SharePoint Content and Resources

SharePoint 2010 (Beta) Developer Center is now live!

2009-10-19T18:45:00Z

Hello SharePoint Developers!

Along with the many announcements today at the SharePoint Conference in Las Vegas, I also wanted to follow with a big announcement for SharePoint developers:

The SharePoint 2010 (Beta) Developer Center is now LIVE on MSDN!
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee514561.aspx

Included in the launch of the SharePoint Developer Center is a Getting Started subsite + 2 essential Resource Centers:

Upgrade Resource Center
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee514557.aspx

Start planning for your upgrade to SharePoint 2010 today! The public Beta will be available in November, 2009. Stay tuned to this blog for more information...

Community Resource Center
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee633451.aspx

Including the all-new SharePoint 2010 general forum. There will be a developer-focused forum closer to the public Beta of SharePoint 2010.

Getting Started Developing on SharePoint 2010
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee513147.aspx

This subsite contains 10 Modules, targeted toward .Net developers new to SharePoint, for working with the following development platform features in SharePoint 2010:

Module 1: Getting Started Building Web Parts in SharePoint 2010

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee513148.aspx

Module 2: What Developers Need to Know About SharePoint 2010

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee513149.aspx

Module 3: Building Blocks for Web Part Development in SharePoint 2010

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee513150.aspx

Module 4: Accessing SharePoint 2010 Data with Server-Side APIs

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee513151.aspx

Module 5: Accessing SharePoint 2010 Data with Client-Side APIs

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee513152.aspx

Module 6: Accessing External Data with Business Connectivity Services in SharePoint 2010

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee513153.aspx

Module 7: Developing Business Processes with SharePoint 2010 Workflows

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee513154.aspx

Module 8: Creating Silverlight User Interfaces for SharePoint 2010 Solutions

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee513155.aspx

Module 9: Sandboxed Solutions for Web Parts in SharePoint 2010

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee513156.aspx

Module 10: Creating Dialogs and Ribbon Controls for SharePoint 2010

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee513157.aspx

See Also

http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepointdeveloperdocs/archive/2009/10/19/SharePoint2010BetaDevDocsLive.aspx - the SharePoint Developer Documentation team blog
http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2009/10/19/sharepoint-2010.aspx - Jeff Teper’s excellent overview of new features in SharePoint 2010
http://twitter.com/sharepointdev - Follow me on twitter!

We've got so much more content planned for you in the Beta timeframe, so please stay tuned! Keep sending us feedback--we are listening and responding to your requests!

SharePoint 2010 Sneak Peak Now Available!

2009-07-13T20:19:00Z

Cross-posting from Paul Andrew's blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/pandrew/archive/2009/07/13/sharepoint-2010-sneak-peek.aspx

There are sneak peak videos on this site for Developers and IT Professionals, as well as a general overview of SharePoint 2010: http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/2010/Sneak_Peek/Pages/default.aspx

Here's a direct link to the Developer sneak peak video: http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/2010/Sneak_Peek/Pages/Developer-Video.aspx

SharePoint SDK 1.5 (April 2009) Released!

2009-05-01T21:28:00Z

Greetings, SharePoint Developers!

We are excited to announce the availability of the latest updates to the online MSDN Library + the downloadable SDKs for both MOSS 2007 and WSS 3.0!

The April 2009 (1.5) Update is available both online and as a download.

> Download the MOSS SDK 1.5 <

> View the MOSS SDK 1.5 Documentation on MSDN <

> Download the WSS SDK 1.5 <

> View the WSS SDK 1.5 Documentation on MSDN <

Which SDK do I need to download?

If you are only writing code that utilizes the Windows SharePoint Services platform, you can download the WSS SDK. However, if you want the superset of all documentation and samples, you should install the MOSS SDK, and then you’ll get all the platform information as well. You don’t need to download both, but you will need to uninstall all previous versions before installing.

Note The SDK 1.5 downloads are full releases that include all previous tools and documentation.

What’s New in this release?

The SDK updates in 1.5 include:

New version of the Microsoft Business Data Catalog Definition Editor tool

Bug fixes for field truncation issues and parameter limits.

· Updated documentation files:
What’s New in the MOSS SDK 1.5 Documentation
What’s New in the WSS SDK 1.5 Documentation

While you’re updating your SharePoint development tools…

You can also update the Visual Studio Extensions for SharePoint Services. Here is the link to the latest CTP: Visual Studio 2008 extensions for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, v1.3 - Mar 2009 CTP. The extensions were updated on 3/17/2009.

Don’t forget to download the user’s guide: version 1.1

Please keep sending us feedback!

We want to make sure you have all the information you expect to find in the SDK. Please reply to this blog entry with comments if you have a request. And don't forget to use the Community Content Wiki on MSDN to annotate the SDK documentation online with your own insights or additional code samples, remarks, etc. Just look toward the bottom of each page online or click the Add Content... button in the top-level menu on MSDN Library pages.

SharePoint Developer Best Practices Resource Center now LIVE on MSDN!

2009-04-06T17:15:00Z

We have compiled a list of best practices for everything from working with SharePoint Lists to disposing SharePoint Objects, from writing SQL syntax queries for relevant Search results to developing Workflow solutions. Also, you can quickly access the latest information from patterns & practices specific to SharePoint, all in a one-stop shop! http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/dd638301.aspx

Send us feedback about what else you'd like to see SharePoint Best Practices written for, and we will maintain this page as a living document of best practices guidance.

Thank You, SharePoint MVPs!

2009-03-03T01:20:00Z

The MVP Summit is in full force this week, and the SharePoint Developer Documentation Team would like to take a moment to recognize all the outstanding contributions our SharePoint MVPs have made to MSDN since Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 & Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 shipped.

Here is a list of Visual How-to screencasts, book excerpts, and technical articles we have published with our Most Valuable Publishing partners! The list totals more than 50 pieces of content, with more lined up to publish in the coming months!

I look back over the past year, and I am saddened by the loss of a colleague and friend, Patrick Tisseghem. We all miss him.

MSDN Technical Articles

Technical Articles are one of our most popular content types on MSDN. They are usually scenario-based and walk people end-to-end through a typical developer task, sometimes in a 2- or 3-part article series.

MVP Name	Title and Link	Date Published
Andrew Connell	Approaches to Creating Master Pages and Page Layouts in SharePoint Server 2007	February 2009
	Finding Developer Help for SharePoint Products and Technologies	December 2008
	Implementing a Brand in a SharePoint Server 2007 Publishing Site	November 2008
	Prescriptive Guidance for SharePoint Server 2007 Web Content Management Sites	October 2008
	Creating Custom Timer Jobs in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	April 2008
	Understanding and Creating Customized and Uncustomized Files in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	April 2008
David Mann	Workflow Scalability and Performance in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	February 2009
	Delivering Modular SharePoint Workflow Functionality (Part 1 of 2)	June 2008
Patrick Tisseghem	Development Tools and Techniques for Working with Code in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 (Part 1 of 2)	June 2007
	Customizing and Branding Web Content Management-Enabled SharePoint Sites (Part 1 of 3)	October 2006
Scot Hillier	Integrating External Document Repositories with SharePoint Server 2007	February 2009
Wouter van Vugt	Creating a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Custom Field by Using the EntityPicker	August 2008

Visual How-to Screencasts

A Visual How-to is a short (about 5 – 10 minute) screencast centered on a How-to task. There is a code sample, a video, an article explaining the code, and links to more information. We look forward to creating more of these in the future and getting more folks involved!

MVP Name	Title and Link	Date Published
Andrew Connell	Automating Solution Package Creation for Windows SharePoint Services by Using MSBuild	April 2008
	Configuring Multiple Authentication Mechanisms with Alternate Access Mappings in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	April 2008
	Adding Code-Behind Files to Master Pages and Content Pages in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	March 2008
	Creating, Deploying, and Debugging Custom Timer Jobs in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	March 2008
	Adding Code-Behind Files to Master Pages and Page Layouts in SharePoint Server 2007	January 2008
	Adding Custom Quick Access Buttons to the Page Editing Toolbar in SharePoint Server 2007	January 2008
Patrick Tisseghem	Creating Workflow Association Pages for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	February 2008
	Using Smart Clients to Communicate with Workflows in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	February 2008
	Customizing Search Results with Custom XSLTs in SharePoint Server 2007	December 2007
	Building Custom Activities for Use in SharePoint Designer 2007	July 2007
	Building Simple Custom Approval Workflows with InfoPath 2007 Forms	July 2007
	Creating Search Queries Programmatically by Using the Search Object Model in SharePoint Server 2007	July 2007
	Creating Search Queries Programmatically by Using the Search Web Service in SharePoint Server 2007	July 2007
	Exposing Enterprise Search in SharePoint Server 2007 by Using Internet Explorer 7 and the Office Research Pane	July 2007
	Creating a Custom Search Page and Tabs in the Search Center of SharePoint Server	April 2007
	Creating and Exposing Managed Properties in the Advanced Search Page of SharePoint Server Enterprise Search	April 2007
	Creating and Exposing Search Scopes in SharePoint Server 2007 Enterprise Search	April 2007
	Creating Content Sources to Crawl Business Data in SharePoint Server 2007 Enterprise Search	April 2007
Ted Pattison	Activating Auditing Programmatically for a Single Document Library in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	May 2007
	Activating Auditing Programmatically for a Site Collection in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	May 2007
	Configuring IntelliSense with CAML Files When Developing for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	May 2007
	Creating an Application Page in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	May 2007
	Creating a Custom HttpHandler in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	May 2007
	Creating a Feature for an Entry Control Block Item in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	May 2007
	Creating a Feature for the Site Actions Menu in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	May 2007
	Creating a Solution Package in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	May 2007
	Creating a Visual Studio Project for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	May 2007
	Displaying Data by Using the SPGridView Control in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	May 2007
	Reading Entries from the Audit Log in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	May 2007
	Reading ListId and ItemId from an Application Page in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	May 2007
	Running Commands with Elevated Privileges in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	May 2007
	Writing Custom Entries to the Audit Log in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	May 2007

Book Excerpts

We have a way of publishing one or two chapters from several book publishers, including Microsoft Press and Wrox, among others.

MVP Name(s)	Title and Link	Date Published
John Holliday, John Alexander, Eli Robillard, Brendon Schwartz, Matt Ranlett, J. Dan Attis, Adam Buenz	Chapter 8: Building Personalized Solutions from the book Professional SharePoint 2007 Development	February 2009
Andrew Connell	Chapter 14: Authoring Experience Extensibility from the book Professional SharePoint 2007 Web Content Management Development: Building Publishing Sites with Office SharePoint Server 2007	August 2008
Andrew Connell	Chapter 20: Incorporating ASP.NET 2.0 Applications from the book Professional SharePoint 2007 Web Content Management Development: Building Publishing Sites with Office SharePoint Server 2007	August 2008
Ted Pattison and Daniel Larson	Chapter 2: SharePoint Architecture (Part 1 of 2) from the book Inside Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	November 2007
Ted Pattison and Daniel Larson	Chapter 3: Pages and Design (Part 1 of 2) from the book Inside Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	November 2007

Call for Content

Want to help contribute? Please post a comment to this entry or start following me on twitter: http://twitter.com/sharepointdev, where you can send direct messages.

Thanks again for all your contributions!
Randall

@sharepointdev: My First Week on Twitter

2008-10-23T22:29:00Z

I signed up for a twitter account last week under the alias @sharepointdev: http://twitter.com/sharepointdev.

The inspiration came from an NPR segment about companies using twitter to monitor tweets about their products or brands (e.g., Comcast). I thought about it a while and I came to the conclusion that this was an ideal way for me to monitor forum activity because I often don't have time to read and respond to MSDN Forum postings because of my busy schedule. But with only 140 characters, I can usually point people in the right direction and get them unstuck when they choose to write a post related to "SharePoint" or other keywords I search for and monitor. Having worked with the SharePoint product team for over 5 years, I am also in a unique position where I sometimes know just enough information about a wide variety of issues.

The Verdict
I was really happy with my first week on twitter and what I learned or helped people with. I picked up over 30 followers, and I even got looped into some conversations back and forth related to something that might have otherwise been a source of frustration (e.g., updates and patches) for some of the folks out there looking for help. I am thinking of twitter as an open forum where I can take the pulse of where SharePoint users are asking for guidance.

Here is an overview of where I pointed people over the course of the last week. I saw one issue come up twice (Excel Services), and overall I was able to answer several questions using existing resources on MSDN and TechNet:

@niphal: Here is an Office Online page with an introduction to SharePoint Designer and its features/capabilities: http://tinyurl.com/5k7qe5 about 17 hours ago from web in reply to niphal
@jmMcL: Have you tried creating a new view (do you have permissions to)? What are the current settings of your list? about 22 hours ago from web in reply to jmMcL
@top_book: You can also preview chapters 2 and 3 [of Inside Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 by Ted Pattison] online on MSDN: http://tinyurl.com/5ml9nt 12:50 PM yesterday from web in reply to top_book
@JDWade: We appreciate the feedback and the suggestions; I passed these along to the TechNet site manager and will follow you from now on! 12:36 PM Oct 21st from web in reply to JDWade
@travelingdarren: SharePoint Performance and Capacity Planning Resource Center on TechNet: http://tinyurl.com/5zqc4t 12:10 PM Oct 21st from web in reply to travelingdarren
@JDWade: The Updates Resource Center on TechNet is intended to guide SharePoint IT Pros through updates: http://tinyurl.com/36hlpf 11:56 AM Oct 21st from web in reply to JDWade
@bfgreen: The Excel Services Resource Center on MSDN could give you a starting point: http://tinyurl.com/52mo6a 8:14 AM Oct 21st from web in reply to bfgreen
@pseale: Check out our MSDN article about Creating a Custom Timer Job in SharePoint (written by AC): http://tinyurl.com/3vbe2o 1:35 PM Oct 15th from web in reply to pseale
@TheRecruiterGuy: Here is a showcase of some of the best-implemented WCM sites for SharePoint out there right now: http://tinyurl.com/4dllwq 7:19 AM Oct 15th from web in reply to TheRecruiterGuy
@spleendini: Check out How To Create a Minimal Master Page in SharePoint + the Wiki comments on MSDN: http://tinyurl.com/5kzrou 7:16 AM Oct 15th from web in reply to spleenboy
just published on MSDN: Performing Incremental Crawling with the BDC in MOSS 2007: http://tinyurl.com/3u7em9 2:40 PM Oct 14th from web
@UMLGuy: Here is the 7 Dev projects PDF: http://tinyurl.com/ytvres. And here is a free MOSS VHD you can download: http://tinyurl.com/366tzc. 10:54 AM Oct 13th from web in reply to UMLGuy
@pseale: Here's a great article for working with large lists in SharePoint: http://tinyurl.com/yrv6xd 10:12 AM Oct 13th from web in reply to pseale
@UMLGuy: A good place to start is with the SharePoint Administrator's Companion from MS Press and Bill English: http://tinyurl.com/3luxrk 9:09 AM Oct 13th from web in reply to UMLGuy

All in all, I'm going to continue to monitor any tweets I come across that mention "sharepoint" or other keywords and tags (such as "bdc" or "authentication" or "web parts"), as well as the people I'm following. If you're a SharePoint developer, IT Pro, consultant, or solution provider, feel free to follow me and I'll do the same to keep tabs on what's going on out in the community. We've often got an answer or at least a direction we can point you toward. Also, check out my feed for what's recently been published! http://twitter.com/sharepointdev.

New MSDN Content - September 2008

2008-09-25T21:50:00Z

Hello everyone.

We have just published a couple of exciting new SharePoint Technical Articles this month on MSDN. We have also refreshed the PerformancePoint Monitoring SDK. Here is the info:

Capitalizing On the Social Network Capabilities of SharePoint Server 2007 User Profiles

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc973103.aspx

Summary: Learn about organization hierarchy, membership groups, and quick links to understand the user profile social network capability in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, and concepts such as custom properties, colleagues, and workgroups. (18 printed pages)

Using Team Foundation Server to Develop Custom SharePoint Products and Technologies Applications

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc948982.aspx

Summary: Use Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation Server to support SharePoint application development, and provide an integrated development environment and single source code repository for process activities, integrated progress reporting, and team roles. (12 printed pages)

PerformancePoint Monitoring SDK Documentation

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb848116.aspx

The PerformancePoint Monitoring Software Development Kit (SDK) documentation contains overview topics, how-to topics, and code examples for developing custom PerformancePoint Monitoring Server extensions. Monitoring Server builds upon the Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) infrastructure, and takes advantage of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 technologies and features.

Just Published! WSS 3.0 and MOSS 2007 SDK 1.4 Download and Online MSDN Library (8.29.2008)

2008-08-29T05:54:00Z

Hello SharePoint Developers!

We are excited to announce the availability of the latest updates to the online MSDN Library + the downloadable SDKs for both MOSS 2007 and WSS 3.0!

In our never-ending efforts to improve the customer and partner experience, we are announcing the sim ship of both the online MSDN Library and the downloadable SDK! No more confusion about what’s the latest version: August is August!

> Download the MOSS SDK 1.4 <

> Download the WSS SDK 1.4 <

The August 2008 update is version 1.4 and reflects feature enhancements that were part of the recent Infrastructure Update. For more information on SharePoint Products and Technologies updates, you can start here on TechNet.

Which SDK do I need to download?

If you are only writing code that utilizes the Windows SharePoint Services platform, you can download the WSS SDK. However, if you want the superset of all documentation and samples, you should install the MOSS SDK, and then you’ll get all the platform and technology information as well. You don’t need to download both, but you will need to uninstall all previous versions.

Note The SDK 1.4 downloads are full releases that include all previous tools and documentation.

What’s New in this release?

The SDK updates in 1.4 include:

New Federated Search Samples:

Custom Federated Search Web Part with a Credentials UI (also available at MSDN Code Gallery)
Federated Search SQL Server Connector (also available at MSDN Code Gallery)
Federated Search HTML to RSS Connector (also available at MSDN Code Gallery)
Federated Search Virtual Earth Map Connector (also available at MSDN Code Gallery)

· Updated documentation files, including updated, offline versions of MSDN Library Technical Articles and Developer Guides
What’s New in the MOSS SDK 1.4 Documentation
What’s New in the WSS SDK 1.4 Documentation

· Lots of new documentation for Records Management APIs.

· Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement.Holds

· Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement.InformationPolicy

· Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement.PolicyFeatures

· Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement.RecordsRepository

· Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement.Reporting

· Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement.SearchAndProcess

While you’re updating your SharePoint development tools…

You can also update the Visual Studio Extensions for SharePoint Services. Here is the link to the installer: VSeWSS 1.2. The extensions were updated on 7/1/2008 and now work with Visual Studio 2008!

Don’t forget to download the user’s guide: version 1.1

Please keep sending us feedback!

We want to make sure you have all the information you expect to find in the SDK. Please reply to this blog entry with comments if you have a request. And don't forget to use the Community Content Wiki on MSDN to annotate the SDK documentation online with your own insights. Just look toward the bottom of each page online or click the Add Content... button in the top-level menu on MSDN Library pages.

SharePoint Workflow Guidance and Best Practices

2008-08-14T20:11:00Z

I had a question today about SharePoint Workflow "Dos and Don'ts" and I thought it might be a good idea to share the response more broadly.

I'm also working on compiling a list of Best Practices for Custom Application Development in SharePoint, which will be published next month on MSDN as part of a larger MSDN/TechNet series on the subject of guidance and best practices. Stay tuned for updates...

SharePoint Workflow Resources

The Workflow Resource Center on MSDN is a good place to start for guidance: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/bb421687.aspx.

**Update 8/29: Here is a great Workflow Best Practices paper as well: Developing Workflow Solutions with SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows Workflow Foundation

This blogger also did a good job compiling links within the SDK and to other MSDN & Web resources, as well as other sources of Best Practices for Workflows:

http://blogs.msdn.com/socaldevgal/archive/2007/07/06/does-your-sharepoint-workflow-look-like-this.aspx

Also, the downloadable MOSS SDK has a lot of workflow templates and samples.

Knowing when to use SharePoint Designer (SPD) workflows v. Visual Studio (VS) workflows

A good place to start is with the freshly updated SDK: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms461944.aspx.

There is also this guidance offered in the SharePoint team blog:

SPD is geared toward the Web Designer/Business admin. It's easy to learn, and you don't have to write any code. You can put together a lot of workflows with just sequence of actions and conditions. The other cool thing about SPD is that you can deploy remotely (vs. VS, where you have to deploy on the server box)

However, there are a few limitations (deploys to one list at a time, no InfoPath forms, only sequential workflows). So you will want to use VS if…

· You need to create a workflow that can be deployed to all lists in a site collection.

· You want to use InfoPath forms for your workflow

· You need more actions than the ones available by default in SPD

· You want to use state machine workflows

Hope this helps,

Randall

SharePoint SDK Downloads Now Live with SP1 Updates (2/26/2008)

2008-02-26T21:01:00Z

Hello SharePoint Developers!

We are excited to announce the availability of the latest updates to the downloadable SDKs for SharePoint Products and Technologies.

The February update is version 1.3 and captures changes made as part of Service Pack 1 (SP1). For more info on SharePoint Server 2007 SP1, you can start here on MSDN: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/office/bb968180.aspx.

> Download the MOSS SDK 1.3 <

> Download the WSS SDK 1.3 <

Which SDK do I need to download?

If you are only coding against the Windows SharePoint Services technology, you can download the WSS SDK. However, if you are coding against Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS), you should install the MOSS SDK, and then you’ll get all the platform and technology information as well. You don’t need to download both, and you don’t need to download any previous versions: the SDK 1.3 downloads are full releases that include all previous tools and documentation.

What’s New in this release?

The SDK updates in 1.3 include:

· Updated documentation files, including our offline versions of MSDN Library Technical Articles and Developer Guides
What’s New in the MOSS SDK 1.3 Documentation
What’s New in the WSS SDK 1.3 Documentation

· ASPX “Collect Feedback” Workflow Sample
This sample implements a basic collect feedback workflow that assigns review tasks to a group of people, in serial or parallel, and waits for them to be completed. It is available in both the MOSS and the WSS SDK.

· New IntelliSense XML files
We have included updated IntelliSense XML files for both MOSS and WSS. Expect to see some new screencasts on how to use XML IntelliSense with Visual Studio in the next few days—check back here for announcements!

· New Document Converter sample
We have a new Smart Client Authoring sample for Enterprise Content Management in the MOSS SDK. Included with the sample are an XSLT Applicator, a Folder Feature (for MOSS machines), sample XSL and XML files, and an installer.bat file.

Even more information: The full list of documentation changes can be found here in the developer docs team blog.

While you’re updating your SharePoint development tools…

You can also update the Visual Studio Extensions for SharePoint Services 1.1. Here is the link to the installer: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=3E1DCCCD-1CCA-433A-BB4D-97B96BF7AB63&displaylang=en. The extensions were updated on 2/11/2008.

Please keep sending us feedback!

We want to make sure you have the information you need in the SDK. Please reply to this blog entry with comments if you have a request. And don't forget to use the Community Content Wiki on MSDN to annotate the SDK documentation online. Just look toward the bottom of each page online or click the Add Content... button in the top-level menu on MSDN Library pages.

AJ, Uma, and I will all be at the SharePoint Conference from March 3 – 6 in Seattle and you can swing by our table at the Ask The Experts Lunch on Wednesday. Hope to see you there!

Got RSS?

2007-11-30T22:47:00Z

It has been a little while since my last post, but I wanted to give a quick update to everyone to share a really useful feed from MSDN that you should subscribe to:

http://www.microsoft.com/feeds/msdn/en-us/sharepoint/rss.xml

The MSDN SharePoint RSS Feed contains information about recently published Technical Articles, How Do I…? Screencasts or Visual How To videos and articles, Book Excerpts, New Portal Pages, SDKs, Downloads, and even SharePoint-related event notifications.

Here is a sampling of the feed, outlining all the great content and tools we have published on MSDN since our last SDK drop:

Windows SharePoint Services Resource Center Launches

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Explore 5 new resource centers for Administration, Pages and User Interface, Provisioning, Security and Web Parts. Find articles, how-to topics, references, downloads, blog and forum entries, and other resources for Windows SharePoint Services development.

Chapter 2: SharePoint Architecture (Part 1 of 2)

Monday, November 12, 2007

Read this excerpt from "Inside Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0" to understand how Windows SharePoint Services extends the ASP.NET Framework. You can also learn how to create your own application pages.

Chapter 2: SharePoint Architecture (Part 2 of 2)

Monday, November 12, 2007

Understand the important concepts and terminology used in IIS and ASP.NET, as well as the difference between site pages and application pages. Then learn how to use CustomAction elements to create custom application pages and integrate them into the menus of a site.

Convert InfoPath 2007 Forms in a Specific File Format from a SharePoint Form Library

Monday, November 12, 2007

Learn how to enable users to convert and download InfoPath forms directly from SharePoint form libraries in a file format that is not XML.

Seamless Security Integration of SharePoint 2007 Sites with Community Server Membership Database

Monday, November 12, 2007

Learn how to use Community Server accounts with SharePoint 2007 sites. This article walks through how to integrate the Community Server membership database together with the role-based security of SharePoint Server 2007.

Microsoft Search Server 2008

Monday, November 05, 2007

Learn about the new federated search feature, creating federated search connectors, and the federated location definition file schema in the Beta SDK documentation of Microsoft Search Server and Search Server Express.

Upgrade SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Customizations to SharePoint Server 2007 (Part 1 of 2)

Monday, November 05, 2007

Learn the requirements to perform an upgrade of SharePoint Portal Server 2003 customizations to SharePoint Server 2007.

Upgrade SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Customizations to SharePoint Server 2007 (Part 2 of 2)

Monday, November 05, 2007

Learn to work with upgrade definition files, understand key elements and attributes, and walk through an annotated sample upgrade definition file so that you can perform an upgrade of SharePoint Portal Server 2003 customizations to SharePoint Server 2007.

Setting Up a Development Environment for the 2007 Microsoft Office System (Oct07 Update)

Monday, October 29, 2007

Learn how to create projects based on the 2007 Microsoft Office system and build solutions that use both the new client and server extensions in the platform.

How Do I: Create a Custom Task Pane to Consume SharePoint Server 2007 Query Services in Word 2007

Monday, October 29, 2007

Enterprise Search in SharePoint Server 2007 exposes its search functionality through an XML Web service, so that you can access Enterprise Search results from client applications and Web applications outside the context of a SharePoint site.

Video: Creating a Custom Task Pane to Consume SharePoint Server 2007 Query Services in Word 2007

Monday, October 29, 2007

In this visual how-to video, learn how you can access Enterprise Search results from client applications and Web applications outside the context of a SharePoint site.

Sample: Setting Up a Development Environment for the 2007 Microsoft Office System

Monday, October 22, 2007

In this download, you will find four code samples for use with the MSDN article, "Setting Up a Development Environment for the 2007 Microsoft Office System." Samples include project files and sample files to create a basic Workflow template, a custom task pane, a Word add-in, and event handler.

How Do I: Develop Custom Applications by Using Excel Web Services in SharePoint Server 2007

Monday, October 15, 2007

Excel Services is a new server technology included in SharePoint Server 2007. This shared service enables the ability to load, calculate, and display Excel 2007 workbooks on SharePoint Server 2007.

Video: Developing Custom Applications by Using Excel Web Services in SharePoint Server 2007

Monday, October 15, 2007

In this visual how-to video, learn to create a custom application that uses the SharePoint Server 2007 Excel Web Services.

How Do I: Add Excel Web Parts to Pages Programmatically in SharePoint Server 2007

Monday, October 08, 2007

Learn to use Visual Studio 2005 to create an application for Windows that presents a simple user interface that accepts information from the user and then adds the Excel Web Access Web Part to an Office SharePoint Server page.

Video: Adding Excel Parts to Pages Programmatically in SharePoint Server 2007

Monday, October 08, 2007

Watch this visual how-to video and learn to programmatically add an instance of the Excel Web Access Web Part to a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 page.

How Do I: Create Custom Enterprise Search Web Parts in SharePoint Server 2007

Monday, October 08, 2007

Learn how to use Visual Studio 2005 to create a Web Control Library that contains a Web Part that uses the Enterprise Search functionality included with SharePoint Server 2007.

Video: Creating Custom Enterprise Search Web Parts in SharePoint Server 2007

Monday, October 08, 2007

Watch this visual how-to video and learn to use Visual Studio 2005 to create a Web Control Library that contains a Web Part that uses the Enterprise Search functionality included with SharePoint Server 2007.

Helper Classes for the SharePoint Server 2007 Search Query Web Service Built Using the Microsoft .NET Framework

Monday, October 01, 2007

Learn about some helper classes built by using the Microsoft .NET Framework that make it easier to build query requests for the Microsoft SharePoint Server Search Query Web service and handle query responses.

Search Sites Protected by Forms Authentication with Enterprise Search in SharePoint Server 2007

Monday, October 01, 2007

Learn to use Enterprise Search to crawl sites that are protected by forms authentication or cookie-based authentication, and walk through creating a sample custom security trimmer for trimming the returned search results.

Usage Event Logging in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0

Monday, October 01, 2007

Parse the log files that Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 produces when logging is enabled to effectively analyze the usage event data.

How Do I: Create User Profiles in the User Profile Store in SharePoint Server 2007

Monday, September 24, 2007

Learn to create a SharePoint Server 2007 user profile by using the SharePoint UserProfileService Web service.

Video: Create User Profiles in the User Profile Store in SharePoint Server 2007

Monday, September 24, 2007

In this visual how-to video, learn to create a SharePoint Server 2007 user profile by using the SharePoint UserProfileService Web service.

How Do I: Display Custom Fields in Content Query Web Parts in SharePoint Server 2007

Monday, September 24, 2007

Learn how to display custom fields in the Content Query Web Part by setting the CommonViewFields custom property and editing the default XSLT transformation used to render items.

Video: Display Custom Fields in Content Query Web Parts in SharePoint Server 2007

Monday, September 24, 2007

In this visual how-to video, learn to display custom fields in the Content Query Web Part by setting the CommonViewFields custom property and editing the default XSLT transformation used to render items.

Register Now for the Microsoft Office SharePoint Conference 2008

Friday, September 21, 2007

The conference will be held March 2-6, 2008 in Seattle, WA USA with Bill Gates as the keynote speaker and over 100 SharePoint technical sessions and hands-on labs.

Microsoft Office System Developer Conference 2008

Friday, September 21, 2007

In February 2008, join us in San Jose to usher in the office development revolution. Expand your horizon beyond what you know.

PerformancePoint Server Developer Portal - Now Live!

Friday, September 21, 2007

Welcome to the new PerformancePoint Server developer portal on MSDN. Learn how PerformancePoint Server 2007 provides all the functionality that is needed for performance management, and how its features help analysts monitor and analyze organizational performance, as well as do critical planning, forecasting, and financial reporting.

Advanced Server-Side Authentication for Data Connections in InfoPath 2007 Web-Based Forms

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Learn about several different approaches for authenticating cross-domain data connections from form templates deployed to InfoPath Forms Services, as part of either Forms Server 2007 or SharePoint Server 2007.

Chapter 1: An Introduction to Excel Services (Programming Excel Services)

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

In this book excerpt, author Alvin J. Bruney provides an introduction to Excel Services, a new technology built and conditioned to interact with Excel spreadsheets.

Chapter 3: Excel Web Access (Programming Excel Services)

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

In this book excerpt, the author focuses on building Web Parts from Visual Studio 2005 and installing them on SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007 so that they can be used in SharePoint applications.

Create a SharePoint Server 2007 Custom Master Page and Page Layouts for a Web Content Management Site

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Follow step-by-step instructions with code examples to create a SharePoint Server 2007 custom master page and related page layouts based on a minimal master page.

Optimize a SharePoint Server 2007 Web Content Management Site for Performance

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Learn to optimize an Internet-facing Web content management (WCM) site to achieve maximum performance and an effective user experience.

Best Practices: Common Coding Issues When Using the SharePoint Object Model

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Learn about common issues surrounding writing custom code using the SharePoint object model, and identify best practices to help correct them.

Create a Database Connection by using the Business Data Catalog Definition Editor

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Learn how the Business Data Catalog Definition Editor automatically generates the XML metadata for the LOB system, making it easy to create an application definition file for the Business Data Catalog.

Download the SharePoint Server 2007 SDK (Aug 07 1.2 refresh)

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Check out the new tools and samples in the latest SDK update: Microsoft Business Data Catalog Definition Editor, WSHelloWorld Web Service, Excel Services User Defined Function Sample, WSOrders Custom Proxy Sample, SAP Sample, Sample Protocol Handler, Custom Content Source, and the IRM Document Protector.

Just Published: Major Update to the MOSS and WSS Downloadable SDKs (8/22/2007)

2007-08-22T22:11:00Z

Hello SharePoint Developers!

We are very proud to announce a major update to the MOSS and WSS Software Development Kit (SDK) downloads. You can install them from the following locations:

· MOSS 2007 SDK 1.2. Includes Conceptual and Class Library Reference documentation, Web Services documentation, and Developer Tools and Samples for MOSS and WSS. See below for a detailed breakdown what’s new in this release.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=6D94E307-67D9-41AC-B2D6-0074D6286FA9&displaylang=en

· WSS 3.0 SDK 1.2. Includes Conceptual and Class Library Reference documentation, Web Services documentation, and Developer Tools and Samples for WSS technology only. See below for a detailed breakdown what’s new in this release.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=05E0DD12-8394-402B-8936-A07FE8AFAFFD&displaylang=en

What’s New in this Release

We are constantly improving the SDK releases as a direct response to customer feedback. Let us know your requests for future releases! Here is a detailed breakdown of changes to the SDK and its contents.

Windows SharePoint Services SDK Documentation Enhancements

We have doubled our resources on the WSS SDK documentation, and we have been working around the clock to provide you with greatly expanded coverage on the SDK documentation. A full breakdown of new and improved sections for the platform documentation can be found in the WSS SDK Welcome topic; here is the link to the online version: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms441339.aspx.

Start Menu Navigation

This release features a new Start Menu shortcut that gives you quick access to documentation (compiled HTML Help, or CHM for short) files and the Welcome Page (ReadMe.htm), which is a landing page with links out to all the tools and samples.

Installation Improvements

You now have a choice of installation location when you’re installing the SDK. You can browse to your preferred folder during setup. The default installation path for MOSS is C:\Program Files\2007 Office System Developer Resources\. The default installation path for WSS is C:\Program Files\Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SDK\.

Offline Experience Improvements

We packaged up all of our Technical Articles, Visual How-to Articles, and Book Excerpts—plus the Excel Services and Excel 2007 Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 Job Submission Developer Guide into one searchable CHM file. Now you can browse offline for content that has been published on MSDN out-of-band with the SDK.

Known Issue: There are several links in the MOSSSDK_TechArticles.chm and the WSSSDK_TechArticles.chm that will not work in a strictly offline scenario. Also, we did not package up the WMV file screencasts or the associated downloads that go with articles, so that we could keep the download size manageable. The workaround for both issues is to browse to the content online; for ease-of-use, the TOC in the CHM file is the same as the TOC on MSDN.

New Tools Included with the MOSS SDK

We rounded out our tool set in this release to include developer tools and samples for the following areas of MOSS development. New tools and samples are in bold.

· Business Data Catalog Samples and Utilities

o Microsoft Business Data Catalog Definition Editor

o Sample Pluggable SSO Provider

o WSHelloWorld Web Service

o WSOrders Web Service

o Excel Services User Defined Function Sample

o WSOrders Custom Proxy Sample

o Amazon Web Service Sample

o AdventureWorks Metadata Samples

o SAP Sample

· Document Management and Content Processing Samples

o Comment Scrub Document Converter

o Term Replacement Document Inspector

· Search Samples

o Sample Protocol Handler

o Custom Content Source

· Records Management and Policy Samples

o De-Duplication Router

o Document Integrity Verifier

o Records Center Web Service Console Application

o Search, Collect, and Hold Tool

o Sample Custom Barcode Generator

o IRM Document Protector

· Workflow Samples

o Custom Workflow Report Query Generator

o Custom Workflow Report XLSX Injector

o Visual Studio Workflow Templates

o Enterprise Content Management Workflow Activities

o List Item Activities

o Hello World Sequential Workflow

o State Based Approval Workflow

o Modification Workflow

o Replication and Contact Selector Workflow

o Intersystem Purchase Order

o Confidential Approval Workflow

o Group Approval Workflow

o Approval Workflow Sample

o Multi-Stage Workflow

o Server-side Collect Signatures Workflow

Full details can be found in the Welcome Guide of the SDK, accessible through the Start Menu.

SDK Documentation Update Details

We now have close to 90% completion of all Type descriptions in the SDK Class Library Reference. Nearly all of the remaining blanks in the API reference are either Internal Namespaces and Classes or low priority APIs, and we are working to get those tagged appropriately for a future release.

Updates to the MOSS SDK conceptual topics include:

· How to: Customize RSS for the Content Query Web Part (new)

· How to: Create a Minimal Master Page (revised)

· Provisioning Portal Sites (revised)

· Portal Site Template File (revised)

· Portal (Portal Site Template) (revised)

· Webs (Portal Site Template) (revised)

· Web (Portal Site Template) (revised)

· How to Create a Web Service Connection by using the Business Data Catalog Definition Editor (new)

· How to Create a Database Connection by using the Business Data Catalog Definition Editor (new)

Updates to the MOSS SDK Class Library and Web Service Reference include:

· Microsoft.Office.Workflow.ISoapServerWorkflow

· Microsoft.Office.Workflow.IWorkflow

· Microsoft.Office.Workflow.Workflow

· Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement.PolicyFeatures.IBarCodeGenerator

· Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement.InformationPolicy.IPolicyFeatures

· Workflow Web service

Viewing the SDK Documentation Online

We are currently in synch with our online and offline documentation, but you will always find Community Content on MSDN appended to core Microsoft documentation in the form of Wiki comments.

You can browse the SDK online through the following links:

· Office SharePoint Server 2007 SDK

· Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SDK

Keep the feedback coming!

-Randall and the SharePoint SDK team

SharePoint SDK Downloads Refreshed! (7/17/2007)

2007-07-16T21:09:00Z

We just refreshed the downloads of the SharePoint SDKs on the Microsoft Download Center to reflect the many recent updates and enhancements to the documentation since RTM. You should first uninstall any previous versions of the SDK installed on your machines through Control Panel.

Get the updated SDKs today!

Office SharePoint Server 2007 SDK (Version 1.1)
Installs to %SystemDrive%\2007 Office System Developer Resources\SharePoint Server 2007 SDK\
Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SDK (Version 1.1)
Installs to %SystemDrive%\Windows SharePoint Services Developer Resources\Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SDK\

Here are the details of what has changed...

What's New in the Windows SharePoint Services SDK

New conceptual sections:

Content Migration
Change Log and Synchronizing Applications
Creating Declarative, No-Code Workflow Editors

Procedural topics:

How to: Create a Custom Field Type and Field Control
How To: Extend the STSADM Utility

Schema reference topics for the following schemas:

Content Migration XML Schema Reference: Contains over 180 element topics that detail the eight migration schemas
Workflow Configuration Schema

Greatly expanded Class Library Reference material for over 300 types in the following namespaces:

· Microsoft.SharePoint

· Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration

· Microsoft.SharePoint.Deployment

· Microsoft.SharePoint.EmailIntegration

· Microsoft.SharePoint.Navigation

· Microsoft.SharePoint.MobileControls

· Microsoft.SharePoint.StsAdmin

· Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages

· Microsoft.SharePoint.WebControls

· Microsoft.SharePoint.Workflow

As well as expanded reference material for the following Web Services:

· Authentication Web Service

· Copy Web Service

This update also includes numerous updates and revisions to existing SDK content.

What's New in the Office SharePoint Server SDK

Class Library and Web Service Reference

Microsoft.Office.Workflow

· Microsoft.Office.Workflow.Utility.Contact

· Microsoft.Office.Workflow.Utility.Form

· Microsoft.Office.Workflow.Workflow

Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement

· Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement.PolicyFeatures.Barcode

· Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement.PolicyFeatures.BarcodeGenerator

· Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement.PolicyFeatures.IBarcodeGenerator

· Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement.InformationPolicy.IPolicyFeature

Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.WebControls

· Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.WebControls.ExchangeServiceBinding

· Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.WebControls.OWACalendarPart

· Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.WebControls.OWAInboxPart

New and updated content in over 40 classes in the Microsoft.Office.Server.UserProfiles namespace

New and updated content for UserProfileService and Workflow Web services

Updates to numerous Search Web Part classes

New content and updates in nearly 60 types in Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing.* namespaces:

· Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing

· Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing.Administration

· Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing.Navigation

· Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing.WebControls

· Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing.WebControls.EditingMenuActions

· Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing.WebServices

General Reference

· Enterprise Search Protocol Handlers (multiple topics, new)

· How to: Customize XSL for the Content Query Web Part (new)

· Updates to 4 more Web Content Management topics

And much more!

Tons of New SharePoint Content Now Live on MSDN - July 12, 2007

2007-07-12T00:36:00Z

Hello folks.

It has been several weeks since I posted an update on new MSDN content. We have been extremely busy publishing content, and here is the list of content published in the month of June and the first week of July:

Visual How-to Screencasts

· Creating Search Queries Programmatically by using the Search Web Service in SharePoint Server 2007
By Patrick Tisseghem

· Creating Search Queries Programmatically by using the Search Object Model in SharePoint Server 2007
By Patrick Tisseghem

· Exposing Enterprise Search in SharePoint Server 2007 by using Internet Explorer 7 and the Office Research Pane
By Patrick Tisseghem

Technical Articles

· Development Tools and Techniques for Working with Code in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
By Patrick Tisseghem

o Part 1: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb530302.aspx

o Part 2: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb530301.aspx

· Using the Business Data Catalog and Smart Tags with the 2007 Office System
by Scot Hilier and Bhushan Nene (Microsoft Corp.)

o Accompanying Download for the Business Data Catalog and Smart Tags article

· Evaluating and Customizing Search Relevance in SharePoint Server 2007
by Dmitriy Meyerzon, Avi Schmueli, and Jo-Anne West (Microsoft Corp.)

· Using Forms Solutions in Groove 2007
by Josh Mahoney

· Upgrading an MCMS 2002 Application to SharePoint Server 2007
by Microsoft Corp.

o Part 1: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb466172.aspx

o Part 2: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb466171.aspx

Developer Guides

· Excel Services and Excel 2007 Windows Compute Cluster Server Job Submission Sample Developer Guide

· Excel Services and Excel 2007 Windows Compute Cluster Server Job Submission Sample (Download)

Book Excerpts

o Chapter 3: Customizing and Extending the Microsoft Office SharePoint 2007 Search (Part 1 of 2)
By Patrick Tisseghem

o Chapter 3: Customizing and Extending the Microsoft Office SharePoint 2007 Search (Part 2 of 2)
By Patrick Tisseghem

o Chapter 6: Integrating Spreadsheets into the Enterprise

Downloadable White Papers

· Windows white paper: Software Update for Web Folders (Download)

Microsoft Office Interactive Developer Map

Check this out if you haven’t already seen it! It’s a Windows Presentation Foundation-based, interactive developer map like the ones we have available for download. It also has dynamic content via RSS feeds, so you can always get the most up-to-date information. So cool!

· http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/office/bb497969.aspx

Keep the feedback coming! We want to hear from you.

Just Published on MSDN (5/17/2007)

2007-05-17T20:57:00Z

Here is the rundown of Technical Articles, Visual How-to Screencasts, and their accompanying downloads published over the last couple of weeks on MSDN.

Technical Articles

Team-Based Development in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Learn to properly conduct team-environment development of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 sites and assemblies (Web Parts, site templates, custom list templates), as well as develop Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer artifacts (master pages, workflows, CSS sheets). (13 printed pages)
Upgrading an MCMS 2002 Application to SharePoint Server 2007 (Part 1 of 2)
Learn how to upgrade a Microsoft Content Management Server (MCMS) 2002 application to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 by using this step-by-step guide and the WoodGroveNet MCMS 2002 sample application. This article is part 1 of 2. (25 printed pages)
Upgrading an MCMS 2002 Application to SharePoint Server 2007 (Part 2 of 2)
Learn how to upgrade a Microsoft Content Management Server (MCMS) 2002 application to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 by using this step-by-step guide and the WoodGroveNet MCMS 2002 sample application. This article is part 2 of 2. (35 printed pages)

Visual How-to Screencasts

Enabling Users to Act on LOB Data with Business Data Catalog Actions
Learn how to enable your users to act on line-of-business data by using Business Data Catalog Actions.
Activating Auditing Programmatically for a Single Document Library in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 includes a powerful new infrastructure for auditing user access to pages, and document and list items. You can enable auditing for an entire site collection, but it can be more efficient to enable auditing with more granularity. For example, you might want to enable auditing for one specific list or document library. You can go even further and just enable auditing for one specific list item or one specific document.
Activating Auditing Programmatically for a Site Collection in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 includes a powerful new infrastructure for auditing user access to list items, and documents and pages. In Windows SharePoint Services, auditing is configured on a site collection-by-site collection basis. It just takes a few lines of code to fully enable the auditing for an entire site collection. When you do this, Windows SharePoint Services writes an audit entry to its audit log each time a user views or modifies a list item, document, or site page.
Configuring IntelliSense with CAML files when developing for SharePoint 2007
When developing for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 (WSS), you are often required to create and modify XML files that contain Collaborative Application Markup Language (CAML). It is recommended that you configure Visual Studio on your development workstation to reference a XML schema file named WSS.XSD so that IntelliSense works properly when working with CAML-based files.
Create a Custom HttpHandler in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
ASP.NET programming supports the creation of custom HttpHandler components, which provide a flexible and efficient way to process requests that don't return standard HTML-based pages. For example, HttpHandler components are great for situations in which you want to return simple text, XML, or binary data to the user.
Although development techniques involving HttpHandler components are useful when creating standard ASP.NET applications, you should also see them as a valuable building block for building business solutions for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Office SharePoint Server 2007.
Creating a Feature for an Entry Control Block Item in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
You can add a custom menu item for an entry control block to a list item or a document in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 by creating a Feature with a CustomAction element. In this way, you can add custom commands to the default SharePoint user interface. These menu commands allow users to perform custom operations on items and documents. For example, you can create a custom menu item for an entry control block for a list item or document that redirects the user to a custom application page. Use this as a starting point to create business solutions that provide an intuitive user interface to automate domain-specific tasks on list items and documents.
Creating a Feature for the Site Actions Menu in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
You can add a custom menu item to the default Site Actions menu in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services by creating a Feature with a CustomAction element. In this way, you can add custom commands to the default SharePoint user interface. These commands are available to users as they move between pages on a SharePoint site. When you create a Site Actions menu item, you can configure it to redirect the user to any URL. For example, you can redirect the user to another Web site. You can also redirect users to a custom application page that allows them either to see a custom display of data, or to perform custom operations on the content within the current site.
Creating a Solution Package in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 introduces a deployment mechanism named "solution packages." A solution package is a CAB file with a .wsp file-name extension that contains all the files that must be deployed on the front-end Web server and a set of XML-based installation instructions. Windows SharePoint Services provides a rich infrastructure that simplifies deployment of solution packages in a Web farm environment.
Creating a Visual Studio Project for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
Development for Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 often involves deploying custom source files into the WSS \TEMPLATE directory. It is helpful to create a Microsoft Visual Studio project with a directory structure that parallels the \TEMPLATE directory so you can automate copying your source files into the location required for deployment and testing.
Creating an Application Page in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
You can create custom application pages to add user interface components to a custom solution based on Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. Unlike site pages (for example, default.aspx), a custom application page is deployed once per Web server and cannot be customized on a site-by-site basis. Application pages are based in the virtual _layouts directory. In addition, they are compiled into a single assembly DLL. They are also used across all sites within a server farm. For these reasons, they perform better than site pages. With application pages, you can also add inline code. With site pages, you cannot add inline code.
Displaying Data by Using the SPGridView Control in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
When you create ASP.NET applications, you often need to display data in the format of rows and columns. Although you could create an HTML table by using code, you become much more productive by using server-side controls such as the GridView control introduced with Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0. The Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services platform provides a grid control named SPGridView that inherits from the ASP.NET GridView control. The SPGridView control provides a great alternative for displaying tabular data in SharePoint-based solutions.
Reading Entries from the Audit Log in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 introduces a powerful new infrastructure for auditing user access to list items, documents, and pages. However, you must write custom code to take advantage of this auditing infrastructure because no default features utilize it. Some of the other Visual How-To topics show you how to enable auditing. Here you can learn how to retrieve information from the audit log so that you can display and report on user activity within a custom solution based on Windows SharePoint Services.
Reading ListId and ItemId from an Application Page in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
In Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, you can create a menu item for an entry control block that redirects users to a custom application page. For example, the MSDN article Item-Level Auditing with SharePoint Server 2007 demonstrates how to provide each document within a document library with its own menu item in the entry control block. This menu item redirects the user to a custom application page that displays the audit history for that particular document.
When a user clicks a menu item in the entry control block, it runs an application page. The code behind the application page typically must program against the list item or document that supplied the menu item. To do this, the application page must be able to identify the list item or document. Windows SharePoint Services does this by passing the information that identifies the list item or document to the application page in a query string. The page uses this information within the page-initialization code to create an SPListItem object and its containing SPList object.
Running Commands with Elevated Privileges in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services uses impersonation so that code running within a Web Part or behind a custom application page executes with the identity and permissions of the current user. In the vast majority of cases, this behavior is exactly what you want because it prevents standard users from being able to execute commands or see information that is intended only for privileged users such as a site administrator. However, occasionally your code must call restricted methods within the Windows SharePoint Services object model even though the request is initiated by a nonprivileged user. In such cases you must be able to elevate the privilege of your code as it executes on the Web server.
Writing Custom Entries to the Audit Log in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services provides an auditing facility that allows you to see the actions users take within the context of a site collection. Examples of user actions that you can audit automatically include viewing, updating, and deleting list items and documents, as well as viewing site pages. One important limitation of the built-in auditing facility is that it cannot audit access to application pages that are deployed within the \LAYOUTS directory.
If you want to audit the actions of users as they view your custom application pages, you must add code that writes custom audit entries into the Windows SharePoint Services audit log. You can write custom audit entries within the context of any auditable object, such as those of type SPSite, SPWeb, SPList, and SPListItem.