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Helvety SPO Explorer
SoftwareOct 5, 2025Art by Alexandre Calame
SharePoint site picker and search in the header. Favorites and preferences stay on the device, not on Helvety servers.
About
Helvety SPO Explorer is an SPFx application customizer that drops a fast site switcher into Microsoft 365. Where supported, discovery and navigation run in the browser, while favorites and preferences remain only on your device (for example in localStorage).
Who installs it, who uses it
The solution is free, open source, and tenant-deployed from the SharePoint App Catalog. End users need normal Microsoft 365 permissions for the sites they expect to see; no separate Helvety account exists for this product.
What you get in day-to-day use
- Pull the accessible-site list instead of bouncing through admin hubs.
- Search by title, description, or URL with highlighted matches.
- Pin favorites and open them from the header control.
- Tune URL display, tab behavior, and related options from settings.
Where it appears
The control shows on supported modern pages that use the standard shell; it will not appear on classic pages, every list view, or every specialized modern surface. See the GitHub README for page coverage, packaging, and upgrades.
Installation
- Download the solution package
Use Download .sppkg on this page to save the latest Helvety SPO Explorer package (helvety-spo-explorer.sppkg) to your computer.
- Open your tenant App Catalog
Sign in as a SharePoint Administrator and go to your organization's tenant App Catalog, the central catalog for the whole Microsoft 365 tenant, not a site collection-only catalog. If you do not have one yet, create it from the SharePoint admin center (Apps -> App catalog) per Microsoft guidance.
- Upload the .sppkg
In the App Catalog site, open the Apps for SharePoint library (or equivalent), upload the .sppkg file, then choose Deploy when prompted so the solution is trusted for your tenant.
- Enable for all sites (recommended)
When you enable the app, select the option to enable it and add it to all sites (tenant-wide). That registers the application customizer so users do not need a per-site "Add an app" install. Updates: when deploying a newer version, you can leave "add to all sites" unchecked to avoid duplicate Tenant Wide Extensions entries. The existing registration keeps using the updated package.
- Allow time to propagate
After the first tenant-wide deployment, allow up to about 20 minutes for the Tenant Wide Extensions list to propagate before expecting the bar on every site.
- Verify deployment (optional)
In the App Catalog site, open Site contents → Tenant Wide Extensions and confirm there is an entry for Helvety SPO Explorer (one entry; remove duplicates if you ever see more than one).
- Use the extension
On a modern SharePoint site page that uses the standard shell and Top placeholder (for example a communication or team site home page), look for the "Sites you have access to" control in the top area. It does not appear on classic pages, on every list or library view, or on some specialized modern pages. See the project README on GitHub for details.
Access
Current Helvety products in this catalog are free to use with no paid tiers or subscriptions.
Features
- Site Discovery - auto-fetch all accessible sites
- Real-time search with highlighted matches
- Favorites management
- Quick access dropdown menu
- Customizable settings panel
- SharePoint theme awareness (light/dark)
- Performance optimized with caching
- Full keyboard navigation and accessibility
- Easy SharePoint App Catalog installation
Requirements
- SharePoint Online
- Microsoft 365 environment
- SharePoint Administrator role (for installation)