 
Frequently
Asked Questions
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General
Building Your Web
Site
What is SharePoint Team Services?
SharePoint
Team Services is a team Web site solution you can use to
create workspaces on an as-needed basis to manage group
activities and produce shared deliverables. For a
complete description of the features and functionality
of SharePoint Team Services, please see our Features
page.
Is SharePoint Team Services the
same thing as Office Web Server?
Yes. Office Web
Server was the code name; the official name is
SharePoint™ Team Services from Microsoft.
Does SharePoint Team Services
differ from SharePoint Portal Server?
Yes, they are different and pricing varies greatly.
SharePoint Team Services and
Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server are two separate and
distinct offerings under the Microsoft SharePoint brand
name. The SharePoint brand name is used to help
identify Microsoft technologies that facilitate
information sharing using Web-based technologies.
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SharePoint Team Services
Small or ad hoc workgroups need
informal means to work together on group deliverables,
share documents, and communicate status with one
another. These groups need to share information easily
and effortlessly and
SharePoint Team Services–based Web sites
allow them to do that.
The SharePoint Team
Services technology gives users the ability to quickly
create and contribute to team or project-focused Web
sites from within their browser or Microsoft Office XP
applications. With SharePoint Team Services, teams
can create a quick Web site for sharing information
such as documents, calendars, announcements, and other
postings. |
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SharePoint Portal Server
Large workgroups with structured
processes need greater management over their
information. They require features like formal
publishing processes and the ability to search for and
aggregate content from multiple data stores and file
formats. For this scenario,
SharePoint Portal Server 2001 is
recommended.
SharePoint Portal Server is a standalone server
product that creates a corporate or division-wide
portal web site that allows users to share documents
and search for information across the organization and
enterprise and from many data sources including
SharePoint Team Services-based Web sites—all within
one extensible portal interface. And, SharePoint
Portal Server includes robust document management
features that allow companies to incorporate business
processes into their portal solution.
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FWHN
offers:
Quick Comparison
| SharePoint Technologies
Highlights
End-to-End Solution:
How They Work Together
How do I get SharePoint Team Services?
SharePoint Team Services is included in FrontPage 2002,
Microsoft Office XP Developer, and Office XP
Professional Special Edition.
What do I need to use SharePoint
Team Services?
Any Windows-based
client computer can use features of a SharePoint Team
Services-based Web site, providing that Microsoft
Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator/Communicator browser version
4.0 or later is used.
What Web
browsers are supported?
Most
SharePoint functionality, including all the critical
functionality, can be accessed from Internet
Explorer or Netscape Navigator/Communicator version 4.0
browser or later. However, Netscape browser users will
not be able to see or add any inline discussion within
uploaded documents to the shared documents folder. We
recommend the latest version of Internet Explorer.
How do I access my SharePoint Team
Services site?
You and your team can access your SharePoint site from
any computer with an Internet connection and compatible
browser.
What are the licensing requirements
for SharePoint Team Services?
For the Client: There are no Client Access Licenses (CALs)
for SharePoint Team Services, whether installed on a
corporate network or available through a commercially
hosted service. If a user opens a SharePoint Team
Services-based Web site with FrontPage 2002, that
desktop must have a license for FrontPage on the client.
Typically, about one out of nine SharePoint Team
Services users use FrontPage to open their team Web
site.
My hosting company operates
UNIX-based servers. Can it host a SharePoint Team
Services−based site for me?
No, but it could support FrontPage Server Extensions,
which are available for most popular UNIX platforms.
FWHN hosts your FrontPage 98/2000/2002 and SharePoint
Web sites on Windows servers only. NT
Better Than Unix
I am working on projects and don't
want the public to have access to the information. Can I
build a private SharePoint Team Services site?
You choose who has access to your SharePoint site.
Members must be invited by the administrator or by
someone with administrative privileges.
What kind of documents can I save
to my SharePoint Team Services site?
You can save Office documents like Word Excel and
PowerPoint. You can also save most common file
formats—.PDF, .JPEG, .GIF files and others.
Can I save documents in Office XP
directly into my SharePoint Team Services site?
Yes, Office XP integrates seamlessly with SharePoint.
When you are saving your Word, Excel or PowerPoint file,
simply choose your SharePoint Web site when prompted in
the "Save As" dialogue box.
Can I synchronize contacts with
Outlook XP and my SharePoint Team Services site?
Yes! Outlook XP and your SharePoint site are seamlessly
integrated. Add contacts in either application and
synchronize the two with just a few mouse-clicks.
Do I need Office XP to use
SharePoint?
No. Most
SharePoint functionality, including all the critical
functionality, can be accessed from a version 4.0
browser or later. However, Microsoft Office XP does
allow increased integration and functionality—like
viewing document libraries in a graphical,
easy-to-understand format, and easy information sharing
from Office applications to team Web sites and vice
versa. In order to save Office documents directly
to your SharePoint site or sync your contacts list, you
will need Office XP.
What can I do with Office
2000?
Office 2000 allows you to perform most functions within
SharePoint. Assuming you have appropriate access rights,
Office 2000 users will be able to:
| View all information
|
| Upload existing
documents |
| Edit views and
customize lists |
What can I not do with Office 2000?
Office 2000 users will not be able to do the following:
| Create new documents
via the SharePoint site |
| Edit existing
documents using full SharePoint integration (Meaning
that rather than editing the document live via
SharePoint, the user must download the document,
save it locally, and then re-upload it. Note that
this will likely impact revision information that is
stored within SharePoint.) |
| Import lists from
Excel |
What if I don't have
any version of MS Office?
Since SharePoint was designed from the ground up to be
tightly integrated with Office XP, users without any
version of Office will only be able to use the limited
set of features that are Browser-based. Note that
non-Office files can be stored in the document
libraries, and these customers could download, edit, and
upload these files assuming they have the appropriate
software.
Does SharePoint Team Services have
workflow rules to support document collaboration?
Yes. Workflow rules are integrated into your SharePoint
site. Post a document, then request a review by one or
more of your team. Review cycles are tracked and easily
viewed.
Why do I get 'Page Not
Found' errors when trying to access 'Site Settings'?
There are actually a number of reasons you could get
this message. First, make sure that:
| You've exhausted all
the possibilities that the error page gives you.
|
| You are running the
latest version of Internet Explorer (5.0 or higher).
|
| You are able to access
any pages on the site that do not require
authentication. |
If you've checked all of
these things, then the problem may be that your system
is lacking Client for Microsoft Networks in your
network control panel. Open up your Network Control
Panel. In the list of installed network components, you
should see Client For Microsoft Networks. If this
client is not installed in the Network Control Panel,
you will not be able to authenticate in Microsoft
SharePoint.
If you are not
experienced in working with the Network Control Panel,
check Microsoft's documentation before making any
changes. Additionally, if you are on a network, be sure
to contact your network administrator as incorrect
changes made here can negatively effect your local area
network.
Can
I backup or copy my SharePoint database remotely?
No. Backups of SharePoint content and databases
must be performed locally. A SharePoint site or database
may be restored from backup for a fee, per our terms and
conditions.
How do I build a SharePoint Team
Services site?
You don't need programming or technical skills;
SharePoint includes a design and editing tool that makes
it easy for you to create and customize your Web site.
Can I use Microsoft FrontPage?
With FrontPage 2002 on the desktop, you can add themes,
images, and shared borders to customize the look of the
Web site. You can also use FrontPage 2002 to customize
the layout of lists, establish workflow rules for
document libraries, as well as use SharePoint Team
Services functionality within FrontPage 2002-based Web
sites. DO NOT attempt to use FrontPage 2000 with
your SharePoint Web site.
How long will it take to build my
site?
After FWHN has setup
your site, you can get a basic site up and running
within a few minutes. After that, spend as much time as
you like adding additional graphics, Web pages, and
other features. As you and your team use your SharePoint
Team Services site, you will see it updating in real
time.
Can I add discussion groups and
surveys to my SharePoint Team Services site?
Yes. Discussion groups and surveys are easily set up
from within your SharePoint Team Services site and
invaluable in soliciting and collecting feedback on
particular documents or ideas.
What are lists?
Lists are the core of SharePoint team services. Although
there are many predefined and specialized lists, they
are basically all created and administered in the same
way. In addition to being able to create your own list,
and even import lists using Excel XP, there are eight (8)
default list-types that come predefined in SharePoint.
They are:
| Document Library
|
| Survey |
| Discussion Board
|
| Links |
| Announcements
|
| Contacts |
| Events |
| Tasks |
What types of users
can be setup for SharePoint Team Services?
Users are simply people who are authorized to access the
lists within SharePoint. The SharePoint Team Services
site administrator will assign different access levels -
called roles - to the users. These give users unique
permissions within SharePoint. The access levels
available by default are:
| Administrator -
View, add, and change all server content; manage
server settings and accounts |
| Advanced author
- View, add, and change pages, documents, themes,
and borders; recalculate hyperlinks. |
| Author - View,
add, and change pages and documents. |
| Contributor -
View pages and documents, view and contribute to
discussions. |
| Browser - View
pages and documents. |
The site administrator
has the ability to add new roles, and to modify or
delete existing roles. Note that if the default roles
are deleted, there is no way to retrieve them.
Even if you don't intend to use the default roles, it's
a good idea not to delete them should you choose to use
them at a later date.
How can I alert my
users when they have a new task?
Although this feature is not specifically available in
SharePoint, there is a way to accomplish this easily
with SharePoint. To begin, create a new Task List for
each of your users. Next, have the users subscribe to
their respective Task Lists: this way, each time a new
task is assigned, they will be alerted via e-mail.
What does the 'Change
Anonymous Access Settings' section do?
This section allows you to change the access level, or
role, of any non-authenticated users. By default,
anonymous users are allowed 'Browser' level access -
meaning they can view the pages and any documents. You
can also turn off anonymous user access - thus ensuring
that only users that you grant access to will be able to
view the site. Note that since this page allows you to
assign any role to anonymous users, you can even assign
Administrative access to them. WE STRONGLY DISCOURAGE
THIS since it would grant anyone on the Internet
access to change settings and files on your site.
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