Using the Groove 2007 Client

Unlike SharePoint, which is covered in Chapter 40, Groove does not add any extra features to Word or take special advantage of any of Word’s existing features. Nor does Groove provide shared or coordinated access to the same files, for the most part (see “Working with groovy documents,” later in this chapter). Instead, when sharing a workspace, each computer has its own local copy of the files in the workspace. This might seem redundant, but what it lacks in storage thriftiness it makes up for in convenience.

If you are working in an enterprise, you might have access to additional facilities through Groove Server or SharePoint. Because implementation can vary substantially, it would be impossible for this chapter to accurately or adequately describe how you interact with the environment created by your IT department. Instead, this chapter focuses on the individual user’s Groove experience, and aspects common to all users of the Groove 2007 client application.

Groove basics

There are two main Groove windows: the Launchbar and the Workspace window. When you install Groove, two things happen. A Groove icon is added to the Windows notification area (the system tray), and the Launchbar opens. The Launchbar, shown in Figure 41-1, by default is displayed in tabbed view. It has two main tabs: Workspaces and Contacts. If you like seeing more information in one glance, choose Options, and remove the check next to Tabbed View. Groove then displays Workspaces and Contacts stacked on top of each other, with Command Tasks at the bottom. When you click in Workspace List or Contact List, the Common Tasks list changes to display tasks related to the selected list, just as it changes when you change tabs.

Use the Launchbar to create new workspaces, change workspace properties, control alerts, issue invitations, and add and remove contacts, among other things.

To display the Workspace window, right-click the Groove icon in the system tray and choose Open Workspace. In Select Workspace, click the workspace you want to open and then click OK. You will learn more about workspaces in “Workspaces,” later in this chapter. The Workspace window offers a number of the same facilities as the Launchbar.

Account

In order to use Groove, you need an account. To create a new Groove account, right-click the Groove icon in the system tray and choose New Account. Choose Create a New Groove Account in the Account Configuration Wizard, and click Next to proceed. In the Groove Account Configuration Code step, if you don’t know what a Groove Account Configuration Code is, choose I don’t have a Groove Account Configuration Code, and proudly click Next. In the next Window, type your name and e-mail address (but read the following Tip before continuing).

Type a password, confirm it, and provide a hint, if desired. Choose the desired password behavior/settings, and then click Next. Groove flashes the Create Account message box, and then asks whether to list you in the Public Groove Directory. If you want to be found, fine. If you don’t, that’s fine, too. Name Only is a nice compromise, particularly if you have multiple accounts using the same name.

Deleting an account

Deleting an account can be a little confusing because of the way information is presented. To delete an account, right-click the Groove icon on the system tray, click the account name you want to delete, and then click Launchbar. In the Launchbar window, choose Options Preferences Account tab. The lower part of the Account tab panel displays the name of your computer—not your Groove account name. That notwithstanding, this is the place to delete the account. It will not delete your computer name.

Once you’ve backed up everything you need to save, click Delete. Notice the admonitions about what deleting does, and then click Yes to confirm Delete Account. Groove deletes the account, leaving any other accounts you have untouched. Click OK to complete this mindless wanton destruction.

Workspaces

To do anything useful with Groove, you need to create a workspace. To do so, in either Launchbar or the Workspace window, click New Workspace. There are two basic kinds of workspaces: Standard and File Sharing. The third, Template, will have templates listed only if your IT department has installed some for you to use. Do you have an IT department?

The Standard workspace, which has a Files tool and a Discussion tool (and to which you can add additional tools, such as Calendar, Pictures, Notepad, InfoPath Forms, and Issue Tracking), is shown in Figure 41-2. At the left, notice the Workspace List. This is the same workspace information you see in the Launchbar (unless there are shared folder workspaces, which are displayed in the Windows Explorer window). The “1” you see within an oval background indicates that one user is active in the displayed workspace.

The second kind of workspace, File Sharing, is not displayed in Groove’s Workspace window. Instead, it is displayed in a Windows Explorer window, with the Groove Folder Synchronization panel at the left. Exactly how this appears depends on whether you’re running Windows XP or Vista, but the basic look of the panel itself should be the same. In the Windows Explorer toolbar, a Folder Sync tool will have been added. You can use the Folder Sync tool to turn the Groove Folder Synchronization panel on and off. It can be displayed for any folder, not just folders that have been shared using Groove.

If a folder has been shared using Groove, the Groove Folder Synchronization panel displays as shown in Figure 41-3. Otherwise, the Groove Folder Synchronization panel explains its raison d’être. It has one tool that lets you make the displayed folder Groovy (make it a Groove file-sharing workspace), and another tool that tells you what I just told you, basically. Another addition to Windows Explorer is a special folder icon that displays when a folder has been shared using Groove, also indicated in Figure 41-3. Note that this icon displays only when the account with which it is associated is active.

Removing workspaces

Because there are two different kinds of workspaces, there are two ways of removing or disassociating them from Groove. For Standard workspaces, you delete them. When you delete a Standard workspace, all of the files and other data it contains are deleted from your computer. If you have any files you need to save, do it before deleting a workspace or an account that contains workspaces.

To delete a Standard workspace, in the Launchbar or Workspace window, right-click the workspace you want to remove and click Delete. Notice the options provided, choose the course you want to follow, and proceed with caution. Again, make sure you’ve backed up anything you don’t want to lose, because this action will remove the files from your computer such that they are no longer accessible.

To remove a File Sharing workspace, you aren’t deleting it. Instead, you’re simply telling Groove to stop synchronizing and sharing it. To do this, in the Launchbar, right-click the folder and choose Delete From this Computer or For All Members. If you choose the former, you’re only de-Grooving the folder on your own computer. If you choose the latter, you’re de-Grooving for all members. In neither case, however, are any actual files deleted. All that is removed is the association with Groove. The folder accepts its gold watch and goes home.

Sending workspace invitations

To be of any use, workspaces need to be used from different computers. One way to do that is to invite others, even if it’s just yourself.

You can invite someone to use a shared folder or a standard workspace either from the Launchbar or from the Groove Folder Synchronization panel. To invite another user, in the Launchbar, click to select the workspace or File Sharing folder, and choose Invite to Workspace. This displays the Send Invitation dialog box, shown in Figure 41-4. Note the buttons for recording, playing, and deleting a voice message. Use this only if the user is already on your list of Groove contacts and is currently online. If the user isn’t available, the invitation is sent by e-mail, and the recorded portion won’t be sent.

In the To field, type the name or e-mail address of the contact. Set Role to Manager, Participant, or Guest. Consult Groove’s Help system to see how each is defined by default, and how to change the levels of access granted to each for a particular workspace.

In the space provided, type a message. If the contact is online and you’ve included a recording telling them what’s what, the message needn’t be too detailed. However, if the invitation will go by e-mail, then you can decide what level of information and detail the invitee needs, based on your assessment of their familiarity with Groove.

To invite additional contacts, click Add More. In the Add Recipients dialog box, type the name or e-mail address, or select it from cached contacts, if available. Click Add to List to send a name into the Recipients List. Click Search for User if you need help finding a name. When you’re done, click OK. Back in the Send Invitation dialog box, decide whether to require acceptance confirmation, and then click Invite.

To invite your other computer to the shared folder, with the folder selected in the Launchbar, click Invite My Other Computers. Click OK to confirm the notice shown in Figure 41-5 Computers to which you’ve copied your Groove account information will automatically receive the shared folder information.

Canceling pending invitations

Once someone has been invited to join a workspace and has accepted, you cannot cancel their membership. You can, however, cancel invitations that have not yet been accepted. In the Launchbar, select the workspace and choose Options Cancel All Pending Invitations. Note that this cancels all pending invitations.

Accepting workspace invitations

You can receive a workspace invitation in either of two ways. If you are online and logged into Groove, the invitation shows up as a pop-up (or a pop-down, because it appears by the system tray), as shown in Figure 41-6. If the invitation disappears before you can get to it, hover the mouse over the Groove icon in the system tray to make the message reappear. Click the Invitation link.

In Respond to Invitation, click Accept or Decline, as you wish, or Close to defer a decision. If you click Reply and send a reply, that is in effect a verbose acceptance.

If you’re not logged onto your Groove account, the invitation will arrive as an e-mail. The e-mail will contain a link for you to click to accept the invitation.

Working with Groovy documents

As noted previously, Groove does not have facilities for version control or managing editing by multiple users at the same time. It does, however, check before saving changed files to the workspace. When working from a standard workspace, if there are changes, then Groove alerts you to that fact and asks if you want to save the changes to the Groove workspace, as shown in Figure 41-7.

If the new version conflicts with an existing version—i.e., changes from another Groove user who is logged into the same workspace—Groove alerts you to the conflict. You can then use either Word’s Compare or Combine commands to resolve the different changes.

When saving to a folder shared by Groove, each user works with his or her own local copies of files. Depending on the type of synchronization used, there often will be no warning about file conflicts. However, Groove does still detect whether there are conflicting versions of the same file. If there are, the last version saved is given a different name. As described earlier, the user’s name is added to the document name, in parentheses. Use the Compare or Combine commands to resolve any differences.