OBA Ramblings

Use Silverlight to Enhance your SharePoint-Based OBAs with the Silverlight Blueprints for SharePoint

Silverlight Blueprints for SharePoint Released to CodePlex!

Today we released the source code for the Silverlight Blueprints for SharePoint—based on the Silverlight Beta 2 release. The Silverlight Blueprints for SharePoint provide a way for developers to better understand how to integrate Silverlight applications with SharePoint. Silverlight is an incredibly popular technology and with the increase in SharePoint adoption we’re finding an increased call for integrating technologies like Silverlight with SharePoint.

In this release, you’ll find five blueprint samples:

1.       Hello World

2.       Media Player

3.       Slider Control

4.       Custom Navigation

5.       Colleague Viewer

Included in the release are documentation for each of the samples and the source code (go to the Releases tab of the CodePlex site). Also posted to the site is an FAQ document. In the coming days and week, we’ll publish additional screen-casts and any other supporting documentation we create or that is provided to us through the developer community.

The links to get to the Silverlight Blueprints for SharePoint are:

1.       http://www.ssblueprints.net/sharepoint/   --or direct at the CodePlex site

2.       http://www.codeplex.com/SL4SP

Enjoy!

Steve

A couple of interesting vids done by my colleagues...

Here are a couple of vids done by my colleagues (technical evangelists for Dynamics). They call themselves the Dynamics Duo:

http://blogs.msdn.com/benriga/archive/2008/08/13/the-dynamics-duo-talk-about-crm-and-office-business-applications-oba.aspx

http://blogs.msdn.com/benriga/archive/2008/08/12/the-dynamics-duo-talk-about-dynamics-crm-and-sharepoint.aspx

Enjoy!

Steve

Create Your First OBA: Part 5

Hey gang,

It's been a while since I've posted, but I've been on the road. I attended TechEd 2008 (USA), our internal field conference TechReady 7, and then travelled to South Africa to TechEd 2008 (S. Africa). Now, I'm back in Seattle--albeit a little jet-lagged. Over the past few weeks, I've continued to give talks on OBA, but have been doing a lot more SharePoint lately--especially Silverlight and SharePoint (I'll put some blog posts up about this in the near future).

In the past, I've been doing a lot of writing in my blogs, so for this blog I put together a short screen-cast to go along with the blog. Essentially, in this blog I'm going to show you how you can create a Business Data Catalog (BDC) web part in SharePoint using the Business Data Catalog Definition Editor. Specifically, the web part will actually implement a couple of web methods from a Web service. I get this question a lot, so I really wanted to make this a part of the OBA series. (Plus, the BDC is one of the more common objects that SharePoint developers use.) This is part 5 of the Create Your First OBA series (Customizing SharePoint (BDC)):

1.       Creating the VSTO document-level solution (i.e. the custom document);
2.       Deploying the VSTO document-level solution;
3.       Integrating the VSTO with SharePoint content type;
4.       Associating SharePoint workflow with VSTO document-level solution;
5.       Customizing SharePoint (BDC);
6.       Customizing SharePoint (Excel Services).

Before you get started, a couple of notes on your environment. You can download the MOSS 2007 SDK from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=6D94E307-67D9-41AC-B2D6-0074D6286FA9&displaylang=en. The SDK contains the BDC Definition Editor, which you will use to create the application definition file (ADF)--a metadata representation of the data source that you're connecting to with the BDC web part. I also used VS 2008 to create my Web service, which I deployed to my local Win 2003 Server which was also running MOSS (Enterprise edition). The BDC is available in the MOSS Enterprise Edition, so if you're looking to use the BDC you'll need to make sure you have this MOSS SKU installed.

Okay, so below I've added a Silverlight video player with the WMV screencast embedded in it:

If you have any problems with this, you can also get the WMV directly here: http://silverlight.services.live.com/75885/How%20to%20Create%20a%20BDC%20Web%20Part%20that%20Consumes%20a%20Web%20Method/video.wmv.

Have a great day!

Steve

Recording of Recent OBA MSDN Webcasts...

Hey gang,

Over the past couple of weeks, I've presented a couple of OBA webcasts. I thought you might be interested in taking a look at them.

1. MSDN WEBCAST: DEMYSTIFYING OFFICE BUSINESS APPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPER (LEVEL 200)

2. MSDN WEBCAST: DEMYSTIFYING OFFICE BUSINESS APPLICATIONS FOR THE BUSINESS ANALYST (LEVEL 100)

Enjoy,

Steve

Create Your First OBA: Part 4

Wow, it's been a while since I blogged on this...time flies. If you've been following along with my previous posts, you'll have seen some of the other Create Your First OBA posts. Here they are if you haven’t seen them:

1.       Creating the VSTO document-level solution (i.e. the custom document);
2.       Deploying the VSTO document-level solution;
3.       Integrating the VSTO with SharePoint content type;
4.       Associating SharePoint workflow with VSTO document-level solution;
5.       Customizing SharePoint (BDC);
6.       Customizing SharePoint (Excel Services).

This post describes how you can add workflow to your OBA.

First, let me say that I can’t believe the amount of people who are asking me about this. I’ve presented at a number of conferences over the last few months and I’ve been getting more questions around this particular subject. That said, a specific walkthrough on exactly how to do this is quite long so I’ll walk through at a high level what you need to do, and then I’ve added a few references for you and also attached a hands-on lab that you can use as well to walk through—complete with code samples.

You’ll also note that the code samples cover other areas of OBA development—mainly covering client-side development using VS 2008 (specifically VSTO 3.0). Some great code samples and walkthroughs, so enjoy.

Okay, back to workflow. To create a SharePoint (SP) workflow you first need to make sure you have an ‘object’ within SP against which you’ll build the workflow. A Word document might be an example or an InfoPath can be another example. You then need to figure out what type of workflow you’re going to build and what the workflow will do. The SP workflow derives from the Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) workflow types in the .NET Framework 3.0, so the two main types are Sequential and State Machine. Sequential being as it sounds: a workflow that follows a particular sequence. And State Machine being a workflow that moves along to the next ‘activity’ depending on the state of the workflow. An activity are the individual actions that make up a workflow. If you’d like more details on SP WF, you can check out these links here:

1.       Book excerpt from Programming Office Business Applications: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc534997.aspx.

2.       You can also find some articles here in the VSTO 3.0 documentation: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb386211.aspx.

So, once you’ve figured out what your workflow will do (and let’s assume for simplicity sake that you’re going to build a Sequential workflow), you then open Visual Studio 2008, click File, New, Project, select the Office node under the language node of your choice (i.e. either VB or C#) and then select SharePoint 2007 Sequential Workflow, give it a name and click OK. This will invoke a wizard that will enable you to give the workflow a name and map the workflow template (each workflow is built and deployed as a template) to your specific SP site. Once this is done, click Next and then you can select the library or list you want to associate your SP workflow with, the History list and then the Tasks. In mine, I had a document library for the custom Word document I built earlier in the blog series (called Annual Reviews) so I built a small approval workflow (that updated a status note that corresponds to that particular document library. At this point, VS creates a project shell with a number of items in it. You can drag and drop activities onto the designer, add code behind for the activities and then map the properties of the workflow to the activities to make sure everything works. You can then press F5 to test out your workflow and it will invoke SP and run your workflow.

Now, keep in mind I just encapsulated in one paragraph what will take you an hour to walk through in the attached hands-on lab—which is why I chose the really condensed version—and even longer when you’re planning out your own SP workflow. I did this to not only save some time in writing the blog, but also because the resources I’ll provide below will help you just as much if not better.

So, here’s what I would recommend as next steps for you to get really get stuck into learning SP workflow:

1.       Take a look at the attached hands-on lab and walk through lab #4. It’s an awesome and simple example of how to quickly create a simple workflow. (The lab uses VS 2008 (VSTO 3.0), and you'll need to have Office 2007 installed and a MOSS 2007 server available to build your workflow against.)

2.       Take a look at the following web cast. It’s a great intro to SP workflow and provides you with some deeper-level information: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032378840&CountryCode=US.

3.       Take a look at following new site for SP developers; it’s got some awesome content: http://mssharepointdeveloper.com.

Okay, hopefully that will get you started.

Steve

Interesting OBA Blog on DITA...

A colleague sent this to me today...thought it was interesting, so I thought I'd pass along to you all.

http://blogs.msdn.com/johnmullinax/archive/2008/06/17/democratizing-dita-dita-exchange-and-danish-beer-20-questions-with-steffen-frederiksen-of-content-technologies.aspx

Steve

SharePoint Development Webcast Series

There's also a number of webcasts you all might be interested in seeing as well. For more information, check out:

http://blogs.msdn.com/pandrew/archive/2008/05/12/sharepoint-developer-msdn-web-cast-series.aspx

Each MSDN Web Cast is an introduction for .NET Developers to SharePoint and the Topic. You need to register for the web cast by clicking the link and entering some details. Then you get emailed a link to sign on and participate in the web cast on its date and time.

Each MSDN Web Cast is recorded for later viewing which should be through the same registration URL.

SharePoint Development Conference (FireStarter) at Microsoft on June 11th

OBA is a broad area and we're seeing an increase in the number of developers who are building SharePoint solutions--both internally to an enterprise and externally on the web. Microsoft is hosting a 1-day event for those of you interested in learning more about SharePoint development. More information on this event, how to register and who to contact for more information is below:

SharePoint Web 2.0 Fire Starter!

In typical FireStarter event style, we aim at delivering a first class experience to all attendees and make them experts on developing on SharePoint technologies before the end of the event. We have great speakers from the Microsoft rooster presenting some awesome topics that will help you build and customize websites with SharePoint and Web 2.0 technologies. You cannot miss this action packed day!

Here’s what the agenda looks like:

Where: Microsoft Conference Center (Building 33) – Kodiak Room

When: June 11^th 2008 - Wednesday

Register NOW!

If you have any questions, please contact Mithun Dhar at mithund@microsoft.com.

Create Your First OBA: Part 3

Hey gang,

If you've been following along with the Create Your First OBA series, I've published the first two of the six parts - see below.

1.       Creating the VSTO document-level solution (i.e. the custom document);
2.       Deploying the VSTO document-level solution;
3.       Integrating the VSTO with SharePoint content type;
4.       Associating SharePoint workflow with VSTO document-level solution;
5.       Customizing SharePoint (BDC);
6.       Customizing SharePoint (Excel Services).

I was actually hedging on posting for the third item because I wrote an article for MSDN Magazine that covers it. So, I'll provide you with a link to the article which lives here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc507632.aspx.

I'm on the road again at Sapphire for the next few days, so if you're in Orlando at the conference look me up...I'll be dutifully hanging out at our booth. When I get back, I'll post on SharePoint workflow. As I mentioned in an earlier post, there's been a lot of requests for this so hang tight and I'll get to it soon.

Have a great weekend!

Steve

The OBA Sample Application Kits

Just a quick post to check out the OBA Sample Application for Kits MSDN page. The kits provide comprehensive guidance on how to integrate Office with SAP and PeopleSoft (and we'll have others in the future). The kits include whitepaper, install guide, technical walkthrough doc, and source code. We announced the latest of the kits (the OBA Sample Application Kit for PeopleSoft) last week at Kurt DelBene's keynote at Collaborate 08.

You can get to the page here: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/office/cc442491.aspx

From this page, you can get to the individual kits.

Check it out! This is awesome stuff, and it is a rarity to find kits that provide guidance against these two very popular LOB Systems (that is PeopleSoft and SAP).

Cheers,

Steve

Conference Follow-Up Post

Over the past few weeks, I've attended and presented at a number of conferences (specifically VSLive, MS CSAF, Collaborate, and DevConnections) and had some great conversations with attendees who were seeking more information or had questions in the sessions on additional OBA resources. During some of these conversations, I promised to follow up in my blog on some specific issues/questions. In this blog post, I've added some additional information on:

• Deployment
• SharePoint Workflow
• Outlook add-in development

I'll also be following up on this post in the future with additional information, so I encourage you to check back or RSS the blog (as I'm not exactly to a schedule when posting).

Deployment

In a couple of my sessions, we had some detailed conversations around deployment. Here is a question that I was going to check on. I've also added some additional information that you can check out.

1. Can you point to the root folder assembly and have it point to the latest version of the bits? (This was in relation to mapping a content type from SharePoint and then invoking the assembly from the doc library.) The answer to the question, as I suspected, was yes--and that the deployment manifest should point you to the right location. However, the thing I forgot to mention was that you have to make sure that in your deployment properties you have "Check every time the customization runs." Also, this is not the default setting; the default setting is "Check Every 7 Days." So, once you publish a solution with that configuration, each time the custom document is opened you will get the latest version of the assembly associated with that document.

Misha Schneerson, one of the devs on VSTO, has a great multi-part post on Deployment. While we've made it easier in VS 2008 (by virtue of ClickOnce), there are still some things to keep in mind. You can check out his blog here: http://blogs.msdn.com/mshneer/archive/2008/04/24/deploying-your-vsto-add-in-to-all-users-part-iii.aspx.

SharePoint Workflow

Many of you asked me about some additional workflow guidance. I've pinged a couple of different people, and we're going to put together a blog-post with some additional information. I've also requested some web-casts to address some of the basics. I'll post pointers as these become available. Until then, here are a few things to get you started:

1. http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=358685

2. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointdesigner/HA101005911033.aspx

3. http://blogs.msdn.com/nikhil/archive/2007/09/11/vsto-and-sharepoint-workflow.aspx

4. http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb386168.aspx

I'm also working on a couple of other things (whitepaper and webcast) that I'll try and get out to you soon.

Outlook Add-in Development

I'm noticing more and more developers extending Outlook. In one of my sessions, we talked a little about deployment across 2003 and 2007 instances of Outlook and we also discussed migration of OFS form regions to managed code OFRs. Here is some additional information for you guys on this:

 Outlook 2007 should host an Outlook 2003 add-in.  Mary Lee recently wrote a blog post about developing and testing an Outlook 2003 add-in on a computer running Outlook 2007.  You can read more at this post -  http://blogs.msdn.com/vsto/archive/2008/03/20/developing-an-add-in-for-multiple-versions-of-office.aspx.

Note that the deployment method isn't Office version specific; it's VSTO runtime specific.  A VSTO solution that works for both O11 and O12 must be designed with the VSTO 2.0 runtime and .NET FX 2.0, so the same setup project with CASPOL deployment would apply.

There is also an interesting topic named "Creating Solutions for Multiple Versions of Office" at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb772080.aspx.

We do have topics that discuss how to import an OFS into an Outlook 2007 project.  We also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of importing a form region vs. creating one fresh by using our designer.  I will admit that the discussion of using an OFS file is not overly extensive.  However, I don't think we missed any discussion critical to who are considering the idea of moving their OFS files to VSTO.  Here are the topics that discuss using an OFS file:

·         Creating Outlook Form Regions - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb386301.aspx.

·         Walkthrough: Importing a Form Region that was Designed in Outlook - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb608611.aspx.

·         Accessing a Form Region at Run Time - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb772084.aspx.

Create Your First OBA: Part 2

Hey gang,

I just got back in the office from Collaborate 08 and DevConnections. Each conference I attend, I see more people interested in Office development which is really exciting to see. With SharePoint on the increase, a very pervasive Office client out there, and more companies wanting to realize gains by pulling data into Office views, I think the wheel is really starting to turn here.

Okay, that said let's talk about our second part of the development of your first OBA: deployment.

Depending on whether you've got a client-side customization (which we're doing in this series of blogs) and/or you've also got a SharePoint component to your OBA, deployment is different. With SharePoint, you need to have to deploy the site and then use the features of SharePoint to create web parts that interact with your data. (This is out of scope for this blog, but I will address it in a future one.) For the client, though, deployment means making sure that the add-in you build is i) discoverable by your org, ii) executable by those who want to download the bits, and iii) trusted by the specific Trust Center for the Office application you've built the add-in for.

If we build off of the last blog, to deploy the client add-in that we created (the Word 2007 document-level solution), you need to do the following: </