BSCW manages two basic types of objects:

• Objects that do not contain other objects:
  • document
  • note
  • URL
  • user
  • contact
  • poll
  • bar chart (of a project)
• Objects that may contain other objects:
  • folder
  • discussion
  • calendar
  • search folder
  • contact list
  • email message
  • project
  • process (of a project)
  • flow folder
  • task
  • document set
  • community
  • group (members of a workspace)
  • address book
  • clipboard
  • trash

In its Web-based user interface, BSCW displays the contents of container objects in pages that share a common basic structure and functionality. The page of a folder may be taken as a model of these pages.

The HTML pages of folders, calendars, discussions, or personal objects like the address book, the clipboard etc. all have a two-part structure consisting of

• a header and
• a list of entries (the body).

The following sections describe the general structure and functionality of such pages using the folder page as an example.