Colligo Contributor for SharePoint Client

Colligo Contributor™ Client is .NET client software that extends the power of Microsoft^® Office SharePoint^® to the desktop, online and offline. It increases productivity by allowing you to instantly and securely access, modify, and create SharePoint content through a rich client interface, regardless of network latency or unavailability. Colligo Contributor Client provides full integration to various versions of SharePoint (WSS 2.0/3.0, SharePoint Foundation, or SharePoint Server 2003/2007/2010).

Once Contributor Client has been installed, you can download libraries, folders, views, lists, or entire sites using your standard SharePoint site login credentials. Site selection can also be pre-configured by IT prior to deployment. Once the site content is synchronized, you can read and edit it while offline. When the back online, changes made offline are automatically synchronized back to the server.

This process is shown in the diagrams below. You may also view a short screencast here.

Step 1 - Synchronize Content to Contributor Client

The first step is to select a site for synchronization. You can select the "Connect to Contributor" button on the Internet Explorer toolbar from any SharePoint document library or list and synchronize it directly. Alternatively, from the Contributor menu bar, select "Site" and "Download New Site ...", then enter your SharePoint credentials, as shown below. Contributor Client logs into SharePoint and retrieves libraries and lists that are available for you to select based on your permissions. You can select specific lists, libraries, or views and folders (by applying a "Filter") for synchronization. You can also select "Synchronize all document libraries and lists" to download the entire site. Other content selection options, including URL drag-and-drop, are highlighted in this screencast.

You can select configuration options in the Option Pane shown below. To update the Options Panel simply select "View" from the top menu bar and click "Options...". Background synchronization options include sync on startup, on view, after a modification, and on a configured time interval. Options also include metadata prompting, Windows appearance, and storage location configurations. Configuration options can be set by individual users or locked by IT with the Configuration Editor.

Step 2 - Add & Edit Content Offline (Or Online)

Downloaded content is stored locally on the laptop and is available to be edited, online and offline, regardless of network connectivity. Double click files to open them. It's easy to edit files and save them back into the workspace. Folders, files, and emails can be dragged into and out of document libraries and folders. Other site elements, such as metadata and views are all available offline.

Contributor Client features special support for email and attachment drag-and-drop. A unique filename is automatically generated. Email message fields (such as To, From, Date, Subject, etc.) are automatically mapped to SharePoint metadata if the library is properly configured, as discussed in this feature article.

Emails and documents that are dragged-and-dropped into Contributor Client are immediately synced to SharePoint if online or cached if offline. When you drop an email or document into a library, a metadata editor pops up. In the example below, the extracted email metadata is shown, but administrators often hide these columns so users cannot edit them. You can also add custom metadata at this point and set the content type to enhance the classification of emails. This is further discussed next.

Step 3 - Select Views or Edit Content & Metadata

You can use views online and offline to easily organize and find content in document libraries and lists. If offline, view drop-downs work the same way as with a SharePoint site.

Metadata for documents and list items can be edited or added to one or multiple items at a time with a simple right-click action. Default folder-level metadata can also be set by right-clicking on a folder and selecting Default Metadata Values. Multi-value lookups to lists are supported for selecting metadata. With SharePoint 2010 sites, you can set enterprise managed and keyword metadata in Contributor Client using the term store selector.

Step 4 - Synchronization & Conflict Resolution

When you return online, changes made offline are automatically synchronized to the SharePoint server while new content on the server is downloaded to your laptop. If working online, changes made can trigger immediate synchronization. New content on SharePoint is downloaded periodically based on a configured time interval. At any time, you can also initiate immediate synchronization by clicking "Synchronize."

If a conflicting change is made on the server to content that you changed while offline, you are notified of a conflict error by a yellow alert box on the Contributor icon in the system tray. Clicking on the icon brings up a dialog box so you can resolve the conflict. If you then click on the error, you can: (1) select the local version, (2) select the server version, (3) open the local version and use "save as" to create a new version, or (4) use Word Compare & Merge to merge the changes from both documents.

Step 5 - Lock Documents for Editing

For cached libraries and folders, Contributor Client features basic support for Check-Out and Check-In. You can track your own document checking activities performed in Contributor. To check-out documents, simply select the documents, right-click, and select "Check Out." To unlock a document, simply select "Check In" to save your changes to the server, or select "Discard Check Out" to discard your changes.

Colligo Contributor Client | How It Works!