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Microsoft SharePoint

Overview of User Permissions in SharePoint

23 April 2010

SharePoint 2007 mainly uses five different permission settings for files and other library content. (In actual fact, there are 10 permission types, but we will discuss the main ones.) Imagine you have created a new Web site. Included in the Web site structure are different user groups: Owners, Members, and Visitors. (We will discuss groups more in a moment.)

Full Control As the name suggests, a user with full control over an item can do what they like with it. This level of permission cannot be edited or deleted because it is a necessary component of any multi-user system.

By default, this level of permission is granted to the Owners group.

Design Design permissions let a user create lists and document libraries, edit pages, apply themes, borders, and other style content to a Web site on the server. This level of permission is rarely assigned to a user; rather, the user is simply given Full Control.

By default, this level of permission is not assigned to any group.

Contribute Contribute permissions let a user add, edit, and delete existing items and document libraries. Simply put, the user with contribute permissions works with what they have and are usually the day-to-day workers of an organization.

By default, this level of permission is granted to the Members group.

Read Read-only access is normally assigned to visitors or outsiders to your Web page. That is, they are not members of the Owners/Members groups.

Therefore, by default, this level of permission is granted to the Visitors group.

Limited Access This level of permission is designed to give users access to a specific SharePoint resource, like a list item, without granting permission to the entire site. A limited access user must have permission to view the parent Web site and read shared data like the navigation bars of a Web site. Like Full Control, the Limited Access permission setting cannot be edited or deleted because it is necessary in a multi-user system.

To review the complete Microsoft SharePoint workshop Outline containing Overview of User Permissions in SharePoint for 2007: Click here.

To find out about workshops for other SharePoint versions e.g. 2003 and 2010, contact Bute Ltd.

Adding Alerts to Outlook 2007

22 April 2010

An organisation can only effectively work together when the proper people have the proper information. SharePoint is designed to have all the information available to the users, but in order to find something, the user would have to go looking for it. Alerts let a user place a flag on a particular file or list item. Whenever something happens to that file, the user who placed an alert will be notified of changes.

What is an Alert?

As described in the introduction, an alert is a special notification that is added to a file or list item. Whenever something happens to the file, an alert can be sent via e-mail to you (and others) giving the details of what has happened. This is useful when several people in a team are working on the same file. If one person checks out a file in order to do the work they need to, the check-in procedure will cause an alert to be sent to all people who have signed up.

This eliminates the hassle of trying to contact the next person who needs to work on the file in person. The automated alert takes care of this for you. And since e-mail is pretty much an integral part of the business world today, excuses for missing a file are harder to pass off!

In order to receive alerts, a virtual server must be configured to handle e-mail requests. Contact your server administrator to have one set up for you.

To review the complete Microsoft SharePoint workshop Outline containing Adding Alerts to Outlook 2007 for 2007: Click here.

To find out about workshops for other SharePoint versions e.g. 2003 and 2010, contact Bute Ltd.

Web Parts dialogue

21 April 2010

You can customise the look and feel of sites by adding, moving, and customising web parts.

Add Web Parts dialogue. There are a number of different options in this dialogue that can be added to the desired location:

Lists and Libraries Includes all the default lists and libraries that were created with the site, and the lists/libraries from the user who created the site.

Content Rollup Add items like a colleagues list, a Getting Started link, a list of your own links, recent blog posts, SharePoint documents, etc.

Default Choose from a to-do list, an RSS viewer, and This Week in Pictures, which allows you to set up a slide show to show team members and outsiders the progress you have been making.

Miscellaneous Add contact details for yourself or others.

Outlook Web Access These Web parts require the installation and setup of a Microsoft Exchange Server (2003 or later). Display your calendar, contacts, inbox, and tasks using Outlook Web Access. Search This section lets you choose from a number of automated and basic search commands to look for people, actions, “best bet” searches based on your keywords, and even search statistics.

Site Directory Display site directory categories, the sites within the categories, and the top sites from the Site Directory.

To review the complete Microsoft SharePoint workshop Outline containing Web Parts dialogue for 2007: Click here.

To find out about workshops for other SharePoint versions e.g. 2003 and 2010, contact Bute Ltd.

Types of Workspaces

21 April 2010

Meeting and document workspaces come in many flavours; let’s quickly explore the multitude of options you can choose from.

Collaboration
Team Site
A site for teams to quickly organise, author, and share information. It provides a document library and lists for managing announcements, calendar items, tasks, and discussions.

Blank Site
A blank site for you to customise based on your requirements.

Document Workspace
A site for colleagues to work together on a document. It provides a document library for storing the primary document and supporting files, a tasks list for assigning to-do items, and a links list for resources related to the document.

Wiki Site Site for a community to brainstorm and share ideas. It provides Web pages that can be quickly edited to record information and then linked together through keywords.

Blog A site for a person or team to post ideas, observations, and expertise that site visitors can comment on.   Meetings Basic Meeting Workspace A site to plan, organize, and capture the results of a meeting. It provides lists for managing the agenda, meeting attendees, and documents.

Blank MeetingWorkspace
A blank meeting site for you to customize based on your requirements.

Decision Meeting Workspace A site for meetings that track status or make decisions. It provides lists for creating tasks, storing documents, and recording decisions.

Social Meeting Workspace A site to plan social occasions. It provides lists for tracking attendees, providing directions, and storing pictures of the event.

Multipage Meeting Workspace A site to plan, organize, and capture the results of a meeting. It provides lists for managing the agenda and meeting attendees, plus two blank pages for you to customize based on your requirements.

To review the complete Microsoft SharePoint workshop Outline containing Types of Workspaces for 2007: Click here.

To find out about workshops for other SharePoint versions e.g. 2003 and 2010, contact Bute Ltd.

What is SharePoint Server?

19 April 2010

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server was designed to be a centralised meeting place and data repository for members of an organisation. The advantage of using SharePoint is that it provides an interface that is common to Web sites (offering recognisable, familiar navigation), provides high integration with Office programs, and is easier to connect to because a user only has to use a web browser.

You can manage content on the site and use a wide variety of tools to track the progress of a document, sale, or idea. Searching for a document or name searches the entire site, as well as all documents, lists of past and present clients, etc. Each member of your organisation, team or department can have their own personal site, complete with public and private areas. Groups can be organised and create their own sub-home page, share their own documents, and more.

There are a lot more options that SharePoint uses and has access to. To review the complete Microsoft SharePoint workshop Outline containing What is SharePoint Server? for 2007: Click here.

To find out about workshops for other SharePoint versions e.g. 2003 and 2010, contact Bute Ltd.