Several New Features in SharePoint 2007

June, 2006

The full release of SharePoint 2007 is just around the corner, following a second beta release in late May. The next version is designed to address many of the common shortcomings or pain points commonly identified by users with the 2003 version. June's Tip of the Month discusses several of the pain points identified and how the next version addresses them.

One common problem is the lack of item-level backup and restore capability. A two-tiered recycle bin is part of the next version and included with the out-of-the-box capabilities. All end users have a recycle bin, from which they can recover items that they delete. After users empty their respective recycle bins, their items will still remain in the system. The second tier, accessible only to administrators, will allow for a final recovery of documents that end users have deleted and removed from their recycle bins.

Another common problem is the lack of flexibility in setting security rights. Security can be set only as far down as the portal area in SharePoint Portal Server and to the list or document library in Windows SharePoint Services. This limitation forces site and portal administrators to create extra areas or document libraries in order to have tighter security for a single document. The next version allows security to be customized all the way down to the item level.

With the current version, IT personnel often find themselves fielding calls from users who clicked on a link to add, edit, or delete an item, only to be hit with the Windows user authentication when they do not have the appropriate security rights to do so. The new security-trimmed user interface eliminates this issue by simply not displaying links to users who do not have the appropriate rights.

Finally, content aggregation - the ability to create and show a centralized view of items from common lists across multiple sites or portal areas - is a common need for organizations that is unaddressed by the 2003 version but is included with 2007. For example, multiple project sites, each with a commonly-structured task list, can roll-up an aggregated version of their tasks into one master view. Project team members are now able to see all of their own outstanding tasks across multiple sites from one location. Similarly, project managers are able to see a list of all of the team's outstanding tasks.

These are just a few of many new features available in SharePoint 2007. Be sure to read next month's Tip of the Month, which will focus on several others.