Office Live Workspace: Collaborate for free

If you need to store and share Office documents — but you don’t want the cost or overhead of a technology such as SharePoint — Office Live Workspace may be the answer.

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Collaboration is the name of the game in today’s team-oriented business environment. Microsoft provides a number of technologies that allow computer users to work together. Midsize and large businesses may host their own SharePoint, Live Meeting, and Office Communications Services servers or subscribe to Microsoft Online Services. But for small businesses and individuals whose collaboration needs are more limited, or those who need to store documents on a remote server for backup purposes or to access when traveling, those options constitute expensive overkill. Enter Office Live Workspace, which allows you to store and share Office documents easily. And best of all, it’s free.

Note: This article originally appeared as an entry in our 10 Things blog. It’s also available as a PDF download.

1: Signing up and signing in

To sign into Office Live Workspace, you’ll need an account. If you already have a Windows Live account, you can sign in with the email address and password associated with that account. If not, you’ll be prompted to create an account when you go to http://workspace.office.live.com and click the Get Started Now button. You’ll be asked for an email address, and then you’ll have to fill out a form with some basic information: a password, your name, country/region, and the answer to a “secret question” (such as your mother’s birthplace or the name of your first pet) for password retrieval purposes. You’ll also have to decipher and type a pictogram (for discouraging bot or automated signups). You do not have to provide any credit card information; at this time, the service is free.

Be sure the email address you use to sign up is one with which you can actually get mail, since you won’t be able to activate the account if you use an address not associated with an inbox. You can use a Web mail email address, such as a Hotmail, Gmail, or Yahoo mail address. A notice will be sent to your email address; click the link to verify your address and activate your Live Workspace account.

2: What you can do

OLW is built on SharePoint Services and gives individuals and small businesses many of the benefits of SharePoint technology without requiring that you have your own SharePoint server. Once you’re signed up and signed in, you can create workspaces, which are essentially locations on Microsoft’s server where you can save your Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files directly from the applications. You can also upload other files, such as PDFs and graphics. (You can’t upload executables, for security reasons.) You can give others permission to access specific documents and files and you can specify whether they’re allowed only to view the files or whether they can also edit them.

3: No client software required

Unlike with some other collaboration solutions, you don’t have to install any extra software on your computer, nor do others have to install software to share your documents. Everything is done through the Web browser, so you can access your workspace from practically any computer that has an Internet connection.

You don’t have to use Internet Explorer or Windows to use your Live Workspace account, either. In addition to IE 6, 7, or 8 running on Windows, Live Workspace supports Firefox on Windows or Mac OS X and Safari on Mac OS X.

4: Creating workspaces

When you sign into Live Workspace, you’ll see a pane on the left side of the page labeled My Workspaces. A Documents workspace is created by default. To create more workspaces, click the New Workspace link. You can create separate workspaces for different projects or for sharing with different people or groups. You can create a workspace from a template or from scratch. Templates include:

• Class workspace
• Essay workspace
• Event workspace
• Household workspace
• Job search workspace

5: Uploading files directly from Office

If you have Microsoft Office installed (Office XP, 2003, or 2007), you can install the Office Live Update to integrate your local Office applications with Live Workspace.

Several updates must be installed before you can install the Office Live Update. When you run the setup program, you’ll be notified if any are missing and given the opportunity to install them. Note that you’ll need to close Word, Excel, and PowerPoint while you install the update. After you install the update, you’ll find a new selection on the Office menu in Office 2007 programs, Save To Office Live. In Office XP and 2003 applications, the Office Live option will appear as a new toolbar. For more info about saving documents to a workspace, see this Microsoft article.

6: Sharing with others

Sharing a document or file with others is simple. Once you’ve uploaded it to a workspace, you’ll see a Share link that allows you to type (or select from your Windows Live address book) the email addresses of those you want to be able to view the document and those you want to be able to edit it. An email invitation will be sent to each of the addresses you selected, inviting the person(s) to share your document. You can also allow people to view the document without signing in if you wish, although this is not the default setting.

7: Collaboration features

In addition to sharing the files themselves with others, you can add comments to documents, which will be visible to anyone who has access to the documents. You can also use the versioning feature to keep track of different versions of the documents. The Activity link displays all activity relating to the document, beginning with its creation, and shows who has accessed the document, who has edited it, with whom it’s been shared, etc., and the date and time of each activity. You also get email notifications when someone makes an update to one of your documents.

8: What about security?

You might be wondering about the security of documents and files you upload to Live Workspace. Be sure not to check the box to allow people to view the document without signing in if you’re concerned about security. With that option disabled, only those with a Windows Live account will be able to view your shared documents. The permissions you set further restrict who can view or modify which files. In addition, the files you upload have antivirus protection from Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint.

9: Using OLW as a backup solution

Most individuals and small businesses recognize the importance of making backup copies of important data, but often these backups are saved to a second hard drive (internal or USB), writable DVD, flash memory card, or thumb drive and stored in the same physical location as the computer. These backups can be used if there is a hardware failure, but what if there’s a natural disaster, fire, or other catastrophe that destroys the entire building? That’s the reason it’s important to store backups of your critical data offsite.

Office Live Workspace can be used for remote backup of your files, as you have up to 5 GB of storage space on the Microsoft server. Uploading your most important files to OLW ensures that you’ll have copies of them even if disaster strikes.

10: What if you need more?

If you need more than the free Live Workspace service offers, such as email services or the ability to put up a Web site, you can also sign up for Microsoft Office Small Business. Then you get a Web site, Web hosting and design tools, a contact management system, and online business applications. You can also purchase additional features, such as premium (advertising-free) email and more storage capacity. For a fee, you can register your own domain name and add other users (the first five are free). You can find out more about the small business service here.

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Office poll: Will your organization upgrade to Office 2010?

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Easily display a workbook’s name

• Display the file name in a custom header.
• Display the file name in a cell using the Cell() function.

Let’s tackle the easiest solution first. To display the workbook’s name in a cell, enter the function =Cell(”filename”). This function will display the workbook’s full name. If the workbook hasn’t been saved, the function displays an empty string (””).

Displaying the file’s name in a header or footer is a bit more traditional. To do so, complete the following steps:

1. Choose Header and Footer from the View menu.
2. Click Custom Header or Custom Footer.
3. The resulting dialog box will offer three positions—Left, Center, and Right. Click inside the appropriate section.
4. Click the File Path or the FileName icon. 

5. Click OK twice.

Excel won’t display the header in normal view. To see the header, you must click Print Preview or print content.

There are a few more differences between these two name-displaying methods:

• Cell() includes brackets, which you probably won’t want if your only purpose is to just display the name.
• Cell() always displays the full path name, including the current sheet. The custom header/footer option never displays the sheet name.
• Cell() displays the name in a sheet, which you can see while working in the file. You’ll see the header/footer only in Print Preview or on the printed page.
• Cell() displays the workbook’s name only once, in the cell where you inserted it. The header/footer option displays the name on each printed page.
• Cell() doesn’t automatically update if you save the workbook’s name. You must press [F9]. The header/footer updates automatically.

The method you choose for displaying the workbook’s name will depend on how you intend to use it. If displaying the workbook name is your main purpose, the Cell() function seems limited. In addition, there’s nothing wrong with using a macro to display a workbook’s name, but there are easier ways to get the job done. 

 

Compress pictures to reduce the size of your PowerPoint presentation

Pictures comprise a huge part of most PowerPoint presentations. While they can improve  the presentation’s appeal, they can also increase the file’s size. If your presentation slows down or is too large to easily manage or distribute, check the file’s size as follows:

• 2003 and earlier: Choose Properties from the File menu and click the General tab.
• 2007: Click the Office button, choose Prepare, and then Properties. In the Document Properties pane, choose Document Properties and then Advanced properties. (Why are so many things so much harder in 2007?)

Anything larger than 7 MB will be hard to transfer via email, which is probably the most common method for sharing files. It doesn’t take long for a presentation to grow well beyond that benchmark. If distributing the file via email is your only problem, compress the file (using WinZip or some other compression software) and send it on its way. PowerPoint 2007 has zip compression built in, so compressing a large 2007 presentation file won’t help much (if at all). 

You can build a slimmer presentation from the get-go, if you know how. When creating the presentation, reduce the size of images before you embed them. Although you have more control over the finished product, this route isn’t always practical. You might not have the right software or the expertise or perhaps the sheer number of pictures might make that solution burdensome.

Regardless of why your file is large, you need a quick solution and PowerPoint’s Compress Picture tool just might be it. This tool will reduce the size of your presentation by way of reducing the size of the embedded picture files. Before launching this tool, to save your presentation. Then, do the following:

1. Right-click any picture in the presentation and choose Show Picture Toolbar. In PowerPoint 2007, click on any picture to activate the Picture Tools tab.
2. Click Compress Picture (the fifth icon from the right of the toolbar).
3. In the Compress Pictures dialog box, choose the most appropriate settings. You can compress just the selected picture or all the pictures in the presentation. To reduce the size of the presentation, you should reduce all the pictures. The resolution setting will depend upon your needs but the Web/Screen setting will reduce the pictures the most. Use the Print or No Change options only if you really need to retain a higher resolution. A Web or screen presentation doesn’t require a higher setting.
   
4. Click OK. When PowerPoint warns you that compressing the pictures might reduce the quality of some pictures, click Apply. Usually, the reduction is inconsequential to the viewer, but check the reduced format before distributing the file.

If the file is still too large to email, try gmail.com–they handle larger files than other providers.

Verizon’s BlackBerry Curve 8530 gets reviewed early

Filed under: Handsets, RIM, Verizon Wireless, EV-DO, CDMA, BlackBerry OS

The phone you’re peering at above has more names than we’d care to count, but the so-called Aries (or the Gemini‘s CDMA’d sibling, if you please) may end up on Verizon as one of two things: the BlackBerry Curve 8530 or the BlackBerry Curve 2. The folks over at CrackBerry managed to get their hands on a unit far before this thing has even been officially released, and of course they’ve given us the rundown just as the Storm2 is stealing all of the attention over at Big Red. The WiFi-equipped handset (yeah, you read that right) was said to be “identical to the Curve 8520″ with the exception of the back cover design, meaning that while solid, the device definitely felt “entry-level.” The interface was said to be satisfactorily snappy, the optical trackpad was dubbed “really great” and the web browser was still thoroughly worthless. If you really need to hear more, give that read link a look.

Verizon’s BlackBerry Curve 8530 gets reviewed early originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Hero having intermittent text messaging problems?

Filed under: Handsets, HTC, Sprint, Android

There’s not exactly much in the way of official statements on the matter just yet, but it looks like support forums have been piling up with reports of text messaging problems on the HTC Hero over the past few weeks, and with no signs of a fix in sight. Apparently, the phone can send texts just fine, but runs into a little trouble when it comes to receiving ‘em, with most folks reporting only intermittent problems, and at least some not receiving any at all. Interestingly, the problem seems to be occurring in both the US and the UK, so it would seem to be a problem on the phone’s end and not the carrier’s, and a few people seem to have had some (brief) success after resetting the device. Of course, there are also plenty of folks having no problems at all, but there doesn’t seem to be any question that the issue is out there. So, have you been missing some texts on your Hero? Let us know in comments.

HTC Hero having intermittent text messaging problems? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon chief says offering the iPhone is Apple’s call

Filed under: Verizon Wireless, Apple

Remember how in grade school, you usually made fun of the people you had crushes on? Verizon — hot on the heels of some surgically strategic anti-iPhone marketing to promote its upcoming Android line — is singing a very different tune in the corporate boardroom, with CEO Ivan Seidenberg (who has a storied reputation for running his mouth) saying during the company’s earnings call today that the company “obviously would be interested at any point in the future that they would be interested in having us as a partner.” He went on to say that the decision to bring the iPhone to Verizon is “exclusively in Apple’s court,” though we doubt that’s entirely true — Verizon has a reputation for putting manufacturers and devices through the wringer, and if any carrier in the world were to spike the iPhone for failing acceptance testing or throw its gargantuan weight and reputation around to put pressure on the contract, it’d be Big Red. Either way, though, it’s an olive branch and a potential start to the near-constant cries of “if only the iPhone were on Verizon” that we’ve been hearing for the past two years; we’re still having an awful hard time picturing a CDMA-equipped version ever happening, but with Verizon’s LTE network progressively lighting up over the next few years, it might just be the perfect opportunity for these wayward souls to finally find common ground, especially with the tune AT&T’s singing these days.

Verizon chief says offering the iPhone is Apple’s call originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dedicated Android partner SciPhone brings N19, N21 to market

Filed under: Handsets, Others, GSM, Android

You’ve got to give these guys credit — SciPhone has been creating bizarre Android-powered devices of both the KIRF and original-design variety basically since day one of the platform’s existence, and two of its latest and greatest models are now available for purchase. Actually, attributing these two to SciPhone specifically is a bit unfair; the N19 appears to be a rebrand of that awesome Broncho A1 Storm KIRF we saw not long ago (shouldn’t they be copying the Storm2 now?) while the N21 looks like a dead ringer for the General Mobile DSTL1, right down to the 5 megapixel cam and dual SIM slots. We’d say “we’ll pass” without a second thought, but at $150 and $235, respectively, it gives you… well, at least a solid two seconds of pause, doesn’t it?

[Via Cloned In China]

Read – SciPhone N19
Read – SciPhone N21

Dedicated Android partner SciPhone brings N19, N21 to market originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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inPulse Smartwatch for BlackBerry up for pre-order, ships in February 2010

Filed under: Peripherals, RIM, Misc, BlackBerry OS

Just as we’d heard, RIM decided to outsource the production of the planet’s first BlackBerry watch, but that doesn’t mean that devoted BB Messenger users won’t be hankerin’ for one. The inPulse Smartwatch for BlackBerry is being produced by Allerta, and now that it’s official, we can safely say that it’ll rely on Bluetooth in order to bring incoming emails, text messages and other alerts from your handset to your wrist (or your ankle, if you roll like that). As for specs, you’re looking at a 1.3-inch OLED display, glass lens, full metal body, vibrating motor, microUSB port and a rechargeable battery that’s good for around four days of “normal use.” inPulse users will have to install a special BlackBerry application in order to pass along information, but those hoping to use their watch to actually send messages will be sorely disappointed. It’s up for pre-order now at $149, and if all goes well, the first ones will ship out in February.

inPulse Smartwatch for BlackBerry up for pre-order, ships in February 2010 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Palm Pixi on sale November 15 exclusively at Sprint for $100 on contract

Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Sprint, EV-DO, CDMA, webOS

Just as we’d heard earlier this morning, today’s the day that Palm and Sprint come clean with their undercover plans for the former’s second-ever webOS device. The Pixi, which we toyed with back on our first Engadget Show, is slated to hit Sprint stores, Best Buy, RadioShack and select Walmart locations on November 15th for $99.99, but that’s after a $50 instant rebate and a $100 mail-in rebate that you’ll be waiting ages for. Nothing here is all that surprising — after all, we knew it’d be on shelves before the holiday season — but the $100 price point is downright depressing. The Palm Pre can be had right now for just $150 (also on contract), and beyond that, both webOS devices are being offered on the exact same network. Throw this thing on Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile, and you’ve got a whole new wave of Palm customers; as it stands, who’s really buying this with the Pre just $50 away?

Palm Pixi on sale November 15 exclusively at Sprint for $100 on contract originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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