SharePoint 2007

Microsoft Extends SharePoint Virtualization Support to Hyper-V

Paul Papanek Stork — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:19:00 GMT

Microsoft announced today that it will be offering Support for MOSS SP1 and WSS SP1 running under any Virtualization Software that meets the requirements of the Microsoft Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP). As of now Microsoft will support SharePoint running on Hyper-V in a Server 2008 environment and running on Virtual Server 2005.

This is also an important announcement for those who want to run SharePoint on Vmware. Although they aren’t currently listed on the SVVP website, NetworkWorld is reporting that Microsoft and VMware have reached agreement this week for VMware to join the SVVP. There is no Press release on this, but you can read the Network World article here:

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/081908-vmware.html

You can find out more information about Microsoft's expanded Virtualization Support for SharePoint from the SharePoint Team BLOG at:

http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2008/08/18/update-on-virtualization-support-for-sharepoint-products-and-technologies.aspx

Adding Custom Web Part Page Templates

Paul Papanek Stork — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:29:00 GMT

I was recently asked whether it was possible to add custom Web Part Page templates to the Create page in SharePoint 2007 or whether the interface was limited to the eight existing Web Part Pages and required you to replace one of those. I knew this was possible in SharePoint 2003 and that there was an MSDN article entitled Creating Custom Web Part Page Templates for Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies that explained how to do it. But since I had never tried it in 2007 I decided to investigate.

It turns out that the answer isn't a simple yes or no. The link on the Create page uses a page called spcf.aspx to list out the web part templates. Although you can easily add a ninth template to the list the page uses owssvr.dll to instantiate the new web part page and it seems to be hard coded to only accept templates numbered 1 through 8. So you can't simply create a custom copy of spcf.aspx with a modified list of Web Part Page templates. But there is still a way to implement a set of Custom Web Part Page templates.

Interestingly enough if you follow the directions in the SharePoint 2003 MSDN article mentioned above and use the files downloaded from the article you can make this work. The spcf.aspx file in the article download does not use owssvr.dll and is not limited to only 8 templates. The problem is that this file was designed for SharePoint 2003 and continues the look and feel of that product. You also have to make allowances for some path changes since the 2003 product. So I decided to update the custom page to use a SharePoint 2007 Master Page and relist the steps in the article with modifications for the SharePoint 2007 environment.

NOTE: In addition to updating the custom creation page for a Master Page environment certain code changes were also required. You must use the custspcf.aspx code available for download from this BLOG as a starting point to make this work.

Steps to add Custom Web Part Page Templates

Download custom creation page (custspcf.aspx) from here and copy it 12 hive on your Web front end servers. The file should be copied to the following directory Local_drive:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\60\TEMPLATE\LAYOUTS\1033. (Note: If you are running on a server installed in a language other than English replace 1033 with the Language Code Identifier for your language.)
Open the new custspcf.aspx file in Visual Studio or another suitable text/html editor.
Search for onetidWebPartPageTemplate in the custspcf.aspx file. This is the ID of the selection list for the Web Part Page templates. There are two selections already included for the file, one for Custom1.aspx (set to be the default selection) and the other for Custom2.aspx. If you only want two custom templates skip step 4.
To add additional templates increment the size attribute of the Select element to the number of choices in the list and duplicate the second Option element in the list. Change the name value of the Option element using a pattern of Custom#, where # is the next index in the list of selections.
Add the new custom Web Part Page template, named Custom# to match the entry in step 4, to the Local_drive:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\60\TEMPLATE\1033\STS\DOCTEMP\SMARTPGS directory.
Copy an image file named Custom#.gif for each of the Web Part Page templates you wish to add where # is the number of the template in the list to Local_drive:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\60\TEMPLATE\LAYOUTS\1033\IMAGES
Add a Link to custspcf.aspx to the Create.aspx page stored in the Local_drive:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\60\TEMPLATE\LAYOUTS directory. NOTE: You may need to put a copy of this page back in the future so make sure you have a backup copy before editing it. To add the link search for onetidWebPartPage. Go to the next tag and insert the following code block immediately after the tag, but before the start of the <% if tag.

<table style="padding: 3px 0px 3px 4px;" class="ms-itemstatic" onclick="javascript:NavigateInnerHref(event)"

onmouseover="this.className='ms-itemhover';ShowListInformation('server"

EncodeMethod="EcmaScriptStringLiteralEncode" Text="<%$Resources:wss,viewlsts_wp_page_title%>"/>','

<SharePoint:EncodedLiteral ID="EncodedLiteral2" runat="server" EncodeMethod="EcmaScriptStringLiteralEncode"

Text="<%$Resources:wss,viewlsts_wp_page_desc%>"/>','/_layouts/images/ltsmrtpg.gif')"

onmouseout="this.className='ms-itemstatic';HideListInformation()" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0">

<tr>

    <td valign="top" nowrap class="ms-descriptiontext" style="padding-top:1px">

      <IMG src="/_layouts/images/setrect.gif" width=5px height=5px alt="

        '<%$Resources:wss,viewlsts_wp_page_desc%>' EncodeMethod='HtmlEncode'/>">

    td>

    <td valign="top" width=100% class="ms-descriptiontext">

      <a id="A1" href="Custspcf.aspx" target="_self"><SharePoint:EncodedLiteral ID="EncodedLiteral1" runat="server"

        text="Custom Web Part Page" EncodeMethod='HtmlEncode'/>a>

    td>

tr>

table>

That's all you need. The next time you browse to the Create page you will see a link to Custom Web Part Page. When you click that link you will see a page that looks like the regular creation page for Web Part Pages, but this one will have your custom templates on it. Even better you will be able to add more than 8 to the list and it will continue to work. Just like it did in SharePoint 2003.

Guest appearance on the GeekSpeak Internet Radio Show

Paul Papanek Stork — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:24:00 GMT

I've been invited to do a return guest spot on MSDN's GeekSpeak Internet radio show August 6, 2008. The show is broadcast every Wednesday from 12:00-1:00PM Pacific time (3:00-4:00PM Eastern). I'll be talking about Branding using master pages in SharePoint. The abstract for the talk and registration link are listed below.

Making SharePoint not look like SharePoint – SharePoint’s use of ASP.NET master pages makes it possible to completely change the branding of your SharePoint site to match your existing corporate branding. In this geekSpeak, Paul Stork will demonstrate how to convert a sample web page from an existing corporate Web site into a master page for SharePoint. The new master page will then be applied to a SharePoint site completely changing the look and feel to match the existing web page. Join us to see how SharePoint’s use of master pages can make branding your SharePoint site possible.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032383094&Culture=en-US

Branding Talk for the Cleveland SharePoint User Group

Paul Papanek Stork — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:02:00 GMT

I will be speaking at the Cleveland SharePoint User Group on Wednesday, July 23rd. The meeting will start at 4:00pm. My topic will be "SharePoint Branding”. Here's a brief description of the talk:

• SharePoint Branding
SharePoint’s use of ASP.NET master pages makes it possible to completely change the branding of your SharePoint site. In this talk I will describe how SharePoint uses master pages. I'll also demonstrate building a new master page from scratch and converting an existing HTML page's look and feel to SharePoint. Join us to see how SharePoint’s use of master pages can make branding your SharePoint site possible

The location for the July 23^rd event has changed due to construction in the Cleveland Microsoft Office Conference Room. Instead of meeting at the Microsoft Office we will be at the Oxford & Associates office. Address information for the office is below:

Oxford & Associates

Commerce Park 4

23240 Chagrin Boulevard Suite 130

Beachwood, OH 44122

Wednesday, July 23^rd from 4pm – 6:30pm

I'm a New SharePoint MVP

Paul Papanek Stork — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:23:00 GMT

I just got the email a few minutes ago and had to share the news. I’ve been named a SharePoint Server MVP for as of today, July 1, 2008.

I owe a big thank you to Todd Bleeker who nominated me and to anyone else who added a good word or endorsement to the process along the way. I am incredibly EXCITED and hope to continue to live up to the honor that has been bestowed on me.

SharePoint Best Practices Conference - September 15-18, 2008

Paul Papanek Stork — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:34:00 GMT

Ever wondered whether the way you've designed, implemented and continue to support your SharePoint installation is the best way possible? Or could there be easier, better, more efficient ways to get things done?

Almost every SharePoint practitioner I've met has wondered the same thing at one time or another. Well here is your chance to find out. Join some of the brightest SharePoint experts in the business to discuss just what are SharePoint's Best Practices.

The first, and to the best of my knowledge only, conference dedicated to discussing SharePoint Best Practices will be held in Washington, DC from September 15-17. As the conference Web site says, “The 2008 Best Practices Conference replaces confusion with Clarity, Direction and Confidence by establishing key principles to guide effective SharePoint decision-making in any situation.” Hope to see you there.

Speaking at the Cleveland SharePoint User's Group

Paul Papanek Stork — Tue, 20 May 2008 07:03:00 GMT

I will be speaking at the Cleveland SharePoint User Group on Wednesday, May 28th. The meeting will start at 4:00pm. My topic will be "SharePoint Content and Infrastructure Deployment”. Here's a brief description of the talk:

• SharePoint Content and Infrastructure Deployment
Deploying a custom SharePoint Web site can be confusing due to the array of tools available. This is complicated even more because some tools are only appropriate in certain circumstances. In this session we will review the variety of tools available and demonstrate how to use some of the most important ones.

The group will meet at the Microsoft Office in Cleveland and this will be the kick-off meeting. Address information for the office is below.

Cleveland SharePoint User Group Kick Off

Wednesday, May 28^th from 4pm – 6:30pm

Cleveland Microsoft Office at 6050 Oak Tree Blvd.

Independence, 44131

Adding Useful Visual Studio External Tools

Paul Papanek Stork — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:54:00 GMT

We add a couple of External Tools to our Visual Studio 2005 environment when teaching SharePoint classes to simplify some two common tasks encountered when developing for SharePoint. The first tool generates a unique Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) and places it in your clipboard so that you can paste it directly into Features or Solution manifests. The other tool can retrieive the Public Key BLOB and Token from a signed dll so that you can use them in custom webpart or dwp files, safe control entries, or custom code access security policies. Integrating these tools into the menu of Visual Studio makes using them much more convenient than the command line alternatives.

Recently a student asked for a step by step guide to adding these external tools so they can add them to their own development environment. Rather than simply respond back to them by email I thought it would be worthwhile to document the steps here for others who might also be interested.

Implementing guidgen.exe

Select External Tools from the Tools menu in Visual Studio 2005.
Click Add to add a new external tool to the menu. You will see the following dialog box.
Fill in the following:
     C&reate GUID for Title
     C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\Tools\guidgen.exe for Command
     C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\Tools for Initial directory
Click OK to save the new menu entry.
Select Create GUID from the Tools menu and you will see the following dialog:
Be sure to select GUID Format #4, Click the New GUID button, and then the Copy button. The GUID is now in your clipboard paste buffer.
Exit the tool and paste your GUID into Visual Studio. (Note: be sure to remove the braces from the outside of the GUID since they aren't needed.)

Implementing SN.exe

Select External Tools from the Tools menu in Visual Studio 2005.
Click Add to add a new external tool to the menu. You will see the following dialog box.
Fill in the following:
     &Get Token for Title
     C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\Bin\sn.exe for Command
     -Tp "$(TargetPath)" for Arguments
Select the Use Output Window checkbox
Click OK to save the new menu entry.
Once you've built your project select Get Token from the Tools menu while one of your code files is open in the code editor and you will see something like the following in your Output Window:
You can now highlight and copy either the Public key token or the Public key BLOB for use in your code.

Speaking at the Central Ohio SharePoint User Group in May

Paul Papanek Stork — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:59:00 GMT

I will be speaking at the Central Ohio SharePoint User Group on Thursday, May 15th. The meeting will be from 5:30-7:30pm. My topic will be "SharePoint Content and Infrastructure Deployment”. Here's a brief description of the talk:

The Central Ohio SharePoint User Group (COSPUG) is a Microsoft sponsored community group that comes together to explore SharePoint and the applications that work with SharePoint. The user group is targeted towards end users, administrators, implementers, developers, and anyone who likes to learn about emerging technology.

They meet the third Thursday of every month at the Microsoft Office in Columbus, Ohio. Everyone who attends the user group meeting, no matter what their level of SharePoint experience is, will likely leave having learned something new.

Update 05/16/2008 ===================================================================

Here are the slides I used for my presentation. You can also get them from the COSPUG site. I will also probably be presenting the same talk at the new Cleveland SharePoint User's Group on May 28th at the Microsoft Offices. Watch this BLOG for more details.

SharePoint Connections Spring 2008

Paul Papanek Stork — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:35:00 GMT

Ben Curry and I will be presenting a Post Con session on April 24, 2008 at the SharePoint Connections Conference. The session will be entitled. HPS301: Web Content Management (Bring Your Own Laptop). You can read the abstract describing the session below.

In this hands-on workshop, you'll learn how to leverage Office SharePoint Server 2007 to build “Content Driven” Web sites that are updated by the content owners while still maintaining a strong corporate branding. We’ll follow a recurring pattern of a short slide presentation followed by a longer “hands on” demo/lab. Attendees will be provided with handouts that contain click-by-click instructions that describe how to accomplish the lab. If you prefer not to have a computer in front of you, you’ll get just as much out of watching us demonstrate. All code snippets and materials needed to complete each lab will also be provided to the students. Attendees will complete the hands-on labs on their own laptops (or at home after class). The agenda for the day will include the following lessons.

• Introduction to “Content Driven” Web Sites
• Maintaining Corporate Branding with a Customized Master Page
• Controlling Content Input with a Custom Field Control
• Managing Content Placement with a Custom Layout Page
• Customizing SharePoint Navigation
• Optimizing Performance with Output Caching Profiles and the Object Cache
• Automating Content Deployment

I Hope to see you there!