dwinter's [MSFT] WebLog : Site Definitions

How does SPSPORTAL provision without a folder?

dwinter — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 23:01:00 GMT

After seeing the templateID detail (http://blogs.msdn.com/dwinter/archive/2006/07/07/659613.aspx) varkalav wanted to know since there is no SPSPORTAL folder in the 12\TEMPLATE\SiteTemplates folder, how does it map...   Here is my response:

Just follow the path that the product does. When we load, we deserialize all of the information in the webtemp*.xml files. This truely is the starting point for templates. Let's follow the path together for the item in question:

\12\TEMPLATE\1033\XML\webtempsps.xml:
================================
<Template Name="SPSPORTAL" ID="47">
    <Configuration ID="0" Title="Collaboration Portal" Type="0" Hidden="FALSE" ImageUrl="/_layouts/1033/images/template_corp_intranet.png" Description="A starter site hierarchy for an intranet divisional portal. It includes a home page, a News site, a Site Directory, a Document Center, and a Search Center with Tabs. Typically, this site has nearly as many contributors as readers and is used to host team sites."
ProvisionAssembly="Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing, Version=12.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c" ProvisionClass="Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing.PortalProvisioningProvider" ProvisionData="SiteTemplates\\WebManifest\\PortalWebManifest.xml"
      RootWebOnly="TRUE" DisplayCategory="Publishing" VisibilityFeatureDependency="97A2485F-EF4B-401f-9167-FA4FE177C6F6">
    </Configuration>
</Template>

The key item here is to notice the ProvisionData attribute. So lets take a look at
\12\TEMPLATE\SiteTemplates\WebManifest\portalwebmanifest.xml:
=================================================
<portal xmlns="PortalTemplate.xsd">
    <web name="Home" siteDefinition="SPS" displayName="$Resources:spscore,PortalManifest_Home_DisplayName;" description="$Resources:spscore,PortalManifest_Home_Description;">
        <webs>
        .
        .
        .

It then goes on to define the subwebs, but what you'll see here is that the root is actually defined with the SPS site definition. That is why you don't see a SPSPORTAL folder--because we are using the SPS folder. Do keep in mind however that as we have ProvisionData, we also have a ProvisionClass driving the provisioning of this definition. So its not as simple as "we just use the SPS Site definition. In Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing.PortalProvisioningProvider, there is specific internal code driving many other actions that take place as a part of provisioning a SPSPORTAL site.

Changing the CreateSite page

dwinter — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:56:00 GMT

After seeing the templateID detail (http://blogs.msdn.com/dwinter/archive/2006/07/07/659613.aspx) ChrisF wanted to know if there was an ID associated with the Custom Tab that shows up on the Create New Page.  He was trying to make that tab the default tab that shows up. Here is my response:

If you look at ...\12\TEMPLATE\ADMIN\createsite.aspx, you'll see that dialog is simply represented by:
    <wssuc:TemplatePickerControl id="InputFormTemplatePickerControl" runat="server" ShowSubWebOnly="false" ShowCustomTemplates="false" />
Look at the definition of wssuc:TemplatePickerControl in the Register directives at the top of the page and you'll find that it is comming from ~/_controltemplates/TemplatePickerControl.ascx. Go open that (its in: ...\12\TEMPLATE\CONTROLTEMPLATES) and you'll see this:
<input type="hidden" ID="HiddenSelectedCategory" value="" runat="server"/>
You might think that you could make this something like:
<input type="hidden" ID="HiddenSelectedCategory" value="Publishing" runat="server"/>
however, the hidden tag is used only on postback--so it won't help you on page load.

Your only real answer here is to use querystrings on the inbound URL. If you browse to createsite.aspx with a DisplayCategory querystring, the control will filter. For example:
http://server:centraladmin/_admin/createsite.aspx?DisplayCategory=Publishing
Alternatively, if you browse to createsite.aspx with an ID querystring, the control will also filter. For example:
http://server:centraladmin/_admin/createsite.aspx?ID=2
will just show MPS configurations, and:
http://server:centraladmin/_admin/createsite.aspx?ID=47
will show the Collaboration Portal as the only choice.

Now your next question (and what ChrisF was getting at) is--how do I make the UI do this? The answer, edit the ...\12\TEMPLATE\FEATURES\AdminLinks\Applications.xml
Look for CreateSite, you will see:
       <UrlAction
           Url="/_admin/createsite.aspx" />
Make this (for example):
       <UrlAction
           Url="/_admin/createsite.aspx?DisplayCategory=Publishing" />

Save it and refresh the page. You'll see the link is now updated.
Now I have to throw out the disclaimer that this modification may need to be redone/removed with a servicepack, hotfix, or upgrade to o14 (make sure you let CSS know you made this change if you call with an issue with Central Admin).  However, if you decide to accept the risk associated with this kind of change, yes you can make it happen.

Updated templateID Info for SharePoint 2007

dwinter — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 05:16:00 GMT

v3 has some different template info, and as I'm sure more and more folks will be looking at customization in SharePoint 2007, I thought I'd lay out what the Microsoft templates are so that you don't end up creating any custom ones using our templateIDs.

Here's the list:
ID - FOLDER (extra info) - Configurations

    0 - GLOBAL (SetupPath=global) - "Global template"
    1 - STS - "windows SharePoint Services Site", "Team Site", "Blank Site", "Document Workspace"
    2 - MPS - "Basic Meeting Workspace", "Blank Meeting Workspace", "Decision Meeting Workspace", "Social Meeting Workspace", "Multipage Meeting Workspace"
    3 - CENTRALADMIN - "Central Admin Site"
    4 - WIKI - "Wiki Site"
    7 - BDR - "Document Center"
    9 - BLOG - "Blog"
   20 - SPS (OBSOLETE) - "SharePoint Portal Server Site"
   21 - SPSPERS - "SharePoint Portal Server Personal Space"
   22 - SPSMSITE - "Personalization Site"
   30 - SPSTOC (OBSOLETE) - "Contents area Template"
   31 - SPSTOPIC (OBSOLETE) - "Topic area template"
   32 - SPSNEWS (OBSOLETE) - "News area template"
   33 - SPSNHOME (SubWebOnly) - "News Home template"
   34 - SPSSITES - "Site Directory area template"
   36 - SPSCOMMU (OBSOLETE) - "Community area template"
   38 - SPSREPORTCENTER - "Report Center Site"
   39 - CMSPUBLISHING (SetupPath=SiteTemplates\PUBLISHING) - "Publishing and Team Collaboration Site"
   40 - OSRV (SetupPath=SiteTemplates\OSRV) - "Shared Services Administration Site"
   47 - SPSPORTAL - "Corporate Intranet Site"
   50 - SRCHCEN - "Search Center"
   51 - PROFILES - "Profiles"
   52 - BLANKINTERNETCONTAINER - "Internet Presence Web Site"
   53 - BLANKINTERNET - "Publishing Site", "Press Releases Site", "Publishing Site"
   54 - SPSMSITEHOST - "My Site Host"
   90 - SRCHCENTERLITE (SetupPath=SiteTemplates\SRCHCENTERLITE) - "Search Center Lite"
6221 - PWA (SetupPath=SiteTemplates\PWA) - "Project Web Access Site"
6215 - PWS (SetupPath=SiteTemplates\PWS) - "Project Workspace"
14483 - OFFILE - "Records Repository", "Records Repository"

Hopefully this will be of some use to someone.  Do keep in mind that most things you would consider doing in SharePoint 2007 that you would have required editing Site Definitions in SharePoint 2003 can now be done using features and even solutions. The global template even allows for "stapler" features to be applied across all existing templates, although most things like custom lists/etc would be added simply with a "staplee" feature.

Updated statement from Microsoft on custom site definitions

dwinter — Thu, 12 May 2005 17:40:00 GMT

http://support.microsoft.com/Default.aspx?id=898631

Here's the meat, I have highlighted the key points:

Supported scenarios

When you work with custom site definitions or custom area definitions, the following scenarios are supported:

•

To create a custom site definition or a custom area definition, you copy an existing site definition or an existing area definition, and then you rename and modify the new site definition or the new area definition. For more information about this supported method, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/spptsdk/html/tsptCustomExistingWebTemplate_SV01017467.asp?frame=true

•

You modify the .xml files and the .aspx files in a custom site definition or in a custom area definition before you create new sites or new portal areas by using the custom site definition or the custom area definition.

•

You deploy the custom site definition or the custom area definition. That is, you create new sites or new portal areas by using the custom site definition or the custom area definition. To modify the new sites or the new portal areas that you created, you use one or more of the following three supported methods:

•	You modify the site or the portal area by using the user interface in SharePoint Portal Server 2003 or in Windows SharePoint Services.
•	You programmatically modify the site or the portal area by using the SharePoint Portal Server object model or the Windows SharePoint Services object model.
•	You modify the site or the portal area by using Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003.

Note These three methods are also supported methods to use if you want to modify the Default.aspx page in the portal site. Microsoft does not support using other methods to modify the Default.aspx page in the portal site.

Unsupported scenarios

When you work with custom site definitions or custom area definitions, the following scenarios are not supported:

•	You modify one of the default site definitions or one of the default area definitions that are included in SharePoint Portal Server 2003 or in Windows SharePoint Services. Microsoft does not support modifying the default set of site definitions or area definitions that are installed when you installed Windows SharePoint Services and SharePoint Portal Server 2003. Additionally, Microsoft does not support modifying the .xml files or the .aspx files in the default site definition or in the default area definition.
•	You modify a custom site definition or a custom area definition after you deploy the custom site definition or the custom area definition. Microsoft does not support modifying a custom site definition or a custom area definition after you create a new site or a new portal area by using that site definition or area definition. Additionally, Microsoft does not support modifying the .xml files or the .aspx files in the custom site definition or in the custom area definition after you deploy the custom site definition or the custom area definition.
•	You modify the Webtemp.xml file or the Webtempsps.xml file that is located in the following folder: Drive:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\60\Template\LCID\XML With one exception, Microsoft does not support modifying the Webtemp.xml file or the Webtempsps.xml file. The exception is the Webtemp.xml file. Microsoft supports modifying the Webtemp.xml file only if you want to hide a specific template. To hide a specific template, you modify the Hidden parameter of that template in the Webtemp.xml file.

Fun with TemplateIDs in SharePoint

dwinter — Fri, 25 Feb 2005 07:06:00 GMT

Today I'm taking a slight break from direct coding examples to introduce a simple topic which will be useful later when I write about customizations in SharePoint. Don't fret though, I'll be writing about Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal next week for those of you just reading this for code.

In SharePoint, both lists and sites have the capability of being saved as a template. You can view already saved lists in the List Template Gallery and already saved Sites in the Site Template Gallery. When you do save a list or a site you are presented with a link to the appropriate gallery afterward. You must go to the gallery to get a copy of that tempalte if you would like to save it to your filesystem in order to transport it elsewhere. These templates have the extension of STP once you save them.

I sometimes see STP Templates confused with what is known as site definitions. This is simply because site definitions are stored on the filesystem of the server under a folder called TEMPLATES. These two things are in NO WAY the same. They are however used together since STP Templates are essentially the delta, or difference between a specific site definition and what the site was when it was saved as an STP Template. Think of the STP Template as paint without a canvas. Think of the site definition as the canvas without the paint. Put the two together, and you no longer have something everyone has, you have something unique that you have created. This is not to say that you can't take a copy of your paint and put it on someone elses canvas (because their templateID number happens to be the same), but it would not truely be a copy of the original and their canvas may have some holes in it. I will be writing much about site definitions in later entries (its one of my favorite topics of discussion).

For the purpose of following along with this blog, I would encourage you to save a list and a site as a template, and then save them out of their galleries to your filesystem. Once you have them saved, rename the STP files so that they have the extension of CAB. In the CAB file, you will find a MANIFEST.XML file. You may see some other files, which you can ignore for now.

Open the MANIFEST.XML file in IE and let it render. Near the top, you will see a TemplateID. It looks like this:

You will see the TemplateID defined in both your saved Site Template and your saved List Template.

The slightly interesting thing about this is that neither of the templates are truely a "template" all by themselves. The templateID acts as a pointer. In the List Template, the template ID is pointing to the specific list definition (which is also defined in the XML) within the site definition identified by that same number. In the Site Template, the template ID is simply pointing to a specific site definition in its entirety. What the heck do I mean by all this you might be asking...

To really answer this, you have to look at some of the basics of site definitions. Here is a picture from one of my WSS only servers of my TEMPLATE\1033 folder (1033 for english of course--I have since installed the Swedish template language pack, so on my server I have a 1053 folder as well).

Note that the 1033 Template has MPS, STS, and XML. The MPS and STS have a LISTS folder with a variety of recognizable list types.
MPS stands for meeting site, STS stands for team site. XML is where the WEBTEMP.XML (and others) are stored to configure the site definition.

Here's the XML folder:

I specifically mentioned the WEBTEMP.XML because this ties together the initial structure of the site definition. When we start up IIS we will look in the various template\<LANG>\XML folders for WEBTEMP*.XML and read their config into memory (SharePoint Portal adds a WEBTEMPSPS.XML if you're paying close attention you may have noted that...). Here's what we read on the default WEBTEMP.XML:

Notice how the <Template Name is set to the corresponding folder names (these are in CAPS) in the TEMPLATE\1033 folder. The ID number in this configuration file is what the templateID I spoke of earlier is associated with.

So if you save a document library (which yes, is a list) as a template and it has templateID of 1, you know it is sourcing the TEMPLATE\1033\STS\LISTS\DOCLIB files. Keep in mind that when you render the document library, you will be viewing a composite of the site definition and your "delta" together. The saved list as a STP Template is simply the "delta". If you truely wanted a copy of a list or site using templates, you need to copy the appropriate site definition as well.

One of the things to know now that you have all this in your head is that you can't take a list based on one templateID and use it in a site based on another templateID. You would be able to import the template and see it in the gallery, but you would not see it on the create list unless the templateID of that imported list item matches the site's templateID that the gallery is within.

This is quite a process to go through though just to look at what the value of templateID is however... so here's a trick for you.
If you modify the list gallery, you can add additional collumns to the list and view what templateID the list was originated from (much easier). So if you're unsure what your site is, simply save a list--modify the view in your List Template Gallery and you'll get your templateID number.

List deleted error

dwinter — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 08:23:00 GMT

Ran into an error where when you browse a custom list for the first time after an iisreset the list would show an error message noting that it has been deleted such as The list or view of a list that is referenced here no longer exists.. If you simply refresh the page the list is there and usable until the worker process resets.

After some investigation, it all came back to the customized schema.xml file for the custom list. This is IMHO a perfect time to remind folks making custom lists that they really need to follow the schema.xml definition on http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/spptsdk/html/tscamlovSCHEMA_SV01084512.asp

The specific problem with the customized schema.xml in this case was that the toolbar element was not there at all.

In short, if you have problems like what I described--consider revisiting your schema.xml, make sure it includes what MSDN documents as required and reprovision your list object.

I will be making some additional blog entires at a later time dealing with site customization, best practices, attempt to make supportibility more clear, etc. This is a large topic for me--so I'll be posting information out a little at a time.