THE SHAREPOINT DOCUMENT CENTER (WINDOWS VISTA).

The SharePoint document Center is a web-based system for accessing, editing, managing, and sharing collections of documents. Although any kind of document can be stored in the Document Center, SharePoint is designed to function most fully with Microsoft Office tools including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The Document Center works best with the latest combination of tools: Internet Explorer 7, Office 2007, and Windows Vista. However, Windows XP, Office 2003, and Internet Explorer 6 will work well. The Document Center has a significantly diminished feature set on the Macintosh. Specifically, online editing is NOT available. Instead, when accessing documents, they must be downloaded and edited on your computer and then re-loaded manually. While much less convenient, the main benefit of the Document Center--collaboration--is still fully functional..

This tutorial includes 5 topics:

• Accessing the Document Center of the KSU Sharepoint server (http://sharepoint.kent.edu)
• Selecting and Editing Documents in the Document Center
• Checking Documents In and Out of the Document Center
• Uploading Documents to the Document Center
• Creating New Documents Within the Document Center

This tutorial covers many of the essential basics that will get you started with the Sharepoint Document Center. There are many more features that can help you manage shared documents in a wide variety of ways. The Resources page has additional information on learning these tools

Accessing the Document Center

1. To access the Document Center on the KSU Sharepoint server, enter http://sharepoint.kent.edu/president in the address bar of your web browser.

2. The server requires authentication. Enter your KSU email address and your password in the log-in box. You may find it convenient to click the "Save my password."


3. After you have logged in, you will see the SharePoint main window. Depending on your computer's configuration, you may see the Internet Explorer Information Bar and a notice that you will need to install and 'Active X' control to allow you to fully access SharePoint.


4. Close the alert message and then click on the yellow info bar to install the ActiveX control (ActiveX controls are mini-programs that expand or enhance your browser). Select "Run ActiveX Control" from the contextual drop-down menu.

5. Click "Run" on the alert message to install the ActiveX control.

6. The Document Center can be accessed from the menu tab in the middle of the screen or by the hyperlink in the navigation bar on the left.

7. The Document Center main window provides easy access to announcements for your team as well as an overview of the documents available for viewing. You can click any of the document titles to open and view them. For more options and features, click the "Documents" link from the left navigation bar.

Selecting and Editing Documents in the Document Center

1. The Document Center displays a list of the documents available and pertinent information including the title, the date the document was last modified, and the last author to modify the document. Click the file title to open the file in the program used to create it. Alternately, click the small down arrow (triangle) to select the document actions and select "Edit in Microsoft Office Word." In this example, we'll be editing the "BartlettBible.doc" file.

2. You will be asked if you want to edit or just read the document. You can choose to view the document with "Read Only" or more typically, "Check Out and Edit" the document to make changes.

3. In addition, you may receive a message that warns you about the risks associated with macros. MAcros are small scripts that may be included in some Office documents to perform sequences of tasks. Malicious hackers can embed macros in some file types and these macros can cause problems for your computer. Therefore, you should only open files only from trusted co-workers.

4. Once you select "Check Out and Edit," the "Use my local drafts folder" option is automatically selected. This option will cause Sharepoint to save a temporary copy of the file in a folder on your computer. By default, the folder location is the "Sharepoint Drafts" folder inside of "My Documents."


5. Verify that you have a local copy of the file by double-clicking on the "SharePoint Drafts" folder.

6. While you have a document checked-out, the file icon will change in the Document Center and it will have a small green arrow displayed.

7. Edit the document as you would any other document on your computer. When you save the file, you will see an alert informing you that you must check-in the document to post your changes back to SharePoint. Click
"Yes."

8. SharePoint will track your changes by asking you to rate the magnitude of the changes. Versions are incremented numerically. Your options are a minor change that will increment the version by one-tenth or a major version that will increment the current version by a whole number (1.0). You can also elect to overwrite the current minor version. So, if you are working on draft 2.1 and you discover a small typo, you'll probably just want to fix the typo and replace 2.1 instead of creating a whole new 2.2 draft.

9. If you decide not to save the changes you've made, select "Discard Check Out" from the actions menu in the Document Center.

10. Once you have checked the document back in (or discard the check out) the local temporary file saved in the SharePoint Drafts folder will be automatically deleted. This feature is an important way of ensuring that multiple versions of the document do not exist on personal computers.

Checking Documents In and Out of the Document Center

A great advantage of the Document Center is the ability for anyone with the correct permission to access and edit documents. But, imagine the scenario where two (or more) people want to edit the document at the same time. Lots of confusion could result. To prevent this problem, users can "Check Out" a document, edit at their leisure and check it back in when their edits are complete. While a document is checked out to you, others can still read the old draft, but can not make changes until you check it back in.

1. To check out a document, hover over the document's title. A small down arrow (small triangle) will appear, indicating a drop-down menu. Click the down arrow and select "Check-Out."

2. You can elect to save a draft on your computer. This feature allows you to edit the document offline (even when you are NOT connected to the internet).

3. Saving the file locally requires a quick, one-time configuration to your browser's security setting. Since you will be saving files that can contain viruses, SharePoint insists that you change your security settings.

4. To adjust your security settings, locate the Tools menu in Internet Explorer and select Internet Options from the drop down menu.

5. On the Internet Options menu, follow these steps: 1) Click the "Security" tab in the upper left; 2) Click the "Trusted Sites" button in the upper middle, and 3) click the "Sites" button to add the sharing.kent.edu site.

6. The Add Sites box should already have "http://sharing.kent.edu" ready to add. Click the "Add" button. Check OFF the "Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone" check box.

7. The URL for the SharePoint server--http://sharing.kent.edu--should now be added to the list of "safe" websites.

8. By default, SharePoint will now temporarily store a copy of the document in a folder called "SharePoint Drafts" in your "My Documents" (Windows XP) or "Documents" (Vista).

9. Double-click the "SharePoint Drafts" folder to verify that your draft of "TestMemo" is no saved locally on your computer. Note that there may be other files there as well. Sometimes, these files are temporary files that SharePoint needs to manage document features. Do not delete files from this folder unless you know what they are.

10. Once you save changes to this draft, it will automatically upload to SharePoint as soon as you are connected to the Internet.

Uploading Documents to the Document Center

Uploading documents from your computer to the Document Center is very straightforward. In fact, the hardest part might be in finding the document on your computer. You might find it helpful to locate the document first or develop standard locations (specific folders in My Documents or the Desktop) where you place documents that you will be sharing in the Document Center.

1. Click the down arrow (small triangle) on the "Upload" button above the document listing and select "Upload Document" from the drop down menu.

2. Click the "Browse" button on the file browser window to locate the file that you wish to upload on your computer. Note that the "Overwrite existing files" button is checked by default. With this box checked, any file with the same name in the Document Center will be replaced as soon as you click "OK."

3. You will be returned to the Document Center file list and your new document will appear in the list. Note the "New" symbol to the right of the file label. This symbol alerts other user that there are new files available for their use.

Creating New Documents Within the Document Center

You can create a new file directly within the document center. The main advantage of this approach is convenience. Rather than exiting the Document Center, locating the required program (i.e., Word), and creating a new blank document, you can accomplish the same steps with one quick action in the Document Center. Note that you also use this function to create new folders to organize your files.

1. Click the down arrow (small triangle) to the right of the "New" button on the top left of the file listing in the Document Center. Select "Document" from the drop down menu. Microsoft Word will open with a blank document to edit. Enter your text and edit and format the document as you ordinarily do.

2. To create a new file, you must access the basic template file. You will receive a warning about the potential security risks. Click "OK."

3. After you have edited your document in Word, choose "Save As" from the File menu and a familar Save dialog box will appear. Here, the Save box indicates that the file will be save to Document Center. If you are using Office 2007, you may wish to select a file type that is compative with previous versions of Office (.doc).

4. An alert will be displayed, reminding you that the file is located in the SharePoint Drafts folder while it is checked out to you.

5. You will be taken back to the Document Center and your new document will appear with the green arrow icon indicating that the file is checked out to you.