Overview

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SharePoint team Web sites provide a place on the Web where your team can communicate, share documents, and work together on a project. You can create a separate team Web site for every project your team is working on.

You can contribute to the team Web site using nothing more than a Web browser. However, if you use a SharePoint Team Services-compatible client program, such as Microsoft Office XP, you can work seamlessly with the team Web site, saving documents to the site, editing team Web site documents in the client program, and moving information between client programs and your team Web site.

Using team Web sites

You can add information to the team Web site, such as events, names and phone numbers of people your team communicates with, and to-do items. New items are marked Cc768267.newitem(en-us,TechNet.10).gif to make them readily noticeable. By default, this marker disappears after one day.

You can also:

  • Post documents to share with other team members.

  • Hold newsgroup-style discussions.

  • Take a poll of the team to make a decision.

As team members add or delete documents, lists, discussions, and surveys, SharePoint Team Services automatically updates links to the content so that it's always easy to find. You can also subscribe to be notified of changes to your team Web site, so you're always up to date.

Pages in the team Web site display lists of information, enabling team members to organize the information any way they want, such as by subject, due date, or author. For example, you can:

  • Restrict the display to see only the set of information that applies to you.

  • Hide information you're not interested in.

  • Change the order in which the information is listed.

  • Set up customized views to make it easy for your team members to focus quickly on pertinent information.

Features

When you first create a SharePoint team Web site, it comes with the following built-in features:

Lists

Your team can fill the following built-in lists with information and can customize the lists if desired. You can also create a new list that is either based on a built-in list or is custom-designed.

If you have a SharePoint Team Services-compatible client program, such as Microsoft Excel 2002, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later installed, you can create lists that are based on spreadsheets.

  • Announcements   The Announcements list is a place to post information for the team. By default, a view of the Announcements list appears on the home page.

  • Contacts   The Contacts list stores information such as name, telephone number, e-mail address, and street address for people who work with your team. By default, a hyperlink to the Contacts list appears on the Quick Launch bar.

  • Events   The Events list is a place to post important dates. By default, a view of the Events list appears on the home page.

  • Tasks   The Tasks list provides a to-do list for team members. By default, a hyperlink to the Tasks list appears on the Quick Launch bar.

  • Links   The Links list displays hyperlinks to Web pages of interest to team members. By default, a view of the Links list appears on the home page.

Document libraries

Document libraries are collections of files that you share with team members.

A document library appears on a page that lists each file and its properties, as well as a hyperlink to the file.

You can set up a template for a document library so that all files created in a library share common features.

By default, your team Web site comes with a built-in document library named Shared Documents, which is listed on the Quick Launch bar as well as on the Document Libraries page.

Discussion boards

Discussion boards provide a forum for conversing about topics that interest your team. Team members can post comments and reply to others' comments, reducing the need for widely distributed e-mail threads.

By default, your team Web site comes with a built-in discussion board named General Discussion, which is listed on the Quick Launch bar as well as on the Discussion Boards page.

Survey

Surveys provide a way of polling team members. All you need to do is specify the questions and define how team members will enter their answers.

Your team Web site doesn't come with a built-in survey, but you can easily create your own.

Integration with client programs

You can use a SharePoint team Web site whether or not you have a SharePoint Team Services-compatible client program installed. However, if you are running a SharePoint Team Services-compatible client program, such as Microsoft Office XP, you can integrate the work you do in the client program with your team Web site.

Saving files to a document library

If you use a SharePoint Team Services-compatible client program, such as Office XP, you will have integrated functionality between the client program and your team Web site.

For example, you can use an Office XP program to open a template in a document library, and when you save the file, it is saved back to the document library by default. If custom properties are defined for the library, the Save As dialog box displays a form where you can fill out the information.

Using a spreadsheet program to import and export lists

If you use a SharePoint Team Services-compatible spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel 2002, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later, you can use an existing spreadsheet as the basis for a list in your team Web site.

You can also export any list from your team Web site to the spreadsheet program. For example, if you export a list to Excel 2002, you can create PivotTables and charts to analyze the information or apply text formatting. In Excel, the exported list is a Web Query that stays updated with changes to the original list in your team Web site.

Copying items between calendars or address books and your team Web site

If you use a calendar, such as Outlook 2000, that supports iCalendar files, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later, you can export events from your team Web site to your calendar.

If you use an address book, such as Outlook 2000, that supports vCard files, you can export contacts from your team Web site to your address book.

In addition, if you use a SharePoint Team Services-compatible address book, such as Outlook 2002, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later, you can copy contacts from your address book to the Contacts list in your team Web site.

Display lists and document libraries in Web pages

If you use a SharePoint Team Services-compatible word processing program or Web page editor, such as Microsoft Word 2002 or Microsoft FrontPage 2002, you can insert views of lists and document libraries onto pages in your document. The pages must be saved as Web pages in the same team Web site as the list or document library. The view can display only the set of information you're interested in. The view displays live data, so any changes in the original list or document library are reflected in the view.

Use a Web page editor to customize your team Web site

If you have Advanced Author role or higher, you can open the team Web site in a SharePoint Team Services-compatible Web page editor, such as Microsoft FrontPage 2002 and customize the content, format, and layout.

Team Web site customization

You can customize the content of your team Web site using nothing more than a Web browser. However, if you have a SharePoint Team Services-compatible Web page editor, such as Microsoft FrontPage 2002 installed, you can tailor the site with your own custom layout, formatting, and content.

Customize using a browser

The team Web site provides commands for customizing the look of your team Web site. You can create custom views of information and change the look of the site to suit the needs of your team. For example, for a list of tasks, you can create one view that lists the tasks by due date and another view that lists the tasks by the name of the person they're assigned to.

You can also:

  • Change the order of fields on data entry forms

  • Change the layout of the home page 

Customize using a Web page editor

You can open the team Web site in a SharePoint Team Services-compatible Web page editor, such as Microsoft FrontPage 2002, and change the layout of the site. You can also add custom pages and your corporate logo for a polished, professional look.

For example, you can:

  • Add your own HTML pages, and add them to the Quick Launch bar or top link bar.

  • Change the order of the hyperlinks on the Quick Launch bar.

  • Add images to pages.

  • Apply a theme.

  • Modify the font, colors, and layout of forms associated with lists, document libraries, discussion boards, and surveys.

  • Apply rules that automate processes in document libraries.

  • Add views of lists, document libraries, discussion boards, and surveys to Web pages.

  • Modify the navigation structure.

Security

When you create a team Web site, you can identify who has access to the site and send them an invitation to join the site. As the team Web site creator, you can assign rights to other team members. For example, you could grant some team members rights only to read what's on the site, but grant other team members rights to add content or to configure settings for the site.