IT News, Maintenance, and Updates
May 2026 Newsletter
Find Anything Fast
The University of Maine System Information Technology team is here to help you work smarter, not harder. If you’ve ever spent ten minutes hunting for a file you know exists somewhere, you’re not alone. In our February poll, 48% of you said forms, policies, and resources on the UMS website take the longest to track down, and “something I saved in Drive” and “an old email” weren’t far behind.
This month, we’re sharing moves that change how you find things, not just how you search for them.
Latest Updates
AI Training | Beginner & Intermediate Sessions This Spring: The Maine Center’s AI Essentials Series continues with new beginner and intermediate sessions on tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, NotebookLM, and Claude. Tuesdays, through May 26, 11:30 AM–1 PM on Zoom. $25/session. Register for AI Essentials Spring Sessions →
April Poll Results
Last month, we asked: What takes you longest to track down at work?
Here’s what you told us (45 responses):
You also shared some tips. A few favorites:
“Use Google’s built-in search options, like to:, from:, subject:, in:, etc.”
“Using quotations in my Gmail searches when I remember a particular phrase but don’t remember the subject or when it was sent.”
“Labeling emails and sorting them out of my inbox is extremely helpful!”
This month’s tips are shaped by exactly what you told us.
👀 This Month’s Poll
Which routine task eats up your time that you wish would just run itself? There’s a spot to submit your best automation tips and questions too!
Tell us what you would automate!
This Month’s Focus
Stop hunting. Start finding.
⁉️ Finding things at UMS means searching across several different environments: Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, campus websites, and TDX. Each one works a little differently, and each one has features that make finding things faster once you know where to look.
✅ Research shows that time spent searching for information is one of the biggest drains on workplace productivity, and longer search times are directly linked to lower quality work. The fix isn’t learning everything at once. It’s knowing a few moves that work across the tools you already have.
🚀 Your UMS tools include Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, TDX, and more. This month covers smarter search in Drive, finding anything on a UMS website, Gmail shortcuts your colleagues are already using, and how to get more out of TDX before you ever submit a ticket.
Stop Typing. Start Filtering:
Find any file in Drive without remembering what it’s called.
Google Drive’s filter chips let you find files without remembering what they’re called. Click the search bar, skip the typing, and use the People, Modified, or Location chips instead. Your brain remembers who you worked with and roughly when far better than it remembers file names.
Read the full search guide →
Quick Wins for Finding Things Fast
Find Anything on a UMS Website
Searching a website can be frustrating. This workaround helps for anything public.
Steps:
In your favorite search engine, type site:maine.edu and what you need. Example: site:maine.edu RFP
For a specific campus: site:usm.maine.edu advising
Works for the knowledge base too: site:tdx.maine.edu how to print
Google Domain Search – 30 Sec Video
Use Gmail Search Operators
Gmail’s search bar accepts operators that filter results precisely, and you can combine them for even faster results.
Filters to Try:
from:name@maine.edu to find emails from a specific person
subject:budget to search subject lines only
has:attachment to find emails with files attached
“exact phrase” in quotes to find that specific wording
Read the Full Search Guide
Your One-Click Shortlist
Stars aren’t just for “important” things. Use them as a temporary shortlist for what you’re working on right now.
On Monday, star the 2-3 emails, files and chats you need most this week.
Access them anytime by clicking Starred in the left sidebar of Gmail, Drive, or Chat.
On Friday, unstar them when the work is done!
Take it a step further with custom star options.
Add Gmail Star Options – 30 sec video
UMS IT in Action
🎉 Rave Mobile Safety is Live
When something urgent happens on campus, you deserve to know about it fast. Rave Mobile Safety is now live system-wide, delivering emergency notifications wherever you are and on whatever device you’re using, by text, email, and voice call simultaneously.
Behind the scenes, the UMS Information Technology team worked across all seven campuses to configure Rave, verify contact data, and test delivery across multiple channels. Coordinating notification preferences for thousands of users across different systems required careful data work and close collaboration with campus safety offices.
If you receive emergency notifications from your home university, you’re already covered. Log in to Rave to review your settings and make sure the right notifications are reaching you the right way.
Have you noticed technology running more smoothly lately?
Whether it’s a seamless login, fast support, or things just working the way they should – it’s no accident. Behind the scenes, IT teams across the system are keeping everything moving.
It only takes a minute to make someone’s day!
Submit an IT Shout Out!
Need Tech Support?
UMS IT is here to help! Reach out via email, phone or chat. Walk-in help is also available.
IT Support: UMS IT Support Portal
Email: help@maine.edu
Phone: 1-800-696-4357
LiveChat: IT Support LiveChat
You may also connect with your local campus IT Office
April 2026 Newsletter
Printing that Works for You
Latest Updates
Evolving Phishing Tactics Targeting UMS Employees: Read the phishing email for more information, and visit the Information Security website for tips to stay safe.
Watch for Fake UMS Login Portals: Cybercriminals are using legitimate-looking file shares to redirect you to fake login portals designed to steal your credentials. Always verify the URL before entering your password. Read the full advisory →
AI Training | Beginner & Intermediate Sessions This Spring: The Maine Center’s AI Essentials Series returns with new beginner and intermediate sessions on tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, NotebookLM, and Claude. Tuesdays, April 7–May 26, 11:30 AM–1 PM on Zoom. $25/session. Register for AI Essentials Spring Sessions →
This Month’s Poll
Which takes you longest to find: an old email, a shared file, or a form you know exists somewhere? There’s a spot to submit your best search and find tips and questions too!
Tell us what you search for most!
This Month’s Focus
Two ways to print at UMS. Here’s the Difference.
Not all print jobs work the same way. Printing runs through Xerox devices and PaperCut, our print management system. There are two ways to send a job, and knowing the difference makes the whole experience easier.
Known which mode you are using. Direct Print gives you access to a specific printer’s full advanced features. Find Me Print keeps it simple, releasing to any campus Xerox.
Your UMS printing tools include Find Me Print and Direct Print queues, both managed through PaperCut. Visit the PaperCut portal to find your code, check pending jobs, and print history.
Find Me Print vs. Direct Print: What’s the Difference?
At UMS, there are two ways to print. Find Me Print lets you release your job at any campus Xerox. A Direct Print queue adds a specific nearby printer to your options and gives you access to its full range of advanced features.
How to install a Direct Print queue →
Quick Wins for Smooth Printing
No Card? No Problem.
Left your card at home? There are two ways to log in manually at any Xerox device.
Steps:
Tap the Keyboard icon on the Xerox touch panel.
Enter your @maine.edu email
Enter your UMS password or print PIN
Your jobs will appear just like normal
Learn How to Login Without Your Card
Printing Not Working? Start Here.
Most printing problems come down to one of these four things.
Things to Check:
Computer not up to date
Not on EduRoam, or VPN
Recently changed your password? Re-sign into Print Deploy
Find Me not installing? Try a Direct Print queue instead
Read the Full Managed Printing FAQ
Check your Jobs Before You Walk
Not sure if your job made it to the queue? Check before you make the trip. You can see everything pending, already printed, and charged to your department.
Steps:
Connect to EduRoam or the UMS VPN
Login to the Papercut Portal
Click Jobs Pending Release in the left menu
Confirm your job is there — jobs are deleted after 36 hours
Visit the PaperCut Portal
Have you noticed technology running more smoothly lately?
Whether it’s a seamless login, fast support, or things just working the way they should – it’s no accident. Behind the scenes, IT teams across the system are keeping everything moving.
It only takes a minute to make someone’s day!
Submit an IT Shout Out!
Need Tech Support?
UMS IT is here to help! Reach out via email, phone or chat. Walk-in help is also available.
IT Support: UMS IT Support Portal
Email: help@maine.edu
Phone: 1-800-696-4357
LiveChat: IT Support LiveChat
You may also connect with your local campus IT Office
December 2025 Newsletter
UMS IT Newsletter
Your Year in Workspace Tech Wrapped
December 2025
Top Ten tips. Three themes. Your year in workplace tech.
What did University of Maine System (UMS) employees need most from workplace tech in 2025? The answer came from what you clicked, saved, and returned to months after publication. From February through November, clear patterns emerged: making tools work together, staying organized, and protecting your time. Here’s your year in workplace tech, told through your top 10 tips.
This Year’s Milestones
The numbers that tell the story of 2025
282
Poll Responses
104
Resources Shared
50
IT Staff Recognized
These numbers show something important: when content matches real needs, people engage steadily throughout the year. Poll responses that shaped the next newsletter. Resources that solved actual problems. Recognition for work that keeps everything running.
2025 Workplace Tech Insights
You wanted tools to work together
Your top clicks were about connecting tools you already use — Keep to Calendar, email in Docs, Zoom in Workspace. Integration mattered more than adding something new.
Staying organized was the real challenge
Chat Spaces for team conversations. Timeline views for schedules. Clear file organization. Four of your top ten clicks solved the daily “where did I put that?” problem.
You needed control over your time
Custom GPT to automate tasks. Bookable time to automate appointments on your terms. Research on why meeting overload actually matters. Time management wasn’t a nice-to-have—it was essential.
You weren’t alone in this
282 people across seven campuses asked for help navigating. You clicked the same tips, figured out the same tool landscape, and came back. August guidance was still getting clicks in December.
Behind the Insights
Your most-clicked tips in each category
Integration
Tools you already use, working together
Organization
Finding what you need, when you need it
Time Management
Reclaiming time through automation and boundaries
Your Top 10 Tips of 2025
The most-clicked resources across the year
Ranked by total clicks across all 2025 newsletters
1. Connect Notes to Events in Google Keep
Your #1 most-clicked tip of the year
Watch the 2-minute walkthrough →
Integration
2. Google Chat: Create a Space
Solved the “where did we put that?” problem
Watch the quick setup video →
Organization
3. Draft an Email in Google Docs
Collaboration on sensitive emails without the chaos
Watch the email drafting demo →
Integration
4. Timeline View in Google Sheets
Project timelines for everyone
Watch the timeline tutorial →
Organization
5. Zoom for Google Workspace
Direct integration—one less tab, one less login
Install the Chrome Plugin →
Integration
6. How to Create a Custom GPT
August tutorial, daily clicks through December
Watch the custom GPT tutorial →
Time Management
7. Google Calendar Bookable Appointments
Let people book time automatically, on your terms
Read the appointment schedule guide →
Time Management
8. When to Use OneDrive vs SharePoint
Answered the “which tool for which job” question
Watch the file storage comparison →
Organization
9. Collaboration Overload Study
Meeting overload, validated by research
Read the study summary →
Time Management
10. Color-Code Google Drive Folders
The dark horse, in Advanced Tips but you found it anyway
Watch the folder organization tips →
Organization
Looking Ahead to 2026
This year showed us what matters: tools that work together, work that’s easier to organize, time that’s respected. You told us through every click, every poll response, every tip you saved and came back to. That shaped 2025.
There’s still time for you to shape 2026. The survey takes 2 minutes. Tell us what topics you need, what’s working, and what isn’t. Your input builds next year.
Take the 2 Min 2026 Planning Survey
Need Tech Support?
UMS IT is here to help! Reach out via email, phone or chat. Walk-in help is also available.
IT Support: UMS IT Support Portal
Email: help@maine.edu
Phone: 1-800-696-4357
LiveChat: IT Support LiveChat
You may also connect with your local campus IT Office
November 2025 Newsletter
Your Guide to Confidence with Data Tools
This month, we’re teaming up with Information Security to help you work confidently with data. You told us “knowing which tool to use for which job” was your top priority (38.1%), and we’re combining practical spreadsheet skills with security guidance to help you choose the right tools and use them safely.
We Need More Input to Plan 2026: Which sections are most valuable to you? What’s your overall rating? Then the big question: What would make this newsletter useful to you: different topics, different format, different schedule? We’re redesigning for next year and need to hear from more of you.
Give Your 2026 Input Now – 2 Min
Latest Updates
UMS employee accounts are being compromised: Read the phishing email for more information, and visit the Information Security website for tips to stay safe.
Adobe Express & Adobe Acrobat Pro now available to all UMS Employees: These tools help you create professional visuals, edit PDFs, and polish documents without needing design expertise. Learn more about getting started →
Opt in to Receive UMS IT Outage Alerts: Did you hear about the ChatGPT outage caused by Cloudflare? If you want to receive notifications about outages that impact your day, you can sign up for the UMS IT Outages Channel! Sign up today →
Poll results: Which data skills matter most to you?
We recently asked which data skills matter most to you. Knowing which tool to use for the job in strong at 38%. Here’s what you told us:
This Month’s Focus
Words alone work harder. Visuals work smarter.
88%
Use Spreadsheets
Your spreadsheet skills are better than you think! Nearly 88% of professionals use spreadsheets, yet many feel overwhelmed by available features. This “expertise paradox” leads people to assume they need advanced skills to work with data confidently.
Confidence comes from the right tools, not knowing everything. Studies show mastery isn’t about knowing every feature—it’s having reliable methods for your actual tasks. Learning a few targeted tools dramatically improves confidence.
Your UMS tools include GSheets and Microsoft Excel. Slicers let you explore data visually, XLOOKUP finds information reliably, and Google Shared Drives or SharePoint keep your data secure. This month’s tips help you use these professional tools confidently.
Want to dig in? Explore the research on the spreadsheet expertise paradox.. Stay tuned—next month: your top 10 most-clicked tips from 2025.
Quick Wins for Data Confidence
Combine Data from Multiple Files
Need to pull data from multiple monthly reports? XLOOKUP lets you reference other files automatically instead of copying and pasting.
Type =XLOOKUP( in Excel
Click the value to match, add a comma
Select where you want Excel to look in your source file, add a comma
Select the data you want to retrieve, close parentheses and press Enter
Try XLOOKUP – 3 Min Tutorial
Filter Visually with Slicers
Slicers give you clickable buttons to filter your data—no dropdown menus or formulas needed.
Click anywhere in your data table
Go to Insert tab → Slicers (Excel) or
Data tab → Slicer (Google Sheets)
Check the boxes for what you want to filter by
Click the buttons that appear to filter your data instantly
Try Slicers in GSheets
Try Slicers in Excel
Check Where Your Data Can Go
The Add Folder tool in Adobe Acrobat automatically pulls in all files from a folder so you don’t have to select them individually.
Before creating a spreadsheet check the data storage guide
Find your data type across the top row
Look down the column for green (you’re good) vs. red (use a different system)
If you’re combining different types of data, follow the rules for whichever type is most restricted
Check the UMS Data Storage Guide
Ready for More?
Advanced Tips for Data Confidence
Explore these power-user features:
Use named ranges to make formulas readable and reduce errors
Excel Named Ranges Guide
Google Sheets Named Ranges
Apply data validation to control cell entries and catch mistakes
Excel Data Validation
Google Sheets Data Validation
Enable filter views to explore data without changing what collaborators see Excel Filter Views
Google Sheets Filter Views
Protect sheets and ranges to prevent accidental changes in shared files
Excel Protection
Google Sheets Protection
Did you Know?
New Software Needs Vetting First
Request Software Review
Planning to use a tool like a survey software, visualization platforms, or statistical package? Before you sign up or upload UMS data, UMS IT needs to vet it.
What gets reviewed:
Security: Does the software meet compliance requirements for the type of data you’re using?
Policy: Does it comply with University of Maine System (UMS) policies?
Accessibility: Does it meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards so all users, including those with disabilities, can access and use the tool?
When to submit:
Before purchasing standalone software packages
Before starting trials that require UMS data
Before signing students or employees up for any new platform
This is for software purchases, not UMS IT project requests or system integrations.
The review ensures you’re using compliant, accessible tools, and that UMS data stays protected.
Have you noticed technology running more smoothly lately?
Whether it’s a seamless login, fast support, or things just working the way they should – it’s no accident. Behind the scenes, IT teams across the system are keeping everything moving.
It only takes a minute to make someone’s day!
Submit an IT Shout Out!
Need Tech Support?
UMS IT is here to help! Reach out via email, phone or chat. Walk-in help is also available.
IT Support: UMS IT Support Portal
Email: help@maine.edu
Phone: 1-800-696-4357
LiveChat: IT Support LiveChat
You may also connect with your local campus IT Office