Westin's Technical Log

Creating Interactive SharePoint List Views Using the JavaScript Client Object Model

wkriebel — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 02:05:00 GMT

There are some situations where you prefer to allow users to directly interact with list items directly within the row of the list view. Normally interaction occurs through the edit control block (ECB), the ribbon, or one of the list item forms. However, sometimes the action is a simple toggle activity that the user should simply be able to directly initiate directly from the list view UI.

Here is a general approach for enabling this.

There are four components:

1. The XSLT to cause render the interface on each list item
2. A JavaScript file to handle the interaction using the SharePoint Client Side Object Model for JavaScript
3. (Optional) a form to handle optional input for the change
4. Some images for the interaction

In this example, we will allow the user to toggle the Status column of a document library between to arbitrary values “True” and “False”, and specify a comment in the comment history when toggling the value to “False”. Using this method you can allow the users to put a toggle switch on any list item, and have it write that value back to the list item directly from the list view.

Steps

Create a document library, or navigate to an existing one.

Modify the desired SharePoint view using SharePoint Designer (See: Create a custom list view using SharePoint Designer). Using Table layout tools, add a column to hold the toggle XSL (not another data column, just a layout column).

Add the following snippet to the column in code view, which looks at the Status column and displays the appropriate toggle UI, and wraps it with an OnClick event handler with the ID of the list item.

<xsl:if test="normalize-space($thisNode/@_Status) != 'False'" ddwrt:cf_explicit="1">

<div >

<xsl:attribute name="onclick"> ToggleOff('<xsl:value-of select="$thisNode/@ID"/>');

</xsl:attribute>

</div>

</xsl:if>

<xsl:if test="normalize-space($thisNode/@_Status) = 'False'" ddwrt:cf_explicit="1">

<div >

<xsl:attribute name="onclick"> ToggleOn('<xsl:value-of select="$thisNode/@ID"/>');

</xsl:attribute>

</xsl:if>

<!-- END Toggle Control –>

Add a content editor web part to the page and put a script reference in the HTML of the content editor web part such as:

<script src=”/style library/SPQuickToggle.js”></script>

Upload the attached images to site collection /Style Library/Images/ and the .js and .aspx page to the /Style Library/. In this case we are using two simple graphics that resemble the Metro toggle control and we are prompting the user to provide a reason for turning off the switch. Note: you can, of course, put them anywhere, but you’ll have to simply change the references.

You can look at the source of the JS file, but the key portions are:

the use of the SP.UI.ModalDialog to take in a reason, and then handle the comment return result.
Using the SP.ListItem.set_item method, which uses the update method, followed by the executeQueryAsync method of the SP.ClientContext.

Here is the relevant snippet:

var ToggleDialog;

var SPQuickToggleConfig = {

    ReasonDialogURL: "/style library/ToggleReason.aspx",

    ToggleListTitle: "Documents",

    ToggleField: "_Status",

    ToggleOnValue:"True",

    ToggleOffValue: "False",

    ToggleReasonField: "ItemHistory"

};

function ToggleOut(itemID) {

    ///<summary>Prompts the user for a reason for tailoring out an item</summary>

    ///<param name="itemID" type="integer" mayBeNull="false" integer="true">The list item ID that is to be toggled off</param>

    SP.UI.ModalDialog.commonModalDialogOpen(SPQuickToggleConfig.ReasonDialogURL, {

        title: "Reason for Toggling",

        width: 300,

        height: 175

    }, ToggleWithReason, itemID);

function ToggleWithReason(diagResult, diagReturnArgs) {

    ///<summary>This is called after the dialog closes</summary>

    ///<param name="diagReturnArgs" type="object"></param>

    logger("Entering Toggling Reason");

    if (diagResult == 1) {

        ToggleDialog = SP.UI.ModalDialog.showWaitScreenWithNoClose("Toggling...", "Toggling this item", 200, 200);

        var itemID = diagReturnArgs[0];

        var toggleReason = diagReturnArgs[1];

        //Get the current client context

        context = SP.ClientContext.get_current();

        var toggleLibrary = context.get_web().get_lists().getByTitle(SPQuickToggleConfig.ToggleListTitle);

        //Get the list item to update

        var listItem = toggleLibrary.getItemById(itemID);

        //Set the new property value

        listItem.set_item(SPQuickToggleConfig.ToggleField, SPQuickToggleConfig.ToggleOffValue);

        listItem.set_item(SPQuickToggleConfig.ToggleReasonField, toggleReason);

        logger("About to update list item.");

        listItem.update();

        logger("About to execute async query.");

        context.executeQueryAsync(ToggleOffSucceeded, ToggleOffFailed);

    else {

        //Optional:  show canceled notification

As always, the code carries no warranties express or implied.

Linkbacks are always appreciated.

Footnote: You’ll see my code references at the beginning of the JS file which enable great intellisense in Visual Studio.

Using Excel to Geocode with Bing Maps Web Services

wkriebel — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:00:59 GMT

A lot of folks have to geocode data that they get from various folks in their organization, and it often makes its way in to Excel. Of course, you can batch geocode using Bing Maps Services, but in some scenarios it is a lot more convenient or reasonable to use Excel.

Wouldn’t it be handy if there was an Excel function like =GEOCODE(<Some Address>)?

Well, here it is.

This uses the Bing Maps REST services and synchronous VBA and XML. This is similar to asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) but in this case it would be SVAX.

This code is provided without warranty, etc.

You will need a Bing Maps key (See: Getting a Bing Maps Key), Excel, and an internet connection.

Option 1: Create your own module

Expose the Developer tools (See: Show the Developer Tab)
Click the Visual Basic button
Insert a Module
Paste in this code and modify as you see fit:

Option Explicit

Function GeocodeAddress(address As String, BingMapsKey As String) As String

    Dim oHttpReq As MSXML2.XMLHTTP

    Set oHttpReq = New MSXML2.XMLHTTP

    oHttpReq.Open "get", "https://dev.virtualearth.net/REST/v1/Locations?q=" & address & "&o=xml&key=" & BingMapsKey, "false"

    oHttpReq.send

    If oHttpReq.readyState = 4 Then

        GeocodeAddress = oHttpReq.responseXML.SelectNodes("//Point/Latitude").Item(0).Text & "," & oHttpReq.responseXML.SelectNodes("//Point/Longitude").Item(0).Text

    End If

End Function

Function DriveDistance(From As String, Dest As String, BingMapsKey As String) As String

    Dim oHttpReq As MSXML2.XMLHTTP

    Set oHttpReq = New MSXML2.XMLHTTP

    oHttpReq.Open "get", "https://dev.virtualearth.net/REST/V1/Routes/Driving?o=xml&wp.0=" & From & "&wp.1=" & Dest & "&avoid=minimizeTolls&key=" & BingMapsKey, "false"

    oHttpReq.send

    If oHttpReq.readyState = 4 Then

        DriveDistance = oHttpReq.responseXML.SelectNodes("//TravelDistance").Item(0).Text

    End If

End Function

Function GetStateCountryFromPoint(Lat As String, Lon As String, BingMapsKey As String) As String

    Dim oHttpReq As MSXML2.XMLHTTP

    Set oHttpReq = New MSXML2.XMLHTTP

    oHttpReq.Open "get", "https://dev.virtualearth.net/REST/v1/Locations/" & Lat & "," & Lon & "?o=xml&key=" & BingMapsKey, "false"

    oHttpReq.send

    If oHttpReq.readyState = 4 Then

        If oHttpReq.responseXML.SelectNodes("//Address/AdminDistrict").Length > 0 Then

            GetStateCountryFromPoint = oHttpReq.responseXML.SelectNodes("//Address/AdminDistrict").Item(0).Text & ", " & oHttpReq.responseXML.SelectNodes("//Address/CountryRegion").Item(0).Text

        Else

            GetStateCountryFromPoint = "No Country"

        End If

    End If

End Function

Now you can use cell references or addresses to geocode your addresses or find the distance between two locations.

E.g. =GeocodeAddress(“San Antonio, TX”, BingMapsKey)

Option 2: Add this file to your Add-ins directory.

(See: Office.com: Add or remove add-ins )

This also includes several other geocoding functions.

Automatically Update Charts, Graphs, and Reports in PowerPoint

wkriebel — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:14:26 GMT

Here is a neat trick for getting graphs in PowerPoint to automatically update from SQL Reporting Services.

Prerequisites:

Word
PowerPoint
SQL Reporting Services

Go directly to the report server, not the SharePoint integrated mode. Have it output to HTML,
insert it into a field in Word, then
embed that word document in a PowerPoint slide.

http://ReportServerMachine/ReportServer?http://LocationOfReport/Shared%20Documents/DailyReport.rdl&rs:Command=Render&rs:Format=HTML4.0&rc:Toolbar=False

Alternatively, you can render it as an image:
http://ReportServerMachine/ReportServer?http://LocationOfReport/Shared%20Documents/DailyReport.rdl&rs:Command=Render&rs:Format=Image&rc:Toolbar=False&rc:OutputFormat=PNG

The reason for this is that the SharePoint integration puts in a bunch of AJAX that confuses Word. The report server can produce pure HTML with no Javascript.

Thanks: Shashank Pawar, his post has some screenshots.

AutoCorrect Common Microsoft Brand Names with this Script and Word

wkriebel — Wed, 12 May 2010 01:46:00 GMT

Inspired by this post: http://on10.net/blogs/sarahintampa/Is-it-NET-Net-or-net/

Here is a script to add the common misspellings of Microsoft brands to Word AutoCorrect.

Copy and paste this into a file with a .JS extension and run it from your local computer. Then launch Word and try typing Powerpoint and notice that it automatically changes to PowerPoint.

// JScript source code
//Adds Word AutoCorrect entries for common misspellings and capitalizations for Microsoft Brands
//inspired by http://blogs.msdn.com/danielfe/archive/2010/04/27/correcting-grammar-for-microsoft-products-and-technology.aspx

var wd = new ActiveXObject("Word.Application");
var AutoCorrections = [[".net", ".NET"], [".Net", ".NET"], ["Clear Type", "ClearType"], ["Kin", "KIN"], ["Powerpoint", "PowerPoint"], ["Power Point", "PowerPoint"],
["Seadragon", "SeaDragon"], ["Xbox Live", "Xbox LIVE"], ["Bizspark", "BizSpark"], ["Sharepoint", "SharePoint"], ["PlayTo", "Play To"],
["Infopath", "InfoPath"], [".net", ".NET"], [".Net", ".NET"], ["AdCenter", "adCenter"],
["Ad Center", "adCenter"], ["Adcenter", "adCenter"], ["Ado.net", "ADO.NET"], ["ADO.Net", "ADO.NET"],
["Asp.net", "ASP.NET"], ["ASP.Net", "ASP.NET"],
["Biz Spark", "BizSpark"], ["Bizspark", "BizSpark"],
["Clear Type", "ClearType"], ["Clear type", "ClearType"],
["Cleartype", "ClearType"], ["Directaccess", "DirectAccess"],
["Direct Access", "DirectAccess"], ["Direct Show", "DirectShow"],
["Directshow", "DirectShow"], ["Direct x", "DirectX"],
["Dream Spark", "DreamSpark"], ["Dreamspark", "DreamSpark"],
["Home Group", "HomeGroup"], ["Homegroup", "HomeGroup"],
["HoTMaiL", "Hotmail"], ["Hot Mail", "Hotmail"], ["Hot Mail", "Hotmail"],
["Info Path", "InfoPath"], ["Infopath", "InfoPath"],
["intellisense", "IntelliSense"], ["Intellisense", "IntelliSense"],
["Iron Ruby", "IronRuby"], ["MSN Messenger", "Windows Live Messenger"],
["onenote", "OneNote"], ["Onenote", "OneNote"], ["One Note", "OneNote"],
["XBOX", "Xbox"], ["xbox", "XBox"], ["Xaml", "XAML"],
["Sql Server", "SQL Server"], ["SilverLight", "Silverlight"],
["Share Point", "SharePoint"], ["sharepoint", "SharePoint"]];

for (var i=0;i<AutoCorrections.length;i++)
{
wd.AutoCorrect.Entries.Add(AutoCorrections[i][0],AutoCorrections[i][1]);
}

Simple Trick for making an existing web part async

wkriebel — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:10:17 GMT

This is one of my favorite stupid SharePoint tricks.

If you have a situation where there is a web part (or any web page component) that is slow, and it is slowing the page render time for your page this is a handy trick.

Here is the summary:

Create another web part page and add the slow loading web part.
Look at the source code for the render page and get the control id of the div tag for the web part (the skewer click in the IE8 dev toolbar or something similar is an easy way to do this).
Back on the page where you originally wanted the web part, add a content editor web part
Put the following script in the source of the web part:

var ctId="ctl00_"; //Replace this with your control ID from step 2
var sourceURL="http://YourServer/somesite/PageThatHasTheSlowWebPart.aspx";
var outputId="MakeshiftAsyncWebPart";

_spBodyOnLoadFunctionNames.push("renderASlowWebPartAsynchronously"); 

function renderASlowWebPartAsynchronously()
{
      loader(sourceURL);
}

function renderOutput(output)
{
document.getElementById(outputId).innerHTML=output;
      
}

function getElementByClassname(className)
{
      var allItems = document.all;
      for (var i=0; i < allItems.length; i++) 
      {
            if (allItems[i].className == className) 
            {
                  return allItems[i];
            }
      }
      return null;
}

function getElementByClassnameFromString(className,str)
{
      var myTempDiv=document.createElement("div");
      myTempDiv.innerHTML=str;
      
      var allItems = myTempDiv.all;
      for (var i=0; i < allItems.length; i++) 
      {
            if (allItems[i].className == className) 
            {
                  return allItems[i];
            }
      }
      return null;
}

function getElementByIDFromString(myID,str)
{
      var myTempDiv=document.createElement("div");
      myTempDiv.innerHTML=str;
      
      var allItems = myTempDiv.all;
      for (var i=0; i < allItems.length; i++) 
      {
            if (allItems[i].id == myID) 
            {
                  return allItems[i];
            }
      }
      
      return null;
}

function loader(url) {
  
  if (window.XMLHttpRequest) {
    request = new XMLHttpRequest();
  } else if (window.ActiveXObject) {
    request = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
  }
  if (request != undefined) 
  {
    request.onreadystatechange = function() {asyncHandler(url);};
    request.open("GET", url, true);
    request.send("");
  }
}  

function asyncHandler(url) 
{
  if (request.readyState == 4) 
  { 
    if (request.status == 200) 
    {
      var output=getElementByIDFromString(ctId,request.responseText).innerHTML;
      if (output==null)
      {
            /* 
            //Optional:  
            output="No results";
            renderOutput(output);
            */
      }
      else
            renderOutput(output);
    } 
    else 
    {
      //Optional
      //document.getElementById('dOutput').innerHTML=" Error: "+ request.status + "\n" +request.statusText;
    }
  }
}

<div id=”MakeshiftAsyncWebPart”></div>

You can even reference an Animated GIF in SharePoint 2007 for AJAX progress indicators so that users know the web part is loading.

Keep in mind that users won’t get the security prompt for cross site scripting if the two pages are on the same server.

Of course: This code is provided as an example. Use at your own risk. No warranties.

Animated GIFs in SharePoint 2007 for AJAX progress indicators

wkriebel — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:22:00 GMT

Here are possible AJAX animation alternatives in http://<myMOSSServer>/<anysiteurl>/_layouts/images/

Ewr133.gif or GEARS_AN.gif (same)
Kpiprogressbar.gif
Ewr120.gif
Crperspc.gif

These gifs are on all MOSS servers and can be used if you need a quick progress indicator image.

SharePoint Wiki Page Incoming Links Web Part

wkriebel — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:36:00 GMT

Ever want the “Incoming Links” page to show up on the wiki page rather than be a separate page? Well, here is a handy web part you can add to a wiki page.

This provided without warranty, just link to this article and tell folks how you used it.

It uses some clever JavaScript to get the content from that page and asynchronously render it in a web part.

Upload the Incoming Links.dwp file to your Web Part Gallery
Edit the wiki page in question (not the wiki content, the whole page)
Add the Incoming Links web part to the web part zone at the bottom of the page.

This will either prevent you from the hassle of also having to support wikimedia in your environment (which is really great if you can) or buy you time until you can deploy SharePoint 2010.

Setting Project Priorities from TFS Priorities

wkriebel — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:13:18 GMT

Here is a handy macro that allows me to set the task priorities in Microsoft Project 2007 based on tasks that I have imported/synchronized to Visual Studio Team System.

The reason I do this is because this allows me to have dependencies between TFS work items, determine which ones need to happen first, level my resources, and calculate completion dates for the work items.

Attribute VB_Name = "Module2"

Sub SetPriorityFromTFS()

Attribute SetPriorityFromTFS.VB_Description = ""

‘Description

    LevelingOptions Automatic:=False

    For Each T In ActiveProject.Tasks

        Select Case T.Text19

            Case 1

                T.Priority = "900"

            Case 2

                T.Priority = "700"

            Case 3

                T.Priority = "500"

            Case 4

                T.Priority = "300"

            Case 5

                T.Priority = "100"

        End Select

    Next T

    LevelingOptions Automatic:=True

    LevelNow

End Sub

DHS Threat Level SharePoint Web Part

wkriebel — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:03:58 GMT

I recently created a XML Web part that uses XSL and the DHS Threat Level web service to render the current threat level in a way that looks exactly like the DHS Threat Advisory image:

Here it is for free to download with no warranty: DHS Thread Advisory.dwp

There is also an image: http://www.dhs.gov/threat_level/current-sm.gif

For fun, link to this post if you use the web part.

How To Display the InfoPath Form Version on the Form

wkriebel — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:32:20 GMT

Very handy for testing and help desk calls:

Tip: insert form version with the expression:
substring-before( substring-after( /processing-instruction()[local-name(.) = "mso-infoPathSolution"], 'solutionVersion="'), '"')

Source: http://www.nivot.org/2008/09/30/WhyVSTO30VisualStudio2008SharePointWindowsWorkflowAndInfoPathMightGiveYouAHernia.aspx

Collect Data by Email

wkriebel — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:37:18 GMT

Scenario: “Please respond to this email indicating your t-shirt size and which session you can attend… or whatever” send to: 40 people.

Read this: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/access/HA100154271033.aspx

How to Fix PWA Reminders web part in MOSS

wkriebel — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:46:40 GMT

Add and hide this web part on the page where the reminders web part is located.

Often folks will want to export the Reminders web part from Project Web Access (PWA) 2007 and have it shown on a related SharePoint (MOSS) page. You can export the web part, you can add it to a SharePoint page, you can set the PWA URL to your PWA URL and it will work.

It will throw a javascript error.

The error presents itself as a document.stylesheets[0] etc. etc. javascript error and prevents all javascripts from running (such as menu flyouts).

The attached web part is simply a function redefinition that doesn’t require a feature deployment that fixes the reminders web part on that and only that page.

External Collaboration Toolkit for SharePoint (ECTS) Installation Notes

wkriebel — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:40:48 GMT

These notes are in addition to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc296362.aspx

These are the notes I generated that I used in overlay with the installation instructions.

Make sure Cert Server is installed and available
Configure a certificate for ADAM
Run ADAM setup from internet
· Add/Remove only works if you have the OS disk
Create DNS entries
· For example: collab and collab.external
Create Collab web app
Reset IIS
Create email address (e.g. SharePoint@yourdomain.com)
Extend to an SSL external (e.g. collab.external)
Create a site collection on the web application
Run ADAM script that comes with kit
Change the ADAM Service account
Run database script
Run SPScript
Note: ADAM ports are typically 389, 636 or 50000, 50001
Request IIS Cert

How I made my laptop faster

wkriebel — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:18:00 GMT

For some reason my laptop got really sluggish a while back. Normally I wouldn’t blog about this type of thing, but it was so impactful I thought I would share. I’ve already done and always do the typical stuff: defrag, clean registry, uninstall add-ons, maintain free disk space, etc. This one, however, was the culprit.

Check this out if you are experiencing the same: kb822158 Virus scanning recommendations for computers that are running Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Vista

Excerpt: “This article also contains information to help you minimize the effect of antivirus software on system and network performance.”

How to update Microsoft RoundTable firmware

wkriebel — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:36:04 GMT

Download the firmware: Microsoft® RoundTable™ Firmware
Download the manager: Microsoft® RoundTable™ Management Tool
run this at the command line:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft RoundTable\Device Management>rtmanage -m:img -i:nk -f:"C:\RoundTableQfeFirmware\nk.bin" -s:"C:\RoundTableQfeFirmware\nk.cat"

passcode/password is probably: 78491 (factory default, see RoundTable Deployment Guide)
Run This command:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft RoundTable\Device Management>rtmanage.exe -m:img -i:EBOOT -f:c:\roundtableqfefirmware\cpueboot.bin -s:c:\roundtableqfefirmware\cpueboot.cat
Reboot by running this command:
Rtmanage.exe -m:cfg -r