Articles and Tutorials » SharePoint

SharePoint Color Coated Calendars

Devin Walker — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:12:18 +0000

I found a particularly good blog about how to color your Calendar lists similar to the way Outlook’s are formatted using the Content Editor Web Part and some nifty Javascript HERE. This particularly valuable post comes to you from PlanetWilson SharePoint Blog, a particularly good source of information for MOSS solution. There is a packaged solution file (which I have yet to try because I hear it lacks the incoming e-mail feature of WSS 3.0 calendars) and a nice walkthrough demonstrating how to setup your ”coloured” calendars. I used it and it works great, here is a image of what I was able to create in about 30 minutes.

Style a Page using the Content Editor Web Part and CSS

Devin Walker — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:51:02 +0000

Do you have pages that look bland that you want to add some color to? Perhaps you would like some a background behind your web part titles. Maybe you want to hide the recycle bin on one page, but not another. Using the Content Editor Web Part you are able to add CSS to a page to customize its look and feel. This is a great alternative to modifying core.css, using SharePoint Designer or other methods (such as specifying a custom CSS file in site settings). Follow along with this quick demonstration on just how!

So you are interested in branding your SharePoint page using the content editor web part, eh? Well, there are both benefits and drawbacks to using this method. Some people may condem this method for all its worth while others embrace it as a quick styling method. Whatever you opinion is, let’s begin:

1. Navigate your browser to the page you wish to style and click Site Actions > Edit Page to check out the page.

Please note: If you do not see the Site Actions button you most likely do not have the appropriate permissions on this page.

2. Click “Add a Web Part” on any web part zone zone; it doesn’t really matter since this web part will be hidden

3. Add a new Content Editor Web Part and click Edit > Modify Shared Web Part

4. Click on Source Editor and add some custom CSS. If you need a great reference guide please check out Heather Solomon’s guide located HERE

…Now add your CSS and click Save to see your changes

And don’t forget to hide the web part by expanding “Layout” and clicking the Hidden checkbox…

If you have comments please post them below, if you’d like to contact me then click here!

Create a SharePoint Site using the Browser Interface

Devin Walker — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:58:45 +0000

The SharePoint 2007 administrator browser user interface is very useful for creating sites and sub-sites in a relatively short amount of time. The following Flash Video Tutorial will demonstrate how to create a site, setup the site’s groups, add a web part from the site’s web part gallery, and customize the web part’s chrome. Please enjoy!

Please click on the image to view the video. Length: 6 minutes, Size: 5.4 mb, You must have Flash Player 9+ to view this video* Tutorial will open in a new window.

Thanks, and remember to leave a comment!

How to Move SharePoint Calendars Fast

Devin Walker — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:40:31 +0000

Moving a calendar list between site collections may be confusing, but it is actually very simple! This article demonstrates one method using list templates and Windows Explorer to move SharePoint Calendars fast. Don’t worry, all your content will be moved also.

Let’s begin: You must have proper permissions between the two site collections to perform the move. For this example we will be moving Calendar A on site collection A to site collection B. The same method can be completed using SharePoint Designer in less steps, but for this example we will just stick with the browser method. The following method will work for any list item. Also, keep in mind you will need to setup new user permissions if moving the calendar between site collections.

1. Enter the calendar A (the one that will be moving) and click Settings > List Settings

2. Beneath Permissions and Management click Save List as template

3. Provide an appropriate File Name, Template name, description and make sure to select Include Content. We want all the dates saved to ensure the calendar is moved with the information otherwise it will be a blank Calendar. Confirm the fields by clicking OK when you are finished.

4. You will now see the Operation Completed Successfully page with a link to go to the list template gallery. Click this link.

5. In the List Template Gallery select Actions > Open in Windows Explorer.

6. Minimize the Window we just opened containing the site’s .stp list template files. From the top level Site of Site Collection B (the site we want the calendar) select List templates under the Galleries section and open the list template gallery in Windows Explorer using the same method.

7. Perform a Drag-n-drop of the calendar .stp file from Windows Explorer A to Windows Explorer B to effectively move the calendar list template from one site collection to another.

8. To add the calendar to a site simply click on the template name beneath the Tracking section on the Create page.

Hope you enjoyed this article! Leave a comment.

Copying or moving SharePoint lists by Microsoft

Redirect a SharePoint site by using the Content Editor Web Part

Devin Walker — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:24:32 +0000

This blog demonstrates a useful way to use the Content Editor Web Part to redirect users of a particular site. The script prompts a site's end users they will be redirected and then redirects them after a certain period of time.

At some point in time you might want to point users to another location from a specific page and prompt them before doing so. I will show you how to do this using the Content Editor Web Part. It is rather easy. First, you must have proper permissions on the page or site that you are trying to redirect users. Second, be advised that this may not be best practice to use the CEWP. For my situation, I needed a way to direct users from a page without actually moving or deleting the page. This worked great for my needs, yours may be different. Anyways here we go: 1. First click Site Actions > Edit Page in the top right section of your browser window. Now MOSS will effectively checkout the page in your account name. 2. Next we are going to add the Content Editor Web Part to a zone of your choice; it doesn't really matter since users won't be using the page. This is done several ways, let's just click on the Add a Web Part button ontop of the zone you chose. 3. This will bring up the Add a Web Part window. Scroll down to the Content Editor Web Part. 4. This will place the CEWP into the Top Zone or whichever zone you added it to. Let's modify the web part. This is done by clicking Edit > Modify Shared Web Part. 5. Once we have clicked the modify button a window opens on the right hand side of the browser with various options for the web part. We want to add our code the webpart so we will click the Source Editor... button. 6. Good, almost done... we just need to copy and paste the following code: [inline]

[/inline] Into the Source Editor Windows that pops up when we clicked the Source Editor... button. Great! Now all you have to do is click the Save button, publish the page and your done. Users who navigate to this page will be greeted with a popup and redirected in 10 seconds (the default time). Please note: If you want to change the amount of time before the redirect simply change the number of seconds by editing the following number representing the time lapse:

If you want a webpart with some more functionality then check out the SharePoint Redirect Webpart

SharePoint Browser Crash Solution

Devin Walker — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:17:02 +0000

One of the most common problems around the office seems to be the browser crashes when attempting to open files in a SharePoint document library. Luckily, most of the time it is an easy fix. Problem: Internet Explorer crashes (stops responding) when you try to open an Office document in a SharePoint document library. Scenario: You connect to a document library in a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 site or in a Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 site by using Windows Internet Explorer 7 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 6. However, when you try to open a Microsoft Office document, Internet Explorer crashes (stops responding). This problem occurs if the following conditions are true, in the order in which they are presented:

You install a Microsoft Office 2003 product on the computer.
You install one or more 2007 Office system programs on the computer.
You repair or update the installation of an Office 2003 product.

In this scenario, the older version of the Name.dll file becomes the registered version. When the Owssupp.dll file is used, it tries to use functionality that is not available. This condition causes Internet Explorer to crash (stop responding). Solution: Download and install Microsoft Hotfix Patch http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938888

Sharepoint Database Restore Procedure

Devin Walker — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:09:38 +0000

Accidents happen... If Sharepoint has crashed and your database needs to be restored, here is how you can do it; this is a high level overview. 1. Restore database to a new Database 2. Dismount content database from Site you are restoring by using the central administration admin utility from DOS on one of the Sharepoint Front-end's or Index Server run the following command from the following location 3. C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN 4. stsadm -o addcontentdb -url -databasename 5. Results should be something similar to the following: "Upgrade completed with errors. Review the upgrade.log file located in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\12\Logs\Upgrade.log" The number of errors and warnings is listed at the end of the upgrade log file.

SharePoint Browser Error Solution: Datasheet View Error

Devin Walker — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:07:48 +0000

Problem description: If a site has a document library using the Datasheet view a user will receive the following error when trying to navigate to the site. "The list is displayed in Standard view. It cannot be displayed in Datasheet view for one or more of the following reasons: A datasheet component compatible with Windows SharePoint Services is not installed, your browser does not support ActiveX controls, or support for ActiveX controls is disabled." There are three possible solutions: 1. Active X Security levels are not properly set. Although, this may be the problem most likely the properties are correct. Double check to see that they are set properly. 2. The installation of Microsoft Office 2003 is corrupt. It will need to be repaired:

a. Click Start, and then click Control Panel. b. Double-click Add or Remove Programs, click Microsoft Office 2003, and then click Change. c. In the Microsoft Office 2003 Setup dialog box, click Reinstall or Repair, and then click Next. d. Click Detect and Repair errors in my Office installation, and then click Install.

3. The registry key may need to be deleted (if present)

a. Close IE b. Start > Run > type "regedit" c. locate HKEY_local_machine\software\microsoft\internet explorer\ activex compatibility sub-key {65BCBEE4-7728-41A0-97BE-14E1CAE36AAE} d. Delete the folder e. Restart IE

Proper way of moving sites between web applications

Devin Walker — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:05:21 +0000

Sometimes sites need to move from one location to another. Here is how you do that using the Sharepoint CLI utility stsadm. Note: Always perform in a test environment. An empty site must be in place before a cabinet file can be imported 1. Use MOSS07's sts_adm.exe tool on test server located in directory: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN 2.Export Command:

stsadm -o export -url http://toplevelsite/subsite -filename c:\folder\sitename1.cab -version #

Version #: Any content that hasn't been approved will not be exported by default. 3. Import Command:

stsadm -o import -url http://toplevelsite2/subsitelocation -filename c:\folder\sitename1.cab

Important: Do not use -backup/-restore commands to move sub-sites, this will cause the top level site and database to be overwritten. Always perform in a test environment prior to running commands on a production server. For moving a subsites or toplevel sites to subsites. etc.

SharePoint Workflow Time Zones

Devin Walker — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:08 +0000

SharePoint workflows are very useful for sending automated emails when a list item is created or changed. As well, a workflow can be manually started from an item. SharePoint time zones can get a bit tricky when your workflow e-mails are sending date and times. This can confuse some recipients and may cause some problems when time accuracy is required. The following is a very simple workaround that may seem obvious to some, but in any case it's always good to share! Workaround Summary: Create an additional column titled "Time Zone" and order it appropriately. Once that's done modify the workflow to send the additional column information in the e-mail. Simple enough right? Let's begin: 1. Enter the list and click Settings > Create Column or just click Create Column within the list settings page OR 2. Provide the column a name like "Time Zone" or something similar and select the Choice (menu to choose from) option 3. Specify if you want the field as a required field and enter in the appropriate time zones in the choice box. Confirm the fields and click OK. Now reorder the column to the appropriate position in your form. Sample: Now it's time to update our workflow. To do this we are going to modify our workflow by adding the timezone field to the e-mail being automatically generated. 4. Open SharePoint Designer to the appropriate site containing our workflow. If you have yet to create one click File > New > Workflow . If you already have a workflow created double click on the appropriate .xoml workflow file to launch the wizard. 5. Our wizard is now launched. Double-click on the subject field to open the Define E-mail Message window 6. Click Add Lookup to Body in the Define E-mail Message window 7. Select the appropriate field from the drop-down and confirm 8. Make sure the field is shown properly in the email message and click OK. Confirm your changes to the workflow and click Finish