Office 2003 and the Document Workspace

An exciting new feature, the Document Workspace, allows users who don't have the option of sharing documents on a corporate network to collaborate on the Web. The Document Workspace is actually an extension of Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, which allows you to store documents for collaboration on a SharePoint server. Multiple users can access the document in the shared workspace, and tasks can be assigned associated with the collaborative effort.

The Document Workspace is a fairly advanced feature offered by Office 2003, so the full details related to the use of this powerful feature are beyond the scope of this introduction. However, creating a new workspace is surprisingly easy. It does, however, require that you are connected to the Internet and have access to a SharePoint server maintained by your company or you have subscribed to a SharePoint hosting service such as those offered by Microsoft. Let's take a look at creating a Document Workspace in Microsoft Word.

To create a Document Workspace, follow these steps (these steps assume Microsoft Word is already open ):

  1. Open the document that will be available in the shared workspace.

  2. Select Tools and then Shared Workspace . The Shared Workspace task pane opens as shown in Figure 1.1.

    Figure 1.1. A shared workspace can be created for your Office documents.

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  3. Type the URL (Uniform Resource Locator or Web address) for the workspace that will serve as the holding area for the shared document in the Location for New Workspace box.

  4. Click the Create button in the task pane.

  5. A connection box will appear that requires you to enter your user name and password for the shared workspace. After entering the information, click OK.

  6. The shared workspace will be created (on the Web site you designated) and a copy of the current document is placed in the workspace.

As the creator of the site, you are designated as the site owner. This allows you to add new members to the site, add additional documents, and manage the workspace. You can also view who is currently online and working on the document. Figure 1.2 shows a document that is shared in a workspace. Note that the Shared Workspace task pane lists the current users of the workspace and whether or not they are currently online. Tools provided in the task pane allow you to quickly e-mail workspace users and to update the workspace status.

Figure 1.2. The Shared Workspace task pane allows you to manage the workspace and its users.

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Tasks Can be Created Using the Shared Workspace Task Pane A useful feature related to the Shared Workspace feature is the ability to create tasks and assign them to users of the workspace. Click the Tasks icon at the top of the Shared Workspace task pane and then click the Add New Task link. To name the task, use the Task dialog box that appears, and set the other task parameters, such as who the task is assigned to and when the task is due.




Microsoft Office 2003 All-in-One
Microsoft Office 2003 All-in-One
ISBN: B005HKSHB2
EAN: N/A
Year: 2002
Pages: 660
Authors: Joe Habraken

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