If there are multiple authors of blog posts, is it possible to enable one person to control the publish function?
Using Windows SharePoint Services, authorized users can control whether a blog post is pending, rejected or approved for being published to the site. To do this, an authorized user clicks on the link “Manage Posts” from the list of Admin Links listed on the main page of the site. This will expose a view of all posts made to the site, including a column on the far right that shows the Approval Status of the blog post. To change the approval status, a user clicks on the down arrow that appears when the mouse hovers over the title of the relevant blog post and selects “Approve/Reject” from the pull down list that appears. A separate page appears which allows a user to select Approved, Rejected or Pending as well as comments on the reason for the approval change. 
Generally, all users except those with Read Only permissions have the capability to submit comments on an individual author’s blog post. Windows SharePoint Services allows a comment title and body text to be entered and automatically links the comment to the appropriate post, including the selected category. Before the comment is viewable to all site visitors, however, the comment must be approved by a site member with design or full control permissions. Once approved, the comment will be viewable by clicking on the ‘Comments” link at the bottom of each post. Approval for comments are handled by clicking on “Manage Comments” from the Admin Links list on the main page, and then can be approved using the same steps for publishing posts as outlined above.
Can I edit posts or comments before and after they are published?
Though it is not common practice to edit posts or comments after or before they are published, Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 does allow users with full control or design permissions to edit posts and comments. When a user with ‘edit’ rights visits a post or a comment, the “EDIT” button will appear. Clicking the button opens the post or comment for edits, which will be automatically posted to the blog site. If a user edits a post or comment, the original author’s name will be retained as the ‘created by’ tag.
How do I set Permissions on who can post, view or edit blog posts and comments?
Within the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Blog site is a link to ‘Set blog Permissions’. This link opens an article that steps users through the process of adding users to a blog, configuring permissions, specifying whether or not content approval is required, who can view draft items and which items people can read and edit. By default, users with Full Control or Design permissions have complete ability to create, edit and approve posts, including the capability to create categories. Users with ‘contribute’ rights can comment on a post, but cannot create a new post nor approval comments for approval. Users with ‘read’ access rights can only do that – read posts and comment, but not create content for approval on the site. Using the details of the guidance provided by the site, users with full control access can modify the settings to support the business rules and policies required by the Blog site.
How do I stay informed of changes to Blogs I’m interested in tracking?
Through RSS Syndication, users can stay up to date on changes made to blogs they are interested in. Using an RSS reader, such as the one provided in Office Outlook 2007, users receive a daily update of changes made to a blog within their Office Outlook 2007 application. By clicking the  RSS feed button on the bottom-left hand side of the main page, users can subscribe to a feed of all posts and comments on the site.
How do I go back to read old posts?
By default, the Windows SharePoint Services Blog site limits the number of posts that appear on the main page. Older posts and comments can be viewed by clicking on the Archive (Calendar) link on the left hand side of the site. This brings up a calendar that allows a user to scroll through posts received each day of the month. The user can also create additional filters to sort through posts on a particular category.
How do I forward a Blog post to somebody else?
The easiest way to send a post to somebody else is to click on ‘Email this Post’, which is a link located below every post on the Blog site. By clicking this link, Windows SharePoint Services opens the users default email client and automatically pastes a link to the actual post within the Windows SharePoint Services site.
Is it possible to use Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 to create new Blog posts?
Using a feature of Windows SharePoint Services known as incoming email capture, it is possible to send an email to a blog rather using Office Outlook 2007. For example, a sales blog owned by Toni Poe might be SalesBlog_ToniPoe@Contoso.com. Copying this email address would upload the content of the email to the blog, enabling it to be published as outlined above. This makes it possible to use Blogs as a repository for related email issues. In order to enable this feature, your IT Administrator must configure the network and Windows SharePoint Services site to allow incoming email to a particular email address.
For more information, see the TechNet article Plan Incoming Email (Windows SharePoint Services) at: http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/WSS/en/library/ac36dcfa-d3ac-4269-934d-4e52a1df5e141033.mspx.
Technical Dependencies
The Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Blog site requires the following to be installed
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0*
*Review Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 system requirements for additional information:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsserver/sharepoint/techinfo/sysreqs.mspx
More Information
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 is technology in Windows Server that offers an integrated portfolio of collaboration and communication services designed to connect people, information, processes and systems both within and beyond the organizational firewall. Now available at no additional cost, Windows SharePoint Services makes it simpler for IT professionals to implement and manage a team collaboration infrastructure. Application Templates are tailored to address the needs and requirements for specific business processes or sets of tasks for organizations of any size. The templates provide out-of-the-box, customizable scenarios which solve business needs as well as providing a starting point for partners and developers looking to build more sophisticated Windows SharePoint Services solutions.
For more information on the technologies described in this article, please visit:
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0:
http://www.microsoft.com/sharepoint
Application Templates for Windows SharePoint Services:
http://www.microsoft.com/sharepointapps
Microsoft Office Word 2007:
http://office.microsoft.com/word
Microsoft Office Outlook 2007:
http://office.microsoft.com/outlook
© 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. www.microsoft.com/sharepoint
|
