SharePoint Glossary, Terminology and Acronyms

This list is to make understanding SharePoint terminology easier for end users and those just
starting with SharePoint.

Active Directory The Active Directory stores information about a variety of objects in
the network. Importantly, user accounts, computer accounts, groups,
and all related credential information used by windows and
SharePoint.

Activities Activities are tracked updates related to a specific user. They are often
related to the users social interaction within SharePoint (such as
tagging, rating, etc).

Activity Feed A message that provides updates about items of interest based on
custom notification settings. This includes updates about changes to
documents, the status of colleagues, social tags, and colleague
profiles.

Alerts To notify users of changes to existing information or new information

add an alert to track new matches to search queries, changes to
content in an area (list/library, folder, and document/item), or a new
site added to the Site Directory.

Anonymous An authentication mode in which neither party verifies the identity of

Authentication/Acces the other party.
s

Anonymous User A user who presents no credentials when identifying himself or

herself.

Areas A means to organize the portal for navigational simplification.

Ascending Order A sort order in which text strings are arranged in alphabetical order,
numerical values are arranged from smallest to largest, and dates and
times are arranged from oldest to newest.

Attachment An external file that is included with an email message or associated

with an item in a SharePoint list.

Audience A named group of users that is used for targeting content.

Audiences Groups of users, who meet certain criteria, created for targeted
distribution of information. Users are said to be a member of an
audience if they meet that audience’s membership criteria. The
 criteria are associated with properties found in the Active Directory.

Authentication (1) The ability of one entity to determine the identity of another
entity. (2) The act of proving an identity to a server while providing
key material which binds the identity to subsequent communications.
(How the system knows who the user is)

BCS Business Connectivity Services – A new service that empowers users

(who have sufficient access rights) to pull in external data use in
SharePoint.

BDC Business Data Catalog – For connecting with other lines of business
(enterprise level feature)

Collaboration Collaboration content is content stored in lists like calendars, task

Content lists, and document libraries.

Content Type A named and uniquely identifiable collection of settings and fields
that store metadata for individual items in a SharePoint list. One or
more content types can be associated with a list, which restricts the
contents to items of those types.

Data Validation The process of testing the accuracy of data; a set of rules that specify
the type and range of data that users can enter.

Default View The view of a list that is defined by the owner of the list to appear
when users browse to the list without specifying a view.

Descending Order A sort order in which text is arranged in reverse alphabetical order,
numerical values are arranged from largest to smallest, and dates and
times are arranged from newest to oldest.

Discussions SPS supports two types of discussions: discussion boards and Web
discussions. Discussion boards are similar to any newsgroup forum.
Web discussions, on the other hand, are a new way to comment on
documents and share those comments with others. When a new site
is created, a discussion board is automatically created.

Distribution List A collection of users, computers, contacts, or other groups that is

used only for e-mail distribution, and addressed as a single recipient.

Document Center A document library template that is preconfigured to store a large

quantity of documents.

Document Library A configurable list in which documents and folders can be stored. The
 document library has special settings above and beyond a folder such
as versioning settings, workflow settings, and information policies.

Document Workspace A document repository that enables users to collaborate on one or

more documents.

Document Workspace SharePoint Services site that contain a document library, tasks, links,
and other information. Document workspaces can be created directly
in SPS as a new site, or they may be created ad-hoc from within an
Office product. End users can collaborate without having SPS open
alongside Office.

External Content A reusable collection of metadata that defines a set of data from one
Type or more external data sources, the operations avaialble on that data,
and connectivity information related to that data.

External List A list of items of an external content type.

Feature A package that can be activated or deactivated at either the site or site
collection level. Each feature varies considerably so you must refer to
it’s description to understand the impact of activating or deactivating
a specific feature.

Gallery A library that is used to store a collection of site resources, such as

Web Parts, list templates, or site templates.

Item An individual entry within a SharePoint list. Each list item can have
multiple columns associated with it depending on the list it is
contained within and, depending on the content type of the item.

Key Performance A predefined measure that is used to track performance against a

Indicator (KPI) strategic goal, objective, plan, initiative, or business process. A visual
cue is frequently used to communicate performance against the
measure.

Keyword One or more words or phrases that site administrators identified as

important. A keyword provides a way to display best bets and
definitions on a search results page.

Libraries In order to share files, SharePoint makes use of libraries. The three
types of libraries available in SharePoint are document libraries, form
libraries and picture libraries.

List Template An XML-based definition of list settings, including fields and views,
and optionally list items. List templates are stored in .stp files in the
 list template gallery.

Lists Along with document libraries, lists form the foundation of content
within SPS. A list is a collection of information items displayed in an
area or on a site. List types include: Announcements, Links, Contacts,
Events, Tasks and Issues.

Lookup Column A column of the Lookup type that allows a user to select items from
another list/library. This column can also bring in extra data/fields
from the list it is referencing.

Major Version An iteration of a document, or list item that is ready for a larger group
to see, or has changed significantly since the previous major version.
For an item on a SharePoint site, the minor version is always zero for
a major version.

Managed Term A word or a phrase that can be associated with a SharePoint item .
Managed terms, are usually predefined, can be created only by users
with the appropriate permissions, and are often organized into a
hierarchy. Also called “term” where “managed” is clear from the
context.

Masterpage The masterpage is the structural content which often surrounds your
site. Often it makes up the header and footer of the site and may or
may not also contain the left navigation. Typically if you have
multiple masterpages these will significantly alter the look of each site
they are applied to.

Meeting Workspace A specialized SharePoint Services site. Can be created directly in SPS
or in Outlook as a part of a meeting request. Should not be confused
with Live Meeting, etc.

Metadata Data about data. This is often seen in the form of column values in a
SharePoint library or list, but can take many other forms.

Minor Version For an item on a SharePoint site, the minor version number is never
zero and is incremented for each new version of an item, unless a
major version is explicitly published. When minor versioning is
disabled on a SharePoint site, only major version numbers are
incremented, and the minor version is always zero.

Moss Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 – The fully licensed product
in 2007 (note there is still enterprise and standard variations)

My Network My network is a page designed to provide a summary and roll up of

 the activities going on in your network.

My Site A single page portal that contains the user’s personal sites, links, etc.
My Site consists of both a public and private view. The private view is
intended as a personal workplace for the individual end user. The
public view, on the other hand, acts like a business card that can be
accessed by other portal users. You can see the different views by
clicking either Private or Public under the Select View list.I am
leaving this, because many will still refer to My Home, or Personal
Sites as MySites for some time.

OOTB Out of the box. Typically in SharePoint this represents the

components and features shipped with the product. As in the existing
webparts, and templates in the product. There is contention around
whether using SharePoint Designer is OOTB as SharePoint Designer
(while free) is still another product from SharePoint.

Page Layout A dynamic Web template that is stored as a document. It contains

content placeholders that bind to fields of a publishing page. A page
layout has an associated content type that determines which
publishing pages it can be bound to. The page layout can contain
webpart zones, as well as webparts. In SharePoint think of the
Masterpage as the wrapper for page layouts.

Permission A rule that is associated with something to regulate which users can
gain access to that something and in what manner.

Permission Level A set of permissions that can be granted to users, distribution lists or
SharePoint groups on an entity such as a site, list, folder, item, or
document.

Personal Site A type of SharePoint site that is used by an individual user for
personal productivity. The site appears to the user as My Site.

Privacy Level A setting that specifies the category of users who are allowed to view
the personal information of other users, such as user profile
properties, colleagues, or memberships.

Private Web Part A Web Part added to a Web Part Page by a user who is working on the
page in personal view. Private Web Parts are available only to the
user who added or imported the Web Part.

Provision The process of creating and deploying something, and in some cases,
populating that something with default data and settings.
Published Version The version of a list item that is approved and can be seen by all
users. The user interface (UI) version number for a published version
is incremented to the next positive major version number and the
minor version is zero. and minor version.

Publishing Pages Publishing pages are pages under /Pages/ document libraries on each
site that include specific content types. Content for these pages are
stored in this document library like columns in a list, with each
column storing data for a page field.

Recycle Bin A container for items that are deleted. Items in this container are
visible to users with the appropriate permissions and to site collection
administrators and can be recovered or removed (default of 45 days
before they are automatically emptied).

Ribbon The Ribbon is a new UI component added to simplify navigation, and

increase the visibility of functions. It is Context Sensitive (which
means when you click on something, it knows what you clicked on).

Search Scope A list of attributes that define a collection of items to be

filtered/returned in searches.

Server Farm A central group of network servers maintained by an enterprise. A

server farm provides a network with load balancing, scalability, and
fault tolerance. In some configurations, multiple servers may appear
to users as a single resource. Each SharePoint farm has a single,
unique configuration database where information and configuration
settings for the farm are registered. Each server in the farm relies on
that configuration database to get information about the farm and to
provide services in the farm.

Shared Documents A document library that is included by default in the Team Site site
Library template.

Shared Web Part A Web Part added to a Web Part Page by a user who is working on the
page in shared view. Shared Web Parts are available to all users of a
Web Part Page who have the appropriate permissions.

SharePoint This is the next version of WSS renamed. This version has no
Foundation (Server) licensing costs (aside from infrastructure it runs on) and has less
functionality than the full copy of SharePoint Server.

SharePoint Server The new product/platform name. No longer called MOSS or

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server.
Site A complete Web site stored in a named leaf of the top-level Web site.

Site Collection A set of Web sites on a Web application that has the same owner and
share administration settings. Each site collection contains a top-level
Web site and can contain one or more sites (or subsites). There can be
multiple site collections on each Web application. A site collection
can use only a single content database. Everything is now a site
collection: a portal is a site collection where Home is the top-level
Web site and the areas are sites (or subsites), a channel hierarchy is a
site collection where the root channel is the top-level Web site and
sub-channels are sites (or subsites).

Site Collection A user who has administrative permissions for a site collection.
Administrator

Site Column A column that can be associated with a content type or list within a
site or site collection.

Site Content Type A named and uniquely identifiable collection of settings and fields
that store metadata for lists within individual sites. This is at the site
collection level, so that it is available throughout the subsites or sites
beneath it.

Site Groups Site groups are custom security groups that apply to a specific Web
site. Users are assigned to site groups to grant them permissions on a
SharePoint site.

Site Membership The status of being a member of a site and having a defined set of
user rights for accessing or managing content on that site.

Site Templates Whenever you create a new site, SPS use predefined templates to
simplify the creation of the new elements for the site. These templates
allow you to create everything from a specialized team site to a blank
site you can use to create content from scratch.

SPD / Sharepoint SharePoint Designer is a free tool which allows users to modify pages,
Designer and customize their SharePoint sites in more powerful ways than the
out of the box GUI interface.

SPS SharePoint Portal Server

Subsite A named subdirectory of the top-level Web site that is a complete

Web site. Each subsite can have independent administration,
authoring, and browsing permissions from the top-level Web sites
and other subsites.
Survey A Web site component that enables users to respond to a set of
questions specified by the creator of the survey. Results are tallied in
a graphical summary. Surveys provide a way to poll portal users for
input on a subject. Surveys support a wide variety of response types
from simple Yes/No answers to free-form text.

Term Set A collection of related terms. For example, the term set named
“milestone” could include the terms “M0” “M1” “M2” “Alpha” “Beta1”
“Beta2” “RC1” “RC2” and “RTM.”

Top-Level Web Site The top, root default site in a site collection. Every site collection has,
at its root a top-level Web site. Access to the top-level web site is
provided supplying the URL of the site collection
(like http://ServerURLor http://ServerURL/sites/SiteCollectionNam
e) without specifying a page name or subsite.

View A named collection of settings for querying and displaying

items/documents in a SharePoint list/library. There are two types of
views: Personal, which can be used only by the user who creates
them; and Public, which can be used by all users who have access to
the site.

Web Application A virtual server that resides on an HTTP server but appears to the
user as a separate HTTP server. Several Web applications can reside
on one computer, each capable of running its own programs and each
having individualized access to input and peripheral devices. Each
Web application can have its own domain name and IP address.

Web Part Customizable Web page element that can be added to SharePoint
pages

Web Part Connection An element in a Web Parts page that defines a provider-consumer
data relationship between two Web Parts. When a Web Parts page is
rendered, data provided by one Web Part can affect how and what is
rendered by the other Web Part.

Web Part Page Often certain pages will be called web part pages – Really this just
means that these pages most likely have pre-defined zones you can
use to add and re-arrange webparts on.

Web Part Properties The properties which can be changed for a web part to appear or
function differently.

Web Part Zone A container with a set of properties that can be configured to control
 the organization and format of Web Parts on a Web Part Page. Web
Part zones can also be used to provide protection against changes to
Web Parts.

Workflow The automation of business processes, where business documents

and tasks are passed automatically from one user to another for
action, according to a set sequence.

WSS Windows SharePoint Services