.Net Tips and Tricks

Question: STSADM CreateWeb Does not Add to QuickLaunch

2008-04-01T13:58:00.002-04:00

We have been in the process of creating scripts for deploying our SharePoint portal. We first scripted out the Site Collection using "stsadm -o createsiteinnewdb" so we can keep our organizations in their own content database. Nested with deach createsiteinnewdb call were multiple "stsadm -o createweb" calls for each organizations divisions to have their own subsite. Here is the kicker. Using stsadm to create subsites does not add the subsite to the quick launch under Sites.

Does anyone know how to script this out...it works using the GUI but that means we will have to create 30+ subsites using the GUI...I'd rather script it out.

Installing Active Directory

2008-03-27T21:59:00.006-04:00

This is a well-written, concise article on the details to install Active Directory. I used this tutorial for creating a VM with SharePoint...a no-no according to MSFT but necessity for our organization so i would replicate what production like. Full text below:

================================

In this guide, we will begin with a non-existent domain and end with a new Active Directory installation, in its own forest. Along with Active Directory we will also configure DNS (Which is required by Active Directory) on the same machine.

Get a machine that is somewhat powerful, when I say somewhat, it can be a lonely PIII 800MHz if you so wish it. I would have at least 512MB of memory in it, a 10/100 Network card, CD-ROM, and I would give it at least a 30GB hard drive. The more features you add (different walkthroughs) the more space you will need.

Grab your copy of Windows 2003 and boot from the CD, install Windows 2003 like any other version of Windows XP you have installed before. When Windows is installed, load all your necessary drivers (video, LAN, motherboard, and others if needed).

Close the Configure Your Server Wizard. We will be doing this the manual way, so we have more options.

First, assign this server a static IP address. This can be found by going to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Network Connections. Inside ‘Network Connections’ you should (by default) have a connection called ‘Local Area Connection’. Right click on ‘Local Area Connection’ and choose ‘Properties’. In the middle of the dialog box there will be a list of protocols, from here choose ‘Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)’ and click on the ‘Properties’ button.

Choose the radio button labeled; ‘Use the following IP Address’ and in the boxes provided type in the IP Address you wish to assign this server to.

If you are unsure, you can use ‘192.168.100.2′ as I am going to refer to as the IP Address used throughout this walkthrough or you can check another computer and find out what IP Address it has (Start -> Run -> cmd (enter)) and type ‘ipconfig’ at the command line.

Most routers will probably give you 192.168.1.100+ as an IP Address and 192.168.1.1 as an Default Gateway, so if you have this, I would recommend you use 192.168.1.2 for the IP Address on your server, for the Subnet Mask type in: ‘255.255.255.0′ and for Default Gateway type in the IP Address of the router for access to the Internet (If you are unsure of what the Gateway IP Address is, then go to another machine that has Internet access and drop to a console (Start -> Run -> cmd (enter)) and type ‘ipconfig’ at the command line and read the line that says Default Gateway).

Now, choose the radio button labeled; ‘Use the following DNS server addresses’ and in the boxes provided type in the SAME IP Address you choose for the IP Address of this machine (Yes, the DNS Server this machine will use is ITSELF!). You do NOT need to fill in the ‘Alternate DNS Server’ address boxes.

Okay, for this test setup I’m going to use these as my settings (remember that your settings may vary and don’t forget to adjust mine when I make future references to them in this walkthrough).

IP Address = 192.168.100.2
Subnet Mask = 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway = 192.168.100.1
DNS Servers = 192.168.100.2

Click ‘Ok’ on the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) dialog window, and another ‘Ok’ on the Local Area Connection dialog window. You can close any other windows you may have open on the server so you are back at a nice clean Desktop.

Reboot the server now, just to make sure everything was saved. When it comes back on, we will continue installing the Windows 2003 DNS Server.

Second, now that your server has rebooted, go to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Add / Remove Programs. Inside Add / Remove Programs click on the button to the left that is labeled ‘Add / Remove Windows Components’ when it’s done loading, you should be presented with a box of components you can remove and add.

Click on ‘Network Services’ (don’t check the box, just select the item) and click the ‘Details’ button. In this new dialog check the box next to the item labeled ‘Domain Name Server (DNS)’ and click ‘Ok’. Back at the Windows Components click ‘Next’ and let it finish its job (you may need the Windows 2003 disc to complete this step).

When it’s all done, click ‘Finish’ close all windows again so you are back at the Desktop.

Go to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel in Control Panel open ‘System’. Click on the ‘Computer name’ tab at the top of this dialog and then click the ‘Change’ button near the bottom. Now click on the ‘More’ button near the middle, in the text box labeled ‘Primary DNS suffix of this computer’ type your DNS suffix here…

Example:

myhome.home

companyname.work

myhome.com

It does not matter, but if you choose a ‘Standard Convention’ by that I mean, if you choose .net, .com, .org, or another top level domain suffix then you should make sure It’s not in use, or you may run into problems getting to the website owned by that real domain. Say if I choose google.com as my Zone Name, I would have a slight problem going to the REAL google.com now wouldn’t I? This is why I choose .home or .work and such.

When you have chosen your Suffix, click ‘Ok’ then ‘Ok’ again, and another ‘Ok’ going through all the dialog boxes. You will then need to reboot!

When your server has come back up…

Click on Start -> Programs -> Administrative Tools -> then click on ‘DNS’.

When the window has loaded you should have some items on the left side in a tree view. The top most items should be DNS and should fall in like a tree.

Example:

DNS
(server name)
Event Viewer
Forward Lookup Zones
Reverse Lookup Zones

(You many need to expand the (server name))

Left click, then Right click on ‘Forward Lookup Zones’ and choose ‘New Zone…’ when the dialog comes up click the ‘Next’ button, then choose the radio button labeled ‘Primary Zone’ and click ‘Next’. You will now be presented with a Zone Name box, in this box type the name you choose above for the DNS suffix of this computer, and click ‘Next’ The next page will ask you what to name the file, you can just click ‘Next’ here, as the defaults are fine.

Now, you should be on the Dynamic Update page. Choose ‘Allow both nonsecure and secure dynamic updates’ radio button; (This is not secure I KNOW, but we will change this after Active Directory is installed.) and then click ‘Next’, then ‘Finish’.

You should now be back at the DNS Management console screen with the options on your left in a tree view. Left, then Right click on ‘Reverse Lookup Zones’ and choose ‘New Zone…’. Click ‘Next’ make sure ‘Primary Zone’ is selected and then click ‘Next’ again. Now we are presented with a new screen, Network ID. In the boxes type in the first three portions of the servers IP Address. (Remember that from above?) If your server IP Address was 192.168.100.2 then in the boxes put 192.168.100 and click ‘Next’. Next page should be your Zone File, clicking ‘Next’ will be fine, since defaults are good enough. Again, click ‘Allow both nonsecure and secure dynamic updates’ radio button and then ‘Next’ then ‘Finish’.

Now you should be back at the DNS Management console screen. Close this console screen and you should be back at the Desktop.

Let’s reboot the server to make sure everything gets restarted correctly. (Yes, Windows likes reboots during its setup)

Back at the desktop now, let’s test to make sure DNS is working correctly… Go to Start -> Run and type ‘cmd’ and click ‘Ok’. In the black command console type ‘nslookup’ you should be presented with a few lines that resemble…

Default Server: (server name).(dns suffix you choose)
Address: (ip address you choose for server)

If this shows your doing well thus far, if this does not show, you may have skipped the part of adding your DNS suffix in the ‘System’ part of Control Panel. Type ‘exit’ then ‘exit’ again to close nslookup and the command console and return to the Desktop.

Third, now that you have DNS working correctly, we can now install Active Directory and create our domain.

Go to Start -> Run and type ‘dcpromo’ then click ‘Ok’. The Active Directory Wizard will start; click ‘Next’ then ‘Next’ again after you have read some security information for older versions of Windows. Now you will be able to choose what type of Domain Controller. This walkthrough is for a brand-spanking new domain and such, so we will leave it defaulted for ‘Domain controller for a new domain’ and click ‘Next’. Now we see some choices for Forests. Again for this walkthrough we choose the default ‘Domain in a new forest’ and click ‘Next’. We are now asked for our Full DNS name, in this text box type in the suffix that you choose a while back when setting up DNS, the one that was exampled as:

Example:

myhome.home

companyname.work

myhome.com

and click ‘Next’. On the next dialog we will choose the default recommended Domain NETBIOS name and click ‘Next’. Here we can choose where to save the database for Active Directory, for our purposes, the defaults are good and we will click ‘Next’. Then ‘Next’ again when we are asked where to save the SYSVOL files. The next page is sort of important if you have any servers running Windows NT 4 and such (Anything below Windows 2000) when it comes to the Server Operating System, Clients are not affected. But within scope of this Walkthrough we will do the default for permissions which is ‘Permissions compatible only with Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 operating systems’, and then click ‘Next’.

Now Windows will ask for a Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator Password, you can choose any password you wish, this password is needed incase you have some sort of disaster and need to do a recovery of the Active Directory. When you have your password entered twice for verification, click ‘Next’. A brief summary of what you have done thus far is shown on this dialog, and you can click ‘Next’ to start the installation of Active Directory.

When the installation has completed, you will be asked to restart the computer, so go ahead and reboot now.

Let’s go back and secure DNS shall we…

Click on Start -> Programs -> Administrative Tools -> DNS

Inside the DNS Management Console left then right click on the + next to Forward Lookup Zones to expand it and then right click on (dns suffix you choose) and choose ‘Properties’ . There should be a button labeled ‘Change’ next to Type: Primary. Click ‘Change’ check the box labeled ‘Store the zone in Active Directory (available only if DNS server is a domain controller)’ and click ‘Ok’. When it warns you, Click ‘Ok’ again.

Now back at the suffix properties click on the drop down list labeled; ‘Dynamic Updates’ and choose ‘Secure Only’. Then click ‘Ok’.

Inside the DNS Management Console left then right click on the + next to Reverse Lookup Zones to expand it and then right click on ((IP Address) (Subnet)) and choose ‘Properties’. There should be a button labeled ‘Change’ next to Type: Primary. Click ‘Change’ check the box labeled ‘Store the zone in Active Directory (available only if DNS server is a domain controller)’ and click ‘Ok’. When it warns you, Click ‘Ok’ again.

Now back at the suffix properties click on the drop down list labeled; ‘Dynamic Updates’ and choose ‘Secure Only’. Then click ‘Ok’.

Active Directory is now installed and DNS is working and secured. You can manage your users in Start -> Programs -> Administrative Tools -> Active Directory Users and Computers

You should have a tree on the left that resembles…

Active Directory Users and Computers
Saved Queries
(dns suffix you choose)
Builtin
Computers
Domain Controllers
ForeignSecurityPrincipals
Users

I recommend that you create an new Organizational Unit under your (dns suffix you choose) just right click on (dns suffix you choose) and click on ‘New’ then ‘Organizational Unit’ and name it. I usually choose a company name, or workgroup name here. Like ‘Archaic Binary’ :-)

You can then add new users to that OU or create more OUs below that and add users to different OUs and create a more refined structure.

Hope this helps some people install and slightly configure Active Directory on Windows 2003.

3/26/2008 SharePoint Links

2008-03-26T09:46:00.003-04:00

Update list items without creating a new version.
http://weblogs.asp.net/gunnarpeipman/archive/2008/03/23/how-to-update-sharepoint-list-items-without-creating-new-versions.aspx

Another list of development tools
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/radi/archive/2008/03/24/development-tools-my-list-of-plugins-apps-and-extensions-that-i-use-every-day.aspx

Optimizing Web Parts
http://www.binarywave.com/blogs/eshupps/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?List=9c93c708-e5ce-4714-bdea-499330361130&ID=111

What's New Web Part
http://weblogs.asp.net/jan/archive/2008/03/21/the-what-s-new-web-part-for-sharepoint-2007.aspx

FeatureReceiver for Applying Custom Web.Config Changes

2008-03-26T08:37:00.003-04:00

Ryan McIntyre has put together a good article that shows how to package web.config changes in a FeatureReceiver. A must read for developers who have web parts accessing databases and you keep the connection string in the web.config.

Check it out.

3/20/2008 Websites I am currently evaluating

2008-03-20T22:38:00.005-04:00

So I am stuck in Phoenix, AZ overnight on business so i thought I would update my blog with the sites I am looking over.
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Miscellaneous
10 JavaScript Effects to Boost Your Website’s Fanciness Factor
http://sixrevisions.com/rapid-development/10_ajax_effects_website_fanciness/

prototype Javascript Framework
http://www.prototypejs.org/
FancyForms - form styling using mooTools - a javascript framework.
http://lipidity.com/fancy-form/#example

phatfusion image menus - a great looking menu system using mooTools as well.
http://www.phatfusion.net/imagemenu/index.htm

This is LightBox on steroids...able to display not only images, but other media as well.
http://mjijackson.com/shadowbox/
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SharePoint 2007
Add subsites and provide navigation functionality in MOSS 2007 - a code approach!
http://blogs.msdn.com/sridhara/archive/2007/04/21/add-subsites-and-provide-navigation-functionality-in-moss-2007-a-code-approach.aspx

MOSS - Common Issue - events 5325, 4958, 6398 listed in the Event log and/or IIS MMC not responding
http://blogs.technet.com/stefan_gossner/archive/2008/03/15/moss-common-problem-events-5325-4958-6398-listed-in-the-event-log-and-or-iis-mmc-not-responding.aspx

So I ran into an interesting problem in my MOSS development environment
http://blogs.msdn.com/edhild/archive/2008/03/17/so-i-ran-into-an-interesting-problem-in-my-moss-development-environment.aspx

Windows Server 2008 Resource Center for SharePoint Products and Technologies
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/sharepointserver/bb735844.aspx

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SQL
Time-based Optimization
http://blogs.msdn.com/buckwoody/archive/2008/03/14/time-based-optimization.aspx

SQL Server Management Studio Standard Reports – Tasks
http://blogs.msdn.com/buckwoody/archive/2008/03/17/sql-server-management-studio-standard-reports-tasks.aspx
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CodeProject Articles
Dynamically adjusting the size of a drop-down list and adding color to the back-ground and fore-ground of the list items
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/aspnet/Dynamic_Drop_Down.aspx

Access Form based SharePoint Site's Web Service
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/sharepoint/SharePointWSAccess.aspx

Exploring Lambda Expression in C#
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/cs/explore_lamda_exp.aspx

SharePoint 2007 Link Resources for 3/12/2008

2008-03-12T09:28:00.004-04:00

SharePoint 2007: Revenge of the 100GB Database
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/rhouberg/archive/2008/03/08/sharepoint-2007-revenge-of-the-100gb-database.aspx

SharePoint CAPTCHA
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/usecases/archive/2008/03/10/sharepoint-captcha.aspx

SharePoint Cross List Queries in a custom UserControl
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/zimmer/archive/2008/03/09/sharepoint-cross-list-queries-in-a-custom-usercontrol.aspx

STSDEV: Simple Tools for SharePoint 2007 Development http://www.codeplex.com/stsdev/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=10119

Sample event handler to set a field as a primary key (enforce no duplicates)

2008-03-11T11:11:00.002-04:00

This is an interesting workaround to the SharePoint issue of lists not having primary keys.

Read the article here.

Avoiding CSS caching issues

2008-03-11T11:09:00.001-04:00

Great article and code that will help SharePoint developers avoid servers caching CSS.

Check it out

Top 10 SQL 2008 Features for SharePoint IT Pros

2008-03-11T10:50:00.001-04:00

Joel does a nice job reviewing his top 10 Sql 2008 features that will benefit SharePoint professionals.

Check it out here

Integrate SharePoint Designer Workflows with Web Services

2008-03-11T10:47:00.003-04:00

Paul does a nice job working with SPD Workflow Extensions or Custom Actions.

SPWebConfigModification Class

2008-03-11T10:39:00.002-04:00

The is a very good article describing how to utilize the SPWebConfigModification class to make modifications to the web.config files for SharePoint sites. This is definitely worthy of some learning time...our developers have anasty habit of opening the web.config themselves and modifying it...big no no!

Take some time to add this to your developers skills - I am.

IE 8 Beta 1 Available

2008-03-11T10:37:00.001-04:00

Well, looks like the IE team has finally released IE 8 Beta 1...download it here.

3/4/2008 Currently websites I am reading

2008-03-04T10:36:00.001-05:00

Paging Data with DataGridView in VirtualMode:
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/grid/DataGridViewPaging.aspx

Implementing a smoothly animated ListBox:
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/list/SmoothListBox.aspx

UrlMappingModule:
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/aspnet/UrlMappingModule.aspx

Base class for skinned Web Parts and generator tool:
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/sharepoint/baseskinnedwebpart.aspx

CodeProject SharePoint Server Section:
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/sharepoint/

SQL Server database backup utility using VB.Net and SQL-DMO (New version):
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/dotnet/SQL_Server_backup.aspx

Microsoft Online: SharePoint Online:
http://www.microsoft.com/online/sharepoint-online.mspx

Microsoft Silverlight Blueprint for SharePoint:
http://www.ssblueprints.net/sharepoint/

Understanding how Web Parts are rendered, why to never use Render() and a bit on accessibility

2008-03-02T10:34:00.001-05:00

Great post by Andrew Connell...

When building custom Web Parts, you always hear people say "don't use Render(), only use RenderContents() or use the more OO approach and implement CreateChildControls()." Personally I favor the latter approach of using CreateChildControls(). So why should you not use Render()? Because unbeknownst to you, you are actually breaking something quite powerful.

Check out the full post here.

SharePoint 2007 Security Accounts

2008-03-02T10:27:00.003-05:00

Great summary on SPS 2007 service accounts:

I’ve been working on a number of MOSS implementations lately, and I always get a lot of questions about what service accounts are needed to get the implementation rolling. Microsoft has a really nice, but very long article on the accounts (http://technet2.microsoft.com/Office/en-us/library/f07768d4-ca37-447a-a056-1a67d93ef5401033.mspx?mfr=true), but most of my clients do not have the time or want to read that article. So I put together some basic guidelines on MOSS service accounts…

The following covers the most common service accounts that need to be setup and their typical permissions in order for MOSS to function properly. Note that each deployment is different, so these accounts may differ based upon individual requirements. There are some additional accounts that you may need for other optional services, but they are not mentioned here.

Running MOSS Setup

On every server where MOSS is to be installed, the account you run setup with must belong to the local administrators group. In addition, this account must be a Domain User and be a member of the following SQL server security roles: Logins, Securityadmin & Dbcreator. This account is going to be doing a lot – creating new databases, and also creating new IIS sites – so make sure you have enough permissions! Typically, an account such as the domain administrator is used to run the installation, which addresses all of the security requirements.

SQL Server (SQL_Service)

This account is specified when a new SQL server is being brought online or a new instance installed. It typically is used for running both the SQL Server & SQL Server Agent, however, each can have their own account. For our purposes, we will utilize one account for both SQL Server & the Agent. The account only needs to be a basic Domain Account with no specific permissions set. When SQL Server is installed, all of the other appropriate permissions will be granted to the account.

Database Access Account / Farm Account (Farm_Service)

This account serves a few roles. The first is that it is used by MOSS to access the databases… it acts as the account by which the server(s) MOSS is installed on communicates back and forth to SQL with (read/write). Additionally, it is used as the identity for the Central Administration application pool & the WSS Timer service. This account needs to be a Domain Account - but note that it is believed to have to be a local admin on every MOSS box - this is not true, as Spence points out very eloquently.

Shared Service Provider (SSP#_Service)

Each shared service provider can run under its own account, therefore, it is desirable to name the account using a number. This way, if your MOSS farm ends up having a large number of SSPs, you can map the SSPs back to their specific service accounts easily. This account is used for the SSP web services & the SSP timer jobs. The account only needs to be a basic Domain Account with no specific permissions set.

Office SharePoint Server Search (Search_Service)

This account is utilized by all of the Shared Service Provider to crawl local & remote content. This account should be a Domain Account & have local administrator permissions on each MOSS server.

Default Content Access Account (SSP#ContentAccess_Service)

When a shared service provider crawls content, this is the default account used if a specific account (see below) is not specified for the content source being crawled. This account is specific for each individual SSP. This account should be a Domain Account & have read access to the content sources it needs to crawl.

Content Access Account (XXXXContent_Service)

If you have specific content sources that need to be crawled, and you do not want to allow the default content access account to crawl them, then you specify an individual content access account (specified at the time a Crawl Rule is setup). This account is a Domain Account with read permissions specifically on the content source it crawls.

Windows SharePoint Services Search Account (WSSSearch_Service)

The WSS Services Search is used only to provide search capabilities within the Help content. If this search feature is desired, then this account should be configured as a Domain Account with no specific permissions.

Application Pool Process Account (XXXXPool_Service)

When each application pool is setup, you must specify an account that will be used for that specific application pool’s identity. This account will be used to access the content databases associated with the web application. It is recommended that a new service account is created for each application pool. This should be a Domain Account with no specific permissions. When the account is specified & SharePoint creates the application pool, it automatically grants the account additional needed permissions.

by cregan: http://cregan.wordpress.com/2006/12/08/moss-setup-service-accounts/

SQL Database Management for SharePoint

2008-02-29T12:06:00.003-05:00

Bill Baer as a new whitepaper on database management for SharePoint. This is a must read for SharePoint admins.

Some highlights from the paper:

rebuild and reorganize (reindex) the clustered index is what defragments a table.
reindex = defragment
In order to avoid a huge performance hit, do not set maintenance plans to shink the db.
be prepared - maintenance plans can be long running processes.

SharePoint 2007 Link Resources for 2/20/2008

2008-02-20T08:32:00.003-05:00

Some links for 2/20/2008:

Workaround for creating timer jobs after a restore in SharePoint

http://www.sharepointblogs.com/llowevad/archive/2008/02/18/workaround-for-creating-timer-jobs-after-a-restore-in-sharepoint.aspx

Is the hotfix or service pack going to break my SharePoint pages or deployment?

http://blogs.msdn.com/joelo/archive/2007/11/07/is-the-hotfix-or-service-pack-going-to-break-my-sharepoint-pages-or-deployment.aspx

Create SharePoint Server 2007 Crawl Rules using Forms Based Authentication (FBA)

http://mindsharpblogs.com/ben/archive/2008/01/08/4123.aspx

Installing SharePoint Server 2007 on Windows Server 2008 RC1

http://mindsharpblogs.com/ben/archive/2007/12/16/3837.aspx

Ben's 15 easy steps to extend a SharePoint Web Application

http://mindsharpblogs.com/ben/archive/2007/11/21/3581.aspx

Web Application Timer Jobs not automatically created when restoring from SharePoint backups

http://www.sharepointblogs.com/llowevad/archive/2008/01/25/web-application-timer-jobs-not-automatically-created-when-restoring-from-sharepoint-backups.aspx

Verbose List of WSS 3.0 Events

http://blogs.msdn.com/joelo/archive/2008/02/07/verbose-list-of-wss-3-0-events.aspx

Verbose List of SharePoint Server 2007 Events

http://blogs.msdn.com/joelo/archive/2008/02/07/verbose-list-of-sharepoint-server-2007-events.aspx

Verbose List of WSS 3.0 Events

http://blogs.msdn.com/joelo/archive/2008/02/07/verbose-list-of-wss-3-0-events.aspx

Exception thrown when logging into SharePoint via FBA against a SharePoint List

http://mindsharpblogs.com/Phil/archive/2007/11/16/3545.aspx

Fun with Content Types

https://sharepointelearning.securespsite.com/screencasts/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?List=91d2ba00%2D408d%2D4f1a%2D99b5%2D4514aaa35128&ID=25

EndUserSharePoint.com

http://www.endusersharepoint.com/

Advanced Lectures and WhitePapers (Great Resource)

http://bobfox.securespsite.com/FoxBlog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?List=0d457cd0%2D1f17%2D45c1%2D861a%2D8a32a351d6ae&ID=72

Windows 2008 and SharePoint Server 2007

2008-02-19T22:05:00.001-05:00

Great article by Ben:
http://mindsharpblogs.com/Ben/archive/2007/12/16/3837.aspx

Installing SharePoint Server 2007 on Windows Server 2008 RC1

1. You must enable the IIS7 Feature Role on Windows Server 2008 RC1 with .NET 3.0

From Control Panel, Programs and Features, Select 'Turn Windows Features On or Off'
Next, Under 'Server Manager, Features' Select '.NET Framework 3.0 Features'. When asked
to install the IIS7 role, select yes. Under IIS7 'Security', be sure to select the authentication
you want, i.e. Basic, NTLM, Kerberos, etc. Next, you must slipstream
Windows SharePoint Server 3.0 SP1 AND SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 into your SharePoint Server 2007
installation directory.

2. I used Winrar to extract the files from my SharePoint Server 2007 ISO, but you can also
copy them into a directory directly from the DVD. Create a directory, we'll use c:\Slipped for our installation point. Copy the entire DVD contents to c:\Slipped

3. Next, you must download and extract both Windows SharePoint Services SP1 and SharePoint Server 2007 SP1
you can get them here http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2007/12/11/announcing-the-release-of-wss-3-0-sp1-and-office-sharepoint-server-2007-sp1.aspx

First, create a directory to host the WSS 3.0 files after extraction. We will use c:\wsssp1
Second, create a directory to host the SharePoint Server 2007 files after extraction. We will use c:\mosssp1
Third, we will assume we have downloaded both service packs to c:\

Extract the WSS 3.0 service pack files by executing 'c:\wssv3sp1-kb936988-x86-fullfile-en-us.exe /extract:c:\wsssp1' Agree to the license terms, and the service pack will unpack.

Extract the SharePoint Server 2007 service pack by executing 'C:\officeserver2007sp1-kb936984-x86-fullfile-en-us.exe /extract:c:\mosssp1' Agree to the license terms, and the service pack will unpack.

4. Copy the service pack files from the above directories into the installation updates directory.

If you are using x64, replace the 'x86' in the following instructions.

Copy the contents of both c:\wsssp1 and c:\mosssp1 into 'c:\slipped\x86\updates'
5. Last, run the setup from the x86 directory, and it should install!

SharePoint and Active Directory Groups

2008-02-19T21:17:00.003-05:00

There are two ways to create groups in AD - domain...right click...new group or domain...users..right click...new group. SharePoint cannot correct ly use groups where one of the CNs is "users" as is the case in the latter scenario above.

The right way to build groups in order to have SharePoint "like them" is by creating groups from the domain level.

SharePoint 2007 Link List - 2/13/2008

2008-02-13T13:38:00.003-05:00

A list of links I have compiled lately that I feel are good articles:

Email enabled lists in SharePoint 2007 http://clintcherry.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!AEC0DCBC460E45B9!535.entry

Avoid using hyphens in site column names!
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/joed/archive/2008/02/06/avoid-using-hyphens-in-site-column-names.aspx
*although I have not tested out this theroy, it would make sense to me that all mathematical symbols would be unusable in site column names for this very reason.

Developing Migration Methodologies
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/grayghost/archive/2008/02/09/developing-migration-methodologies.aspx

SharePoint and HttpModules - 1 / 3
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gatweb.fr%2FLists%2FBillets%2FPost.aspx%3FList%3D29f0ece6%252Ddd9b%252D454b%252Da6d4%252Dff5563516758%26ID%3D96&langpair=fr%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8 *Translated French to English...

export/import site structure using XML
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/mingssn/archive/2008/02/06/export-import-site-structure-using-xml.aspx

Content Types: The little engine that could...
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/bluephaze/archive/2008/01/22/content-types-the-little-engine-that-could.aspx

Content Types: Part 2 - Creation and Association of Workflows and Document Templates
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/bluephaze/archive/2008/02/08/content-types-part-2-creation-and-association-of-workflows-and-document-templates.aspx

Announcing the DoD 5015.2 Resource Kit for SharePoint Server 2007
http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2008/02/09/announcing-the-dod-5015-2-resource-kit-for-sharepoint-server-2007.aspx

Lesson Learned: Patching a SharePoint Server

2008-02-06T10:50:00.001-05:00

SharePoint server unavailable after a patch is installed....

Yesterday evening our automated patching systems applied several patches to our development SharePoint server. When we came in this morning, the server was totally unresponsive. The event logs gave us very little to go on other than the following entry:
---------------------------------------------------------
A database error occurred.

Source: Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server
Code: 4060 occurred 1 time(s)
Description: Cannot open database "SharedServices1_DB" requested by the login. The login failed.

Context: Application 'xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx'
---------------------------------------------------------
So we set about trying to figure out what was going on. We checked IIS, SQL Server, Services - everything seemed to be in order. We checked Active Director to see if the service account was locked - nope. Hmm...this was baffling.

Finally as a last ditch try before we restored from a backup, we ran the SharePoint Products and Technology Configuration Wizard....and VIOLA! She was living again.

Doing a little more research into the patching and management of SharePoint servers, we read that certain MSFT Office Server patches and SharePoint patches require that once finished the administrator rerun this configuration wizard to finish the process.

The lesson we have taken from this fire-drill is as follows. Configuration Management is of the utmost importance. Our network and development teams will be formulating concise strategies going forward for config mgmt of our SharePoint systems but a high level view of how we are going to patch these systems is as follows:

1. P2V production SharePoint servers to Virtual Machines (VMs)
2. Apply patches to VMs
3. Test VMs
4. Backup production SharePoint servers (additional to normal nightly backups)
5. Apply patches to production SharePoint servers
6. Test production SharePoint servers
7. Destroy VMs created for patch test

This is just a quick idea of how we plan to implement patches in the future.

Auto-Refresh a SharePoint Page

2008-02-05T09:38:00.001-05:00

This is more of a quick and dirty technique rather than an elegant, AJAX-based approach which might be more desirable.

Enabling your SharePoint page to refresh automatically after x seconds is as simple as adding a Content Editor web part and adding the following javascript to it in the source editor:


<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">
var reloadTimer = null;
var sURL = unescape(window.location.pathname);

function setReloadTime(secs)
{ if (arguments.length == 1)
   { if (reloadTimer) clearTimeout(reloadTimer);
       reloadTimer = setTimeout("setReloadTime()", Math.ceil(parseFloat(secs)*1000));
   }
   else
   { reloadTimer = null;
     location.reload(true);
     window.location.replace( sURL );
   }
}

setReloadTime(30);
</script>

This script will reload the page ever 30 seconds. In order to hide the web part from the view on the page, set the following properties:
Height: 0px
Width: 0px
Chrome Type: none
Under advanced uncheck all advaanced properties.

That should do it...now your SharePoint page will auto-refresh every 30 seconds.

Good Luck...

Recycling the App Pool Remotely

2008-02-04T13:30:00.000-05:00

When you are running SharePoint in the enterprise, inevitably you are going to need to recycle the SharePoint app pool. This is a valuable article from Microsoft TechNet I found so i did not have to log into the server to recycle it.

Taken from TechNet (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb878047.aspx):

"This is a very good question and one that Microsoft gets asked frequently by customers. The short answer is, yes, this can be done remotely. The long answer though requires a little knowledge of scripting if you are running IIS 6.0 on a Windows Server 2003 RTM version.

The script you need to do this locally is in Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1, available from the Microsoft Download Center.

The command-line syntax used locally is:

iisapp /p /r

For example, if the w3wp process was Process ID (PID) 1234, then the command issued is:

iisapp.vbs /p 1234 /r

You can also use the Application Pool's friendly name instead of the PID by using the /a switch instead of the /p.

You can view all the switches and options using the command-line help for iisapp.vbs by typing the command:

iisapp.vbs /?

However, the iisapp.vbs command-line utility does not support remotely connecting to a computer.

If you are familiar with developing scripts this problem is solved using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) scripting or Active Directory Services Instrumentation (ADSI). These technologies are well documented in MSDN and you can use the IIS provider to connect to and recycle the application pools.

For example, here is a simple sample script with no error checking or dialog boxes. It also accepts no switches. However, it enables you to remotely recycle an application pool when you supply the following pieces of information in the script:

Target server Name (strServer)
Target server Username (strUsername)
Target server User Password (strPassword)
Application Pool name

I hope this sample script gets you started on your way to recycling a worker process running on a remote IIS 6.0 server:

strServer = "MyServer"  //Replace this with the target server name strUser = "Administrator" //Provide  Administrator privilege credentials strPassword = "password" //Input  Administrator privileged account password Set LocatorObj =  CreateObject("WBemScripting.SWbemLocator")  LocatorObj.Security_.ImpersonationLevel = 3 Impersonate  LocatorObj.Security_.AuthenticationLevel = 6 Pkt Privacy (required for remote  administration over WMI as of Win2k3 SP1) Set ProviderObj =  LocatorObj.ConnectServer(strServer, "root/MicrosoftIISv2", strUser, strPassword)  Set MyAppPool = ProviderObj.Get(  "IIsApplicationPool=w3svc/apppools/DefaultAppPool" MyAppPool.Recycle

There is detailed information in the IIS SDK to help you write a script that can remotely connect to an IIS server at:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/iissdk/html/d5a92c2b-c860-48ac-b406-e33ab4ac4e6e.asp.

By the way, the iisapp.vbs file that is delivered with Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) can easily be copied to a Windows Server 2003 RTM version. There was no change in functionality to the core server between RTM and Service Pack 1 that would cause this script to not work. However, the script does not work on IIS versions below 6.0.

To review the changes added to Service Pack 1 for IIS 6.0, please review the following document on Microsoft's Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003/technologies/featured/iis/default.mspx."

More SharePoint? More .Net? What can I do better here?

2008-02-04T08:32:00.001-05:00

Its been some time since i started blogging and I think my little space here has some good articles/tips and tricks for SharePoint/.Net developers.

My question to you is - what can I do better that you think might attract more readers? I am open to all suggestions.

And thanks to those who stop in to read my blog...

SharePoint 2007 Link List - 2/4/2008

2008-02-04T08:17:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of resources I have compiled this past week:
SharePoint

SharePoint AJAX Toolkit
http://www.codeplex.com/sharepointajax

People-Picker Control for InfoPath 2007
http://metahat.blogspot.com/2007/05/people-picker-control-for-infopath-2007.html

Free Tool: Register Event Handlers Programmatically
http://www.u2u.info/Blogs/Patrick/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=1547

SharePoint and Managed Paths
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/llowevad/archive/2007/10/24/sharepoint-and-managed-paths.aspx

.Net

Use the advantages of custom attributes in your C# applications
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-3513_11-6175490.html

Fixed Header and Footers in GridView
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/aspnet/Gridview_Fixed_Header.aspx

HttpWebRequest and Ignoring SSL Certificate Errors
http://csharpfeeds.com/post.aspx?id=4798

.Net Tips and Tricks

Question: STSADM CreateWeb Does not Add to QuickLaunch

Installing Active Directory

3/26/2008 SharePoint Links

FeatureReceiver for Applying Custom Web.Config Changes

3/20/2008 Websites I am currently evaluating

SharePoint 2007 Link Resources for 3/12/2008

Sample event handler to set a field as a primary key (enforce no duplicates)

Avoiding CSS caching issues

Top 10 SQL 2008 Features for SharePoint IT Pros

Integrate SharePoint Designer Workflows with Web Services

SPWebConfigModification Class

IE 8 Beta 1 Available

3/4/2008 Currently websites I am reading

Understanding how Web Parts are rendered, why to never use Render() and a bit on accessibility

SharePoint 2007 Security Accounts

SQL Database Management for SharePoint

SharePoint 2007 Link Resources for 2/20/2008

Windows 2008 and SharePoint Server 2007

SharePoint and Active Directory Groups

SharePoint 2007 Link List - 2/13/2008

export/import site structure using XMLhttp://www.sharepointblogs.com/mingssn/archive/2008/02/06/export-import-site-structure-using-xml.aspx

Content Types: Part 2 - Creation and Association of Workflows and Document Templateshttp://www.sharepointblogs.com/bluephaze/archive/2008/02/08/content-types-part-2-creation-and-association-of-workflows-and-document-templates.aspx

Announcing the DoD 5015.2 Resource Kit for SharePoint Server 2007http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2008/02/09/announcing-the-dod-5015-2-resource-kit-for-sharepoint-server-2007.aspx

Lesson Learned: Patching a SharePoint Server

Auto-Refresh a SharePoint Page

Recycling the App Pool Remotely

More SharePoint? More .Net? What can I do better here?

SharePoint 2007 Link List - 2/4/2008

export/import site structure using XML
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/mingssn/archive/2008/02/06/export-import-site-structure-using-xml.aspx

Content Types: Part 2 - Creation and Association of Workflows and Document Templates
http://www.sharepointblogs.com/bluephaze/archive/2008/02/08/content-types-part-2-creation-and-association-of-workflows-and-document-templates.aspx

Announcing the DoD 5015.2 Resource Kit for SharePoint Server 2007
http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2008/02/09/announcing-the-dod-5015-2-resource-kit-for-sharepoint-server-2007.aspx