The SharePoint Wiki is what one could say is an \’out of the box\’ solution for a specific type of application. Easy implementation aside, the features it offers for administrators and users are on par with what\’s available in dedicated software. But let\’s take this in this in a step by step manner, with a basic explanation of what a Wiki means.

It comes from the Hawaiian \’wikiwiki\’ which means \’quick\’. In this case, it means it\’s easy and quick to create and edit inter-linked web pages on a site. The users don\’t need to know HTML markups or the structure of the site. They can add a link within a page even if the target page has not been created yet, and the target can later be created just by clicking on the link.

This comes in handy in user-generated content (UGC) sites where a large number of users can create pages and edit page content. It needs a huge database to maintain the activities of all the users and multiple versions of each page as it gets edited by more and more users. The software that can track and manage all this has to be one that\’s robust and secure.

Many dedicated solutions are available in the market that can fit the bill. But given the concept of making things simple for collaborative purposes, there\’s one particular solution that fits the bill especially well. That solution is the out of the box SharePoint Wiki, a functionality that comes with Microsoft\’s SharePoint Server.

It can be used for fast setup of collaborative websites, portals and applications. Simply put, it can manage in great detail all aspects of allowing groups of people to work together from both inside and outside a company\’s network. Considering the description above, it\’s pretty obvious that the SharePoint Wiki fits in nicely in this server, along with the other collaborative sites that can be setup.

The process of creating it is also about the same as setting up other sites, with only a name for the site and basic information about the user permissions required. Once it is selected as the site type, the user gets to see some additional things. For instance, a toolbar offers direct access to edit mode for a page. It\’s also possible to see a list of the previous edits to the page, and the list of latest pages that have been changed.

Also note that it\’s possible to create either a Library or site. The library offers 2 pages (home page and help page) by default. When a site is created, it includes the library and uses the library\’s home page as the default page.

If it is supposed to be one part of a larger website, then the user permissions assigned to the site users can be handed down by inheritance to the SharePoint Wiki. Additional work has to be done only where special user permissions are required. Considering that everything can be completed without any advanced settings or a lot of work, it is indeed a unique out of the box solution.

Author Bio: Knowledge-worker components and tools to assist with Sharepoint Web Parts, Sharepoint List, Sharepoint Wiki, Calendar Web Part, Sharepoint Search & Sharepoint Calendar.

Category: Computers and Technology
Keywords: computers, technology, sharepoint, wiki, internet, business, family, knowledge, expertise, online