Best Practices

• The Backstage view is another name for the File tab on the Ribbon, but it provides access to an important set of tools for end users, as outlined in this chapter. Metadata can be applied from this area, workflows can be started, and the Backstage view can be customized to meet specific business requirements.

• It is important to make sure that the process of saving documents to the SharePoint 2010 document libraries is a smooth process, and several methods of adding shortcuts were provided: Using the Connect to Office button in document libraries for Office 2010 users, manually adding links to the SharePoint Sites folder in Favorites for Office 2010 users, and manually creating a network location for users of other versions of Office and other operating systems.

• Coauthoring is a feature available in Word 2010 and PowerPoint 2010 and allows multiple users to edit files at the same time. If a Word 2010 or PowerPoint 2010 file is checked out, coauthoring won’t function, so checkouts can’t be required in the document libraries.

• Coauthoring can be configured on a server basis by using PowerShell with several commandlets. The coAuthoringVersionPeriod determines how often SharePoint will save changes, whereas CoauthoringMaxAuthors determines the maximum number of simultaneous authors, and DisableCoauthoring will disable the functionality for the server.

• SharePoint Workspace 2010 provides powerful tools that allow users to decide which lists and libraries they want to be able to take offline and work with when they don’t have SharePoint connectivity. Note that not all lists and libraries can sync to SharePoint Workspace 2010, so testing this should be taken into account when advising users on appropriate usage with the SharePoint 2010 environment.

• Outlook 2007 and 2010 can be connected to SharePoint 2010 in a number of ways. First, lists and libraries can be connected to Outlook when a user is accessing the list or library and clicks Connect to Outlook. Capabilities vary, as covered in this chapter, but this allows users to have copies of their list and library contents with them when they can’t access SharePoint 2010 directly. Subtle variations in functionality between Outlook 2007 and 2010 are pointed out, and additional testing should take place to ensure that IT is ready to support the end users.

• Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2007 can be used to create meeting workspaces when a meeting is scheduled. Note that this is not available if the New Appointment tool is used. Also note that in Outlook 2010, the Quick Access toolbar must be modified to show the Meeting Workspace icon, which allows creation of the meeting workspace before the invitation is sent.