International SharePoint Professionals Association

This new Association looks like it will be a great resource for SharePoint users on a global scale...and believe me SharePoint is indeed INTERNATIONAL.

I've been in contact with SharePoint Designers/Administrators from all over the world and they are all hungry to collaborate on all things SharePoint.

This organization exists to lend support to SharePoint End User Groups (one of which is right in San Diego).

Check out the link to the ISPA...right now they are not accepting open membership, but they are providing some great information to get connected with the community.

International SharePoint Professionals Association

SharePoint Magazine...

A new resource available to SharePoint users is the newly released online SharePoint Magazine.

Here is the link...

http://sharepointmagazine.net/

From the site you can register and receive their e-mail based magazine. This looks like something that is going to become huge in the near future. There are already some great articles posted on the site...strongly suggest you sign up today!

Lookup Columns...

Something I have been glossing over in my End User SharePoint class has been working with the Lookup Column option in a List or Library. It has taken a while for me to figure out a functional use for this feature from a military perspective.

Basically, the Lookup Column acts like an automatically updating Menu List, based on a column you choose from a DIFFERENT list or library.

I created a powerpoint on My SharePoint Site that shows how to use this feature.

There are a couple of different reasons to use the Lookup Column. The first is to separate permissions. Perhaps one shop or section is resposible for adding points of contact (like the S-1), and other is responsible for uploading LOIs (Letter of Instructions--like the S-3).

By using the Lookup Column, you can create a Custom List called POC that the S-1 has contribute permissions over so they can maintain/update contact info, and the S-3 can upload their files and have an automatic list of possible Points of Contact from the command added to the 'metadata' for their uploaded file.

Another reason to use the Lookup Column is to save typing. If you find that you use the same menu over and over again for your SharePoint lists/libraries (like a column called Section that lists all the command sections...or better yet, a RANK column--it is really annoying to type every possible rank without even talking about the Navy rank structure).

In these scenarios, you can create ONE custom list with the items you need (like Section or Rank) and enter all the options into that list. From there, any time you want to use those options create a Lookup Column and link to it.

One drawback, you have to create the Lookup Column in the Site you want to use it in. That means that if you create it on your home page, you will not have it available for sub-sites without doing some heavy programming work arounds.

Again, if you want to see the Lookup Columns Step-by-Step, go to http://usmc-sharepoint.com and use the login/password of Marine/password. From there go to SharePoint Support.

Hope this helps!

Sending E-Mail to a Document Library

A nice feature in SharePoint is the ability to send e-mail directly to the site without any human intervention.

The only concern for the site administrator is how those e-mails are handled once in the library/list.

For Announcements, the procedure is pretty straight forward. Once the Site/List administrator allows e-mail and creates the e-mail address, users simply send their announcements to the site. The subject line becomes the title of the announcement, and the body of the e-mail becomes the body of the announcement. This saves some time and frustration when you receive word from the SgtMaj and need to post it to the unit web site. Simply forward his message, correct the Subject line and delete any unnecessary text in the body, and your job is complete.

E-mail works a little different with Document Libraries. When you send documents to a document library through e-mail, SharePoint creates a folder in the document library and puts any attachments from your e-mail inside that folder.

The problem with this is that it creates a folder even when you only send one attached file.

Although it is not that big of a deal, it does require your end users to click a couple of extra times to get to the document they are looking for. Even worse, users do not know which files are inside each folder. When the site receives multiple e-mails/attachments, SharePoint does not create a very user friendly folder naming convention to help you find your files.

An example of this is if a couple of Marines send attached S-1 documents to a document library. Users would have to open each folder to find the document they are looking for.

A new powerpoint will be uploaded to the USMC-SharePoint training site that shows how a document library receives e-mail...

Installing Third Party Web Parts...

I just uploaded a presentation under the 'SharePoint Resources' link on the usmc-sharepoint.com training site.

Right now I am not able to actually create a demo on the site because you need a dedicated server with administrator rights in order to add .wsp files. The server I am currently on is only a SharePoint site on a Shared Server...maybe in the future I'll upgrade if/when the site really starts to take off (keep visiting/creating alerts on it!! Send your friends!!).

As you will see in the presentation, I loaded an RSS Feed Reader Web Part onto a WSS 3.0 site.

MOSS 2007 comes with an RSS Feed Reader Web Part, which greatly enhances the collaborative functionality in SharePoint.

However, the RSS Feed Reader Web Part I found is offered as a free download and is actually very easy to use once it is installed. All you need to do is provide the link and the rest just works out.

I have to go back and find where I originally found the RSS Feed Reader Web Part, and when I find it I will post it here. If you want/need the file/instructions send me an e-mail and I will send it out.

Recommended Reading List...

I've posted a recommended reading list on my USMC-SharePoint site HERE.

I've been asked a bunch of times in the past to give my recommendations, so here they are. I'll update the list as I find newer/better books out there, but so far these are the best on the market and I've included a wide range of specialties from End User WSS 3.0 beginner to MOSS 2007 Server Administrators to C# SharePoint programmers.

If you find a book that should be included let me know.

AnyChart.com Web Part Demo

I just finished creating a Web Part Page Demo showing the trial version of AnyChart.com's SharePoint feature.

This is a great tool, at a great price. As I have said in my classes, it is better to pay a developer $100 to make something that works than it is to pay $10,000 to make a Marine a programmer. Even then there is no guarentee that the Marine will make something that works, is within common coding standards, or at least meets the minimum needs of the unit (not to mention that once the Marine gets the $10,000 worth of training he will probably get out of the Marine Corps to make a lot more money on the outside...or he'll rotate out of the unit that paid for his training).

This is one of those tools...AND it DOES cost only $100. Possibly less with a group/military discount.

Go to my usmc-sharepoint.com site and check it out.

Some of the best features of this product is that it dynamically changes. A lot of other products out there create a static chart to display on a SharePoint site, but it has to be created ever time the data changes.

This product changes with the data.

Another feature is that you can link to ANY data list/library that you have access to...it does not have to be on the same page/site to have access.

This product has a lot of great chart options, and has a nice graphic design to it. Again, go to my Sharepoint site (remember, login is Marine/password) and see my demo. You can even change the data and see the graphs change dynamically...a rare moment when I let the Marine login name have contributor permissions. ;)

Enjoy!