Reviewing the E-mail a Link and Alert Me Tools

The next two tools on the Documents tab are E-mail a Link and Alert Me. The E-mail a Link opens an email and pastes the link to the document that has been checked. Only a single document can be selected. This is a great time saver when a user wants to share a document with another user because it requires just one click to open the email and paste in the link. This also helps IT reduce the number of files attached to emails that end up bloating inboxes.

The Alert Me tool allows the user to create an alert on a specific document, if one is checked, or to Manage My Alerts, which opens the My Alerts on this Site page. Then the user can create an alert for a list or library. Alerts are another powerful tool that sets SharePoint document libraries apart from traditional file storage solutions, because they allow SharePoint to communicate directly to end users via email alerts when existing documents change or new documents are added to a specific document library. The following example shows show additional benefits of the toolset.

The following steps can be taken to create an alert for a document library, which is a common task that a user or a site or document library administrator will perform:

1. From within a document library, access the Documents tab from the Ribbon and then click the drop-down arrow next to the Alert Me icon.
2. Click Manage My Alerts.
3. Click Add Alert.
4. Select a document library or list that you want to keep track of. Click the Next button.
5. Provide a title for the alert. It is a best practice to include the name of the list or library in the title, and then an abbreviation for the type of alert, such as New Document Library All Changes.
6. Add the users/groups the alerts will be sent to, separated by semicolons. Note that you can add whomever you like in this field, which is a power that shouldn’t be abused! Typically, you will be creating the alert for your own use, but administrators and managers may put in a group name.
7. Leave the delivery method set to E-mail, unless the farm is configured to send text messages (SMS).
8. Select the Change Type to trigger the alert. This can be All Changes, New Items Are Added, Existing Items Are Modified, or Items Are Deleted.
9. Select additional criteria in the Send Alerts for These Changes section. These options are Anything Changes, Someone Else Changes a Document, Someone Else Changes a Document Created by Me, and Someone Else Changes a Document Last Modified by Me.
10. Select an option for the When to Send Alerts section. The options are Send Notification Immediately, Send a Daily Summary, or Send a Weekly Summary. For the daily summary and weekly summary options, a time or day and time need to be selected. Figure 19.16 shows the Change Type, Send Alerts for These Changes, and When to Send Alerts settings for a sample alert.

    Figure 19.16. Creating an alert for a document library.

    

11. Click OK to complete the alert.
12. If the SharePoint 2010 environment is configured properly, the people listed in the Send Alerts To field will receive emails letting them know the alert was successfully created.