Jimirig

Written by: Cory (cory@jimirig.com)

Like most household these days there is usually more than 1 computer (I am a geek so I have 6 PC’s plus 7 servers) on a workgroup. Now that can cause issues with sharing of documents, pictures, etc. on a workgroup. I know that many people take their pictures and download them on one computer, and others on a different computer and the same with music, which makes for an organized nightmare. Well what if all that “information” was located in one place, easily accessible from any computer? Yes that can be done with folder shares, but for recovery purposes that isn’t safe anymore. You can easily install Windows SharePoint Services (free!!!) on a home network and store your “information” and create some new things also. You don’t need anything fancy for this. Get a used computer from Craigslist or something and it is not required to have Windows Server either, you can use Windows XP or Windows Vista.

Here are some examples:

• Photo Libraries
• Document Collaboration
• Custom Lists for recipes or chores
• Calendar for birthdays or sporting events
• …many more

One of the things that I setup is a document library that we keep our tax documents, family letters, warranty information for things that we have purchased. Things like that and both myself and my wife can access at anytime. We also can just simply click new on the menu and start a brand new document right there or upload any email attachments if needed.

Secondly I created a Picture Library for all the pictures and little videos we have. SharePoint has a built in slide show feature, download options, and email sharing. It is really easy just select the photos you want to send and hit email. Along with the documents, you can tag the files with certain information like who is in the picture, what year and so on. That in turn gets indexed by the Windows Search feature of SharePoint so you can just do a search for “Cory” and anything pertaining to me that you have permission to see is there.

Third, I made a recipe system for my wife. This is a bit more custom than the average user would do, but I am a SharePoint guru. So I made a list with the name of the meal, selection for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, a description, ingredients, directions, and finally a picture. Depending on the selections while filling out the recipe determines where it will be shown since it is categorized by meal type. I also changed the navigation to reflect these selections to make it easier. What I like about this is, that I can add a new recipe if I find one I like and then email it to my wife.

There are many things you can do with SharePoint that are not just for business. Still within the household you can setup the SharePoint alerts, customize the permissions so kids can’t delete things or get into the taxes and since SharePoint has a recycle bin, if you accidentally delete something it can be restored pretty easily. Now since all this information is being store in a database you can easily backup your data and if you want to get real fancy you can customize the look and feel of the site with you favorite colors using SharePoint Designer (free download).

Installation Instructions for XP, Vista, Server:

• Windows XP
• Windows Vista
• Windows Server

Backup and Restore (Coming Soon)

• SharePoint Integrated
• Advanced Backup

Browse to c:\program files\common files\microsoft shared\web server extensions\12\bin\ in the command prompt.

Type in the following   stsadm.exe -o backup -url http://yoururl -filename c:\backupfilename.bak Your URL might be http://computername

• Advance Restore

Browse to c:\program files\common files\microsoft shared\web server extensions\12\bin\ in the command prompt.

Type in the following   stsadm.exe -o restore -url http://yoururl -filename c:\backupfilename.bak -overwrite Your URL might be http://computername