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!

Quick Launch on Web Part Pages...

This is a neat trick, but it involves SharePoint Designer.

If you have tried to create a Web Part Page, and I hope you are using them because they give a site designer a lot of flexibility in page design, you will notice that the Site Quick Launch Bar is not on it.

Why this happens automatically I do not know. For some reason, Microsoft decided that once you get to a Web Part Page, you do not need to navigate anymore.

At any rate, a simple solution is found through SharePoint Designer.

Go to the page that you want the Quick Launch to appear and click on the File drop down menu in Internet Explorer.

You should see the option 'Edit in SharePoint Designer' pretty close to the top. If you do not, you need to a) install SharePoint Designer and/or b) go to the Tools/Options section of Internet Explorer and go to the 'Programs' tab at the top. Once there you can select 'SharePoint Designer' as the default HTML editor.

Anyway...after you select 'Edit in SharePoint Designer, the program will open and the page should appear. You should make sure you are in code view. Once in code view, search for the following three lines about 40 lines down:

[?xml:namespace prefix = asp /][asp:content runat="server" contentplaceholderid="PlaceHolderPageImage"][/asp:content]
[asp:content runat="server" contentplaceholderid="PlaceHolderLeftNavBar"][/asp:content]
[asp:content runat="server" contentplaceholderid="PlaceHolderNavSpacer"][/asp:content]

Note: I had to change <> symbols for [] symbols in order for the code to show up in the blog...just look for the 'contentplaceholderid' tags as listed...

Delete these lines and save the file by clicking on the disk in the upper left.

Once saved, close SharePoint Designer and refresh the SharePoint page.

Your Quick Launch should appear. It is a lot easier than this sounds...check it out.

I will be posting these steps in a Power Point presentation at www.usmc-sharepoint.com soon.

Username: Marine
Password: password

Auto-Increment for Custom Lists...

I was approached with a question in class the other day.

A student wanted to know how they could create a log entry that automatically incremented with each entry. At first you would think that a calculated field would do the trick...and it very well may (I have not looked into that option).

However, a much easier solution is to use the [ID] field that is automatically generated in every SharePoint list/library. As soon as a list or library is created, the first entry is numbered [1] and it increments every time a new item is added no matter how the list/library is filtered/viewed...the ID stays with the created entry.

Now that we know we have an ID field build into the list we can start to have some fun with the 'Calculated' field.

Maybe you do not want your entries starting with the number [1]...your entries should be in the thousands. Make a calculated field that has the formula: [ID] + 1000

You can make some really complicated calculations that also involve strings and comparisons.

The ID field can be used in many ways only limited by your needs.

Information Management in MOSS 2007

I went to the monthly San Diego SharePoint User's Group Meeting and had a great time as always. Not only was it the one year anniversary for the group, but they had some great speakers (and free Microsoft SWAG).

Last night's focus was on Information Management. Chris Beckett gave the second presentation and focused on MOSS 2007 features that support Information Mangement policies. Information Management Policies are specific to the MOSS 2007 application and are not openly available in WSS 3.0 without a lot of program/code experience (workflows/SharePoint Designer).

With MOSS 2007, a site administrator has the option to set Information Management Policies that can effect the entire site, a single list/library, or even on a single list item/document.

As Chris pointed out, Information Management is often overlooked in most organizations. Since almost 60% of all SharePoint implementation is Document-Centric...managing those documents should be a high priority.

Too often outdated information resides on the Shared Drive, and distracts/confuses users that are searching for current information.

With the flow of information moving so fast in todays military/intelligence community, documents that are over a year old are often irrelevant. The entire face of the Iraq war changed after the OIF I push was complete. Overlays, documents, SOPs, and map images used during that time are now useless.

MOSS 2007 can automatically delete/archive files that are no longer valid, and can send an alert before performing the action to verify that the document is no longer being used.

The automatic (OOTB--Out of the Box) Information Mangement features that come with MOSS 2007 are:

Labels - embeds a text label onto a doc when it is opened, like UNCLASSIFIED or FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (works In Office 2007—custom API)

Auditing – Writes an event to an audit log, to track every user that looks/adds/edits/deletes certain documents (entirely on server)

Expiration – Executes an action when item reaches an expiry date (entirely on server)

Barcode – Generates a unique 10 character barcode that can be printed with a doc (works OOTB with Office 2007 or can be used with older versions when using the custom API)

Again, these features have more relevance in the civilian business world where companies like Enron can get sued for millions of dollars for improper document management...but with a little thought some great features can be applied to military applications/sites.

Web Part Connections...

It has taken me a while to figure out how the Web Part Connections feature could be used on a military web site...

...and the answer is that it can be used for just about anything! Honestly, the Web Part Connection feature can totally change the way your users interact with your SharePoint site.

Instead of creating separate sites for each of your sections, you can combine all of the Announcements, Events, Tasks, and Documents into one Web Part Page, and allow the user to choose which section he/she wants to look at.

First, a brief on what Web Part Connections are.

If two web parts share a column with similar information (for instance, if you add a 'section' column to both Web Parts), you can use one of the web parts to filter the rest.

If you wanted to see all of the Admin documents, you could pick 'Admin' from a Web Part that lists all of your sections and points of contact info, and only Admin docs would filter on the connected web part.

I usually teach creating multiple web part views to filter data/documents, but in many circumstances, Web Part Connections can work easier and make your page look less cluttered.

First you have to make sure the web parts you want to connect have a column that matches data...creating a section or type column works well, but it can be 'exercise', 'mission', and even a point of contact.

In any case, once you have created the appropriate columns in the LIST or LIBRARY first (not in the web part...you can't create columns there), AND you have created the appropriate view that INCLUDES the new column (and using that view for the actual web part goes without saying, right?), you are ready to connect.

You have to be in Site/Page Edit mode to actually see the Connections link on the drop down menu.

Next you go to the web part that will be the BASE. That is typically a list that contains the filter keyword in an easy to read format. Once you create the connection, a radio button will appear next to each selection.

You will then select the web part that you want to connect to. You can do this multiple times, which is how you can change an entire pages look with a single click.

Once you select the web part destination, you will then select the column that you are filtering with. The column names DO NOT have to match. As long as you can match a choice in web part 1 with a choice in web part 2, you should be okay.

Once you select the column, you can close the edit web page mode and you will see the radio buttons appear next to the line items in web part 1.

Repeat this process for each web part you want to connect to.

The Microsoft page that has a more detailed look at Web Part Connections is here.

I've created an example of this technique on my SharePoint site here.

Remember the Username/Password is: Marine/password

Have Fun!

Page Auto-refresh for SharePoint

A problem with SharePoint is that to have it displayed, you always want current information.

Especially in a COC environment, if a significant event is entered by another user, you want the displayed SharePoint site to show the change.

There are two solutions. The first is to have a junior Marine hit the refresh button every 30 seconds...

...and as appealing as that sounds, there is a quick work around.

The Meta tag Refresh has been around for a long time. Often you see it when an old web page has moved to a new web page. You usually put the meta tag in the header of your page. The syntax is:

meta equiv="Refresh" content="n;url"

Where n is the number of seconds and the url is the url to refresh to. If you leave the url off then the page refreshes itself. Keep in mind that I should have a < and > on either side of the code above but could not due to blog restrictions.

You can add this line of code into any content editor web part, exactly as shown below...all you have to do is change the number of seconds you want the refresh to occur. For less critical pages you may want to extend the refresh rate to 60+ seconds.

For a 30 second refresh, copy/paste this code into your Content Editor Web Part...note that you will need to do this for every page you need to refresh unless you change this code in the Master Pages (info coming soon)...

meta equiv="Refresh" content="30"

Note again that you need to enclose this tag with < and >...

That's all you need...enjoy...

New Domain Names...

I now have four new domain names that point to the USMC SharePoint test/training site.

http://usmc-sharepoint.com
http://usmc-sharepoint.info
http://usmcsharepoint.com
http://usmcsharepoint.info

All of them go to the same place. Try them out. The username/password is still:

Marine/password

Enjoy!!

New SharePoint Information Site

I've just created a new SharePoint site that I am going to use for general information.

This site will supplement this blog, and offer class dates and resource information.

The link is: https://usmc-sharepoint.securespsites.com

The default visitor username is: Marine

The default visitor password is: password

Let me know if you want anything added or changed. Remember this is a work in progress so be kind.