SharePoint Content and Resources

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

    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?

    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)

    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)

    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!

    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 -