Help section for internal IT documents, IT links and contacts.

Service - Our Service section contains information on customer projects, service templates, service administration links and other documents.

Customer Service - This is the place for Customer Hot Sheets, Quotes, Scripts, QuoteWerks information and other important details.

Sales and Marketing - This section is the most comprehensive and provides information on Practices, Sales Tools, ABC Company Collaterals, Logos, Events, etc.

Customers - Most customer folders are password-protected and are only accessible by customer service reps and project managers. These folders contain information on projects, files, and proposals.

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Using SharePoint

If you want to start building new sections in SharePoint, here is an overview of the most basic elements for building your own customized Web pages. The most important part of designing a customized page is learning about "Web Parts" and how they work.

Getting Started with Web Parts

What is a Web Part? It's what SharePoint uses to build Web pages. You can easily add, remove or edit Web parts, so you can customize a page, just the way you like it. In the instructions below, you will learn how to modify these Web Parts and upload documents to your existing pages.

To maintain a consistent look and feel for the ABC Company SharePoint site, only certain users will have the ability to create Web Parts. Each department, however, can assign their own users who can maintain or modify an existing part, or they can meet with server administrators to develop their own customized sections and Team Sites. For site customization requests, or to add additional pages to your section, please contact Maria Dimengo.

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Viewing Announcement Web Parts

If you are asked to contribute to the ABC Company SharePoint site, you will use Announcement Web Parts a great deal. Announcements are a great way to add news bytes or small bits of information to a site. To view an Announcement Web Part, click on the ABC Company home page. Look for the Announcement Web Part called "ABC Company Corporate News."

TIP: When viewing an Announcement Web Part, or any Web Part on SharePoint, be sure to click on the bold name of the Web Part or Title Bar, rather than an individual file that resides in that section. This will expand the page, so you can get a better look at the files and folders that belong to the Web Part. If you click on an individual file, it will simply re-draw the page, rather than take you to the page that contains all the files.

Figure 1.1

There are several key features of an Announcement Web Part:

1) The Title is the name of an Announcement. It usually contains hyperlinked text, which means if you click on the text, a separate page will open.

2) The Body or Description area is where the data you type will appear.

2) The Modify Arrow appears at the far right of the Title Bar and looks like a down arrow. If you are a SharePoint contributor, you have the option to modify the content inside this Web Part, using this feature. Since you will be mostly adding documents and files, you will not need to use this function.

3) The New Announcement Link appears at the bottom of the Web Part. This is the section of the Web Part you will use the most. When you click on this link, you can Add a New Announcement.

Adding a New Announcement

Once you click on Add New Announcement, a dialog box will open, like the one in Figure 1.2 below. You will be prompted to complete the dialog box prior to saving your new announcement.

Figure 1.2

1) Next to the Title section, type in the name of the Announcement. The title should be brief, but descriptive. You cannot add an Announcement, without adding a Title first.

2) Under the Body section, type in a description of the Announcement. This should provide a short level of detail, so users know what the document contains.

3) Next to Expires, you can select a date when you want this Announcement to expire. This is a great maintenance feature since it will automatically remove an announcement on a day you select.

4) Finally, click the Attach File button to attach a file to your Announcement. Browse to the file you wish to upload, located in a folder on your C: drive or on the network. Now you are ready to click Save and Close to complete the task.

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**Viewing Document Library Web Parts**

A Document Library Web Part is similar to an Announcement Web Part. The biggest difference is, you can create Document folders like you would in Windows Explorer.

To view a sample Document Library Web Part, click here:

Scroll to the bottom of the page and look for a section called "Sales Strategies." Notice the section contains documents that have been added to this Web Part.

TIP: When viewing a Document Library Web Part, or any Web Part on SharePoint, be sure to click on the bold name of the Web Part or Title Bar, rather than an individual file that resides in that section. This will expand the page, so you can get a better look at the files and folders that belong to the Web Part. If you click on an individual file, it will simply re-draw the page, rather than take you to the page that contains all the files.

Adding Folders to a Document Library

Let's say you have a folder you want to add to your Document Library. To create a folder, follow the instructions below:

1) Click on the bold text in the Title Bar, located at the top of your Document Library. This will open up a separate page, where your document files are stored.

2) Once the new page opens, click on New Folder. Name the folder. Click Save and Close when you are done.

3) Hover your mouse to the right of the new folder you created. Notice a drop-down arrow appears. Click on Edit Properties. This is where you can rename the folder, or delete it, if needed.

Adding Files to a Document Library

1) Click on the bold text in the Title Bar, located at the top of your Document Library. OR ...

2) Click on "Add New Document," which is located at the bottom of your Document Library.

3) Browse to the file you wish to upload on your C: drive or network. Type a description for the file, which will be useful to users on the site. You can also add an Owner name, if needed. Click Save and Close to complete this task.

Adding Multiple Files to a Document Library

1) Click on the bold text in the Title Bar, located at the top of your Document Library. OR ...

2) Click on "Add New Document," which is located at the bottom of your Document Library.

3) Click "Upload Document." Under the text box, click "Upload Multiple Files." A new Explorer window will open so you can browse to the folder that contains the files you want to upload. Place a checkmark next to the files you want to add to your Document Library. Click Save and Close when you are done.

After you have uploaded your files, you may want to type a brief description or change the text inside the description box.

To Edit a Filename or File Description

1) Click on the bold text in the Title Bar, located at the top of your Document Library.

2) Hover your mouse next to the document you want to change. From the drop-down arrow, choose Edit Properties. Modify your text or filename, then click Save and Close.

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Viewing Content Editor Web Parts

When viewing a Content Editor Web Part, the Web Part title bar is not hyperlinked, so there is no page to expand. Instead, you simply have an area you can customize with images, HTML tables and text.

Content Editor Web Parts are useful for typing a quick paragraph, bulleted list, or text that doesn't require an attachment or corresponding document. To view a sample Content Editor Web Part, click here:

Look for the Web Part called "Employee Anniversaries." This is a Content Editor Web Part that has been customized.

Because this is a powerful feature in SharePoint, incorrect coding or page errors could have an impact on the entire framework of the site. For detailed instructions on using the Content Editor function, please e-mail Maria Dimengo.

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A Note About File-Naming Conventions

When uploading documents to a SharePoint document library, it's always a good practice to develop a simple file-naming structure. Users should get a good idea about the subject matter of a document, based on a simple filename you provide. Including the date at the end of a file is also helpful, especially when a document is updated on a frequent basis.

SharePoint also offers an easy way to provide additional information about a file, using document library description fields. This will also help users identify the content of a document without having to click on its filename.

For more information on standardized filenames and other useful tips, here is an article called "Lessons We Learned," which provides suggestions on how to keep your SharePoint portal organized and easy to use:

http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/worktogether/teamsites.mspx