Microsoft SharedView
Microsoft SharedView has been designed to share an application or computer desktop with a small group of people.
The only requirement for Microsoft SharedView is a Windows Live ID to start a session using the program.
The invited users on the other hand do not need their own ID, only the ID of the session starter which is needed to join the session.
A typical work scenario looks like the following: a user launches the Microsoft SharedView software and creates a new session after logging in with a Windows Live ID. An auto-generated email can be dispatched to invite users to join the session at that time.
Microsoft SharedView
The session starter selects an application to share, for example a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The shared document will be displayed brighter than the parts of the desktop that are not shared. It is furthermore possible to add additional files that every user can access. Lastly it is possible to preview the desktop to find out how it looks like when users connect to the session.
Several options are available:
A toolbar will be displayed on the top of the screen that can be used to start and join sessions and to access the options. An option to share documents is offered in selected Microsoft applications after installation of the software. Invited users can take control of a session to work on the document. Changes are automatically tracked and logged so that everyone can identify which user made the changes to the document.
Microsoft SharedView offers a way to quickly share and work together with multiple users on documents.
Update: Microsoft SharedView appears to be no longer available on the Microsoft website. We have removed the link from the article as a consequence as it makes no sense to keep it up any longer. We have uploaded the latest working version of the application, released in 2009, to our own server. You can download it with a click on the following link: (Download Removed)
Please note that we don't support the software in any way.
Since it has not been updated for several years, there is no telling if the application still works, especially since Windows Live accounts have been migrated to Windows accounts.
As far as document sharing is concerned, you can use OneDrive or Google Drive for that as both online services offer functionality to collaborate with others on documents online.
