ONCE upon a time, we typed our documents in our ho-hum word-processing programs, sent the file to the printer, carried the printed pages down the hall, and handed them to a colleague for review. Projects were completed in a linear, assembly-line fashion; one person finished a section, another created the design, a layout person assembled the document, and a proofreader looked it all over.
Today things happen much faster and much more collaboratively than that. You might be part of a team—with colleagues on different continents—and you could all be working simultaneously to complete a document within a specific timeframe. You’re working on the executive summary while she writes the financial narrative. He’s putting together the charts, and she’s gathering the list of bios for your board members.
When the draft is done you all need to review it, make comments and changes, tweak the almost-done piece, and finalize your work. How can you do this as a team? How do you share files easily (perhaps across long distances) and not override each other’s work? Word 2010 includes a number of features that make collaborating easier than ever. In fact, collaboration was one of the banner design elements as Word 2010 was in development. In this chapter you learn about the various ways in which you can share your documents with your colleagues. (In the next chapter, you find out how to use revision marks, compare and merge, and the new co-authoring tools to fine-tune your shared document.)
The developers of Word 2010 realize that you don’t work in a vacuum and that you need to collaborate—easily—on the documents you create. They know this, at least in part, because they work the same way. In today’s highly connected and accelerated workplace, projects need to be progressing in many areas all at once—businesses can’t afford to take months preparing a document while one colleague after another has her turn with a revision.
Word 2010 includes a number of features that make collaboration easier—and more secure—than ever. With the addition of SharePoint Workspaces 2010 in the Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 suite, Word users who work with SharePoint Server can easily move their documents to and from the server. If you work at home or at the office using one of the other Office 2010 suites, you can use your Windows Live SkyDrive account with Office 2010 Web Apps to post your content online and share the files with colleagues.
In addition to these online possibilities, Word 2010 includes a number of tools in the Save & Share tab of Backstage view that you can use to share files in a variety of ways. Whether you’re sending a file as an XML Paper Specification (XPS) or Portable Document Format (PDF) attachment, posting it on a document server or SharePoint site, or sending the file as an Internet fax, when you click the Microsoft Office Button, you’ll find commands to help you accomplish your objectives.
If you want to send your document as an e-mail message or as an attachment to a message in either PDF or XPS format, you’ll find the options you want by clicking the File tab to display Backstage view then clicking Save & Send (see Figure 21-1). This is also where you’ll go if you want to send an Internet fax.
If you want to post the document to a document server or create a document workspace by using Windows SharePoint Services, click Save to Web or Save to SharePoint to see the choices that appear in the rightmost column (see Figure 21-2).
In addition to these sharing techniques, you might want to collaborate with team members using any (or all!) of the following methods:
Sending files back and forth while you’re instant messaging with group members
Posting updated files directly to network server space
Creating shared files and folders that others on your team can access
Creating and sharing workgroup templates
Sharing information via fax and e-mail
Creating a dynamic shared workspace with Microsoft SharePoint Workspace 2010
Throughout this chapter, you learn more about using these features. The world is getting smaller by the minute! The techniques in this chapter show you how to increase your effectiveness and share-ability in Word 2010.
The developers of Word 2010 understood and took seriously the fact that the world is rapidly becoming smaller at the same time that our workplace is expanding. We often work collaboratively with colleagues who could be just about anywhere—down the hall, in another state, or living and working on another continent. What’s more, the colleague may be sitting at his desk, working on a remote laptop, or simply checking documents as he carries his cell phone around with him during the day.
How does Word 2010 accommodate all these possible work styles? Two key tools help you organize, share, and work on your documents in a way that supports all kinds of configurations:
Microsoft SharePoint Workspace 2010 is part of the Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 suite; it enables enterprise workers who have access to Microsoft SharePoint 2010 to create a shared workspace, in which they can organize, upload, download, and check in or check out files the team will use. SharePoint Workspace also includes the ability to create Groove workspaces, in which you can hold meetings, chat in real time, share screens, assign tasks, and more (see Figure 21-3).
If you are using one of the other Office 2010 suites, you can post your files and share them online using Windows Live SkyDrive (see Figure 21-4). This seamless file posting and sharing is part of the access and support for Office Web Apps, which include the Word Web App, PowerPoint Web App, OneNote Web App, and Excel Web App. Using Windows Live SkyDrive you can post files, set permissions, and check files in and out. Using the Word Web App, you can edit the document online—alone or with co-authors—and control the way the document is shared.
Tip
You learn more about editing and co-authoring shared files in the Word Web App in Chapter 22.
SharePoint Workspace 2010 is part of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010, and its primary purpose is to enable you to easily move files from the server to your computer so that you can work with them offline. After you complete your work, you can seamlessly sync the file back to the server, where others can check it out and work with it.
You can also create Groove workspaces, which add more than document and file management features. When you create a Groove workspace in SharePoint Workspace 2010, you can chat in real time with your workspace colleagues, add tasks and actions, hold discussions, and much more.
If SharePoint Workspace 2010 is part of your Office 2010 suite, you can launch the software by clicking the Start button on the taskbar, pointing to All Programs, clicking Microsoft Office, and choosing Microsoft SharePoint Workspace 2010. You are asked to create an account, and then the program’s Launchbar appears, showing any SharePoint workspaces or Groove workspaces you currently have permissions to use (see Figure 21-5).
Figure 21-5. The SharePoint Workspace 2010 Launchbar lists all your workspaces and is where you can get in touch with contacts.
To add a new workspace to SharePoint Workspaces, click the New arrow and choose one of the following options:
SharePoint Workspace. This creates a workspace in which you can synchronize files with files on your server.
Groove Workspace. This option creates a workspace that includes tools like chat, lists, a sketchpad, and more.
Shared Folder. Specifies one of the folders on your computer that you can share with users who have the necessary permissions.
You can also create a new SharePoint Workspace while you’re working on the SharePoint Server site. When you click Site Actions in the SharePoint Server site and choose Sync to SharePoint Workspace from the list (see Figure 21-6), SharePoint will prompt you to download the files you need. When the download is complete, SharePoint lets you know (see Figure 21-7).
Figure 21-6. You can create a new SharePoint Workspace from the SharePoint Server by clicking Site Actions and choosing Sync to SharePoint Workspace.
Figure 21-7. SharePoint creates the workspace for you; when the process is complete, click Open Workspace.
After you click the Open Workspace button, SharePoint Workspace 2010 launches (if it isn’t already open), displaying the new workspace. Click the Documents folder then double-click the file you’d like to open. The document opens in the familiar Word window.
When you open a document you’ve saved to SharePoint Workspace 2010, the message bar lets you know the status of the document. If the document is currently checked in to the server, it will be unavailable for you to edit. You can click Check Out in the message bar to check the file out of the server site and open it in SharePoint Workspace 2010 (see Figure 21-8). While the file is checked out to you, no one else will be able to edit it.
You can edit the file normally, applying formats, adding content, including all the elements, styles, diagrams, and more that you would include in any Word document. When you are ready to save the file back to the server, click the File tab to display Backstage view. The Check In area on the Info tab lets you know the status of the file (see Figure 21-9). You can click Check In to sync the file with the server and return it to checked in status, or, if you didn’t make changes to the file or want to abandon what you’ve done, you can click Discard Check Out.
You can create a new document in SharePoint Workspace 2010 and post it to the server as needed. Begin in SharePoint Workspace 2010, and open the workspace you want to use. In the Documents list, click the folder in which you want to store the new file. Then, on the Home tab, click New Document. Word opens a new document and displays file properties at the top of the file. You can click in the fields to type the document name as well as the start date and end date.
When you are ready to save the file to the server, click the Save icon in the Quick Access Toolbar. The Save As dialog box opens, showing the server location area in the Look In field at the top of the dialog box (see Figure 21-10). Enter additional file information (such as adding tags to aid in searching) and click Save. After the file is saved to the server, the server location appears in the top-right of the document (see Figure 21-11).
If you are using an Office 2010 suite that doesn’t include SharePoint Workspace 2010, another method of sharing files online is available to you. Using Windows Live SkyDrive, you can post and share folders and files from Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. All you need to log in to your SkyDrive account is your Windows Live ID. Here are the steps for logging in and displaying your SkyDrive account:
Open your Web browser and go to www.windowslive.com.
Log in with your Windows Live ID and password.
In the window that opens, click Office at the top of the screen.
A list of files (if any) you’ve previously posted to the site are displayed (see Figure 21-12).
Add files by clicking the Add Files link.
In order to share the files you post in Windows Live SkyDrive with others, you need to give permissions to the individuals with whom you want to work so they can access the account and the files. To set the necessary permissions and share the file, display your Windows Live SkyDrive account and hover the mouse over the file you want to share. Links will appear at the mouse position. Click Share then choose Edit Permissions (see Figure 21-13).
In the Permissions window, click the Documents link, and in the Information area, click People I Selected. Next, click Edit Permissions and, in the Add Specific People line, type the e-mail addresses of those with whom you want to share the files in your My Documents folder. Windows Live adds each person to the list at the bottom of the window.
Set the permissions level for each person by clicking the permissions arrow for each contact and choosing one of the following options:
Can View Files. This option limits the recipient to read-only permissions; they won’t be able to change the content of the file.
Can Add, Edit Details, And Delete Files. This option assigns the necessary permission to edit, reformat, and even delete the files in the folder.
After you set permissions, click Save. In the Send A Notification window, you can add a message explaining what the link is for, and then click Send to send the message.
Word 2010 makes the process of saving files to your Windows Live SkyDrive as seamless as possible. In fact, you can create an account and post files to SkyDrive in one smooth step from within Word. Here’s how to do it:
Open the document you want to save online.
Click the File tab to display Backstage view.
On the Save & Send tab, click Save to Web; the options in the right panel change to reflect your choice.
Click one of the folders shown or click New to sign in and create a new folder.
Word 2010 also gives you the option of switching users (in Figure 21-14, notice that the option is “Not Carol?”). Word 2010 also gives you the option of signing in, if you haven’t already done that. And if you haven’t previously created a Windows Live account, a button will appear so you can do that from within Word.
To complete the save, simply click the folder you want to use or click New and follow the on-screen prompts to save the file.
In the true spirit of Web and desktop integration, you can use Word to create, copy, save, and manage folders and files that reside on a network, the Web, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) servers, or in a shared workspace. After you create shortcuts to online folders (and if you have the proper permissions), you can work with online files and folders as though they were on your local computer. Of course, taking advantage of working with networks and the Web implies that you are connected to a network or have a connection to the Internet. The first order of business when you’re working with online documents involves configuring your system so that you can access network places and FTP sites.
Your first step involves mapping the network drive to specify to Windows the location of the folder that will store the files. Although you can access documents and folders in existing Network Places from within Word, you need to set up links to new network places by using the Add Network Location Wizard.
To create a network place in Windows Vista or Windows 7, follow these steps:
Click the Start button then click Computer.
Right-click in the Computer window and then click Add A Network Location.
Follow the steps on the Add Network Location Wizard pages to create a link to the network place.
After you add a network location, you can access documents and folders on the network place from within Word.
In the same way that you access other network places, you can add FTP sites to your list of Internet sites, if you have access to a network or the Internet. You can also add FTP sites to your list of network places while you’re working in Word. To create shortcuts to FTP sites, follow these steps:
Click the Start button then click Computer.
Right-click in the window and choose Add A Network Location to start the wizard.
Click Next, then click Choose A Custom Network Location. Click Next again.
Enter the FTP address in the form ftp://ftp.address.com. Click Next.
Enter your login information for the FTP site or leave Log On Anonymously checked. Click Next.
Type a name for the connection, click Next, and then click Finish.
The FTP site will be available in the Computer area of the Open and Save As dialog boxes. You can now choose that location as needed for opening and saving your files.
You access network locations in the same way that you access local files and folders—simply navigate to the online file and folder locations in the Open dialog box and then create a local shortcut to the document, if desired. To open an online folder or file by using the Open dialog box, follow these steps:
In addition to opening files from network locations, you’ll probably want to save files to online locations. The process of saving files to online locations is similar to saving files locally. To save a newly-created file to an online location, follow these steps:
A convenient way to keep a group supplied with the most up-to-date templates is to store common templates centrally on a network server. (These shared templates are generally referred to as workgroup templates.) By doing so, you can ensure that everyone working on similar projects can access the same versions of templates at any time. A central repository for workgroup templates also saves everyone the headache of distributing and obtaining individual copies of the latest templates, and it can help to standardize documents across the board.
You create workgroup templates in the same way you create other templates. You then designate a folder as the workgroup template container and make sure that everyone’s computer is configured to point to that file. Generally speaking, you’ll want to make workgroup templates read-only files so that no one accidentally changes the template information. If you want to ensure that only certain people can access the files, you might want to assign passwords or designate the network share as read-only.
Note
For more information about creating templates, see Chapter 4. For information about making documents read-only and password-protected, see Chapter 20.
To specify the location of workgroup templates on an individual computer, follow these steps:
Click the File tab to display Backstage view, and then click Options.
Click Advanced then scroll down to the General settings. Click File Locations.
In the File Types list, select Workgroup Templates, as shown in Figure 21-15.
Click Modify to open the Modify Location dialog box.
Create a new folder or navigate to and select the folder that contains the workgroup templates, click OK to close the Modify Location dialog box, and then click OK to close the Word Options dialog box.
To access templates stored in the workgroup templates folder, users can click the My Templates link, which is located in the Templates list in the New Document window. The templates appear on the My Templates tab. If workgroup templates are stored in a subfolder in the workgroup templates folder, the New dialog box includes a tab with the same name as the subfolder, and the templates stored within the subfolder appear on that tab (see Figure 21-16).
Many people e-mail documents back and forth, and for those projects that are linear in nature—for example, I finish a chapter and send it on to my editor—e-mail may be good enough. (When you need to collaborate on a piece, however, consider using file sharing in Windows Live SkyDrive or your SharePoint Workspace.)
When you e-mail a document to another person, your colleague can make a few changes, and send it back if necessary (or simply send you an e-mail message, saying “Perfect!”).
When you want to send your Word document directly to others on your team, follow these steps:
Start with your Word document open on the screen.
On the File tab, click Save & Send.
If you have set up an e-mail client (as opposed to using only Web-based e-mail), a new e-mail message window appears; your current document shows up as an attachment (see Figure 21-17).
You will notice that the new message window Word opens is actually the Outlook 2010 new message window. You can specify the recipient information and send the message as usual. The rest of this section explores some of the e-mail features you might want to add when you are sharing your Word documents with your colleagues.
Depending on the nature of the document you’re sharing with others, you might want to mark e-mail messages as urgent or not-at-all urgent (also known as high-priority and low-priority messages). Marking your messages lets recipients know at a glance whether they should give special attention to a message.
To set e-mail priority for a message, click either High Importance or Low Importance in the Options command set on the Message tab, as shown in the image that follows:
Clicking High Importance adds a red exclamation mark to the e-mail so that when it arrives in the recipient’s Inbox, it’s clear that the message is one of priority. For best results, only use High Importance when the message really does have some urgency attached to it—otherwise, your recipients might begin to disregard the important messages you send. Conversely, clicking Low Importance adds a blue down-arrow to the message, letting the recipient know that the message is not an urgent matter.
You can add flags to e-mail messages to indicate that some sort of follow-up action needs to be taken after the message is read. When you add a flag to a message, the recipient sees the flag in Outlook when the message arrives in the Inbox. To add a flag, click Follow Up in the Tags group on the Message tab. A list of options appears from which you can choose when the follow-up action is to take place, as shown in the following image:
We’ve all had the experience of sending a particularly important document by e-mail and then eagerly awaiting to hear what the recipient thought of the draft. By using the Receipts feature when you e-mail Word 2010 documents, you can make sure that you know when the document has been received and read.
On the Options tab in the message window, choose either Request Delivery Receipt or Request Read Receipt (or both) in the Tracking command set. When you select Request Delivery Receipt, an e-mail message is sent to you automatically when the message is delivered to the recipient. When you click Request Read Receipt, you are notified by e-mail when the file has been opened.
If you want to make sure that your recipients receive the document to review at a specific time—perhaps at the start of a fundraising drive or the public release of software—you can delay its delivery using the Do Not Deliver Before option. You can also use this feature to create a number of different e-mail messages and set them all to be delivered at the same time.
On the Options tab in the message window, click Delay Delivery in the More Options group. The Properties dialog box appears, in which you can specify when you want the message to go out (see Figure 21-18).
Figure 21-18. Specify when you want a delayed message to be delivered by setting options in the Message Options dialog box.
In the Delivery Options area of the Message Options dialog box, click the Do Not Deliver Before arrow and choose the date on which you want the message to be delivered. Next, click the time field and choose the appropriate time from the list. Click Close to save your settings; if Outlook 2010 is running when the message is scheduled to be sent, the message will be delivered after the date and time you specified.
Another interesting e-mail feature that might be helpful when you’re working on collaborative documents is the voting function. When you send your document attached to a message from Word, you can use Voting buttons to give recipients a say, for example, in whether to keep an attached document as your final report or go back for another draft.
To use the voting feature, display the message as usual and then click the Options tab. In the Tracking command set, click Use Voting Buttons. A list of voting options appears, as shown in Figure 21-19. Click the voting type you want to include and then send the message as usual.
When the message arrives in the recipient’s Inbox (in Outlook), a prompt instructs the user to cast their vote in the Respond group on the Ribbon. When the recipient clicks the Vote button, the voting options appear (see Figure 21-20).
Faxing is yet another fast, convenient way to get information from your office or home computer to other people around the country or around the world. With Word 2010, you can use an online service to send your document via fax.
When you want to send your document as an Internet fax, click the File tab to display Backstage view then choose Save & Send. Click Send As Internet Fax, which is located at the bottom of the options in the right panel. The document is prepared as a fax, as you see in Figure 21-21. You can then add the recipient information, change the style of the fax by clicking the various styles in the Fax Service task pane. You can also click Preview to see how your fax will appear, and then, when you’re ready, click Send to send the fax.
If you don’t have a fax modem installed on your computer, but you’d like to take advantage of features provided with online faxing, you can sign up to use an Internet fax service. Word now works seamlessly with Internet fax services, and you’ll find that you have quite a bit of control over faxes you send using this method.
To sign up with a fax service, on the File tab, point to Send, and then click Internet Fax. When you choose this option for the first time, you’ll see a message box indicating that you must sign up with a fax service provider before you can send faxes. Click OK to go to the Fax Services page of Microsoft Office Online, where you’ll find a selection of available fax services.
Tip
Use the Mail Merge Wizard to send multiple faxes that you create. Start by opening the document you want to fax. Then choose Tools, Letters And Mailings, and then Mail Merge. The Mail Merge task pane opens. When the Mail Merge Wizard asks you to specify a print option, choose your fax application in the Name list in the Print dialog box. For more information about creating and working with mail-merged documents, see Chapter 26.
This chapter provided in-depth information on how you can use Word 2010 to share your documents with colleagues, whether you’re using Microsoft SharePoint Workspace 2010, Windows Live SkyDrive, or any number of other options available in the Save & Send tab in Backstage view. The next chapter builds on this idea of file sharing by showing you how to add comments, track changes, and combine or compare multiple versions of a document. You also learn about the new co-authoring possibilities in Word 2010 and find out how to communicate in real time with your colleagues as you all work collaboratively on the file.