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Introducing SharePoint and UNTranetBy Susan Pierce, Manager, CITC’s UNTranet Admin TeamMicrosoft SharePoint is a browser-based product that facilitates the sharing of files, calendars, tasks, and other information. Since it is web-based, SharePoint is accessible from PCs, Macs, cell phones, etc. Since it is from Microsoft, SharePoint integrates with Office, Outlook, Communicator, and Internet Explorer. Users familiar with Outlook will find a similar interface in some parts of SharePoint, and Office 2007 users will find menu choices associated with SharePoint features. SharePoint websites can be set up quickly for departments, committees and project teams, and they can be divided into sub-sites as needed. These sites contain lists -- lists of names/phone numbers, lists of dates (calendars), lists of tasks, lists of website links, and lists of files. Users can create new lists, update the information in the lists, add new columns (also called properties), upload files, and receive an email “alert” when anyone else updates a list. A list of files in SharePoint is called a Document Library. Many of us are familiar with sharing files using a network drive (the “H:” drive), and we know how to move, copy, rename, delete, and organize our files in folders/directories. A SharePoint Document Library adds some handy features to facilitate file sharing: · Document “check out” helps to ensure that only one user edits a document at a time. Any other user can still read the file, but it cannot be modified by anyone other than the user who has checked it out.
·
Users
can subscribe to alerts. When any document in a library is
modified, or when a new document is added to the library, the
subscriber receives an email notification that a change or addition
has occurred. The email includes a link to the new or changed
document.
· Documents in a library can be assigned new “properties” -- extra information about the document. When we look at a list of files, we see each property in a separate column – the file type property (represented by an icon), the filename property, and the last date modified property. In a Document Library, we can create our own custom columns/properties. For example, we might create a property called “Status” to indicate whether the document is a “draft” or a “final” version. Since file lists can be sorted by any property, additional properties can be helpful in managing a large number of documents.
· “Versioning” shows the edit history of a document – who edited it and when. Previous versions can be retrieved if needed.
The Document Library is just one of SharePoint’s many features. Shared calendars, discussion lists, and wikis are some of the other popular, easy-to-use features. In 2008, CITC assembled a SharePoint system to evaluate its use as a potential platform for electronic forms and workflow. The new forms component of Microsoft Office, called InfoPath, is easy to use yet powerful. An InfoPath form is easily formatted, and SharePoint can be used to display an InfoPath form in a web browser so that users can complete the forms from a Macintosh, or from a PC on which Office is not installed. Additionally, InfoPath forms can be designed to provide choices from a data source, such as the data used in UNT’s Enterprise Information System. For example, a form field for “DeptID Number” could display a list of UNT’s DeptID numbers and their descriptions.
Workflow automates the routing of forms and other documents to specific people. Workflows can be simple, such as a “Supervisor Approval” workflow, or more complex, such as one designed to route a form to various department heads and vice presidents before the form is finally routed to all members of a committee. Simple workflows can be initiated from a Document Library by any user seeking to collect feedback or request approval.
CITC’s SharePoint system, dubbed “UNTranet” (“UHN-truh-net”), has been in operation for about six months. It is configured as an “intranet” – an internal network for use by UNT employees. Sites are created upon request, and the number of sites is growing as more faculty and staff members discover that SharePoint can help groups of people to collaborate. All UNT faculty, staff, and hourly employees should have access to the “UNTranet Portal” at http://untranet.unt.edu. Since it is not a public system, users must log on using “UNT\euid” as User name (the same logon process used when logging on to http://webmail.unt.edu).
From the main UNTranet Portal page, users can access on-line training modules by clicking on the “UNTraHelp” tab. On-site demonstrations and custom training sessions are available to departments and committees. Requests for sites, help, or training can be sent to untranet@unt.edu. UNTranet is administered by Garrett Stephens, Larry Talley, and Susan Pierce, with help from many departmental network managers.
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