Business Data Catalog and MOSS

Business Data Catalog and MOSS

The Business Data Catalog is a very useful feature of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 that provides a way of integration of business data from back-end server applications, like SAP or Siebel, with your corporate portal to provide rich solutions for end users without writing any code. You register business data exposed in databases or through Web services in the Business Data Catalog by creating metadata that describes the database or Web service. The Business Data Catalog then uses this metadata to make the right calls into the data source to retrieve the relevant data.
The business data entities are available for use by any of the following business data features:

• 
  Business Data Web Parts
• Business Data in Lists
• Business Data Actions
• Business Data Search
• Business Data in User Profiles

for more details .....

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms546541.aspx

Business Data Catalog - getting started

http://www.lightningtools.com/bdc-meta-man/moss-business-data-catalog-getting-started.aspx

Ajax Update Panel in Publishing Portal

If ajax update panel are not working for you in Publishing portal try to move

asp:ContentPlaceHolder tag insde form tag.

In master page of publishing portal (BlueBand.master) this asp:ContentPlaceHolder is usually above the form tag , to make AJAX update panel work you can move this tag inside form tag by opening BlueBand.master in Sharepoint designer

HOW to use Microsoft AJAX in SharePoint webpart ??

HOW to use Microsoft AJAX in SharePoint webpart ??
Read it here
http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/blogs/mike/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=3

Microsoft® Windows® SharePoint™ Services v3 (WSS) demo site

Avery useful site for Microsoft® Windows® SharePoint™ Services v3 (WSS) demos, articles, resources.

http://www.wssdemo.com/default.aspx

What can be done with enterprise architecture

A good article on Enterprise Architecture


http://www.theeagroup.net/ea/Default.aspx?tabid=1&newsType=ArticleView&articleId=154&goback=%2Ehom

A handy Visual Studio template for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0

A handy Visual Studio template for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
http://blogs.code-counsel.net/Wouter/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?List=c04a88a9%2Dd138%2D4ac3%2Da2bb%2Db95c9fdd114e&ID=78

Steps to Create & Deploy WSP

1) In your custom feature folder, create a file "feature.xml"
Following is the general format of the file:

Title="My Feature"
Description="This is my feature containing a list"
Version="1.0.0.0"
Hidden="FALSE"
Scope="Web"
DefaultResourceFile="core"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/">





(Change the GUID of the feature with your own)


2) Create %YourFeatureName%manifest.xml file for the feature in the following format:


Name="Messages"
Type="108"
BaseType="0"
OnQuickLaunch="FALSE"
FolderCreation="FALSE"
SecurityBits="12"
Sequence="999"
DisplayName="My List"
Description="This is my custom list based on the discussions list"
Image="/_layouts/images/itdisc.gif"/>


3) Create a manifest.xml file for the feature:

SolutionId="EC2EFD73-DBA2-4c0e-9C18-C8FC43F72E6C" >






4) Inside the source folder, create a DDF file:
.OPTION Explicit
.Set DiskDirectory1="..\bin"
.Set CabinetNameTemplate="MyListSolution.wsp"
manifest.xml
; These directory names (DestinationDir) are used for the folders creation under 12\TEMPLATE\Features
.Set DestinationDir="MyList\ListTemplates"
MyList\ListTemplates\MyListManifest.xml
.Set DestinationDir="MyList\Messages"
MyList\Messages\schema.xml
.Set DestinationDir="MyList"
MyList\Feature.xml


5) Create a build.cmd file in the source folder:
build.cmd
@setlocal
@pushd.
@cd %~dp0
makecab /f wsp.ddf
@popd
@endlocal
5) Now, to deploy the solution; create the following steps:
DeployMyListSolution.cmd
@setlocal
@pushd.
@set PATH=C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN;%PATH% @cd %~dp0
stsadm.exe -o addsolution -filename MyListSolution.wsp
stsadm.exe -o deploysolution -name MyListSolution.wsp -local
@pause
@popd
@endlocal


6) After you have deployed the solution, go to Central Adminsitration > Operations > Solution Management. From here, deploy your solution on the web applications you want.

If you want to retract the solution you need to create the following file in the solution
RetractMyListSolution.cmd
@setlocal
@pushd.
@set PATH=C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN;%PATH% @cd %~dp0
stsadm.exe -o retractsolution -name MyListSolution.wsp –local
stsadm.exe -o deletesolution -name MyListSolution.wsp
@pause
@popd
@endlocal


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If you want to know about the elements used in the above mentioned xml file formats, please view these links:
http://www.theartofsharepoint.com/2007/05/how-to-build-solution-pack-wsp.html
http://www.chrishines.com/techblog/default.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa543741.aspx
http://geekswithblogs.net/evgenyblog/archive/2008/01/27/118966.aspx

Here's a list of the top 100 sharepoint websites by Ian Morrish

Here's a list of the top 100 websites http://www.wssdemo.com/Pages/topwebsites.aspx selected by Ian Morrish

A nice SharePoint Tool (AD Self Service provides a SharePoint active directory web part)

A nice SharePoint Tool Which Reduces SharePoint Administrators Maintaining AD Users Profiles. SharePoint What they need do is just configure some specific permissions and then those job can be done by users themselves.

AD Self Service provides a SharePoint active directory web part that allow current login user to see and modify his/her own Active Directory information through SharePoint.

http://www.microsofttechnologies.blogspot.com