Datasheet

Chapter 1: Microsoft Offi ce SharePoint Services 2007 (MOSS)
13
calendar can take up a lot of screen space. In the real world, presenting data - based information as a
simple SharePoint list view and the option for the user to view it as a graphical calendar works out well
and doesn t take up as much space on the screen.
Offline Access
In many organizations, there is a requirement for staff to work off - site, and SharePoint deals with this in
a number of ways. In later chapters, you will be looking at working with Microsoft Outlook 2007,
Microsoft Office Access 2007, and another program called Microsoft Groove to take SharePoint
documents out on the road. Microsoft Groove is a program that can be used to extend the reach of
SharePoint into, for example, a supplier company without providing full access to your SharePoint sites
or internal security systems.
Both Outlook 2007 and Microsoft Access 2007 have been enhanced to enable the use of SharePoint
information while disconnected from the server. Access 2007 in particular has had multiple features
added to the interface to make working with SharePoint lists easier and more efficient.
Microsoft Office Groove 2007
Groove 2007 is another bit of software that works with SharePoint and is discussed in more detail in
Chapter 10 . It can be downloaded and installed locally on the PC from
http://office
.microsoft.com/en - us/groove/default.aspx
. Groove allows you to extend the reach of SharePoint
outside your business. Using Groove you can give permissions to outside users (such as suppliers) to
access files from your SharePoint installation without giving them direct access to the SharePoint site.
The main advantage in this is that you can create and control the Groove environment yourself without
having to worry about adding the outside contacts to your organization s security systems. In order to
use Groove, you must first create an account. Once this is done, you simply sign in, create a workspace,
and invite other Groove account holders to your workspace. Within the workspace you can share
documents, hold online meetings, and share resources. Groove is capable of synching changes made
to documents in the Groove workspace with those held on the SharePoint Server. To do so, it will use
your credentials on SharePoint, which means that you, as the Groove workspace manager, retain control
over what is copied from the workspace to the server. One thing you do need to be careful of is that
other individuals you invite to the Groove workspace can invite others as well. This could cause
problems, depending on the nature of the documents being shared.
It is also worth noting that, in many organizations, in order for external staff to access materials within
SharePoint, they must be added to the organization s internal security system. This is what my job
entails. All users wishing to access SharePoint materials must be held within our Active Directory, and
procedures are in place to deal with this requirement. However, without direct permissions on the
SharePoint site, Groove users cannot directly access the documents on the server. They are restricted to
only those copies stored within the Groove workspace.
Groove is an option that you may want to investigate if you need to interact with individuals outside
your organization who cannot (for whatever reason) be added to your SharePoint security system.
Outside its connection with SharePoint, Groove may also be useful for those times when you need to
communicate and share files with other people, as its use is not limited to SharePoint. Any file stored on
the PC or to which you have access can be shared using the Groove workspace. Groove is simply another
collaboration alternative.
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