Integration SharePoint & Outlook
Increase user acceptance of SharePoint by putting Outlook at the heart of it
SharePoint DMS is the solution for storing, sharing and finding documents and email messages with Microsoft SharePoint. Using the drag-and-drop mechanism, messages and attachments, including metadata, can be sent directly from Outlook are stored in SharePoint.
Benefits
Today, e-mail messages and their attachments are an important and extensive source of information, as they are part of organisations' digital memory. Because e-mails are usually stored in personal inboxes and folders, the information is personal and difficult to share.
SharePoint is a web-based application for sharing documents and other files. Through seamless integration with Outlook, SharePoint DMS makes SharePoint a user-friendly application for managing documents and e-mail messages within a recognisable environment.
Its recognisable interface and simplicity of use results in exceptionally high user acceptance and successful deployments of your SharePoint environment.
The entire document management environment in SharePoint is presented by SharePoint DMS through an intuitive tree structure directly in Outlook (see image 'Interface'). In this way, SharePoint DMS stays close to the user's experience and the threshold for using SharePoint is very low and easy.
All SharePoint functionalities available in one interface: Outlook
When a document library or folder is clicked in the tree structure, all e-mail messages and other files stored in it become visible.
Within a document library or folder, metadata columns can be sorted and there are various filtering options.
From any saved MSG, DOC, XLS, PPT or PDF file in SharePoint, the content is displayed directly in Outlook (see figure).
By clicking on a Site in the tree structure, a user can access a SharePoint site, it will be immediately visible in Outlook.
Save from Outlook 'Drag and drop' to SharePoint
SharePoint DMS allows you to save one or more e-mail message(s) and/or attachment(s) to SharePoint within Outlook by simply dragging and dropping them into the tree structure.
SharePoint DMS assigns a unique file name to each Outlook message when it is saved in SharePoint. By default, the file name is based on sender, sent date/time and subject.
When messages are saved in SharePoint, SharePoint DMS automatically uses the characteristics of the Outlook message to store them as metadata in the document libraries, some examples of metadata fields are To, From and Date/Time.
Additionally, DMF Message will assist the user in completing organisation-specific metadata that apply in the relevant library. SharePoint DMS supports multiple content types and all SharePoint column types, including Business Data columns.
SharePoint DMS comes with a dedicated library template and an email view, enabling maximum user convenience with minimal set-up effort.
Efficient navigation through extensive SharePoint environments
The SharePoint DMS tree structure makes navigating extensive SharePoint environments simple and efficient. It is easy to filter within site collections and site structures to access the right sites and libraries. Moreover, searches can be performed within the SharePoint DMS tree structure to find the right site or library without knowing its exact location.
The SharePoint favourites feature in SharePoint DMS supports so-called 'one click' navigation to frequently used document libraries and folders.
Powerful attachment support
SharePoint DMS automatically saves Outlook messages as *.MSG files. Saved e-mail messages will open exactly as saved, including attachments.
Ever wanted to store an attachment to an e-mail message separately in SharePoint or attach a file from SharePoint to an outgoing e-mail? Without SharePoint DMS, this often requires storing copies of files. SharePoint DMS makes moving attachments to and from SharePoint very easy. Attachments in an Outlook message can also be added as a reference to save storage space.
When e-mail messages contain PDF files as attachments (e.g. from Smart Copiers), SharePoint DMS PDF Save (optional module) ensures that these files (including metadata) can be saved in SharePoint via Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat.
Searching for e-mail messages and other files in Sharepoint
SharePoint DMS provides a search functionality for -email messages and other files fully integrated into Outlook (see figure 2). Searches can be metadata-based and/or keyword-based.
Search functionality uses the powerful SharePoint/FAST Search Engine and searches can be saved.
Performance SharePoint & Outlook
Storage and navigation performance via SharePoint DMS is excellent and has proven itself in very large environments. By applying smart technologies (proprietary web service) and a sophisticated architecture, bandwidth requirements are kept to a minimum.
Working offline with Outlook
When a user in Outlook is offline or otherwise unable to connect to the SharePoint server, SharePoint DMS allows email messages and attachments to be dragged and dropped into any document library in SharePoint. The actual saving to SharePoint and metadata capture takes place when the user is back online.
SharePoint DMS also supports the use of Outlook Rules and Outlook Web Access to save e-mail messages to SharePoint.
