Document-management software maker Vizit's latest release extends search and collaboration capabilities for users of Microsoft's SharePoint. Giving more visualization to search results, the 5.0 release allows users to search for, jump to and highlight specific words or passages in documents, then share them as a link with other SharePoint users.

The software by Seattle-based Vizit displays previews of a select amount of text next to search results, then immediately generates a URL that points to the portion of text and enables it to be shared via SharePoint's news aggregator, Newsgator, and its enterprise social networking play, Yammer. The feature could help AEC teams that use SharePoint pinpoint key project management information faster.

"SharePoint's search will crawl its contents and give you a document but won't pinpoint the terms," says Paul Yantus, CEO of Vizit. "We take it the extra step."

The biggest challenge of SharePoint's search engines is that they get users in the neighborhood of what they want, but usually not all the way there, adds Yantus.

"Vizit makes it really easy to find key terms or sentences that are mixed throughout the massive amount of information most SharePoint users wade through," says Yantus. "Once you find a section of text, you can share it without interrupting the conversation," since links open in a preview window that hovers on the screen.

The program is optimized for major mobile platforms, IOS and Windows environments. A free 30-day trial is available on Vizit's website.

The base version of the software starts at $1,000 and scales up from there at $2.50 per user. Companies can enable or disable options, such as downloading, printing and watermarking, for users. The watermark includes the session info, time and date, adds Yantus.