ShortPoint Microsoft 365 Classic Pages Deprecation: Transforming Classic Pages to Modern Pages

In this article, you will learn more about the upcoming deprecation of Scripting Capabilities and what you need to do to keep your SharePoint pages up and running.

You will gain insights on the following:

1. SharePoint is deprecating support for Scripting Capabilities on Microsoft 365, which means that third-party add-ons like ShortPoint will no longer work on Classic Pages in Microsoft 365 Environments.
2. Creating new ShortPoint Classic Pages in Microsoft 365 is not recommended. Instead, we recommend transforming your Classic Pages to Modern Pages on Microsoft 365.
3. Modern Pages are unaffected, and ShortPoint will continue working on them normally.
4. SharePoint 2019 will not be affected. However, we still recommend adjusting to Modern Pages instead of Classic ones since they have better support and stability.
5. Steps on how to transform Classic Pages into Modern Pages.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Background
• Solution
• Aspects of Classic / Modern Pages
• Benefits of Modern SharePoint Sites
• How to transform Classic Pages built using ShortPoint into Modern Pages
• Step-by-step Tutorial
  • Part 1: Rename your Classic Page
    • Step 1: Edit your Classic Page
    • Step 2: Rename your page
    • Step 3: Save
  • Part 2: Copy the Classic Page
    • Step 1: Add ?spcopy=1
    • Step 2: Copy Page
  • Part 3: Create a Blank Modern Page
    • Step 1: Add a Page
    • Step 2: Make a Blank page
    • Step 3: Rename the page
    • Step 4: Add the ShortPoint web part
    • Step 5: Paste the copied Classic Page
    • Step 6: Save
  • Part 4: Re-install ShortPoint
    • Step 1: Open the ShortPoint Dashboard
    • Step 2: Uninstall ShortPoint
    • Step 3: Reinstall ShortPoint

Background

Starting November 2024, SharePoint will deprecate support for keeping Scripting Capabilities enabled on Microsoft 365 sites. This means that ShortPoint will stop working stably on Classic Pages in Microsoft 365 environments.

Microsoft currently automatically disables Scripting Capabilities every 24 hours unless you run the command below. However, starting November 2024, it will be removed and you will have to re-run the command daily on all sites to keep Scripting Capabilities enabled.

Set-SPOTenant -DelayDenyAddAndCustomizePagesEnforcement $True

NOTEShortPoint will continue working normally on Classic Pages on SharePoint 2019 and SharePoint SE environments as they are unaffected by this deprecation. To learn more about these changes, check out Persist Custom Script Settings.

Solution

To avoid any inconvenience due to the deprecation of Scripting Capabilities, we highly recommend transforming your Classic pages to Modern Pages. This article will provide some recommendations, steps, and links related to this transformation. 

We also recommend stopping the use of other SharePoint add-ins that require Scripting Capabilities to avoid having issues with your SharePoint pages after November.

NOTEYou're only required to transform Classic Pages built using ShortPoint or other Classic add-ins to Modern Pages. This needs to be done for Classic Pages to ensure that ShortPoint continue working. If you are using Modern pages, ShortPoint will run smoothly on your page. It doesn't require Scripting Capabilities to run on Modern Pages.

Aspects of Classic / Modern Pages

SharePoint has multiple aspects that can be either Classic or Modern:

(A) A site/site collection can be classic or modern based on the template that it was created from.

• A classic site/site collection can be modernized by following Microsoft’s instructions in Modernize your Classic SharePoint sites.
• A classic site/site collection can have Classic and Modern Pages.
• A Modern site/site collection can have Classic and Modern Pages.
• You don’t need to migrate or modernize your Classic Sites to keep ShortPoint Pages working. You only need to transform Classic Pages built using ShortPoint into Modern Pages.
• Modernizing your sites should be done if you want to keep using Theme Builder to customize your site. This is because the modern Theme Builder won’t be able to customize the look of a Classic Site’s Lists/Libraries, System Pages, and Header area.

(B) Lists, Libraries, and System pages can also be shown with a “Classic” or “Modern” experience.

•  Lists, Libraries, and System pages are not set as Classic or Modern at a deep level. You can experience the same list in a Classic View and a Modern View.
• Toggling between the 2 experiences usually takes a few clicks. This only affects how the list appears visually.
• The Modern experience has a few extra benefits such as better responsiveness for Mobiles and Tablets, and extra features related to interacting with columns.
• Modern Theme Builder only applies to the Modern Experience of Lists/Libraries and System Pages.

(C) A page can be Modern or Classic

• This article only focuses on transforming Classic Pages into Modern Pages because ShortPoint and other third-party add-ons require scripting capabilities. Otherwise, if not transformed, your page will appear to be blank.

Benefits of Modern SharePoint Sites

Below are the benefits you can gain from transforming your Classic Pages into Modern Pages:

• Utilize ShortPoint Live Mode

ShortPoint’s new editing interface, Live Mode, is available for Modern pages. It allows designers to see changes in real-time as they work on the page. Additionally, it introduces features that simplify the process of updating and redesigning existing pages.

• Enhanced Security

Modern SharePoint sites carefully evaluate and control user-generated scripts, providing users with better security. Unlike Classic sites, your IT teams can scrutinize and approve scripts before they are executed. This ensures a safer environment for your sites.

• User-Friendly Interface

Modern SharePoint pages have a clean and responsive design that users can easily navigate. Furthermore, it provides you with additional customizable options that can level up the look of your page.

• Improved Performance

Modern SharePoint sites improve loading times as they consume fewer server resources than Classic pages. It also provides better storage for your files and other documents.

• Better Accessibility

Modern SharePoint sites are optimized for mobile devices and different screens, providing your users with a more seamless experience.

How to transform Classic Pages built using ShortPoint into Modern Pages

Limitations to keep in mind:

• Classic SharePoint web parts can’t be copied over and will need to be replaced by alternative Design Elements.
• Content within the ShortPoint “Web Part Container” Design Element won’t be copied over to the modern page. This web part is only available on classic pages. You can configure the “ShortPoint Embedded Web Part” Design Element as a replacement for some cases.
• Web Parts outside of the ShortPoint Web Part won’t be copied over when copying the page using the ?spcopy=1 command.
• Transforming Classic Web Part pages will have to be done manually by recreating the layout and design of that page (you can copy any ShortPoint Web Parts within that page).
• If a page doesn’t have a ShortPoint Design Element (or any other third-party web part that requires scripting capabilities), it will work as usual after this change. You’re not required to transform it.
• Ensure that you have scripting capabilities enabled on the site that you’re trying to transform the pages in or ShortPoint content won’t be displayed.
• The Pre-loader option that can be enabled using ShortPoint’s Classic Theme Builder doesn’t work on modern pages, and it’s not possible to add a pre-loader using Modern Theme Builder.
• Classic Theme Builder customizations will not be ported to Modern pages. This is because Modern Theme Builder is used for Modern pages. 
  • After you copy your settings from a Classic Theme Builder to the Modern Theme Builder, you can go ahead and export these customizations from that site’s Modern Theme Builder and import them on the Modern Theme Builder on other sites.
  • We recommend manually copying the settings from Classic Theme Builder to Modern Theme Builder to avoid issues.

NOTE:

• Connected ShortPoint Design Elements copied from a Classic Page to another Modern Page on the same site should work without any changes. 
• We highly recommend renaming the new page to match the old page’s name so you can keep the links between pages working. 
• We don't recommend migrating your complete Classic Site to a Modern Site. Modernizing it is a better option so you can keep your lists, libraries, permissions, and more. Only transforming pages built using ShortPoint from Classic to Modern is required to keep them working. For more information, check out Modernize your classic SharePoint sites.

Step-by-step Tutorial

Follow the detailed guide below to learn how to transform your Classic Pages into Modern ones:

Part 1: Rename your Classic Page

Follow the steps below to keep the same URL as your Classic pages:

Step 1: Edit your Classic Page

Go to the Classic SharePoint page you want to transform into a Modern page and click Edit:

Step 2: Rename your page

As you can see, the page name is Communication Policy.aspx:

All you need to do is add “Classic” to the page name. This way, you can create a Modern Page called Communication Policy and it will have the same URL as your classic page.

Step 3: Save

Click Save to apply your changes:

Part 2: Copy the Classic Page

Follow the steps below to learn how to copy your Classic Page:

Step 1: Add ?spcopy=1

Add ?spcopy=1 in the top address line and press Enter to launch the ShortPoint Copy-Paste bar:

After hitting enter, you will see this page:

Step 2: Copy Page

Click Copy Page:

Part 3: Create a Blank Modern Page

In this part, we will create a Modern Site Page in a Modern SharePoint site. Follow the steps below to learn how:

Step 1: Add a Page

Click the cogwheel icon:

Select Add a page:

Step 2: Make a Blank page

Click [1] Blank and select [2] Create page:

Step 3: Rename the page

Rename the page to the original name of your Classic Page. In our case, we will name it Communication Policy:

Step 4: Add the ShortPoint web part

Hover over the default content and click the trash icon:

Then, hover over a section and click the gray plus icon:

Use the search bar to look for ShortPoint and select it:

Select the Choose Layout icon:

Select the single-row layout:

Step 5: Paste the copied Classic Page

Right-click and select Paste Page Before Section:

Step 6: Save

You will now see the copied Classic Page on your Modern page. Click Save:

Then, click Publish:

That’s it! You have successfully transformed your Classic page into a Modern page. Proceed to the last part to complete the tutorial.

Part 4: Re-install ShortPoint

After transforming all of your pages in a site, you need to do the steps below to be able to use Modern Theme Builder:

Step 1: Open the ShortPoint Dashboard

Click the [1] ShortPoint icon and select [2] Dashboard:

Step 2: Uninstall ShortPoint

Click Uninstall to open the Uninstall page:

Click Uninstall:

Click Yes:

You will see this page once ShortPoint is uninstalled successfully:

Step 3: Reinstall ShortPoint

Click Back:

Click Installation to go to the Installation page:

Make sure [1] Install for Classic Pages is disabled. Click [2] Install:

You have now successfully reinstalled ShortPoint:

Tip for AdminsYou can look at the Site Usage to tell which pages are the most viewed and have higher priority to be transformed from Classic to Modern. Simply replace <sharepoint site> and <site_name_here> to your site details:  

https://<sharepoint site>/sites/<site_name_here>/_layouts/15/siteanalytics.aspx?view=19

OptionalAfter transforming your Classic Pages to Modern Pages, you can opt to Modernize your Classic SharePoint Sites. To do this, check out How to Modernize your Classic SharePoint sites.