Essential SharePoint

What Software Do You Need?

Because SharePoint is designed to be used by different members with different responsibilities, the software needs for each team member vary depending on their role, as shown in Table 1-4.

Table 1-4. Software needs for different team members

Role	Responsibilities	Software needed
Administrator	Creates team sites, adds members.	Web browser, Remote Desktop Connection utility included with Windows XP Professional (recommended)
Designer	Designs pages on site, creates site templates.	FrontPage 2003
Contributor	Adds documents, lists, tasks, announcements, etc.	Office 2003
Contributor with data entry	Completes InfoPath forms.	Office 2003, InfoPath 2003
Reader	Views sites and documents, but makes no changes.	Office Reader
Programmer	Creates custom web parts.	Visual Studio .NET, FrontPage 2003, InfoPath (optional)

Where's the server software? You don't need actual physical access to a SharePoint server to create or manage SharePoint sites, because such tasks can be done remotely from your own PC by viewing one of the administrative web pages in the browser. However, you do need access to a SharePoint server, and here, listed from least to most expensive, are your access options:

• You can purchase SharePoint services on a monthly basis from an Internet Service Provider (ISP). This is a simple and inexpensive way to try SharePoint—in fact, Apptix offers a free 30-day trial at http://www.sharepointtrial.com/welcome.aspx.

• You can purchase a Windows 2003 ...