Essential SharePoint

Preface

If you don't have SharePoint Services, you need it. Even if you work alone from your home office as I do, SharePoint is too useful to pass up—and it's free (well, kind of). SharePoint Services is part of Windows 2003, so if you already have Windows Server 2003, you can download the installation from Microsoft and install it fairly easily.

If you don't have Windows Server 2003, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial through one of the SharePoint hosting providers, which operate much like other web-hosting services. With the free trial, you get an account and some server space. You can administer your site yourself through a web-based interface, and after the free trial period they'll bill you monthly.

Who Should Read This Book

SharePoint is a server product that is used by a wide range of people. This book was written to serve readers based on their varying roles in your company. The following table identifies these roles and recommends specific chapters that may be of interest.

Role	Responsibilities	Read these chapters
Administrator	Installs server software, configures web sites, manages security.	1, 2, 3
Designer	Designs pages on site, creates site templates.	1, 3, 8
Contributor	Adds documents, lists, tasks, announcements, and other content.	1, 4, 5, 6
Contributor with data entry	Completes InfoPath forms.	1, 4, 5, 6, 7
Reader	Views sites and documents but makes no changes.	1, 4, 6
Programmer	Creates custom web parts.	1, 3, 8, 9, 10

Because I cover the full range of things you can do with SharePoint in this book, certain sections may be too technical for some readers. For example, you won't want to read Chapter 9 if you're not a programmer! Still, I wanted to provide a book that gives readers room to grow and that does more than reorganize information that is already available for free in Help or on the Internet.