Description and Information on Microsoft Workgroup Templates

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c

SUMMARY

This article describes the Microsoft workgroup templates and provides information on the templates that are pertinent to Word for Windows.

MORE INFORMATION

General Information

The Microsoft Workgroup templates are a set of templates that give examples and information on using Microsoft applications with the Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) DLL. Applications that allow use of the MAPI DLL include Microsoft Mail and Schedule Plus.

These templates are examples, intended as a starting point for building new applications that integrate desktop applications and tools with database, messaging, and scheduling services. They employ combinations of applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Project; and development tools such as Microsoft Access, Visual Basic, and Microsoft Electronic Forms Designer.

The workgroup templates use Microsoft Mail for messaging services, Access's database engine for database services, and Schedule+ for scheduling services. To access these services, the templates use MAPI, the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) API, and the Schedule+ Libraries API.

The templates come with a developer's handbook, explaining how each template works and how to install and configure the templates for users.

The templates also come with workgroup extensions toolkits for adding workgroup functionality to the macro languages of Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Project, and Microsoft FoxPro.

The package contains templates for several Microsoft applications and several functions as is listed below.

   Application                Function
   --------------------------------------------------

   Word for Windows 2.0       Report Consolidation
   Excel 4.0                  Budget Consolidation
   Excel 4.0                  Expense Reports
   Access                     Status Reporting
   Access                     Customer Tracking
   Access\EXE file            Meeting Coordinator
   Access                     Service Requests
   EXE file                   Expertise Planner
   Project 3.0\EXE file       Project Scheduler
   E-Form                     Supply Orders
   E-Form                     Help Desk
   E-Form                     Travel Reservations

Word for Windows Issues

End-user support for the Report Consolidation templates is the same as with the standard shipped templates. It is limited to installation and usage help. Modifications to the templates are not part of standard end-user support.

More information on this topic may be available from Microsoft information services. Microsoft information services are available on the World Wide Web by connecting to http://www.microsoft.com. The FTP site is located at ftp.microsoft.com.

Description of the Templates That Are Specific to Word for Windows

The Report Consolidation templates are the two examples designed for Microsoft Word 2.0. They are named REPTCON.DOT and REPTCON1.DOT and are located in the REPORT subdirectory.

With the Report Consolidation template, a document owner creates a report by assigning different sections to document contributors and then consolidating the sections as contributors return them.

The document owner first creates a master document, which organizes the sections of the report, then defines the section documents and distributes them to contributors through Microsoft Mail. In turn, document contributors complete drafts of their sections and return them to the document owner through Mail. Finally, the owner accepts the returned sections and updates the master document.

Since each section remains a separate document, the template also includes macros to number the pages of the sections, generate a table of contents, and print the complete report.

The other Word for Windows specific part of this package are the Workgroup Extensions for Microsoft Word. This DLL and template provide functions that mirror MAPI functions. Since WordBasic cannot directly manipulate MAPI data types such as messages or recipient lists, the MAPI data types are managed by the WBMAPI.DLL library. The library, in turn, provides WordBasic handles to the MAPI data types. A template included in the toolkit, WBMAPI.DOT, provides WordBasic examples using the WBMAPI.DLL.

OBTAINING THE TEMPLATES

You can obtain these Templates from the following sources:

• Microsoft's World Wide Web Site on the Internet
• The Internet (Microsoft anonymous ftp server)
• The Microsoft Network (MSN)
• Microsoft Download Service (MSDL)
• Microsoft Product Support Services

For additional information, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q125617
   TITLE     : Microsoft Workgroup Templates 1.1