Re: Distributing DOT files via the intranet

[HALL Bill <hallb -at- TENIX -dot- COM>]

Jeroen Hendrix <jhe -at- POLYDOC -dot- COM> asked how to distribute Word's .DOT files
via a company intranet, as a possible way to ensure that all staff in a
large company with multiple servers used the same versions of a template.

My company has the same problem - to maintain templates across a distributed
network based on many servers.  However, we are still a long way from having
a functional intranet, but we do a reasonably good job of managing the
templates so everyone is using the same ones.

This is the responsibility of our Information Services department.

Basically, (except were staff have developed their own) users access all
corporate templates from a common directory on their home server.  When a
new version of a template is issued, the IS people simply copy the revised
template to all servers (overwriting the previous version).  The users don't
have to think about this, and they don't have to be depended on to actually
seek out a new template.  Most of them don't even really know what a
template is.

The system isn't fool proof (after all, it involves IS people in
documentation activities), and few smart users like me set up their own
local template directories and don't think to refer back to the common
directory when they should, but it is a low-tech solution which normally
achieves the desired result of consistency without putting any onus on the
average user.

Regards,

Bill Hall
Documentation Systems Specialist
Integrated Logistic Support
Tenix Defence Systems Pty Ltd
Williamstown, Vic. 3016 Australia
Email:  hallb -at- tenix -dot- com

 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=