Web Content Management in SharePoint 2010

UI Improvements

Rich AJAX Interactions

           This by far is the most impressive improvement in SharePoint 2010. You may have your own opinion on the style of the UI itself, but you can’t deny that it’s a large improvement over the 2007 interface. The entire user experience for SharePoint 2010 has been revamped with a sleek, AJAX-enabled interface.

            Just about every action that an end user needs to do will require zero page loads. How will this benefit the management of content? Fewer page loads and a more intuitive interface means higher productivity and efficiency. It also means increased end-user buy-in.

The Ribbon

         The Microsoft Office 2010 suite will signify the consistency of the ribbon across all products. SharePoint 2010 will also be receiving the ribbon. In general, you either love the ribbon or you hate it.

          For some, the ribbon was the single greatest thing that ever happened to Office. But others simply don’t like change, and since the ribbon was a significant one, this feature was not always welcoming.

           However, the emergence of the ribbon made third-party product integration a lot easier. This trend should continue with SharePoint 2010 as innovative developers extend the ribbon to integrate their products further into the SharePoint UI.

WSIWYG Editor

            I won’t tell you that the new WSIWYG editor is an all-encompassing, wonderful editor, but they have certainly improved it since the 2007 release. Tight integration with the new UI and ribbon will cut down on page loads and confusion that were frequent with the end user experience in 2007.

              The editor now natively supports browsers other than just IE. So you should be able to fire up the editor in Firefox 3 and Safari 3 with no issues. It's about time.

SharePoint 2010 WYSIWYG Editor (what you see is what you get)

Accessibility Improvements

          SharePoint is finally joining the ranks of other popular WCM products by simply conforming to modern web standards, like XHTML and WCAG 2.0 AA. Not only will this decrease the financial costs of branding and customizing a SharePoint 2010 site, but it will hopefully allow organizations to brand the site themselves without hiring SharePoint-specific branders.

Browser support

          Part of WCM is accessibility. SharePoint 2007 is for the most part jailed to Internet Explorer. Sure, you can load any SharePoint site in Firefox or Chrome, but it’s not fully supported and several features do not function correctly.

           Firefox now has roughly 25% of the browser market share, and Microsoft is listening. In 2010, Firefox 3 is now a tier 1 supported browser. This essentially means that it has the same level of support as IE, but only on Windows machines.

        Although you might not have the same experience on Mac or Linux with Firefox, Safari 3 is now a tier 2 supported browser. That will no doubt increase the ability of non-Windows users to browse SharePoint sites in an environment they are comfortable with.

New Features

Managed Metadata Service

         Microsoft is making a huge push in 2010 for metadata management. Whether you want to retain complete control of your taxonomies or let your users help drive, this entire experience has improved. In turn, this helps solidify SharePoint as a solid web-based tool for managing content across all of your sites.

Tagging & Rating

        These two features need no convincing of their usefulness. This very article benefits from tagging to aid the reader in finding similar content. In the enterprise, tagging can be used in the same ways that modern blogs and content-driven sites use it.

        At a high level, tagging is no different than traditional metadata columns. But from a usability standpoint, tagging just makes more sense to an end user. Rather than being jailed to a specific column of metadata, tagging provides an open-ended avenue for users to organically drive content relevancy.Content rating is yet another new feature that Microsoft is bringing to the table to help drive user involvement. When enabled, you’ll give your users the ability to rate pages or individual documents themselves.

Content Organizer

       The content organizer helps you organize content! Publishing groups that manage thousands of pages will immediately love this new feature. If set up correctly, you’ll provide your content creators with an environment that decreases the burden of always having to know where things should go.

       This feature uses a rule-based concept that allows different types of metadata to help decide where the content should sit in SharePoint. This will allow your users to concentrate on what they do best, while easing the minds of IT, who are usually burdened with worry about empowering end users.

     Microsoft is hoping that improvements and new features like these will help cut implementation and development costs, so you can focus on doing business.

Microsoft OneNote 2010

                  The beta version users of Microsoft Office 2010 do not seem very satisfied with the new features, they found in Microsoft OneNote 2010. It's more or less similar to the applications we have been using since Microsoft OneNote 2007. Though some features I found really innovative, I am looking forward to more such features of OneNote 2010, when its final version go for sale in July, of this current year. Lets delve into what'snew features are wrapped in Microsoft OneNote 2010.

Share notebook between multiple authors

    In contrast to OneNote 2007, where users has to point Live Sharing Session and click Start Sharing Current Section to share notebook with others, OneNote 2010 allows multiple authors to access a shared notebook simultaneously, using shared notebook feature. Whenever authors edit the pages and sections in the shared notebook, OneNote automatically synchronizes the changes so that the notebook is always up-to-date. OneNote maintains a separate offline copy of the notebook on each user's computer so that the authors can edit the notes locally even when their computer is disconnected from the network. The next time the users connect to the sharednotebook, OneNote automatically merges their changes with the changes made by other authors.

To use the shared notebooks feature in OneNote 2010, select Share This Notebook (or New Shared Notebook) on the Share tab.

The ribbon customization

       The ribbon in OneNote 2010 provides quicker access to all the commands. With this new ribbon its possible to add new ribbon with an ease. You can also customize the ribbon. For example, you can create custom tabs for frequently used commands. It also helps math equation editing. The ribbon can be hidden while writing, to help maximize the note-taking space on the page.

 Language preferences

           OneNote 2010 also provides simplified language settings. It allows multili lunguage users to use a single dialog box to set preferences for editing, display, ScreenTip Language, and Help languages. If users do not have a required software or keyboard layout installed, a notification displays to provide information and links to resolve such issues.

 Better Sub-Page Management

         With the OneNote 2010, page management got a chance to improve. It looks better with new pages being added at the bottom. Though you may find it tedious while working with lots of pages and every time needing scroll down.

 Sophisticated File Management

          It's easier to see which files it uses and where they are. The OneNote 2010 file format enables new features, such as sharing on the Web, linked note-taking, mathematical equations, and versioning (i.e. quickly show past versions of any given page, who wrote it and when). OneNote 2010 will continue to work on Office OneNote 2007 notebooks without changing to the new file format. By default, notebooks are not upgraded. Do not upgrade notebooks if you plan to share them with Office OneNote 2007 users.

          To change an existing notebook to the OneNote 2010 notebook format, use the Notebook Properties dialog box: Click the File tab, click the Settings drop-down menu, and then click Properties, or right-click the Notebook and click Properties.

 Backstage view

          The Backstage view helps you find frequently used features, with which you can manage your Microsoft OneNote notebook files. The Backstage also manages files and the data about the files, such as creating and saving files, inspecting for hidden meta data or personal information, and setting file options.

           You can access Backstage view from the File tab, which replaces the Microsoft Office Button and File menu that were used in earlier versions of Microsoft Office.

 Improved organization and search features

          Search improvements allow for rapid search and navigation within the search results. For example, by typing the first few letters of a title, users can quickly jump to recently visited pages, or repeat a previous search. It also reduces search time.

 Enhanced Editing Facilities

          OneNote 2010 make users more inclined towards style. They can use various styles for creating or applying headlines. Its now possible to arrange their notes using suitable bullet from the improved bullet list. An option for formatting text color and paragraph is also there for you. OneNote 2010 supports addition of math equations. It has the ability to recognize hand written math equations and convert them when running on Windows 7.

 Touch Support

           As we are heading towards the age of touch enabled PCs, OneNote 2010 came to support this feature. With your finger you can scroll and pan around any page in OneNote. For example you can pan around a drawing with your left finger and draw with a tablet pen in your right hand. This creates a model for two handed interaction.

 Wiki Linking

           You can easily create a link to an existing page or to a new page for a topic. You can do this by just typing the Wiki link syntax (e.g. just type [[The Page Title I Want]] ), or use new page search experience from within the link dialog. This enables you to easily create Wiki like notebooks with lots of cross links across pages.

The advanced diagramming tools of Visio 2010 help you simplify complexity with dynamic, data-driven visuals and new ways to share on the Web in real-time.

Start by building your diagram with professional-looking templates and modern, pre-drawn shapes. Then, easily link your diagram to popular data sources (such as Excel). You’ll see data automatically refresh right within your diagram, reflected in vibrant visuals such as icons, symbols, colors, and bar graphs. Finally, with just a few clicks, publish your data-linked diagram to SharePoint, and provide access to others on the Web, even if they don’t have Visio.

Together, simplicity, data-driven shapes, and Web sharing make Visio 2010 one of the most powerful ways to see and understand important information.

Jump-start diagramming with templates : With modern, pre-drawn shapes, intelligent templates, and sample drawings, Visio 2010 offers a wide variety of options to meet your diagramming needs for IT, business, process management, and more.

Find and access the tools you need quickly: Every step in creating a diagram is more intuitive, with the logical groupings of features in Ribbon tabs, an enhanced Shapes window for easy access to shapes and stencils, and a new status bar that helps you move more efficiently within and between your diagrams.

Draw diagrams faster with improved automatic features: Whether you are creating a diagram from scratch, or modifying an existing diagram, Visio 2010 helps you add and align shapes easily and accurately with features such as the Quick Shapes Mini Toolbar, enhanced dynamic grid, page Auto Size, and automatic alignment and layout adjustment.

Simplify large and complex diagrams: Add clarity to diagrams using Subprocesses and Containers to group related shapes visually and logically. As a diagram grows larger or becomes more complex, Subprocesses and Containers help you to keep information more organized and understandable.

Make your diagrams professional-looking and appealing in seconds: Visio 2010 helps you make diagrams look attractive with a wide range of formatting tools and design options, including modern shapes and visuals, a rich gallery of themes, and Live Preview.

Bring your diagrams to life with real-time data: See the entire picture with dynamic, data-driven diagrams. Simply connect your diagram to one or more data sources such as Excel or SQL Server. Then, display real-time data right within your diagrams, based on conditions you define, using vibrant colors, icons, symbols, and data bars.

Share diagrams with others on the Web: Easily share dynamic, data-linked Visio diagrams in Microsoft SharePoint Server. Online users can see your real-time information in their browsers at a high level, right on the diagram, or delve into the details—even if they don’t own Visio. They can pan and zoom in the diagram, follow hyperlinks in shapes, and refresh the data.

Ensure consistency and accuracy with diagram validation: Check for common errors and support diagramming standards across your organization using diagram validation. With one click, you can validate a diagram against a set of rules to make sure it’s logical and properly constructed.

Model and monitor SharePoint workflows: Create and monitor SharePoint workflows more easily than ever with a new, advanced template that contains SharePoint workflow rules and logic, and supports the ability to export and import workflows between Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2010 and Visio 2010.

Create visual mashups using Visio Services: Publish and share visually compelling dashboards that contain interactive Visio diagrams and other application services. Visio Services and SharePoint Server integration supports visual mashups of actionable data and diagrams for an information-rich viewing experience.

After the grand success of Microsoft Office 2007 Microsoft have decided to move forward to Microsoft Office 2010. Microsoft Office 2010 provides best work with Offices, Homes as well as Schools. This year Microsoft Office has various products like SharePoint, OneNote, Workspace, Visio, Project, etc… integrated in Office 2010. Hence Office 2010 is expected to be much more success rather than their older version (2003,2007). With Office 2010 your control over your things to be done will be much easier with amazing results to your schedule.

Express your ideas more Visually:

Office 2010 opens up a world of design options to help you give life to your ideas. The new and improved picture formatting tools such as color saturation and artistic effects let you transform your document visuals into a work of art. Combined with a wide range of new pre-built Office themes and SmartArt, graphic layouts, Office 2010 gives you more ways to make your ideas stick on it.

Accomplish more when working together:

Better version control, Brainstorm ideas, and to meet your deadlines faster while working in groups. With Microsoft PowerPoint2010, Microsoft Excel Web App and Microsoft OneNote helps to share notebooks and work on single file with several people at once with various different locations.

Enjoy the familiar Office experience from various locations and devices:

With Office 2010 time required is much less compared to other versions of Office. Using smartphones and any computer with internet connection, you can work from when and whatever you want to work for.

Microsoft Office Web Apps: Store your Office files online and then access, view, edit and share content through web.

Microsoft Office Mobile 2010: Stay connected and responds quickly using Windows Mobile based smartphones.

Create powerful data insights and visuals:

New spark lines feature delivers a clear and compact visual representation of your data with small charts within your worksheet cells. Pivot Table data in multiple layers using slicers to spend more time on analyzing and less on formatting your data.

Deliver compelling presentations:

Help your audience with personalized videos in your presentation. Insert and customize videos directly in Powerpoint2010 - trim, add fades and effects, or bookmark key points in the video to call attention to selected scenes. Videos you insert are now embedded by default, relieving you from managing and sending additional video files.

Manage large volumes of e-mail with ease :

Compress your long e-mail threads into a few conversations that can be categorized, filed, ignored, or cleaned up. The new Quick Steps feature let you perform multi-command tasks, such as reply and delete an e-mail in a single click, saving you time and in-box space.

Store and track all your ideas and notes in one Place:

Get the ultimate digital notebook for tracking, organizing, and sharing your text, picture, video and audio notes with OneNote 2010. New features such as version tracking, automatic highlighting, and Linked Notes give you more control over your notes so you’re always on top of where your ideas came from and the latest changes when working in teams.

Get your message out instantly:

Broadcast your PowerPoint presentation to a remote audience, whether or not they have PowerPoint installed. The new Broadcast Slide Show feature allows you to share your presentation through a web browser quickly without additional set up.

Access work across devices and platforms :

Enjoy the freedom of using Office 2010 from more locations on more devices. When you use Microsoft Office 2010, you’re getting the familiar and intuitive Office experience across PCs, Smartphones, and Web browsers on the go.

Get things done faster and easier:

Microsoft Office Backstage view replaces the traditional File menu to give you a centralized space for all of your file management tasks, such as the ability to save, share, print, and publish. The enhanced Ribbon across Office 2010 applications lets you access commands quickly and customize tabs to personalize the experience to your work style.