Working with discussions

Using threaded discussions for collaboration

The Discussions feature allows you and other people to insert remarks into a Web page. By using the Discussions toolbar, anyone reviewing your Web page can view and reply to any discussion. You can then review discussions in your browser or in a Microsoft Office program and incorporate any changes to your Web page based on the feedback you receive

What browser do I need in order to add discussions to Web pages?

You can use the Discussions feature with most browsers, although it works best when you use Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later. (You start a discussion in Internet Explorer 5 by pointing to Explorer Bar on the View menu, and then clicking Discuss.) If you're using an earlier version of Internet Explorer, or another browser (such as Netscape Navigator version 3.0 or later), you must use the Microsoft Office Server Extensions start page to add discussion remarks to a Web page. To access the Office Server Extensions start page from your browser, type http://ServerName/MSOffice in the Address box, where ServerName is a Web server you can save files to. 

Select a discussion server

Note You can set your discussion server in one step by clicking the Make this my default discussion server on the home page of this site.

1. In your browser, go to the Web page you want to add a discussion to.
   
   
2. Click Discuss .
   
   
3. On the Discussions toolbar, click Discussions, and then click Discussion Options.
   
   
4. Click Add.
   
   
5. In the Type the name of the discussion server your administrator has provided box, enter the name of a discussion server.
   
   
6. If your system administrator has set up security by using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) message protocol, select the Secure connection required (SSL) check box.
   
   
7. In the You can type any name you want to use as a friendly name for the discussion server box, enter a friendly name you want to use for the server — for example, My Server.
   

Start an inline discussion on a Web page

1. In your browser, go to the Web page you want to add discussions to.
   
   
2. Click Discuss .
   
   
3. On the Discussions toolbar, click Insert Discussion in the Document .
   The Insert Discussion in the Document icons appear at the end of every paragraph, table, and graphic greater than 30 characters (or pixels, in the case of a graphic) on your Web page.
   
   
4. To insert a discussion, click the icon at the location you want.
   
   
5. Under Discussion subject, type a name for the subject of the discussion.
   
   
6. Under Discussion text, type your comments.
   
   
7. Click OK.

For more help on using discussions click on the discussions toolbar.

Subscribing to files and folders

You can be notified by e-mail of any changes made to a Web site on a Web server running Office Server Extensions. You do this by subscribing to a file or folder. Subscribing enables you to be automatically notified on a scheduled basis if a file or folder is modified, deleted, or moved, or even if a new file is created in that folder. 

You can be notified by e-mail of any changes made to a Web site on a Web server running Office Server Extensions. You do this by subscribing to a file or folder. Subscribing enables you to be automatically notified on a scheduled basis if a file or folder is modified, deleted, or moved, or even if a new file is created in that folder. You can also be notified if a discussion remark is deleted from a file, or if a new discussion remark is added. You must have read access to subscribe to a file or folder.

Receive notification of changes to a file or folder on a Web server

1. Start your Web browser.
   
   
2. Click Discuss .
   
   
3. On the Discussions toolbar, click Subscribe.
   
   
4. Under Subscribe to, do one of the following:

   To subscribe to the currently open file, click File.

   To subscribe to all files in a Web folder, click Folder, and then select the options you want, or type the address of another folder on a Web server.
   

5. In the When box, select the conditions under which you want to be notified of changes made.
   
   
6. In the Address box, type your e-mail address.
   
   
7. In the Time box, select how often you want to be notified of changes.