SharePoint: Editing documents dynamically

[RLymburner]

This might be a FAQ, but basic functionality is eluding me. I?ve gone through the O?Reilly SharePoint book and a couple of website tutorials, so I believe I am following the proper steps here.

Issue:
I have a workspace created with the intention of having a document able to be modified dynamically by several team members. That is, I want each user to have a local copy of the document and as changes are made and updated to the workspace, each user receives the updated version. I have versions turned on but I can?t seem to establish this link using these steps:

• Click on document (*.xls or *.doc) from within the workspace
  Select ?Save As?? to create local copy
  Close document ? reopen local copy

At this point I expect to see the shared workspace pane, but I do not. Within the local document, if I select Tools? Shared Workspace? the pane opens up to show a non-linked document (ie a brand new one without any SharePoint association). Did the link get broken or am I missing something?

General usability question:
Version 1 of a doc exists on a workspace. If user A has a the document open locally and modifies cell A1, what if user B has modified cell B2 and updated the workspace document to version 2? Must user A make the decision to update his local document to version 2 (which delete his changes to cell A1) or since they were in different fields, will the changes be synchronized locally?

Thanks for your time Arrow know of a forum where this line of quesitoning would be more appropriate?

 

[KB]

IIRC, In order to see the Workspace pane you need to open the document from Sharepoint.

You should force each user to check out the document, and check it in when finished so they don't step on each others changes.

 

[RLymburner]

KB - how are users able to work with the document offline without breaking the link to the original document? I believe I'm following procedure listed in the manual where the user opens the local copy and is able to "get updates" from the workspace.

 

[KB]

I tried your steps on our sharepoint installation and I got the same behaviour. When it is saved locally, the link to the sharepoint document is broken. I am not sure if this is by design or not. I looked at some of my books and they don't mention this specific action.

However I found that if the document is placed a document workspace that was created in Microsoft word using the document workspace pane, then the link will stay when you save it locally.

We have trained our users to check out the document, make updates to the documents on the site, and not to save them locally.

 

[RLymburner]

Argh - I'm not the owner of the document (although I created the workspace from within Word - then uploaded this new document to that workspace). This is retarded - I'm guessing SP may not have been developed by MS.

Here are two quotes from O'Reilly that give credence to the fucntionality I'm seeking:

(p. 39) "If you open a document from a workspace and save it to your local computer, you will be asked if you want to be able to update the workspace copy. Choose Yes if you want to link your copy to the workspace copy."

(pg. 142) "Keeping a local copy of a document linked to SharePoint is useful for any file you use a lot, because you can just open it from your desktop. It's also handy when traveling, since you don't need a network connection to access the file. Changes can be synchronized later, when you have access to the network again."

 

[RLymburner]

Can someone elaborate on how to save a file locally from a workspace and have the ability to get updates? I am following steps from Microsoft. I have the document in a shared workspace, but when I open it, I should be able to select "Save updateable copy" from the Documents tab in the Shared Workspace window. That option is greyed out.

reference: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HP010414591033.aspx


Keep a Document Workspace document up to date

Go to the Document Workspace site in a Web browser

Note Commands described in this procedure are available only in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or later.

1. In the document library that contains the document, point to the name of the document, click the Edit arrow that appears, and then click the command for editing the document in your Microsoft Office program.
2. Do one of the following:
2a. To edit the workspace copy of the document directly, work on the document in Office, and then click Save on the File menu.
Note Your changes are saved in the workspace copy, and other members of the Document Workspace can get updates from the workspace copy, resolving any conflicts that emerge.

2b. To save your own copy of the document, which you can update with changes made to the workspace copy, click the Documents tab in the Shared Workspace task pane, click the name of the currently open document, and then click Save Updatable Copy.
Note You can get updates from the Document Workspace by clicking Get Updates in the Shared Workspace task pane. When you are ready to share your copy of the document, save the document. Then, on the Status tab in the Shared Workspace task pane, click Update Workspace Copy

Here is another site providing a tutorial: http://homemade-tutorials.blogspot.com/2005_01_01_homemade-tutorials_archive.ht
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