Anjali's Blog

Custom column of type "People/Group" named say: "last replied by" for team discussions which reflects the person/group who last replied to the thread in the topic (specific to that topic) in the discussion board in MOSS

2009-08-15T10:17:00Z

Requirement

End User requires an OOB column of type "People/Group" named say: "last replied to" in Discussion Board. This column should show the Person/Group who last replied to the thread specific to the topic in the Discussion Board.
Currently, there is an OOB Column "LastUpdated" which shows the timestamp as when was last replied (Date/Time) on the topic, but there is no such OOB column which shows as who last replied to the topic in the discussion board
Besides, there is an OOB Column "LastModifiedBy", but that reflects the Person/Group who modified the Topic details and not the one who replied to the topic in the discussion board
In short, WE require a Custom column of type "People/Group" named say: "last replied by" (People/Group Type) for team discussions which reflects the person/group who last replied to the thread in the topic (specific to that topic) in the discussion board in MOSS 2007

Steps To Understand The Requirement

Create an OOB Discussion Board
Add the following fields to the default View: ModifiedBy, LastUpdated, Modified
Add the topic to the discussion board
Now, Reply to the topic
Check the value for the column "LastUpdated"; the TimeStamp chnges every time we reply to the topic.
Now, modify the topic properties by right click n say edit properties.
Check the value of the column "Modified" & "ModifiedBy"; it reflects the TimeStamp and the Person/Group who modified the topic
But, there is no OOB column which reflects the Person/Group who last replied on the topic. Just there is a timestamp "LastUpdated".

Resolution / Work Around

Note:

Created 1 custom column of Type:People/Group named “LastRepliedBy” in the Discussion board “Team Discussion”.
Attach the 2 event handlers defined in FieldAddedEvntHand folder using application contained in ConsoleApplication1 folder
Now, add the discussion topic and reply to the thread.
Check the output in non-editable column “LastRepliedBy”

Note:

Here, the custom column is made non-editable so that it is not seen by users while adding topics in the discussion board.
Currently, the given code is specific to the named discussion board. But, we can write feature related xml to deploy the code as as feature so that on activation it can work for any OOB Discussion Board in the site. Besides, We can also attach the handler code with SiteStapler Feature by writing an xml file for it. This will result in activation of the feature at the time site is created.

Attachment:

FieldAddedEvntHand folder : contains the Class Library Application
ConsoleApplication1 folder : contains the Console Application

Steps for Deploying The Code

Open the class library project: FieldAddedEvntHand in Visual Studio 2005 or later version
1. Make necessary changes in the code:
  1. In File: Class2.cs ; Method: FieldAdded ; specify the name of the non-editable column which will be created in the Discussion Board List if (oField.Title == "LastRepliedBy")
  2. In File: Class1.cs ; Method: ItemUpdated; specify the name of the non-editable column (as mentioned in Point 1a(i) ) properties.ListItem["LastRepliedBy"] = oUser.ID;
2. Once the above mentioned changes are done, compile/build the code (Note: Check if the strong name is assigned to the assembly)
3. Install the compiled dll in the GAC
Now, Open the console application project: ConsoleApplication1 in Visual Studio 2005 or later version
1. Make necessary changes here in the code: (in Program.cs file)
  1. Specify your site URL here: using (SPSite oSite = new SPSite("http://anjalich11:2001"))
  2. Specify the name of the Discussion Board here: SPList oList = oWeb.Lists["Team Discussion"];
2. Once the above mentioned changes are done, compile/build the code
3. Run the console application.
Restart IIS
Add the non-editable column in the Discussion Board (Note: Its case sensitive; so specify the exact name as mentioned in Point 1a(i) )
Now try adding the topics and its respective replies in the discussion board.
Check the value of the column “LastRepliedBy”.

How to rename column names in Content Query Webpart using property : DataColumnRenames

2009-08-15T00:35:00Z

Requirement

How to rename column names in Content Query Webpart using property : DataColumnRenames

NOTE:

In any other Site except of Publishing Type, activate the following 2 features in your site, to have Content Query Webpart:
1. In Site Collection Features: Office SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure
2. In Site Features: Office SharePoint Server Publishing

Resolution

Firstly, get the Internal Names for the columns (NOT Display Name) which will be shown in the Content Query Webpart. The easiest & accurate way is to create a console application and get the Internal Names
The format for the values for the property DataColumnRenames in Content Query Webpart :
OriginalName1,Newname1

Multiple column renames are separated by semicolon. The below is valid one:
OriginalName1,Newname1;OriginalName2,Newname2
MOST IMP: Please DO NOT give any SPACES OR TAB while renaming multiple columns. Otherwise, only 1st column in row will be resolved.

Note:
- OriginalName means the Internal name (actual internal name in SharePoint & NOT that is changed N rendered by XSLT)
- New Name can be any.
- Query is made using the internal name (so in CommonViewFields property, we still required to specify Internal Names.)
- Fields names are changed at the time of rendering by XSLT engine and not at time of querying.
Example:
- Suppose, we want the file/folder icons to be shown in the Content Query Webpart
  1. We will add the columns in the webpart xml by changing the property CommonViewFields:
    <property name="CommonViewFields" type="string" >File_x0020_Type, Text;HTML_x0020_File_x0020_Type, Text</property>
  2. Now, we wanted to rename these fields, so that when we use in ItemStyle.xsl, its easier to read. Locate the word "DataColumnRenames" in the webpart
    <property name="DataColumnRenames" type="string">File_x0020_Type,FileType;HTML_x0020_File_x0020_Type,HTMLFileType;</property>
  3. Now, in ItemStyle.xsl; the custom templates will extract value from Field Names : FileType, HTMLFileType

Query regarding the Web Control Library templates

2009-08-14T23:58:00Z

Question

In Visual Studio 2005, on the File menu, point to New, and then click Project. In Project types, under C#, select Windows. Under Templates, select Web Control Library. In the Name field, type CustomSearchWebPart, and then click OK.
But we are using vs2008, can you point me to the same document for vs2008 or tell me how to get an web control library template?

Answer

The web control library in Visual studio 2005
>> File - New - Project - Windows - Web Control Library
The web control library in Visual Studio 2008
>> File - New - Project - Web - ASP.NET Server Control
>> So, Its ASP.Net Server Control in VS 2008

When we use the wild card with CONTAINS predicate on the managed property “PreferredName” (OOB); it does not returns any result

2009-08-14T20:22:00Z

Issue Description

When we use the wild cards with contains predicate on the managed property “PreferredName” (OOB); it DOES NOT RETURNS any RESULT
EXAMPLE: SELECT Title, FirstName, LastName, PreferredName, JobTitle FROM portal..scope() WHERE ( ("SCOPE" = 'People') ) AND CONTAINS(PreferredName,'anjali*')

Analysis

I checked on the queries & found that the PreferredName property does not works with the CONTAINS (with or without WILD card characters) & FREETEXT predicate
- EXAMPLE: SELECT Title, FirstName, LastName, PreferredName, JobTitle FROM portal..scope() WHERE ( ("SCOPE" = 'People') ) AND CONTAINS(PreferredName,'anjali*')
- EXAMPLE: SELECT Title, FirstName, LastName, PreferredName, JobTitle FROM portal..scope() WHERE ( ("SCOPE" = 'People') ) AND FREETEXT(PreferredName,'anjali')
This seems to be an issue with SharePoint 2007

Resolution/ WorkAround

Use LIKE Predicate with Managed Property: PreferredName (Note: LIKE Predicate support WILD card characters)
EXAMPLE: SELECT Title, FirstName, LastName, PreferredName, JobTitle FROM portal..scope() WHERE ( ("SCOPE" = 'People') ) AND PreferredName LIKE 'anjali%')
Use CONTAINS Predicate (with or without WILD card characters) with Managed Property: Title (Note: Title (in SharedServices) is mapped to People:PreferredName)
EXAMPLE: SELECT Title, FirstName, LastName, PreferredName, JobTitle FROM portal..scope() WHERE ( ("SCOPE" = 'People') ) AND CONTAINS(TITLE,'anjali*')

Important Points To Consider

Basic design/working for LIKE and CONTAIN Predicate
1. Defining:
  - LIKE Predicate- In simple words, if we define: It matches a pattern of string. It’s more like regular expression
  - CONTAINS Predicate- In simple words, if we define: It searches for specific string in each n every word
2. Example:
  Property: test1=”abc dabch abcp” (In other words, Managed Property: test1 has value =”abc dabch abcp”)
  Now,
  - CONTAINS(test1, ‘abc*’) : This will search each n every word in the string and will try to match with the given pattern that is ‘abc*’ (abc followed by zero or n number of characters). It finds 3 matches. It checks 3 words individually
  - LIKE test1 ‘abc%’ : This will check for a pattern in test1 managed property. It checks the strings beginning with ‘abc’ followed by zero or n number of characters. It checks as regular expression. It doesn’t here check each word
3. Analysis from above example
  - In current example, LIKE predicate is more faster as compared to CONTAINS predicate. Better from performance point of view. We may end up concluding this most of the time.
  - BUT, there may be scenarios where both may perform similarly. It greatly depends on the pattern of data to be searched.
  - Important point is; both have been designed for different purposes; so which to be used depends on the requirement.
Analyze the difference in 2 resolution
From above discussion: We can conclude
1. Both resolutions can be used ; depend upon the pattern of search.
2. If we are sure of a particular pattern then go for LIKE predicate. Faster
3. If no particular pattern and wants to check for specific words example in fields such as Comments ; Description then choose CONTAINS Predicate.

How Page Parsing functionality in SharePoint (SPPageParseFilter) works with the constructor of a webpart

2009-06-23T07:24:00Z

About a month ago, I was working on case which from code point of view was damn simple; just a HelloWorld Webpart. But things are not so easy if they appears to be. The issue was running one single line of code in a webpart constructor; which works perfectly fine if we add in CreateChildControls(). Issue was easily reproducible; as in Initial stage we couldn’t find why it happens; I seriously thought to say to the customer as what is such a business need that he need to write in constructor itself; as CreateChildControls() will also be called always. But as we say customers drives us. With help of my Escalation Engineer Andy Li, we found what was the reason. Before, I begin to drill down , few important points to note:
Note:

Please put the sample code in the Constructor in Try…Catch block, else you won’t be able to add the webpart to the page.
It will throw ERROR: “Cannot import this webpart”. Similar to the image:

Scenario 1:
Following error is generated from the given sample code:
ERROR:
at System.Security.CodeAccessSecurityEngine.Check(Object demand, StackCrawlMark& stackMark, Boolean isPermSet)
at System.Security.CodeAccessPermission.Demand()
at System.Environment.get_MachineName()
at HelloWorldWebpart.Class1..ctor()

public class Class1 : WebPart
   {
       private string name = "";
       public Class1()
       {
           try
           {
              name = Environment.MachineName;
           }
           catch (Exception e)
           {
               System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Response.Write(e.StackTrace);
           }
       }
       protected override void CreateChildControls()
       {
           base.CreateChildControls();
           Label label1 = new Label();
           label1.Text = name;
           Controls.Add(label1);
       }

Some Initial Conclusions: Just a vague idea, may be Environment.MachineName does not works with Web application (just meant for Windows Application ). There should be something in web application related stuff. Check Scenario 2.

Scenario 2:
Following error is generated from the given sample code:
ERROR:
at System.Web.HttpServerUtility.get_MachineName() at HelloWorldWebpart.Class1..ctor()

public class Class1 : WebPart
    {
        private string name = "";
        public Class1()
        {
            try
            {
             name = System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Server.MachineName;
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Response.Write(e.StackTrace);
            }
        }
        protected override void CreateChildControls()
        {
            base.CreateChildControls();
            Label label1 = new Label();
            label1.Text = name;
            Controls.Add(label1);
        }
    }

Now, few tests to do before we jump on to root cause analysis:

Is the error shown every time once you have added the webpart? Confused what's this question. Putting other way round, add the webpart either of Scenario1 OR Scenario 2, it throws error and along with that we can see the webpart added to the page.
- Now, Exit the edit mode of the page. IS the error stack message still shown on the page? ::: NO
- Is the output of the webpart rendered that is the machine name is visible? ::: YES
In short, error comes only once at the time of adding the webpart. Not after that.::: YES
Try using the webpart given in Scenario1 OR Scenario 2 (without any modification)in the ASP.Net Webapplication. Does it WORKS? ::: YES. Any Error thrown?::: NO
Remove the lines from constructor and add to CreateChildControls() method that is remove these lines from the respective Scenario code
name = Environment.MachineName;
name = System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Server.MachineName;
and add these lines to respective CreateChildControls() method
Does it WORKS? ::: YES. Any Error thrown?::: NO
In the given sample code in Scenario 1, make the following modifications in the constructor and then check. Does it WORKS::: YES
public Class1()
        {
            try
            {
               EnvironmentPermission obj1 = new EnvironmentPermission(EnvironmentPermissionAccess.Read, "COMPUTERNAME");
                obj1.Assert();
                name = Environment.MachineName;
               obj1.Deny();
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Response.Write(e.StackTrace);
            }
        }
In the given sample code in Scenario 2, make the following modifications in the constructor and then check. Does it WORKS::: YES
public Class1()
        {
            try
            {
               AspNetHostingPermission obj1 = new AspNetHostingPermission(AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Medium);
                obj1.Assert();
                name = System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Server.MachineName;
               obj1.Deny();
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Response.Write(e.StackTrace);
            }
        }

Few questions, from these tests:

Why the error message comes just once and not always?
Why the webpart works fine with ASP.Net Web application & not with SharePoint?
Why removing the line from the constructor in the respective Scenario code and thereby adding the same line to CreateChildControls() worked? What was wrong in the constructor?
We have turn on the trust level to "Full" in the web.config file, but still the code doesn't works?
Why the code is considered as Partial Trusted code?
The webpart is added to GAC which should mean “Full Trust” ; but still the code doesn't works.
Why we require to add code to give explicit permissions for the lines in the constructor to work?

ROOT Cause Analysis:

The issue is because of the way the Page Parsing functionality works in SharePoint. In SharePoint context, the Page Parsing is done by SPPageParseFilter.
1. It ignores the security configuration (if any) & even if the DLL is in GAC. It expects the explicit permissions.
2. It considers the DLL to be Partial Trusted code though you install the assembly in GAC
Now, why it happens with the Constructor only?
1. The Page Parser (SPPageParseFilter) only access the Constructor. It does not access any other method like CreateChildControls() and those methods will be called in the page rendering only.
2. Now, the Page Parser calls the constructor and expects
  - The explicit security permission included.
  - The called assembly to allow Partially Trusted Callers.
  In case, not found throws the errors.
The reason why we see the error message just once is the Parser calls the page only once and keeps in the cache. When we do not provide any explicit permissions (just added DLL to GAC and changed the trust level in the web.config file), the parser access the constructor for the first time, it throws the error. But when the page rendering happens it does not throws the error. In the successive calls the parser doesn't comes to the picture and only the page rendering mechanism happens and it doesn't have any issues in accessing the constructor or CreateChildControls ()
Because of this behavior its always recommended to either: (especially while calling methods in constructors)
1. Explicitly provide the permissions
2. Either make the caller assembly as Allow Partially Trusted Caller OR make a Wrapper round the called assembly and thereby expose the wrapper assembly as Allow Partially Trusted Caller. Now use the wrapper assembly.

How to create list using custom list template using SharePoint object model

2009-06-20T11:36:00Z

Requirement:

I have a custom list template uploaded to the List template gallery of the site
How can I create a new list whose template is custom list template using SharePoint object model

Sample Code:

Decription: GetCustomListTemplates(...) method of SPSite object gives the collection of the custom lists.
Just a note: ListTemplates property of SPWeb object returns ONLY the OOB list templates ( as a SPListTemplateCollection). It DOES NOT include the custom list templates (which are stored in the List Template gallery on the site.)
Note:

Change the highlighted value in the below sample code appropriately.
The title column value & NOT the name column value given to the custom list template (in the List Template Gallery) needs to be used in calling methods.

SPSite osite = new SPSite("http://anjalich11:2020");
SPWeb oweb = osite.OpenWeb();
SPListTemplateCollection listtempcol = oweb.Site.GetCustomListTemplates(oweb);
oweb.Lists.Add("TestList", "This is my list ", listtempcol["TestListSTP"]);
SPList olist = oweb.Lists["TestList"];
olist.OnQuickLaunch = true;
olist.Update();
oweb.Dispose();
osite.Dispose();

How to return 301/200 for selective 404 HTTP status or in other words say URL-rewriting

2009-06-19T15:48:00Z

About a month ago, I came across an interesting request from my customer, who wanted to have render 301/200 for specific 404 pages. May be few of us are aware about URL re-writing & designing of HTTP modules; but interesting point to share here difference between 2 methods to achieve this

Issue Description:

Customer had a collection of URLs , which when we type in browser, it gives HTTP 404 Not found. The reason they are short handed URL and not the the complete URL
Example:
1. http://anjalich11:5000/TI is the URL which actually needs to be redirected to : http://anjalich11:5000/TI/Pages/default.aspx
2. Because of HTTP 404, Customer had issues with external sites which crawl these links. The crawler won’t crawl these links as it is rendered as HTTP 404
3. We want these links to be rendered as HTTP 301 “Temporarily Moved” OR mark as HTTP 301 “Successful” which will help the crawler to crawl the links

Tool Used:

The tool I used to view the HTTP requests is Fiddler. You can get it at www.fiddlertool.com

Points to NOTE :

Before we discuss about the solutions, there are few questions here: (Note: Read the 2 Scenarios and their respective fiddler test result for both the Scenarios.)

Scenario 1:

What if we want the link to be crawled?
What if we want the URL to be rendered as HTTP 200 (Success) instead of 404 (Page Not Found)
What if we want the URL to render contents of other link but for User it seems to the same link.
Example:
- User enters: http://anjalich11:4000/TI
- But the page to be processed at HTTP handler need to be changed before processing.
- Say need to render data from this page: http://anjalich11:4000/TI/Pages/default.aspx

Scenario 2:

What if we want the link to be marked as Temporarily Moved?
What if we want the URL to be rendered as HTTP 301 (Temporarily Moved) instead of 404 (Page Not Found)
What the redirection need to be mentioned dynamically rather than mentioning at IIS settings

Resolution / WorkAround

For Scenario 1:Taking Example to explain the resolution

User enters link: http://anjalich11:4000/TI
Data Rendered for the requested link is :http://anjalich11:4000/TI/Pages/default.aspx
User still sees the entered URL & he wont know that URL is been rendered/processed from some other page

Resolution For Scenario 1:

We need to create custom HTTPModule inheriting from IHttpModule for achieving URL Rewriting
Note: We need to define 2 methods: Dispose() & Init()
Depending upon the Authentication for SharePoint Site, we need to decide as which event need to be used for URL Rewriting
- If you use Windows authentication with file authorization, we will need to change this so that URL rewriting is performed in either the BeginRequest or AuthenticateRequest events
- Else we can do URL rewriting in Authorize event
I will be selecting for Begin Event.
Create an Event Handler for Begin event and register the event in the Initialize event
Writing Code for URL Rewriting:
Complete Code Snippet:

   namespace HTTPModule404To301 {
    public class HTTPModule404To301 : IHttpModule   {

        public void Dispose() {}

        public void Init(HttpApplication context) {
            context.BeginRequest += new EventHandler(URLRewriter_BeginRequest);
         }

       void URLRewriter_BeginRequest(object sender, EventArgs e) {
            HttpApplication app = (HttpApplication)sender;
            Rewrite(app.Request.Path, app);
        }

       protected void Rewrite(string requestedPath,System.Web.HttpApplication app){
                    Boolean blnRedirect ;

                    // Business Logic to connect to data repository and thereby check if the shortcut for the link exists and get the link which need to be rendered
                   if (blnRedirect)
                   {
                                     // Here, as per our example mentioned above: strUrlToBeRendered= "/TI/Pages/default.aspx"
                                     // Note: It takes Relative URL Path.
                                    HttpContext.Current.RewritePath(strUrlToBeRendered, String.Empty, String.Empty);
                   }
          }
     }
}
Test Result on FIDDLER TOOL
- When we enter http://anjalich11:4000/TI when there is no custom HTTP Module designed; we can see Value HTTP 404
- After we designed custom HTTP Module, for URL: http://anjalich11:4000/TI, we can see Value HTTP 200

For Scenario 2:Taking Example to explain the resolution

User enters link: http://anjalich11:4000/TI
We need to render to Browser as HTTP 301 "Temporarily Moved" and thereby redirect to other URL Page showing Custom Message/the content
Note: Make sure the redirected page exists

Resolution For Scenario 2:

We need to create custom HTTPModule inheriting from IHttpModule for achieving URL Rewriting
Note: We need to define 2 methods: Dispose() & Init()
Depending upon the Authentication for SharePoint Site, we need to decide as which event need to be used for URL Rewriting
- If you use Windows authentication with file authorization, we will need to change this so that URL rewriting is performed in either the BeginRequest or AuthenticateRequest events
- Else we can do URL rewriting in Authorize event
I will be selecting for Begin Event.
Create an Event Handler for Begin event and register the event in the Initialize event
Writing Code for URL Rewriting:
Complete Code Snippet:

   namespace HTTPModule404To301 {
    public class HTTPModule404To301 : IHttpModule   {

        public void Dispose() {}

        public void Init(HttpApplication context) {
            context.BeginRequest += new EventHandler(URLRewriter_BeginRequest);
         }

       void URLRewriter_BeginRequest(object sender, EventArgs e) {
            HttpApplication app = (HttpApplication)sender;
            Rewrite(app.Request.Path, app);
        }

       protected void Rewrite(string requestedPath,System.Web.HttpApplication app){
                    Boolean blnRedirect ;

                    // Business Logic to connect to data repository and thereby check if the shortcut for the link exists and get the link which need to be rendered
                   if (blnRedirect)
                   {
                                     //Adding Response header
                                  app.Response.StatusCode =301;
                                 app.Response.RedirectLocation= strRedirectLocation;
                                 app.Response.Flush();
                                 app.Response.End();
                   }
          }
     }
}
Test Result on FIDDLER TOOL
- When we enter http://anjalich11:4000/TI when there is no custom HTTP Module designed; we can see Value HTTP 404
- After we designed custom HTTP Module, for URL: http://anjalich11:4000/TI, we can see Value HTTP 301 and then there will be another entry for the redirected Page with HTTP Status 200

How to customize the table styles in content editor webpart

2009-06-17T06:13:00Z

Requirement:

How to customize the table styles in content editor webpart

Attachment:

sample.master file
CustomHtmlEditorTableFormats.css

Steps to REPRO the OOB functionality:

ADD Content Editor Webpart to your Webpart page
Click on Rich text editor in the tool pane of the webpart
Click on Insert table
You will see the check box "Apply Table template"
(Note: In case its disabled. Please follow instructions as per : http://support.microsoft.com/kb/948320)
If its enabled, Click on the check box Apply Table template
There are some predefined templates. Now, if we want to add our own table template, then how to do that? The resolution for the same is below

Resolution / WorkAround:

Browse to the location: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\TEMPLATE\LAYOUTS\1033\STYLES
Make a copy of HtmlEditorTableFormats.css (Note: DO NOT make any changes in the OOB files without using SharePoint Designer. Changing any OOB Files using Visual Studio/ text editor is not supported & recommended. )
Rename the copy to (say) CustomHtmlEditorTableFormats.css
Now, open the CustomHtmlEditorTableFormats.css in any text editor
Add your styles for table to it. Few very point points to take care:
- It should be with the below prescribed format.
- The whole set of below .css classes describes one single table format.
- We cannot change the name of the .CSS classes except the highlighted number
- The highlighted number “10” in all the below classes can be any other number. Make sure it is numeric only
Add the following bunch of .css classes in the custom css file (as created in POINT NO. 3) as per the instructions mentioned in the POINT NO. 5
.ms-rteTable-10   {
          border-width: 0px;
          border-style: none;
          border-collapse: collapse;
          font-family: Tahoma;
}
.ms-rteTable-10 tr.ms-rteTableHeaderRow-10      {
          margin: 10px;
          padding: 10px;
          color: #3F4D6B;
          background: #D6E8FF;
          text-align: left;
          font-size: 10pt;
          font-style: normal;
          font-family: Tahoma;
          text-transform: capitalize;
          font-weight: bold;
          border-spacing: 10px;
          line-height: 14pt;
          vertical-align: top;
}
.ms-rteTable-10 td.ms-rteTableHeaderFirstCol-10    {
          padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
          color: #3a4663;
          line-height: 14pt;
}
.ms-rteTable-10 td.ms-rteTableHeaderLastCol-10 {
          padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
          color: #3a4663;
          line-height: 14pt;
}
.ms-rteTable-10 td.ms-rteTableHeaderOddCol-10 {
          padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
          color: #3a4663;
          line-height: 14pt;
}
.ms-rteTable-10 td.ms-rteTableHeaderEvenCol-10
{
          padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; color: #3a4663;
          line-height: 14pt;
}
.ms-rteTable-10 tr.ms-rteTableOddRow-10 {
          color: #666666;
          background-color: #F2F3F4;
          font-size: 10pt;
          vertical-align: top;
}
.ms-rteTable-10 tr.ms-rteTableEvenRow-10   {
          color: #666666;
          background-color: #E7EBF7;
          font-size: 10pt;
          vertical-align: top;
}
.ms-rteTable-10 td.ms-rteTableFirstCol-10 {
          padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
}
.ms-rteTable-10 td.ms-rteTableLastCol-10 {padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;}
.ms-rteTable-10 td.ms-rteTableOddCol-10 {
          padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
}
.ms-rteTable-10 td.ms-rteTableEvenCol-10 {
          padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
}
.ms-rteTable-10 tr.ms-rteTableFooterRow-10     {
          background-color: #D6E8FF;
          color: #4A5A80;
          font-weight: 500;
          font-size: 10pt;
          font-family: Tahoma;
          line-height: 11pt;
}
.ms-rteTable-10 td.ms-rteTableFooterFirstCol-10 {
          padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
          border-top: solid gray 1.0pt;
          text-align: left;
}
.ms-rteTable-10 td.ms-rteTableFooterLastCol-10 {
          padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
          border-top:solid gray 1.0pt;
          text-align:left;
}
.ms-rteTable-10 td.ms-rteTableFooterOddCol-10 {
          padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
          text-align: left;
          border-top: solid gray 1.0pt;
}
.ms-rteTable-10 td.ms-rteTableFooterEvenCol-10 {
          padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
          text-align: left;
          border-top: solid gray 1.0pt;
}
Open the respective master page for the site, if default.master (open in SharePoint Designer) and if a custom master page (open either in SharePoint Designer or Visual Studio or any text editor) (Note: In case, the site is using default.master, then please make changes using SharePoint designer only. Changing default.master using Visual Studio is not supported & recommended. In case wanted to make changes using Visual Studio, then make copy of default.master and name it as (say) custom.master and now make changes
If there is any URL specific for HtmlEditorTableFormats.css, remove the link from master page. And now, attach the URL for the stylesheet CustomHtmlEditorTableFormats.css to the respective master page.
Upload the changed master page to the respective site and thereby publish & approve the changed one.
Check the table formats now in the content editor webpart.
The name of the custom table format will be: "Table Format [the number given]". In our case it will be "Table Format 10"

End Result:

How this WORKS in SharePoint:

http://www.fiddlertool.com

After we have click the RichText Editor; we are with the writ up space with many formatting options
Click on the "Insert Table". A new window opens up with table format.
This window is designed using RTE2ETable.aspx (located at ..\12\TEMPLATE\LAYOUTS)
Now, if we look at the javascript files which are been added to this page; we find 4 files of which we will drill down 2
- BForm.js (located at ..\12\TEMPLATE\LAYOUTS\1033)
- HtmlEditor.js (located at ..\12\TEMPLATE\LAYOUTS\1033)
Assumption: We clicked on "Insert Table" option & the Page: RTE2ETable.aspx opens. Now, how the table templates are build. They are build using javascript. Flow is below:
1. Calls Method: RTE2_InsertTable, when page loads(File: HtmlEditor.js)
  Description:
  - This method calls the RTE2_GetReservedTableStyleRules method
2. Method: RTE2_GetReservedTableStyleRules (File: HtmlEditor.js)
  Description:
  - This method calls RTE_GetReservedStyleRules
  - It passes the default css file for the table formats (i.e. HtmlEditorTableFormats.css) as the parameter
3. Method: RTE_GetReservedStyleRules (File: BForm.js)
  Description:
  - It gets the collection of all the stylesheets and there by calls the method: RTE_GetReservedStyleRulesFromStyleSheet for each of them in a loop
4. Method: RTE_GetReservedStyleRulesFromStyleSheet (File: BForm.js)
  Description:
  - This is the method which adds all the classes of the stylesheets into the array
  - Check out the conditional check for the prefix to be numeric in this method

How to show file/folder icons depending on the type in Content Query Webpart

2009-06-16T21:39:00Z

Requirement:

How to show file/folder icons depending on the type in Content Query Webpart

POINTS to Remember:

NOTE:

In Site Collection Features: Office SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure
In Site Features: Office SharePoint Server Publishing

Attachment:

webpart file
ItemStyle.xsl

Steps to REPRO the OOB functionality:

ADD Content Query Webpart to your Webpart page
Set the query properties to display the items from specific site or list of any content or specific content type.
The result are shown, BUT whether the shown item is doc, xls, pdf , folder or any other type is not visible.
The resolution for the same is below

Resolution / WorkAround:

There are 2 fields which determine whether its is file or folder. And if it is file then which type:
- File Type
- HTML File Type
The above field names are the Display Names. Their Internal Names are:
- File_x0020_Type
- HTML_x0020_File_x0020_Type (Note: The space is replaced by "_x0020_")
Now, add the Content query webpart to the page. (OOB webpart)
Export the webpart (by clicking on the webpart right side small arrow icon: Export)
Save the *.webpart file
Open the file in notepad
Search for word "CommonViewFields"
Change the property as below:
<property type="string" name="CommonViewFields">File_x0020_Type, Text;HTML_x0020_File_x0020_Type, Text</property>
Now, save the *.webpart file
Go the respective SharePoint Site>> Site Settings >> Click on Webpart Gallery
Now, Upload the *.webpart file . (Make sure to give Name & Title differently)
Now, open the siet in SharePoint Designer
Browse to Style Library >> XSL Style Sheets >> ItemStyle.xsl . Checkout the file
Add the following namespace to the <xsl:stylesheet> ( this is the root node) tag
xmlns:ddwrt="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WebParts/v2/DataView/runtime"
Now, append the following custom style template to the existing templates (add inside the root node of <xsl:stylesheet> )in the ItemStyle.xsl :
<xsl:template name="MyCustomStyle" match="Row[@Style='MyCustomStyle']' mode='itemstyle">
      <xsl:variable name="SafeImageUrl">
         <xsl:call-template name="OuterTemplate.GetSafeStaticUrl">
               <xsl:with-param name="UrlColumnName" select="'ImageUrl'"/>
         </xsl:call-template>
    </xsl:variable>
    <xsl:variable name="SafeLinkUrl">
             <xsl:call-template name="OuterTemplate.GetSafeLink">
                           <xsl:with-param name="UrlColumnName" select="'LinkUrl'"/>
             </xsl:call-template>
    </xsl:variable>
   <xsl:variable name="DisplayTitle">
                   <xsl:call-template name="OuterTemplate.GetTitle">
                        <xsl:with-param name="Title" select="@Title"/>
                        <xsl:with-param name="UrlColumnName" select="'LinkUrl'"/>
                  </xsl:call-template>
   </xsl:variable> <xsl:variable name="LinkTarget">
             <xsl:if test="@OpenInNewWindow = 'True'" >_blank</xsl:if>
    </xsl:variable>
     <div id="linkitem" class="item">
                <xsl:variable name="CustomVariable1">
                          <xsl:value-of select="@File_x005F_x0020_Type" />
                 </xsl:variable>
                   <xsl:choose>
                             <xsl:when test="string-length($CustomVariable1) != 0">
                                          <div class="image-area-left">
                                                   <a href="{$SafeLinkUrl}" mce_href="{$SafeLinkUrl}" target="{$LinkTarget}">
                                                              <img class="image" alt="Type:{@File_x005F_x0020_Type}" src="/_layouts/images/{ddwrt:MapToIcon(string(@HTML_x005F_x0020_File_x005F_x0020_Type),string(@File_x005F_x0020_Type))}" />
                                                  </a>
                                            </div>
                                </xsl:when>
                                <xsl:otherwise>
                                             <div class="image-area-left">
                                                           <a href="{$SafeLinkUrl}" mce_href="{$SafeLinkUrl}" target="{$LinkTarget}">
                                                                          <img class="image" src="/_layouts/images/FOLDER.GIF" alt="Type:Folder" />
                                                            </a>
                                               </div>
                                   </xsl:otherwise>
                     </xsl:choose>
                    <div class="link-item">
                                    <xsl:call-template name="OuterTemplate.CallPresenceStatusIconTemplate"/>
                                                      <a href="{$SafeLinkUrl}" mce_href="{$SafeLinkUrl}" target="{$LinkTarget}" title="{@LinkToolTip}">
                                                                       <xsl:value-of select="$DisplayTitle"/>
                                                         </a>
                                                        <div class="description">
                                                                    <xsl:value-of select="@Description" />
                                                         </div>
                      </div>
          </div>
</xsl:template>
Save the file & check in.
Now, Add the webpart (which is uploaded in Point 11) to the page
Edit the page and browse the webpart properties (Edit >> Modify Webpart)
Make sure to select appropriate values in the Query section: for List Type & Source
Open section Presentation and check for ItemStyle Field
Select the custom style name (here is "MyCustomStyle") from the dropdown
Save the changes and check the webpart.

End Result:

How to modify a DateTime value of AfterProperties in ItemUpdating/ ItemAdding Events in SharePoint

2009-06-16T04:56:00Z

Issue Description:

When you change the value of the DateTime column of Custom List in SharePoint's SPItemReceiver AfterProperties/BeforeProperties you need to set it to a specific DateTimeFormat string or else it throws the Error
Error "Invalid date/time value. A date/time field contains invalid data. Please check the value and try again."

Steps to REPRO the Issue:

Created a SharePoint Customer List
Add a new custom Column of type DateTime (Example: ApprovedTimeStamp)
Created a Feature Receiver Event Handler Assembly implementing ItemUpdating/ ItemAdding event.
(Note: EventHandler sample showing ItemUpdating code is attached in the blog)
Try to assign value to the Datetime Column of After Properties in ItemUpdating/ ItemAdding event. If you assign value either of the below mentioned way it throws Error: "Invalid date/time value. A date/time field contains invalid data. Please check the value and try again."
properties.AfterProperties["ApprovedTimeStamp"] = DateTime.Now ;    //Generates Error
properties.AfterProperties["ApprovedTimeStamp"] = DateTime.Now.ToString();    //Generates Error
properties.AfterProperties["ApprovedTimeStamp"] = new DateTime(2008, 11, 08) ;    //Generates Error
properties.AfterProperties["ApprovedTimeStamp"] = DateTime.Now.ToLongDateString();    //Generates Error
properties.AfterProperties["ApprovedTimeStamp"] = DateTime.Now.ToShortDateString();    //Generates Error

Resolution / WorkAround:
When setting a DateTime value in AfterProperties you have to convert the the DateTime to an ISO8601 string format. Either of the below mentioned line can be used to assign value to DateTime Column of Afterproperties in ItemUpdating/ ItemAdding Event:

properties.AfterProperties["ApprovedTimeStamp"] = DateTime.Now.ToString("yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ssZ"); // Works Fine
properties.AfterProperties["ApprovedTimeStamp"] = Microsoft.SharePoint.Utilities.SPUtility.CreateISO8601DateTimeFromSystemDateTime(DateTime.Now); // Works Fine

The security validation for this page is incorrect. Click Back in your Web browser, refresh the page and retry the operation

2009-06-16T03:52:00Z

Issue Description:

A custom webpart which on filling the info path form; creates a folder and a file inside the folder, in the SharePoint Document Library.
When we fill the Info Path form and submit the request ; the folder and the file is created inside the SharePoint Document Library
We then try to have the custom permissions for each item through BreakRoleInheritance .
We end up in getting ERROR: “The security validation for this page has timed out. Click Back in your Web browser, refresh the page, and try your operation again”

Root Cause: Trying to update the permissions through BreakRoleInheritance from a webpart under SPSecurity.RunwithElevatedPrivileges

Resolution / WorkAround:

SOLUTION 1:
1. Create SPSite Object
2. Add Lines: SPUtility.ValidateFormDigest(); (Note: SPUtility is found in Microsoft.Sharepoint.Utilities class)
3. Create SPWeb Object
4. Add the SPWeb.AllowUnsafeUpdates = true ;
  
  /* The code which contains the permissions managing through BreakRoleInheritance */
  
  Add the SPWeb.AllowUnsafeUpdates = false;

SOLUTION 2:

Re- Add the line : SPWeb.AllowUnsafeUpdates = true AFTER Item.BreakRoleInheritance(true) is added.
REASON: The call to method BreakRoleInheritance makes the SPWeb.AllowUnsafeUpdates= false internally. So now, if we do any updates; it causes the error. So we need to re-add the lines to make the AllowUnsafeUpdates to true for SPWeb object

The maximum limit for the length of the QueryText property of FullTextSqlQuery is 4096 characters.

2009-06-16T02:43:00Z

Requirement:

I was working on case, where Customer's business requirement was to have the length of the QueryText property of FullTextSqlQuery to be UNLIMITED.

Troubleshooting:

Moment the code touches the limit of about 4093 it throws the error
Error: Specified argument was out of range of valid values; _COMPlusExceptionCode -532459699
Occurs When: Error comes when trying to assign the string value to the QueryText property itself.
Took help from our Escalation engineer Nishandv, to know the exact hard-code limit (if any) in SharePoint for QueryText property of FullTextSqlQuery object

Resolution / WorkAround:

When using FullTextSqlQuery objects for search; make sure the length of the QueryText Property do not exceed 4096 characters

Reference :

Nishand's blog for reference: http://blogs.msdn.com/nishand/archive/2008/10/02/fulltextsqlquery-with-querytext-length-gt-4096-throws-argumentoutofrange-exception.aspx