August 13, 1999

Microsoft Office Server Extensions (OSE) allow users in a workgroup to store and retrieve documents on a Web server. You can make these documents even easier to find when users search for them by adding custom workgroup properties to the OSE Start Page.

By using the Search Web Folders command on the OSE Start Page, users can search for documents that fit a particular set of criteria, such as author, keyword, and so on. You can add your own custom properties to this list. For example:

• In a legal firm, add a Case Number (or CaseNo) property to search for documents related to a particular case.
• In a medical facility, add a Patient ID (or PatientID) property to search for documents related to a particular patient.

The list of properties to include on the Search Web Folders page is stored in a text file named DefineColumns.txt. You edit this file to add your custom property to the Search by Property group on the Search Web Folders page. When you add a custom property, it appears at the end of the list of properties.

Note  The Search Web Folders command is available only for Internet Information Server (IIS) servers. If your Web server is not an IIS server, users do not see a Search Web Folders command on the OSE Start Page.

Create a custom workgroup property

You can create a custom workgroup property on any computer that connects to your OSE Web server.

To create a custom workgroup property for a Word 2000 document

1. In Microsoft Word 2000, open a document that you want to associate with your custom property.
2. On the File menu, click Properties, and then click the Custom tab.
3. In the Name box , type a name for your custom property.

   This system name for a custom property cannot include spaces. You can create a friendly name to display on the Search Web Folders page later.

4. In the Type box , select a type.

   For example, to create a property that tracks a case number, select Text for the type.

5. In the Value box , enter the value for this document.

   For example, if you create a property called CaseNo to track case numbers associated with documents, then the value is the case number associated with this file.

6. Click Add.

Add the property to your Web server index

After you create the custom property, you must refresh your Web server index to include the new property.

Note  You use the Index Server Manager and Index Server Manager (HTML) tools to update the Web server index and customize the Search Web Folders page. You must be logged on to a Web server computer that is running Windows NT® 4.0 Server to use these tools.

To refresh the index for your Web server

1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack, point to Microsoft Index Server, and then click Index Server Manager (HTML).
2. Click Refresh to update the index for the Web server.

   You might need to restart your computer for this change to take effect.

When you refresh the index, a Property Set ID is created for the custom property.

To look up the Property Set ID for a custom property

1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack, point to Microsoft Index Server, and then click Index Server Manager.
2. In the left pane of the Microsoft Management Console window, click the plus sign next to Index Server on Local Machine.
3. Click the plus sign next to Web.
4. Click Properties.
5. In the right pane, look up the Property Set for your custom property.

   Make a note of the Property Set number. You use this ID number in the DefineColumns.txt file to identify the custom property.

Add the property to the Search Web Folders page

After you create the custom property and locate the Property Set ID number, you are ready to customize the Search Web Folders page. To do so, you edit the DefineColumns.txt file.

To add a custom property to DefineColumns.txt

1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Notepad  .
2. On the File menu, click Open.
3. Open the DefineColumns.txt file.

   The default location is \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office.

4. Scroll to the end of the file, and add your custom property with the following information:

   <Name> (DBTYPE_WSTR | DBTYPE_BYREF) = <Property Set ID> "<friendly name>"

   
   

   The friendly name appears on the Search Web Folders page. The Name value must match the system name you gave the property when you first created it.

The following table shows information you might enter in DefineColumns.txt for a custom property.

Note  If you have Microsoft Site Server installed, the DefineColumns.txt file is stored in a different location. Find the location in the following Windows® registry subkey:
HKEY_Local_Machine\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ContentIndexCommon\DefaultColumnFile.

After you add the new property to the Search Web Folders page, you must refresh your Web server index again by using the Refresh command, and then restart your computer, if necessary.

Related links

For more information about creating custom workgroup properties, see Assigning Workgroup Properties to Web Documents in the Office 2000 Resource Kit.