Microsoft Technology Day

Register NOW

http://www.msexperts.net/




















I will deliver 4 SharePoint 2007 Sessions:
*Building Sharepoint WebParts
*Building Multi-Lang. MOSS Sites
*Enable Forms Auth. in MOSS Sites
*SharePoint Web Parts Deployment

My Presentations with Demos/Code,available to download:

http://cid-4bc94054914a6469.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/MS%20Technology%20Day

Community Kit for Sharepoint

Hi All,
Sharepoint Community Kit is a project which contains alot of added value features for sharepoint 2007.
"The Community Kit for SharePoint is a set of best practices, templates, Web Parts, tools, and source code that enables practically anyone to create a community website based on SharePoint technology for practically any group of people with a common interest.
"
New added features...really cool features:

Enhanced Blog Edition
Enhanced Wiki Edition
Corporate Intranet Edition
Internet/Extranet Edition
User Group Edition (1.0)
School Edition
Home Owners Association Edition
Wedding Edition
External Collaboration Toolkit for SharePoint (Community Edition)

read more & download it now :
http://www.codeplex.com/CKS

Regards,
Mostafa arafa

Get Started with Silverlight 2.0

Hi All,

Get to know about the Silverlight 2.0 beta release which will be shipped soon,with the extra features than first version 1.0 which was released on Sept 07.

very useful post,with attached toturials to get started.

Silverlight 2.0 toturials :
http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2008/02/22/first-look-at-silverlight-2.aspx

Regards,
Mostafa arafa

File Not Found problem in MOSS 2007 Sites

Hi All,

if you configured your SharePont Site to use Forms Authentication,you might go through a very strange problem,when you open any page inside your sharepoint site,you will a white page showing "File Not Found" message,and this is a stopper problem,you can't configure your site or work with it at all.

I tried to find the solution and it's really tricky problem,if you updated the web.cofig try to open it now,you will find this attribute in web.config:

configuration xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/.NetConfiguration/v2.0"

what you have to do:

1) Remove xmlns attribute in web.config
2) reset the IIS.

navigate to your sharepoint site,it's working fine.

happy times with MOSS :).

Hope this helps.

Ref. Read More :

http://www.infusionblogs.com/kguenther/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?List=dd601508%2D904a%2D460a%2Db24f%2D9271325cefda&ID=1829


Regards,
Mostafa arafa

Community Open Day 16 Feb 2008 - Kuwait

How can you set your ConnectionString on your Web part

Hi Folks,

This is a tricky post,alot of question i found on the web regarding how can i put the connection string for my web part once i finished my development and i want to be work with my sharepoint site. simply add your connection string on the web.config of your web site .

web.config of your site path :
D:\Inetpub\wwwroot\wss\VirtualDirectories\Port#\

simply add the connection string section after the sharepoint key and before system.web key as follows :


{sharepoint}
..........
{/sharepoint}

{connectionstrings}
{add providername="System.Data.SqlClient" connectionstring="Data Source=server;Initial Catalog=mydb;User ID=DotNetBoom;Password=DotNetBoom" name="MyConnect"}
{/connectionstrings}

{system.web}........

please replace {} with <> .

Hope this helps.............


Regards,
Mostafa arafa

Ready Tool for managing Asp.Net 2.0 Membership Data

Hi Folks,


Very useful tool i found it on CodePlex community site,this tools give you easily manage the membership tables,manage user roles,Roles,Reset passwords.

The tools is available with source code also.... :)

Download URL :
http://www.codeplex.com/CKS/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=7450

This tool is a very useful tool for web developers and you can download it and use it without writing a line of code or using VS2005 asp.net security configuration tool.

Happy .Netting.



Regards,
Mostafa arafa

MOSS Design concepts "Content Types vs. Page Layout" with Master Pages

Hi Folks,

Very useful post for understanding MOSS Design Concepts including :

1) Master Pages Design for Sites and Sub Sites.
2) Content Types.
3) Page Layout.
4) Relation between the content types and page layouts.


http://www.heathersolomon.com/blog/articles/MOSS07DesignComponents.aspx

Regards,
Mostafa arafa

This product requires at least Windows workflow foundation version 3.0.4203.2 which is part of Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0

Hi All,

If you are trying to install MOSS 2007,or installing .Net Framework 3.0 redistributable package perior of MOSS installation, you might face an error :

"Set up is unable to proceed due to the following errors: This product requires at least Windows workflow foundation version 3.0.4203.2 which is part of Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0"

I tried all possible scenarios to fix this error and i set almost 4 hours to get a solution for this error,and after long period of searching over the internet and trying all posibble solutions,the only solution which works with me,is the following: when installing the .net framework redistributable package is not enough to fix this problem because its not the Full Package of .Net Framework 3.0,which is not available over any MS internet web site and i get it though on of the .net product team.

The Full .Net Framework 3.0 installer package download URL :

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=70848

No more Nightmares with MOSS installation...........Thanks God :)

Different error messages for the same problem posted on below blog :
http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2006/10/30/net-framework-3-0-setup-log-files.aspx



Regards,
Mostafa arafa

Problem when creating new sharepoint shared services (SSP)

Hi All,

When you try to create new sharepoint shared services or (SSP),if you faced that the created site is not coming on the web application list,you have to know that this means that your application is running under Network Service or local service account.

The Solution : change the serivce account which run your web application.

To Do that : open SharePoint Central Administration -> click on Operation Tab -> Services Account.

Select your web application and change the account which running your site.



Regards,
Mostafa arafa

Change SharePoint Site port

Hi Folks,

This post is a tricky post,i faced this problem,i had a sharepoint 2007 site,and i want to change its port,to change it do the following :

1) from IIS Manager,right click on the site,and change the port from the old to the new one.

2) From Sharepoint Central Administration,click on operation tab,and click on alternate access mapping (AAM) to map the new url to the created web application url.

For example : you changed the created site from port 9999 to 90 :

http://MyServer:90/ Map To http://myserver:9999/

This tells that if the sharepoint get a request on the port 90 from the iis,map it to the created url web application.


Another Tip :

If you want to change the port which is used from the sharepoint site to connect via SQL Server 2000/2005,simply by using SQL Configuration manager,follow this article:

http://kbalertz.com/889647/change-SharePoint-Portal-Server-connect-Server.aspx


Hope this helps ...............


Regards,
Moustafa arafa

Difference between SharePoint Web Services and API

Hi all,

One of the most tricky tasks to select the type of development task you will work to integrate your custom application with sharePoint portal as all know that you can work with sharepoint 2007 data either through SharePoint Services or SharePoint APIs.

You can use SharePoint Web Serivces in case your code is not resides on sharepoint server,and you would like to manipulate sharepoint data in oyur application.

In case your code resides on sharepoint server,you can use directly the sharepoint APIs to manipulate sharepoint data in an easy way.


Big enhancements have been done on Sharepoint services,you can manipulate all sharepoint compoenets by consumping sharepoint services such as : users,groups,permissions,meetings,BDC,Workflows,webparts pages,documents,lists...etc.


I recommend using Shapoint API in case your code resides on the sharepoint server than using the sharepoint web services because its OOP Object model and gives you little bit more features in some sharepoint classes than provided on the web services.

and the last decision is to you.....

Hope this helps.




Regards,
Moustafa arafa

Deploying WebParts in SharePoint 2007

Hi Folks,
Any SharePoint Development requires you to develop your Web Part and deploy it to sharePoint,in this post i will describe the steps required to deploy your web part to sharepoint 2007 site:

1) after creating your web part,you have to sign it with strong name.
To Do that : simply open the project properties and on the signing tab select new and then save the properties ad build your web Library.

2) add to the GAC on your sharePoint Server.
you can do that by using VS.Net Command tools or use .Net 2.0 configuration Tool from the control panel.

NOTE: after you add your DLL to GAC you can find it on C:\Windows\Assembly Folder.

Take Note : you have to store the Publick Key token of the signed DLL by right click on your DLL -> Properties and save the public key token on a notepafe file because it will be used later.

























3) To add this webpart to a sharepoint site,you have to make it "Safe Control " to be loaded and configured on your site.


To Do that : open the web.config file of your site,it resides on C:\IntePub\WWroot\WSS\Virtual Directories


then open the folder of your site,it takes by default the port number of your site.

Paste this code on the web.config : (i removed <> letters of the key)

SafeControl Assembly=”ArafaWebPart,
Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral,
PublicKeyToken=2e128026f9c7d6df”
Namespace=”ArafaWebPart” TypeName=”*”

Safe and close your web.config.

4) open your sharepoint site->site settings->web parts->click on new and select your webpart and then click on Populate Gallery.














5) then click on any page and add your web part.













Hope this helps.




Regards,
Moustafa arafa

How to pass DateTime Timestamp to Sharepoint 2007

Hi Folks,

if you developing sharepoint application,you will face that the DateTime timestamp parameter on sharepoint is different than what you are used to pass in your .Net Application.

In SharePoint 2007,the TimeStamp has to passed as a string and this is the format of the string:

"YYYYMMDDTHHMMDDZ"

Take these Notes:

1) Date Part is followed by T Symbol.
2) Time Part is followed by Z Symbol.

and the the rest of the string is easy to get it in your application by using:

C#:
DateTime.Now.Date.ToShortDateString()
DateTime.Now.Date.ToShortTimeString()

By using any string concatenation "+" or use String Builder Class to give better performance.


Hope this helps................


Regards,
Moustafa arafa

Deploying Features without using stsadmin command line tool

Hi Folks,

i'm using a visual tool which build our command you want to write in the stsadmin command line tool without.

Tool Name : Feature Manager

Download Link :
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/files/folders/tbaginski/entry2449.aspx

One Tip : After install and activate the feature dont forget to reset your IIS.

Don't forget to configure the tool before start by clicking on configuration menu item and put the paths of your installation because its by default its on C:\ Drive.

Hope this helps........

Regards,
Moustafa arafa

0x0020 in MOSS object Model

Hi Folks,

This post to inform that when you develop on sharepoint 2007 object model,and if you are manipulating with lists in sharepoint you might face in the item names or field names you will find that the spaces in sharepoint is converted to this hexidecimal code "0x0020".

Example:
if you have a column name in a list with name "Customer Name",when reading this column in your code you will find the column name is : "Customer_0x0020_Name".

Happy .netting with sharepoint...........

Regards,
Moustafa arafa

How to enable Search on your MOSS 2007 Site

Hi Folks,

If you want to Enable Search facility on your sharepoint 2007 site,follow these steps:

Go to the Site Settings and under Site Administration Click on Seach Visibility Link.













Update the seetings as shown on the attached image.

even after you enable the search visibility on your site and if you start search for a keyword on your site pages it will not work until the Crawling process will be run.

What's the story of Search Crawling in MOSS 2007 ?

There is a Crawling Service running on all Sharepoint conent pages to index all content,if you start your search for a new added content before the crawling process start by including the new content on its schedule,you will not get your search results.

The Question is : How can i Configure My Crawling process on MOSS 2007 ?

Open your central administration site: click on Share Services link under Share Services Administration.

Click on Search Settings -> Content Sources and Crawl Schedules -> Edit the Content Source which is exist.















Update your crawling services as you want and as per your organization needs.

Hope this helps....


Regards,
Moustafa arafa

Variations Tip in MOSS 07

Hi All,

Locatiozation on MOSS 2007 is a piece of cake to start creating your site multi-lingual site.

to start creating multi-language site on sharepoint 2007,you have to use one of the new features on MOSS 2007 called Variations.

when you create variations on your site you might face this problem which mentioned below.

if you got this error message when you try to create heirarchies on your site in sharepoint 2007 :

"No Variation Root Web has been set - hierarchies cannot be created until a Variation Root is set."

simply this because you didn't specify the variation root of your site.

click on variations link and set / on the location to create the variation on your root or base on your select.

hope this helps.

Regards,
Moustafa arafa

Which Master Page Shall I Use in Built-In Master Pages in MOSS 07 ?

Hi All,

In MOSS 2007,there's 9 Master Pages built-In on any create site in Sharepoint 2007.

The Question is : Which Master Pages shall I use for my Site ?

Case #1: Blue Vertical / Black Vertical
This is the best choice in case you are building an internet sites with good representations of the WCM related columns,No Top Navugation only Left Navigation which is most required on internet sites.

Case #2: Blue Tabs
Is the best alternative for default master page .The difference is the tabbed representations of the top navigation.


Case #3: Blue Band / balck Band / Blue Glass Band
Same as Default master page with both Top and Left navigation,the best selection for starting to customize the default master page.

Orange Sigle Level & Black Single Level : same as blue band master pages with different on Color Combinations.

Or you can still use the default master page with full control on the top and left navigation and customize it but it will take much work on your customizations.

The Good starter from my point for your customization is Blue Band Master page coz it contains the minimal that u want to put on your master page with site actions and navigation.


Hope this Tip help.


Regards,
Moustafa arafa

Create your first Content Page in MOSS 2007

Hi Folks,

MOSS 2007 is amazing product from MS,it contains Sharepoint as well as CMS features on one product,Sharepoint 2007 built on top of WSS 3.0 which has alot of features to built collaboration solution with great integraion with asp.net applications.

one of important features on MOSS 2007,the Content management which was separate product before the release MOSS 2007 and had name (CMS 2002 with SP2 latest release).

Now,CMS 2002 is incorporated on MOSS 2007,and the product team for content management on MOSS 2007 has name "ECM" Team : Enterprise Content management which is different than the sharepoint product team.

To start use and implement your first CMS Site on MOSS 2007,its different than CMS 2002,alot of terminologies and key features have been changed.

one of the most required question,HOW TO ? create my CMS or built my Content Site on MOSS with little bit customization.

The Guide URL below,is oyur start,believe me....start forward and showing you step by step how to create your first content page for editors in MOSS 2007.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa830818.aspx

Part 1 is enough for this topic,and to dig more on ECM on MOSS 07,MUST READ 3 PARTS of this Article.

Life is easier with WCM in MOSS 2007.....Thanks Microsoft.

Hope this helps.



Regards,
Moustafa arafa