Sharepoint
Windows SharePoint Services & Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003
I was prepping a virtual environment within VMWare Workstation 6.5 (EZInstall approach) for Microsoft SharePoint 2010. I encountered the following challenge when booting from a Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 ISO:
"The unattend answer file contains an invalid product key..."
To get rid of this show-stopper I simply disabled the floppy drive connection it had created. It worked like a charm.
We have two events happening in March that you should be aware of if you are in the Oklahoma City metro area. It will be great time to share what you are doing with SharePoint and struggles you are having. Perhaps there will be someone in attendance that can provide an answer to your problem.
When: March 11th, 2010 11:30am - 1:00pm (please rsvp, see below)
Where:
Dell Oklahoma City office
3501 SW 15th
Bldg A, Hudson Hall on 1st Floor
Oklahoma City, OK 73108
Who:
Eric Shupps, The SharePoint Cowboy will be our guest speaker for this first meeting of the Oklahoma City SharePoint...
The Microsoft SharePoint Team blog has officially posted the release dates for SharePoint 2010 and Office 2010.
RTM (Release to Manufacturing) will be this April 2010
May 12th, 2010, is the launch date for SharePoint 2010 & Office 2010
Matt Passannante has recently posted an excellent article on SharePoint's new Service Application Architecture. He reviews the history of where we've been and provides the look into the future of "Componentization" - the approach Microsoft has taken with the Service Application Architecture. Microsoft has numerous built-in services ready for use as well. I highly recommend reading this great article. It will clarify alot of questions you may have concerning this huge complex powerful new platform within SharePoint...
http://vspug.com/matt/2010/02/23/planning-for-the-new-service-application-architecture-in-sharepoint-2010/
Wendy Schopf has initiated the startup of our very own SharePoint Users Group here in Oklahoma City. Here's her announcment of the first meeting:
We are thrilled to announce the formation of the Oklahoma City SharePoint Users Group (OKCSUG). OKCSUG is an open and independent forum that has set its sights on building community.
OKCSUG’s vision is to bring Oklahoma City and surrounding SharePoint communities together through knowledge sharing and networking. Now moving the group full speed ahead, OKCSUG founder Wendy Schopf will speak to new members at the first meeting at 6pm on Monday the 22nd of February at the OkcCoCo....
I recently attempted to move a subsite from one location to another on our SharePoint 2007 platform. I received an error upon restoring. The backup seemed to successfully complete, but the restore kept failing with Could not find the file C:\Windows\Temp\[someguid]\Exportsettings.xml.
I found out this happens when the content size exceeds 25MB and it fails to include the mentioned file - Exportsettings.xml. I found a workaround solution at this particular blog.
Here's the jest of what needs to happen:
Recover leftover files from the original backup site location (via Recycle Bin)
Select all recovered files (locate at the root of...
I found a free tool that will convert Hyper-V (VHD) files to VMWare (VMDK) and vice-versa.
Here's the link: V2V Converter - Free
This past weekend I upgraded this blog. I run my blog on subText, a fork of the old .TEXT blogging platform. I went from version 1.9.3 to 2.1.2 and it wasn't a smooth migration path, let me tell you.
At the same time, I moved all of my websites (including this blog) from webhost4life to the fairly new WinHost.com. These guys are doing it all right. It fits exactly what I was needing and has cut my hosting cost in half. They bill on a monthly basis and have top quality support. The control panel is very simple but yet powerful. I went...
I have had some time to ponder the ton-of-stuff at the 2009 SharePoint Conference. Overall, I really like what Microsoft has done with this version. They seem to have addressed the majority of pain points. Here are some of the highlights of what comes to mind...
Service Applications - Previously, we were forced to use the SSP service for all services (Search, BDC, Profile, Excel). Now, the Service Application approach is providing a Service Model. AC gave a level 400 session on this and built a cleverly simple load-balanced calculator that was indeed an independent service.
The Ribbon - consistency is always a good thing. The Ribbon provides...
[via AC]
An update has been published on Patterns & Practices as related to SharePoint Application Development. This is a great resource to follow as you are developing your custom SharePoint solutions.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd203468.aspx
Scott Hanselman documented it best on his blog recently Windows 7 has built-in virtualization and provides a way to boot from them. Check it out on Hanselman's posting...
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/LessVirtualMoreMachineWindows7AndTheMagicOfBootToVHD.aspx
[via Stefan Keir Gordan]
I found a Stock Ticker implementation over on StefanOnSharePoint's blog. He implements a timer job code originally published by AC. We have something similar at the company I work at; however, we pull the stock data directly from within the webpart. Stefan proposes updating a custom list with unlimited number of stock quotes and using a "simple data view" to display the results.
Here's the reference: http://www.keirgordon.com/post/SharePoint-Stock-Ticker.aspx
Check out some of the new features in SharePoint 2010 coming our way in Beta form (later this year) and RTM first quarter 2010.
http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/2010/Sneak_Peek/Pages/default.aspx
[via Stefan Gossner]
We have recently discovered a bug with Service Pack 2 (SP2) that affects all customers that have deployed it for SharePoint Server 2007. During the installation of SP2, a product expiration date is improperly activated. This means SharePoint will expire as though it was a trial installation 180 days after SP2 is deployed. The activation of the expiration date will not affect the normal function of SharePoint up until the expiration date passes. Furthermore, product expiration 180 days after SP2 installation will not affect customer’s data, configuration or application code but will render SharePoint inaccessible for end-users. We...
[via Bob Fox]
New additions in MOSS 2007 SP2
preupgradecheck - Bob shows how he ran this new stsadm switch on his test lab. It is available in SP2 to preview readiness in upgrading to SharePoint Server 2010. He provides helpful insight on what this information provides.
Backup, Set your databases to Read Only - "If you run this command on a working environment there will always be a chance for the job to fail if users are adding content to the sites. To prevent this we now have a new feature that allows us to lock the DB and make it read only."
GetSiteLock /...
If you believe Microsoft's Virtual PC has been abandoned or VMWare is too pricey for your budget, give the free Open Source alternative a try. I have been reading some forums and blog posts from some happy folks using it. Also, as of this posting date, the community is really active in keeping it cutting edge.
Virtual Box - http://www.virtualbox.org/
"VirtualBox is a family of powerful x86virtualization products for enterprise as well as home use. Not only is VirtualBox an extremely feature rich, high performance product for enterprise customers, it is also the only professional solution that is freely available as Open...
[via Stefan]
Office 2007 Service Pack 2 including the service packs for WSS 3.0 and MOSS 2007 has just been released. Be sure to read the KB articles below as they contain important information about SP2 including known issues with these service packs.
KB Article Links
Description of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP2 and of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Language Pack SP2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953338
Description of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 2 (SP2) and of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Language Pack Service Pack 2 (SP2)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953334
Download Links
Please check the above listed KB articles. They contain the download locations for the service packs and...
I caught this over at Stefan's blog. MSDN's ramp up site has a SharePoint Development Track available, located directly at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/rampup/dd221355.aspx.
Some of the tracks include:
Level 1: Web Parts
Did you know that in SharePoint you can build pages as easy as in ASP.NET – and allow end users to create dashboards? Web parts allow for creating components of Web user interface that can be reused on multiple Web pages. These are introduced in ASP.NET and built on in SharePoint where they can be added to pages by end users and managed by IT Professionals. In this topic you will learn about...
Missing your SQL Server Management Studio after installing SQL Server 2005? When creating my Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) development environment I had the same problem. Thankfully, Pete Orologas posted a solution and it worked for me. Apparently, if there is already a \Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools folder that exists then the installer moves on to the next step. How does that subfolder get there? Well, if you install Visual Studio before SQL it creates the folder when installing SQL Express. Or if you install the SQL Express edition it will create the tools folder.
THE SOLUTION?
Rename the Tools folder to something...
"cannot get the list schema column property from the SharePoint list"
Have you ever got this error? Recently, when troubleshooting a problem my manager was having while Exporting a custom list from MOSS 2007 WSS 3 to Office Excel 2003 I found a solution.
I found a thread of folks experiencing the same issue. In that thread I found that someone had pinpointed their problem to a date column. They changed the definition from date to 'Single Line Of Text' and then back to "Date" (Date Only) and fixed the problem.
So, I tried that and everything started working again. I have Office...
I have started a SharePoint resource page. I have been recommending (and still do) some of the great ones out there. However, I have found that some of my experiences and needs differ in a lot of ways. As with others, my resource page has started out as something I use to personally reference in my day-to-day work routine. If it helps others that would be great too. Here's the beginnings of my MOSS SharePoint InfoPath Workflow .NET Resource Page. It will be growing significantly over the coming days.
Waynester's SharePoint Resource page
[via office.microsoft.com]
If you have access to a server that is running InfoPath Forms Services, you can design a single form template that can be used by two kinds of users — those who have Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 installed on their computers and those who do not have Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 installed on their computers. In the latter case, users fill out forms in a supported Web browser, not in InfoPath. If users have InfoPath installed on their computers, they can open the form in InfoPath and use the full range of form features. Users who fill out the form...
Great Resource for us SharePoint developers!
http://www.MsSharePointDeveloper.com
[via AC]
Do you need hands-on development experience with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Applications? Here's a link to start your journey:
Hands on Labs for Developing Applications on Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
[via TechNet]
Each application template has a companion set of two datasheets. For business decision makers, the functional overview (BDM datasheet) highlights the features and details of the scenario which can be used to consider deployment. The technical overview (TDM datasheet) is for IT professionals and describes the scenario, Web parts, relevant workflows, lists, and document libraries that are part of the template.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/sharepoint/bb848090.aspx
[via AC]
If you can, and it's free, hook into these upcoming SharePoint developer training series:
SharePoint Developer MSDN Web Cast Series
Last Thursday I got "the call" that all employees dread - "you're no longer needed". Our company went through yet another round of layoffs and this time my number was called. I had survived so many of these over the 14 1/2 years of my career - with the same company (very rare, I know). It caught me by complete surprise. I was their number one "MOSS" man, they told me just days before. Then came "the call".
I guess I've been very fortunate in my career. I've only experienced two layoffs in 20 years. I do not recommend it to...
[via AC]
Andrew Connell has two more WSS 3.0 HOW-To videos published up on MSDN:
MSDN Visual How To: Adding Code-Behind Files to Master Pages and Content Pages in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
Learn how to use code-behind files in custom content pages in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0.
MSDN Visual How To: Creating, Deploying, and Debugging Custom Timer Jobs in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
Learn how to harness the power of custom timer jobs in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0.
You can find the links on his posting by going to:
http://andrewconnell.com/blog/archive/2008/04/08/Two-new-WSS-3.0-MSDN-Visual-How-Tos-Published.aspx
[via John Holliday]
John has an in-depth video demonstrating how to build custom Content Types for SharePoint 2007 in Visual Studio. By way of Reflection he shows how to integrate content types 'your way' and staying within the best practice boundaries. I found it very helpful.
Check it out here:
http://johnholliday.net/screencast.aspx?name=SPRF-ContentTypes
This is in the code behind of the InfoPath 2003 Visual Studio 2005 Template. When calling the web service (covered in a previous posting) it looks like the following:
Private Sub RefreshCategories()'Set the Credentials of the web services proxy My.WebServices.Service.Url = getCurrentServiceEnvironment() My.WebServices.Service.Credentials = getUserCredentials() Dim myTempwsNode As Xml.XmlNode = My.WebServices.Service.GetCategories() Try RemoveAllFromDropDownList(thisXDocument.DOM.selectSingleNode("//my:groupCategory/my:categorycollection")) PopulateDropDownList3(myTempwsNode, _ "//my:groupCategory/my:categorycollection", _ "//my:categorydescription", _ "//my:categoryid", _ "//my:categorystatus", _ "Category", _ "CatID", _ "Active") Catch ex As Exception thisXDocument.UI.Alert(CommErrorMessage) End Try End Sub
Private Sub RemoveAllFromDropDownList(ByVal node As IXMLDOMNode) Try Dim ParentNode As IXMLDOMNode = node.parentNode 'exit routine if only one (empty) child exists If ParentNode.childNodes.length < 4 Then...
Let's say you would like to add an item to a SharePoint List. This is where CAML (Collaborative Application Markup Language) comes in. It may seem whacky at first glance, but once you get the hang of it you'll feel comfortable. Use the following code as a template and apply your personal needs:
<WebMethod()> _Public Function SubmitSharepointListItem(ByVal ListLocation As String, ByVal SharepointListID As String, _ByVal id As Integer, ByVal title As String, ByVal owner As String, _ByVal category As String, ByVal topic As String, _ByVal projecttype As String, ByVal areaofresponsibility As String, _ ByVal purpose As String, ByVal takenote As String, ByVal documentstate...
In order to pull specific column data from a SharePoint List you must structure the XML query properly. In this example, I am querying for the Category column. I have defined the SharePoint List Location and List GUID inside the Web.config file. Here is how the web method is laid out:
<WebMethod()> _Public Function GetListItemCategories(ByVal ListLocation As String, ByVal ListName As String) As XmlDataDocument If ListLocation Is Nothing Or ListLocation.Length = 0 Then ListLocation = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings("SharepointListLocation") End If If ListName Is Nothing Or ListName.Length = 0 Then ListName = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings("SharepointListGUID") End If Dim url As Uri = New Uri(New Uri(ListLocation), "_vti_bin/Lists.asmx") ...
When pulling data into InfoPath 2003 you must build it to be in a compatible format. Here's an example of a web service method providing said format from a MS SQL Server Source.
<WebMethod()> _Public Function GetCategories() As XmlDataDocument Dim conn As New SqlConnection(GetConnectString) Dim ds As New DataSet Dim cmd As New SqlCommand() cmd.Connection = conn cmd.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure cmd.CommandText = "sl_Category" Dim adapter As New SqlDataAdapter(cmd) Dim result As Boolean = False Dim previousConnectionState1 As ConnectionState = conn.State Dim errMessage As String = Nothing Try If conn.State = ConnectionState.Closed Then conn.Open() End If adapter.Fill(ds) result = True Catch ex As...
I was rummaging through some old InfoPath SharePoint 2003 integration code and thought I'd share. I have moved onto MOSS 2007. Revisiting this brings back bad memories. My HOPE is that it will HELP those with the misfortune of working in those miserable conditions :o)
There will be seperate blog postings covering different aspects of what I learned.
The breakdown of code snippets are:
Building Web Services
SQL Server
SharePoint Lists
...
We have been migrating tons of content from IBM Lotus Notes to SharePoint the past 2 years. The majority of content can go over pretty smoothly. However, there may be some former Lotus Notes users who want to keep their "Notes Links" features they've come to use and depend upon. A particular site we are analyzing currently falls under this scenario.
In my research I came across a good reference of what this "Link Mania" is all about. Before you can come up with a solution or recommend an alternative it's always good to know what "it" currenty does.
Here's some references I found:
Notes...
In a previous posting I mentioned a training course I was taking by Andrew Connell in Dallas. It focused on Web Content Management (WCM) Sharepoint 2007. One of the highlights was how AC showed us how to create and deploy solutions. This involved code behind files in your basic ASP.NET 2 environment. Most of the Microsoft development world has probably heard of bad experiences from us "V2" warriors. Well, "V3" brings to the table none of that. All is forgotten and old things have passed away and Good-God, Sharepoint was built on top of ASP.NET 2.0 - making life for us a lot nicer.
Well, after...
I'm heading to Dallas next week to sit under Andrew Connell's teaching. Andrew is conducting a 4 day hands-on class for WCM. He also provides this class online. If you cannot make the trip to one of his hands-on classes, catch one of his online offering. I look forward to learning some insights on Developing Publishing Sites with SharePoint Server 2007 WCM. It seems the past few months I've been pulled to other ASP.NET projects within my corporation - preventing me from staying fine-tuned into WCM. I've been told that I'm going to be thrown into the fire this time; hence the intense training under AC's expertise.
I...
Keynote - Bob Muglia, Christopher Lloyd
Bob is the senior vice president over the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft. The opening was pretty dramatic with a spoof on "Back To The Future". They taped a movie-quality version for the first few minutes. Then out came Bob and Christopher Lloyd AND the Delorean.
Many demonstrations were shown during the keynote. However, the one that stood out to me was the Microsoft Server 2008 Management Tools related to Virtualization. It came across really cool in the way they were able to host many servers and move them to different physical servers at "will". ...
Deploying an InfoPath 2007 Form that contains Managed Code to a Browser-Enabled WSS v3 Library can be done. Trying to find the How To in some of the recommended top books on the subject? Good luck! Josh Meyer explains it (free of charge) in a step-by-step approach at the following web site:
http://geekswithblogs.net/jgmeyer/archive/2006/06/26/83087.aspx
A question was posed last week from a coworker on the maximum number of items allowed in a Form Library. You see, with this current project we are taking on - there's potential for massive content. We are looking at pumping this puppy with beau-coup InfoPath form entries (xml files). So, today, one of my colleagues pointed out to the team that 2,000 is the maximum number of items in a SharePoint Library. Where did he get this? From Chapter 14, page 708, in Scott Roberts and Hagen Green's book, Designing Forms for Microsoft Office InfoPath and Forms Services...
I just ordered copies of two books off Amazon related to InfoPath 2007 and MOSS Workflow. We have a major project inside the corporation we are ramping up. My fellow coworkers, Scott Hankins & Marcel Janda, will be working together to make this happen. Scott already purchased these and I got a chance to glance over them at lunch yesterday. They look worthwhile and are from solid authors. Here's a link reference if you are interested...
Mie Ying has recently posted some informative material on Sharepoint and Lotus Notes integration. One familar post talks about displaying Lotus Notes Document Titles in SharePoint Search Results. The other deals with using Sharepoint 2007 to Index a Lotus Notes Database. Pretty good stuff if you are tasked with integrating the two competing platforms.
This is a boon for InfoPath developers out there! I caught this over at Jan Tielens' blog. It's concerning the use of newly introduced Universal Data Connection (UDC) files. In previous postings I ranted about the lack of (or pain of) accomodations for distributed solutions in InfoPath. I found myself creating data sources in development that were difficult to change when migrating to Testing or Production environments. Jan does a swell job of explaining this new approach. He also throws in some upgrade and migration tips.
External Data & InfoPath: Server Upgrade and Migration Tool
I caught this over at Andrew Connell's blog. AC makes reference to Ted Pattison's “What are Features?” post to understand them. If you are into MOSS and/or WSS v3 you'll want to get up-to-speed. AC also has updated his resource page covering Features, and it can be found at http://andrewconnell.com/blog/articles/MossWcmResources.aspx#Features- - great stuff!
I got wind of these from a co-worker, Jake Wilds. Microsoft has provided free eLearning courses on MOSS 2007 and Office 2007 Client Suite. You can find them here:
https://www.microsoftelearning.com/catalog/itproDev.aspx#officeSystem2007
I caught this over at AC's place. Fee Nolan, a partner technology specialist in the UK Microsoft Dynamics team, has posted an attachment on optimizing Virtual PC environments. If Andrew says it's good, I'll take his word for it. Check it out at the following link: Fee Nolan's Virtualisation Demo Optimisation Tips & Tricks
Andrew Connell (AC) has been a busy little beaver. It took me a few gulps of caffeine to get through his recent posting, “RECAP: Tampa Code Camp - July 15, 2006 “. In my humble opinion AC is developing a repertoire of development tools comparable to none other than the Computer Zen (Hanselman) himself. Okay, he has a ways to go, but his focus on Virtualization (found here and here) is something you don't see much information on. Specifically, how we as developer's can utilize VPC environments to improve our development time.
I thought I'd relay some references that I've read on Andrew Connell's blog this morning.
Great SharePoint 2007 Web Part series by Sahil
MOSS 2007 and WSS v3 SDKs available for download
MSDN SharePoint Migration Center now live - including MCMS migration/upgrade information!
**NOW AVAILABLE**: MCMS 2002 Assesment Tool
If you are going to TechEd 2006 in Boston, be sure to catch Andrew Connell and Heather Solomon when possible:Find more on Where Andrew Will Be at the following link: TechEd: CMS to WCM Migration TheaterHeather Solomon's whereabouts can be found here: TechEd: BOF Session and TechEdConnect
Andrew Connell has posted another informative piece on using virtual machines more efficiently. These are invaluable tips when working with large environments such as SharePoint and MCMS (or WCM). AC has been burning the midnight oil the past few months since starting with MindSharp. I'm sure he has become quite the guru in Virtual PC and Virtual Server environments out of necessity.
Read it or bookmark it later by clicking here...
Making sure your virtual machines are running at the peak performance...
[via ScottGu]
One of the things we did with ASP.NET 2.0 was to work very closely with the SharePoint and CMS teams within Microsoft to enable much richer architectural and developer integration than we had with previous releases.
Read the entire posting over at...
» SharePoint 2007 -- Built on ASP.NET 2.0
Yesterday, I posted an entry about the BackgroundWorker class and how it helped me out recently. I also mentioned that I uploaded bulk documents into a SharePoint Form Library. I thought I'd share a piece of code that made this task easy.
For Each foundFile As String In My.Computer.FileSystem.GetFiles( _ My.Computer.FileSystem.CurrentDirectory, _ FileIO.SearchOption.SearchAllSubDirectories, "*.xml")
'this line used to see status monitoring - adjust to your needs Thread.Sleep(2000)
Dim foundFileInfo As New System.IO.FileInfo(foundFile)
Me.ToolStripStatusLabel1.Text = "Uploading " & foundFileInfo.Name
Dim webClient As New System.Net.WebClient()
webClient.Credentials = System.Net.CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials
Try
webClient.UploadData("http://abcd.domain.com/C7/SharePoint Site Name/Form Library Name/" + foundFileInfo.Name, "PUT", GetFile(foundFileInfo.FullName))
Catch ex As Exception
End Try
Next
MsgBox("Upload Complete!")
Recently I was tasked with writing a quickie application that would convert a Custom List in SharePoint to an InfoPath Form Library. While I was looking around at all the new class libraries in .Net 2.0, I happened across the BackgroundWorker Class (System.ComponentModel). This proved to be just the ticket for what I was wanting to do, an asynchronous approach of processing a mass load of documents. Here's a 10K view of what I did:
Private Sub convertButton_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles convertButton.Click
Me.BackgroundWorker1.RunWorkerAsync(750)
End Sub
Private Function Convert( _ ByVal bw As BackgroundWorker, _ ByVal sleepPeriod As Integer)...
Heather Solomon has been accepted for public voting on a Birds Of A Feather session for this coming TechEd 2006 (USA) in Boston. This session will be well worth it. Heather is a phenomonal Web Designer who has a developer's perspective (she has to put up with us, or is it the other way around?). Make sure to not miss this one SO GO VOTE!
[via Heather]
My Birds of a Feather session proposal has been accepted for public voting, so please go vote for my session (mine is about midway down the list). Even if you aren't attending, do a gal...
Andrew Connell is needing your vote to have a Birds Of A Feather Session at TechEd 2006 this year.
Vote Now
For...
Migrating your Content Management Server 2002 sites to Web Content Management in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Web Content Management (WCM) in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 is a significant upgrade from Content Management Server 2002 (CMS). The most significant change is the change to using Windows SharePoint Services as the underlying platform for WCM. The tradeoff: no backward compatibility with the CMS Publishing API (PAPI)! No fear, in this BoF session we'll discuss best practices for current CMS site development,...
In a previous posting I gave my farewell to AC from our company. I also predicted that there would be good things in store for his future. Well, here's step one for the former colleague known as “AC”. Andrew was included in Wally McClure's ASP.Net roundtable Podcast. With so much coming up with Office Sharepoint Server 2007 and Web Content Management (WCM), the fields are ripe for harvest. In a side-note, I believe I heard Bayer White's name during the round table also. Anyways, Go Andrew Go! It's good to hear your laugh in the background :o)
[via Heather Solomon]
I feel that custom lists can be effectively utilized within any organization and can really answer the call for several custom content requests that you may get from your users. I think they are a bit underutilized and a great asset in SharePoint.
» The Beauty of Custom Lists article
I came across an excellent article by Paul Ballard on Retrieving information from the Sharepoint 2003 Lists.asmx GetListItems method. What's cool is he gives three approaches of how to deal with the XML you receive.
While a relatively simple format, it’s not conducive to working with the data in .NET. So then, here are the three examples of working with this data...
Convert it to a Dataset (Easiest)
Access Data Using XPath Queries (Easy)
XMLSerialization (Not-So Easy)
Paul even gives his recommendations on which to choose and some things to consider. I'm very impressed by Paul's article. Not only is it valuable information...
[via MSDN]
Have you given up looking for an official place that defines the SharePoint Lists Service Methods for working with lists and list data? Need some example code on how to use them? Well, here's a place worth making a favorite (one of mine)...
SharePoint Lists Service Public Methods
[via MSDN]
This article discusses:
The architecture of a report collaboration solution
Creating a SharePoint Web service to save reports
Building a report delivery extension
Deploying the solution to a SharePoint site
Check out the entire article over at MSDN...
Reporting Services: Deliver SQL Server Reports To SharePoint To Enhance Team Collaboration
I recently came upon an article by Mike Gunderloy titled Sharepoint and Web Services. It's very informative in how to code and get into the Sixteen (16) Windows Sharepoint Services.
Read the entire article, SharePoint and Web Services
[via AC]
Jeff Teper from the SharePoint team explains the many components that make up a page in the new SharePoint Server 2007 including:
Master Pages
Web Parts
General Purpose Web Parts
Page Layouts and Pages (simlar concept to Templates in CMS 2002)
» Page Anatomy
Found this on Andrew Connell's blogsite...
Things to note:
A new client SKU named Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 is what you know as Office Professional Plus 2007 (including Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, Access, InfoPath, Communicator, & Publisher) but also includes Microsoft Office Groove 2007 & Microsoft Office OneNote 2007.
Office SharePoint Server 2007 includes publishing, collaboration & search. In today’s terms, think SharePoint Portal Server & SharePoint’s Shared Services, and Content Management Server.
Office Project Server 2007, Office Project Portfolio Server 2007, Office Forms Server 2007 (think webified InfoPath), and Office Groove Server 2007 are separate SKU’s from Office SharePoint Server 2007....
[via InfoPathDev.com]
One very useful feature of Microsoft SharePoint is its ability to create and maintain lists that users can leverage to store, view, and share items with other users of the SharePoint site. It is often desirable to be able to view these items and to add additional items with an InfoPath form; one such example is a list of contacts. In this example we will add items to the automatically generated Contacts list in SharePoint, but this technique can be used to add list items to any SharePoint list.In this task we will add three data connections to a...
[via Patrick Tisseghem]
Some time ago, I had the opportunity to have a talk at the Belgium MSDN community regarding opportunities for .NET developers to extend the Windows SharePoint Services. In addition to the Web Part development (see also my 2 articles on building Web Parts), and the access to the SharePoint object model and related XML Web Services, I demonstrated how to create document event handlers in VS.NET that hook up to a SharePoint form library. The goal of the .NET code was to process the incoming InfoPath XML. In this article I provide an overview of how to accomplish...
[via Heather Solomon]
A lot of people face the issue of how to change the SharePoint interface and are met with a lot of info and options which results in confusion. I have put together a brief overview of main options and talked about the issue of why straight-forward advice for this topic is hard to come by.
An Intro and Overview of Options for SharePoint User Interface Customization
It's not too often that you get to work alongside someone who has great passion and ambitions when it comes to software development. Andrew Connell recently announced his departure from his (and mine too) current employer. I remember the day when I was asked to “show the ropes” to a new employee on some coding practices within the group. I could tell then and there that this mentee was going to be someone who made a difference within our organization. Not since my early days in I.T. America have I seen someone who lived to code and coded to make a difference for...
[via Westin]
Here is what I did. I used a SharePoint issue list and some AJAX code and now users can provide feedback without disrupting their thought process. One neat thing about this approach is that it uses SharePoint's built in web services which support POST and GET verbs. When done over an intranet it uses the current user's security context.
Using SharePoint and AJAX to Gather Website Feedback
As you might have gathered from recent postings my current project entails integrating InfoPath with Sharepoint. One major requirement is manipulating Sharepoint List Items. Andrew Connell came across a posting by Ryan Rogers called...
Adding New List Items Using the Lists.asmx Web Service
The approach requires the use of CAML (Collaborative Application Markup Language) XML Batches. I plan on posting an article (in the near future) on my experiences with integrating InfoPath and Sharepoint complete with example source code - be looking for it. Until then, I'll reference my previous findings up to this point...
InfoPath: Best Practices for Building Enterprise Solutions
InfoPath: How To Populate a...
If you weren't able to attend TechEd 2005 and are looking for some Best Practice Training on InfoPath development for Enterprise Solutions I found a place where you can pull it down.
It is best if you have a broadband connection when Playing the session... here it is...
http://microsoft.sitestream.com/teched2005/CLI/CLI333_files/Default.htm
If you are interested in other Sharepoint Sessions you can find them over at...
http://www.wssdemo.com/Pages/TechED2005.aspx?menu=Resources
[via Jan Tielen]
Lately I got quite some questions about how you can create connectable web parts with the SmartPart for SharePoint. Because I’m a little bit lazy I’ve recorded a screencast that’s going to show you the basics for creating connectable web user controls that can by hosted in the SmartPart for SharePoint. I’m using SmartPart version 1.1 and ASP.NET 1.1/Visual Studio.NET 2003/SharePoint 2003. If there are some people who want to do the same using the Son of SmartPart and ASP.NET 2.0/Visual Studio 2005/SharePoint 2003, it’s almost exactly the same (same interfaces etc.). In the screencast I’m showing two...
[via Jan Tielen]
Jan does a great job of stepping you through how to access Sharepoint's Users via Web Services and populating an InfoPath drop-down list.
Requirements:
InfoPath 2003
Visual Studio 2003
InfoPath 2003 Toolkit for VS 2003
access to a Sharepoint installation
You can find the entire article by going to the following link...
InfoPath: How To Populate a List Control With SharePoint Users
[via InfoPath Team Blog]
I found a great reference on How To handle offline data with InfoPath and synching (synchronizing) the offline InfoPath Form Data to a Sharepoint Services Form Library upon reconnection or being online.
Scenario :User fills out forms for a particular form template while the laptop is disconnected from the network. Upon reconnection, seamlessly synchronize the offline forms to a Windows SharePoint Services form library. Solution: Using OnSubmitRequest, you can have the code save to the offline folder depending on if we're offline or not, as in the following code, which is written in C# using our Visual Studio...
[via Westin]
How to create a link to launch an InfoPath Form in order to fill out a Form Library in Sharepoint. Westin recommends using FrontPage 2003 to edit the page on which you would like the link to appear, add a form library web part to the page, convert it to an XSL data view, delete everything but the “Fill Out This Form” toolbar element and then change the wording of the hyperlink to your choosing.
see the full posting here...
Fill Out an InfoPath Form Library From a Link On Another Page
Another related posting...
Launch an InfoPath form from a SharePoint page...
[via Westin]
Systems know who you are, but SharePoint and/or InfoPath solutions rarely take advantage of that awareness. Here is an easy way to create a more personalized experience for your users using built-in functionality of InfoPath and SharePoint.
Read the full details at:
Using InfoPath and SharePoint to Create Personalized Views
I was looking for some solid examples of InfoPath and Sharepoint integration to help expedite my learning curve with my current project at work. I found a site through msdn newsgroups:
InfoPath Lookup of List Data
The Definitive ADVANCED book on MCMS is here!
Advanced Microsoft Content Management Server Development
One of the co-authors, Andrew Connell, announces the release on his blog here and gives his personal perspective on his first writing experience. The content in this baby looks phenomenal! A MUST for all Microsoft CMS developers. Congratulations AC, Angus, Mei Ying and Stefan! I can't wait to get my hands on it.
The Advanced...
The Predecessor...
If so, you'll find Ted Pattison's whitepaper very helpful in getting started
How Sharepoint Works
Also, you might want to check out his downloads section for useful examples
Downloads Area
I am currently working on a project that involves migrating / converting data from Lotus Notes into Sharepoint. The one requirement that seems to be a challenge is the client wants to “Preserve” the existing references / links to other documents.
If you have had any experience or know of others who have please let me know. I am gathering as much information on how to accomplish this in an expeditated manner.
You can either contact me or post comments for others benefit
Carl, Richard, and Geoff are continuing in their “boat” for their VS 2005 Road Trip! They eventually end up in San Francisco for the November 7th launch. Every day they plan on having a DNR show. During the Raleigh, North Carolina stop they discuss Sharepoint with a guy by the name of Jason. Jason even mentions SmartPart but goes blank when trying to remember who wrote it!
Road Trip Raleigh
Check out side stories from Carl's Blog
Track Carl & Richard via GPS
» It's Road Trip Time!
[via Bil Simser]
Fast on the heels of the WSS SP2 release, Microsoft now brings you SPS SP2. In case you're confused about the letters, this is Service Pack 2 for SharePoint Portal Server. Yup, now you can have SP2 goodness with both WSS and Portal Server (remember kids, they are two different things). First off, here's the link so start your downloads.
The following Knowledge Base articles provide information about the various fixes included in this service pack.
KB 887623 Description of Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Service Pack 2
KB 906337 Issues that are fixed in SharePoint Portal Server 2003 by SharePoint...
via [InfoPathDev]
Check out Jim Cantwell's HOW TO article on passing parameters to InfoPath Forms. It has complete code examples and is very insightful.
There is sometimes the need to pass arguments to InfoPath when opening a form. You either want to switch to a specific view, or maybe want to turn on a diagnostic feature in your code. By leveraging the merge functionality of InfoPath, you can pass simple arguments or a complex set of data to your form.
Define A Parameters Schema
Enable Merge Functionality
Add OnMergeRequest/OnAfterImport Code
Test Your OnMergeRequest/OnAfterImport Code
Opening a Document and Passing Parameters From a Web Page
» Pass...
Congratulations to Heather Solomon for becoming a Microsoft Most Valued Professional (MVP) for Windows Sharepoint Services (WSS) over the past weekend! She has put in a lot of time and effort - solving some of the mysterious WSS look and feel questions a lot of folks had. Microsoft's success has been in finding folks like Heather to compliment and add value to its products. They have sure hit the nail on the head with this award.
[via Heather Solomon]
Heather has updated her most excellent Sharepoint Resource Page. There's none other that even compares...
My Uber Big SharePoint Resources Page
I have made it a permanent fixture on my home blog page!
[via Darren Jefford]
For those of you familiar with BizTalk Server 2004, Windows Workflow Foundation is to the Orchestration Designer and Orchestration Runtime (XLANG) in BizTalk. It allows you express your “workflow” using a designer and then have this executed by a runtime.
Highlights of Darren's post:
Windows Workflow Foundation is light-weight and re-hostable allowing you to integrate workflow functionality into your application.
Shipped with WinFx and will be supported on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP
You can host Windows Workflow in any host (ASP.NET, WinForms, Console App….)
The debugging story is fantastic, you can step into workflows and debug through activities and...
[via Andrew Connell]
The following features and capabilities included in WSS SP2
Reverse Proxy and Alternate URL support
IP Bound virtual servers
SQL Server 2005
ASP.NET 2.0
Additional Links
MSFT WSS v2 SP2 Download
MSFT KB Q906336: list of all hotfixes included within SP2
MSFT KB Q894903: updating a WSS ASP.NET 1.0 virtual server -> ASP.NET 2.0
WSS Admin Guide updated for SP2: CHM | HTML
Update: I just happened across Bil Simser's posting on topic and found he had additional information. Thanks Heather!
Windows Sharepoint Services Service Pack 2 Released
I'm currently working on a project that is at the technical design stage. Initially, I was planning on coding it as a custom ASP.NET application due to the requirements. However, with the customer wanting to utilize Sharepoint and going over the functional documentation with some co-workers numerous times I may have changed my direction. Andrew Connell (AC) suggested we consider looking at InfoPath and integrating it into Sharepoint.
So, I'm up late tonight doing some research before we speak with the customer tomorrow afternoon. And I come across this article on Microsoft's site:
» Integrating Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies and Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003
It seems to...
[via Ted Pattison]
Ted has written an article on developing for role-based security within a Sharepoint Web Part. A must read and very well done by a favorite instructor of mine. Thanks Ted.
» Programming Role-based Security in Web Parts
[via AC]
Arpan Shah talks about 10 great things coming in Sharepoint / MCMS version 3...
Security/Auth "stuff" from supporting the ASP.NET 2.0 authentication provider model and security trimming to single item security. :-)
Built on top of Whidbey - support for ASP.NET 2.0 web parts, nav/auth provider models, master pages :-), and more
SPS/CMS integrated architecture from end-user to development and deployment
RSS, Wikki and Blogging support.. the RSS support is especially great w/ the new version of Outlook... or any RSS reader really
Content types - very cool and super useful.. define a content type that includes metadata and actions
Recycle bin - IT orgs will love that
Lists...
[via Heather (who's currently awaiting Hurricane Rita, but wishing she was sipping a marga-Rita)]
She points out that the new MCMS information seemed to be overshadowed by Sharepoint news at PDC 2005 this year. She also points out that they Both will be very much connected.
With all the SharePoint hoo-rah, the MCMS news was of little interest. Let's not forget that the future of these two will be very much connected...
» Check out her entire post Here with references to other experts in the know...
[via Mark Kruger]
Mark gives a How-To on displaying a list item's age. Below is a rendition of a screenshot and the link for the entire posting.
Post is x Days Old------------------- 0 years, 6 months, 2 days-------------------
HowTo: Create a SharePoint Calculated Column to Display a List Item as "X" Days Old
via [Heather Solomon]
Heather has updated her already informative Sharepoint Resource Page with V3 and Office 12 information.
This PAGE is a Must-Bookmark for any person venturing into the Sharepoint ether-world!
» SharePoint V3.0 and Office 12 Resources
Add it to your Favorites Today!
[via Dave Green]
I became familiar with Dave Green by way of Don Box's spoutlet. Who is Dave Green you may ask? Well, he is the Architect behind Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF).
Dave Green is new to blogging. This could be because he was quite busy the last two years and as he states from PDC 2005 ...
The release from the pressure of my contractual code of silence has made this PDC just a total blast.
What is he blogging about?
What do I want to talk about? Well, I'm the architect of Windows Workflow Foundation, so I want to tell you all about what we...
via [Arpan Shah]
I heard from several people that while the information for SharePoint development was great at PDC, that it was not obvious what was WSS vs. the other investments on top of WSS. That's b/c we haven't made any final packaging and licensing decisions. So if you are a -little- confused, that's why! Somethings are very clearly platform while others may not be super clear in how it will be packaged... at this very moment, we're discussing our investments more "functionally" - i.e. web content management :services", for example. At this point, if you're a developer, don't worry about...
[via Arpan Shah]
There were several large announcements made at PDC that are very relevant to SharePoint and CMS customers. I'm personally super excited about this and to be part of this. Microsoft revealed Office "12" - client and servers and talked about our investment in ECM. This is great news for CMS and SharePoint customers that there is one integrated architecture for end-to-end document and content lifecyle.
Other introductions and references worth noting from Apan's post:
Introduction of Windows Workflow Foundation - WinFX
Better prepare for the next version of CMS and Sharepoint
Current Sharepoint customers, follow these guidelines
Read Apan's entire posting here
via [Bil Simser]
Bil does a fine job of disclosing to us non-attendees of PDC 2005 what's coming with Sharepoint V3 and other informative news.
So in a nutshell, if you're building for tommorow today, do it with the ASP.NET Web Part model and make calls to SharePoint specific classes to retrieve information, update lists, etc.
» Here's the Full Post from Bil - a plethora of details
[via AC]
Dustin Miller gives the Sharepoint fans a great summary of version 3 features...
Sharepoint “V3.0“ Features
UI / UX
Built-in breadcrumb trails, Quicklaunch on every page, Tree-view navigation of sites built-in
Pages will derive from “master pages“, meaning that you could re-skin an entire SharePoint site by modifying just one template file
More professional out of the box themes
FrontPage can directly edit each site's CSS file(s)
Workflow built-in all over SharePoint, with tight integration with Outlook 12 tasks, FrontPage-based workflow creation, some browser-based workflow creation
Individual documents can have document-specific workflows
Item-level security on lists and libraries
FrontPage has evolved further...
via [Mike Fitzmaurice]
The Kimono Is Open, The Veil Is Lifted, The Gags Are Removed.....
RSS. Everything about sites, lists, libraries, etc., can be syndicated via RSS automatically.
Blogs and Wikis. Templates and features in the box.
Content Types. These aren’t just like SPS 2001’s document profiles. They define sets of metadata, but they also contain view information. And associated workflows. And events bound to them (synchronous or asynchronous). And you can have more than one in the same list/library.
Workflow. Windows Workflow Foundation is embedded in WSS. It’s used everywhere.
Recycle Bin. We did it. It’s scoped to a site and...
[via AC]
» PJ Hough and others - First look at next version of Sharepoint
[via AC]
This could be the biggest announcement related to Sharepoint vNext this week during PDC 2005.
Microsoft is planning to unveil a new workflow subsystem for its client and server operating systems that will become a foundation service available on the Windows platform. The tool will be demonstrated at its Professional Developers Conference this week.
The company will take the wraps off Windows Workflow Foundation, which will pull together a number of current workflow technologies spread throughout Windows products, including Windows Workflow Services (WWS, formerly called Windows Orchestration Engine).
The single technology will provide a common service for building workflow to support...
UPDATE: To clarify this post, I'll add a reference to the original source from Mike Fitz.
It can be found here » Web Part Interoperability -- Good News and Bad News
via [Andrew Connell]
AC discloses the bad news we didn't want to hear. We will not be able to build ASP.NET 2.0 Web Parts for use within Sharepoint (SPS), but only in WSS (with exceptions), once SP2 for SPS is released after November 7th's RTM of .NET 2.0.
» ASP.NET 2.0 Web Parts in SharePoint... only WSS sites for now...
Intranet Journal has a series of articles “intended to help you understand the capabilities of the product (Sharepoint), as well as provide tips and tricks, development ideas, information from Microsoft, information from the community, and perhaps some samples.”
So far there are seven posted:
In Part 1 Paul Schaeflein, begins his series with a look at the history, features, and applications of Microsoft's SharePoint portal server.
Part 2 looks at the basic installation of a corporate intranet and some basic customization options.
Part 3 shows you how to build a searchable telephone directory for your intranet, complete with partial name search.
Part 4...
[via Bil Simser]
Well, you would think it is Bil Simser day here at the Waynester.net blog. I couldn't resist referencing this next posting though - catch up time, I guess. It's related to the discussion on ghosting and unghosting pages in SharePoint. There seems to be a lot of confusion about it lately. Bil provides his steps in avoiding it all together. He also gives relevant resource links on the big picture of Ghosting - the big picture and some humor mixed in.
I see dead pages
[via Bil Simser]
Here's an in-depth article by Bil explaining how to correct problems with InfoPath forms included with Microsoft WSS Site Templates out-of-the-box. In the following excerpt from his article you'll see how easy he makes it to overcome these potential challenges.
“We'll walk through fixing the Travel Request site as it's one of those ones that needs some extra care before you can start using it. You can use the principles here for any of the other templates. “
Find the entire article at Bil's blog here » http://weblogs.asp.net/bsimser/archive/2005/08/09/421993.aspx
[via Bil Simser]
Bil has taken the challenge and ran with it. He has created a Centralized Community (Project) where anyone can share or contribute Sharepoint Template Business Solutions. If you are needing a templated solution for Sharepoint, this is the place to look first. If you have a solution that you feel would benefit the Sharepoint Community, please share it!
Here's the article http://weblogs.asp.net/bsimser/archive/2005/08/11/422281.aspx
Here's the SourceForge Project Site where it lives: http://sourceforge.net/projects/sptemplates/
Thanks Bil!
Heather has posted a download for Tab Navigation that can be used on Sharepoint or any other web site. This was written by a fellow coworker, Chris Lasley.
Here's the link: Tab Navigation using CSS only - Great for SharePoint
[Heather Solomon]...
... has pulled it all together - and she's excited about it! What is it? She's riding a Camel, er, writing CAML.
Seriously, she has put together an article that is clear and concise on the subject of creating a Custom Site Definition and Custom List in a WSS Site! It walks you through, step-by-step, on how to get it done. Benefit from all of her research and read the article...
» Add a Custom List to SharePoint - a foray into CAML
via [AC] and worthy of repeating here:
“Stay out of the SharePoint database… no matter what you think. You are breaking your support boundary if you jump into the database. You should NEVER access it directly... always use the API. If you can't do it via the API, you shouldn't do it. Think you found an issue with the SharePoint API/database? Bring it to Microsoft's attention via a PSS call...don't fix it yourself.“
“AC, what do you know?” Fine, don’t listen to me, but listen to Fitz… he’s in the SharePoint product group in Redmond and his words should make an impact.
»...
Compliments of AC:
“Its official.
Microsoft is melding the infrastructure underlying SharePoint Portal Server and Content Management Server (CMS) for the Office 12 wave starting next year.“
» Microsoft Today: Microsoft To Ease Integration Of SharePoint Portal, Content Management Servers
This was a predictable move from Microsoft. The two products mesh well - Collaboration and Content Management. The release date can come none too soon!
Heather Solomon, a colleague and friend, has posted her thoughts on the Sharepoint Community. Sometimes, we need to refocus on why we do what we do. Heather's question revolves around Web Parts, Tools and Add-ins - why we don't see more useful ones available? She has a point. Within our organization, it seems like everything we do is a custom fit.
»»Have we lost the Sharepoint vision?
Hopefully, this will inspire some of us Devies to create a killer Sharepoint WebPart, Tool and/or Add-in.