Using Office with a Web Server

Assigning Workgroup Properties to Web Documents

When users publish Microsoft Word and HTML documents on a FrontPage-extended web or an OSE-extended web, they can set the following workgroup properties on the documents:

• Category

  Indicates the type of document. Users select from a list of categories that are defined for the Web site. Documents can be assigned to multiple categories.

• Assigned to

  Indicates the owner of the document. Users select from a predefined list of Microsoft Windows NT account user names.

• Review status

  Indicates what stage of development the document is in.

You can set these workgroup properties in Word or in Microsoft FrontPage. The values of workgroup properties are stored in documents when they are saved. When a document is published to the Web, the workgroup properties are synchronized with the metastore on the FrontPage-extended web. The metastore is a small database maintained in each FrontPage-extended web that contains properties and settings of the Web site.

You can save a document that contains new values for the workgroup properties. In this case, the list of values available for the properties is extended to include the new values, and the metastore is updated.

Administrators can use workgroup properties to manage projects. For example, by using the FrontPage 2000 Category component, you can create a page that lists all the defined categories for the Web site and provides links to the documents that fall into each category. By using the FrontPage 2000 reporting feature, you can generate a list of all documents and their assigned users. You can also generate a report that summarizes the review status of all documents on the site.

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Prompting users to assign workgroup properties in Word

The workgroup properties that you can set on published Web documents are similar to the properties that you can set in any Microsoft Office document. However, users can modify workgroup properties only in Word and FrontPage.

You can configure your Web site to have Word prompt users to assign workgroup properties to their documents. You can even configure the site to require users to assign workgroup properties before they can save a document.

On the File menu, Word users can click Properties to display the Workgroup Properties dialog box, and then they can set the properties.

Note   In addition to workgroup properties, standard document properties of Word are available through this dialog box. To display the Properties dialog box, in the Workgroup Properties dialog box, click the Document Properties button.

When a Word user selects the Prompt for document properties check box on the Save tab in the Options dialog box (Tools menu) and then saves a document to a site that is configured to prompt for workgroup properties, the Workgroup Properties dialog box appears first. After the user sets workgroup properties for the document, the Properties dialog box appears, and the user can set other document properties.

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Adding new workgroup property values

FrontPage users can use the Workgroup Properties dialog box to set workgroup properties. FrontPage users can add the following new values:

• Categories to the Category box.
• Users to the Assigned to box.
• Status items to the Review status box.

Word users can add new workgroup property values by using the Custom tab in the Properties dialog box for a document.

You can also copy workgroup property values instead of recreating them each time you create a new FrontPage-extended web. When you copy a Word or HTML document from the existing web to the new web, all the Category, Assigned to, and Review status box items set for the document are transferred to the new web.

Note   Any user who has author permission on a site can add new workgroup property values by publishing a document that contains new values for these properties.

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See also

You can use workgroup properties to manage Web projects with FrontPage. For more information, see Publishing and Maintaining Web Sites with FrontPage.