Microsoft Provides New Onramp to SharePoint Online and Other Office 365 Services

Microsoft is providing an alternate route for connecting to Office 365 services such as SharePoint--avoiding the Internet and all the bumps in the road that come with it.

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by via SharePoint Pro

nSPTiles: Windows style tiles for SharePoint by Anchal Nigam

Some time ago Anchal Nigam asked if it was OK to make a spin-off based on my SharePoint 2013 style tiles solution.

This was no problem to say yes to as my tiles solution has fallen a bit behind on the updates due to other projects – mostly DFFS.

I have now finally fond the time to try out his solution, and it is great!

There is a lot more configuration options than in my original version, and best of all: it has a GUI to create or edit the tiles directly in a grid on the page.

Check it out here: http://nsptiles.js.org/

Image borrowed from the Wikipedia article on Bart Simpson

Please note

This is not a sponsored review. I have written this as a courtesy to Anchal.  I have nothing to do with this solution, and therefore all related questions must be posted in the page linked above.

Alexander

 

by Alexander Bautz via SharePoint JavaScripts

SharePoint Applications Integrate with Legacy Systems: Video

Have you run into a situation where customers are interested in a SharePoint application (Expense, Requisition or Invoice Management) but don’t require an integration with Dynamics, rather a proprietary or legacy application? In those scenarios our SharePoint applications accommodate them by either calling the legacy application’s integration interface, or by creating file extracts that can be used to import data into the system.  We are able to achieve this due to the module nature of our programs’ architectures.  The integration layer can be easily swapped out and mapped to the new interface requirements or extract file specifications for import to their legacy application. Check out our video to view the streamlined process:

Contact DynamicPoint today with any questions.

 

By Mike Marcin, DynamicPoint – SharePoint Expense, Invoice & Requisition Management applications built exclusively for Dynamics GP & NAV.

The post SharePoint Applications Integrate with Legacy Systems: Video appeared first on SharePoint Blog.

Related posts:

1. Compare Dynamics GP 2015 Workflow Options vs. Third Party Requisition Applications With the release of Dynamics GP 2013 R2 came the...
2. DynamicPoint Prepares for SharePoint 2016 Like so many others out there, DynamicPoint is anxious for...
3. Is the Love Affair between Microsoft Dynamics and SharePoint Over? Even though it has been a month since Convergence 2015...

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by Mike Marcin, DynamicPoint via SharePoint Blog

Intranet on Office 365 and SharePoint: Build, Buy or Both?

With Office 365 and the cloud going mainstream, organizations are looking at ways to leverage this powerful platform to go beyond basic email and document sharing. Many small- to medium-size businesses are looking to create a central point of information sharing, collaboration and access to internal services through implementation of an Intranet for their employees. 

More than 70% of all organizations rely on an Intranet. Often they are using Office 365 and SharePoint Online as a platform and are starting to become aware of the possibilities. 

How you approach the Intranet project though can determine its success or failure. Do you build it from scratch or do you buy an out-of-the-box solution? What are the advantages of one over the other? How does cost factor in? These are all very important, very relevant questions necessary to consider before deploying an Intranet for your organization. 

Building a basic Intranet from scratch can start at $30,000. But for more complex, robust Intranets, organizations can expect to pay considerably more, exceeding $100,000. But is building it yourself or with consultants your only option? Lets examine the alternatives.

The features that go into an Intranet are going to determine its adoption and how it benefits your organization. By not deploying an Intranet that empowers employees and helps them find the things they are looking for, companies can expect to lose money on their investment. 

Standard features though for a successful Intranet that improves productivity and enhances company-wide communication and collaboration include: 

• Organization Communications – announcements, news, events, policies and procedures 
• Employee Collaboration – employee directory, forums, discussions
• Employee Self-Service – service requests, time-off, expenses, and more
• Integration of Processes – links to key applications like ERP, CRM, email, customer service
• Support for Department Portals – HR, Sales, Marketing, Finance, IT

The question is, if 70% to 80% of all organizations need the same features, why are so many Intranet portals being built from scratch? Why not start with an 80% template and customize from there?

In reality though that is what many consulting firms who build custom developed Intranets do. They have templates they use in engagements. Unfortunately they do not always tell their clients because if they did they could not charge the fees they are receiving.

There are a few companies though that provide full-featured Intranet applications, are easily brand-able and can be deployed and easily customized according to an organization’s requirements without programming. 

Companies like SP Marketplace and others offer turnkey Intranet portals on Office 365 and SharePoint that introduce an option for "Buy" versus "Build." These applications are prebuilt Intranet portals that can be installed, configured and branded for much less money and time than the traditional custom developed engagement. 

Additionally, because these Intranet portals are developed in standard SharePoint on Office 365, business power users can configure them to their specific needs without programming or calling back in consultants. Below is an example of one such turnkey application - SP Intranet Portal.

For example, one SMB in Virginia with 200 employees that was looking to deploy a basic Intranet received build bids from traditional Office 365 and SharePoint consulting firms ranging from $38,000 to $57,000. Alternatively they chose the buy route with a third-party solution and their cost was less than $10,000 deployed and configured. Deployment time was less than a month versus six months.  

This is a natural market progression and we will see more packaged application vendors enter the Office 365 and SharePoint Online marketplace, which will result in lower overall costs for customers.  

With the introduction and proliferation of Office 365 as a lower cost model for SMBs, providing the corresponding savings for application solutions will follow. This can only be done with repeatable packaged applications that are flexible enough to address the custom 10% to 20% of features required.

For traditional Office 365 and SharePoint consulting firms, they will either need to stick with just the large enterprise deployments or adjust their business model to fit the financial realities of the SMB market.   

If you would like to learn more about deploying an Intranet and how to begin, see our white paper "Deploying an Intranet on Office 365."

To learn more about how you can extend Office 365 and SharePoint Online to create a dynamic, intuitive hub for collaboration and internal services with an Intranet portal structure, see a tutorial video Intranet Portal Template on our website. 

by Darrell Trimble via Everyone's Blog Posts - SharePoint Community

SharePoint 2016 – MinRole Farm Topology & Installation Process

MinRole Farm Topology

Before we start with the installation of SharePoint 2016 Preview we have to keep in mind that the farm topology will be different from the previous SharePoint version.

Within SharePoint server 2016 there are 6 different roles we can give to a server.

By using the new MinRole feature in SharePoint Server 2016 IT Preview, SharePoint farm administrators can define each server’s role in a farm topology. The role of a server is specified when you create a new farm or merge a server to an existing farm. SharePoint automatically configures the services on each server based on the server’s role, and the performance of the farm is optimized based on that topology.

Server Role	Description
Front-end	Service applications, services, and components that serve user requests belong to Front-end web servers. These servers are optimized for low latency.
Application	Service applications, services, and components that serve back-end requests (such as background jobs or search crawl requests) belong to Application servers. These servers are optimized for high throughput.
Distributed cache	Service applications, services, and components that are required for a distributed cache belong to distributed Cache servers.
Search	Service applications, services, and components that are required for searching belong to Search servers.
Custom	Custom service applications, services, and components that do not integrate with MinRole belong to Custom servers. The farm administrator has full control over which service instances can run on servers assigned to the Custom role. MinRole does not control which service instances are provisioned for his role.
Single-server farm	Service applications, services, and components required for a single machine farm belong to a Single-Server Farm. A Single-Server Farm is meant for development, testing, and very limited production use. A SharePoint farm with the Single-Server Farm role cannot have more than one SharePoint server in the farm.

MinRole management of service instances doesn’t only happen when you join a server to a farm. As you enable or disable services in the farm, or as you create and delete service applications in the farm, MinRole starts and stops service instances on the existing servers in the farm. This ensures that each server in your SharePoint farm is only running the services it needs.

The result is that SharePoint farm administrators no longer need to think about service instances at an individual server level. Instead, administrators can now focus on which services should be enabled at the SharePoint farm level.

The following table gives an overview of the Microsoft recommended MineRole topologies

Server role	Required for Content Farm ?	Required for Shared Services Farm ?	Required for Search Farm ?
Front-end web	Yes	Yes	No
Application	Yes	Yes	No
Distributed cache	Yes	Yes	No
Search	Yes, if hosting Search	Yes, if hosting Search	Yes
Custom	Optional	Optional	Optional

Hardware Requirements

The values in the following table are minimum values for installations on a single server and for Web, Application, and Cache servers that are running SharePoint Server 2016 Preview in a multiple server farm installation.

For all installation scenarios, you should have sufficient hard disk space for the base installation and sufficient space for diagnostics such as logging, debugging, creating memory dumps, and so on.

Scenario	Deployment type and scale	Processor	RAM	Hard disk
Database server running a single SQL instance	Development or evaluation installation with the minimum recommended services	64-bit, 4 cores	12-16 GB	80 GB for system drive 100 GB for second drive
Database server running a single SQL instance	Pilot, user acceptance test running all available services	64-bit, 4 cores	16-24 GB	80 GB for system drive 100 GB for second drive and additional drives
Web server or application server in a three-tier farm	Pilot, user acceptance test running all available services	64-bit, 4 cores	12-16 GB	80 GB for system drive 80 GB for second drive and additional drives

The operating system I used for the setup of SharePoint server 2016 Preview is Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard. For the databases I used SQL Server 2014 Standard, the setup of the SQL Server instance is not described in this document.

Installing SharePoint 2016

SharePoint server 2016 Preview can be downloaded from http://ift.tt/1JvHffq

Installation of SharePoint 2016 IT Preview looks similar to previous SharePoint installations.  When you mount the ISO, you will see a familiar splash screen.

 

SharePoint prerequisites installation

Before we can start the installation of SharePoint 2016 software we need to install the following software prerequisites first. During the prerequisites installation the tool will ask you multiple times to restart.

• Application Server Role, Web Server (IIS) Role
• Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Native Client
• Microsoft ODBC Driver 11 for SQL Server
• Microsoft Sync Framework Runtime v1.0 SP1 (x64)
• Windows Server AppFabric
• Microsoft Identity Extensions
  
• Microsoft Information Protection and Control Client 2.1
• Microsoft WCF Data Services 5.6
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.2
• Cumulative Update Package 1 for Microsoft AppFabric 1.1 for Windows Server (KB2671763)
• Visual C++ Redistributable Package for Visual Studio 2013
• Update for Microsoft .NET Framework to disable RC4 in Transport Layer Security (KB2898850)

SharePoint Binaries installation

Trial key, which can be found on the website where the preview was downloaded. Accept the Microsoft Software License agreement.

Choose the file location & click “Install Now”. The installation will take some time depending on the resource you’ve been allocated to the server. When the installation is completed you can select the check box that will start the SharePoint configuration wizard.

SharePoint Product Configuration Wizard

By clicking on Close button, the Wizard will start to run. If you want to run it later on you can find it in the starting menu.

Select “Create a new server farm” and click Next. If you already installed and just want to add a new server and doing a minfin installation, then select “Connect to an existing server farm”

On the following screen you have to specify your configuration database settings and database access account.

If you completed the settings, the wizard will try to access the database server. After that you will get a screen where you can fill in the farm security settings. In this screen you have to specify a passphrase which is used to secure farm configuration data and is required for each server that joins the farm. Keep in mind that the passphrase can be changed after the farm is configured.

On the next screen we will come to the new part of SharePoint 2016 installations, the MinRoles.

As described earlier in this document SharePoint 2016 has six types of server roles:

• Front-end
• Application
• Distributed cache
• Search
• Custom
• Single-Server farm

Is this particular case I’ve selected the “Single-Server farm” as I don’t want to do a multiple server installation using the MinRole topology. If you select this role, it is not possible to extend to a multi-server farm in the future.

On the next screen specify the port for SharePoint Central Administration web application and press Next.

Verify the configuration wizard settings and press next to start it. If you’ve chosen the single-server installation the “advanced settings” will be greyed out.

Click cancel to abort the services installation wizard.

Below you can see the Central Administration page of SharePoint 2016.

In system settings menu we can see 2 new tabs “Manage services in this farm” and “Convert server role in this farm”.

Hybrid in SharePoint Server 2016 Preview

In SharePoint Server 2016 IT Preview, new hybrid features are available to enable hybrid solutions.

Hybrid sites features allow our users to have an integrated experience while using SharePoint Server and SharePoint Online sites:

• Users can follow SharePoint Server and SharePoint Online sites, and see them consolidated in a single list.
• Users have a single profile in Office 365, where all of their profile information is stored.

Hybrid sites features are used in concert with Hybrid OneDrive for Business (introduced in SharePoint Server 2013 with Service Pack 1 (SP1)):

• Users can sync files with Office 365 and share them with others.
• Users can access their files directly through Office 365 from any device.

by Ruben Plehiers via Everyone's Blog Posts - SharePoint Community

SharePoint 2013 List Attachment Error, Issues with the August 2015 Cumulative Updates

August 2015 CU Error – “File names can’t contain the following characters”

Many thanks to Trevor Seward... http://ift.tt/1Mrrm9Z

As noticed on a TechNet forum post, the August 2015 CU for SharePoint 2013 has a new regression with attaching files to List Items. This can be reproduced with a Custom List (possibly others) by creating a new List Item, clicking “Attach File”, identify any file that contains characters not listed in KB905231, then click OK. The error message “File names can’t contain the following characters” will appear:

 

The work-around:

In a List, create a List Item and save it without attempting to attach a file. On the List, highlight the specific List Item that was created. In the ribbon, click on Items -> Attach File. This dialog will allow you to successfully attach a file to a List Item.

Or a more permanent resolution:

... involves editing files in the 15 hive. Prior to performing this, make backup copies of these files. These backups must be in place prior to installing the next SharePoint patch.

There are two JavaScript files that must be edited:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\Web Server Extensions\15\TEMPLATE\LAYOUTS\FORM.debug.js

C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\Web Server Extensions\15\TEMPLATE\LAYOUTS\FORM.JS

For Form.debug.js, change the text starting on line 5307

From:

else {
       if (IndexOfIllegalCharInUrlLeafName(filename) != -1) {
       alert(Strings.STS.L_IllegalFileNameError);
       return;
}

To:

else {
       var filNameOnly = filename.substring(filename.lastIndexOf('\\') + 1);
       if (IndexOfIllegalCharInUrlLeafName(filNameOnly) != -1) {
       alert(Strings.STS.L_IllegalFileNameError);
       return;
}

And for FORM.js, find the following string:

From:

else{if(IndexOfIllegalCharInUrlLeafName(c)!=-1)

Change it to:

else{var j=c.substring(c.lastIndexOf("\\")+1);if(IndexOfIllegalCharInUrlLeafName(j)!=-1)

Once completed, clear the browsers cache and re-test. If the error still exists, try using Inprivate browsing mode, which will not use the cache from the regular session.

A PSS case has been opened for this issue and the above solutions are the current official workarounds.

by Mary via Everyone's Blog Posts - SharePoint Community

Setting up a SharePoint 2016 Preview Farm in Azure

Whether you are a developer or IT pro, if your shop uses SharePoint, you need to gain some experience with the 2016 edition as it will behave in a production setting. The new roles afforded by SharePoint Server 2016 IT Preview mandate a variety of servers with specific hardware requirements. This post examines how you can set all this up in Azure.

read more

by via SharePoint Pro

Not a sell out! It’s Matchmaking

I recently read a Facebook thread about a new MVP who was being approached by a vendor and asked if they’d do a review or join them on a webinar. The question they were asking their colleagues was if they were a sell out by participating in these activities. I was surprised by the first [&hellip

The post Not a sell out! It’s Matchmaking appeared first on CollabShow.

by Joel Oleson via CollabShow

Online free training on SharePoint and Office 365 from the world's best!

In 2 week’s time 140+ speakers (including 63 MVP’s) originating from 6 continents will begin to take part in the biggest online conference of the year - Collab365 Global Conference.

• Subject Areas: SharePoint, Office 365 and Azure.
• Timing: Starts Wed, Oct 7th 9pm UTC and lasts for 24 hours. Available for viewing worldwide.
• Cost: None

-->> Register for Collab365 Global Conference.

7 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND…

If you still need to convincing that you should sign-up for the ‘big one’ today, then here are 7 great reasons:

1. THE AGENDA IS AMAZING:

Our agenda is definitely a ‘who’s who’ of SharePoint and Office 365. Take a look here. 

2. COLLAB365 LIVE:

We are also really excited to announce that Andy Talbot will be kicking off the first ever Collab365 Live show to coincide with the 2^nd part of the Conference. He will be interviewing some amazing experts (such as Spencer Harbar, Neil Hodgkinson, Mark Stokes, Alex Pearce, Benjamin Niaulin and Jethro Seghers).

3. *NEW* CONFERENCE PRODUCT DIRECTORY:

We've also just launched our "Collab365 Global Conference Product Directory". For those wanting to utilise the services of 3rd party products for either SharePoint, Office 365 or Azure then this directory will provide great a service. The direct will exist both on the event site and will also be directly accessible from the main conference platform (open in a few days). We are adding more vendors daily so keep checking back.

4. OFFICE 365 MIGRATION CLINIC:

As part of Collab365 Live, Rencore will also be running a live ‘Office 365 migration clinic’. If you have on-premises solutions and want to move them to Office 365 you NEED TO COME. One of their experts, Hugh Wood, will be running the clinic and answering your migration questions.

5. PRIZES:

Our fabulous sponsors have put an awesome swag bag together. Once you have registered, you simply need to enter the Raffle and you could win one of many prizes including 2 Surface Pro's, 2 Microsoft Fitness Tracker Bands, Fitbit, X-Box + many others.

6. CHAT WITH EXPERTS:

Most of our speakers will be in the chat room at the end (or during) their sessions. You will get the chance to chat with them and get your most burning questions answered.

7. ON-DEMAND:

All 150 hours of content will be made available on-demand to conference registrants shortly after the conferences ends so you can catch up with sessions you may have missed first time around.

-->> Register for Collab365 Global Conference

by Mark Jones via Everyone's Blog Posts - SharePoint Community

Managing Emails in Office 365 and SharePoint Just Got Easier with harmon.ie

Have you ever been frustrated about the chaos that is your inbox? You’re not alone. Whether you’re the person that is creating hierarchical folders, or creating flags for follow up, or simply trying to remember what is important, or simply reactive and have the attitude that “if it’s important they’ll contact me again.” Dealing with [&hellip

The post Managing Emails in Office 365 and SharePoint Just Got Easier with harmon.ie appeared first on CollabShow.

by Joel Oleson via CollabShow

Mobile Explosion in Phoenix AZ and Boise Idaho

I’m speaking in Phoenix at the upcoming SharePoint User Group. Looking forward to meeting everyone! I’ve been tracking all of the updates to mobile in the Office 365, SharePoint, and general Microsoft world for Android, iOS, phones and tablets. It’s not the same world we use to live in. Here’s some detail on the session [&hellip

The post Mobile Explosion in Phoenix AZ and Boise Idaho appeared first on CollabShow.

by Joel Oleson via CollabShow

What External Users Cannot Do in Office 365 SharePoint Online

There are times in every organization when it becomes necessary to collaborate with partners, vendors, clients, and even employees who are outside of the company office. SharePoint is built for collaboration, so it is a “natural” for collaboration between users from within, as well as outside, the organization.

An ideal SharePoint collaboration solution would provide external users:

• Easy, but secure, access to the files and information they need
• The functionality to accomplish the task, or to collaborate on it effectively
• The ability to communicate effectively and efficiently with other members of the team (internal and external users) in the collaboration environment
• The capability of effectively using the full range of tools that the collaboration solution provides

A SharePoint extranet hosted on-premises makes the full range of SharePoint functionality available to each user, whether internal or external, according to the limitations set in place by the extranet administrator.

The addition of Extranet Collaboration Manager for SharePoint (ExCM), a SharePoint add-on product by PremierPoint Solutions, enables streamlined, powerful, management of SharePoint extranet users, while simplifying access and use for extranet users. It is fully integrated into the SharePoint management interface, and its features are accessible through Site Settings.

These days, however, a growing number of organizations are moving away from SharePoint on premises to Office 365 SharePoint Online, a subscription-based online solution hosted in the cloud by Microsoft. Office 365 provides limited external collaboration capability through its External Sharing feature. But is this scaled-down extranet substitute, with its limited functionality, a worthy replacement for a full-featured extranet? Let’s think about that for a moment.

Here is how Microsoft defines an Office 365 external user:

“An external user is someone outside of your organization who can access your SharePoint Online sites and documents but does not have a license for your SharePoint Online or Microsoft Office 365 subscription. External users are not employees, contractors, or onsite agents for you or your affiliates.

External users inherit the use rights of the SharePoint Online customer who is inviting them to collaborate. That is, if an organization purchases an E3 Enterprise plan, and builds a site that uses enterprise features, the external user is granted rights to use and/or view the enterprise features within the site collection they are invited to. While external users can be invited as extended project members to perform a full range of actions on a site, they will not have the exact same capabilities as a full, paid, licensed member within your organization. The limitations are described in the table below.”

Microsoft then presents a chart showing the three things an external user can do, and the many things he/she CAN’T do.

According to Microsoft, external users can:

• Use Office Online for viewing and editing documents
• Perform tasks on a site consistent with the permission level that they are assigned
• See other types of content on sites
  

But the list of things that external users cannot do goes on and on. External users are restricted from performing the following functions:

• Creating their own personal sites, editing their profile, etc.
• Creating their own OneDrive for Business document library
• Acting as a Site Collection Administrator
• Seeing the company wide newsfeed
• Adding storage to the overall tenant storage pool
• Accessing the Search Center to execute searches on “everything.” Other search features that may not be available include: Advanced Content Processing, continuous crawls, and refiners
• Accessing site mailboxes
• Accessing Power BI features including Power View, Power Pivot, Quick Explore, or Timeline Slicer
• Opening downloaded documents that are protected with Information Rights Management (IRM,) a Microsoft encryption feature enabled by many organizations for security and privacy
• Using eDiscovery

Other features that may not be available to external users include:

• Excel Services features, including Calculated Measures and Calculated Members, decoupled Pivot Tables and PivotCharts, Field List and field support, filter enhancements, search filters.
• SharePoint Online data connection libraries
• Visio Services

The list of what external users can’t do is 4 times as long!

If the Office 365 subscriber (the organization) wants the external user(s) to have these capabilities, the subscriber must purchase an Office 365 license for each external user.

But with SharePoint on-premises, an unlimited number of external users (non-employees) can all use ALL OF THE FEATURES of the edition of SharePoint that the organization is using (Foundation, Standard or Enterprise) with no additional licensing, and at no additional charge.

And with the ExCM add-on deployed, both the users and the administrator will enjoy an easy and efficient SharePoint extranet experience.

by noreply@blogger.com (PremierPoint Solutions) via SharePoint Solutions Blog

SP2016 - O365 - SP.MountPoint - Javascript create shortcut to the File or Folder

SharePoint 2016 (Preview) and O365 has the Mount files or folders api using CSOM and JSOM. 

The Javascript SP.MountPoint api allows us to create the shortcut url containing the link.

[InternetShortcut]
URL=http://ift.tt/1Yj4lwq

The above contains the link to the _layouts/15/mountpoint.aspx which takes the following parameters,

• Site Id.
• Web Id
• Item Id

which is then used to redirect to the specified folder/files.

The below example creates the shortcut url in the specified folder using the JSOM and the equivalent CSOM is also available.

Initialise the parameters:

var context = SP.ClientContext.get_current();
var sourceWeb = context.get_web();
var sourceFolder = sourceWeb.getFolderByServerRelativeUrl("/sitepages/folder");
context.load(sourceFolder);
context.load(sourceWeb);
var targetSite = context.get_site();
context.load(targetSite);
context.executeQueryAsync(function(){},function(){});

Create the MountPoint:

SP.MountPoint.createMountPoint(context,   targetFolder, "Mount_Name", targetSite.get_id(),
sourceWeb.get_id(),
 sourceFolder.get_uniqueId());
context.executeQueryAsync(function(){},function(){});

• The above script creates the Mount_Name.url file within the targetFolder for the specified sourceFolder.

by Balamurugan Kailasam via Everyone's Blog Posts - SharePoint Community

Squeezing the Most Out of Office 365

Adopting--let alone fully exploiting--Office 365 is no small task. MessageOps' aptly named Office 365 Adoption, which is available as a website or as a SharePoint app in an Office 365 environment, is designed to help companies adopt, consume and fully leverage the business value of Office 365. MessageOps also announced the expansion of its consulting arm to include the Change Management practice, also designed to help companies transition to Office 365.

read more

by via SharePoint Pro

License agreement for Site collection scoped licenses has been updated

Based on feedback from “corporate users” I have decided to remove the “100 user limit” for the Site collection scoped license.

This means that the “Site collection license” and the “Corporate user license” can now be used in site collections with more than 100 users without violating the license terms.

Read more about the updated license terms here.

Best regards,
Alexander

by Alexander Bautz via SharePoint JavaScripts

#SPCOM weekly Newsletter – Win passes to conference and news from around the Web!

Hello SharePointers and welcome to this week’s SharePoint Newsletter!  In this newsletter we will talk about what’s new about SharePoint as well as have the chance to win a pass to SPLive360 in Orlando or SPFest in Chicago!

1.    (Sponsored) Introducing LearnNowOnline SuccessPaths™!

Learn SharePoint and much more using our brand new tool specifically designed to save you time.  These paths take the worry and guesswork out of piecing together a group of courses on your own, allowing you to focus your time and energy on achieving your learning goals.

Learn more here: http://spvlad.com/1OeL2AN

2. Win a free pass to SharePointFest in Chicago on Dec 8-10

Attend SharePoint Fest - Chicago, where you’ll be able to attend technical classes and workshops – taught by Microsoft Certified Trainers, Microsoft engineers and Microsoft MVPs – covering Enterprise Content Management, Power Users, Social SharePoint, Business Value, Implementation/Administration, Office 365, Workflow, Business Intelligence, Special Topics & SharePoint Development.

Enter the contest & Learn More about the conference here: http://spvlad.com/1FMOF9f

3.Win a Pass to SPLive360 in Orlando November 16-20

Chart the best collaboration course at SharePoint Live!, November 16-20 in Orlando! Whether you are a Manager, IT Pro, DBA, or Developer, SharePoint Live! brings together the best the industry has to offer for 5 days of workshops, keynotes, and sessions to help you work through your most pressing SharePoint projects.

Enter the contest & Learn More about the conference here:  http://spvlad.com/1M7pAND

4. Project Server 2016 IT Preview is now available

Today we are excited to announce the availability of Project Server 2016 IT Preview. We have worked very hard over the past three years to bring you the latest and greatest innovations to Project Online and incorporate feedback from customers into Project Server 2016. Project Server 2016 IT Preview provides an initial view of what is to come

Learn More: http://spvlad.com/1JbE8oc

5.Announcing the Office 365 Service Trust Portal

The regulatory compliance and business risk landscape is continuously evolving. At Microsoft, we appreciate our customers’ need to understand the Office 365 architecture and compliance with regulations to help them evaluate moving to Office 365. We also know you need to understand how we keep your data secure on the service on an ongoing basis.

Learn More: http://spvlad.com/1LgG3h7

6. Learn SharePoint 2016 from some of the best in the business

The Collab365 Global Conference is just 6 weeks away now, and with the launch of the Agenda this week it’s been full steam ahead. With 120 sessions, and two of them focusing strictly on SharePoint 2016, what’s not to love? This event is also FREE, and you can watch it from everywhere!

Register Now: http://spvlad.com/1K5W1Kk

 7. (Solution Highlight) harmon.ie Unveils Solution That Treats Emails as Full-Fledged Documents

The new harmon.ie solution enables users to drag and drop emails from their Outlook window to a corporate SharePoint or Office 365 site, without ever leaving the place they do most of their work - their email client. harmon.ie automatically converts email headers -- such as To, From, Subject and Received -- into SharePoint metadata. Classifying emails using metadata, harmon.ie ensures that each email can be found easily when needed. With the new harmon.ie solution, both emails and documents stored in SharePoint can also be discovered and shared on mobile devices.

Learn More: http://spvlad.com/1KpO6aN

by Vlad Catrinescu via Everyone's Blog Posts - SharePoint Community

Win a free pass to SharePointFest in Chicago on Dec 8-10

Hello SharePointers,

I am excited to announce a new contest to give you the ability to learn more SharePoint before the end of the year. 

December 8-10 - McCormick Place South - Chicago

Choose From over 70 Sessions in Multiple Tracks!

Attend SharePoint Fest - Chicago, where you’ll be able to attend technical classes and workshops – taught by Microsoft Certified Trainers, Microsoft engineers and Microsoft MVPs – covering Enterprise Content Management, Power Users, Social SharePoint, Business Value, Implementation/Administration, Office 365, Workflow, Business Intelligence, Special Topics & SharePoint Development. Choose one complete learning track or mix & match based on what content best meets you and your organization’s current needs!

At SharePoint Fest - Chicago there are sessions created for SharePoint administrators, software developers, information architects and knowledge workers which will ensure that you and your team walk away with as much knowledge as you desire to truly leverage SharePoint in your current environment!

Seven Great Reasons to Attend SharePoint Fest - Chicago:

• The technical classes and seminars at SharePoint Fest are focused on practical techniques and practices you can put to work today!
• Our expanded three-day SharePoint conference allows for more topics and additional expert speakers from the community!
• Get answers to your questions in the classroom, or as you mingle with speakers and peers at coffee breaks or at the evening cocktail reception!
• Bring a group of developers, IT pros and business teams to improve your whole organization's skills – and get a discount to boot! Contact us for group registration discounts!
• Attend the SharePoint sessions that work best for you. With more than 80 classes and workshops to choose from, you can make SharePoint Fest your own custom SharePoint training event.
• See how the Microsoft SharePoint ecosystem is growing and evolving by speaking with technical experts from the local Microsoft field and diverse channels within the Microsoft Partner Network all in our exhibit hall!
• Learn from the brightest minds in the SharePoint universe! Many of our speakers are either Microsoft engineers or have achieved Microsoft MVP or MCM status based on their in-depth knowledge of SharePoint.

Furthermore, I will give a half day workshop on SharePoint Server 2016 for IT Professionals as well as two sessions at the event, so you cannot miss that :). 

How to win ... 

To win the ticket, simply go to this page and enter the Raffle. It takes seconds to complete. Enter the Raffle here.   Also, Please note that the contest only includes the Conference Pass, and not the Airfare & Hotel! The Raffle closes on October 1st at 4 PM Eastern Time!

What if I don't win? 

Even if you don't win, As a speaker I can give you a 200$ Discount by simply using the easy to spell "CATRINESCU200" promo code!

by Vlad Catrinescu via Everyone's Blog Posts - SharePoint Community

What You Need to Know about SharePoint 2016's MinRole

MinRole allows you to define the purpose of the SharePoint server. By selecting a specific role, SharePoint automatically configures the services it needs and optimizes performance of the farm based on that topology.

read more

by via SharePoint Pro

Dynamic forms for SharePoint v4.350 is out!

Production release is out!

I have finally finished the production release of DFFS v4.350 and vLookup v2.250 after a long BETA test period. I have not had all that much feedback on the latest BETA, and this can either mean there were no bugs, or that not so many have tested it.

I hope it is the first!

What is new?

The change log will be updated as soon as I can manage, but here is a few vital changes.

The installation process for all but the JSLink version for SP2013 has changed since the last production release. You find information in the updated installation manual. The user manual has also been updated with most of the new features, but I still have some parts left.

If you find a feature you cannot figure out, please look in the forum to see if the question has already been answered. If you cannot find it there, please post a new topic in the forum.

If you don’t have a user account, you find information in the top of each forum.

New license handling

All existing license codes (except the JSLink version) must be updated to a new format to support this new release.

This means you must send me an email to request an updated license.

Site collection scoped licenses

All site collection scoped licenses requires a “Challenge-Response” routine to generate the license key.

Please note that a site collection scoped license can only be used with one site collection. If you need more, you must upgrade your license. Read more here.

JSLink setup option

You find the “Challenge code” generation in the “Setup” page you created in the SPJS library.

CEWP setup option

You find a “License” tab in the backend or DFFS. The license added here will affect all DFFS instances in the current site.

Important information

I try to maintain backwards compatibility with older versions, but I cannot guarantee that all old configurations will upgrade without issues.

Back up you configuration before upgrading

Please BACK UP your configuration first by going to the Misc tab and Export the configuration to a text file.

This way you can restore your previous version if something did not perform as expected.

Plugins

All the plugins used with DFFS is included in this package

Download

Get the package here

Installation

See installation manual and user manual.

Best regards,
Alexander

 

 

 

by Alexander Bautz via SharePoint JavaScripts

3 factors to consider for businesses using SharePoint

While SharePoint can be a godsend for many small businesses, lots of CEO’s and managing directors don’t fully understand it or put it to best use. Instead of using SharePoint to solve organisational headaches, many businesses are still relying on a spider web-style trail of spreadsheets and emails.

SharePoint can help manage the workflow of a variety of departments, but the ones where it can be most effective are often the ones whose staff cannot grasp the system and struggle with the technicalities. It’s worth making finding a solution for these people a priority, as without clear aims and focus any investment in SharePoint can be a wasted effort.

1.      Identify the problem

Even though it’s incredibly versatile, SharePoint isn’t an omnipotent fix for an entire office’s problems. Instead, it should be used to create solutions for specific areas that need improvement. As a first step to getting the most from SharePoint, a business must identify areas that have problems worth solving.

For projects, SharePoint should be used on areas that offer the biggest ROI and those that would benefit from automation. Look to implement the system in areas like:

• Project Management – collecting, collating and managing important documents such as project files or business notes. SharePoint excels at hosting and organising key documents.
• Finance – SharePoint is a great tool for managing expenses and other claim forms.
• Teamwork – For businesses, SharePoint can be used to create a shared workspace that helps maintain consistency, is easy to access and use and improves the experience for both staff and customers.
• Compliance – Workflow and document version control within SharePoint ensure that people adhere to procedures and best practices.

 2.      Plan the system before implementing

Due to the vast array of uses and applications SharePoint facilitates, it’s important to have a clear idea of what you’d like from it before you try to set it up. Make a sketch of the workflow, following the steps, gateways, data and documents as you go. There should be no guesswork in what you want from SharePoint.

Another key tip is looking at existing systems and repurposing them. If you’re trying to design a solution for handling customer enquiries or complaints, you could look at a system that is designed to manage non-conformity in manufacturing and find that the systems share 99% of the same DNA.

3.      Work with an experienced partner

Businesses that try to implement SharePoint without proper knowledge bring themselves headaches. It can also cause problems when they bring in actual SharePoint experts, who inevitably end up having to start from scratch rather than tackle poorly put together set-ups.

From the beginning, businesses should seek to work with a specialist SharePoint partner. Someone with experience of the system can work alongside company employees to build the perfect set-up. This eliminates the margin for error and ends up being both cost and time effective.

As we all know, SharePoint is designed to help businesses but can be extremely confusing for the uninitiated. If you work within a business or work with SharePoint and know some businesses that are floundering with the system, send them this article so they can have a read.

Properly implemented, SharePoint helps manage tasks and keep things running smoothly. A poor set-up can ruin the experience and cause users to curse the system. Make sure you take advantage of these tips and build the correct SharePoint solution.

 

 

 

by Tony Hughes via Everyone's Blog Posts - SharePoint Community

The ‘Three I’s’ of SharePoint

Every business can benefit from SharePoint. The utilitarian system has been adopted as the platform for hundreds of solutions for varying types of businesses, but is often misunderstood or misused. This is caused by a number of factors including sheer versatility of the system being overwhelming, which can make it hard to pin down relevant areas SharePoint can help with.

Even developers and SharePoint enthusiasts can confuse business owners by being too wrapped up in the technicalities and not taking time to de-mystify the system to non-tech orientated customers and clients. SharePoint is supposed to be about simplifying business life, not making it more complex.

In order to keep things simple, you first need to isolate the areas within the business that SharePoint may be implemented. HR, Quality control, office and document management, customer services, project management and more can all benefit from a well-executed system.

However, you need to also consider how to article the challenges faced within these business areas in order to formulate a clear and concise brief, with a project scope and specification that will highlight and plan the ways SharePoint can assist or even transform day-to-day operation.

Technology Services Group’s ‘Three I’s of SharePoint’ should be taken into consideration when constructing a brief.

Issues

Each department within a business has issues that need to be solved. An office carries with it a plethora of micro-management and preparation issues. Perhaps your office has an important document that needs prepared for meetings but is frequently misplaced or lost in a chain of emails. Alternatively it could be trying to ascertain which version of a business critical document is the latest one.  It could even be that software is only installed on a few PC’s but more people need its functionality.

Identifying these issues is a key part of SharePoint success.

Imagination

A good SharePoint solution means some creative thinking. Spend time looking at your business or your client’s business. Work out the solutions that are needed by thinking of how a perfect system would work – in an ideal world how would things run?

Look at other systems for inspiration and take what it needed. For example, you could use many of the same processes or workflows used by a customer complaints system in a quality control manufacturing application. The customer complaints system will record incidents and trigger events. The data can then be analysed or reported on automatically through its centralised location. In many respect, the ‘architecture’ of the system would essentially be the same as one needed for quality control.

Improvement

Any business must be continuously improved as it progresses. SharePoint should be used in conjunction with this growth and can support it via the likes of a site maintenance system that can help log tasks and allocate resources that continually changes as resources increase or change. The system could also be linked to training records to help notify and update staff with the latest techniques or health and safety guidelines.

These systems can be built without custom coding, using the standard features of SharePoint to deliver optimal solutions to corporate problems.

Ideally, you shouldn’t avoid custom code if it’s not needed as it’s time-consuming and inefficient – and can store up problems for the future. Lots of problems can be solved by SharePoint integration where the three I’s are considered. Design and deployed correctly it’s a great way to build efficient systems that can be flexibly used alongside ERP and CRM solutions but is sadly often misunderstood and misused. Take the right steps and create a useful, invaluable system.

by Tony Hughes via Everyone's Blog Posts - SharePoint Community

Are the Ramifications of In-place Office 365 External Sharing Easily Comprehendible?

 

The external sharing feature of Office 365 fosters the concept of being able to share a document with an external user from wherever the document “lives” in Office 365 SharePoint.   In other words, the feature-set does not natively encourage the separation of “Intranet content” and “Extranet content”.  I call this approach “in-place external sharing”. 

[FYI, I define Intranet content as documents, etc. that are only appropriate for internal employees to be able to access ( for example, a pre-launch product marketing strategy document).  I define Extranet content as documents, etc. that both internal employees AND external non-employees can have access to (for example, a post-launch product reseller fact sheet)].

For the average business user, is it really easily comprehendible that some documents in one of their Office 365 SharePoint document libraries are shared with external users and other documents in that same library are not? 

Isn’t there a lot of room for error here given the complexity of Office 365 SharePoint and the skill-level of the average business user?

We’ve been working with companies for many years now to help them deploy on-premises SharePoint-based extranets via our SharePoint Add-in software, Extranet Collaboration Manager.  The norm for almost all of our customers is to first create a new SharePoint web application just for Extranet usage and leave the existing Intranet web application and its existing permissions as-is.  This is the most secure and foolproof way to ensure that Intranet-only content does not get mistakenly shared with external business partners.

When companies set it up this way, it is very clear to the average business user where internal-use-only content is to live, and where extranet-approved content is supposed to live.  One lives in the Intranet site(s) and the other lives in the Extranet site(s).  Everybody knows this and understands.  Its a clear line of separation.

In Office 365 SharePoint, a similar approach is technically possible, by creating distinct sites that are intended for only Intranet or only Extranet usage, but it is certainly not fostered in any way by the service.  Its up to the subscriber to decide to take this approach and make it clear to their users.  I wonder how many subscribers think through it enough to actually set things up this way? 

Making it clear to the subscribers users would be much more challenging, I think, for one reason because the URLs to the different sites would not be different enough to help via a visual cue.  On-premises, a company’s Extranet URL might be something like extranet.company.com, while their Intranet URL might be something like portal.company.com, making it easy for users to tell the difference.  This is possible on-premises because a distinct URL can be assigned to each of the web applications in SharePoint and IIS.  That’s not possible in Office 365 SharePoint.

I see a lot of potential security nightmares for Office 365 subscribers that choose to make heavy use of the external sharing features.  They are certainly extremely easy to use for the average business user, but do they really comprehend the ramifications of what they are doing every time they do it?   And, is in-place external sharing really a good idea for a business?

by noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Cate) via SharePoint Solutions Blog

List all Access Request mail settings

The access request feature allows people to request access to content that they do not currently have permission to see. As a site owner, you can configure the feature to send you mail when someone requests access to a site. You can then choose whether to approve or decline their request. If you approve the request, you can also specify the specific level of permission you’d like to assign to a user.

However if your company have large amount of SharePoint web site it is very difficult to keep track whose e-mail address is configured to receive access requests.

This little script will help you list all access request configuration for one site collection:

# This script lists Access Request mail  for each site
Add-PSSnapin microsoft.sharepoint.powershell -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

$site = Get-SPSite (Read-Host "Please enter site url")
foreach ($web in $site.allwebs)
{
 $url = $web.url
 $access = $web.RequestAccessEmail
 write-output "Web site is: $url; Access Request Mail is: $access"
}

SiteAccessRequestMailList.ps1

by Krsto Savic via Everyone's Blog Posts - SharePoint Community

Is On-Premises SharePoint Fading Away?

Or is that just what they'd LIKE you to believe?

The conference pep rallies, the executive speeches, the official videos, the company line – to hear Microsoft tell it (publicly), you’d think that SharePoint on-premises was a thing of the past – gone the way of XP, Vista, etc., and replaced by Office 365 SharePoint online.

But is it? Is SharePoint on-premises really finished?

Even though Microsoft wants you to believe the future of software is completely “cloudy” (with everything running as SaaS in the cloud), several industry articles published in the last couple of weeks have infused a healthy dose of skepticism (and caution) into the mix. Maybe…just maybe…we’re not getting the WHOLE story.

According to Marketwired, a Sys-Con Media news service, the Radicati Group, a technology market research firm, has just published a study called, "Microsoft SharePoint Market Analysis, 2015-2019" which provides a detailed analysis of market adoption of SharePoint. According to the study, “Microsoft SharePoint continues to see strong market adoption across all verticals, and is projected to grow at an annual average growth rate of 20% over the next four years.”

The article continues, “While there is still some resistance from customers to adopt cloud-based solutions, adoption of cloud-based SharePoint Server solutions, including SharePoint Online and cloud-based SharePoint Server solutions…currently represent 26% of deployments.”

                                                NOW WAIT JUST A DOGGONE MINUTE HERE!

If SharePoint Online (Office 365) and cloud-based SharePoint deployments represent just 26% of all SharePoint deployments, then we have to suppose that the majority of the remaining 74% are on-premises SharePoint deployments. That’s quite a bit different than what we’ve been hearing, isn’t it?

Writing for CIO magazine, Jonathan Hassell states, “While it seems like almost every piece of IT is moving to the cloud these days, there are still plenty of reasons to keep SharePoint in your server room – where it belongs.”

He then cautions, “No matter how secure Microsoft or any other cloud provider claims it can make its hosted instances of SharePoint, there will always be that nagging feeling in the back of a paranoid administrator’s head: Our data now lives somewhere that is outside of my direct control. It’s an unavoidable truth, and from a security point of view, the cloud is just a fancy term for someone else’s computer.”

That last part is especially noteworthy:

                “…the cloud is just a fancy term for someone else’s computer.”

Hassell points out that should your data stored in the cloud ever become important to an FBI, DOJ, NSA, or other government agency’s investigation, “Microsoft may be forced to turn over a copy of your data without your knowledge.”

Just as much a cause for concern, if not more so, “Microsoft famously does not offer regular backup service of SharePoint, relying instead on mirror images and duplicate copies for fault tolerance, and it’s unclear how successful you’d be at operating on a copy of your data nor how long it would take to replicate that data into a new usable instance in the event of a seizure.”

Hassell then cites the limited programming (think workflow and content management) and customization options available in Office 365 SharePoint, noting that it doesn’t offer access to IIS and SharePoint application management features.

Additionally, due to the fact that Office 365 requires licenses and federated identities, and the fact that SharePoint on-premises will likely run on the resources and hardware your company already has on hand, companies may not see the huge cost reductions they’re led to believe will result from cloud-hosted SharePoint.

Hassell concludes his article by stating that while it may be useful to employ cloud hosting for email or file synchronization, “…there are enough reasons not to move SharePoint into the cloud for a variety of audiences and corporations big and small that [we] should see SharePoint on premises long after most everything else has been moved over to Somebody Else’s Computer™.”

Not everyone at Microsoft is throwing dirt on on-premises SharePoint’s grave. Christian Buckley, writing about the future of SharePoint in Redmond Magazine, points out, “…as Microsoft Office GM Julia White (@julwhite) mentioned in her keynote at the recent Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft recognizes that on-prem will be around for a long time…”

Well said, Ms. White, and thank you for this glimpse behind the curtain. We expect on-premises SharePoint to be around for a long time too.

Finally, the strongest indication that on-premises SharePoint is not fading away just yet is this: Microsoft has just released the SharePoint Server 2016 Technical Preview – the “beta” for the next generation of SharePoint on-premises software. Why go to all the trouble of releasing a new version if it is only going to evaporate immediately?

We strongly recommend that businesses think long and hard before jumping on the Office 365 bandwagon too quickly, and giving up control of their data and the ability to customize SharePoint to the greatest benefit of their organization.

by noreply@blogger.com (PremierPoint Solutions) via SharePoint Solutions Blog