A quick list of essentials that every SharePoint newbie needs to know about
by
Christian
Buckley
We all need to start somewhere. Here's where we suggest you put your initial
focus, and why:
1. Create a site
While some first-time users in a larger organization may not have the
permissions to create a site, this is one of the first tasks after an
administrator builds out the platform, creating a top-level portal that is
likely your team site collection (the top-level site for your team or business
unit). The key to this step is in understanding the goal or purpose of the site,
and selecting the right name, template, and configuration settings for the
site.
2. Create a document library
Most new users think of SharePoint as a document repository. While it can do
much more, a document library is a great place to begin working with the
platform and moving your content off of your desktop and out of your file
shares.
3. Create a simple workflow
SharePoint provides some basic workflows out-of-the-box that can help you to
be more productive. For example, the Approval Workflow can automate the review
process of any new file added to your document library, routing it to your
manager. You know…. for approval.
4. Create a list
Because lists are what run the world (at least for those of us with OCD),
this is one to get comfortable with. You'll find that the more you use
SharePoint, the more you'll discover that lists are truly the building block of
the platform, and enable you to capture data, track it, and report on it.
5. Create a survey
Another easy-to-use, plug-and-play solution to help you quickly tap into the
social unconscious of your team, and share the results with your
organization.
6. Create a picture library
Did you know that 67.4% of all end users prefer sites with visual elements?
And did you also know that 49.25% of all statistics are made up on the spot? Ok,
people like visuals. Or your project may have a lot of pictures to be captured.
Similar to the document library, this is a core to many team sites, and
SharePoint provides some easy ways to help you display your content across your
site.
7. Create a shared calendar
A great way to get your team productive on SharePoint is to help everyone
sync their activities via a shared calendar. Do we really need to discuss
why?
8. Create a workspace
One of the more useful (and less traveled) features of SharePoint is the
workspace. You've created an event -- a team offsite -- on the shared calendar,
and now want to track the deliverables for this activity, and involve others to
help prepare. Where do you store these documents? In a new site? No -- just
create a workspace as part of the creation of a new calendar event. Pretty nifty
stuff.
9. Apply metadata
Want to find your content after it has been uploaded? Understanding the
basics of metadata is essential to making SharePoint work for the long-term.
It's a good thing to understand the basics of metadata -- how it works, the
differences between managed metadata (structured, planned) and user-generated
metadata (folksonomy).
