Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007

I am supposed 2 use this product 2 update the web pages monthly 4 a non-profit organization. After exploring the menus & the manual, I still don't know how & where 2 start. I usually can figure out in a short time how 2 use new software however complicated, such as QuarkExpress, InDesign, PageMaker, FrameMaker, Illustrator, Dream Weaver, Front Page, etc., by exploring the menus & the samples with the help of its manual.

The online documentation provided is pitiful. Surely a company with the resources Microsoft has can do better than this?? The product works great, has some nice features, like the workflows, but the provided documentation is a joke, more geared towards selling you microsoft-isms (and that "you don't have 2 write a line of code!") than telling you how 2 use their product. And the online help is similarly sparse.

The program is great once you learn 2 use it. It comes with no guides. The online instructions are a little hard 2 find & lacking in detail. All of the third party books ("For Dummies") don't come out 4 months. Does anyone else remember when programs used 2 come with a "How To" Guide????

Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 provides you with powerful tools 2 build, customize, & contribute 2 SharePoint sites using the latest Web design technologies & established standards in an IT-controlled environment. It has deeper support 4 ASP.NET 2.0, cascading style sheets, & Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation -- all the modern tools that makes Web design easy. Be more productive with next-generation Microsoft Web technologies, while creating sites that look exactly how you want them. Integrate business data & build SharePoint Web pages that present & edit data coming from - SharePoint lists & document libraries, XML files, Microsoft SQL Server databases, Web services, & enterprise systems Develop sites compatible with a wide range of browsers & Web standards Build advanced ASP.NET pages with tools 4 control hosting, property editing, toolbox & Microsoft IntelliSense Office SharePoint Designer 2007 helps manage your site by checking 4 broken links, unused pages, cascading style sheets usage, & master page usage Site backup & restore features make it easy 2 save your site 2 a single file 4 protecting data or moving it 2 another server

Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 provides you with powerful tools 2 build, customize, & contribute 2 SharePoint sites using the latest Web design technologies & established standards in an IT-controlled environment. To make Web design easy, it offers extensive support 4 ASP.NET 2.0, cascading style sheets, & Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation. Next-generation Microsoft Web technologies help increase productivity while giving you the freedom 2 create sites that meet your exact specifications.

Use the Contributor Settings dialog 2 manage Contributor Groups, Editable Regions, & more. View larger.

Develop & Build Better Pages & Sites
Flexible & easy 2 use, SharePoint Designer 2007 lets you integrate business data & build SharePoint Web pages that present & edit data coming from SharePoint lists & document libraries, XML files, Microsoft SQL Server databases, Web services, & enterprise systems. You can also develop sites compatible with a wide range of browsers & Web standards--even build advanced ASP.NET pages with tools 4 control hosting, property editing, toolbox & Microsoft IntelliSense. For added peace of mind, SharePoint Designer 2007 can help manage your site by checking 4 broken links, unused pages, cascading style sheets usage, & master page usage. And 2 help avoid losing important data, the site backup & restore features make it easy 2 save your site 2 a single file 4 protecting data or moving it 2 another server.

Manage your master pages with professional-quality design tools that enable you 2 easily manage styles, layout, & format. View larger.

Enhance Team Productivity & Efficiency
SharePoint Designer 2007 makes it easy 2 create & deploy interactive solutions on the SharePoint platform, without having 2 write code. First, Workflow Designer lets you automate business processes such as document approval, custom event notification, & other collaboration tasks. Then, you can create reporting & tracking applications using data views & forms 2 easily gather & aggregate data from outside your site & from SharePoint lists & document libraries on the Web site. You won't have 2 worry about time-intensive set-up, either--get started fast with pre-built Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services Application Templates, which are fully customizable & extensible. Finally, extend your solutions by building advanced interactive Microsoft ASP.NET pages. Insert & edit controls with the same powerful activity menus & control property grid previously found only in development tools such as Microsoft Visual Studio 2005.

The Workflow Designer automates business processes like automated task assignment & notification associated with SharePoint lists & document libraries by setting up custom workflow conditions & actions & linking them 2 the SharePoint data. View larger.

Design Compelling SharePoint Sites
No matter what your organization's needs, SharePoint Designer 2007 provides the professional-quality design tools you need 2 create great-looking SharePoint pages that are compatible with a wide range of browsers. You'll enjoy an intuitive design experience through a high-quality what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) editor, format SharePoint pages quickly using cascading style sheet (CSS) tools, & easily change the layout & format of your site through full support of ASP.NET master pages.

Maintain Better Control of Your Sites
SharePoint Designer 2007 helps site administrators & IT managers 2 maintain better control of their sites by giving them control over the use of the software. Managers can take advantage of the Contributor Settings 2 define every user's role in the SharePoint site in order 2 make sure workers have access only 2 the information they need, or they can choose 2 control access 2 specific actions such as making changes 2 the master pages & CSS. 2 help things run even more smoothly, IT professionals can specify how pages, files, & folders can be used, quickly roll back changes across the site, & help ensure that sites are properly managed & audited 4 browser compatibility & Web accessibility.