Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed (288 page)

Alert options in a document library.

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clear that many different types of changes can be made from the Document Library

Settings page, including versioning, permissions, workflows, RSS, creating new columns,

editing existing columns, and, barely visible at the bottom of Figure 35.13, creating or

modifying views.

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FIGURE 35.13

Document Library Settings page.

Figure 35.14 shows the previously viewed document library after a new column titled

Type of Document has been added. Compare this view to Figure 35.10 to see the differ-

ence. By adding a column, the administrator provides additional metadata about the

different documents, to help visitors more quickly find the document they require.

The View Menu

The View menu on the right edge of the toolbar is available to members

of all groups, but only users with Manage Lists permissions can add or remove public

views of a list or library. Standard views include the following:

.
All Documents—
The All Documents view is a standard view that provides the user

with basic information about the documents stored in the library: Type, Name,

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FIGURE 35.14

Document library with a new column added.

Modified, and Modified By. The All Documents view can be modified by an adminis-

trator with sufficient privileges.

.
Explorer—
The Explorer view (which is different from the Open with Windows

Explorer action) displays the contents of the document library in an Explorer-type

environment, where certain standard commands are available, and right-clicking on

an item brings up standard Explorer commands.

.
Modify This View—
This option is only available to users with Manage Lists

permissions.

.
Create View—
As with the preceding option, this is only available to users with

Manage Lists permissions.

Understanding the Edit Menu Options in a Document Library

In addition to the other library features reviewed in the previous sections, additional inter-

actions with documents stored in a document library are possible through the Edit menu,

which is accessed by hovering over the document name, as shown in Figure 35.15.

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FIGURE 35.15

Edit menu.

These options reflect an additional level of power and functionality offered by a document

library. A brief summary of each of the standard Edit menu items is as follows:

.
View Properties—
A variety of tools are made available when View Properties is

selected from the drop-down menu, including Edit Item, Delete Item, Manage

Permissions, Manage Copies, Check In, Workflows, and Alert Me. The user must

have sufficient permissions to see these options.

.
Edit Properties—
This option displays the metadata associated with the item, and

allows the user, if he has the appropriate permissions, to modify this data.

.
Manage Permissions—
A user with the Manage Lists permissions is able to use this

tool to change which permissions different Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 users or

groups have to the document. For example, a human resources document library

manager might change permissions on certain documents to Read for the Members

group, even though, by default, they can modify or delete other documents in the

library.

.
Edit in Microsoft Application—
Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 will search for

the association of the file type to an application, and if it is a Microsoft application,

the application will be opened, allowing editing of the document.

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.
Delete—
This moves the document to the Recycle Bin for the document library if

the user has sufficient permissions.

.
Send To—
As shown in Figure 35.15, the default options are Other Location, E-Mail

a Link, Create Document Workspace, and Download a Copy. The Other Location

option actually makes a copy of the document in another SharePoint document

library that is defined in the Advanced Settings for the library accessible from the

Document Library Settings page. Emailing a link shares the document with another

user without a full copy of the document being sent to that user. A document work-

space is a SharePoint site that contains a copy of the document and encourages

collaboration on a specific document. Downloading a copy allows the user to specify

a location on their computer where a copy will be saved.

.
Check Out—
This is widely considered one of the more important features of a

document management system. Administrators can now force a checkout before

editing can take place from the Versioning Settings accessible from the Document

Library Settings page. A user can check out a document and save it to a SharePoint

Drafts folder in the My Documents folder. If the user chooses this option, she can

edit the document even if she is offline and can’t connect to the SharePoint 2007

35

server. A user can check out a document simply to make sure no one else modifies it,

and if they forget, an administrator can force a check-in later from the Manage

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Checked Out Files link on the Document Library Settings page.

.
Unpublish This Version—
Versioning needs to be configured in this library to

allow major and minor drafts for this option to be available. With these versioning

options available, “unofficial” minor draft versions of documents can be posted to

the library that may still be in need of editing, or published as major drafts that

should be considered complete. The unpublish option allows a user to revert the

status of the document to minor from major. Note that a document library adminis-

trator can choose to hide minor versions of documents from users with only Read

access to the library.

.
Version History—
If versioning is turned on for a document library, every time a

document is changed and saved, SharePoint keeps the entire previous version of the

document. Published versions are considered to be major versions, whereas unpub-

lished versions are considered minor versions. The number of each type of version

retained can be set by the administrator. As an example, a site administrator might

decide to allow both major and minor versions. The administrator may choose to

keep 10 major versions as well as keep the minor versions for only the last 2 major

versions. This granularity in version history allows for some rollback and history of

the most recent major versions, but discards minor versions for all other major

versions. When a user chooses Publish a Major Version, he can then add comments

that can describe the changes made.

.
Workflows—
One or more workflows can be created in a document library in

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. This option is only available if a workflow has

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been created by an administrator for the document library. Only one template is

available, however: the Three-state workflow. This assigns states to a document based

on the values in a column that the administrator chooses (such as draft, final,

approved, or in review). When the first assignee completes their review, it is set to

the middle state, and when the next person reviews it, it is set to the final state.

Although limited, this workflow gives Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 users an

understanding of the workflow process.

.
Alert Me—
This process was covered previously with reference to a whole document

library. If selected for a document or file, the alert will only execute if the document

or file is changed.

Summarizing the Challenges and Benefits of Document Libraries

As the previous sections summarized, there are many, many features and options available

in a document library. Although it only takes a few minutes to understand the basic

processes of uploading and checking out documents, it can take many months of using

and managing document libraries to master the more complex features (some of which,

such as content types, aren’t even presented in this section because of space constraints).

Because document libraries are such a critical component of the Windows SharePoint

Services 3.0 ecosystem, ample time should be given to testing them, exploring the different

features, and coming up with some standards that meet the needs of the user community.

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For example, an organization that has never used Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 before

shouldn’t immediately try to leverage all of the advanced features of a document library,

such as minor and major drafts, item-level security, RSS feeds, and complex columns (such

as lookup or calculated columns). Instead, the organization should add one or two new

columns to a document library that meet the needs of the user group (such as a column

titled Client Name or Part Number), create a custom view, and then provide some training

to the pilot users. The best way to promote the adoption of SharePoint is to limit the

complexity, add value to the users, and provide training.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Lists Demystified

Arguably just as important as document libraries, lists provide a huge range of tools to end

users and administrators, project managers, customers, and partners. A list presents infor-

mation in columns and rows, much as a spreadsheet does, and then provides special

features suited to the purpose of the list. A number of people can work on a Windows

SharePoint Services 3.0 list at the same time, facilitating collaboration much more easily

than trying to share an Excel spreadsheet.

The standard lists available in SharePoint 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services v3 are

as follows:

. Announcements list

. Contacts list

. Discussion board list

. Links list