Microsoft KB Archive/286378

= INFO: The Digital Dashboard Resource Kit (DDRK) =

PSS ID Number: 286378

Article Last Modified on 10/28/2002

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Digital Dashboard Resource Kit, version 2.2

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This article was previously published under Q286378



SUMMARY
Digital dashboards are customizable Web sites that are designed to act as collaborative Web portals for your company's intranet, giving users the ability to manage, share, and filter important data in a more efficient manner than traditional HTML pages. They do this by providing a platform for reusable &quot;Web Parts,&quot; which are small binary or HTML components that give a user concise information on some topic in a &quot;snapshot&quot; form. Dashboards allow users to choose those Web Parts most important to them and arrange them in a manner that suits their individual needs.

Companies can quickly build and deploy their own customized digital dashboard solutions using the Digital Dashboard Resource Kit (DDRK) 2.2. The kit is available for free download at the following Microsoft Web site:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/code/sample.asp?url=/MSDN-FILES/027/001/584/msdncompositedoc.xml

Administrators and IT professionals looking to customize and deploy production-quality dashboards with minimal development should consider using Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server (or SQL 2000 with DDRK 3.0). For more information about these options, please visit the following web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/business/digitaldashboard

The kit includes documentation and samples that you can use to start making your own dashboards. The DDRK is provided &quot;as is,&quot; and is not supported by Microsoft Technical Support.



MORE INFORMATION
A digital dashboard is a customized solution for knowledge workers that consolidates personal, team, corporate, and external information and provides single-click access to analytical and collaborative tools. It brings an integrated view of a company's diverse sources of knowledge to an individual's desktop, and enables better decision-making by providing immediate access to key business information.

A digital dashboard provides a consolidated view of information and combats the problem of information overload in the following ways:
 * It helps employees focus on business priorities.

A digital dashboard application reduces information overload because it delivers relevant and important information that workers can process quickly and analyze closely, which promotes better informed business decisions.
 * It extends familiar productivity tools.

A digital dashboard application is integrated with Office 2000, the leading desktop application suite for knowledge workers. Office 2000 integrates familiar productivity tools with the Web, connecting workers to information and to one another. Digital dashboards based on the Outlook messaging and collaboration client and Office 2000 enable workers to take advantage of the analysis tools, collaboration capabilities, and support for Internet and messaging standards that are built into Office 2000.
 * It delivers information, in the office or on the move.

Knowledge workers can use a digital dashboard no matter where they are. Information from different sources, including favorite Web sites and shared public folders, can be synchronized for offline viewing and analysis.

What's in the Digital Dashboard Resource Kit
DDRK 2.2 includes a variety of resources that are designed to help corporate Web developers build smarter solutions for the company intranet. The kit includes the following items:
 * Sample Dashboards

The resource kit includes three sample dashboards that are based on flexible storage options:
 * The Windows file system sample dashboard stores Web Parts in the Windows 2000 file system. It is an excellent starting point for understanding the digital dashboard framework, for testing Web Parts, and for making simple digital dashboard deployments.
 * The SQL Server sample digital dashboard stores Web Parts in a SQL Server 7.0 database, which enables developers to build scalable, enterprise-ready digital dashboards. Using the SQL-scalable application server, this dashboard offers relational user- and part-management, as well as better personalization and security that is more granular. To facilitate management, this sample dashboard is fully integrated with the Windows 2000 Active Directory™ service.
 * The Exchange 2000 Digital Dashboard stores Web Parts in the Exchange Web storage system, which allows for Active Directory, Microsoft Office integration, and streaming media.
 * Web Parts Builder

The Web Parts Builder is a Microsoft Visual InterDev add-in that allows developers to build more complex Web Parts. These sophisticated components can integrate a company's existing systems with the analytical and collaborative tools in products such as Microsoft Office 2000, Exchange Server, and SQL Server.
 * Web Parts Gallery

Each sample digital dashboard includes a gallery that contains a library of pre-built Microsoft and third-party Web Parts that can be included in a dashboard to deliver customized services without writing any code.
 * Documentation

The resource kit includes complete documentation on Web Parts, the Web Part Builder, and all sample dashboards. In addition, the resource kit includes reference material and white papers that contain instruction on adding even more sophisticated functionality to Web Parts and digital dashboards.

Support Options for Digital Dashboards
Microsoft Product Support does not offer support for the DDRK or its predecessor, the Digital Dashboard Starter Kit. Digital Dashboard technology is presented for developers and IT professionals to consider in their own Web development projects. The resource kit and the materials provided inside do not constitute a product and are not meant for production use. The examples are for informational purposes only and are provided &quot;as is,&quot; without a warranty of any kind.

If you need assistance, Microsoft has created a public newsgroup where you can obtain peer-to-peer support for digital dashboards, the resource kit, and related technologies. Microsoft may monitor this group for ideas and suggestions, but does guarantee that all questions will be answered. The new group location is:

microsoft.public.digitaldashboard.

For more information about accessing this newsgroup, please see the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/news

To locate the Digital Dashboard newsgroup, click to expand Development Tools. Digital Dashboard is listed under Web Development.

NOTE: Microsoft Product Support does provide support for several of the technologies that make Digital Dashboards work. For example, Microsoft supports the Outlook View Control, issues that are specific to HTML programming, and MSXML. If you encounter a development problem when you build a custom dashboard and need direct assistance from Microsoft, try to narrow the scope of the problem to an individual component or technology, and reproduce the problem outside of the dashboard. If you can do this, Microsoft Product Support should be able to assist you with the problem.

Additional query words: digidash dashboard

Keywords: kbDSupport kbinfo KB286378

Technology: kbAudDeveloper kbDashboard220 kbDashboardSearch

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