How to run Visual Upgrade on a SharePoint site that was transitioned from Business Productivity Online Suite to Office 365

This article contains information about how to run Visual Upgrade on a SharePoint site that was transitioned from Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite to Microsoft Office 365.

How to manage Visual Upgrade at the site level

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 includes a new appearance and a new master page layout. After you run Visual Upgrade, new features such as the ribbon and new master page layout are available.

After the transition from Business Productivity Online Suite to Office 365 is complete, the Site Collection Administrator has the option to manage the visual aspects of the SharePoint site or sites.

The Site Collection Administrator can preview the new layout before they change the site to its new appearance. And,�they can select whether to complete Visual Upgrade. By default, the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 look is retained until the Site Collection Administrator makes this change.

Site Collection Administrators will be able to control their site collections, and site owners will be able to control their sites. However, you should be aware that Site Collection Administrators can override sites at the site-collection level.�

How to run Visual Upgrade for a site

The following screen shot shows a site that was upgraded to SharePoint 2010 but has not had Visual Upgrade run. Note the Visual Upgrade item in the Site Actions list.

Note To access this menu, browse to your site, and then select Site Actions.



After you click Visual Upgrade, you see the following screen:



This page has options that relate to the site collection: Title and Description, Logo URL and Description, and Visual Upgrade.

The following three options relate to Visual Upgrade:

1. Use the previous user interface
   
   If this option is selected, the previous SharePoint 2007 interface is retained. You can go back at any time and change this setting through the Site Actions menu.
   
2. Preview the updated user interface
   
   If this option is selected, a preview of the new SharePoint features and interface is presented. This provides an opportunity to view the changes and to determine whether any customizations are affected by the new features and interface. Changing the content while in preview mode may adversely affect its appearance.
   
   You can either revert to the user interface or update the user interface. To do this, click�Visual Upgrade from the Site Actions�menu, and then select the appropriate option.
   
3. Update the user interface
   
   If this option is selected, the user interface is updated. Be aware that as soon as the update is complete, this change cannot be reverted.

How to manage Visual Upgrade for all sites from Site Settings

In addition to the site-level options available, the Site Collection Administrator can also run Visual Upgrade for all sites within the site collection or can remove the option to do this. The following steps outline the process and options available:

1. Browse to the SharePoint site, click Site Actions, and then click Site Settings.
2. Click Visual Upgrade. The following screen appears:
   
   
   
   
3. At this point, two options are available:
   
   
   1. Hide Visual Upgrade
      
      This hides the options to prevent Visual Upgrade on all sites in this site collection. You should be aware that as soon as this change is completed, it cannot be reverted.
   2. Update All Sites
      
      Use the latest SharePoint user interface on all sites in this site collection. You should be aware that as soon as this change is completed, it cannot be reverted.