Glynn Brooks NTPCUG SIG Leader Training July 21, 2007

Objectives Learn about how SharePoint works Learn how to do routine SIG management tasks on the NTPCUG SharePoint site Look at how the NTPCUG web site and the SharePoint site are integrated Get SIG leader feedback on where we should be headed

What is SharePoint? SharePoint (SP) is a web site builder tool intended to be used in an office setting by teams of people working together on projects. It is focused on team collaboration – allowing multiple people upload and store documents, make changes that are available to all team members It works well with Microsoft Office products SharePoint software is free, but it has to run on a Windows Server 2003 box, uses SQL Server for storage, uses Active Directory for user authentication

SharePoint Advantages Does not require much effort to use Requires no knowledge of HTML, XML, FTP Allows construction of web sites and web pages with canned web parts Supports hierarchical organizations and team structures

SharePoint Disadvantages You can visit and view a SharePoint site with Firefox, but IE6 or IE7 is required to manage and update the site Our experience in using SharePoint has been rough Promised early, delivered late Attention to problems reported has been spotty and inconsistent Many problems reported with user logins Many problems encountered with IE7 browser

SharePoint Structure As implemented on our server, SharePoint is best thought of a hierarchical series of web sites The top level of the pyramid is the NTPCUG home site Every SIG web site is a child that inherits characteristics of the top-level parent site Every SIG web site consists of a home page that can be adapted as the SIG Leader desires Every SIG web site can have as many sub-web sites as the SIG Leader wants to set up and manage

SharePoint Administration Members and SIG Leaders can view most parts of the SharePoint site without logging in Depending on how the permissions are set by the SIG Leader, members may leave comments, upload / download documents, participate in surveys, etc. Recommendation: come in thru the NTPCUG home page, login, and then do your work DEMO TIME:Home Page URL, Log in

SharePoint Home Page URL NTPCUG SharePoint Home Page: SIGs can be accessed directly if you know the shortcut Examples:

Home Page Before Login

Home Page After Login

Creating/Modifying SIG Pages Each page is a collection of web parts which can be added, rearranged, resized, sorted, and removed Some elements – such as the page top and the left-hand list of links – cannot be moved We will demonstrate whats available and how to modify it on a dummy page which is not public DEMO: Arranging the web parts

SIG Page Recommendations Have an Events section that shows what you have planned for the future Set expiration dates for Events so that they automatically vanish after the event has happened Have an Announcements section that covers SIG purpose, policy, and goals – should answer questions of what we do and why we do it Have a General Discussion section where SIG members can post items of interest to other members Set up Alerts so you know when people have left messages and made changes Put your contact information on the Contact page so people know how to reach you between meetings; encourage SIG members to do the same

Summary Spend some time experimenting with the available web parts to see which ones are best for your SIG After assembling the parts, set properties on each part that reflect how you want members to view and use them – sort things by date, thread the topics Promote your SIG meetings by publicizing them ahead of time Solicit member opinions with surveys and general discussion areas, participate in the dialog, make people feel welcome

For Further Reference Copies of these slides are available by request to If there is interest, we could set up a SIG Leaders site where would could help one another with SharePoint and SIG Leadership items