in SharePoint Online. Site mailboxes will remain supported, but deprecated, in the SharePoint Server 2019 release. Customers are recommend to explore shared mailboxes as an alternative to site mailboxes.
Site Manager
The main functionality of Site Manager is now available in modern file move. The Site Manager feature will be supported, but it is deprecated in SharePoint Server 2019. Only site collection administrators will have permission to access the Site Manager page and the UI entry points to this page will be removed.
Removed features in SharePoint Server 2019
Code-Based Sandbox Solutions
As announced in the Microsoft Office Dev Center and previous articles, code-based sandbox solutions were deprecated in SharePoint Server 2013 and have now been removed in SharePoint Online. After careful consideration, we’ve decided to also remove support for code-based sandbox solutions in SharePoint Server 2019. Customers are recommended to explore SharePoint add-ins as an alternative, which are fully supported for both SharePoint on-premises and SharePoint Online.
Digest Authentication
As announced by the Windows Server team, Microsoft is deprecating the Digest authentication feature in Internet Information Services (IIS). This authentication mechanism isn’t very popular and there are many alternative authentication mechanisms available with better interoperability.
To ensure we remain compatible with potential future releases of Windows Server, we are removing support for Digest authentication in SharePoint Server 2019. The SharePoint prerequisite installer will no longer attempt to install this Windows feature. Customers using Digest authentication are recommended to explore alternatives such as Kerberos, NTLM, or SAML.
Incoming email automatic mode
As announced by the Windows Server team, Microsoft is deprecating the IIS 6 Management compatibility features in Internet Information Services (IIS). The automatic mode of the SharePoint incoming email feature relies on IIS 6 APIs to manage the IIS SMTP service. Because no alternative APIs exist to manage the IIS SMTP service, we are removing support for automatic mode in the incoming email feature of SharePoint Server 2019. Customers using incoming email are recommended to use advanced mode instead, which allows you to manually manage the IIS SMTP service and drop folder.
Multi-Tenancy
As Microsoft continues to innovate in SharePoint Online, an increasing amount of SharePoint multi-tenancy capabilities are taking dependencies on cloud technologies that aren’t available in on-premises environments. The cost and complexity of providing an on-premises alternative has become prohibitive, so we will no longer support multi-tenancy in the SharePoint Server 2019 release. Existing SharePoint Server customers who depend on multi-tenancy are recommended to explore migrating to SharePoint Online. Other options include migrating to a non-multi-tenancy farm configuration or remaining with SharePoint Server 2016.
PowerPivot Gallery and Refresh
Since the feature was first introduced in SharePoint, Microsoft BI strategy has shifted away from heavy integration to a standalone BI solution, Power BI, to give customers a flexible, optional integration with SharePoint along with standalone capabilities. Both PowerBI.com and Power BI Report Server offer the option to host and view Excel Workbooks with PowerPivot models today and is the preferred method for customers going forward to host and use their Excel Workbooks with PowerPivot models, or simply to migrate to PBIX files using the migration option in Power BI Desktop for Excel Workbooks.
Visio Services – Silverlight Based Rendering
Visio Services has 2 options for rendering Visio diagrams: Microsoft Silverlight-based and PNG-based. Microsoft Silverlight is a technology that will no longer be supported as of October 12, 2021. This means that, Silverlight-based rendering will no longer be supported in SharePoint Server 2019. Visio Services will only render Visio diagrams using the PNG-based technology.
Download SharePoint Server 2019
SharePoint Server 2019 provides trail version for 180 days. You can download SharePoint Server 2019 today.
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About Author
Satyendra Mishra
Project Management Professional (PMP) and Microsoft certified, motivated, energetic and accomplished Project Manager / Architect with 15+ years of work experience in Management, Architecture, Analytics, Development and Maintenance. I have been fortunate to be a part of over 25+ .Net / SharePoint projects delivery with various companies across different industry sectors. This has provided me a valuable insight and experience especially in successful implementation of SharePoint based solutions.
My experience in Web application implementation includes technology strategy and road-map definition, business and technical requirements identification, governance, platform architecture, solution design, configuration, development, quality assurance, training, post-production support, team lead and overall project delivery along with project management.
Satyendra Mishra holds a B.Tech. in Computer Science & Engineering and PG Diploma in Advance Computing from Center for Development and Advance Computing, Pune, India. He is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
I love to share Project Management Tips and Tricks by writing Blogs in the Project Management India Community. I have written around 300+ articles in the Project Management, .Net, SharePoint and related client side technologies.