Additional Document Management Key Features

                 

 
Special Edition Using Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server
By Robert  Ferguson

Table of Contents
Chapter  4.   Overview of Document Management


The SharePoint Portal Server user interface is designed around Microsoft Office, Windows, and a Web browser. SharePoint Portal Server features are exposed through extensions to these familiar user interface elements.

Windows Integration

SharePoint Portal Server exposes document libraries as Web folders within Windows Explorer using the universal folders and documents interface. Users can easily sort and organize documents based on specific business purpose. This is accomplished through the use of enhanced document folders, which show metadata (document profile) details.

Windows integration features are as follows :

  • Properties pages ” Extended property pages exist within SharePoint Portal Server documents to show version history, security settings, and metadata.

    Figure 4.14. The standard Explorer view is extended to display additional Metadata information.

    graphics/04fig14.jpg

  • Right-click functionality ” SharePoint Portal Server enhancements allow context menu functionality for checking in, checking out, and so on. Right-click the document to expose the available options. Our example shows a document that was already checked in and published. The only option on this document is check out.

    Figure 4.15. Illustration of the options for a document that is currently checked in.

    graphics/04fig15.jpg

    This example (see Figure 4.16) shows a document during the approval route process. The Coordinator can cancel the publishing process, which would end the approval route and return the document back to a checked in state. The Bypass Approval option enables a Coordinator to bypass the approval process and force the document to be published.

    Figure 4.16. Notice that the metadata displays the current version, which is pending. The Coordinator can cancel the publishing process or bypass approval, which would publish the document immediately.

    graphics/04fig16.jpg

  • Explorer-based view ” The folder view allows the metadata to be viewed so documents can now be viewed according to context. Figure 4.18 shows an example of the Explorer-based view.

    Figure 4.18. Document check in, check out, and publishing can be done directly from a drop-down menu within Microsoft Office.

    graphics/04fig18.jpg

  • Category-based views ” Categories allow documents that may exist in different physical locations to be represented as a single logical view.

Figure 4.17 shows how you can view documents by category using the dashboard view. From the Dashboard home site, click on Categories and then click on the category that includes the documents that you want to view.

Figure 4.17. Readers can browse through Categories within the Dashboard.

graphics/04fig17.jpg

Office 2000 Integration

COM (Component Object Model) add-ins are used within SharePoint Portal Server to enable document library menu extensions to be utilized within the application where documents are created and modified. Key features of Office 2000 are as follows:

  • Collaboration toolbar ” The Office 2000 collaboration toolbar allows for document-level team interaction.

  • File menu additions ” With Office 2000, the enhanced capabilities allow you to natively check in, check out, and submit a document to be published without having to launch any additional tools. From within the File drop-down menu of Office 2000, document libraries can be directly viewed and navigated.

  • Property promotion ” Document properties within a document are synchronized with the document profile. An example might be an Author property within a document. When changes are made to the document profile, changes are made to the actual properties within the document.

The ability to check in, check out, and publish documents using this integrated functionality provides end users with a seamless document management process.

Browser-Based Integration

All Author and Reader functionality is available through a Web-based interface for users who do not use Office or Windows. Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator version 4.x or later is required. With the browser, users can access the dashboard site. An example of the dashboard site is illustrated in Figure 4.19.

Figure 4.19. Dashboard site exposed through the Web browser.

graphics/04fig19.jpg

Document Management Extensions

To ease migration, management, and integration into line-of-business applications, SharePoint Portal Server supports programmatic access to document library functions through OLE DB, ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), and extensions to Collaborative Data Objects (CDO). Customizing SharePoint Portal Server using ASP, COM+, and SQL is discussed in more detail in Chapter 15.

Web Storage System for Custom Application Development

The Web Storage System supports a large variety of collaborative application development options through OLE DB and ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), SQL, Internet file system (IFS), and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).


                 
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Special Edition Using Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server
Special Edition Using Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server
ISBN: 0789725703
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 286

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