Although we’ve covered in depth the many features of SharePoint, reviewing the SharePoint basics is important to be sure you have a solid understanding of this system.
As you know, SharePoint is an application for the web that was developed by Microsoft for the purpose of allowing teams or groups of individuals within an organization to share information, collaborate and work together in a more efficient and easier way.
In this way, people can have a place where they can share information that then can be accessed from any place in the world by those who have access to the Internet. The latest version is SharePoint 2013 and comes with new features that can make your work easier.
Understanding the SharePoint Basics
SharePoint’s Main Features
To get accustomed with the SharePoint basics, you will have to start a site with this application and make document libraries, meant for an easy checking of documents. The platform allows users to make subsites of their current sites, a feature that works in a similar way to using files in folders. You can create a site for different purposes, such as establishing a meeting or just to provide information to people. The following items can be included in a site: document libraries, lists of tasks, calendars, contacts and discussions.
People can find information by navigating through the site or through searches and they can be notified in case new information is added. The type of site that you choose to make depends on what project you want to develop.
In a SharePoint site, you may only find lists and libraries and the information is found in its subsites. The difference between a list and a library can be this: lists only contain text that can be links to different subsites and libraries can contain links to documents that you can download, in formats like PDF, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations and many others.
Navigating, Adding Content and Editing Information
Navigating through a SharePoint site is as easy as it is to do it on any other type of website. The homepage contains two main navigational items: the top link bar and the quick launch bar. If you have full rights, you can administrate the site and this includes posting content and editing it. You can also create lists and libraries that will be like the recipients for the content.
Memberships and User Rights
One of the important aspect of SharePoint is the access level that users have on a site. In this web application, the memberships are based on user roles. Each defined role is meant to provide specific user rights or levels of access. You can have full access in a site, case in which you have the full control membership. The design type of access allows you to view, edit, approve, delete, add and update content. If you only have a contribute access, then you can only view, add, delete or update stuff. The most restricted type of membership is the one that only lets you read content.
The Advantages of Using SharePoint
The integrity of your information can be ensured and documents can be easily managed. Team productivity is improved, because the members of a team can find all necessary resources for them quickly. File sharing is improved as well, as users can check documents and their versions, but also store documents and retrieve them.
SharePoint allows people to build comprehensive and flexible web sites that can fulfill the needs of their organizations or of the organizations that they work for. Users can input whatever name they want and the search function can be great for those who are in need for useful information.
Bottom Line
This was an overview of SharePoint basics that can be useful if you wonder how this great application from Microsoft can help you. Once you know the SharePoint basics, you can advance to the next level and try to create your own site on this platform.
