It is my pleasure to announce the newest course offering by Equinox in Wellington:
http://www.equinox.co.nz/training/Pages/CourseDescriptions/sharepoint-information-architecture-introduction.aspx
I've teamed up with Equinox to deliver three SharePoint Information Architecture courses in Wellington. A one day introduction which covers the basics of IA as well as the basics of SharePoint. A two day course which then goes into the depths of creating taxonomies and hierarchies in SharePoint which can withstand the test of time. Finishing off with an advanced course which covers records management, governance, scalability and other advanced concepts over another two days.
I've been spending many hours online and in libraries prepping the contents of the introduction course and while I will be demystifing some SharePoint myths during the course I also am looking forward to the interactive sessions with the students. IA simply is not something you can learn by listening to speeches or watching viedos. It really only sinks in when you do it for real, so expect some fun and enlightening hands on session to drive home the concepts learnt!
We'll be running the course on June 22nd. Places are limited; so make sure you book your place soon to avoid disappointment!
http://www.equinox.co.nz/training/Pages/CourseDescriptions/sharepoint-information-architecture-introduction.aspx
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Expired Virtual Machines for 10232
Thank God, Microsoft Learning is fixing the date issue on the 10232 virtual machines. Looks like this time they didn't get away with "it is not broken, it is by design". So if you are planning on teaching Advanced SharePoint Development techniques any time soon, then make sure to get your hands on the newest images. They should be online within the next week or so.
Btw, 10232 is full of theory and "best practice" concepts. Great for solution architects, team leads and senior developers. Not really the stuff junior SharePoint developers are keen on. They just want to get their hands dirty coding WebParts.
Also, encourage the client to send their newbie SharePoint developers onto 10174 first before visiting any of the advanced courses. Although it is an admin focussed course it covers all the essentials which a developer needs to know about.
Btw, 10232 is full of theory and "best practice" concepts. Great for solution architects, team leads and senior developers. Not really the stuff junior SharePoint developers are keen on. They just want to get their hands dirty coding WebParts.
Also, encourage the client to send their newbie SharePoint developers onto 10174 first before visiting any of the advanced courses. Although it is an admin focussed course it covers all the essentials which a developer needs to know about.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
MCT Tips and Tricks for 10232
Fellow MCTs,
I am posting this for the benefit of those MCTs who have not figured out that there is a whole wiki page at http://borntolearn.mslearn.net on this course once you log in with your MCT LiveID account.
10232 was built with a trial key for SharePoint that has a fixed expiry date. You must turn the clock back to August 2010 (tested using 10th and 11th/08) to teach this course. Thanks go to Chris Barker for being the first to post a solution to this problem at the MCT forum. The key to getting the course to run is to set the clock of the host back before importing the VM and starting it up. This is due to the host setting the bios date of the vm on initial bootup. So changing the time after the fact in the vm does not help as the SharePoint key has invalidated itself by then.
BUT...
When setting the clock back to a date before the host was built you might have troubles getting any vm to start with a certificate failure. This is due to a certificate HyperV uses when initialising the VM. To solve the problem you need to delete the self-signed cert and reboot the machine. That will force Hyper-V to recreate the cert at the older date and the VMs will start. To do this follow these steps:
1) open MMC and add the Certifcates Snap-in
2) Select the service account option
3) Pick the HyperV Virtual Machine Manager service
4) drill down into the own Certificate folder (first folder)
5) delete the self signed cert with the machine name
6) reboot
Last Tips for a smooth running course:
Configure the machine to use an internal network so you can remote into the box from the host. That will make copy and paste much easier and also allows you to put fiddler on the machines. (my students loved seeing fiddler in action and could not stop fiddling with it)
Change the Integration settings for the vm to not synch the time. That will stop the host from updating the time in the VM. This does not work on initial boot, as the initial time and date on first start of the vm will always be set based on the current host regardless of that setting. But it should prevent the machine to take on a new date while it is running.
Then make a Snapshot!!!
Should the student have changed the time on the host during the course and the time did synch due to some fluke, you can easily revert back to the snapshot which has the correct time settings and a functioning SharePoint instance.
Happy teaching!
I am posting this for the benefit of those MCTs who have not figured out that there is a whole wiki page at http://borntolearn.mslearn.net on this course once you log in with your MCT LiveID account.
10232 was built with a trial key for SharePoint that has a fixed expiry date. You must turn the clock back to August 2010 (tested using 10th and 11th/08) to teach this course. Thanks go to Chris Barker for being the first to post a solution to this problem at the MCT forum. The key to getting the course to run is to set the clock of the host back before importing the VM and starting it up. This is due to the host setting the bios date of the vm on initial bootup. So changing the time after the fact in the vm does not help as the SharePoint key has invalidated itself by then.
BUT...
When setting the clock back to a date before the host was built you might have troubles getting any vm to start with a certificate failure. This is due to a certificate HyperV uses when initialising the VM. To solve the problem you need to delete the self-signed cert and reboot the machine. That will force Hyper-V to recreate the cert at the older date and the VMs will start. To do this follow these steps:
1) open MMC and add the Certifcates Snap-in
2) Select the service account option
3) Pick the HyperV Virtual Machine Manager service
4) drill down into the own Certificate folder (first folder)
5) delete the self signed cert with the machine name
6) reboot
Last Tips for a smooth running course:
Configure the machine to use an internal network so you can remote into the box from the host. That will make copy and paste much easier and also allows you to put fiddler on the machines. (my students loved seeing fiddler in action and could not stop fiddling with it)
Change the Integration settings for the vm to not synch the time. That will stop the host from updating the time in the VM. This does not work on initial boot, as the initial time and date on first start of the vm will always be set based on the current host regardless of that setting. But it should prevent the machine to take on a new date while it is running.
Then make a Snapshot!!!
Should the student have changed the time on the host during the course and the time did synch due to some fluke, you can easily revert back to the snapshot which has the correct time settings and a functioning SharePoint instance.
Happy teaching!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
SharePoint Diagnostics Studio V2.0
This will be one of the most anticipated admin and dev tools released for SharePoint this year. It will come bundled with the updated version of the administrator toolkit for SharePoint 2010.
Ever had to trawl through multiple logs from multiple load balanced servers to figure out what really happened? Wished you could have your perfmon counters ready when analysing problems? The next version of the SPDiag tool will let you do that and much more. Run reports, save report snapshots, find events based on time, CorrelationID and... the login name! So Jo complains his page crashed and he did not make not of the correlation id? No problem. correlate all logs into one place on your desktop with minimal strain on the servers. Then run a search on his logon and the time window when it crashed and you'll have all the surrounding details, processes and counters available at your fingertips.
Also includes database stats, network stats and latency statistics to identify bottlenecks with some of you service app communications.
This tool was developed by the product team at Microsoft to assist them with the SharePoint development process. What's good for them can't be bad for us mere mortals!
Can't wait to get my hands on this gem. Supposedly coming out this month. Which really means sometime this year, probably during Q2 some time.
Ever had to trawl through multiple logs from multiple load balanced servers to figure out what really happened? Wished you could have your perfmon counters ready when analysing problems? The next version of the SPDiag tool will let you do that and much more. Run reports, save report snapshots, find events based on time, CorrelationID and... the login name! So Jo complains his page crashed and he did not make not of the correlation id? No problem. correlate all logs into one place on your desktop with minimal strain on the servers. Then run a search on his logon and the time window when it crashed and you'll have all the surrounding details, processes and counters available at your fingertips.
Also includes database stats, network stats and latency statistics to identify bottlenecks with some of you service app communications.
This tool was developed by the product team at Microsoft to assist them with the SharePoint development process. What's good for them can't be bad for us mere mortals!
Can't wait to get my hands on this gem. Supposedly coming out this month. Which really means sometime this year, probably during Q2 some time.
Friday, March 18, 2011
How to Add Custom Columns to the Search Results in MOSS 2007
A few years ago I demonstrated at the New Zealand Conference how to add custom metadata columns to your search results. What I never did was make a blog post about it. So let me rectify that error of mine.
To get custom columns to appear on your search results page in MOSS you will need to do a few things. First make sure the metadata field is indexed and available by adding it to the Mapped Metadata Columns in the Search Administration of your SSP. Then, recrawl your index. And finally show the new column on the search results page by tweaking some xml and xsl.
1) Get the column indexed and mapped
To do this, open up your SSP admin site either directly or via Central Admin. Then navigate to the Search Administration Page and look for Managed Columns on the left menu. There you will need to add a new managed colum which mapps your custom field. This field could be in a SQL Store indexed via BCS or in a custom list or in a custom content type. In any case I assume that you have already crawled all the content in question, otherwise this step won't work.
2) Recrawl the index
Once you have added the managed metadata colum you need to do a full crawl. Sorry, no incremental crawls will work, as only in a full crawl does the engine do the mapping of all existing fields in the index.
3) Customise the Search Results
Browse to the search results page in your Search Centre. Fastest way? Type in a search into any search box! If you farm is configured correctly that should catapult you to the correct page.
There you need to edit the page and customise the Core Search Results WebPart.
Before you edit the actual XSL Look and feel you need to tell the webpart about the new column. So first click the three dots next to "Selected Columns". You find this option under the ResultsQuery Option. (refer to above screenshot) Copy the text out of the editor into notepad. You'll get this:
Well, you won't get that exactly. It will all be on one line and illegible. Feel free to use an xml editor of your choice instead of notepad.
In that xml you now need to add the Mapped Metadata column name. Make sure you use the correct case. XML is case sensitive! Also add the name you gave the mapped column and not the source metadata column (in case these two have different names). Once you have added the column to the xml text copy it back into the popup for the "Select Columns: option.
(note the new MyCustomColumn entry at the bottom)
Once you have added the xml for the new column you can add the column to the output in the XSLT.
Click the XSL Editor button on the WebPart customisation interface (see first screenshot) and add the new field to your xsl.
Extract before you add the markup:
And now with the new data appearing right next to the description of the search result:
That's it. Copy the changed xsl back into the XSL editor popup, apply your changes to the web part and test your results by executing a fresh search which includes some of the custom metadata that you have indexed.
The next step would be to create a custom scope for your BCD indexed data, create a custom search page and search results page for that scope and go ape-shit on the search results page with loads of custom columns and custom look and feel.
Happy Customising folks!
To get custom columns to appear on your search results page in MOSS you will need to do a few things. First make sure the metadata field is indexed and available by adding it to the Mapped Metadata Columns in the Search Administration of your SSP. Then, recrawl your index. And finally show the new column on the search results page by tweaking some xml and xsl.
1) Get the column indexed and mapped
To do this, open up your SSP admin site either directly or via Central Admin. Then navigate to the Search Administration Page and look for Managed Columns on the left menu. There you will need to add a new managed colum which mapps your custom field. This field could be in a SQL Store indexed via BCS or in a custom list or in a custom content type. In any case I assume that you have already crawled all the content in question, otherwise this step won't work.
2) Recrawl the index
Once you have added the managed metadata colum you need to do a full crawl. Sorry, no incremental crawls will work, as only in a full crawl does the engine do the mapping of all existing fields in the index.
3) Customise the Search Results
Browse to the search results page in your Search Centre. Fastest way? Type in a search into any search box! If you farm is configured correctly that should catapult you to the correct page.
There you need to edit the page and customise the Core Search Results WebPart.
In that xml you now need to add the Mapped Metadata column name. Make sure you use the correct case. XML is case sensitive! Also add the name you gave the mapped column and not the source metadata column (in case these two have different names). Once you have added the column to the xml text copy it back into the popup for the "Select Columns: option.
Once you have added the xml for the new column you can add the column to the output in the XSLT.
Click the XSL Editor button on the WebPart customisation interface (see first screenshot) and add the new field to your xsl.
Extract before you add the markup:
That's it. Copy the changed xsl back into the XSL editor popup, apply your changes to the web part and test your results by executing a fresh search which includes some of the custom metadata that you have indexed.
The next step would be to create a custom scope for your BCD indexed data, create a custom search page and search results page for that scope and go ape-shit on the search results page with loads of custom columns and custom look and feel.
Happy Customising folks!
Monday, March 14, 2011
How to pass 70-576
Totally forgot to post the fourth post in the series. If you want to earn your sharepoint 2010 professional developer credential then you'll also need to pass this exam. Measureup does not have this one on it's books yet, so no legal cheating on this one.
The questions are not quite scenario based as with many of the .Net developer pro exams. But not quite as code driven as the TS exams. Expect simple scenarios with simple seeming answers.
Actually there are quite a few trick answers where there seems to be two valid choices until you spot the error. My best advice on this exam is to eliminate the wrong answers. Quite a few will be obvious bull answers, but there will be the occasional one that will make you doubt. Re-read the question. Often there is a clue or constraint in the mini scenario which will eliminate the second option.
A lot of questions are common sense on development and deployment techniques. Make sure you're up to scratch on best practices for features, solutions, dependencies, upgrading and the new 2010 features.
Warning! Only because it is a new feature in 2010 doesn't mean that it must be the right choice!
Last tip, as with any Microsoft exam, stick to your first gut choice when in doubt. And only move from that when you are 100% sure that the new answer is the correct one.
The questions are not quite scenario based as with many of the .Net developer pro exams. But not quite as code driven as the TS exams. Expect simple scenarios with simple seeming answers.
Actually there are quite a few trick answers where there seems to be two valid choices until you spot the error. My best advice on this exam is to eliminate the wrong answers. Quite a few will be obvious bull answers, but there will be the occasional one that will make you doubt. Re-read the question. Often there is a clue or constraint in the mini scenario which will eliminate the second option.
A lot of questions are common sense on development and deployment techniques. Make sure you're up to scratch on best practices for features, solutions, dependencies, upgrading and the new 2010 features.
Warning! Only because it is a new feature in 2010 doesn't mean that it must be the right choice!
Last tip, as with any Microsoft exam, stick to your first gut choice when in doubt. And only move from that when you are 100% sure that the new answer is the correct one.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Air New Zealand 777-300 Review
Just had the pleasure of viewing one of the new 777-300 planes from Air New Zealand. A lot of good things and a few bad things to comment on:
Great:
Not so Great:
Secret Tips:
Great:
- Arm rests fold up in economy. Great if travelling as my wife and I normally do.
- Sky couch can hold two people who weigh up to 150kg each. (300 Pounds on the leg rest alone)
- Touch Screens work like a charm and at last no need for the annoying remote control
- Remote/Phone stowed in-front and not in the side (why did they not think of that earlier?)
- New menu is supposed to be much better (I'll wait and see)
- Power sockets also in economy. (Which laptop battery lasts for 12h-24h?)
- Headrest holds up! (That drove me mad in the old planes. Always falling down again.)
- Special cushions that attach to headrest. No more fussing with the cushion when standing up and sitting back down again.
- Sections are shorter with an added canteen in the middle. Means less people running past and faster service all round.
Not so Great:
- Seats narrower and Aisles narrower in economy.
- Premium Economy lacks leg-room due to hard case shell design of seats. Max height for premium economy passenger: 178cm. Anything beyond that and you're bound to get sore legs as you can't stretch them completely.
- SkyCouch not very spacious. Gonna be very cuddly! And be sure not to stretch your legs or you'll hit the person in the middle aisle.
Secret Tips:
- Three rows of two seaters at the back of the plane. Great for couples. Also have 1inch more leg-room!
- Don't take a seat in the 3-person row right in-front of those two-seaters. Armrests don't go all the way up but are stuck at horizontal.
Summary:
All in all I am looking forward to flying long haul in the new Boeing 300s. It looks like it will be very enojyable and no, I won't be upgrading to premium economy on those flights. Unless I could choose my seats before booking the flight. Now that would be just perfect!
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