Three Bears IT Consultancy

Posts Tagged ‘sharepoint’

The high level of integration between Microsoft Office 2007 and Microsoft SharePoint means that it’s often possible to access features from within the SharePoint environment without needing to directly access the system.  This makes it possible to publish Microsoft Access files directly into SharePoint lists as well as saving Word and Excel documents directly into a document library.

Microsoft Outlook 2007 also delivers a number of features to assist users in managing offline files as well as organising their diaries across multiple team sites or collaboration environments.

In this post, we look at how to integrate your shared calendars in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 with Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 so that you can view some or all of them in real time.

First thing is to navigate to the Shared Calendar that you’re wanting to manage within Microsoft Outlook 2007.  Site configurations differ, but if the person creating the site used default options then you’ll likely see a link saying Calendar on the quick launch bar, on the left underneath the header Lists.

Click on the calendar link and the screen should update to show your calendar in the default view.

Just above the calendar, and below any crumb trail, you should see a menu bar and a drop down menu that says Actions.

Click on Actions and choose Connect To Outlook.

Microsoft Outlook should then appear with a dialogue box asking whether you trust this information source and want to link it to your Outlook account.  Click on Yes.

You’ll now notice that in addition to your personal calendar in My Calendar, a new header will have appeared in the calendar folder list that says Other Calendars.  This is where Outlook stores all other linked calendars.

To view a calendar, tick the box next to the name; to hide a calendar, untick the box.  Simple as that.

Screen shots and video on their way soon.

We have been working closely with the Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit (LMBRU) to create a number of internal and external facing web sites to support the implementation of their IS/IT strategy and to subsequently support their bid to become a biomedical research centre.

Based around Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, the newly created Extranet site provides the facility to securely upload and share documents and information between collaborative partners; facilitating closer working relations and building a foundation upon which to build more complex data capture programmes.

The Extranet system provides dedicated sub sites for individual projects with the ability to upload documents via email, Windows Explorer as well as the typical Upload features of SharePoint 2007.  The system also makes use of SharePoint’s security trimming functionality to ensure that only authorised users are able to view a particular sub site by hiding any information, functions and documents to which the user does not have access.

In this way, users must know the exact URL of the collaboration site and have an authorised username and password before gaining entry.  Once successfully logged in, system auditing ensures that any unusual access is identified at an early stage and ensures the administrators can fine tune the security permissions where appropriate.

The system also allows anonymous access to the home page providing visitors with background information on the mission of the LMBRU along with links to a support wiki and various online training courses.

More information is available from the LMBRU Business Systems Analyst.

Microsoft have released the next generation of their SharePoint Server system to Beta testing.  We’re in the process of installing and configuring the system and will post a review here shortly.

More information is available from the Microsoft web site at: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/evalcenter/ee391660.aspx

Continuing from our previous post regarding free resources for planning your implementation of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, please find below links to further resources relating to deployment, operations and system security.

Deployment

Deployment for Office SharePoint Server 2007
Covers installing and configuring Office SharePoint Server 2007 in a new deployment.

Installation guide for Office SharePoint Server 2007
This guide provides the information you need to successfully install Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 to a stand-alone computer or simple server farm.

Design and build sites for Office SharePoint Server 2007
This guide provides prescriptive guidance that can help you and your team build custom enterprise sites by using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 — such as company-wide portal sites or Internet presence sites.

Upgrading to Office SharePoint Server 2007
Covers upgrading to Office SharePoint Server 2007.

Deploying Office SharePoint Server 2007 Service Pack 1
Changes in Office SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 and instructions for deploying the service pack.

Operations

Administering enterprise search for Office SharePoint Server 2007
Includes guidance and procedures for configuring and maintaining search features in Office SharePoint Server 2007.

Document management guide for Office SharePoint Server 2007
Covers document management features that you can use to control the lifecycles of documents in your organization.

Records management guide for Office SharePoint Server 2007
Covers general records management planning considerations and guidelines for configuring Office SharePoint Server 2007 .

Web publishing and planning guide for Office SharePoint Server 2007
Covers features you can use to implement the structure, navigation, and appearance of Web sites and to control how your sites are authored, approved, and published.

Security

Security for Office SharePoint Server 2007
Describes how security is implemented in Office SharePoint Server 2007.

Whether you’re planning your first implementation of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS) or are on your thirty first, Microsoft have released a range of resources which should make the planning process easier.  Primarily aimed at MOSS virgins, the guides, worksheets and white papers are still a useful reminder to seasoned campaigners of the functionality available as standard with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.

Due to licencing issues, we cannot reproduce the information to download directly from our site, but we’ve provided handy links below to some of what we consider to be the key documents when planning your implementation.

The main thing to comprehend is that there is a great deal of groundwork to be done prior to implementation of SharePoint; simply installing the software and expecting people to use it shall not solve your document or records management issues.  As the first developers of web sites found out, the “build it and they shall come” model does not apply here … build it and they might come, but they need encouragement and a reason to use the system.

SharePoint implementations (as with all business change projects) should be business led and not technology or IT led.  Members of Three Bears IT are currently working with the Faculty of Medicine and Health at The University of Leeds to deliver a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server solution for seven schools to meet issues surrounding collaboration with local NHS Trusts/hospitals and securely sharing documents and data with external partners, organisations and funders.  Case study coming soon …

Getting Started

Getting started with Office SharePoint Server 2007
Covers basic information about the capabilities of and requirements for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

Planning Stage

Information Worker Competence Center – Achieving Business Success with your Collaboration Infrastructure
Outlines the functions an Information Worker Competence Center should include and in return what contributions to business success you should expect.

Planning and architecture for Office SharePoint Server 2007, part 1
Covers topics such as planning sites, planning for certain features such as forms and search, and planning for managing documents and records.

Planning and architecture for Office SharePoint Server 2007 , part 2
Covers topics such as determining hardware and software requirements, capacity planning, and planning for security.

Planning an extranet environment for Office SharePoint Server 2007
Covers planning recommendations for deploying Office SharePoint Server 2007 in an extranet environment.

Internet presence scenario ( Office SharePoint Server 2007 )
Provides an end-to-end scenario that outlines how to plan, design, build, and maintain an enterprise’s Internet presence Web site based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 . This scenario focuses on the design, creation, and deployment of an Internet presence site in a large enterprise.

Best practices for developing accessible Web sites
Provides information about designing and developing accessible Web sites in Office SharePoint Server 2007 . This document is intended for users who are familiar with Office SharePoint Server 2007 , ASP.NET, and .NET development.

Deliver accessible solutions
Provides information and guidelines about the issues that organizations face when delivering accessible Web solutions, including those built by using Office SharePoint Server 2007 .

Plan and configure availability within an Office SharePoint Server 2007 farm
Provides information about planning and configuring availability within an Office SharePoint Server 2007 farm.

Governance guide for Office SharePoint Server 2007
Governance is the set of policies, roles, responsibilities, and processes that you establish in your enterprise to guide, direct, and control how it uses technologies to accomplish business goals. The articles in this guide will help you determine the aspects of your Office SharePoint Server 2007 deployment to govern and include discussions of techniques for governing your enterprise’s SharePoint IT service and information architecture.