Asif's Blog

One Year Access to All Videos on SharePoint-Videos.com

Sep 13

Asif RehmaniGeneral, SharePoint SharePoint Videos No Comments

The Offer

Access to All of our SharePoint Videos (current and the ones that are added regularly to the site) for 1 full year for $179.55. After the year is over, the access is automatically terminated and there is no recurring charge.

Here is the link:
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/SecureCart/SecureCart.aspx?mid=E3B7E8B5-AFFB-470E-8E74-F741CA168A51&pid=c36e3c7b07f346538b103f76408d8808

You can use the above link and then use the following coupon code:
sp10disc (please be sure to click Apply button after entering the coupon code)

That will give you a 10% discount on the regular price of $199.50 making the total to $179.55.

The membership will start automatically right after the payment is made.

(Note: This membership is not available through our site. The one on the site is the yearly recurring membership for $199.50/year)

Details about the Videos

• Current video count: 271 (More videos are constantly being added every other week)
• Video tutorials are created by experts in the SharePoint field – http://www.sharepoint-videos.com/about/
• Video length is from 5 minutes to 30 minutes each video. Almost all of the videos are entirely demonstration to show you how to do tasks and create your solutions on top of SharePoint. PowerPoint is minimized as much as possible
• Videos are categorized, tagged, compiled in courses and also easily searchable – http://www.sharepoint-videos.com/video-categories/
• Videos work on all platforms: PCs, Macs, iPads, iPhones, iPods, Android phones etc.

Sample the Videos before making the decision

Lots of our videos are available here to be watched at no cost: http://www.sharepoint-videos.com/all-free-videos/

Free Webinar and Q&A Panel with SharePoint experts – Come and get your SharePoint questions answered (or just listen in)!

Aug 19

Asif RehmaniEvents, SharePoint SharePoint 2007, SharePoint 2010 No Comments

Register for this Free Q&A panel with SharePoint experts from SharePoint-Videos.com being held on Thursday, Aug 25, 2011 from 11:30am to 12:30pm Eastern time.

The focus of this Question and Answer session is to help You! Ever wish you could query a panel of SharePoint experts? Well, now is your chance! Submit an initial SharePoint question with registration and bring the balance of your questions to query our SharePoint experts at SharePoint-Videos.com. We’ll answer your questions and get you moving in the right direction. Just want to listen in? Not a problem. That’s perfectly alright as well.

When signing up for this session/webinar, we recommend that you use the ‘Questions and Comments’ field in the form below to provide us your question(s) in advance of the webinar.

The SharePoint panel is comprised of the following experts who encompass a wide range of SharePoint skills:

Richard Wixom
Eric Eaton
Russell Wright
Asif Rehmani

Read up on their background and expertise here:
http://www.sharepoint-videos.com/about/

Title:  Q&A Panel with SharePoint Experts
Date:  Thursday, August 25, 2011
Time:  11:30 AM – 12:30 PM EDT

Audience: SharePoint End Users Power Users, Site Owners, Server Admins, Developers, Small Business Owners

Pre-requisites: None

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/442560409

Need Quick and Effective Remote Consulting by SharePoint Experts?

We provide hourly remote consulting to help you with your needs when You need it! You can read up on our services here:
http://www.sharepoint-videos.com/remote-consulting/

Contact Us to get started.

SharePoint Resources – August 2011

Aug 17

Asif RehmaniSharePoint SharePoint 2010 No Comments

SharePoint Adoption, End Users and Best Practices

SharePoint adoption has always been a Big challenge in many companies. We at SharePoint-Videos.com help mitigate this problem with our corporate licensing of video tutorials. Microsoft has launched a website called iusesharepoint.com to inspire everyday business users to do more with SharePoint by demonstrating how it can help make the work day just a little smoother.

You might have heard of the saying "Just because you Can do something, doesn’t mean you Should". Very true for how SharePoint functions. Check out the new Best Practices Resource Center for SharePoint and learn how to keep your SharePoint Server 2010 environment available and performing well by following best practices based on real-world experience.

SharePoint related updates – for SharePoint Server Admins

Hopefully, your company has already installed the newest SharePoint updates by now. If not, Service Pack 1 for SharePoint 2010 Products is Now Available for Download. Service Pack 1 includes stability, performance, and security enhancements that are a direct result of customer feedback. Also, the SP 1 provides the long awaited Site Recycle Bin (Finally!)
http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/blog/Pages/BlogPost.aspx?pID=984

Right after installing SP1, you will want to install the June 2011 cumulative updates right away.
http://blogs.technet.com/b/stefan_gossner/archive/2011/06/30/april-2011-cu-for-sharepoint-2007-and-2010-has-been-released-on-tuesday.aspx

Information regarding Office 365

Don’t know what Office 365 is? Watch the 12 mins walkthrough of the Office 365 environment (no boring PowerPoint stuff here). Then read the introduction for Office 365 administrators http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/office365-enterprises/gg524291.aspx and check out the Office 365 online administration resource center.

Intrigued by what Office 365 has to offer and want to try it out yourself? You got it! Check out the 30 day trial for Office 365.

Upcoming Microsoft SharePoint Conferences

For United States – Microsoft SharePoint Conference on Oct 3 to 6, 2011 in Anaheim California. I’ll be presenting a couple of sessions at this conference as well and hope to see You there!

For Europe – European SharePoint Conference is being held in Berlin this year from Oct 17 to 20.

SharePoint 2010 CSS Reference Chart by Heather Solomon

Aug 04

Asif RehmaniSharePoint Branding No Comments

Heather Solomon has done it again! The Awesomely useful SharePoint 2010 CSS Reference Chart is out on the SharePoint Experience site now here:

http://sharepointexperience.com/csschart/csschart.html

Heather’s SharePoint 2007 css reference chart has been immensely helpful to designers and branding folks for a long time. Great to see that she produced one for 2010 as well now. Thanks Heather!

Business Connectivity Services video tutorials DVD

Aug 02

Asif RehmaniSharePoint DVD No Comments

Most of you have probably heard of the Business Data Catalog (BDC) that shipped with SharePoint 2007; it is a component that allows you to use external data inside of SharePoint.  What you may not know is that in SharePoint 2010, the BDC got a new name: Business Connectivity Services (BCS).  They changed more than just the name in 2010 though:

• While the BDC was only available to customers with the Enterprise license of SharePoint 2007, the BCS is available to all versions of SharePoint 2010, including SharePoint Foundation!
• The BDC only let you read data from your external systems but the BCS allows you to both read from and write data back to your external systems!
• The BDC allowed you to surface your external data in SharePoint but the BCS allows you to surface your external data in SharePoint AND inside of Office applications, meaning your data is that much more accessible!
• One of the big stumbling blocks in getting started with the BDC was the lack of tooling support from Microsoft.  With the BCS both SharePoint Designer 2010 and Visual Studio 2010 have first-class support for building solutions with the BCS.  What’s even better, many common scenarios can be handled with just SharePoint Designer 2010, without needing a developer or Visual Studio

Check out our video tutorials DVD on Business Connectivity Services.

Note: Just in case there is any confusion – this is a DVD to be played on a computer and not your DVD player.

All of this means that it is that much easier to get started with the BCS.  These videos give you the introduction you need for Business Connectivity Services to allow you to hit the ground running and quickly begin building solutions using SharePoint Designer 2010.

In addition to these videos, the author (Raymond Mitchell) of this DVD also contributed two chapters on Business Connectivity Services to a newly released book: SharePoint Six-in-One.  These videos compliment the background provided in the book and show additional examples and walkthroughs on topics such as:

• Creating External Content Types that allow reading and writing back to your external systems
• Building External Lists that surface external data as if it was a SharePoint List
• Adding Business Data Columns to your existing SharePoint Lists and Libraries
• And more…

You can use the following coupon code to get 10% off the price of the single user license DVD: SPVideos10.

SharePoint Branding video tutorials DVD

Aug 01

Asif RehmaniSharePoint Branding No Comments

The SharePoint 2010 Branding video tutorials DVD is set to be released on Aug 10th. We are currently taking pre-release orders and offering a discount of $20 on all orders before it’s released. This DVD is packed full of demonstrations on what You need to know before proceeding with your SharePoint branding endeavors. Check out these couple of videos that will be on the DVD among many more:

Modifying the Look and Feel of Site Pages

Using Third Party Controls for Site Branding

The content on this DVD is authored by SharePoint Branding Expert and Microsoft SharePoint MVP Yaroslav Pentsarskyy -http://www.sharepoint-videos.com/about/#yaroslav

Total original price for the DVD (including shipping) will be $195. During the pre-release period, the price is set to $175. The DVD is set to release officially on Aug 10th and will start shipping that day. You can use the following link to make the purchase at the pre-release price:

http://www.1shoppingcart.com/SecureCart/SecureCart.aspx?mid=E3B7E8B5-AFFB-470E-8E74-F741CA168A51&pid=4da30ed1262144cb84079b12f6d80cf7

Want to know what’s on the DVD? Following is the table of contents. Each video tutorial is fully narrated by Yaroslav and full of many demonstrations of the functionality.

Creating basic SharePoint 2010 themes
Out-of-the-box SharePoint 2010 site doesn’t have to look plain and with a default color scheme. Learn how you can apply more compelling look and feel to an existing SharePoint 2010 site just by using Office 2010 tools with no code at all.

Creating extended SharePoint 2010 themes
When your site requires more unique look and feel you can use powerful SharePoint 2010 theme engine to translate complex transformations into a simple implementation. Learn how you can re-color images used on the site to match the rest of your theme with no code at all apart from CSS. We’ll also cover how you can rollback and apply new changes to the look and feel of the site just by using out-of-the-box tools.

Essential site branding: working with masterpages
When compelling site design vision calls for structural changes on pages, SharePoint 2010 masterpage is the best mechanism to implement your vision. In this video, learn how you can apply unique site branding and style to an out-of-the-box theme site instantly transforming its look and feel as you go along.

Modifying the look and feel of site pages
Main content of your SharePoint 2010 site pages makes up for 80% of what your users are interacting with. Making that content fit in with the rest of the site branding is easier than you think. In this module, learn how you can apply branding to list views and generic page content by using SharePoint Designer 2010.

Branding out of the box web parts
Any SharePoint page your users will look at will contain several web parts. By applying branding to out-of-the-box web parts, you can ensure consistent experience on the sub-sites and pages without having to modify individual instance of those. Learn how to apply your custom look and feel to some of the most common SharePoint 2010 web parts.

Adding interaction to SharePoint pages using JavaScript
Client side interaction on your SharePoint 2010 site will make all the difference between perceiving your site as plain and static or feature rich and user friendly. In this module, we’ll take a look at how you can add additional interaction to your site using JavaScript.

Branding search pages
Do you have all of the necessary tools on the SharePoint 2010 search page to make it easier to find items and navigate around the site? Take a look at how little effort is required to make your SharePoint 2010 site more user friendly by using out-of-the-box controls and JavaScript.

Branding SharePoint publishing sites
Apart from team sites, your corporate intranet may be using SharePoint publishing infrastructure. Learn some of the key differences when it comes to branding publishing sites. In here, we’ll cover branding page layouts and page instances which use layouts.

Branding sites for multiple browsers
Do you know how your SharePoint site looks like on some of the other key browsers? Despite your best efforts, your users may have a completely different opinion on the look and feel of your site just because they are using a browser which doesn’t recognize your custom branding. Learn how you can make your site render as similar as possible in other browsers without disturbing the functionality for the rest of the users using your primary supported browser.

Using third party controls for site branding
In many cases, third party user controls will let your SharePoint site look and function better. In this module, see exactly what involved in integrating third parting user interface controls into your site and how those can be connected to the functionality available in your SharePoint site. We’ll look at using custom navigation control for your SharePoint 2010 site navigation.

Access 2010 and SharePoint 2010 using Access Services–video tutorials DVD

Jul 26

Asif RehmaniSharePoint DVD 1 Comment

Access Services is a new feature built into SharePoint Server 2010 Enterprise Edition that supports close integration with Access 2010. By combining the power of SharePoint 2010 and Access 2010, the end user enjoys a fully integrated business solution that has never been available before, all without having to do any programming.

Check out our Access 2010 and Access Services DVD.

Note: Just in case there is any confusion – this is a DVD to be played on a computer and not your DVD player.

Access 2010 enables users to quickly develop Web based applications using the easy to use Access 2010 development design surface to create interactive and dynamic web databases, forms, reports, queries and macros. Once published to SharePoint 2010, running Access Services:

• The application is stored and synchronized on a SharePoint sub-site which provides the end user with a no-install solution and ability to collaborate with anyone having access to the site from anywhere in the world.
• Users can run the application using only a web browser or on a PC with Access 2010 client. When users choose to open published applications in the Access 2010 client, the user can seamlessly work offline and automatically synchronize when reconnected.
• Utilizes the SharePoint user identity and security permissions that can limit some users from being able to modify, delete, or create objects in a site, while still allowing them to run the application.
• Allows the IT department to manage the data and application objects just as they do with other SharePoint Enterprise sites, to assure availability and backups

You can use the following coupon code to get 10% off the price of the single user license DVD: SPVideos10.

This DVD explains the key benefits and architecture of this new level of integration, and it provides the technical details of how to build a complete custom web application using the many built-in tools available within Access 2010. And once published to a SharePoint site, learn how to enhance the completed application with other SharePoint built-in features such as document libraries and many other capabilities.

DVD Overview

Key Technologies

1. Microsoft Access 2010 client application
2. Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Enterprise Version –Access Services

Following are the Titles and Abstracts of videos from the DVD -

Introduction to Access Services

In this video, you will get an overview of Access Services using SharePoint 2010 and Access 2010. You will learn how and why the new Access Web Databases can be integrated with SharePoint 2010 to create Web compatible Applications. 

How to Create Web Database Tables

Create a new Web Database Table manually and by using two new features call Data Type Parts and Application Parts. You will be introduced to some of the key differences between Access 2010 Rich Client and Web Databases design environment.

Modify Tables and Validation

Learn techniques in modifying tables in layout view and when and how to create Calculated Fields, Lookup Wizard and Field Validation.

Introduction to Data Macros using Before Events

This is an introduction to the new Data Macro feature which replaces the need to write Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code. Learn common techniques, such as, trigger actions when a record is added, changed, wherever the change is made within the application.

After Event Data Macros

After Event Data Macros have additional actions available to execute more complex data operations.

Using Named Data Macros

Named Data Macros offers the flexibility to build some very complex business solutions without having to write any VBA code.

Building Custom Web Database Forms

In this session, you will learn several methods of creating forms that are bound directly to a data source, such as a table or query. 

User Interface Macros & Controls

Forms are the primary interface between the user and your Web Application. In this video some of the most common controls will be used when creating custom forms compatible with a Web Database.

Navigation

This session explores a new type of control in Access 2010, called a Navigation Control. These set of controls are used to build Navigation Forms that provide the end user with an easy to use intuitive interface to navigate to the various forms and reports within the web application.

Building  Custom Reports

Reports are the main way to review or print data from your web database. They provide the end user with great flexibility to view, print and export data using only a Web Browser.

Publishing Web Applications to SharePoint Access Services

Publishing a Web Application to an Access Services SharePoint site is a one click step. Or is it? Learn about the process of publishing and some hints on what to do if things don’t happen as expected.

Leveraging SharePoint when using Access Services

SharePoint has a number of built-in rich features that are enhanced when incorporated into an Access Services Web Application.

Check out the Access 2010 and Access Services DVD page for additional information and to order the DVD.

Reporting Services using SharePoint 2010 and Report Builder 3.0 – video tutorials DVD

Jul 20

Asif RehmaniSharePoint DVD No Comments

A common challenge for most businesses today is to convert raw data into meaningful information.  Data is often stored in a number of different systems and the management of consolidated reports can be very complicated and time consuming.

The introduction of Reporting Services 2008 R2 using the SharePoint 2010 add-in with the free Report Builder 3.0 authoring tool provides an excellent and easy to use “No Programming” solution for your business reporting needs.

The Reporting Services and Report Builder with SharePoint 2010 DVD  demonstrates the essentials of building the next-generation of meaningful, interactive, flexible reports that are easily managed and rendered in your SharePoint 2010 environment. The topics covered provide you with the essential skills required to unlock your data and facilitate sharing valuable information with your end-users.

Note: Just in case there is any confusion – this is a DVD to be played on a computer and not your DVD player.

You can use the following coupon code to get 10% off the price of the single user license DVD: SPVideos10.

Some of the key topics include:

• Setting up your Reporting Environment
• Basic Design Concepts Including Reusable Data Sources and Data Sets
• Building Reusable Report Parts to Facilitate Assembling New Reports
• Introduction to the New Tablix Data Regions
• Using Sparklines and Databars to Display Small Trend Charts within Existing Reports
• Leverage Gauges and Indicators to Effectively Visualize Trends
• Use Report Parameters and Expressions to Build Flexible and End-user Interactive Reports
• Create Drill-Down, Drill-Through and Sub-reports to Give the End-user Additional Detailed Information
• Visualize Data using Report Charts
• Use Report Maps to Display Your Business Data on a Geographical Background
• Plus more ..

So go ahead and check out the Reporting Services DVD. Let us know if you have any questions or comments.

Fab 40 Application Templates for SharePoint 2010

Jul 07

Asif RehmaniSharePoint SharePoint 2010 No Comments

In the SharePoint 2007 days, Microsoft published 40 SharePoint ‘Applications’ (basically templates and site definitions) that can be utilized for a variety of purposes:

• Board of Directors meeting site
• Vacation Scheduling
• Classroom Management
• and a whole lot more..

Many companies ended up using these templates for their needs. Unfortunately, Microsoft decided to not upgrade these templates for SharePoint 2010. However… Khalil from TechSol decided to upgrade them himself. The upgraded application templates can be found here:

http://techsolutions.net/Blog/tabid/65/EntryId/17/Fab-40-Templates-for-MOSS-2010.aspx

Office 365 Explained

Jun 30

Asif RehmaniSharePoint SharePoint 2010 No Comments

Office 365 is a pretty unique name for a product by Microsoft. The story behind it is that Microsoft will be behind your business 24/7/365 when you need it! And if you experience down time with this product, Microsoft will actually reimburse you in cash for that time (99.9% uptime guarantee!). The Office part of the name is obvious: The main product by Microsoft is still Microsoft Office and is widely used by people all over the world.

Note: This article is to give you a conversational perspective of this product. It is not intended to tell you every single detail about it. Microsoft does a fine job of it on their sites and I’ll provide the links to those resources on the web.

Webinar on 7/7/2011 – We are conducting a webinar on Office 365. Here is the link to register if you would like: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/772152905

What does Office 365 consist of?

Think of what you need to run your business usually: Email, Messaging, ways to create and manage documents and other information for your business, Intranet (or some place where employees can share the info), an external web site. Sounds about right? Well, Office 365 provides you with the following:

1. Exchange Online – Each employee in your organization gets a 25GB email inbox. They can use the web browser or the Microsoft Outlook client to manage emails. Very convenient!
2. Microsoft Office Professional Plus applications – Most of the Office 365 plans offer the employees to be able to download the office applications to your desktop/laptop as part of the subscription. That’s a huge deal I think because the Office suites by themselves are not cheap. In addition, each person can also work with their documents online using Office Web Apps functionality.
3. SharePoint Online – This is my favorite part of it! An almost full fledged SharePoint 2010 experience. More on this a bit later.
4. Lync Online – Think of Office Live Messenger or Office Communication Services. If you are familiar with any of these, you have seen parts of what Lync can offer. Instant messaging and live meetings are a snap with Lync.

How much does it cost?

There are a variety of ‘flavors’ that Office 365 offers. The plans are referred to as P1, P2 (for Professionals and Small Businesses) and then E1, E2, E3, E4 (for Enterprise customers). The pricing starts at $6/user/month (isn’t that amazing!). The highest price that I have seen is for E4 which is still only $27/user/month (which is still incredible because this option can help you provide Enterprise voice capability and easily replace your entire PBX system).

How is SharePoint Online different from SharePoint 2010 on-premise?

SharePoint Online provides many of the same SharePoint Server 2010 on-premise Enterprise features. For example, InfoPath Forms Services is included so you can show your InfoPath forms (workflow, form library and list forms) directly in the browser, enterprise search gives you robust search results, My Sites features are also present in SharePoint Online. One notably missing feature from this first release is Business Connectivity Services (BCS). Not to worry! It is in the plans to introduce that soon enough in one of the subsequent releases of Office 365 and since there is no upgrade necessary on your part, it will just magically appear one day and you will be notified about it as a customer.

The main difference you have to keep in mind is that you do not have access to the Central Administration site for SharePoint Online in Office 365. Also, you cannot access the web server files. So basically the SharePoint Server administration is offloaded to Microsoft.

Now here’s a difference you are going to like: In Office 365, you can easily invite others outside your organization to collaborate with you within your site collection. That’s a Big benefit in my mind!

How will I build solutions on top of SharePoint Online?

If you buy into Office 365, SharePoint Designer 2010 is about to become your best friend . That’s the main application for making customizations to your SharePoint Online environment. Most of what you can do with SharePoint Designer 2010 in a regular on-premise SharePoint 2010 environment is available with SharePoint Online as well. That’s great news because that provides you tons of customization opportunities.

You will not have access to create farm level solutions using Visual Studio 2010 (VS).  VS can still be used by programmers to develop the following types of solutions on top of SharePoint Online:

• Sandboxed Solutions (scoped to a Site Collection)
• Programming against the Client Object Model
• Silverlight and ECMA Script

Check out the SharePoint Online Developers Resource Center to get a better idea of programming opportunities in SharePoint Online.

How do I get started?

That’s the easiest part. It costs nothing to join the trial program. Start here and you will have a fully functional Office 365 deployment within minutes! Choose the E3 plan if you are a large enterprise (or want to pretend to be to see how it works ) or choose P1 for small businesses. Then you can manage your licenses by inviting your personnel to join you in the environment and start using it right away. Once your trial is about to expire, you can decide to keep the environment and start paying for it or let it go.

Also note that if you are already a BPOS (Business Productivity Online Services – the older and far less powerful version of Office 365) customer, Microsoft will guide you to transition your content and people to Office 365.

Additional Material/Info on Office 365

Here’s some additional information to keep in mind and get involved. I’ll send more material on it in the future once ready.

Social Media: Check out the Office 365 Blog, Office 365 Facebook page, and Twitter account to connect directly to the team working on this offering.

Video Tutorials: We are looking to create video tutorials on Office 365 within the next couple of months. Look out for that on the SharePoint-Videos site.

Upcoming Article: I have written a MSDN whitepaper on Customizing SharePoint Online using SharePoint Designer 2010. Hopefully, it should be published soon. I’ll send out a link to it through this newsletter once it’s out on the site.