[WinPartners] Winpartners February 2004 Follow Up Answers to SharePoint Questions

[Christian Vernon]

Hi All,

I have some answers to questions posed at yesterday's Winpartners Meeting.
If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask!

-Bryant


1.

Q: If USER-A doesn't check out the file but instead directly opens it by
clicking on it, will another user (USER-B) who opens the file on another
machine in the same way be able to modify the file and potentially erase all
of USER-A's modifications?

A: When USER-B opens the file, it is opened as read only. If USER-A saves
changes to the file, it is saved as a new version without any check-in
comments. When USER-B tries to save the file, he is prompted with the
following image: http://web.mit.edu/is/usergroups/replace-file-sp.jpg. If
USER-B saves the file before USER-A does, then USER-A is then prompted to
replace, save as a different file, or merge changes into existing file. So,
whoever saves first, not whoever opens first, gets to do so without
annoyance. This behavior is similar to the behavior exhibited in previous
versions of Office when saving a file that has been modified since you
opened it.

2.

Q: How long does it take to set up a SharePoint Site?

A: It took me 1.5 hours to set up Windows 2003 .Net Server (as a standalone
server, with IIS, and all security patches) and 20 minutes to install the
SharePoint Services themselves. At this point I was ready to create sites /
document libraries / etc. So, in about two hours you can start from scratch
and have a fully functioning SharePoint Site. I highly recommend, however,
that you take extra time to ensure that the installation is secure.

3. 

Q: Can you force version control?

A: As far as I can tell, the answer is still no, and it makes sense. Version
control integrates into Microsoft Office 2003 (Check In and Check Out are
available in the File Menu), but it does not integrate into previous
versions of office. Microsoft must have wanted to allow backwards
compatibility with its older Office products AND to allow access to users
who want to view the file without modifying it.

4.

Q: Do users of the SharePoint Site need a Windows account?

A: To allow outside or temporary users to access the portal sites, you have
to choose the Active Directory mode. When setting up the portal and
SharePoint Services, you have to choose between using standard Windows
domain accounts for portal users or Active Directory-and this cannot be
changed later. So, if you want to allow outside users or temporary access to
the portal sites, you need to install it in Active Directory mode (yes, you
must be part of a Windows 2000 or later domain with AD).

5. 

Q: How well do SharePoint Services integrate with different versions of
Office?

A: You can read a white paper on the extent to which it integrates with
Office: 
http://www.microsoft.com/office/sharepoint/prodinfo/officeintegration.mspx