Because building it just got easier!

What's the deal with Windows SharePoint Server (WSS 3.0) and Microsoft Office SharePoint Services?Lynn Langit and I are doing a webcast series on Windows SharePoint 3.0 as a platform for developers and looking at the tools and technologies available for customizing portals and sites.

In April we are on Mondays, but it looks like May we will be switching to a Friday format. As always I will post the links and code as they become available. Here is our schedule so far:

New Stuff!

• 3/6/2008 - Part 13 - Customizing SharePoint: Ever wondered how you can use SharePoint but have your own custom look and feel? In this webcast we will look at the site customization techniques of creating custom MasterPages, Themes and Layouts to give your web site your own look and feel.
• 3/13/2008 - Part 14 - SharePoint and Authentication: In this  session we cover the basics and how to use the Authentication and Membership Providers. We look at creating a custom provider and CardSpace can be used to login to your SharePoint site. This session will look at the advanced tools available in IIS 7.0 for configuring and deploying SharePoint.
• 3/20/2008 - Part 15 - SharePoint and AJAX: Explore the world of modern web development techniques by looking at how Microsoft’s AJAX library and SharePoint can be used together to deliver compelling user experience. In this webcast we show the various approaches to integrating AJAX in WSS 3.0 and then cover what’s improved in sp1.
• 3/27/2008 - Part 16 - SharePoint and SilverLight: Rich User Experience is getting easier to create with the release of Silverlight. In this session we show how Silverlight takes advantage of XAML and provides an easy way to build compelling user interfaces. We will demonstrate using the 1.0 version of Silverlight as well as what’s new in 2.0 that allows the developer and designer to collaborate to build exciting new applications.

Links to the original 12 webcasts:

• Part 1 – SharePoint for Developers 4/13/2007 1 pm PST: Join the first webcast of this four-part series to find out what you need to know about Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 as a developer. We cover the basics of SharePoint Server 2007, and we show how you can use this new product to simplify collaboration, development, and management of your software projects. Learn what it takes to set up SharePoint Server 2007, customize the master pages, and how you can use other tools to develop custom applications. Attend this session to discover compelling reasons for choosing the new 2007 Microsoft Office system and SharePoint Server 2007 for your solution development needs.
• Part 2 – SharePoint Designer 2007 4/16/2006 1 pm PST: There are many tools to choose from for developing Web sites; in this second installment of our series, we look at Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007, a new product for creating standards-based Web sites. See how you can build powerful applications on the Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies platform to enhance your productivity and deliver rich-looking sites. Join this session to learn how you can use SharePoint Designer 2007 to take advantage of Microsoft ASP.NET version 2.0, Web Parts, and integration with SharePoint Products and Technologies.
• Part 3 – Migrating to SharePoint 4/23/2006 1 pm PST: Do you have a portal site that you would like to host in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services? In this third installment of our series on Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies for developers, see what is involved in the process of moving a portal site to Windows SharePoint Services. Topics we cover include: using Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 to customize the master page, creating new content types, and working with workflow.
• Part 4 – SharePoint and Access 2007 4/30/2007 1 pm PST: So far in this webcast series, we covered how Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies serve as powerful collaboration tools. In this final session, we take a look at how Microsoft Office Access 2007 integrates with Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services. Join this session to learn how Access 2007, the popular data management application, and Windows SharePoint Services enable you to centralize and simplify data management, and share data across your organization.
• Part 5 – SharePoint and Workflow 5/11/2007 1 pm PST: In this webcast, we discuss the ability to use, update, and create custom workflows that you can employ in your Windows SharePoint Services site. We show the built-in workflow capabilities in Windows SharePoint Services, and we also demonstrate what customizations are available. In addition, we describe how to use Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 to open, view, and modify included workflows. We conclude the presentation with a detailed demonstration of the capabilities of the Workflow Designer in SharePoint Designer 2007.
• Part 6 – SharePoint and Content Types 5/18/2007 1 pm PST:  Join this webcast as we review the concept of content types as they relate to Windows SharePoint Services sites. We explain the default (included) content types first. We then discuss why you may want to update the built-in content types or create your own. We also demonstrate how to create custom content types and provide several business examples of why and where you might wish to do this. We conclude this session by showing some of the newly created content types in action on a Windows SharePoint Services site.
• Part 7 – SharePoint and Forms Services 5/25/2007 1 pm PST:  In this webcast, we explore Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 as a form tool and describe how you can host forms centrally via the InfoPath Forms Services feature of Windows SharePoint Services version 3.0. We provide an overview of InfoPath 2007, demonstrating both how to customize an included template form and how to create a custom form that connects to Microsoft SQL Server. Next, we illustrate how to configure the Windows SharePoint Services administrative Web site, which is required to set up appropriate permissions (and other settings) to use InfoPath Forms Services.
• Part 8 – SharePoint and the Business Data Catalog 6/1/2007 10 am PST: Join this webcast as we explain the concepts surrounding the Business Data Catalog (BDC), a new business integration feature in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. We demonstrate the use of an application definition file (ADF) to create the connection between your Windows SharePoint Services site and a custom data source, and we show you how to use an ADF creation tool. Learn to use BDC-derived data with included Web parts, such as the filtering Web part. We conclude this webcast with a discussion of the various ways we have worked with the BDC in production.
• Part 9 – Web Parts and Work Flows 6/8/2007 10 am PST: In this webcast, we discuss and demonstrate the creation of Web parts and workflows for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. We use Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for Windows SharePoint Services and the Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.0 workflow extensions to customize and create both Web parts and workflows. Join us to learn about the concept of features as they relate to SharePoint Server 2007 Web Parts.
• Part 10 – Sites and Templates 6/15/2007 10 am PST: In this webcast, we dive into how the Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for Windows SharePoint Services can enable you to take Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 even further. We start with an overview of project types and show how you can add event handlers, site definitions, and more into your tool belt. We look at creating site templates and master pages for SharePoint Server 2007, and we provide an example of how to customize and replace templates
• Part 11 – SharePoint and Business Intelligence 6/22/2007 10 am PST: In this webcast, we discuss business intelligence (BI) (advanced reporting) integration with your Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Web site. We demonstrate configuration of Excel Services in SharePoint Server 2007, key performance indicators (KPIs), and more. We use the Report Center template and show you how you can easily integrate line-of-business (LOB) data into your site
• Part 12 – Developing SharePoint Workflows 7/6/2007 10 am PST: Windows SharePoint Services provides excellent facilities for working with business processes. In this "webcast by request," we review the workflow development processes associated with Windows SharePoint Services. We look at the included workflows, modifying workflows in Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007, and creating and modifying workflows in the Microsoft Visual Studio development system