Membership provides a comprehensive list of all SharePoint sites and Teams-connected sites, including channels, that a user can access.
The security-trimmed list includes essential details such as site type (e.g., Teams-connected site), private channels, subsites, and owners (both SharePoint and Microsoft 365). Users can easily find the right site using the search box, and the list can be exported to a CSV file for convenience.
Membership enables users to navigate their sites quickly and effortlessly.
For administrators, this solution requires zero maintenance.
Click here for a 30-second overview.
Product Features
See all features below
| Feature | Membership |
|---|---|
| Easy to use: intuitive user interface | ✓ |
| Search: List all SharePoint sites and Teams-connected sites (plus channels) using search | ✓ |
| Teams Integration: Open Teams/channels directly in the Teams app | ✓ |
| Secure: Security trimmed list | ✓ |
| REST API: List all sites using REST API requests (optional) | ✓ |
| Combined Results: List all sites by combining search results with REST API results (optional) | ✓ |
| Access Validation: Validate access to sites (optional) | ✓ |
| Alternate Access Mappings: Support for Alternate Access Mappings (on-premises SharePoint only | ✓ |
| Exclusions: Exclude specific sites or paths | ✓ |
| Deployment: Easy to deploy | ✓ |
| Performance: Typical response time: 1-2 seconds | ✓ |
| Scalability: Support for many sites (1000's) | ✓ |
| Supported SharePoint versions | SharePoint Online, SharePoint 2016 and SharePoint 2019. |
| Supported browsers: last N-2 versions of modern browsers | ✓ |
Overview
Before describing the features of the Membership tool it is important to understand the capabilities and limitations of standard SharePoint.
Limitations of SharePoint (On-Prem and Online):
- SharePoint does not offer a built-in feature to provide a list of sites a user has access to. Despite multiple requests via the Microsoft feedback portal, this feature is not included in the roadmap.
- Users can find sites and subsites by executing the following search query: (contentclass:STS_Site OR contentclass:STS_Web). However, this method is not ideal as it requires users to enter a complex query, and the search results are displayed as a flat list without hierarchical organization for subsites.
- Some sites may not be listed due to search treating them as duplicate results. Additionally, it is not possible to distinguish between SharePoint sites and Teams-connected sites (or shared/private channels).
Common Workarounds:
- Some organizations add a search web part to the start page to list accessible sites for current users. While this is sufficient for most organizations, it can be inadequate in certain scenarios, such as:
- When the search index is not up to date or unavailable.
- Environments with a large number of sites/subsites.
- Complex permissions configurations.
- Search results containing Alternate Access Mappings.
- Other organizations resort to building scripts (e.g., PowerShell) to generate a list of all sites. This approach has the drawback of potentially including sites the user does not have access to and may not be allowed to know exist.
Membership in-depth
The Membership tool generates a comprehensive list of accessible SharePoint (sub)sites and Teams-connected sites (including channels), offering the following features:
Key Features:
- Ease of Use: Intuitive and user-friendly interface.
- Speed: Typical response time is less than 2 seconds.
- Hierarchical Display: Subsites are indented below their parent SharePoint site.
- Search Functionality: Easily search through the list of sites.
- Hubsite Support: Includes support for hubsites.
- Filtering Options: Filter by Teams/channels or SharePoint (sub)sites.
- Channel Display: Show standard, private, and shared channels in Teams-connected sites.
- Teams Integration: Open links to Teams/channels directly in the Teams app.
- Ownership Information: Display SharePoint owners and Microsoft 365 owners (Microsoft Entra) for individual sites.
- Exclusions: Exclude specific domains, sites, or managed paths (e.g., portals or personal sites).
- Export Options: Save the list of sites as a CSV file (optional).
- Scalability: Suitable for very large environments (1000+ sites).
Benefits for SharePoint Administrators:
- Easy Deployment: Simple and straightforward deployment process.
- Compatibility: Supports both SharePoint and Teams.
- Zero Maintenance: Requires no ongoing maintenance.
- Insight: Provides visibility into sites with incorrect permission settings.
In summary, Membership allows users to list all accessible SharePoint sites and Teams-connected sites with a zero maintenance solution.
Additional Features:
- REST API Requests: Use REST API requests to complement or replace search results (hybrid mode) to ensure the list contains all accessible sites (SharePoint on-premises only).
Performance:
- Optimized performance through parallel processes and batch requests.
Configuration:
- Managed via a properties file for easy configuration.
For Further Information
For further details, please refer to the following resources:
In short, Membership offers users a simple and fast way to access their SharePoint sites and Teams-connected sites.