Alerts in SharePoint Portal Server and Windows SharePoint Services

SharePoint Portal Server (SPS) and Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) both have their own mechanism for alerts. Here is a listing of the differences:

Windows SharePoint Services:

You an add alerts on lists, list items, document libraries and documents.

Alerts can only be send by e-mail

Alerts are managed on a site level basis - users can change their alerts by going to "Site Settings" > "My alerts on this site"

SharePoint Portal Server:

You can add alerts for people, site directory, news, areas, topics, search queries, documents, and backward-compatible document libraries.

Alerts can be send by e-mail and are displayed in the "My alerts" webpart on the "My site" - this webpart will only list the Portal alerts and not the ones you have created in WSS

You can manage the alerts from "Manage my alerts" on "My site"

There is however another place where you can manage your alerts just got to Outlook 2003. In the menubar you will find underneath Tools > Rules and alerts .... a place where you can delete exitsting alerts or even add new alerts.


References:

Alert Me: Parameters Passed to SearchAlertType.GetAlertCreationLink()

Managing alerts with Windows SharePoint Services

Overdocumented feature with SharePoint alerts

sharepoint