How to Replace All Occurrences of SharePoint Web Part
July 13, 2012
SharePoint 2010 Web Parts are a modular unit of information that consists of a title bar, a frame, and content. They are the basic building blocks of a Web Part page. In “Replace SharePoint 2010 Web Parts by Type,” the author provides a cmdlet that allows you to replace all occurrences of one web part type with another type.
The author explains his PowerShell solution:
The Replace-SPWebPartType cmdlet accepts an URL to a web part page (or an instance of an SPFile object) and a string or Type object representing the type of web part to replace and what to replace it with; you can further restrict what web parts are updated by providing a web part title to filter on and you can pass in additional properties to set via a Hashtable object (closed web parts are ignored).
This tool may come in handy in a number of different situations, such as discovering a buggy web part. Let’s say you deploy a custom web part and remove the out of the box web part from the gallery, but then you need to replace the existing instances that are deployed on pages throughout your farm. The cmdlet and full help are provided in the article. You may want to bookmark the solution for an easy fix in those occasional Web part replacement occurrences. One way to avoid some Web part replacement needs is by employing a reliable third party solution. To maximize your SharePoint investments beyond implementation, consider Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Part of the full suite of solutions is the Fabasoft Folio Connector, which provides uniform, reliable management of your digital content.
With on-premise and Cloud information pairing capabilities, Mindbreeze provides a comprehensive and enterprise-grade solution that adds rich value to your business knowledge. Read more at Mindbreeze, where they seem to have the benefits of a proper installation down pat.
Philip West, July 13, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
The Ideal SharePoint User is You
July 12, 2012
Is everyone touched by SharePoint in their professional life, or does it just seem that way? The latest SharePoint infographic provides pretty good evidence for just that fact. If SharePoint wants to cater to their ideal user, and broaden their appeal to additional users, how do you define those user groups? Rackspace Hosting tackles the topic in, “Who Is The Ideal SharePoint User?”
The author makes the case:
Regardless of business size or industry, SharePoint’s vast tool set and custom application ecosystem is being used by both small and large industries in diverse business segments. More than 78 percent of Fortune 500 companies use SharePoint and 62 percent of workers use it everyday, according to numbers reported in our recently published SharePoint infographic. The Library of Congress, Viacom and Citibank all use SharePoint for different uses in their businesses. With such broad market penetration, SharePoint has found a way to deliver value to diverse types of organizations with highly specialized needs.
SharePoint has gained broad appeal and usage, but does it truly perform all of the specialized functions that different organizations need? Well yes, if you are willing and able to customize. For those who cannot afford a SharePoint consultant or a fulltime on-staff developer, a third party enterprise solution might be a good bet.
Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise can work alongside an existing SharePoint deployment, or serve as a standalone solution. More importantly, it is highly intuitive and comes with the full support of the award-winning Mindbreeze team.
Emily Rae Aldridge, July 12, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
A SharePoint Search Refiner
July 12, 2012
The SharePoint Blog contained a very informative explanation of SharePoint “refiners.” A “refiner”, according to Microsoft is “enable end-users to drill down into their search results based on managed properties that are associated with the indexed search items, such as creation date, author, and company names.”
Custom SharePoint 2010 Search Refiner – Displaying Range of Choices is a presentation of information which originally appeared in the ShareMuch blog. The write is, in my opinion, quite useful. The information provides a streamlined explanation of how to implement a refiner in a SharePoint 2010 installation. The write up provides an XML snippet which makes the addition of a refiner quick and easy.
The article explains:
MappedProperty maps to an actual managed property that you must define or is already defined in search service application. The SortBy defines, in this case, a custom filter right below the category. The CustomFilters node’s MappingType property means we’ll have a custom filter. In our case, we’re using a range mapper, meaning that whatever value are going to be in the managed property, our filter will display UI based on the range of those and let user toggle the display based on that range. I hope this makes sense. The DataType has only 3 types, so please don’t make the same mistake I did and try to guess the value, it’s limited to “Numeric”, “DateTime”, “String”. The CustomValue inside CustomFilter specifies the user friendly value and the OriginalValue defines the range. In our example, the “Size” property is measured in Bytes so “..1? means range anywhere from 0 bytes to 1 byte. It happens that list items and lists in search results are less than 1 byte in size which means that we can refine by list items and lists results by capturing items with size less than 1 byte. Everything else is a document.
Search Technologies implements “refiners” as well as other advanced features of SharePoint. If you want to extend SharePoint and make the system deliver even greater value to your users, contact Search Technologies.
Iain Fletcher, July 12, 2012
SharePoint Needs to Up Mobile Game
July 11, 2012
Microsoft is on a roll with its mobile game, generating a lot of buzz about their new Surface tablet. With Microsoft 365 all systems and software are envisioned to be fully integrated, creating a fully portable and mobile experience. CMS Wire speaks to how this new direction and vision may impact devoted SharePoint users in, “SharePoint has Yammer, Now it Needs To Up Its Mobile Game.”
The article states:
Last week’s announcement of the new Surface tablet range is bang on theme. Whilst observers quibble about price points and the merits of a built in kickstand, there is no doubting that Microsoft thinks many of us will spend our future computing time prodding at a screen of some sort . . . So what about the next version of SharePoint? So can we expect a friendly touch enabled version of SharePoint? A ‘SharePoint: Metro’ to impress all those execs running meetings with their shiny new Surface tablets? The evidence suggest not.
So if SharePoint is not yet living up to the rest of the Microsoft mobile offerings, what is an organization to do? We suggest looking into the fully mobile capabilities of a trusted third party enterprise solution like Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Fabasoft Mindbreeze Mobile offers full functionality and navigation, losing nothing over the traditional desktop-centered enterprise approach. Working alongside an existing SharePoint deployment, or as a standalone product, we recommend Fabasoft Mindbreeze for a number of reasons, but specifically for its superior mobile functionality.
Emily Rae Aldridge, July 11, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Good Help is Hard to Find
July 10, 2012
SharePoint consultants – every organization implementing SharePoint thinks that they need one, yet complaints abound regarding their effectiveness. The Meetdux.com blog addresses the topic in the post, “Will the Real SharePoint Consultant Please Stand Up?”
The author shares his personal perspective, as someone who also practices as a SharePoint consultant:
My clients have a common complaint when I come in and help them with their existing SharePoint implementation, ‘The so called SharePoint consultant who helped us roll out SharePoint was no help at all!’ You may ask what seems to be the problem, well, some people who call themselves SharePoint consultants are nothing more than a technical person having some Windows administration background who can easily install, configure and deploy SharePoint in a technical environment.
So what are organizations to do? You need the expertise without the hassle, or the large bill. We would suggest looking into a smart third-party enterprise search vendor like Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise can work alongside your existing SharePoint installation, or serve as a standalone enterprise infrastructure. Either way, your organization gets the expertise and support of the Mindbreeze team, which cuts out the private consulting fee, and results in an infinitely better user experience.
Emily Rae Aldridge, July 10, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Considering Mobile Access Options for SharePoint
July 9, 2012
At the MSDN.com Blog, Kiril Matev looks at mobile SharePoint in his article, “Extending SharePoint to the Mobile Arena.” Matev has this to say on mobile usage,
Many companies already rely on SharePoint to encourage users to share information and enhance collaboration. It also helps to integrate structured and unstructured data stores that often build up across an organisation. Due to the central role that SharePoint plays in enterprise IT infrastructure, mobile productivity can only be enhanced in companies that use SharePoint if users are able to access SharePoint resources reliably and intuitively on their mobile devices.
He goes on to discuss:
. . . company data available on all mobile devices. Regardless of whether you have a BlackBerry®, iPhone®, Windows Phone or Android™ Smartphone or a tablet such as the Apple iPad, Samsung Chromebook/GalaxyTab or Blackberry Playbook. You can act independently SharePlus as one option, but points out that not all companies may find it as the best way to extend SharePoint to mobile. Mobile usage continues to grow.
It seems that the experts at Fabasoft Mindbreeze understand the importance of mobile access:
Smartphones and tablets are constant companions, indispensable in the business world. Information needs to be able to be exchanged at all times and wherever you are. Easily. Quickly. Securely.
Fabasoft Mindbreeze Mobile makes and freely – yet always securely. Irrespective of what format the data is in.
Read more about the full suite of solutions at http://www.mindbreeze.com/.
Phillip West, July 9, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Considerations for an Existing Farm with SharePoint 2013 on the Horizon
July 6, 2012
In “SharePoint 2013 Upgrade or Not: 5 Strategies to Help You Decide,” Bjorn Furuknap gives some tips on preparing for the next version of SharePoint. The author first suggests fixing any of your existing problems now because they will remain largely the same from version to version.
But if you don’t have any major problems, Furuknap offers this:
SharePoint will be here next year, and the year after. And yes, there will be a SharePoint 2016, which will be so much better, and you should probably wait for that to arrive because it’s going to truly outshine SharePoint 2013. If, right now, you don’t have a problem that SharePoint can help you solve, then most likely, you won’t get those problems in November either. In other words, Microsoft releasing a new version will not give you new problems.
The author also suggests that if you have the extra money, consider upgrading now, but if you have many custom apps, consider waiting as they may not jive with SharePoint 2013. Furuknap brings some good points to the discussion by pointing out the decision should be unique to your situation. Asking the right questions will help ensure that your project resources are spent on the key aspects rather than unnecessary functionalities that will only complicate the system.
A third party solution, like Fabasoft Mindbreeze, can also help you connect the dots in your SharePoint system. The Fabasoft Folio Connector integrates all your business information from the intranet, Cloud, internet, and knowledge portals in the corporate-wide search, while maintaining your strict access rights. With Mindbreeze, users can easily search and reuse information from documents, contacts, projects, Wiki articles, conference agendas, and more.
Phillip West, July 6, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Guide to Conditional Content on Mobile Devices in SharePoint
July 5, 2012
Waldek Mastykarz is a software developer and SharePoint Server MVP. In his post, “Conditional Content on Mobile Devices the Easy Way in SharePoint 2010,” Mastykarz looks at some issues with displaying content in SharePoint on mobile devices. The author explains the issue,
Although mobile devices lower the bar for accessing information on the Internet they have their restrictions, such as screen size or bandwidth. In order to deliver optimal experience to your visitors you not only have to consider laying out all the different elements on the page, given the limited screen size, but also have to think about the amount of information you want to serve to your users to ensure that your website will load fast.
Mastykarz adds that responsive Web design allows you to ensure that your Web site is easy to use and content displays well in the limited screen space. He also provides guides and code snippets for enacting conditional content on mobile.
It seems that the experts at Fabasoft Mindbreeze understand the value of powerful search and mobile access to add more efficiency for SharePoint.
. . . makes company knowledge available on all mobile devices. You can act freely, independently and yet always securely. Irrespective of what format the data is in. Full functionality: Search results are displayed homogenously to the web client with regards to clear design and intuitive navigation.
With the full functionality of Fabasoft Mindbreeze for Enterprise and united on-premise and Cloud data, users will be able to act quickly in business matters with smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. Read more about the full suite of solutions at http://www.mindbreeze.com/.
Phillip West, July 5, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Engaging SharePoint Administrators with Business Knowledge and Experience
July 4, 2012
At the SharePoint Solutions Team Blog, Ricky Spears suggests some skills that server administrators can benefit from in his post, “The Missing Pieces in Most SharePoint Server Administrators’ Skill Sets.” Spears says that in his experience, Server Administrators should have a combination of three skill sets: business knowledge and experience, SharePoint knowledge and experience from a business perspective, and how to configure and administer SharePoint. The author expands on the first skill:
SharePoint integrates with every area of a business: sharing information, creating information, collaboration, information discovery, business intelligence, business process automation, and social interaction. The more a SharePoint Admin knows about your business (both generally, the specific day-to-day operations, and short-term and long-term goals) the better prepared she will be to configure SharePoint to support the needs of your business.
Spears’s emphasis on business knowledge may be because many organizations overlook these important skills. Spears suggests that Server Administrators should shadow employees and spend more time with managers to get a complete picture of the company goals.
The light read provides some basic ways to beef up your existing structure. To also strengthen your SharePoint system, consider Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Part of the full suite of solutions is the information pairing feature. Here is a highlight:
Our information pairing technology makes you unbeatable. Information pairing unites enterprise information and Cloud information. This results in a complete overview of a company’s knowledge – the basis for your competitive advantage – allowing you to act quickly, reliably, dynamically and profitably in all business matters.
Give your employees and Server Administrators quick and efficient access to business information so users can find, share, and reuse valuable knowledge. Read more at Mindbreeze, where they seem to have the benefits of a proper installation down pat.
Philip West, July 4, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Tips for Businesses to Take Ownership of SharePoint Management
July 3, 2012
Sometimes tensions exist between legacy management issues in SharePoint and new business goals and values. In her blog post, “How to Get Business to Take Ownership of SharePoint,” Veronique Palmer addresses the issue and offers some tips on how to get a business to take the SharePoint reins.
The author explains one of her tips:
Do you have a training plan and support path? If you want business to take ownership, you have to train them to do that. If you want them to use the platform in a certain way, you have to train them…Once they start building their own sites, do you have a dedicated help desk that can assist them with queries quickly without having to log a change request? What type of support do you have in place for them?
Palmer also points out that the system needs to be flexible and open to change and a governance forum initiative that involves key business people is imperative. To bypass the need for some expensive or time –consuming training, consider a third party solution like Fabasoft Mindbreeze, which extends the capabilities of your SharePoint system. Their Web Parts based information pairing capabilities give you powerful searches and a complete picture of your business information, allowing you to get the most out of your enterprise search investments. And your end users will benefit from the fast and intuitive search with clearly displayed results and simple navigation.
Philip West, July 3, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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