Enabling SharePoint 2010 Alerts

In case you find that your SharePoint server does not offer you the ability to add alerts (e.g., from the ribbon), here are the steps to enable alerts in SharePoint 2010. The setup isn’t very hard, but it does require a couple of changes. In order to complete this setup, you need both administrative access to Windows and to SharePoint.

1. Install the SMTP feature on the SharePoint server. Once you have the server ready, you can set up Alerts from Central Administration.

- Adding the SMTP feature to the server

2. Go to Central Administration > System Settings > Configure outgoing e-mail settings and add in the appropriate details.

- Configuring the Outgoing E-Mail Settings in SharePoint 2010 Central Administration

3. After you have set things up, try using the ribbon to add an alert in a document library.

- Choosing to add an alert from the ribbon

- Configuring a SharePoint alert

After adding the alert, you’ll receive e-mail messages notifying you when your criteria have been met.