SharePoint

Advanced online document sharing that can make a real difference to your business.

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About Hosted SharePoint

Which version of SharePoint do you offer?

We currently offer SharePoint WSS 2.0 (SharePoint 2003).

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What are the advantages of a Hosted SharePoint site vs one that is on an in-house server?

There are many benefits of using a Hosted SharePoint, these include:

  • lower costs – no hardware investment or maintenance
  • ready to start immediately – no software to download
  • easy to use – no IT resources needed
  • flexible monthly fees – pay as you go and pay as you grow

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Can I get a domain name for my website?

Yes, you can assign a domain name which you already own or register one when you buy your Hosted SharePoint.

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Does a Hosted SharePoint site include a search facility?

Yes, a built-in search facility is available to help you easily find information and documents. All the information in each document is automatically indexed as you upload them onto your site.

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Does Hosted SharePoint support eCommerce?

No, for an eCommerce based website we recommend our eStore which provides a full suite of eCommerce functions.

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What is a workspace?

A workspace is another word for your Hosted SharePoint site that can be used for web pages, lists and document libraries. For example, you might create a site to manage a new team or project, collaborate on a document or prepare for a meeting.

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How do sub-sites work?

You can create a sub-site for various categories to group information. For example, a business may choose to have a sub-site for different departments, clients or suppliers:

  • departments – finance, marketing, IT
  • projects – new product, sales campaign, customer project
  • clients – new clients, existing clients, old clients
  • suppliers – Supplier 1, Supplier 2, Supplier 3

The name of the sub-site is then added to the end of your normal url, for example:

http://yoursitename.domainname.com/finance

http://yoursitename.domainname.com/supplier1

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What are picture libraries?

Picture libraries allow you to create and access a photo album and view it as a slide show, thumbnail or film strip. You can have a separate folder for each event or category.

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I’m based outside the UK, are there any restrictions or requirements for accessing Hosted SharePoint?

No, there aren’t any system or bandwidth limitations for international users. Additional language packs have been installed which allow users to set up sub-webs in languages other than English. These include Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finiish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish and Swedish.

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Setting Up Hosted SharePoint

Are there any IT requirements or downloads required to set up my Hosted SharePoint site?

No. You don't need to download any code or plan for any IT support. Simply complete the online signup process. Once you’ve successfully signed up and your site has been provisioned, we’ll send a confirmation and site details to the email address you provide.

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Are there any browser recommendations?

Microsoft recommends using the following browsers for viewing and editing your Hosted
SharePoint:

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 with Service Pack 2.0
  • Internet Explorer 6
  • Netscape Navigator 6.2 or later
  • Firefox 2.0 or later


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How many files can I upload?

There is no restriction on the number of files that can be uploaded. The limit applies to the storage limit on your plan. This can be increased at any time should you need more space.

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Can I post any kind of document to my Hosted SharePoint site?

You can post documents in most formats, including .doc, .xls, .pdf, and .htm. You can also upload images such as JPEG, GIF and TIF. If you’re using Microsoft Office XP, 2003 or 2007 you can also save documents directly to your Hosted SharePoint site.

No content that violates the terms of service may be uploaded or posted to the site. We reserve the right to restrict file types at any time.

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Using Hosted SharePoint

Can I buy additional space and user accounts?

Yes. You choose how much space and how many users you need when signing up. If you wish to add more space or additional users you can do so at any time. The price plan is based upon the total amount of space and number of users.

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How do I invite users to join my Hosted SharePoint site? Is it secure?

Your Hosted SharePoint site will be password protected to restrict access to registered users. You can invite users from within 'Site Settings', this will send an invite email to the users. Also, the site administrator can restrict certain members’ access by assigning different permission levels.

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Can I ask users outside of my business to my Hosted SharePoint site?

Yes you can. You can invite anyone onto your Hosted SharePoint site, they can access it online from anywhere using their password. Simply add users to the service in the normal way.

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Can I download information directly from my Hosted SharePoint site to a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)?

Unfortunately this isn’t possible. However, you can exchange contact information lists with Microsoft Outlook and there are third party applications such as Colligio Reader that provide this service via your laptop or PC.

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What is the difference between an internet and intranet site?

An internet site is a normal site that anyone on the internet can access (e.g. www.eclipse.net.uk or www.microsoft.com). An intranet (or internal network), though hosted on the web, can only be accessed by people who are members of that network.

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How much can I customise a user’s profile?

User permission will apply to your entire Hosted SharePoint site, not just to documents themselves. However, you can have additional sub-sites that can have their own permissions. Each user can be given any of four default roles, additional roles can be defined by the administrator.

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Can each user have their own calendar?

Yes, there are two ways of doing this:

  • by creating a calendar for each user
  • by creating a calendar with a view for each user

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Can my Hosted SharePoint site be linked to an external data source?

Hosted SharePoint can be opened with Access and Excel as an external data source. Thus, Hosted SharePoint can be referenced as an external data source, it can’t reference an external data source itself.

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Can I customise my Hosted SharePoint site?

Yes, Hosted SharePoint includes tools that let you create custom lists, calendars and page views. You can also apply a theme, add a list, survey or document library to create a page, create personal views, change logos and more.

To fully customise your site, you can use Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003. Specifically, you can use FrontPage themes and shared borders. You can also use FrontPage to create photo galleries, top ten lists, usage reports and integrate web content.

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Can I migrate my Hosted SharePoint site to an internal server or another ISP without losing any data or content?

Yes, you can use Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003 to create a local copy of your site that can then be migrated to your internal Windows Server 2003 environment or another Hosted SharePoint provider. Please note however, that some limitations may apply to preserving site structure and user accounts.

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Security

What security levels can be assigned to users?

Security levels are assigned by the administrator of your site. There are four default levels, additional levels can be created as required.

  • Reader – has read-only access to the website
  • Contributor – can add content to existing document libraries and lists
  • Web Designer – can create lists and document libraries, as well as customise pages in the website
  • Administrator – has full control of the site

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Can more than one user have administrator level controls?

Yes. Through the site settings any number of additional administrators can be added to your site. Users can also be assigned one of the other four default roles and custom roles you define.

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Can more than one person share the same user account?

To maintain the full features of Hosted SharePoint this is discouraged. However, if the users sharing the account will have the same permissions and there is no risk from them sharing a password, then yes, this is possible.

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How can I make my site public?

By default, all sites are created private. If you want your site to be a public website, you can enable anonymous access for the entire site. You can then give your URL to anybody, the URL for your website could be for example http://yoursitename.domainname.com

These websites are ideal for information and knowledge intensive sites and/or sites where you need to have a shared workspace.

Remember: Under the parent website, you can have several sub-sites each with unique permissions, settings and security rights.

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How secure is a Hosted SharePoint site?

Hosted SharePoint is very secure and supported by Microsoft SharePoint Services technical security. This measures firewall protection, intrusion detection and web publishing rules. Our operations team test and deploy software updates in order to maintain the highest level of security and software reliability.

Software hot-fixes and service packs are tested and deployed based on their priority and level of risk. Security related hot-fixes are rapidly deployed into the environment to address current threats. A comprehensive software validation activity ensures software stability through regression testing prior to deployment.

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Support

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Is technical support available during the 30 day free trial?

Yes the trial is fully supported. You can raise a support ticket via your online control panel in My Eclipse or call our Technical Support team.

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Is there an online manual for Hosted SharePoint?

Not as such, we do have several help articles for Hosted SharePoint in our Knowledge Base. There are also several excellent books in print, try searching Amazon for SharePoint.

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