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[Teatime]

I'm trying to set up a simple webpage (or pages) as exchange medium for our store department. We have two different locations and several workstations. Pages could be hosted on a server to which all workstations have access.

The goals are simple enough: Create a central place to store important data for research, archiving and information exchange.

Some of our workstations are equipped with MS Office, some with OpenOffice. All have IE as browser.

Up till now I have maintained a single html-page, but with new ideas and concepts I know longer see how a single page is practical.
You can't contain structure and overview. If I divide this into several pages I will have to handle navigation.
So of course I could create a header with navigation links to each other on each page and make it single pages. However, our goal includes that everybody should be capable of editing the content. So I fear that people could screw up the navigation by accidently editing areas they shouldn't.

So my next idea was using frames. One frame to hold navigation and a larger frame to show the content. That way my co-workers would only have to edit the content pages.

I've tried to create a test template with Word (not a first choice for website editing, but unless I do everything at home the only tool available to me at work). It does what I expect it to do, but uses  mht-files for the frames. I would have to test if those can be edited in OpenOffice, though.

But before I completely zero in on that solution I was wondering if anybody here would have a better idea (since I have no bloody knowledge of websites, as r007 can confirm)

Just remember:
- While the complete construct can be a bit more complicated the editing of the content pages has to be as easy as possible
- No other software except those mentioned above can be used in the daily routine

[Zarf]

Sounds like what you need to do is drop a Wiki on there. Job Done. very little coding knowledge needed, just download some code and use xampp to host it if you don't already have php + mysql servers.
Editing pages is all wiki style in the browser, so no skills or extra software needed from the staff perspective.

Alternatively something like Sharepoint (there are open source clones like Alfresco )

What sort of stuff is being exchanged? You might even be able to get away with a Google Wave.

[mode_seven]

First off, not Word. God, not word! Just a text editor or something is better than Word.

Secondly, I think Zarf's suggestion of a Wiki is a very good one, it does sound like it would cover what you require. A quick lesson for your coworkers to ensure they did not edit the structure, only the content, and you'd be good to go.

[Nineblade]

Frames are bad for accessibilty. You could try separating the navigation from the content by having a separate navigation.html page and include it as an object in the content pages.

http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10-HTML-TECHS/#frames

[Teatime]

Thanks, but I have to stress again: I can't use just some random software!
We are only allowed to use authorized software on our workstations (and 'authorized' means authorized by the IT department of our corporation).
Also it must be "simple" enough not to require any admin rights.

Frames are bad for accessibilty. You could try separating the navigation from the content by having a separate navigation.html page and include it as an object in the content pages.

http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10-HTML-TECHS/#frames

Will look into that tomorrow (Or rather today, considering the time  )

If it's possible to "embed" various elements into a page that would work just as well.

[Chaos]

frames are worse than tables for accessibility

gotta be careful but tbh, unless you have someone that requires a screen reader for the intranet you've proposed, you'll be fine with tables

I think zarf has pointed you in the right direction. You may have to just ask the IT dept to stretch or pull their fingers out and learn something new

[Junta]

Thanks, but I have to stress again: I can't use just some random software!
We are only allowed to use authorized software on our workstations (and 'authorized' means authorized by the IT department of our corporation).
Also it must be "simple" enough not to require any admin rights.

Frames are bad for accessibilty. You could try separating the navigation from the content by having a separate navigation.html page and include it as an object in the content pages.

http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10-HTML-TECHS/#frames

Will look into that tomorrow (Or rather today, considering the time  )

If it's possible to "embed" various elements into a page that would work just as well.

Sorry mate, but I think you're asking for the impossible! For example, being able to create and maintain but not use a packaged product (regardless of who created it). You'd be writing a monster custom site in HTML using tools that aren't really that great (Word) wanting features that are hard to deliver and that someone else has probably written (in a product) elsewhere.

Whenever I see developments like this I worry. The end result is always nearly something highly bespoke, understood by only one or two people, hard to maintain and impossible to extend and scale without huge effort. That's not to mention any security concerns that may also apply.

Sounds harsh - not meant to be. As a software developer / consultant I see it all too often.

My advice is to pick a wiki product and ask your IT department to evaluate and sign off on its use? A packaged product can at least be tested safely on an internal web server without exposure to the rest of your company or the general public.

[Teatime]

Thanks, but you don't understand.
I'm working for a corporation operating internationally (though focus on Germany) with a few hundred outlets in Germany alone. On the other hand our little project concerns 15 people of one department in two of those outlets. No way I could push some software to get approved under those circumstances.

On the other hand our goals are fairly simple. All I want is a) centralize some data so it is accessible from each workstation, and b) have some pages editable from each of those workstations so that everybody can update certain data (schedules, info about projects, to-do-lists etc).
So we are talking about 10+ different pages plus a few files (eg. excelfiles) just linked for easier access. That certainly doesn't require a wiki, but - as I said - since everybody should be able to edit those respective pages that process should be as easy and fool-proof as possible.

[Chaos]

This sounds like a job for google docs!

I believe lockergnome/Chris Pirillo did something similar too.. but there's no login to edit docs so it's massively insecure

[discordance]

er can't you share by google id, which requires you to log in to a google account?

[Hzza]

so it's massively insecure

Does it think its ugly, even though it isn't?

[Teatime]

This sounds like a job for google docs!

Another dead end. Access to the internet requires PW, which not everybody has. Must be local network.
Oh, and since the data will include sales figures and the like I strongly doubt anybody would approve storing those outside the house

[Junta]

This sounds like a job for google docs!

Another dead end. Access to the internet requires PW, which not everybody has. Must be local network.

If it is local network with internal access only, then set up a network share? Not great but zero development effort. Plus explicit security permissions could be set.

[Zarf]

This sounds like a job for google docs!

Another dead end. Access to the internet requires PW, which not everybody has. Must be local network.

If it is local network with internal access only, then set up a network share? Not great but zero development effort. Plus explicit security permissions could be set.

If he can't get the IT dept to put an internal Wiki up (The threat of using word to write html would usually be enough to spur any true geeks into helping! ) I doubt they will allow a network share.
In a company that big it's a travesty that they don't already have a proper CMS in place for you.

Can you not get your manager to make a fuss about it? It's obviously something which will improve your departments efficiency, for very little cost. How many hours a week are you currently spending maintaining the HTML page?
Most IT departments I know of are not averse to taking bribes, take/bring them a box of biscuits and a polite request.

Alternately : http://www.tiddlywiki.com/ it's entirely html and javscript, so needs no special servers to work - Just dump it on your web server.

[egg]

http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/en-au/Pages/default.aspx