Essential SharePoint: Microsoft Office Document Collaboration in Action (Paperback)

by Jeff Webb (Author)
Key Phrases: shared workspace, team site, applying templates, Visual Studio, Shared Documents, Jeffrey Webb (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Want to work more efficiently and effectively? Want to improve productivity? Microsoft is betting that you do. That's why it created Windows SharePoint Services--a set of collaboration tools that helps organizations increase individual and team productivity by enabling them to create web sites for information sharing and document collaboration. Through these team-oriented web sites, users capture and share ideas, and work together on documents, tasks, contacts, etc.--either among themselves or with partners and customers. And if you have Windows 2003 Server, then you already have SharePoint, since it's built right in. But before you can enjoy the benefits of SharePoint, you need to know how to turn it on, set it up, and get your applications working with it. Essential Sharepoint will help you do just that. It's not only the most complete guide for setting up and using these increasingly popular sites, but it also explains in detail the integration that makes SharePoint exciting. Everything you need to know about SharePoint is covered, including:

• hosting choices
• administration
• customization
• integration with Microsoft Office
• developing new SharePoint functionality
• when to use SharePoint portal server

Essential Sharepoint covers all the key topics for getting up and running with this powerful and popular set of collaboration tools. And it's not just for members of the IT staff. This comprehensive guide is for anyone in an organization who wants to explore Microsoft SharePoint in order to foster collaboration with other users.

About the Author
Jeff Webb has written about computers and technology for the past 20 years. His most recent book for O'Reilly, Excel 2003 Programming: A Developer's Notebook, joins other current titles such as Using Excel Visual Basic for Applications, Visual Basic Developer's Workshop, and Developing Web Applications with Visual Basic .NET. Jeff has also written programming guides, articles, and sample applications for Microsoft and Digital Equipment Corporation.

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc. (May 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596008805
• ISBN-13: 978-0596008802
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #185,239 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Essential SharePoint is a must have..., July 20, 2005

By	Michael K. Reynolds (Olathe, KS USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Before I opened Jeff Webb's, Essential SharePoint, Microsoft's SharePoint Portal product made me feel like Atticus Finch defending the wrongly accused Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird - something that desperately needs to be done, but always hoping someone else would attempt the task. Implementing SharePoint was a rather painful process that resulted in two long shifts. After reading and using the Webb's book to help implement SharePoint I now know how useful this book was in making this rollout possible in *only* two shifts.

Having to implement technologies which are new to me is an everyday occurrence. The hardest part about doing so is finding a resource that will get you up and running quickly and without reading a thousand pages. Essential SharePoint is a fly weight at only 310 pages. My first impression was that this book must have left out some important topics to be so short, but that fear was unfounded. The short and precise explanation combined with a great index make this book the reference to have when time is short and understanding the product has to happen overnight. The mystery of document libraries and how to set up documents for approval, as well as make those approved-only documents filter through to other websites was explained in only 18 pages. Admittingly, other books spend multiple chapters devoted to the topic and are probably more thorough, but for the IT implementer who just wants the feature up and running I was able to scan the text and pick out keywords and get this feature going on the first attempt. Needless to say I was sold on the book after this chapter.

Even after our initial rollout, I'm finding this book useful. There are about 80 pages dedicated to the development of web parts. On the recommendation of the book I installed and configured VirtualPC and have started our development team on the path of developing in a virtual world. The two pages detailing this process have led to a revamped testing methodology which allows us to test SharePoint web parts in a production like environment without any additional hardware and then save that test environment for future review by auditors in the exact state in which the part was tested. After these paradigm shifting pages, web part productivity kicked in. Rather quickly we started talking about code and not just the easy stuff but some rather tricky items, such as extending existing web parts and explaining the interfaces that some of these parts implement.

The tone of the book mimics my development philosophy- get it done quick and without any fuss. Even though the book is short by peer comparisons, you get the idea that you can get what you need done without too much fluff. Needless bashing of competing products, play list comparisons and your last ski trip experience don't make my job any easier, Jeff Webb's book does.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Missing Manual for SharePoint Office Users, July 9, 2005

By	Mike Williams - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is an applied guide to SharePoint for Microsoft Office. It gives great advice on how to design and use SharePoint sites. For instance, the author recommends broad site structures over deep ones because that approach makes search and views work better. Yes! He also explains what workspaces are for and how they are different from document libraries (it would be nice if Microsoft did that!).

This book also explains how to link local copies of documents to SharePoint so multiple authors can work on the same document even when they are away from the office, then reconcile their changes later. For me, that was a key topic.

Essential SharePoint gets more technical as it goes eventually explaining how to program web parts and how to use the SharePoint web services. It's a different approach from most SharePoint books I've read that either assume you are a dummy or an expert: this book explains the simple stuff without talking down to you, and progresses to really tough topics without being obscure.

Finally, Essential SharePoint includes a bibliography of online sources in a "Resources" section at the end of each chapter. Having those links organized by topic is a big help and an acknowledgement that no one book can cover everything.

Overall, it explains SharePoint clearly, throughly, and efficiently. I think "Essential" is the right title.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good SharePoint Book, July 19, 2005

By	Amedeo Avogadro "You've got my number" - See all my reviews

This book has a really good introduction to SharePoint, then goes quite a bit further. It targets a wide audience: adminstrators, users at various levels, and programmers.

If you're just starting with SharePoint, buy this book. If you've used SharePoint for a while you might want still want this book in your library since it's got tips I haven't seen anywhere else -- and it's a great book to loan out to users (point them at the Outlook, Word, and Excel chapters).