INTRODUCTION TO SHAREPOINT WEBSITES FOR XBRL USERS

Author	Peter Calvert
Date	23 October 2005
Version	1.0

Introduction

This document will help XBRL users get started with Sharepoint websites.  It is not a full tutorial, since help information is provided within Sharepoint itself.

Sharepoint provides “collaboration” websites for groups, allowing them to store files, collaborate on documents, assign and track tasks, arrange meetings, agendas and minutes, make announcements and carry out a range of other activities. 

In combination with Listserv mailing lists, Sharepoint provides the full communication and collaboration facilities which XBRL international and jurisdiction groups require.  In general, a group will use a Listserv mailing list for e-mail distribution and Sharepoint for all joint working tasks. 

Joining and Accessing Groups

The XBRL International website lists the home pages of individual groups on www.xbrl.org/GroupsList. 

Sharepoint sites will only be available for private XBRL working groups. Only members of XBRL jurisdictions or direct participant members, who have registered for the Members’ Area of the XBRL International website, can join these groups.  Members can register for the Members’ Area by going to http://www.xbrl.org/registrationform.aspx. 

To join a group, please send an e-mail request as described on the website at www.xbrl.org/GroupsList.  Please put the group name in the headline and state (a) your name and (b) the login e-mail which you use to access the Members' Area of the website.  Your e-mail must also be sent from that e-mail address so the administrator can verify your membership.  This single e-mail application will automatically cover all Listserv mailing lists and Sharepoint websites for the group concerned.

The website shows the e-mail administration address for each group.  All requests on international groups should be sent to XII Groups Admin at groups@xbrl.org.  Regional or jurisdiction groups have their own admin addresses.

You will receive confirmation messages once you have been permissioned for a group.

If you have not previously used Sharepoint, your confirmation messages will include information from Sharepoint on your login and password.  For more information on logging in to Sharepoint, see the Login section below.

Login

When you attempt to access any a Sharepoint site, you will be required to log in  (see fig 1).  When you are first permissioned for Sharepoint, you will receive a message with your user name and password.  The user name will be related to the first part of your e-mail address (but may not be identical to it).  You cannot change this.  The password is assigned by Sharepoint, but you can change this after you have accessed Sharepoint by going to Site Settings > Update my information >  Change password.

The Sharepoint message with your user name and password will give your user name in the form:

SHAREPOINT-WEB\abcdef

The  SHAREPOINT-WEB\  prefix should be ignored; it is NOT part of the user name.  In the example above the user name is abcdef.

Fig 1 – Sharepoint Login Window

The same Sharepoint user name and password is used across all XBRL Sharepoint groups.

Please make a note of your password.  If you forget it, you will need to send an e-mail to XII Groups Admin at groups@xbrl.org and ask for it to be reset.  XII Groups Admin will advise you of the new password when this is done.

Once you have established your user name and permanent password, you can save this on your PC so that future logging-in to Sharepoint sites will be quick and easy.

Users are automatically logged out of Sharepoint when they exit the Sharepoint system.

Note that the login process, user names and passwords for Sharepoint are NOT the same as for Listserv.  Please see the separate Listserv introduction document for information on Listserv login.

Locating Sharepoint Websites

As stated above, the home pages of Sharepoint websites are currently listed on the XBRL website at www.xbrl.org/GroupsList.  You will find that your login will only give you access to the sites of groups for which you have been permissioned.  If you wish to access others, you must apply for membership as described above. 

There is a general Sharepoint home page at http://sharepoint.xbrl.org.  This only contains brief introductory information.  However, once you are logged in, if you go to its Sites section at http://sharepoint.xbrl.org/_layouts/1033/mngsubwebs.aspx?view=sites, you will see a list of all Sharepoint sites for which you are permissioned. 

For fast access, you can obviously also bookmark Sharepoint sites. 

Sharepoint Capabilities

Sharepoint functionality is very flexible and its sites can be configured with different functions and formats.

Standard XBRL templates have been established to enable easy creation of XBRL Sharepoint sites.  These templates may evolve over time and there is nothing to stop groups adding and customising features of their sites, as they gain experience or develop new requirements.  Groups can also set up sub-sites and workspaces to cover specific activities.

The chief features included in the main XBRL Sharepoint format are:

· General welcome / information messages.

· Document libraries for storing documents, controlling editing and tracking changes.

· Lists for: 

^ Announcements

^ Meetings and Conference Calls

^ Group tasks

^ Group issues

^ Events

^ Useful links

· Members list.

If they wish, groups can also have a dedicated Meeting Workspace covering meeting timings, agendas, minutes, tasks and decisions.  They can also set up surveys and publish logs of key milestones, among other features.

A simple template has also been created for less active groups whose main requirement is document storage.  However, it is expected international working groups and other busy groups will use the main template.  These XBRL templates are in English, but Sharepoint has a range of standard templates in different languages and other multi-lingual features which can be used in creating jurisdiction or regional sites. 

Group owners will have administration rights to customise the features of their sites.  The names and contact e-mails of owners should be shown clearly on the home pages of group websites.  Group members should contact them to request changes or raise questions about site content and features. In most cases, the group owners will be group chairs and XII staff. 

Ordinary users will generally be able to contribute documents and add and amend information stored on sites, although sites can vary in the rights which they allocate to users.  Ordinary users will not be able to reconfigure or add to the basic features on a site.

Using Sharepoint Features

The main features of Sharepoint sites can be accessed through the top and left-hand menus. 

The left-hand menu gives access to the main information content of a site and should be self-explanatory.

The top menu includes the following links:

· Home:  Return to the home page of the site.

· Documents and Lists:  An extended view of all the storage folders on the site.

· Create:  Creates new lists and other features on the site.  These functions are for site owners and system administrators.  Ordinary users will be able to see these links but they will not be permissioned to use them.

· Site Settings:  Allows ordinary users to:

^ Change their password and display name.

^ Set automatic alerts to advise them of changes to the contents of specific lists, libraries and other items on the site.

Users can set these functions through the Manage My Information link under Site Settings.

Other links under Site Settings are for owners and administrators and ordinary users will not be permissioned to use them.

· “Up” link (on right hand of top menu):  Returns the user to the next site up in the Sharepoint hierarchy.  Principally required when a user in a dedicated workspace (such as a meeting workspace) or a sub-site and wishes to return to the main site.

All users are able to customise some of the ways in which they personally view and access Sharepoint pages through the Modify My Page link on the right of the title bar of some pages.  They can thus adjust a site to suit their work habits and convenience.  This customisation applies purely to them and is not seen by other users.

Sharepoint is a Microsoft product and has special features for interaction with Microsoft software such as Word and Excel.  This may increase the convenience of a few tasks.  However, Sharepoint is compatible with all browsers and users can carry out all tasks whether or not they use latest Microsoft Office software.

The use of all functions is explained in full in the help information on Sharepoint sites.  Please consult Sharepoint Help for all further guidance on using Sharepoint.  This document is intended purely as an introduction – not a tutorial on the system’s extensive features.

Sharepoint Site Ownership and Sub-sites

XII Groups Admin will control membership of international Sharepoint sites and provide other general support for Sharepoint.  However, all Sharepoint sites, international and local, will have appropriate group managers as owners.  The group owners will be responsible for any customisation of site features and overseeing site content.  The chair and vice-chair of working groups will normally be the owners of the group’s Sharepoint site, although they may delegate this task to others.  The names of group owners and their contact e-mails will be displayed prominently on Sharepoint site home pages.

Owners of Sharepoint sites will be able to set up sub-sites of their main site which may be devoted to specific areas of work.  These sub-sites can be permissioned for all members of the group or for a selected sub-set of members, as appropriate.  The creation and permissioning of these sites will be the responsibility of the main site owners.  XII Groups Admin will not be involved.

Sharepoint Discussion Boards

Sharepoint has discussion boards for posting of messages, but these do not interact with personal e-mail or provide message broadcast in the way that Yahoo or Listserv do.  We are therefore not expecting to use this feature of XBRL e-Groups and it is not included in the XBRL Sharepoint templates.  Individual groups are able to introduce this feature if they wish.

Leaving a Group

If users wish to leave a group permanently, they may send an e-mail to group administration address shown on the website.  They may also request to leave a group through the subscription settings link on Listserv.  Note that group members are permissioned jointly for both Listserv and Sharepoint – it is not possible for a user to opt out of Listserv membership but continue with Sharepoint access or vice versa.

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