In the first part, I discussed how Amazon Web Services (AWS), WorkDocs could help with enterprise document storage. You can also learn how to create a directory environment. I will continue the discussion with this article by showing you how to use your directory environment to create WorkDocs.
Once you have created or specified a directory for WorkDocs, AWS will provision the WorkDocs Environment and send you an email message confirming that your WorkDocs environment has been prepared. The provisioning process takes approximately 10 minutes, according to my experience. Figure 1 shows you how the e-mail message looks.
[Click on the image to see a larger version.] Figure 1: AWS sends you an e-mail alerting you to the creation of your WorkDocs Environment. Click the Get Started button as shown in Figure 1. AWS will take to WorkDocs sign-in screen. The majority of the information on this screen has been pre-populated. All you need to do is enter and re-enter your password for your administrative account. Figure 2.
[Click on the image to see a larger version.] Figure 2: Enter your password and confirm it. After you have completed the sign-in process, the WorkDocs interface will open. A tutorial will be shown to you the first time you log in. Many of the interface elements are easy to understand, as you can see from Figure 3. To upload a file to WorkDocs, click on the Upload Files button.
[Click on the image to see a larger version.] Figure 3: This interface to WorkDocs. WorkDocs is a great tool for storing documents in cloud storage, but it can also serve as a collaboration tool. Figure 4 illustrates what I mean. I uploaded a Word file to WorkDocs, then opened the document. After that, I selected a block and AWS gave me the opportunity to give feedback. Notice how I was able select a very specific portion of the document. I was not restricted by the use of words or paragraph structure. My selection actually covered some words.
[Click on the image to see a larger version.] Figure 4: WorkDocs allows you to provide feedback within documents. The interface is divided into a number of tabs if you look at the upper right portion of the figure. You can share the document with others by using the People tab. This tab also contains a button that allows you to send a message out to anyone who has access.
The Activity tab displays a log that shows how the document was used. The Activity tab displays a log of interaction with the document. You can check the date and version of the document.
Just to the right is the Activity tab, you will see a Settings icon. This icon allows you to control only two settings: you can block others from downloading the document and you can disable feedback.
Figure 3 shows that there are many options on the left side. The Administration option is the most important for administrators. Clicking on the Administration icon opens WorkDocs’ Administration screen. Figure 5.
[Click on the image to see a larger version.] Figure 5: The Administration screen contains most administrative controls. This screen allows you to select the preferred language for e mail notifications. You can also modify the WorkDocs storage limit. Each user is given 1TB storage by default. However, you can change this number and give users unlimited storage. You must remember that the storage quota setting you set is global. This means that you cannot assign 2TB to one user, but half a Terabyte to another. Everyone gets
