SharePoint 4 Developers

Additional reference guide in .NET / SharePoint Development

Lesson 1 - Core SharePoint Features – Part IV

This post is the continuation of the lesson 1 Core SharePoint Features. In this post you can find the definition, utilization and example of views.

Hi folks,

This post is the continuation of the lesson 1 Core SharePoint Features. In this post you can find the definition, utilization and example of views.

As a resource, it makes easier the selection and display of items, specially if your list/library has many items.

Have a good reading!

Views

Basically a view is a visual representation of data in a List/Library based on a selection criteria, which defines how data is displayed.

Why to use views?

Imagine a library full of items, maybe with hundreds of documents. It becomes difficult to find a document visually in the middle of others. In order to facilitate its localization, a view can be created, because it works as a filter.

The view All Documents was created automatically when the library VIDocs was created firstly, according the last post. Figure 1 displays the All Documents view by default.

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Figura 1 – Default View

At this moment we have few documents in the library, however, depending on the utilization, this list can grow and then it can be difficult to localize documents.

So let´s create a view based on the column FileType of our last example.

Open the menu that contains all views and select Create View, according Figure 2.

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Figure 2 – Create a view

A set of views is displayed according Figure 3, each one with specific features, detailed in the Table 1.

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Figura 3 – View Format

Type

Utilisation

Standard View

Displays list items or files like a traditional list on a Web page.

Calendar View

Displays a calendar items in a visual format that is similar to a desk or wall calendar. It is possible to apply daily, weekly, or monthly views in this format.

Datasheet View

Provides data in a format that can be edited, such as a table in a database or spreadsheet. This view can be helpful when performing large editing tasks or customization, or exporting data to a spreadsheet or database program. Datasheet view requires a control or program that is compatible with Windows SharePoint Services, such as Office Access 2007, and ActiveX control support.

Gantt View

Provides a visual view of data, with bars that track progress. A Gantt view can help to manage projects and see a quick overview of your data. It can be used to see which tasks overlap each other and to visualize overall progress.

Table 1 – Types of views available

Other types of views may be available. In the Figure 3 there is an additional type of view called Access view, which starts an Access file to create forms and reports that are based on the list.

Select the Standard View format.

We are about to create a view that groups documents of same type based on the column FileType, as displayed in Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7.

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Figure 4 – View VIDocs (1/4)

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Figure 5 – View VIDocs (2/4)

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Figure 6 – View VIDocs (3/4)

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Figure 7 – View VIDocs (4/4)

It needs to fill many fields (textbox / option fields) throughout the creation of view, according figures above. Depending on the view you need, other fields may be needed. You can find below a description in details of the displayed sections:

Section

Description

Name

Type the view name and check whether you want to define as default.

Audience

These options are available for selection:

  • Create a Personal View
    Only can be used by the owner.
  • Create a Public View
    Others can use it.

Columns

Show or hide columns by selecting the number for the order of the column in the view.

Sort

Choose whether and how the information needs to be sorted. It is possible to use two columns for the sort of view.

Filter

Displays all items or just a subset of the list.

Group By

Group items with the same value in their own section.

Totals

Count the number of items in a column.

Style

Style options to format the view:

  • Basic Table

  • Document Details

  • Newsletter

  • Newsletter, no lines

  • Shaded

  • Preview Pane

  • Default

Folders

Choose whether to create a view that doesn't include the folders — called a flat view.

Item Limit

Limit how many files can be viewed in the list or library, or how many files can be viewed on the same page.

Mobile

To view the list or library on a mobile device these options are available:

  • Make a Mobile View
    It creates a view for mobile devices.

  • Make this default mobile view
    Defines a default view.

Table 2 – View Configuration

The following view will be displayed after clicking OK, which is grouped by the FileType column, according Figure 8.

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Figure 8 – View VIDocs (Grouped by FileType)

Notice that each FileType group displays the amount of files. Click the symbol (+) to expand the grouping and see all contained documents.

Lesson 1 is not finished yet, today you could learn about views. In the next post I am going to present you web parts.

Hope it could help!

Reference:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointtechnology/HA100215771033.aspx

Cheers,

Marcel Medina

Click here to read the same content in Portuguese.

Lesson 1 - Core SharePoint Features – Part III

This post is the continuation of the lesson Core SharePoint Features. We are going to see definitions, types and an example of how to create Columns.

Hi folks,

This post is the continuation of the lesson Core SharePoint Features. Today we are going to see definitions, types and an example of how to create Columns.

It contains many figures that facilitate the understanding and learning.

Let´s go to another post belonging to this series!

Site Columns

Site Columns are column definitions that can be assigned to multiple lists across multiple SharePoint sites (available at the scope of Site Collection).

Due to the fact they are shared, Site Columns eliminate the need to create repeated columns (redundancy) in each site, ensuring consistency of column metadata. However Site Columns can be copied to Lists and then to belong exclusively to the List, becoming List Columns.

Site Columns and List Columns can be added to Content types*.

Keeping up with our example started in the previous post, now we´re going to create a column called FileType in the library VIDocs, which will contain the definition of the file type that was created or uploaded.

Every time you create a column to your list, preferably add a column based on an existing column, through Settings > Document Library Settings > Add from existing site columns. If the column doesn´t exist (as in this case), firstly we must create the site column and then add it to our library.

In order to create the column go to Site Actions > Site Settings > Site columns (under Galleries), according Figure 1 and 2.

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Figure 1 – Site Settings Menu

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Figure 2 – Site Settings

Click Create.

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Figure 3 – Site Column Gallery

Next step is the column creation, however the selection of the column type to our example is needed. Table 1 displays the existing column types available in SharePoint and their features.

Coluna

Descrição

Single line of text

Columns that collect and display small amounts of text in a single line, including text only, combinations of text and numbers, and numbers that are not used in calculations (such as phone numbers).

Multiple lines of text

Columns that collect and display one or more sentences of text or formatted text.

Choice (menu to choose from)

Columns that display a list of options.

Number (1, 1.0, 100)

Columns that provide a box in which you can type a numerical value.

Currency ($,¥, €)

Columns that provide a box in which you can type a monetary value.

Date and Time

Columns that store calendar or time-of-day information.

Lookup (information already on this site)

Columns that make it easy for you to select information that's already stored on a site.

Yes/No (check box)

Columns that store true/false information.

Person or Group

Columns that display the name of users or SharePoint groups.

Hyperlink or Picture

Columns that display a hyperlink to a Web page or display an image from the Web.

Calculated (calculation based on other columns)

Columns that display information that is based on the result of a formula. The formula can use information from other lists and columns, dates, or numbers. You can use standard mathematical operators.

Table 1 – Existing Column Types

In our example the column FileType must be a column of type Choice and have these elements: Word Document, Excel Spreadsheet, Portable Document Format, Text File, XML File and Image File.

Table 2 displays the column settings and figures 4, 5 and 6 display the screenshot details.

Seção

Campo

Name and Type

Column Name: FileType

The type of information in this column is: Choice (menu to choose from)

Group

Existing Group: Custom Columns

Addition Column Settings

Description: Type of the File

Require that this column contains information: No

Type each choice on a separate line:

  • Word Document
  • Excel Spreadsheet
  • Portable Document Format
  • Text File
  • XML File
  • Image File

Display choices using: Drop-down menu

Allow “Fill-in” choices: No

Default Value: Choice (Let the field blank)

Table 2 – Column Settings

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Figure 4 – New Site Column (1/3)

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Figure 5 – New Site Column (2/3)

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Figure 6 – New Site Column (3/3)

Click OK to create the Site Column.

After creating the column, we need to configure our library VIDocs to display it. Open the library and go to Settings > Document Library Settings, according Figure 7.

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Figure 7 – Document Library Settings Menu

Then click in Add from existing site columns according Figure 8.

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Figure 8 – Document Library Settings

A new page will be displayed to select the column, according Figure 9. Select it and click OK.

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Figure 9 – Adding columns from existing Site Columns

This way the column will be added to the library VIDocs. In the Figure 10 we can check out the updated library with the FileType column available (and filled).

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Figure 10 – FileType Column

Once the column is created, our example will be used in the next part of lesson 1, which continues in the next post, containing explanations about views.

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content types* - Collection of content settings. (To be seen in another lesson)
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References:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms450825.aspx
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointtechnology/HA101577691033.aspx
Book: Essential SharePoint 2007 (Addison Wesley Series)
Book: Essential SharePoint 2007, Second Edition (O'Reilly, 2007)

Cheers,

Marcel Medina

Click here to read the same content in Portuguese.

Lesson 1 - Core SharePoint Features – Part II

This post is the continuation of Core SharePoint Features lesson. It will introduce you with definitions, types and an example of creating Lists.

Hi folks,

This post is the continuation of Core SharePoint Features lesson. It will introduce you with definitions, types and an example of creating Lists.

This object understanding is essential to comprehend how WSS and MOSS store data and let it available to users.

Lists and Libraries

They are data tables, very similar to tables from a database. However we can´t compare a SharePoint list to a simple table from the database, which just stores records.

A List is a mini-application inside SharePoint, created from List Templates that support workflows, content types*, versioning and permissions.

Tables 1 and 2 show what lists are available with WSS and MOSS respectively.

List

Utilization

Announcements

Share news, status, and other time-sensitive information.

Contacts

Collect and store phone numbers, email addresses, and other information about employees or external contacts. Contact lists can be shared with Outlook.

Discussion Board

Create threaded discussions among team members. Discussion boards are similar to newsgroups.

Custom List

Create a new list starting with basic columns and a standard view.

Custom List in Datasheet view

Create a new list starting with basic columns and a datasheet view.

Import Spreadsheet

Create a new list with columns and data from a spreadsheet. Includes a datasheet view.

Links

List web pages and other resources related to a task or project.

Calendar

Track events, milestones, and deadlines that can be displayed graphically as a calendar page. Calendar lists can be shared with Outlook.

Tasks

Track work items.

Project Tasks

Track work items that can be displayed graphically in a Gantt Chart.

Issue Tracking

Assign issues or problems to individuals and then track the progress of the resolution.

Survey

Poll individuals using a series of questions and display the results graphically.

Table 1 – Built-in List Templates provided by WSS

List

Utilization

Languages and Translators

Add languages and translators used by the Translation Management workflow.

KPI List

Track and display progress toward a set of goals graphically.

Table 2 – Additional List Templates from MOSS

Library is sort of a special list, which main difference from a List is the possibility to store files.

Tables 3 and 4 show what libraries are available with WSS and MOSS respectively.

Library

Utilization

Document Library

Collect and share Office documents and other files.

Form Library

Publish InfoPath forms for collecting structured data such as timesheets, purchase order requests, and other business forms.

Wiki Page Library

Share web pages that can be edited by multiple authors.

Picture Library

Collect and share image files.

Basic Page

Store HTML-format web pages.

Web Part Page

Store SharePoint web part pages.

Table 3 – Built-in Library Templates provided by WSS

Library

Utilization

Translation Management Library

Create documents in multiple languages and manage their translation.

Report Library

Publish Excel report spreadsheets.

Data Connection Library

Publish Office Data Connection (ODC) and Universal Data Connection (UDC) files.

Slide Library

Publish slides from PowerPoint 2007 presentations.

Table 4 – Additional Library Templates from MOSS

Among all lists and libraries displayed in above tables, we are going to create a library that, besides having all features of a list, offers file storage.

Let´s check the creation of a library using the Library Template called Document Library, which by the way is the same used by Shared Documents library (Fig. 1).

This same example will be used in the next posts of lesson 1.

In order to view the existing libraries in the current site, click in View All Site Content (Fig. 1).

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Figure 1 – Main page

Figure 2 displays some lists and libraries grouped by categories. By default they are available through sites every time a new site is created.

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Figure 2 – All Site Content

Click Create. We are going to create a new list based on the template Document Library.

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Figure 3 – Library Creation

The name of our library is suggestive of adoption and concerns about the utilization of lists for document files storage. It is going to be named VIDocs, as per Figure 4, which means Very Important Documents.

This is the way we should use libraries, just storing important documents.

Some companies insist transforming SharePoint as a file server, but they don´t analyze first some issues concerning Lists size growing and administrative tasks.

Warning: This is a polemic matter that I will bring it again in another post soon. Just store important documents, unless you know exactly what you are doing.

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Figure 4 – Library Creation Details

Click New or upload some documents to check how simple it is. Upload lots of files, specially different types such as Word document, Text file, PDF, Excel spreadsheet, etc.
If you have Office 2003 Pro or Office 2007, you can use the feature Upload Multiple Documents.

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Figure 5 – Documents Upload

There are other ways to bulk upload files that will not be shown in this post. If you are interested to know more about it immediately, please contact me, otherwise I will let a post of Tips and Tricks category available for this purpose.

Lesson 1 continues in the next post, with explanations about columns and views.

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content types* - Collection of content settings. (To be seen in another lesson)
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References:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd490727.aspx
Livro: Essential SharePoint 2007 (Addison Wesley Series)
Livro: Essential SharePoint 2007, Second Edition (O'Reilly, 2007)

Cheers,

Marcel Medina

Click here to read the same content in Portuguese.