Category: SharePoint

Content Types – end user experience

I tried to figure out on our portal how the Content Types and their corresponding templates behave, when using Office 2003 and Office 2007. There are 2 main factors that determine the behaviour when a user selects a content type from the “New” button in a document library: the file format of the template and the version of the Office client:

  File format: 2003 File format: 2007
Client: Office 2003 – client app opens with document based on template– user saves the document– user needs to select the correct content type– user needs to fill in the correct metadata – not supported
Client: Office 2007 – client app opens new document based on template– user saves the document– user needs to select the correct content type– user needs to fill in the correct metadata via the document information panel, if metadata is required. Otherwise: NO metadata!(*) – client app opens new document based on template– document information pannel shows metadata immediately after opening the document– user can fill in metadata in dip and save the doc in one move

contenttypes.png

(*) You can optimise this via the document information panel settings of the content type: check Always show Document Information Panel on document open and initial save for this content type.

Conclusion is that the user experience is only optimal when using Office 2007 with templates in the Office 2007 format (or what did you expect…)

 Note: Interesting to know that the “Content type” is stored IN the properties of a document template file. If you use a document template file with such information as a template for an OTHER content type, things get very confusing, as MOSS will still prompt you for the metadata attached to the OLD content type!

A gold mine, not a coal mine

I came across an interesting article that discusses the results of a survey about the satisfaction of business users with their company intranet. As a SharePoint site owner, it is good to have a look a the top 5 of things people want on their intranet:

  1. people information
  2. procedures, policies…
  3. forms
  4. employee benefits
  5. organisation news

Also interesting is the list of improvements:

  1. better content organisation
  2. easier to find information
  3. better search
  4. clear intranet strategy
  5. getting rid of outdated content

If you keep these in mind, you make your intranet a gold mine, not a coal mine.

Reference: http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/new-thinking/intranets-what-staff-really-want

 

Custom activities in SharePoint Designer

SharePoint Designer is a great tool for developing workflows, because it brings the workflow development to the business owner, power user or information manager. You can quickly create a simple workflow without having to go through a often painful development process.

There are some limitations, of course. On a recent project, I really missed an action that would set the security of an item in a list, so that e.g. users could only see the documents they submitted.

Google to the rescue: this blog post explains how a developer could create a custom activity and make it available to the SharePoint designer users. Best of both worlds, isn’t it? Ease of use and extensibility?

Reference: http://www.codeproject.com/useritems/CustomActivity.asp