SharePoint

toc =SharePoint Tutorials= This is a place for helpful SharePoint Tutorials for people interested in using the SharePoint intranet at Peninsula College.

What is SharePoint?
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 is a secure, system for quickly creating websites where Peninsula College staff, faculty and departments can collaborate and share information. The main site's address is [|http://sharepoint.pc.ctc.edu] and can only be accessed by Peninsula College employees with a Peninsula College (pencol) domain account.

If you would like to request a SharePoint site for your department or project, please fill out the [|SharePoint Portal Site Request form] and email it to ericw@pcadmin.ctc.edu.

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How do I log in to the SharePoint system?
If you have never accessed a SharePoint based site at Peninsula College you need make sure that when you are prompted to login you enter your username and password exactly as follows (replace the **ericw** part with your username) for example:


 * User name:** pencol\ericw
 * Password:** 




 * Logging in to SharePoint: Tutorial Video (Flash video)**

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Configuring your browser for Single Sign-On
It is now possible to configure Internet Explorer on your Peninsula College computer so that you don't have to log in every time you want to access a SharePoint site. This is possible because when you are logged into your college work computer as yourself, your username and password can be checked without requiring you to enter it. Remember that this will not work if you are on a non-college computer or accessing SharePoint from a computer where you are not logged in as yourself. For example, an instructor or student station in a classroom. If you would like to configure your browser to take advantage of Single Sign-On, please watch the following video tutorial.



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Is there a site where I can practice using SharePoint?
We have created a demo and practice site where everyone at Peninsula College has been given contributor permissions so you can practice all of the skills presented on this page of tutorials. The URL for the site is http://sharepoint.pc.ctc.edu/practice and remember, you will have to log in to access the practice site so please refer to the how do I log in tutorial above to log in and get started with the practice site.


 * Using the Practice and Demo site: Tutorial video (Flash video)**

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Installing browser add-ons for SharePoint, YOU WILL NEED THESE!
SharePoint requires that you use Internet Explorer for full control of a SharePoint site. While you can use other browsers such as Mozilla Firefox to read and interact with sites, for more advanced use such as uploading documents and editing pages, you will need to install the required add-ons. Despite what you have been told not all Active X controls are bad. In fact, you can trust all browser add-ons required by SharePoint as the have been built and tested by the Microsoft SharePoint development team.

When you see the message pop-up (see image below), YOU MUST click the message and allow the Active X control to install.

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Working with documents in SharePoint
One of the greatest benefits of using SharePoint is the ability to store, manage and collaborate on documents. Unlike using one of the network shared drives, SharePoint document libraries can be accessed from anywhere on the web, securely. Each SharePoint site has a "Shared Documents" area where folders and files can be stored and accessed. The main operations you will need to become familiar with are uploading documents, creating folders, editing documents and deleting documents. All of these commands are available by clicking on the "Shared Documents" link on the left-hand navigation menu. Once you have opened a site's Shared Documents area you can start working with documents.

Creating Folders
To create a folder follow these steps (or watch the video) 1. From the Shared Documents area click on the drop-down arrow, on the right-hand side of the **NEW** button. 2. Click on the "New Folder" option and then fill out the form with the basic information for you new folder.

Adding/Uploading Documents
To add or upload documents to the Shared Documents area or a folder within follow these steps (or watch the video below) 1. Click on the drop-down arrow next to the button labled **UPLOAD** 2. Click on "Upload Document" to upload a single document to the current location. **NOTE**: You can also use the "Upload Multiple Documents" option to upload multiple documents at one time. 3. In the upload document form click the **Browse** button and browse to the document on your computer which you want to upload. 4. Click the **OK** button to upload the document.


 * Working with Documents: Tutorial video (Flash video)**


 * Managing large numbers of documents and folders with Windows Explorer (Flash Video)**

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Using the Team Calendar
Using the team calendar on a SharePoint site is a great way to share common dates and events with your team. To add events to the calendar you can either click the **Add New Event** link on your team site's homepage or you can click the **Calendar** link on the left-hand navigation to open the calendar where you can then click **New** from the menu bar to add an event.


 * Using the Calendar: Tutorial video (Flash video)**

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Using Team Discussion Boards
Team discussions are a great feature of SharePoint sites because they allow for discussions to take place outside of email. These discussions can then be used by other people who would not have been able to view or learn from a discussion which took place only in email. You can even attach documents to discussion board threads when you want to discuss a document.

To use the discussion board you need to click the **Team Discussion** link on the left-hand navigation to open the discussion board. Click on the **NEW** button on the menu bar to create a new discussion thread.

**Replying to a discussion board post**
When you have entered a discussion board you will see a list of topics or threads where discussion are taking place. To join a discussion click on the title of the thread and you will enter the individual discussion thread. To reply to a message, click the **Reply** button on the far right side of the discussion board menu bar.

You can select the way you view discussion threads using the view options drop-down menut. Typically the default view is **Flat** where all discussion board posts are left justified. The other option is the **Threaded** view which indents each reply one level helping you see visually who users are replying to different posts. Regardless of the view you choose, the discussion boards are always listed in chronological order of when they were received.
 * Flat versus Threaded view**


 * Using Discussion Boards: Tutorial video (Flash video)**

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Setting up and managing email alerts in SharePoint
Alerts are a great way to receive email notices when team members have replied to discussions, changed a document, added documents or made any change to your team site. It is often difficult to keep up with all of the changes taking place on a team site, alerts will help you stay in touch with your site.

**Creating alerts**
One of the most common ways to start using alerts is to set up an alert to notify yourself when team members have replied or added to a discussion board. To create an alert for a discussion board navigate to the **Team Discussion** area of the site. On the horizontal menu bar click the drop-down arrow next to the **Actions** button. When you click the **Alert Me** option you will be taken to a form where you can then name and configure alerts. If you are a site owner, you can create alerts for other team members in addition to yourself. It is recommended that you ask team members before creating alerts for them to avoid confusion.

Managing and deleting alerts
To view, manage and delete alerts you have set up for a given SharePoint site click on the drop-down arrow next to your name along the top most menu bar. On the My Setting page, click the **My Alerts** link on the horizontal menu bar. This will display all of the alerts you have set up for the current SharePoint site and will allow you to modify and delete your alerts.


 * Using Alerts: Tutorial video (Flash video)**

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Is there a way to reduce the amount of times I have to log in?
There are some really easy tricks for reducing the number of times you have to enter your username and password when working with SharePoint from off campus. Here are the two major ways to reduce the number of times you need to log in so that you can get your work done more efficiently.

When you open a web browser and access a SharePoint site for the first time, you will be asked to log in. However, once you have logged in you can leave SharePoint, explore other websites and come back without having to log in again as long as you keep the same browser window open. The reason for this is that SharePoint treats each browser instance as a new user so each browser session must be authenticated before being allowed to access the site. Once authenticated, you can come and go as you please until you close your browser. So keep your browser window open and you will reduce the amount of times you have to log in dramatically.
 * Once you log in, keep your browser open**

SharePoint works the same way with external applications such as Microsoft Word or Excel. When opening a document using an external program such as Word or Excel, you will have to authenticate the first time you open a document. However, once you have authenticated you can open and close documents off of SharePoint without having to re-authenticate as long as you keep Word or Excel open.
 * When working with Word or Excel documents leave Word or Excel open until you are completely done**

PDF documents do not require authentication since they are read-only. This is a great way to post documents in a way that will not prompt users for a password as PDF documents are typically read-only.
 * Add documents in PDF format for read-only documents**


 * Tutorial video (Flash video)**

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Getting started with your personal "My Site"
Each SharePoint user is given a personal portal page called their My Site. This is where you can upload a photo to share with others, describe yourself, store personal documents online and much more. It is basically like having your very own SharePoint site. You can control who sees what part of your profile including personal documents. It is a great way to help your collegues find you, learn more about what you and put a face with a name. Getting started is as easy as clicking on the "My Site" link within SharePoint on the upper right corner of any page. If you haven't set your site up the system will walk you through the process. Click the thumbnail below for a brief tutorial video which will guide you through setting up your My Site.




 * Tutorial video (Flash video)**

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