If you have been following my blogs through the years, you know that the things that excite me the most are typically the small things. When the new communication sites rolled out to first release, it also included an update to the Quick Links Web Part. This update is one of the small changes that makes me very happy!
I love Quick Links because they provide a way to easily direct people to content they need to access from your site. In previous versions of SharePoint, we could do this with a promoted links list or with a regular links list. Both approaches worked, but they were a bit clunky and hard to make look nice. With Quick Links things got a bit easier and with the new updates they got even better.
On any modern page you can add the Quick Links Web Part.
Once the Web Part is added to the page, you will see some samples in a list. From here you can add the links you want, as well as change the layout. The two options for layout include Compact and Filmstrip.
The way that the content is displayed will depend on the layout of the page. For instance, if you have a single column page, the filmstrip will display all the items in one row.
If your page is setup to have multi-columns, then the Quick Links web part will adjust to display in a way that fits within your column.
The compact view of the Quick Links will follow the same format and adjust to the space available. The compact view is my personal favorite, it places a small image next to each item and even gives you the option to just have a list with no images.
Adding and formatting the links is a very intuitive process, making this solution much better than previous solutions. You simply put the page in edit mode, click on the +Add and then configure your link. You will be promoted to add a link from 4 areas:
- Recent Files
- OneDrive
- Current Site
- Upload
- Link
Once the link has been added, you will be able to configure the display, which includes a friendly title and an associated image. When selecting the image you are able to select from the same sources you have available when adding the link. This makes things very simple and easy.
Hopefully this blog post gives you a good idea of what is possible with the Quick Links Web Part. It is quickly becoming one of my favorites!
Jennifer Ann Mason 