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Microsoft Tip of the Week:

Customizing the Azure Portal for Maximum Productivity


When it comes to cloud management, the Azure Portal is your mission control. But did you know it’s also your canvas? Whether you're a seasoned sysadmin or a business owner dipping your toes into the cloud, Azure offers a suite of customization tools that can transform your portal into a personalized productivity powerhouse.


Let’s explore how you can tailor the Azure experience to fit your workflow.


🧱 1. Build Your Perfect Dashboard


The Azure Dashboard is more than just a landing page — it's your command center. You can:

  • Pin resources like VMs, databases, and storage accounts

  • Add charts and metrics to monitor performance at a glance

  • Group tiles by project, client, or environment

  • Resize and rearrange tiles to match your priorities


💡 Pro Tip: Use multiple dashboards for different roles or teams. One for devs, one for ops, one for execs — everyone wins.


🎨 2. Theme It Your Way

Azure offers several themes to match your style or accessibility needs:

  • Dark Mode for late-night deployments

  • High Contrast for improved visibility

  • Light Mode if you like it classic


To change your theme:

  1. Click your profile icon (top right)

  2. Select Portal Settings

  3. Choose your preferred theme


🧩 3. Simplified View: The Hidden Gem

Here’s a fun Easter egg: click the Refresh button five times in the “All Resources” view. You’ll unlock the Simplified View, a cleaner, more focused layout that’s perfect for quick overviews or less technical users.


🧰 4. Custom Tiles & Markdown

Want to add notes, links, or even a mini knowledge base to your dashboard? Use the Markdown tile to:

  • Document naming conventions

  • Link to runbooks or SOPs

  • Add reminders or team messages


It’s a small feature with big impact.


🧑‍💻 5. Personalize Cloud Shell

Azure Cloud Shell is your built-in terminal, and yes — it’s customizable too:

  • Choose between Bash or PowerShell

  • Install your favorite tools and scripts

  • Persist files in your own storage account


🚀 Final Thoughts

Azure isn’t just powerful — it’s personal. With a few tweaks, you can turn the default portal into a tailored workspace that saves time, reduces friction, and looks great doing it.

Need help setting up your ideal Azure environment? That’s what we’re here for. Let’s make the cloud work for you.

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