The Guide of a MOSSLover

Feature Stapling a Theme to a Site Definition – The Right Way

We all know about the concept of Feature Stapling and most people write it out correctly on there blogs, such as this post: http://www.sharepointnutsandbolts.com/2007/05/feature-stapling.html.  However, I’ve noticed that very few blogs have the correct code to post in the FeatureActivated and FeatureDeactivating events.  This is the correct code from looking at a CodePlex Project by Scott Hillier, looking at wrong code all over blogs, and debugging some code I cobbled together in Visual Studio to throw in FeatureActivated and FeatureDeactivating :

SPWeb Web = properties.Feature.Parent as SPWeb

Web.ApplyTheme(“simple”);

Web.Update();

Remember you want to change the theme to “none” from “simple” in the FeatureDeactivating.  I am amazed and surprised how many people out there have bad blog posts on 4 lines of code.  Using SPSecurity.RunwithElevatedPrivileges is 100% wrong.  You don’t need to call on SPSite at all.   I know, because I just tested all those different methods and they do not work.  I probably fall short sometimes, but it’s always a good idea to test what you are doing before you post it. 

**Update**

I updated the code after talking to some people about whether you dispose properties.Feature.Parent or not.  It’s a debate it looks like, but I like the reasoning from Dan Attis and Robert Bogue, if you don’t own it, then don’t dispose the object.  Now my question is why are you not receiving some type of error?  Is it because the function is done?  To me it just seems a little weird that you can dispose of the object in the first place.  You can’t dispose of a Context object, because it gives you an error message.  Overall it looks like there is a hole in a lot of the disposal documentation.  When I looked at the MS Documentation it does not talk about this specific object and disposal.  Why not I have no idea…

posted @ Saturday, August 29, 2009 6:32 PM | Feedback (5) |

SharePoint Saturday Kansas City Officially December 12th

In the mix of things we were the 2nd SharePoint Saturday event and I think we can do far better.  I wanted to have a free conference with 2010 content that people didn’t have to pay for if they couldn’t afford SPC.  So we are now finally confirmed for Saturday, December 12th at Johnson Country Community College Regnier Center.  This event will be bigger (250 is the cap) and far better.  I have a lot of good people helping me out including Brian Laird, Kevin Huges, and Bob Davis.  St. Louis is working on getting a venue to have an event on Saturday, December 5th.  The day after SPS KC I am going to take the speakers to the Boulevard Brewery for a tour and tasting.   Soon we will have a site up and sponsorship packages.  Speakers can request email updates, but we are not officially accepting anything until after SPC.  If you are interested in receiving emails about speaking, sponsorship, volunteering, or attending the event please email sharepointsaturdaykc@gmail.com.

posted @ Tuesday, August 18, 2009 10:30 PM | Feedback (0) |

devLink Slides and Recap

For those of you looking for the slides for my presentation at devLink here is the link: http://cid-8e2654c5f01e6069.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Presentations/Webpart%20Development.pptx.  Here is the code samples: http://cid-8e2654c5f01e6069.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/CodeSamples.

So most of you guys know I’m more of an alternative/rock type person.  I don’t enjoy country music much.  It’s just not my thing that I will go and seek out.  I don’t fully hate most of it.  In fact Johnny Cash is a huge exception to the matter.  We went to a bar called Tootsie’s, but it really wasn’t my thing per se.  Mainly due to the huge amount of people and the loud country music.  I did enjoy the experience, because it was really different than what I normally end up doing.  I actually got to hang out with live human beings rather than my computer and a hotel room or electronic avatars.  I got to get to know Cathy Dew and see Dan Usher once more.  I met a really cool guy from Indiana named Kevin who works with SharePoint (did you ever get your SSP issue resolved?).  I saw Rob Foster for maybe the second time ever.  I spent some time with him when he came to New Jersey last year when I first started with B&R he’s a really neat guy.  Pretty laid back.  Eric Shupps, the SharePoint Cowboy, is another person I got to spend some more time with.  He actually took his hat off, which was kind of cool.  No we did not exchange hats.  Over my dead body will anyone other than myself wear my Cardinal’s hat…Anyway, despite looking like I was stressed and having a bad time I really had a good time.  The best I can have for this particular time of the year.  Next time though I am buying ear plugs or at least some type of country music to alternative rock convertor.  If anyone is thinking about attending the conference next year go to devLink if you can swing it.  It’s a cheaper conference that feels almost like a major conference.  There was some good content definitely.  That concludes my last speaking engagement for this year other than the Virtual UG this week…I am done with events and SPS, except for planning.  I will most definitely attend some events next year, but SPS KC and moving is going to consume every waking month for the next few months.  Anyway I hope that you guys have a good weekend and I will catch you another time.

posted @ Sunday, August 16, 2009 9:49 PM | Feedback (2) |

Permissions for SPAuditQuery

The other day I was working with a class that pulls back all the audit information for a user, SPAuditQuery.  It has some really good options, especially query by user.  I was trying to pull information from the site collection for the user, however I continued to receive a non-descript error message.  Finally, I thought to myself what permissions does this user have and sure enough the user was a Site Admin and not Site Collection Admin.  If you are pulling audit logs from a Site, then check that the user is a Site Collection Admin.  If you are pulling audit logs from a web, then you need to make sure that they are a Site Admin.  If you are pulling from a list, then they need to have list admin rights (probably somewhere around the built in permissions “designer” level).  In this case we may not let the person have Site Collection Admin rights, but we may want them to see the log data in a custom webpart.  We can use an alternative with SPSecurity.RunwithElevatedPrivileges and place the webpart in an area secured for only those people to see.

Another key thing to note when working with audit logs you need to turn on the Audit Logs in the Site Collection under Site Settings before you can even begin to hit anything with code.  Otherwise you will receive all kinds of pretty nasty looking error messages.  When dealing with anything I always consider Occam’s Razor – The simplest assumption is probably true.  Initially you should check to see if the audit logs are turned on in the Site Collection, then check permissions.  Good luck guys…As usual I hope that you can learn from my mistakes.

posted @ Wednesday, August 12, 2009 12:01 AM | Feedback (0) |

Apartment Shopping – No SPS NY

I’m not attending SPS NY (or at least I think I will not attend), so I pulled out my speaker submission.  I have two full days with my boyfriend to apartment shop and that weekend should be more geared towards finding a place.  I really wanted to attend, but priorities need to be placed in other areas right now.  I am considering attending SPS Bham, but I am not fully sure where I will be and if it’s at all possible fully.  I may speak at theSSWUG.org VConference again this fall (maybe Omaha SPUG and definitely the upcoming SharePoint User Group Panel).  I will definitely be at SharePoint Conference.  My plan is to still drive up and back.  I’m trying to get my boyfriend to fly up to Vegas after the conference and take a small detour on 23rd to the Grand Canyon.  I figure by that time we could both use a nice mini vacation.  I really don’t plan on speaking at anything else for the entire year.  I am helping plan SPS KC and SPS STL, but I will not speak.  I know that there are plenty of you out there that can speak at the event to ensure that I am not speaking this year with plenty of backup sessions.  I need a break from speaking, then I will resume sometime in January with fresh materials and new information.  This blog in the upcoming weeks will have lessons I have learned writing code and installing programs at this new project.  I am going to push myself to write a paragraph or two a week.  The project I am on right is incredibly interesting, so I will have some good general lessons learned.  I hope that you all have a good weekend.  If you are at devLink I hope that you come up and say “hi”.

posted @ Tuesday, August 11, 2009 7:20 PM | Feedback (0) |

Last Logged Out Time in SharePoint

I was kicking myself last week wondering why am I not seeing a last logged out time in SharePoint.  I talked to a few people and I guess I never really though about it.  If you are using Active Directory, then there really is no last logged out time for SharePoint.  There is a last logged out time in Active Directory, because AD is what is handling SharePoint.  So when you logout and you close the browser, then open it back up with SharePoint it will show up with yourself fully logged in.  I came up with a solution for now, but I may tweak it a bit.  Use a list and somehow record the logged in or if possible use an event handler to record the logged out time.  Even an httphandler or something might be a resolution.  How many people really think about this that often unless confronted with the problem?  In FBA if using an ASP .Net Membership Database, then you are recording the last logged out session time.  The list idea to me is a good one, because you can keep overwriting the session based on the username and a caml query.  You just use the CAML Query Builder and a little SPList code and you are set.  It’s simple and it gets the job done.  It should only take a tiny bit of effort even for the new SP Devs.  I am optimistic though as you see I believe we can solve world hunger with a little code and some faith.  See you guys later…

posted @ Tuesday, August 11, 2009 7:13 PM | Feedback (0) |

I’m around…Not fully hiding…

So I’ve been kind of busy lately in Omaha…I have a new gig that deals with FAST and SharePoint, but it’s government so I can’t really talk about it.  So far I’ve met a person in Omaha related to SharePoint name Kirk Hofer.  He is running the SPUG in Omaha.  It sounds like it should be fun.  Hopefully we can get a few SharePint’s going in the future.  I just did our first unofficial SharePint event in KC…We had about 5 people…We might do another next month to see if we can get more if we hold it in Kansas.  Btw, holding a SharePint down the street from Toby Keith is a very bad idea…I had no idea he was at KC Power and Light that Friday night.

We may have a venue for KC right now, but it’s looking like the cost for catering could be a little high.  We are going to decide by the end of the week where and when SPS KC will be held most likely.  I am still working on a venue for St. Louis, but it’s not quite as easy.  If anyone has any connections please feel free to divulge.  I am hoping that both events will be 10x more awesome than the even this past February.  Kevin Hughes has some awesome ideas and so does Brian Laird.  It’s good to have these guys on the team.  Kevin and Brian are immensely helpful in the user group and SPS KC planning while I am gone.  If you were at the last event expect a bigger venue and better planning.  I feel like last event was more of a learning experience, because it was the first event.

So I have halfway decided to drive to Vegas for SPC.  I finally bought my ticket to the event.  The drive is a whopping 19 hours from KC and 18 hours from Omaha.  I can stop in Denver.  Maybe I can say hi to a few people in the Denver area.  On the way back I think that I am going to stop by the Grand Canyon.  This is all really subjective though, because I know some people in Portland who want me to visit.  I also have a friend in Los Angeles.  I was hoping it would all work out somehow, but Portland and Los Angeles are in far opposite directions from where I live.  I have never been to Portland and I hear it’s a fun place to visit with a lot of cool hiking trails on some inactive volcanoes.  I should make a more definitive answer based on where I will be too clientwise.  I might still be in Omaha, which means time might not be as easy to take off.

My boyfriend wants to drive to New Jersey in September also.  I’m not sure I can take off the time.  It also sounds like a lot of fun.  If I can work it out I know it’s about a two day drive.  We did the Philadelphia part a lot in my teenage years.  The mountains sometimes are not so fun.  I found out something sad too…Apartmentsearch.com does not have a local office.  I was hoping that I could call them up and get a list of some good apartments in New Jersey.  It’s all manual it sounds like this time around…I was lucky last time we called this lady and she told us the first one she picked would be just right.  That is where we have lived for 2 years…I really hope that the next place is just as good.  Anyway I need to pack up my computer to bring it to Omaha, so I have something to game on.  Hopefully with a better computer I will blog more often.  I will catch you all later.

posted @ Sunday, August 02, 2009 10:45 AM | Feedback (0) |