Before a workspace can be created under a SharePoint site, the site owner must grant the appropriate permission to that user or site group by accessing Site Settings, Configure Site and Workspace Creation and then selecting the site groups that will be allowed to create, rename, and delete workspace sites The default configuration of the document workspace site includes announcements, contacts, events, links, and tasks lists, as well as a members Web Part, a document library, and discussion group. This workspace is well equipped to enhance collaboration between team members working on a shared document. If a document workspace is created from a document stored in a document library, the "original" document in the library should be checked out to stop anyone else from modifying it. Once the collaboration on the document is complete, the option is provided to Publish to Source Location, which publishes the new version back to the original library. There are five different standard meeting workspace templates: basic meeting workspace, decision meeting workspace, social meeting workspace, multipage meeting workspace, and blank meeting workspace. It is helpful for the site administrator to become familiar with the differences between these templates so they can be used effectively, and users can be trained on the features of each. When a SharePoint event is created, there is an option provided to use a meeting workspace site for the event. This can be a quick way to create a workspace, and then have it be easily accessible to site users who can access the workspace from the event listing. Workspaces can also be created from SharePoint Portal Server 2003 by accessing the Sites area, and clicking on Create Site, entering the appropriate information and then selecting the template. Meeting workspace sites can be created from Outlook 2003 when a New Meeting Request is created. Outlook 2003 meetings can also be linked to an existing SharePoint meeting workspace site. After a workspace is customized to meet a specific set of needs, it can be made into a template if the format and design will be used frequently. The template is then stored in the Site Template Gallery and will be made available to users creating a workspace under that site.
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