Sharepoint - Part Two

Discuss the features of SharePoint 2010 ? Some of the features of SharePoint 2010 are discussed as follows: 1) Large lists 2) Document Collaboration 3) Enterprise Search FAST Search 4) Silver Light web part 5) New Enhance Web Part 6) Business Connectivity Services 7) Social Media Investments 8) Enhanced collaboration features 9) Usage reporting and logging 10) Visio Services 11) Better Network Differencing & SharePoint Offline in SharePoint Workspace 12) High Availability/ Disaster Recovery Innovation 13) SharePoint Designer Enhancements like portable workflows, and granular delegation 14) Sandbox Solutions 15) Service Applications

Discuss the differences between Library vs List ? The major differences between both are: Library is used to store the document whereas Lists are the container of similar items in the form of rows and columns. In Library you can create core document like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. But in List You cannot create document, instead of that you can attach document in a particular List.

Explain about a Field Control ? Field controls are ASP.NET 2.0 server controls. These controls will provide the basic field functionality of SharePoint. They also provide basic general functionality such as displaying or editing list data as it appears on SharePoint list pages.

How to create links to the mapped network drives ? The creating of links to mapped network drives in WSS v3 or MOSS 2007 can be done through the new content type for .lnk files.

Give the list of sites that are available in SharePoint ? The sites that are available in Sharepoint are given below: 1) Team Site 2) Blank Site 3) Document Workspace 4) Blog 5) Group Work Site 6) Visio Process Repository 7) Basic Meeting Workspace 8) Blank Meeting Workspace 9) Decision Meeting Workspace 10) Social Meeting Workspace 11) Multipage Meeting Workspace 12) Assets Web Database 13) Charitable Contributions Web Database 14) Contacts Web Database 15) Issues Web Database 16) Projects Web Database 17) Document Center 18) Records Center 19) Business Intelligence Center 20) My Site Host 21) Personalization Site 22) Enterprise Search Center 23) Basic Search Center 24) FAST Search Center 25) Enterprise Wiki 26) Publishing Portal 27) Publishing Site

Mention the types of authentications available for SharePoint 2010 ? The types of authentications that are available for SharePoint 2010 are of 3 types. They are: 1) Claims Authentication 2) Windows Authentication 3) Forms-based Authentication

What is meant by User Profile service ? The User Profile Service will allows you for configuring and managing User profile properties, Audiences, Profile synchronization settings, organization browsing and management settings, and My Site settings

What is meant by Performance Point Services ? The Performance Pint Services will allows the users to monitor and analyze a business by building dashboards, scorecards, and key performance indicators (KPIs).

Explain the difference between Classic mode authentication and Claims-based authentication ? Classic authentication will supports NT authentication types like Kerberos, NTLM, Basic, Digest, and anonymous. Claims based authentication uses claims identities against a trusted identity provider.

What is meant by Visio Services ? The Visio Services will allow the users to share and view Microsoft Visio Web drawings. The service also enables data-connected Microsoft Visio 2010 Web drawings to be refreshed and updated from various data sources.

What is meant by Excel Services ? Th Excel Services are used to allow sharing, securing, managing, and using Excel 2010 workbooks in a SharePoint Server Web site or document library. Excel Services consists of the Excel Calculation Services (ECS), Microsoft Excel Web Access (EWA), and Excel Web Services (EWS) components.

What is meant by Secure Store Service (SSS) ? Secure Store Service is nothing but a secure database for storing credentials that are associated with application IDs.

Mention some of the OOB features of SharePoint that aid with governance of an environment ? Some of the OOB features of SharePoint that aid with governance of an environment are discussed as folows: 1) Site templates – This feature is used for consistent branding, site structure, and layout which can enforce a set of customizations that are applied to a site definition. 2) Quotas – This will limits the amount of storage a site collection can use. 3) Locks - This feature will prevent users from either adding content to a site collection or using the site collection. 4) Web application permissions and policies – This feature is used for comprehensive security settings that apply to all users and groups for all site collections within a Web application. 5) Self-service site creation - This feature will enables the users to create their own site collections, thus must be incorporated into a governance scheme.

What are the monitoring features that are baked into SharePoint 2010 ? The data about the state of the system is captured by the Diagnostic logging. The health and usage data collection uses specific timer jobs to perform monitoring tasks, collecting information about: 1) Performance Counter Fata 2) Event Log Data 3) Timer Service Data 4) Metrics For Site Collections and Sites 5) Search Usage Data

Explain about cmdlet's ? The concept of cmdlet is introduced by the Windows PowerShell. These cmdlet's are simple build in commands, written in a .net language like C# or VB.

Where is the Powershell located in sharePoint ? The Powershell is located as in the below path: On the Start menu, click All Programs -> Click Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products -> Click SharePoint 2010 Management Shell.

In comparision, which is faster - a WebPart or a User Control ? In comparision, a WebPart is faster than a User Control. A User Control in SharePoint is loaded by a webpart which adds an overhead. User Controls however, gives you an Interface to add controls and styles.

How to create Users and how to allocates permissions to the Users ? The Permission management is a three step procedure desribed briefly as follows. Step1: -Create Users. Step2: – Create Permissions. Step3: – Link the Users with the Permissions. In order to create a User and Allocate permissions, Click on Site Actions located on the top link bar and then click on Site Permissions. Now, under the Edit tab, click on Grant Permissions. Later, In the Users/group field, enter the user’s name, choose the permissions you wish the user to have under Give Permission, and then click on OK.

How to create or deploy Web parts in SharePoint 2010 ? Web part is a reusable functionality, which can be inserted on the web pages and can be configured by the end users. In order to create a web part, go to Visual Studio and create a new project > select SharePoint tab > select Visual Web Part > select on which local web site you want to deploy the web part > click on Validate and Click finish. Now, in order to deploy the project just go to > Solution Explorer > select your project > Right click on it > just select deploy.

What has changed with 12 hive in SharePoint ? In 12 hive structure, there are 3 New Folders which are added in. They are: 1) UserCode – This folder is used for the files to support sandboxed solutions . 2) WebClients – This folder is used for the client Object Model. 3) WebServices – This folder is used for the .svc files.

How can be the old custom solutions be re-deployed in SharePoint 2010. What changes are needed to the old Solution files ? You should rewrite and recompile any code that refers to files and resources in "12 hive". SharePoint 2010 object model contains many changes and enhancements, but our custom code will still compile and, will run as expected.

How to invite the users to join a Windows SharePoint Services Site ? You can invite the users to join a Windows SharePoint Services Site in a secure way by keeping the SharePoint-based Web sites as password-protected to restrict access to registered users, who are invited to join via e-mail. In addition, the site administrator can restrict certain members' roles by assigning different permission levels to view post and edit.

Is it possible to download information directly from a SharePoint site to a personal digital assistant (PDA) ? No, it is not possible to download information directly from a SharePoint site to a personal digital assistant (PDA). But you can exchange contact information lists with Microsoft Outlook.

How much time does it take to set up the initial team Web site ? It takes only a few minutes to create a complete Web site. Preformatted forms let you and your team members contribute to the site by filling out lists. Standard forms include announcements, events, contacts, tasks, surveys, discussions and links.

Is it possible to get the domain name for a Web site ? No, you cannot get the domain name for your website. At present, there is no such offering of domain names for SharePoint sites.

Explain about picture libraries ? Picture libraries will allow you to access a photo album and view it as a slide show or thumbnails or a film strip. You can have separate folder for each event, category, etc

Discuss about the security levels which are assigned to users ? The administrator will assign the Security levels who is adding the user. There are four levels by default which are discussed as follows: 1) Reader - In this level, the user will have read-only access to the Web site. 2) Contributor - The user can add content to existing document libraries and lists. 3) Web Designer - The user can create lists and document libraries and customize pages in the Web site. 4) Administrator - The user will have the full control of the Web site.

Is it possible to link the SharePoint to an external data source ? SharePoint itself cannot reference an external data source but, SharePoint data can be opened with Access and Excel as an external data source. Thus, SharePoint can be referenced as an external data source.

Does a SharePoint Web site include search functionality ? Yes, the SharePoint Web site includes the search functionality. SharePoint Team Services provides a powerful text-based search feature that helps you find documents and information fast.

Explain about Solutions in Sharepoint ? Solutions are nothing but the container packages for Features. Solution is a cabinet (.cab) file with extension .wsp which contains various components needed to be deployed(features, webparts, custom forms etc) along with files that describe some important metadata about those Components. Once a Solution is installed on a server in the farm, you can deploy it to any webapplication from your Solution Management.

What is the use of a .ddf file ? A .ddf file is a data directive file which describes the files need to be deployed and their destination (in SharePoint). .ddf is used when building the SharePoint solution. This file is a parameter to makecab.exe which outputs the wsp file.

What is Custom action ? Custom action represents a link, toolbar button, menu item, or any control that can be added to a toolbar or menu that appears in the UI. For e.g. "New Folder" button in your document library is a custom action or "View All Site Content" in your Site Settings is a custom action.

What is meant by a SharePoint Theme ? A Theme is a group of files (CSS, images) that allow you to define the appearance (look and feel) of content pages in SharePoint. A Theme defines the design of various components. For e.g. Content Page background-color,button color,webpart title color etc to give a different look and feel to your site.

What is BDC ? BDC stands for Business Data Catalog. It is a shared service that enables Office SharePoint Server 2007 to display business data from various back-end servers into a SharePoint page. It also provides built-in support for displaying data with various webparts and list\list columns that can help in easy creation of dashboards with data from your SQL, web services, SAP, Siebel, or any other line-of-business (LOB) applications.

What is meant by Central administration ? The Central Administration is a site used by admins to mange and configure settings for SharePoint web applications or the whole farm.

What are event receivers or event Handlers in SharePoint ? Event Receivers or Event handlers are created to handle the basic actions or events against an item,list\library, a web or a site. There are two kinds of events in sharepoint. They are: 1) Synchronous Events: Like Itemadding (not added yet), Uploading (document not uploaded yet) etc. 2) Asynchronous Events: ItemAdded (after item is added), Uploaded(after a document is uploaded) Events receivers can be written to override an event. For e.g. ItemAdded event to change the name of an Item once it is added.

What is meant by stsadm ? It is a Command-line tool used for administration of Office SharePoint 2007 (or MOSS 2007) servers and sites. Basic operations like adding a solution or installing activating and feature is usually done by stsadm.

Where is stsadm located ? The stsadm is located in the below given path. C:\Program Files\Common Files\ shared\web server extensions\12\bin

What are Site Columns ? Site columns are pre-defined data columns which are re-used in various content types. A Content type is usually a collection of site columns. For e.g. you can create a site column "Category" with a choice datatype along with the pre-defined values "It","Hr". This column then can be added to any content type in your list or library.

What is meant by a Site definition ? A Site definition is a collection of Files. The files are such as ONET.XML which defines the Site template. For e.g. Team Sites used to create a Site in SharePoit. All the out-of-box site Templates like Blog,Wiki,Team Site etc can be found in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\TEMPLATE\

What is the command to take backup and restore for sharepoint site ? The commands to take backup and restore for sharepoint site are given as follows: Backup command: stsadm -o backup -url http://moss:4002/ -filename c:\bkupsite.bak To restore : stsadm -o restore -url http://moss:4004/ -filename c:\bkupsite.bak

Mention the ways to initiate the workflow in Sharepoint ? Below are the ways to initiate the workflow in Sharepoint: 1) Automatic (on item added or item deleted) 2) Manual (standard WSS UI interface) 3) Manual (Custom UI Interface) 4) Programatically through custom code

Sharepoint - Part One

What is SharePoint ?

Microsoft has given this SharePoint, which is a browser based document collaboration platform. It is an application framework, and it is an application as its own. It is a platform where user can share Data, Collaborate and people can also take this platform and customized platform as per their requirements.

what is a web part? Web parts consist of xml queries to full SharePoint lists or document libraries. You can also develop your own web parts and web part pages.

What are the advantages of SharePoint Portal Services (SPS) over SharePoint Team Services (STS)? SharePoint Portal Services (SPS) has MUCH better document management. It has check-in, check-out, versioning, approval, publishing, subscriptions, categories, etc. STS does not have these features, or they are very scaled back. SharePoint Portal Services (SPS) has a better search engine, and can crawl multiple content sources. STS cannot. STS is easier to manage and much better for a team environment where there is not much Document Management going on. SPS is better for an organization, or where Document Management is crucial.

what is CAML? CALM tands for Collaborative Application Markup Language and is an XML-based language that is used in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services to define sites and lists, including, for example, fields, views, or forms, but CAML is also used to define tables in the Windows SharePoint Services database during site provisioning.

What are the types of input forms that can be created for a workflow ? You can create four different types of input forms including 1. An association form 2. An initiation form 3. A modification form 4. A task edit form.

What are ways to create input forms for workflow ? Two 1. You can create your forms by using custom application pages, which are standard .aspx pages deployed to run out of the _layouts directory. 2. Using Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007

what is MOSS ? Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) is the full version of a portal-based platform for collaboratively creating, managing and sharing documents and Web services. In MOSS additional feature add that can not in WSS 3.0.

what is web part?and type Web Parts are the fundamental building blocks for Share Point user interface, and with them we can build and integrate many different types of applications.In share point also be create custom web part using .oscx control steps create custom web part 1.create web part project copied .oscx control and build application.place .dll file in GAC .reset IIS. 2.go 12 hive _layout folder create folder past your .oscx control 3.go inetpub ->wwwroot->wss->open Your site ->web con fig->create safe control write assembly information of web part application 4.open sharepoint site ->site action-site editing->Galleries ->web part->new Add your web part. follow few web part in WSS 3.0 Content Editor Web Part Data View Web Part List View Web Part Image Web Part Members Web Part . Page Viewer Web Part

how can debugging share point application and timer jobs ? with steps? Steps 1:build application place .dll into gac and reset iis steps 2:On the Debug menu, select Attach to Process steps 3:select the Show processes from all users check box. steps 4:select W3W.exe and OSWTIMER.exe can attach steps 5:refresh sharepoint site point break point

What is Sandbox solution? When user writing custom code then it is not trusted, its failure causses on entire site. So the sandbox solution concept is used. In that case program is only written for particular site & solution is uploaded in the same site. The solution size limit is decided at the time of site creation & if size increases or code showing bad performance then it is easy to administrator to stop the working of solution.

What is the difference between Sandbox solution & farm solution? We can create sandbox solution for particular site but not for the entire site collection or farm. It is not applicable for farm solution. There are some restriction while creating the sandbox solution.

Why we use the properties.current.web instead of SPContext.Current.web in event receiver? When we deploy project from Visual studio then we can use the SPContext.Current.web but when we use the powershell to activate or deactive the feature then we have to use properties.current.web beacuse there is no access of browser here.

Which are default master pages in Sharepoint 2010? 1. v4.master - This is default master page. 2. default.master - this is used to support the 2007 user interface 3. minimal.master 4. simple.master- it is used for accessdenied.aspx, confirmation.aspx, error.aspx, login.aspx, reqacc.aspx, signout.aspx & webdeleted.aspx pages.

What is the difference between CustomMasterUrl & MasterUrl? MasterUrl is used to change the layout of all use end pages but CustomMasterUrl is for changing the layout of admin side pages.

What is SharePoint Delegate Control? a. With the help of delegate control, we can take any OOB control of SharePoint and replace with our custom control without any modification in the SharePoint page. So that new custom control overrides the existing one. b. So the delegate control provide one of the option to add control (either server control or user control) on a SharePoint page. c. This is one of the important features of SharePoint, introduced in WSS v3 and so in MOSS 2007. d. For example : In master page SearchBox control is included as <SharePoint:DelegateControl runat="server" ControlId="SmallSearchInputBox" /> e. The above lines instantiate the delegate control object. f. This delegate control object uses features to locate the control which is specified in ControlId. So there must be the features (it includes feature at any scope) which creates and deploys the SmallSearchInputBox control.

What are the zones in SharePoint? 1. Zones provides the separate logical paths of authentication for the same web application. 2. We can create 5 zones for each web application as follows : a. Default b. Intranet c. Extranet d. Internet and e. Custom 3. Each zone represented by different web sites in IIS.

What is the Farm in SharePoint? 1. Farm is a collection of SharePoint servers having the same configuration database. 2. Configuration DB stores all the required information to run the farm. 3. Each farm is administered through a central administration 4. There is only one configuration database per farm.

What is WebApplication in SharePoint? 1. In SharePoint WebApplication is a IIS website. 2. From Central Admin we can create the web application. Each web application is associated with one IIS web site. 3. Once the web application is created, we can extend the web application in different zones. 4. For each web application, content database is created.

What is a Site Collection in SharePoint? 1. A site collection is a set of web sites. 2. Every site collection has top-level site, created when the site collection is created. 3. THere might be multiple site collections in web application and each site collection may have a multiple child sites.

How the WSS3.0 basic installation differs from the advanced installation? 1. When we choose the basic installation, Windows Internal Database(WID), a relational database based on SQL server technology, is installed for the WSS3.0 databases. This WID has only 4 GB limitations. While if we go for advanced search, WSS 3.0 uses installed SQL server for the databases. 2. When we use basic installation, application pool uses the LocalSystem account. 3. Also once we go for Basic installation, we are unable to add more servers to the farm.

How WSS 3.0 differes from MOSS 2007? 1. Windows SharePoint Services (3.0) are free available with Windows Server. Microsoft Office sharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007 is licensed version. WSS 3.0 can be freely downloaded from Microsoft site. 2. MOSS 2007 is based on WSS3.0 with some additional features like Enterprise Search, Business Data Catalog(BDC), User Profile, Excel Services, Single-Sign on, additional Workflows, My site feature etc.

What is CAML? CAML is the collaborative application markup language. This is the XML-based language used to customize and to develop the sharepoint based sites and features.

What is the difference between Site Definition and Site template? 1. To create or use site definition you need server admin access, but site template can install from web UI by site owners. 2. Site definition supports feature stapling, but for site template additional features must be activated in gallery. 3. Site definitions are stored in hard disk, but site templates are stored in content DB. 4. Site definition can provision multiple webs, but site templates for single web only. 5. Creating site definition is relatively complex then site template creation.

What is BDC and how it is differ from BCS? BDC (Business Data Catalogue) is use to connect an external database and view it in share point. BCS (Business connectivity Services) is new in SharePoint2010. Using BDC one can only read from external Database, but using BCS one can read and write into the external Database.

What is Web part life cycle? Web Part Life Cycle starts with OnInit- to configure the webpart. OnLoad- to load add controls. CreateChildControls- It is use to create controls and set its property. LoadViewState- The view state of the web part is populated over here. OnPreRender- it is use to change the web part properties. RenterContents- it generate the output in html. OnUnLoad- to unload the web part. Dispose- to free the memory.

How to Create a custom feature? To create custom feature :- Create xml file named feature.xml and its manifest file. Save it in a folder and save that folder in 12- hive \template\feature. To install :- Go to command prompt, navigate 12- hive bin folder & run the command. Stsadm -0 installfeature –filename <filelocation+name> To Activate :- Go to command prompt, navigate 12- hive bin folder & run the command. Stsadm -0 activefeature –name <name> -url <url> To Deactivate :- Go to command prompt, navigate 12- hive bin folder & run the command. Stsadm -0 deactivefeature –name <name> -url <url> To uninstall :- Go to command prompt, navigate 12- hive bin folder & run the command. Stsadm -0 uninstallfeature –filename <filelocation+name>

Explain the Share Point Architecture. Having 3 layers, like 3 tire architecture 1. WFE <Front End Web Server> 2. Application Layer 3. Data base Layer 1. WFE :- Here we have share point Installed. We have 12-hive structure & virtual drives. Here IIS web sites are hosted. Here servers are clustered on & are in synch. 2. Application Lay er:- Share Point provides different services. This layer provides those services, like my site hosting, user profile & searching etc. One server can be dedicated to particular service depend upon the scalability. 3. Data Base Layer :- Here we have SQL server installed. Here content DB is hosted. For moss 2007, it is SQL server 2005. For Share Point 2010, it is SQL server 2008. Here servers are clustered on & are in synch. * Every layer has load balancer for control the traffic.

How to deploy wsp ? In Command prompt, navigate to the 12-hive bin folder, then write the command to add the solution i.e. Stsadm -o addsolution -filename filelocation Then go to “central administration -> operations” under “global configuration” there is “solution management” click on that. Then click on “wsp file name”, and then click on “deploy solution” for deploy it, for retrieve click on “retrieve solution”, for remove it click on “remove solution” after retrieve it.

How do you configure outgoing E-mail? It is recommended that you set up a Local SMTP Virtual Server on your share point box and configure it to relay to your normal domain. This will not only provide a natural queuing mechanism which would be highly preferred, but it will also provide you with what you need to set up incoming email as well as outgoing. (DW) More details on this ... If you are looking to use your corporate email to read outbound email--you'll need to go to the SMTP Virtual server and set up a new domain in it. Click on domains and make a new remote domain. Type in the name of your corporate email (for me it would be Microsoft.com). Once it's made, get the properties on it and configure the smart host to be the name of your actual mail server (exchange or whatever). This will cause the SMTP Virtual Server to relay mail addressed to your remote domain to your corporate email server. If that server only accepts mail from authenticated sources, you'll have to configure the outbound security on the remote domain as well as the smart host. (DW) Note too the usual need to make sure that Port 25 is not blocked by an A-V software (McAfee being the typical culprit)

Client Object Model vs Server Object Model in SharePoint 2010 ? using Client Object Model we can access the data from the system where sharepoint server is not installed on the machine via Web Services , API , JavaScript etc Where as In Server Object Model is like a Production Server Environment to access the data where shapoint server installed on the machine .

How to Remove the Banner from InfoPath Form 2007 ? Using Stsadm setformserviceproperty we can remove the banner from InfoPath form 2007 . Ex: stsadm.exe -o setformserviceproperty -pn allowbranding -pv false

How to Synchronize the UserProfiles with Active Directory in MOSS 2007? 1. Log into the Shared Services Administration site 2. Click on User Profiles and Properties 3. Click on Configure Profile Import 4. Under "Source" select the domain you wish to import from 5. Under "Default Access Account" select either the default content access account or specify account details – this account must have permission to access the Active Directory users (default) OU container 6. Click OK 7. Now select either a Full or Incremental import, a Full import will ensure that users deleted from Active Directory are removed from the profile database 8. Once the import has finished you can select "View Import Log" to reveal details about the import

How to take IIS backup in SharePoint Server ? Step1: Start --> Administrative Tools-->IIS Manager Step2: Right Click on Computer Name --> All Tasks--> Backup/Restore Step3: Click on Create Backup Step4: Name the Backup File and make the backup file password protected Step5: Done!! Step6: Check the Backup file in C:\WINDOWS\system32\inetsrv\MetaBack it will be in 2 names . Step7: to restore them Click on Restore option

What is Search Server and Search Server Express ? SSX can only deploy on single server in the farm.you cannot add more than one server to make search high availability . Search server can be scaled in the same fashion as SharePoint Server providing high availability for search

When backing up a SharePoint 2010 environment, What are the tools that can be used ? The tools that can be used while backing up a SharePoint 2010 environment are mentioned as 2 types as follows: 1) SharePoint farm backup and recovery 2) SQL Server

Explain about Content types in Sharepoint ? A content type is a WSS type definition which is flexible and reusable. It is used to define the columns and behavior for an item in a list or a document in a document library. For example, you can create a content type for a leave approval document with a unique set of columns, an event handler, and its own document template and attach it with document library/libraries.

Discuss the differences between a Site Definition and a Site Template ? The differences between a Site Definition and a Site Template are discussed as follows: Site Definitions are stored on the hard drive of the SharePoint front end servers, which are used by the SharePoint application to generate the sites users can create. Site Templates are created by users as a copy of a site they have configured and modified so that they do not have to recreate lists, libraries, views and columns every time they need a new instance of a site.

For a workflow, What are the types of input forms can be created ? For a Workflow, you can create 4 different types of input forms which are given as follows: 1. An association form 2. An initiation form 3. A modification form 4. A task edit form.

Mention different products in SharePoint 2010 ? There are 2 different products in SharePoint 2010. They are 1) SharePoint Foundation 2010 which is a free version and 2) SharePoint Server 2010 which is a paid version.