SharePoint Publishing’s including the Long Awaited SharePoint Data Migration Tools from Kimmo Forss!
Wow, a quick look across some of my favorite site in SharePoint Land and there is a LOT happening!
Below is a rundown with links to some of the things I think inquiring minds (SharePoint ones at least) will want to know.
SPFormContext
Argh, Sezai beat me to this post about SPFormContext and SPControlMode by a few hours! I have to admit my sentiment is the same as his - I’m super stoked to have found this class.
Oftentimes, we need some code to execute, but only in the “published” state (old MCMS terminology). We might want a component to run certain logic, but it’s really only relevant if the page is in a live/published state. In other words, the logic does not matter when we are viewing the page as authors, editors, or administrators - we either don’t care, or we just don’t want the logic to execute. (Could be vice-versa; execute some code only if we’re NOT in published state.)
Auto-create DDF for SharePoint Solutions
A long time ago I said “One day I’d like to automate the generation of the DDF file, perhaps via a macro or XSLT”.
Well, I never did, but Rich Finn did. Good job Rich, can’t wait for the Manifest creation bits!
Now if I just had time to install this…
Sample .NET code that retrieves data stored in a SharePoint list
This posting is provided “AS IS” with no warranties, and confers no rights. Use of included script samples are subject to the terms specified at http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm
Quite often we need to pull some data stored in a SharePoint list. If the application is running on the SharePoint server then we could use Microsoft.SharePoint dll to gain access to data, but if your application is running outside SharePoint server then you need to rely on SharePoint Web services. In this case we will be using Lists service exposed by SharePoint to get to the data.
WSS 3.0 SDK provides a good starting point for solving this task. Here is a link to a code sample provided in the SDK How to: Return List Items
Unfortunately, unless you are an experienced SharePoint developer you may run into a couple of problems with this sample. In this blog I will try to provide some additional explanations of the code and also add a few lines to make the sample a bit friendlier.
visit the new www.microsoft.com/SharePoint and give us your feedback
www.microsoft.com/SharePoint
sub sections:
www.microsoft.com/SharePoint/Collaboration
www.microsoft.com/SharePoint/SocialComputing
www.microsoft.com/SharePoint/Portals
www.microsoft.com/SharePoint/Search
www.microsoft.com/SharePoint/ECM
www.microsoft.com/SharePoint/Forms
www.microsoft.com/SharePoint/BI
www.microsoft.com/SharePoint/casestudies
www.microsoft.com/SharePoint/news
www.microsoft.com/SharePoint/upgrading
Bringing Live Search to your SharePoint Site
Arpan Shah has a nice post on his blog explaining how to use the DataFormWebPart to render search results from Live.com. It’s a tutorial (with screenshots) on how to accomplish this using SharePoint Designer - at the heart of the post you’ll learn to consume an RSS feed through the DFWP, step-by-step. With a little imagination you can apply the technique to bring in all sorts of external data to your SharePoint site, and still have the rich design tools for the DFWP available to you to customize the results view.
Sharepoint Web Part Gallery Configuration Gotcha
In order to add a new web part to Sharepoint 2007 (MOSS) you need to add the assembly information to the <SafeControl> list inside the sites Web.Config file. When doing so make sure to type carefully. If you make a mistake when editing the config file, the page will not render correctly. If the page is NOT rendering correctly for you, check the Application Event log for details, this may point you in the right direction.
Pay special attention to the casing for the attributes. They ARE case sensitive.
Invalid (namespace is not cased correctly):
<SafeControl Assembly=”xxxx, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral” namespace=”xxx” TypeName=”*” Safe=”True” AllowRemoteDesigner=”True” />
SharePoint: Workflow “Failed to Start” (Survey)
I liked using surveys to make quick and dirty forms until I ran into this little problem:
“starting a workflow from a survey response is not supported in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0″ –http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926370
So now I need to create custom lists where I wanted to use surveys. Too bad we can’t have page breaks and branched logic for custom lists. Anyone have a nice workaround for this?
Podcasts: Two New Podcasts Covering SharePoint and eHome Integration as well as Non-Microsoft Multimedia Delivery via SharePoint
While on the road today I created two new podcasts. They are both available on my podcast section “Michael from the Road.”
The first explores some of the possible points of integration between Microsoft Home Server, SharePoint Services, and the digital eHome (Media Center, Xbox 360, extenders, etc.). In the second podcast I respond to a question around whether SharePoint can be used to front end the dissemination of non-Microsoft multimedia files being served up by streaming solutions other than Media Services.
Again you can check them both out at “Michael from the Road.”
Article: When you Need SharePoint Designer
There are some tools I don’t hand my son. He’s five and frankly there are reasons why I don’t want him working with chain saws. I occasionally need a chain saw to cut down a tree or cut up a fallen limb. But it’s not a tool I’d ask him to use.
I feel the same way about SharePoint Designer (SPD) — in the hands of some and in the right circumstances it can be a powerful tool capable of saving organizations money. However, in the hands of others, it can be a disruptive influence that makes it harder for organizations to have a well governed and used system.
In this article we’ll walk through a high-level summary of SPD’s features and how these features should and should not be used. At the end of this article you should be able to identify those situations where SPD can be helpful and identify situations where using SPD may be more of a hindrance than a help.
http://www.intranetjournal.com/articles/200708/ij_08_20_07a.html
