March 2008 - Posts

• Course 50064A: Advanced SharePoint 2007 Development

  Introduction Elements of this syllabus are subject to change. This five-day instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills to become a top-notch Microsoft SharePoint 2007 Developer. From AJAX to Event Handlers and Features, you will gain important insight into the internal workings of SharePoint 2007. Audience This course is intended for experienced SharePoint developers and students and will guide them through the process of architecting and developing SharePoint applications and customizations. At Course Completion After completing this course, students will be able to: Create a SharePoint site that is customized and personalized to the end user Create and run reports Create custom field types to enhance functionality of lists Prerequisites Before attending this course, students must have: MS-4995: Programming with Microsoft .NET Framework Using Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 MS-2542: Advanced Data Access with Visual Studio 2005 MS-2543: Core Web Application Technologies with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 MS-5060: Implementing Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 2007 MS-5061: Implementing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Course Outline Module 1: Course Overview This module explains how the class will be structured and introduces course materials and additional administrative information. Lessons Introduction Course Materials Facilities Prerequisites What We'll Be Discussing Lab 1: Setup Set Up Web Applications for Lab Use Module 2: Custom Authentication This module explains ASP.NET providers, how to create a single sign-on, and how to configure a SharePoint Web Application. Lessons Overview SharePoint = ASP.NET Application ASP.NET Providers Microsoft Single Sign-On Demonstration: Custom Authentication Lab 1: Custom Authentication Create a Username/Password Database Create a User Configure .NET Config File Configure a SharePoint Web Application to Use Forms Authentication with Custom Provider Lab 2: Single Sign-On Configure a Single Sign-On Program a Single Sign-On After completing this module, students will be able to: Configure a Microsoft Single Sign-On Configure a SharePoint Web Application Module 3: SharePoint Permissions This module explains the permissions in Microsoft Windows Server Systems (WSS) and how they have been enhanced, explains how to set permissions at an item level, and describes naming conventions. Lessons Overview IIS Application Pools SharePoint Windows Groups SharePoint Default Groups ASP.NET Membership/Role Provider Assignable Entities Custom Permission Levels Permissions Site/List/Item Permission Inheritance Security Trimmed Interface Web Application Policy SPSecurity Class Single Sign-On Demonstration: SharePoint Permissions Lab 1: SharePoint Permissions SharePoint Default Groups Membership Users Custom Permission Sets Site/List/Item Permission Inheritance Web Application Policy After completing this module, students will be able to: Set permissions at an item level Use the Membership/Role provider feature of ASP.NET 2.0. Module 4: In-Browser Customization This module explains how to add and edit new pages using web parts, master pages, and themes. Lessons Overview SharePoint UI Overview Default.aspx Everything Is a List Using Web Parts Customization Web Parts Adding New Pages Editing New Pages Master Pages Themes Navigation Demonstration: In-Browser Customizations Page Layouts Content Types Content Management Server (CMS) Lab 1: In-Browser Customizations Default.aspx page Adding web parts Add/edit a new page Apply a master page Apply a theme Versioning and content approval After completing this module, students will be able to: Personalize site pages using web parts Create and use master pages and themes to make it easy for end users to change the site to their preferences Module 5: Basic SharePoint Designer This module explains the SharePoint designer basics, how to create and modify existing sites, and how to create CSS style sheets. Lessons Overview SharePoint Designer Basics Creating/Modifying Existing Sites Exploring Team Sites Exploring Portal Sites Demonstration: SharePoint Designer ASP.NET Pages SharePoint Designer Editing Features Demonstration: SharePoint Designer Creating Master Pages Demonstration: SharePoint Designer Using SharePoint Controls Demonstration: SharePoint Designer Creating CSS Style Sheets Demonstration: SharePoint Designer Lab 1: Basic SharePoint Designer Tasks Create a Site Add an ASPX Page Create a Master Page Override CSS Lab 2: Basic SharePoint Designer Tasks Check In/Check Out Add Web Parts Add Web Part Zones Adding Images Reset to Site Definition After completing this module, students will be able to: Make simple changes to your SharePoint site Update master pages Create and override CSS Module 6: Advanced SharePoint Designer This module explains reports, data views, data sources, and how to back up and restore a Web site. Lessons Overview Built-In Reports Data Views Data Sources Backup Web Site Restore Web Site Demonstration: Advanced SharePoint Designer Lab 1: Advanced SharePoint Designer Reports Data Views Data Sources Backup a Site Restore a Site After completing this module, students will be able to: Run reports for quick data mining of the sites Backup and restore a site Module 7: Content Types This module explains different content types, document information panes, and how to create custom content types. Lessons Overview Content Types Introduction Built-In Content Types/ Inheritance Content Type Settings Site/Content Type Columns Document Information Panel Workflows Custom Content Types Demonstration: Content Types Lab 1: Content Types Built-in Types Document Information Panel Workflows After completing this module, students will be able to: Define metadata layers around content Build columns Assign items to common content Module 8: Site Definitions This module explains WSS built-in definitions, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 built-in definitions, and CAML and describes the different SharePoint templates and themes. Lessons WSS Built-In Site Definitions MOSS Built-In Site Definitions CAML Custom Site Definitions Site Definition Elements Site Definition Configuration Element SharePoint Solution Generator SharePoint Templates SharePoint Themes Demonstration: Site Definitions Lab 1: Site Definitions Create Site Definition (manually) Create Site Definition (Visual Studio) Lab 2: SharePoint Solution Generator SharePoint Solution Generator Lab 3: SharePoint Templates SharePoint Templates Lab 4: SharePoint Themes Create a SharePoint Theme After completing this module, students will be able to: Add branding to the default site definitions Use the Solution Generator Module 9: Features This module explains types of features and how to create, activate, and deactivate them. Lessons Features Overview Types of Features Feature Scopes Feature Dependencies Feature Localization Feature Event Receivers Creating Features Deploying Features Activating/Deactivating Features Solutions Demonstration: Features Lab 1: Features Creating a Feature Deploying a Feature Lab 2: Features Create a Feature using Visual Studio Lab 3: Solutions Package features into a solution After completing this module, students will be able to: Scope a feature such as a web part Create, deploy, activate, and deactivate features Module 10: Web Services API This module explains web services API and some common SharePoint Web Services that are available. Lessons Overview Web Service APIs Why Use Web Services Common SharePoint Web Services Demonstration: Finding and Using SharePoint Web Services Lab 1: Web Service API Find Web Service Add Web Service Reference Use the Web Service After completing this module, students will be able to: Use web services to integrate your applications with SharePoint Module 11: Web Part Development This module explains web part connections, upgrading web parts, and code access security. Lessons Overview Web Parts WSS 2.0 vs. WSS 3.0 Web Parts ASP.NET Web Part Class Web Part Connections Web Part Connections (Interfaces) Upgrading your Web Parts to WSS 3.0 When to use SharePoint Web Part Class Web Part Permissions Code Access Security (CAS) Web Part Performance Hints Demonstration: WebParts Lab 1: WebParts Creating WebParts Deploying WebParts Build WebParts that Interface with Data Sources Lab 2: WebParts Implement Web Part Connections Lab 3: WebParts Implement Synchronous Web Part Implement Asynchronous Web Part After completing this module, students will be able to: Use web parts to customize and personalize Connect web parts to each other to implement more advanced functionality Module 12: Client Side Scripts / AJAX This module explains how to emit client side scripts and describes common AJAX uses. Lessons Overview Client Side Scripts Emitting Client Side Scripts AJAX Introduction Common AJAX Uses SharePoint AJAX Support Demonstration: Client Side Scripts Lab 1: Client Side Scripts / AJAX Client Side Scripts AJAX After completing this module, students will be able to: Move functionality from Server to Client Enhance user experience by using AJAX Module 13: Object Model This module explains object model Dlls and how to use the object model. Lessons Object Model Overview Object Model Dlls Using the Object Model SPSite vs. SPWeb Namespace Changes (2.0 to 3.0) Demonstration: Object Model Lab 1: Object Model Object Model Dlls Using the Object Model After completing this module, students will be able to: Build applications that extend functionality Create tools to automate common administrative functions Allow other .NET applications to integrate with SharePoint Module 14: Custom Field Types This module explains how to create built-in types and custom field types. Lessons Overview Field Types Introduction Built-In Field Types Custom Field Types Demonstration: Custom Field Types Lab 1: Custom Field Types Building Custom Field Types After completing this module, students will be able to: Create custom field types to enhance the functionality of lists in SharePoint Module 15: SharePoint Events / Timer Jobs This module explains how to create new events in SharePoint. Lessons Overview SharePoint Event Handler History New Events More Event Details SharePoint Timer Service SP JobDefinition Class Lab 1: SharePoint Events Create an Event Assign an Event to a List Assign an Event to a Site Lab 2: SharePoint Timer Jobs Create a Timer Job After completing this module, students will be able to: Add event receivers to objects (lists and sites) Understand the object model Include event receivers on SharePoint sites Module 16: Shared Services This module explains the features of the shared services. Lessons Overview Shared Services Features Life without Shared Services Features Life with Shared Services Features Lab 1: Setup Shared Services Setup Shared Services After completing this module, students will be able to: Add extra functionality with Shared Services Module 17: Workflows (SP Designer) This module explains the differences between SharePoint Designer workflows, conditions, and actions. Lessons Overview Built-In WSS/MOSS Workflows SharePoint Designer Workflows SharePoint Designer Conditions SharePoint Designer Actions Extending SharePoint Designer Workflows Demonstration: SharePoint Designer Workflows Lab 1: MOSS Workflows Create and Use Each of the MOSS Workflows Lab 2: Workflows (SP Designer) SharePoint Designer Workflows Extending SharePoint Designer After completing this module, students will be able to: Use SharePoint workflows, conditions, and actions Add conditions and actions to further the functionality Module 18: Workflows (Visual Studio) This module explains the types of workflows and how to use them with Visual Studio and SharePoint. Lessons Overview Windows Workflow Foundation Workflow Persistence Workflow Types Workflows with Visual Studio SharePoint Workflows SharePoint Workflows Forms Debugging a Workflow Comparison of Visual Studio vs. SharePoint Designer Demonstration: Workflows (Visual Studio) Lab 1: Workflow (Visual Studio) Create a Custom Workflow After completing this module, students will be able to: Create and use workflows Design workflows with Visual Studios Module 19: ASP.NET Localization This module explains how to use RESX files, SharePoint resource files, and SharePoint language Packs. Lessons Overview ASP.NET Localization Culture and UICulture RESX Files Implicit vs. Explicit SharePoint Resource Files Browser Language SharePoint Language Packs Demonstration: ASP.NET Localization Lab 1: ASP.NET Localization RESX Files Browser Language After completing this module, students will be able to: Localize a SharePoint site for other languages and cultures Override the default SharePoint RESX Files Module 20: SharePoint/Microsoft FrontPage RPC This module explains how to use FrontPage RPC and SharePoint RPC. Lessons Overview FrontPage RPC SharePoint RPC Lab 1: SharePoint RPC Call a Simple SharePoint RPC Method After completing this module, students will be able to: Use RPC methods do the work Module 21: Excel Services This module explains how to use Excel Services. Lessons Overview Excel Services Trusted Locations Excel Services Web Parts Excel Services Object Model/Web Services Lab 1: Excel Services Create and Upload an Excel File Add a Trusted Location Configure Excel Web Parts After completing this module, students will be able to: Use Excel Services to centralize Excel files Prevent “bad” Excel files from being uploaded by using trusted locations Module 22: Business Data Catalog This module explains Business Data Catalogs. Lessons Overview Application Definition Files Business Data Catalog Web Parts Business Data Catalog Indexing Business Data Catalog with Single Sign-On Lab 1: Business Data Catalog Install a BDC Application Setup BDC Web Parts Create a List that Uses BDC Data After completing this module, students will be able to: Using BDC to gain access to important data in a backend system Use BDC data to populate list data Module 23: Business Intelligence This module explains how to use the report center, KPIs, dashboards, and Reporting Services Integration. Lessons Overview Report Center Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Dashboards Reporting Services Integration Lab 1: Business Intelligence Integrate SQL Server Reporting Services Create a Report Use the Reporting Services Web Part After completing this module, students will be able to: Use the Report Center as the main portal to reports and business data Utilize KPIs for quick and easy decision making Integrate Reporting Services seamlessly with SharePoint sites Module 24: Upgrading WSS 2.0 to 3.0 This module explains how to use Presan.exe and database migration and explains some migration issues. Lessons Overview Prescan.exe In-Place Upgrade Side-By-Side/ Gradual Upgrade Side-By-Side/Gradual Upgrade Steps Database Migration Upgrade Upgrading Site Definitions Migration Issues Lab 1-4: Migrating SharePoint In-Place Upgrade Gradual Upgrade Database Migration Migration Issues After completing this module, students will be able to: Use the prescan.exe tool to find common issues Test the migration in a staging environment Related Blogs: Course 5061- Implementing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Course 5060 - Implementing Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Course 50050A: Architecting Documents and Records Management Solutions with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Course 50051A: Architecting Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Portals and Collaboration Solutions Course 50049A: Architecting Web Content Management Solutions with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Course 50048A: Enterprise Search Solution Architect Workshop Course 50047A : Advanced IT Pro Course for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Course 50003A: Customizing and Extending Enterprise Content Management Solutions Course 50004A: Implementing Advanced Portals and Collaboration Solutions Course 50064A: Advanced SharePoint 2007 Development Posted Mar 27 2008, 10:57 PM by Neil with 4 comment(s) Filed under: Sharepoint, Courses, Visual Studio

• Comparing MS Office versions with Sharepoint

  Every time I train Sharepoint in the classroom environment and explain to people that they require MS Office 2007 on the client desktop for the solution to work, they complain. I get excuses like "We Don't want too", "Microsoft is just try to make money", "We have just rolled out Office 2003", "Our company won't pay for it". In my own stupidity have have entertained their ideas by attempting to do things in Sharepoint using the old MS Office versions with disastrous results. No More. If people refuse to use the new versions of Office 2007, then I refuse to support them. The information listed below is available for download from the "Microsoft Web Site", but I have decided to put an excerpt here and a link to the official comparison document at the end of the blog. Microsoft Office client programs and SharePoint products and technologies are natural partners in a productive, networked computing environment. Microsoft is committed to integrating the power of work sharing tools and the Web into the productivity applications that most users already know. Microsoft Office 2000, Microsoft Office XP, the Microsoft Office 2003 Editions, and the 2007 Microsoft Office Suites provide increasing levels of integration between Microsoft Office programs and SharePoint products and technologies. The varying levels of integration can be summarized as fair, good, better, and best and is further explained in the following sections, each of which provides an overview of integration features between a specific version of the Microsoft Office programs and the 2007 version of SharePoint products and technologies. “Fair” with Microsoft Office 2000 Microsoft Office 2000 provides simple file operations against and basic interactions with Windows SharePoint Services, allowing users to open and save documents on SharePoint sites from their Office 2000 applications and receive alerts in Outlook 2000. “Good” with Microsoft Office XP Microsoft Office XP provides a good level of data integration with Windows SharePoint Services, including interactive access to data stored on SharePoint sites, allowing users to export list data to Excel XP and view properties and metadata for files stored on SharePoint sites. “Better” with the Microsoft Office 2003 Editions Microsoft Office 2003 Editions provide a very good level of integration with Windows SharePoint Services, allowing users to create documents, organize team meetings and activities, access and analyze data from SharePoint sites, and use FrontPage 2003 to customize lists or Web Parts on SharePoint sites. Users can also use the data integration between the Office 2003 Editions and Windows SharePoint Services to move data to and from the SharePoint site and create databases linked to data stored on SharePoint sites. “Best” with the 2007 Microsoft Office Suites The 2007 Microsoft Office Suites provide the best level of rich, contextual integration with Windows SharePoint Services and Office SharePoint Server, allowing users to interact with SharePoint sites without leaving their Office programs and to have two-way synchronization with collaborative information and documents as well as business data stored on SharePoint sites. Achieving the Best by Upgrading Both Clients and Servers If you are currently using Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003 with Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 or SharePoint Portal Server 2003, and you upgrade to Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 or Office SharePoint Server 2007, your client integration experience with Office and SharePoint integration features will not change. The converse, upgrading your Office programs to 2007 but continuing to work with Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 or SharePoint Portal Server 2003, results in less than the best user experience due to the following shortcomings: Cannot search files stored in the new 2007 OpenXML-based file formats. No file type icons in the Document Library for the new 2007 file formats. Cannot add users to a Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 site using the Address Book button. Cannot maintain 2-way synchronization between an Excel 2007 native file and a SharePoint List. For more information, refer to the “Writeback to SharePoint” section on the Excel Team Blog’s “Deprecated features for Excel 2007” entry. Therefore, to achieve the best user experience with Office and SharePoint integration features, you must upgrade the clients to a 2007 Microsoft Office Suite, namely, Office Professional Plus 2007 or Office Enterprise 2007 and the servers to either Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 or Office SharePoint Server 2007. An Entire Word Document and more can be downloaded from the Microsoft Web Site explaining all the detail: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e0d05a69-f67b-4d37-961e-2db3c4065cb9&displaylang=en Related Office 2007 Blogs: Building a KPI List using Excel in Sharepoint Publishing PowerPoint slides to Sharepoint Creating a Pivot Table in Sharepoint Publishing a Blog from Word 2007 into Sharepoint The importance of Outlook 2007 as a user interface into Sharepoint Migrating an Access 2007 Database to Sharepoint Posted Mar 24 2008, 02:56 PM by Neil with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Sharepoint, Office 2007

• New Microsoft Sharepoint 2007 Courses Available

  At last Microsoft has woken up and realized that their Sharepoint 2007 product has become much bigger than they ever dreamed it would be! As Microsoft Certified Trainers we have been fighting with Microsoft for a long time to release new content and courses to the market. For the last year we had to create our own course content for many courses as Microsoft had nothing available on MOC (Microsoft Official Curriculum), but that has now finally changed. Below is a list of all the Microsoft Sharepoint courses on offer since SPS 2003. Courses numbered 1 to 4 is based on the old Sharepoint 2003. Courses numbered 5 to 6 has been available for the last year as Install and Configure on Sharepoint 2007. All the courses number from 7 to 14 are all brand new and cover very specific areas of Sharepoint 2007. Awesome!!!!! As time goes on I will post the detailed course outlines for each of the courses listed below on the courses tab of this site. 1.2014: Customizing Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies 2003 Summary: This two-day instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills to customize Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003. The workshop focuses on Web Parts, security, and the SharePoint Services object model. Audience: developers Delivery method: Instructor-led (classroom) 2.8036: Designing IT Platform Collaborative Applications with Microsoft SharePoint 2003 Workshop Summary: This two-day instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills to design and deploy Microsoft SharePoint Server 2003 products and technologies. Audience: IT professionals|developers Delivery method: Instructor-led (classroom) 3.2553: Administering Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Summary: This three-day instructor-led course enables students to design, plan, and implement a SharePoint Portal infrastructure that allows people in their organization to leverage relevant information across business processes so they can work more efficiently. Audience: IT professionals Delivery method: Instructor-led (classroom) 4.2554: Course Bundle: Administering Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services and SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Summary: This five-day instructor-led bundle enables students to design, plan, and implement a SharePoint Portal infrastructure that allows people in their organization to leverage relevant information across business processes so they can work more efficiently. Audience: IT professionals Delivery method: Instructor-led (classroom) 5.5060: Implementing Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Summary: This learning product will teach IT professionals how to implement Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 in their organizations. It will provide them with the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure a successful implementation. Audience: IT professionals Delivery method: Instructor-led (classroom) 6.5061: Implementing Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007 Summary: This learning product will teach IT Professionals how to implement Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 in their organizations. It will provide them with the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure a successful implementation. Audience: IT professionals Delivery method: Instructor-led (classroom) 7.50064: Advanced SharePoint 2007 Development Summary: This course will guide students through the process of architecting and developing SharePoint applications and customizations. Audience: developers Delivery method: Instructor-led (classroom) 8.50004: Implementing Visual Studio 2005 Team System Deep Dive Training Summary: This lab focuses on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. Audience: IT professionals Delivery method: Instructor-led (classroom) 9.50003: Customizing and Extending Enterprise Content Management Solutions Summary: This course gives you an in-depth look and hands-on experience of ECM capabilities now integrated into Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. Audience: IT professionals Delivery method: Instructor-led (classroom) 10.50047: Advanced IT Pro Course for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Summary: This five-day instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills to plan, deploy, and configure server farm solutions with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. The course focuses on key deployment Audience: IT professionals Delivery method: Instructor-led (classroom) 11.50048: Architecting and Planning the Search Capability in Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007 Summary: This two-day instructor-led workshop provides students with the knowledge and skills to architect enterprise search solutions with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. The workshop focuses on architectural issues and decisions.” Audience: IT professionals Delivery method: Instructor-led (classroom) 12.50049: Architecting Web Content Management Solutions with Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007 Summary: This two-day instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills to design and architect Web Content Management (WCM) solutions based on Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007. The course focuses on architectural issues and decisions. Audience: IT professionals Delivery method: Instructor-led (classroom) 13.50051: Architecting Portals and Collaboration Solutions with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Summary: This two-day instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills to design and architect portals and collaboration solutions based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. Audience: IT professionals Delivery method: Instructor-led (classroom) 14.50050: Architecting Documents and Records Management Solutions with MOSS 2007 Summary: This two-day instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills to design and architect document and records management solutions based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. Audience: IT professionals Delivery method: Instructor-led (classroom) Related Blogs on this site: Course 5061- Implementing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Course 5060 - Implementing Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Course 50050A: Architecting Documents and Records Management Solutions with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Course 50051A: Architecting Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Portals and Collaboration Solutions Course 50049A: Architecting Web Content Management Solutions with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Course 50048A: Enterprise Search Solution Architect Workshop Course 50047A : Advanced IT Pro Course for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Course 50003A: Customizing and Extending Enterprise Content Management Solutions Course 50004A: Implementing Advanced Portals and Collaboration Solutions Course 50064A: Advanced SharePoint 2007 Development Posted Mar 24 2008, 10:25 AM by Neil with 5 comment(s) Filed under: Sharepoint, Courses

• Setting up a Record Centre in Sharepoint

  In my previous blog about "Record Centre's" I explained the need for archiving information into a RS. In this blog I will guide you step by step through the process of actually setting one up. Before we start putting it all together, let me create a list of steps that we need to follow: Create a Content Type that will be used to classify the document type. Connect the Content Type to a "Live" or active document library that gets used very day. Create a "Record Centre" using an Enterprise template that ships with MOSS.  Setup the XML web service that becomes the entry point into the Record Centre. Create a document library in the Record Centre to store the archived information. Setup a "Record Routing" rule in the Record Centre to link the archive document library with the incoming "Content Type". Test that the solution works. 1: Create the Content Type The concept of the "Content Types" is so large that I will need to write a couple of separate blogs just on this topic alone. Therefore I will only explain the basic details in this section of this blog. Sharepoint stores the metadata for lists and document library's in virtual fields in the content database. These virtual fields are called "Site Columns" and can be accessed from the gallery section under "Site Settings". New meta data fields can be created at any time and stored as a site column. This list of columns is different for each site collection. Content Types is a way of grouping selected site columns together as a unit. This forms the basis of how lists are created and can also be used to create associated meta data for an MS Office Document. To create a new content type, navigate to the gallery section under site settings. To create the layout of how an MS Office document is going to display the meta data, we use templates in MS Office. Assuming that we are going to work with MS Word, create a new template in MS Word and save the file as a .dotx file. Link the file to the content type using the advanced settings of the Content Type itself. 2: Create the Document Library and link the Content Type The next part of the process is to create a document library in any active site and then link the content type to it. Create the document library by selecting "Create" from the "Site Actions" menu in any Sharepoint site. Navigate to the Document Library and select "Document Library Settings" from the menu. You will notice that nowhere is there any option called "Content Types" on the configuration screen that looks like the image displayed above. Content Types need to be activated at document library level by selecting "Advanced" settings and allowing content types. Once Content Types have been enabled, you can select the content type created earlier and link it to the document library. 3: Creating a Record Centre A "Record Centre" is one of the enterprise templates that ship with MOSS 2007 and it needs to be created before we configure the XML web service. Start the process by creating a new Sharepoint site. Specify the name and URL and then select the "Record Centre" template from the Enterprise tab. It is typically a good idea to create it as the top level site in a site collection. Keep in mind that a Record Centre is going to get very large as more and more data is archived into it. It therefore might be an good idea to create it as a separate web application with its content database on a separate SQL server. 4: Setting up the XML Web service The XML web service is the entry point into the Record Centre and allows us to archive information from anywhere on the network. The option to configure the RS is found under the "Application Management" tab in the Central Admin Console. There is a sub section called "External Connections" and underneath that is an option called "Record Centre". The first thing that needs to be configured is the URL to the XML web service connected to the RS. There is a sample URL below the textbox and it looks something like this: http://NameOfServer/RecordCentreName/_vti_bin/Officialfile.asmx. Once the URL is configured we need to associate an Logical name to the web service. This is done in the second textbox. This logical name will be used in the rest of Sharepoint to refer to the Record Centre. 5: Create Document library in Record Centre If the documents are stored in a document library within a "Live" site, then it is only logical that they will be stored in a document library within an Record Centre. Select the "Create" option from the "Site Actions" menu in the RS and create the document library as per usual. The only major difference might be that no default document is associated with the document library during the creation process. Select "None" from the drop down list. 6: Setup the Record Routing Rules When the document is delivered to the RS via the XML web service, there must be some way to associate the incoming Content Type with the correct document library in the RS. This is done via "Routing Rules". When a Record Centre is created it comes with a default list called "Routing Rules". This list is used to define the rules that map the incoming content type with archive document library's. A default document library and routing rule is also created called "Unclassified Records". These are used to manage incoming content to the RS that cannot be handled by the routing rules defined. To create a new Routing Rule, select the "New Item" option from the routing list. This will open the screen displayed above. Create a "Title" and "Description that will uniquely identify the routing rule in the routing list. The "Location" will be the name of the document library in the RS that will store the archived documents. The "Aliases" will be the name of the "Content Type" associated with the incoming document delivered via the XML web service. Be Careful, all the names used are case sensitive as the application was written in C#. It won't give you any errors, it just won't work. 7: Testing the solution To test the solution we need to navigate to the document library used in the "Live" site and send a document to the "Record Centre" using the XML web Service. Select a document in the document library, click on the drop down arrow to get the various options and navigate to the "Send To" option. You will note that an option appears with exactly the same name as the logical name we associated with XML web service. By selecting this option, a copy of this document will be sent to the "Record Centre" via the XML Web service. If everything works correctly you should see a "Operation completed Successfully" screen when it is complete. If everything worked correctly then we should see the archived document in the "Record Centre". Navigate to the RS and then to the document library intended to archive the document. Every day a document is archived into the document library it creates a new folder that is time stamped for that day. Each document that is stored in the folder of the day also gets a timestamp extension added to its name. A properties folder also gets created in the folder of the day that contains an XML file with all the meta data in it. The meta data contains information about the content type, date archived, incoming location, person that archived the information and much more. At this point the entire process has been completed and your "Record Centre" is operational. Related Blogs: Records Management in Sharepoint Why do we need to Archive information into a Record Centre? Setting up a Record Centre in Sharepoint Posted Mar 04 2008, 07:46 AM by Neil with 5 comment(s) Filed under: Sharepoint

• Why do we need to Archive information into a Record Centre?

  A Record Centre is one of the standard enterprise templates that ship with MOSS 2007 and is used to archive old information in Sharepoint. Many people miss the point behind Sharepoint, it is an ECM (Enterprise Content Management) solution to the corporate environment. The starting point for any organization would be to define what is a record and how long should I keep it. A record is an important piece of information that is critical to the success of an business. This does not purely refer to a database record, but also to unstructured content like MS Office documents. Various studies in the IT industry have proven that 80% of corporate information is stored on the users desktop PC. So what do I do about it? Let's start by taking a look at what Sharepoint has to offer out of an ECM perspective: Unstructured Content (MS Office Documents) - these records are stored and managed through document library's. Web Content - this is also managed using web library's and the "Publishing" feature with workflow. Database Content - can be retrieved and manipulated using the BDC (Business Data Catalogue) Email - can be stored and retrieved using Exchange 2007 in combination with a "Record Centre" Although all this content can now be stored in Sharepoint, if we do not manage it, it will get out of control. Currently we are buying bigger and bigger file servers and backup devices to manage content that nobody even needs or wants. The problem started due to the fact that the content on the file server was never actively managed. If we purely move the content from the file server onto Sharepoint we end up with same problem using a web interface that is even slower. The only way to prevent our Sharepoint servers from deteriorating in the future with an overload of content is to start archiving information. This is done by linking our "Live" or active Sharepoint sites to a Record Centre. The automation between to two sites is handled using "Information Policy's" and workflow rules. The diagram below illustrates the flow: I will explain the flow step by step: Most components in Sharepoint revolved around "Content Types" as they are the fundamental building blocks that store and associate the meta data. It therefore become imperative to first build the "Content Type" and associate it with the document library before creating or uploading any documents. Documents are then created or uploaded into the document library in the "Live" site. As the documents are uploaded they must be associated with a Content Type so that Sharepoint can apply it's internal management structures to the documents. The internal structures would be components like workflow, Information management Policies and Site Columns. It is critical that we use the new Open XML file format of MS Office 2007 as the previous versions of MS Office do not handle meta data very well. The next steps is to create a "Record Centre" from one of the Enterprise templates that ship with MOSS 2007 Enterprise addition. Before we can configure the XML web service to link the "Live" site and the "Record Centre", the RS must already exists. Keep in mind that the RS will get huge over time, therefore it might be a good idea to run it as a separate Web Application on its own Content DB on a separate server. Now we can use the Admin web site in Sharepoint to configure the XML web service. This is done from the application management tab by specifying the path to the XML web service: http://server/recordcentre/_vti_bin/Officialfile.asmx. The XML web service allows us to archive information from anywhere on the network, not just Sharepoint. This is how MS Exchange 2007 will link to the RS. We will also associate a "Logical Name" to the web service that we will use to refer to it internally in Sharepoint. A document library must be created in the RS to store the archived information. If it is stored in a document library in the "Live" site, then it must also be stored in a document library in the RS. The major difference is that the RS will end up with thousands of document library's to store the various content types that will be archived. Remember that the RS is also a site collection and not just a single site, therefore the document library's can be spread through various sub sites. The last step is to link the incoming content type to the RS with the destination document library. This is done using "Routing Rules" that is a special list in an RS that associates a Content Type with a document library. There will ultimately be thousands of routing rules mapping to thousands of content types and document library's. The archived documents are also time stamped and all the meta data associated with the archived document is stored as a separate XML file in a folder. This then concludes the process of arching information into a Record Centre, but this raises the next question. How do I find information stored in a RS? This is done via the "Search and Indexing" component of MOSS, but that is a BLOG for another time. In my next blog I will explain step by step how to physically configure the RS with Screen Shots and instructions. Related Blogs: Records Management in Sharepoint Why do we need to Archive information into a Record Centre? Setting up a Record Centre in Sharepoint Posted Mar 03 2008, 08:04 AM by Neil with no comments Filed under: Sharepoint