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There are several excellent instant intranet programs on the market, but Metadot's has one definite advantage: the installed solution is completely free. While the company sells hosted plans as well as support options, the software is open source and free for the taking.

It's got other things going for it as well, including excellent ease-of-use and a clean, clear interface. With Metadot, you can get a basic intranet up and running minutes after launching the program. After that, the included tools let you customize your site and set permissions.

Start by downloading the software from Metadot's download page. (It's called the Portal Server on the download page, which is a little confusing since the site makes the Intranet Solution and the Portal Server sound like two different tools. They're actually the same thing.) Installation is quick and all work is done through the browser since Metadot places editing controls on the page itself, next to the various page elements.

Discuss this article or portal software in general in the new Intranet Journal Discussion Forum.

To see the editing options available, click the Enable Editing button from the bottom of the page. You'll then get a new blue toolbar across the top of the page as well as editing controls on any editable objects. The toolbar lets you add pages or entire sections to your site, while the object controls let you edit text, move a page element, or delete it.

Metadot is heavy on customization options, so you can easily get your site looking exactly how you want it. When working with text, the color, layout, and font is completely editable. Adding images is easy, and advanced users always have the option of tweaking a page's code.

Customization doesn't end there, though. With a simple pulldown menu, you can add what Metadot calls "Gizmos" to your pages. Gizmos can be anything from calendars and contact lists to discussion forums and FAQ pages. With one step you can add a task list or a survey to a page, then customize it.

Metadot also offers all the permissions options an intranet needs. The administrator can specify who can edit a page so administrators can put different department heads in charge of the various intranet sections. You can also restrict who can view a page, either on a group or an individual level.

Every user on a Metadot intranet has his or her own customizable favorites page. Users can indicate which news feeds they'd like to subscribe to, what corporate news they'd like to see, and how they'd like the page arranged. One unusual feature is that each user can also have his or her own personal sub-site within the intranet. Here, users can create their own pages and populate them as they like. They can, for example, create personal blogs telling how their projects are going. Other teams can then check in to follow along. User sub-sites don't show up in the navigation, but are easily found by doing a search.

Hosting documents with Metadot isn't a problem, as any page can have its own document library. The only size limit is the size of your storage drive. Metadot also offers content scheduling, so that you can indicate when a posted story should go live.

As mentioned, Metadot is free to download and use. If you prefer a hosted solution, licenses start at $50 per month for five users and go up to $2,000 per month for 500 users. Support starts at $5,000 for a one-year period.

A Metadot sample page with the editing controls turned on (in blue).