Essential SharePoint

Linking and Publishing Custom Properties

Word documents use two custom properties to enable linking and publishing. First, _SourceUrl is the address of the source library that a document workspace uses when you choose Publish to Source Location. _SharedFileIndex is the site ID Word uses to locate the document workspace when you open a linked file from your computer.

Of the two, _SourceUrl is the most straightforward since it contains a simple web address. The _SharedFileIndex property is a much longer value that identifies the document in the workspace. Figure 6-12 shows both custom properties in Word.

In the previous section, "Linking Documents to Libraries," I instructed you to set the _SourceUrl manually to enable publishing from a linked document. That might seem like a hack, but it's the only way I know. Word doesn't enable both features, even though they are useful when combined.

Figure 6-12. Linking and publishing custom properties

For you programmers out there: the value of _SharedFileIndex is a GUID identifying the attachment in the list. You can retrieve that information using the FindDwsDoc method of the DWS web service.