Amazing SharePoint – Not as bad as it often looks …

When I first started working on SharePoint (SP) technologies, on a Beta version of MOSS 2007 (this is around November of 2006), for an inhouse Microsoft project at Redmond, I can’t tell you how much I hated myself having to work on it. I felt that it is possibly the greatest punishment for a developer; to put him/her on a SharePoint project where he/she cannot develop anything and has to struggle in finding simplest of things to configure. (Mind you, this is the time when there were no books on MOSS, no documentation or help available, and all that were available were 4-5 different blogs on this technology from Microsoft SharePoint development team). All those configurations seem so trivial from a development stand point but sometimes possible OOB and sometimes not.

I was new to the SP terminologies used and had my good share of sleepless nights to get things working as I wanted and meet the deadlines/expectations of my client. Thinking about those days now, I realize how stupid and wrong my perceptions were. WSS V3 being a technology completely built on .Net 2.0 and 3.0 framework, the level of customization and development has no limits and can be extended to any level; the challenges invloved in making those customizations, integrating them with the other/new technologies like Flash, Silverlight, WCF, and enabling Ajax on some controls, building web parts and pages that can do anything that can be done or is possible in ASP.net, etc. takes it to the next level from the regular development.

I recently was chatting with a few of my friends at work who were picking this technology and realized that they were all passing through that same phase (probably not as bas as I was ). I felt that there is a need for some basic understanding at the root level that is required. So I started sharing my experiences and gave them a quick presentation on the few little things I have learned over the last few years. I could see a significant change and felt that I made their life easier. Giving them a quick overview of this mighty SharePoint, the scope for development that this can provide and some guidance on how/what to look for not only changed their opinion about the techonlogy but also generated interest to explore it in depth.

Seeing this, I felt that there are many many more out there trying to learn and understand what this SharePoint is and Googling for information which is out there but scattered across many blogs, technet and MSDN sites, forums, etc.

Here I am, trying to make an effort in sharing my knowledge and understanding and some of the resources that I had gathered, to help makes some lives easier/happier and to make them realize how amazing and interesting SharePoint Development can be. I will over the next couple of posts, discuss about the basic concepts in SharePoint and then go in-depth into branding, security, branding sites, customizing a site, building custom web parts, development using SharePoint as a platform, etc.

Hope these will be helpful… Cheers!

SharePoint 2007 – Changing the Page Layout of an existing page

In a publishing SharePoint site, any page you add or create is based of a layout. Layouts are the templates that define how a page looks and where the content can be added. These layouts in SharePoint are broadly classified into two categories – article pages and welcome pages, and any custom layouts can be added.

There are many a times when we create a page, add our webparts and content only to realize that we need something extra, something different, a different look . We want to use a 3 column layout instead of a 2 column page layout or even a custom built layout. {I will discuss in my later blogs on some easier approaches to create a page layout.}

To change a page layout from the browser, here are the steps to follow

1. Edit the page by going to Site Actions and Edit Page.
2. From the edit page menu that appears on the top of the page when in edit mode, click on the page menu and select “page settings and schedule”.
3. In the page settings page, you will find a section for Page layouts where you can select the layout required from list of layouts available in the dropdown.
4. Click ok and notice the layout changed.

Be careful when doing this if the webpart zones between the two layouts doesn’t match. SharePoint is smart only to retain the content if the name of the zones match when layouts change . Else the data is lost. So either move all the content to one zone that exists and then move across the zones or save the content some place. Something I have learnt the hard way.

Good Luck.

Sashi: Introduction to my world ….

Hi folks,

Welcome to my space on the web.

I will be sharing my experiences and views about all that I like, I do and I feel. :^) To give you an idea on what to expect, let me tell you a little about myself.

I am from the world of Microsoft technologies (.Net, Sql server and its services, SharePoint, and anything under that giant umbrella). I love to checkout new gadgets, a connoisseur of good food, love traveling and explore new places. My favorite pass time, music and movies. Games of course, any game, anytime, anywhere.

Moto of life: Live life bindaas!! Live it simple and enjoy it to the fullest.

There is much much more to me. I am here to just share some interesting and not so interesting things that I come across. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Cheers.