Viva engage questions on notifs and topics

Question

Viva engage questions on notifs and topics

Ba, Zoé 0

Hi,

Is it possible for admin to turn on notifs by email for all users of a community by default in Viva Engage? Also I added the shortcut in teams but I cannot see the notifications in the Activity section of Teams, and I don't have the option to in the settings, why ?

Why does all posts appear when I click on on Hashtag in Viva even if the word is not in the post or comments ?
Thanks,
PII Removed

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3 answers

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Answer 1

Ba, Zoé 0

Hi, Back to this matter

We are using topics a lot in our community and we also added a lot of external.
Is there any way we can ask for a new feature to microsoft to add topics to external ? Else, what's the reasoning behind this restriction ?

Thanks

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Answer 2

Ba, Zoé 0

Hi,
Thanks you again for your quick response.
Unfortunately, I not sure my tests reflect what you suggest. Externals do not have access to topics even to use an existing one (first image) compared to internals (second image) User's image

User's image

Also I created a post with the "#OM" as the topic "OM" exists in our Viva Engage but the post of "zba" (External) didn't get automatically flagged with the topic "OM".
User's image

Maybe I misunderstood what you explained. Could you clarify how it works?

I also have another question, I don't understand where to edit topics? I want to add a description on the "AP" topic or delete it.
User's image

Thank you very much

Matthew-P 11,985 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-29T04:56:45.5433333+00:00
Hi Ba, Zoé,

Thank you so much for the update and for sharing those detailed screenshots. Based on official documentation and my research, I’ve reviewed your tests and clarified the points below to align with what you’ve observed.

Why Externals Cannot Attach Even Existing Topics

Your comparison of screenshots is spot-on the “Ask a Question” interface for guests typically lacks the option to attach topics (even existing ones), while internal users can see it. This is by design in Viva Engage to maintain security, though it can vary depending on your tenant’s guest access settings.

1. Review and adjust guest permissions in Viva Engage Admin Center > Configuration > Security/Compliance > External access to see if basic attachment can be enabled (though some restrictions are hardcoded).

2. As a workaround, assign internal coordinators to monitor and manually attach topics to external users' posts after they're created.

3. Consider creating a separate External Network for more flexibility, where guests can have elevated roles.

References:

Work with Microsoft Entra B2B guests in Viva Engage communities

Collaborate with guests in a Viva Engage community

Set up modern external Viva Engage networks

2. Why Hashtags Don’t Automatically Attach Topics (e.g., “OM”)

You’re correct that the system didn’t auto-attach the existing “OM” topic, even though the hashtag was included in the post. Hashtags do not guarantee automatic topic creation or attachment; AI suggestions are context-based, and for guest users, this functionality can be limited depending on tenant configuration and permissions.

Here are the steps you may to try:

1. Don’t rely on hashtags alone for externals. Create a topic management workflow where 2–3 internal users monitor posts and manually add topics within 24 hours.

2. Pre-create common topics and guide externals to reference them explicitly in post content to improve AI suggestions.

References: Changes to Topics in Viva Engage

Note: Microsoft is providing this information as a convenience to you. These sites are not controlled by Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot make any representations regarding the quality, safety, or suitability of any software or information found there. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks before using any suggestions from the above link.

3. Who Can Edit or Delete Topics (e.g., Adding Description to “AP”)

Admins and certain authorized roles (such as Engage Admin, Verified Admin, Network Admin, and Answers Admin) typically have permissions to edit or delete topics. Topic creators themselves may also have the ability to modify or remove the topics they created. Regular users (including guests) generally have limited rights. They can search and attach existing topics if allowed.
To edit: Click any topic tag to open its page, then look for the “Edit” or gear icon (or go to Viva Engage Admin Center > Content and Security > Topics > Search and edit). If unavailable, request admin/moderator permissions from IT.

References: Manage administrator roles in Viva Engage

4. Cyrillic Encoding Issue When Converting TXT to PDF

This seems unrelated to Viva Engage but might occur when sharing files in posts. If it’s happening when opening TXT in Word and saving as PDF, ensure you select UTF-8 encoding:

When opening in Word, choose Plain Text and select Encoding = UTF-8 in the “File Conversion” dialog.

Before saving as PDF, confirm the text displays correctly; if the source TXT isn’t UTF-8, convert it first using Notepad (Save As > Encoding = UTF-8).

Reference: Choose text encoding when you open and save files (Word)

I hope this helps. Any updates you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 3

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Hi Ba, Zoé,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Forum!

Have a good day and I hope you're doing well!

Based on my research, I completely understand why this feels confusing Viva Engage handles notifications and hashtags differently than many expect. Here’s a clear breakdown for each question, with official Microsoft documentation links for deeper reference:

1. Can an admin enable email notifications by default for all community members?

Currently, no. Viva Engage does not allow admins to force-enable email notifications for all existing users. Each user must manage their own settings under Settings > Notifications.

References:

2. Why don’t Viva Engage notifications appear in Teams > Activity?

This issue typically occurs when Viva Engage integration with Teams is not enabled at the tenant level, the Viva Engage app is not allowed or pinned in Teams, or the user has not opened the Viva Engage app in Teams at least once.

Steps to fix:

In Viva Engage Admin Center: enable notifications to Microsoft Teams.
In Teams Admin Center:

Allow the Viva Engage app (Manage your apps in the Microsoft Teams admin center - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn).

Assign an App setup policy to auto-install and pin Viva Engage (Manage app setup policies in Microsoft Teams - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn).

Note: The Activity tab only shows @mentions, replies, announcements not every community post.

References: Notifications and announcements in Viva Engage

3. Why do all posts appear when clicking a hashtag, even if the word isn’t in the post?

Because Viva Engage uses Topics, not hashtags in the old Yammer sense. Clicking a hashtag opens a Topic page, which shows all posts tagged with that topic even if the word doesn’t appear in the text.

If you want exact keyword matches:

Use Search with the keyword in quotes.
Or review/remove incorrect topic tags.

References: Use topics in Viva Engage

I hope this information helps clarify these points or at least partially addresses your concerns. If you have more questions, any remaining concerns, or if I misunderstood or left anything unclear, please feel free to let me know. I’m happy to assist further.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Ba, Zoé 0 Reputation points

2025-10-28T07:59:16.44+00:00

Hi,
thank you for the quick answer. About topics, we are welcoming externals of the company to our Viva Engage and from my tests I realized they cannot add their own topics, admins have to do it for them. This is why we wanted to use Hashtags but as you explained they work differently.
Thanks
Matthew-P 11,985 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-28T13:59:53.44+00:00

Hi Ba, Zoé,

Thank you for your feedback and for sharing more details. Based on my research, I'll explain the issue you're facing in more detail and suggest some ways to address it.

You're right, according to Viva Engage's design, guest users (externals) only have basic participation rights, such as posting, replying, and using existing topics/hashtags, but they cannot create or add new topics (only admins or moderators can do that). The reason is to ensure security and control over content within your company's tenant.

When someone uses a #hashtag in a post, the system automatically maps it to an existing topic (if it matches), but if it's a new topic, guests can't create it. They'll need admin support.

Here are the steps you may to try:

Admins can pre-create common topics that externals might need, then guide them on how to use those topics when posting (they can attach existing topics to their posts).

Encourage externals to use simple hashtags in their post content. The system may suggest and attach matching topics if available, without needing to create new ones.

If your community needs higher permissions for externals, consider creating a separate "External Network" in Viva Engage (where guests can have more flexible roles, but still under admin oversight).

For effective topic management: Admins can merge or rename duplicate topics to avoid clutter.

I hope this helps for you!
Matthew-P 11,985 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-30T13:32:07.7666667+00:00

Hi Ba, Zoé,

Just wondering if there’s been any progress on this thread.

If you feel this helped point you in the right direction, you're more than welcome to mark it as "Accepted Answer" so others facing similar issues can find it more easily.

If you still have any concerns or questions, we’re here and happy to assist. Please feel free to reach out anytime.
Matthew-P 11,985 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-03T01:45:30.41+00:00

Hi Ba, Zoé,

We’d love to hear back from you whenever you're ready.

If there’s any update, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

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Viva engage questions on notifs and topics

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