Essential SharePoint

Linking Documents to Libraries

Keeping a local copy of a document linked to SharePoint is useful for any file you use a lot, because you can just open it from your desktop. It's also handy when traveling, since you don't need a network connection to access the file. Changes can be synchronized later, when you have access to the network again.

Whether you can link a SharePoint document to a local copy depends on where the document is stored in SharePoint and how it was created. Only documents that are part of a document workspace created from the Shared Workspace task pane can be linked with local copies of the document.

If you are working from a library that is part of a team site, you must create a workspace for the document before it can be linked. To do that:

1. Open the document from the SharePoint library.

2. In Word, choose File → Save As and save the file to a folder on your computer. Word displays the Shared Workspace task pane once the file is saved.

3. In the task pane, choose Create. Word creates a new document workspace and links the local copy.

4. Choose File → Properties → Custom and create a _SourceUrl property with the value of the source library's web address; for example, http://wombat1/Shared Documents/ .

The last step is optional, but it enables you to publish the document to update the library with your changes. See the next section for details.

Tip

Although you can also create a document workspace from a library by using the context menu for the document, as shown in Figure 6-10 ...