SoftServe Brings ASG Content Integration to SharePoint

A new application brings the capabilities of ASG Software’s ASG-Total Content Integrator into SharePoint Server 2007. SoftServe, a development outsourcing firm, created the integration. ASG-TCI provides access to all digital information stored across an enterprise, and the new integration allows this data to be brought into SharePoint for wide use via a single interface. Further, the integration enables users to archive documents created and managed in SharePoint in a secure, scalable repository that the company says supports flexible storage options.

-- David

InRule, ShareVis look to improve business processes in SharePoint

InRule Technology and ShareVis are combining their respective business rules authoring and process management applications to make it easier for business users to work with complex business processes without the need for coding.

InRule makes a rules engine and the IR suite of business rules authoring and testing tools, while ShareVis provides document control and forms-based business process management. Together, the tools will assist business users in managing “complex, decision-intensive processes,” said consultant James Taylor of Decision Management Solutions in a written statement. “InRule and ShareVis share a pragmatic approach that will be appealing to SharePoint users: native support for .NET and a focus on putting business processes and decision logic in the hands of business users not consultants.”

-- David

SharePointers: Connecting a SharePoint List to an InfoPath Form

By Ryan Keller

Using InfoPath Form Services with SharePoint is a great way to collect and manage data. You can even publish an InfoPath form into a SharePoint library, where all the collected data is stored and searchable. With InfoPath 2007 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 being so closely intertwined, you can even use a SharePoint list as a data source in InfoPath. Suppose you have an extensive list of customers stored in a SharePoint list. You want to be able to use this information in a form you are designing, but the data changes frequently. It wouldn’t make sense to have to constantly update the list of customers in the InfoPath form and republish it to the server every time something changes in the SharePoint list, so why not use the data from the SharePoint list to populate your InfoPath form? This way, when anything changes in your customer list in SharePoint, those changes will automatically show up on the InfoPath form as well. Here’s how to link a SharePoint list to InfoPath:

1) First, add a new data connection by clicking Tools > Data Connections…

2) Click the Add… button in the Data Connections window

3) Select Create a new connection to: Receive data and click Next

4) Click on SharePoint library or list and click Next

5) Enter in either the URL of the site that contains the list, or the full URL of the list itself and click Next

6) InfoPath will contact the server and display all of the available lists. Choose the one you want to use as a data source and click Next

7) Select the field(s) you want to use in your form and click Next

8) Choose whether or not you would like to store a copy of the list data in the form template. This could be useful if you plan on using the form within InfoPath; however, if you plan on making the form a web-enabled form to fill out using the browser, you can leave it unchecked. Click Next

9) Give the data connection a name. By default it shows up as the name of the list you are connecting. Leave the box checked to Automatically retrieve data when form is opened. This way you can be sure the latest data is available when the form is opened each time. Click Finish

10) Once you’ve completed the Add connection wizard, you can close the Data Connections window

Now you can use the data in various controls within InfoPath. For this example, we’ll be displaying the data connection in a drop down list box:

1) In the Design Tasks toolbar on the right, click Controls

2) Drag a Drop-Down List Box control onto the form

3) Right-click the drop-down control and choose Drop-Down List Box Properties…

4) Under the List box entries section, select the option Look up values from an external data source

5) Choose the external data source you connected in the previous section in the drop down.

6) Next to the Entries field, click the Select XPath button

7) Drill down in the data source structure to select the field that contains the values that will be displayed in the drop-down. Click OK

8) Click OK again to close the Drop-Down List Box Properties window

9) Click the Preview button in the toolbar to test the form. If you receive an InfoPath Security Notice dialogue box, click Yes

If you preview the form, you should now be able to see the items from the SharePoint list displayed in the drop-down menu. This is just one of the many ways SharePoint and InfoPath can work together in order to make data collection and management easier.

Ryan Keller is a consultant with SharePoint 911

SPTechCon 2010 classes and workshops set!

SharePoint 2010 education is but one of the highlights of SPTechCon 2010, to be held Feb. 10-12 in Burlingame, Calif. The conference will also bring to you instruction on SharePoint Server 2007 and 2003, as well as introductory tracks for folks brand-new to SharePoint.
SPTechCon will be the first technical conference to feature instruction on the newest version of Microsoft's software after it gets in the hands of users. Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals Todd Klindt and Shane Young, two of the most popular speakers from SPTechCons past, will do a full-day workshop on SharePoint 2010 for SharePoint administrators, and SharePoint expert Joel Oleson will present a two-part class on upgrading to the new software. Other SharePoint 2010 topics include branding, WCM, ECM, the new nomenclature, Business Connectivity Services, and much more.
There is also plenty of instruction planned for people whose organizations are not quite ready to migrate to SharePoint 2010, presented by such industry notables as Microsoft MVPs Andrew Connell, Randy Drisgill, Bill English, Bob Mixon, Michael Noel, John Ross and Heather Solomon. Other popular speakers returning to the faculty include Mauro Cardarelli, Mark Miller, Errin O'Connor, Laura Rogers and the "always-on" Dux Raymond Sy.
Full-day "SharePoint 101" sessions have been created for this event for attendees who are working with SharePoint for the first time. Separate tracks for developers, administrators and business users have been written as a steppingstone into SharePoint and the broader conference.
The full conference lineup and speaker biographies are posted on the SPTechCon Web site.
We hope you find the conference compelling, and that you'll join us in Burlingame. Hope to see you there!
-- David

The Return of The Linker

The Linker’s feeling some pain today, as a late-night call from the oldest child might have resulted in a pulled muscle. The reason for the hysterical call to turn on the television immediately that resulted in a fall over a coffee table? A “Will & Grace” rerun she thought I might enjoy (though I’m not entirely sure why). It’s the episode where Jack believes Cher is actually a male impersonator, and tries to show “him” how to REALLY impersonate Cher. If I could turn back time…

Just what is SharePoint? Its story, in plain English

Improving the relevancy of search

How do you deploy SharePoint?

Take my SharePoint … please!

Can’t travel? Paid online workshops for the fall

SharePoint development: The Wild, Wild West

Not-so-random wikipedia entry: I Got You, Babe

Preparing for SharePoint 2010

An informal survey put together by Quest Software’s Joel Oleson shows that 65 percent of SharePoint users plan to migrate up to SharePoint 2010 within the first year of its release (which we’re told is still on track for Q1 of next year). He also finds that the folks on WSS plan on moving to the full portal technology, and that most people have already run the pre-upgrade checks required to ensure SharePoint 2010 can run smoothly. His findings, and some excellent commentary on the results – and on SharePoint adoption in general – can be read on his blog. Oleson and Quest also have produced a white paper explaining how folks can start getting prepared for SharePoint 2010, with some insight gained from Microsoft’s SharePoint product team. If you’re migrating, you’ll want to read this …

Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced – sort of – the last planned release of the SharePoint Adminstration Toolkit. The toolkit is for MOSS 2007 and Windows SharePoint Server 2003; the company will release a new toolkit for SharePoint Server 2010. The reason I say “sort of” is that there was a problem with the toolkit, and a fix must be completed before it can be widely released. I’m told by a reliable source that the fix should be back up on line “in the next couple of days.”

For those of you living in the New York metropolitan area, there will be a full day of SharePoint training happening under the SharePoint Saturday banner. It’s set for Sept. 12 at Learning Tree New York, One New York Plaza, 31^st floor. It’s at the corner of Whitehall and Water … way, WAY downtown. Registration begins at 8 am; sessions start at 9:30.

I’ll be there, and I hope to meet some of you!

-- David