The document authoring with external users usage scenario is an extension of team-based document authoring usage scenario, with a few more challenges thrown in. As with the team-based document authoring usage scenario, document authors need to be able to contribute to a document concurrently. However, because some or all of the authors lie outside the direct control of the organization, there are additional challenges:

·         Lack of coordination among external authors

·         Multiple authoring applications

·         Lack of consistent bandwidth to SharePoint or lack of access to SharePoint

External authors tend to have even less coordination among themselves than internal members of the organization. This can lead to many more edit conflicts, lower effective productivity, and longer over-all time to completion for documents. The docBlock Ascend allows content managers to partition virtual documents into discrete document parts. Each document part has a non-overlapping section of content from the virtual document. The content manager can use the docBlock Ascend’s task management capabilities to assign document part authoring tasks to the correct authors. Each task assignment points to a distinct document part. Each document part contains only the content the author needs edit, so there is no confusion about the scope of the task or multiple authors duplicating each other’s work.

Unlike with internal authors, the organization cannot ensure that external authors are using the same authoring application. Some authors may use varying versions of Microsoft Word while others may be using completely different applications, such as OpenOffice. The docBlock Ascend’s virtual document implementation is completely server-based and requires neither Word plug-ins nor any specific authoring application. Authors are free to use any application that can edit Word .doc or .docx files. Content managers are free to partition a virtual document using either .doc or .docx document parts in the same virtual document, providing maximum interoperability for a wide array of external authors.

Some authors may have very limited bandwidth to the SharePoint repository while some may have no access at all due to organizational policy. Issues with limited bandwidth are addressed in more detail in the “Geographically distributed document authoring” usage scenario. When a content manager virtualizes a document and partitions the document into document parts, SharePoint sees each part as a separate file. This allows authors who do not have direct access to the organization’s SharePoint server due to their work environment or due to organizational policy to email their document part changes to email-enabled virtual document libraries. There is no danger of one disconnected author overwriting another author’s edits because each author’s edits are scoped to the document part on which he or she is working. Authors who do not have direct access to the organization’s SharePoint farm can make use of their local resources to author their document parts and email in changes as they are completed to email-enabled virtual document libraries.

Read more about advanced document management usage scenarios that docBlock Ascend virtual documents enables on the SharePoint 2007 and 2010 platforms:

Download the Enhancing SharePoint Document Management with Virtual Documents black paper (registration required). The black paper discusses several key document management usage scenarios enabled through docBlock Ascend's virtual document enhancements to the SharePoint platform.

For more information on the docBlock Ascend, please download the docBlock Ascend product brochure or contact sales@blackbladeinc.com / +1-703-260-1111 . See the docBlock Ascend in action by scheduling a live web demo, or attend a public webinar, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2pm EST.