Base Guide — Documents & SharePoint

SharePoint & document
workflows at ARC.

How ARC uses SharePoint and OneDrive for document management — where things live, how to name them, and how writers and analysts work together.

Welcome Analyst Guide SharePoint Guide
Contents
  1. What ARC uses SharePoint for
  2. Accessing SharePoint
  3. Site and folder structure
  4. File naming conventions
  5. Collaboration and sharing
  6. Document workflow — analyst to writer
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What ARC uses SharePoint for

SharePoint is ARC's shared document space — primarily for the writing and communications side of work: manuscripts, reports, presentations, meeting notes, and administrative documents.

It is separate from the internal analysis server. You do not need Tailscale to access SharePoint — it is accessible from any browser with your Microsoft 365 account.

What lives in SharePoint vs the server
SharePoint / OneDrive Internal Server (Tailscale)
Manuscripts & drafts (.docx)Raw data (.rds, .dta, .csv)
Reports & policy briefsAnalysis scripts (.R)
Presentations (.pptx)Processed datasets
Meeting notes & agendasProject manager dashboard
Administrative documentsFigures & output files (large)
No Tailscale needed. SharePoint is accessible at microsoft365.com with your ARC Microsoft account. Ask your lead for an account if you don't have one.
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Accessing SharePoint

  1. 1
    Sign in at microsoft365.com with your ARC Microsoft account (@arcinstitute.or.id or the address your lead provided).
  2. 2
    Open SharePoint — use the direct link your lead shared with you when you were onboarded, or click the SharePoint icon in the app launcher (grid icon, top-left).
  3. 3
    Sync to OneDrive (recommended) — click Sync on any document library to mirror it to your local OneDrive folder. This lets you work in Word/Excel normally and have changes sync automatically. On Windows: files appear under OneDrive – ARC Institute in File Explorer.
Account issues? If you can't sign in or see an "access denied" error, message your institute lead — SharePoint permissions are managed separately from the analysis server.
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Site and folder structure

SharePoint is organized by institute and project. Your lead will share access to the folder relevant to your work — you don't need to navigate the full site structure.

Where to save manuscripts: Manuscript drafts go in your project's SharePoint folder. Analysis outputs (figures, tables) stay on the server — only final export-quality files go to SharePoint.
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File naming conventions

Consistent naming makes documents findable across the team. Follow this pattern:

Manuscripts and reports Follow exactly 
{project_number}{version_letter} {Type} - {Short Title}.docx

Examples:
1.6a Manuscript - Indonesia Diabetes Risk Scoring System.docx
1.6a Supplementary - Indonesia Diabetes Risk Scoring System.docx
1.6a Report - Social Determinant Analysis.docx
1.6a TRIPOD Checklist - Diabetes Scoring.docx

Version letters increment alphabetically (a, b, c…) for major revisions. Never overwrite — create a new version letter instead.

Presentations and meeting notes Guideline 
YYYY-MM-DD {Type} - {Description}.pptx
YYYY-MM-DD {Type} - {Description}.docx

Examples:
2026-04-15 Presentation - ARC1 Quarterly Review.pptx
2026-04-01 Meeting Notes - Health Workforce Subgroup.docx
No spaces in figure/data filenames. Files that analysts export for embedding in manuscripts should use underscores: fig_01_prevalence_by_province.png. Word documents can use spaces normally.
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Collaboration and sharing

Co-authoring in Word

SharePoint documents support real-time co-authoring. Open the file from SharePoint (not a local download) and multiple people can edit simultaneously. Changes save automatically.

Don't download then re-upload. This breaks version history. Always open files directly from SharePoint or via the synced OneDrive folder.

Sharing with external collaborators

External sharing is disabled by policy. ARC's SharePoint tenant does not allow sharing files outside the organisation. If a collaborator needs access, contact your lead — this requires an admin exception.
Never share raw data — only outputs (manuscripts, figures, aggregated tables) belong in SharePoint. Raw microdata stays on the internal server.
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Document workflow

Analysis happens on the internal server. Documents live in SharePoint. The handoff is when outputs move between them:

Standard handoff steps
  1. 1
    Export figures and tables to the project's output/ folder on the server. PNG figures and DOCX/XLSX tables — export-quality only.
  2. 2
    Upload outputs to SharePoint in the project folder. Ping the manuscript lead on WhatsApp.
  3. 3
    Pull outputs into the manuscript from SharePoint — open the .docx draft, insert the figures and tables.
  4. 4
    Save the updated draft with a new version letter (e.g. 1.6a → 1.6b) and update the milestone in the project manager.
  5. 5
    PI reviews the draft directly in SharePoint. Comments go in Word's comment pane — not in a separate document or WhatsApp.
Task tracking: Every manuscript stage corresponds to a milestone in the project manager. When a draft reaches SharePoint, mark the relevant milestone as done in the project's .md file so the dashboard reflects current status.

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