Setting Up an Organizational Asset Library in a SharePoint Brand Central Site

When you create a communication site in SharePoint using the Brand Central site template, that site is automatically configured as the home for Organizational Asset Libraries. This powerful feature allows you to centrally manage images (such as logos or banners) and Office templates that your entire organization can access and reuse.

If your organization is managing brand consistency or simply needs an easy way for users to find the right images and templates, Organizational Asset Libraries are the answer.

What Are Organizational Asset Libraries?

Organizational Asset Libraries are document libraries in SharePoint that are surfaced directly in the user experience of Microsoft 365 apps:

• Images appear under “Your organization” when users select images in SharePoint’s modern file picker (e.g., when adding a web part to a page).
• Office templates become available in the Word, Excel, or PowerPoint desktop apps, and PowerPoint on the web, under a special organization tab.

This enables better branding, consistency, and reusability across your tenant.

Important Notes Before You Begin

Here are some important considerations and prerequisites for using this functionality:

Supported Apps

⚠ Templates are not supported in Word for the web or Excel for the web.

Requirements for Office Templates

• Microsoft 365 Apps Version 2002 or later is required.
• PowerPoint on the web requires users to have an Office 365 E3 or E5 license.
• Templates must be uploaded in these formats:
  • Word: .dotx
  • Excel: .xltx
  • PowerPoint: .potx
• Allow up to 24 hours for changes to reflect in desktop apps.
• Users must have read permissions on the root site of your SharePoint environment.

Step-by-Step: Create a New Organizational Asset Library

If you’re using the Brand Central site and want to add a new organizational asset library, follow the steps below. All organizational asset libraries must be created on the same site.

🛠 PowerShell Script

First, connect to SharePoint Online via PnP PowerShell:

# Connect to SharePoint Online
Connect-PnPOnline -Url https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com -ClientId "your pnp powershell client id" -Interactive

# Add the organization asset library
Add-PnPOrgAssetsLibrary -LibraryUrl "https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/yourSiteName/YourLibraryName" -OrgAssetType ImageDocumentLibrary

You can repeat this command with -OrgAssetType OfficeTemplateLibrary if you’re adding a library for templates.

Set the Right Permissions

Proper permissions are essential for the organization asset libraries to be visible and functional.

1. Library Permissions:
   • Ensure the library is readable by everyone: Add Everyone except external users as Visitors to the site.
   • Restrict edit access to owners or members responsible for uploading and managing assets.
2. Customize if Needed:
   • You can apply custom permissions on specific files or folders—up to 100 items.

Why Use Organizational Asset Libraries?

Implementing organization asset libraries helps you:

• Promote brand consistency across internal and external communications
• Reduce duplicated efforts across departments
• Make it easier for users to find approved images and templates
• Ensure governance over who can update shared materials

If you’re managing internal communications, rolling out templates, or redesigning your intranet, this setup is a must-have.