Advanced techniques for using
Microsoft Office and My Docs Online

SUMMARY:
Microsoft Office's built-in support for Web Folders combined with MDO allows file "locking" to avoid simultaneous update problems when sharing files that are actively edited online. When an Office application's ability to "Save As HTML" is used via Web Folders to upload files to the My Docs Online Public folder the result is read-only web versions of Word, Excel and Powerpoint files, or an entire web site if using Publisher.

There are two very powerful ways Microsoft Office applications and My Docs Online can be combined; both use Web Folders/WebDAV and one also leverages the My Docs Online "Public" folder.

For users who need to share the frequent updating or editing of Word, Excel or Powerpoint file, the ability of the WebDAV protocol used by MS Web Folders to "lock" a file while a user has the file open for update provides a simple yet powerful way to share editing responsibilties for a given file, without having to worry about the "intervening update" problem.

"Intervening updates" refers to the situation where user "A" opens a particular file for update, and before the file can be updated and saved user "B" also opens the same file. Whichever user saves the file last will wipe out the other user's changes.

The WebDAV protocol supported by the My Docs Online server includes a provision for "Locking" a file, and Office applications "know" how to keep a My Docs Online file locked while it is being edited. All that is required is to open the Office file via Microsoft's Web Folder support, either directly via the Office File Open dialog, or by locating the Web Folder and then the file via Windows Explorer and opening the file to launch Office.

If user number two attempts to open the same file at the same time, he or she will be notified that the file is open and locked, and he or she will be offered a "read-only" copy of the file. When the first user closes the file the "lock" is released so user number two can open, and edit, the file.

The second way to leverage the combined power of Office and My Docs Online also uses a Web Folder connection, combined with the Office ability to save its files in HTML form for viewing with a web browser. When you save such files into your My Docs Online "Public" folder Office will also, if necessary, create a subfolder named after the file where all the supporting files such as graphics can be stored.

The result is a file in your Public folder which is accessible via its unique URL, that can be communicated to anyone via email or on a web site, but because the Office document (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.) has been transformed into web-friendly HTML, only a web browser is required to read it. And using Publisher this was is an easy way to author and upload an entire web site.

The steps to accomplish this are:

• Open the Office file you have previously created
  
  
• Choose "File...Save As"
  
  
• Select a File Type of Web Page, HTML, or HTM
  
  
• Click the Network Places or Web Folders button at the lower left of the Office Save window
  
  
• Select your MDO Web Folder, login if necessary, and open your Public folder
  
  
• Click Save

Office will convert the file to a collection of web pages and supporting files, then upload them all to your Public folder. When the upload is complete, login to your account using a web browser, select the Public folder, check the new file shown at the top of the Public folder file list and click Details to learn its unique URL. Then copy and paste the URL into your browser's address or location window and test the results.

HINT: web pages created by Office work best — sometime only — with Internet Explorer.

Learn more about creating a web site using the Public folder.