Lesson 1 - Core SharePoint Features

Hi folks,

This post is the continuation of Core SharePoint Features lesson. It will introduce you with definitions, types and an example of creating Lists.

This object understanding is essential to comprehend how WSS and MOSS store data and let it available to users.

Lists and Libraries

They are data tables, very similar to tables from a database. However we can´t compare a SharePoint list to a simple table from the database, which just stores records.

A List is a mini-application inside SharePoint, created from List Templates that support workflows, content types*, versioning and permissions.

Tables 1 and 2 show what lists are available with WSS and MOSS respectively.

List	Utilization
Announcements	Share news, status, and other time-sensitive information.
Contacts	Collect and store phone numbers, email addresses, and other information about employees or external contacts. Contact lists can be shared with Outlook.
Discussion Board	Create threaded discussions among team members. Discussion boards are similar to newsgroups.
Custom List	Create a new list starting with basic columns and a standard view.
Custom List in Datasheet view	Create a new list starting with basic columns and a datasheet view.
Import Spreadsheet	Create a new list with columns and data from a spreadsheet. Includes a datasheet view.
Links	List web pages and other resources related to a task or project.
Calendar	Track events, milestones, and deadlines that can be displayed graphically as a calendar page. Calendar lists can be shared with Outlook.
Tasks	Track work items.
Project Tasks	Track work items that can be displayed graphically in a Gantt Chart.
Issue Tracking	Assign issues or problems to individuals and then track the progress of the resolution.
Survey	Poll individuals using a series of questions and display the results graphically.

Table 1 – Built-in List Templates provided by WSS

List	Utilization
Languages and Translators	Add languages and translators used by the Translation Management workflow.
KPI List	Track and display progress toward a set of goals graphically.

Table 2 – Additional List Templates from MOSS

Library is sort of a special list, which main difference from a List is the possibility to store files.

Tables 3 and 4 show what libraries are available with WSS and MOSS respectively.

Library	Utilization
Document Library	Collect and share Office documents and other files.
Form Library	Publish InfoPath forms for collecting structured data such as timesheets, purchase order requests, and other business forms.
Wiki Page Library	Share web pages that can be edited by multiple authors.
Picture Library	Collect and share image files.
Basic Page	Store HTML-format web pages.
Web Part Page	Store SharePoint web part pages.

Table 3 – Built-in Library Templates provided by WSS

Library	Utilization
Translation Management Library	Create documents in multiple languages and manage their translation.
Report Library	Publish Excel report spreadsheets.
Data Connection Library	Publish Office Data Connection (ODC) and Universal Data Connection (UDC) files.
Slide Library	Publish slides from PowerPoint 2007 presentations.

Table 4 – Additional Library Templates from MOSS

Among all lists and libraries displayed in above tables, we are going to create a library that, besides having all features of a list, offers file storage.

Let´s check the creation of a library using the Library Template called Document Library, which by the way is the same used by Shared Documents library (Fig. 1).

This same example will be used in the next posts of lesson 1.

In order to view the existing libraries in the current site, click in View All Site Content (Fig. 1).

Figure 1 – Main page

Figure 2 displays some lists and libraries grouped by categories. By default they are available through sites every time a new site is created.

Figure 2 – All Site Content

Click Create. We are going to create a new list based on the template Document Library.

Figure 3 – Library Creation

The name of our library is suggestive of adoption and concerns about the utilization of lists for document files storage. It is going to be named VIDocs, as per Figure 4, which means Very Important Documents.

This is the way we should use libraries, just storing important documents.

Some companies insist transforming SharePoint as a file server, but they don´t analyze first some issues concerning Lists size growing and administrative tasks.

Warning: This is a polemic matter that I will bring it again in another post soon. Just store important documents, unless you know exactly what you are doing.

Figure 4 – Library Creation Details

Click New or upload some documents to check how simple it is. Upload lots of files, specially different types such as Word document, Text file, PDF, Excel spreadsheet, etc.
If you have Office 2003 Pro or Office 2007, you can use the feature Upload Multiple Documents.

Figure 5 – Documents Upload

There are other ways to bulk upload files that will not be shown in this post. If you are interested to know more about it immediately, please contact me, otherwise I will let a post of Tips and Tricks category available for this purpose.

Lesson 1 continues in the next post, with explanations about columns and views.

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content types* - Collection of content settings. (To be seen in another lesson)
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References:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd490727.aspx
Livro: Essential SharePoint 2007 (Addison Wesley Series)
Livro: Essential SharePoint 2007, Second Edition (O'Reilly, 2007)

Cheers,

Marcel Medina

Click here to read the same content in Portuguese.