Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 09:35:59 -0700

Subject: DBUG> Tip of the day: OfficeWeb 499 OfficeWeb

You’ve probably heard about the "OfficeWeb" product created by Don Parker, AIA, either here on this list, in Cheap Tricks, or maybe even in a recent issue of "Architectural Record."

The primary purpose of Mr. Parker’s OfficeWeb is to provide easy, centralized access to some of a firm's important information, for use as a reference by employees on a daily basis. Set up on an intranet, employees will have ready access to essential office info right from their desktop.

Features include:

Tips & hints, new user instructions, contact lists, general computing information, a bulletin board, a "want book," and tips on performing site visits. A "projects" section with divisions for current projects, archived projects, project numbering methodology, and an image gallery. To-do lists, with a "hot sheet," places to post your project schedules a calendar, and even "rainy day lists" to offer suggestions of things for employees to keep busy with on "those" days.

CAD information is included as well. Examples include a CAD manual, tips for power users, drafting conventions, tips covering templates, symbols, macros, keyboard shortcuts, all the way through file conversions and rendering, many featuring our own favorite software, DataCAD. Users can customize pages about spec writing policies. There are plenty of tips covering general computing, e-mail, even a section of "things not to do."

There’s a "library" that the user can customize. It comes with some useful topics already, including a ready summary of ADA guidelines (text and graphics), pages of moldings (*.gif’s of profiles), and a primer of common size standards.

A "policies" section includes an employee handbook, a primer for new employees, info about employee insurance, employee appraisals, and job descriptions. All these are intended to be modified by the user to tailor them to the specifics of your company. Also handy is a personnel section, featuring an "in-out board" and an employee directory.

A little "after hours" section contains some amusing goodies and a "Star Trek" (TOS) episode guide (for the heck of it).

This wealth of information is assembled mostly in html, so that the user may click hyperlinks to jump from one section to another easily and quickly. Each section is searchable, using the search tool of your browser. Pages may be edited easily by the user to customize them to suit the firm’s needs. It arrives on a ZIP disk, and installs smoothly.