Real World SharePoint 2007: Indispensable Experiences From 16 MOSS and WSS MVPs (Programmer to Programmer) [Paperback]

Robert Bogue (Author), Adam Buenz (Author), Andrew Connell (Author), Stacy Draper (Author), Luis Du Solier Grinda (Author), Todd Klindt (Author), Jason Medero (Author), Dustin Miller (Author), Shane Perran (Author), Joris Poelmans (Author), Heather Solomon (Author), Nick Swan (Author), Jan Tielens (Author), Mike Walsh (Author), Shane Young (Author), Scot Hillier (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Programmer to Programmer | Publication Date: August 20, 2007

Microsoft recognizes key individuals who contribute significantly to the community of technologists through the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award. These individuals are active authors, speakers, bloggers, and innovators. They are also skilled network engineers, developers, trainers, designers, and architects. In the SharePoint community, these MVPs are recognized for their expertise in either Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS).

This book represents the efforts of 16 MVPs in the SharePoint community to present core areas of SharePoint 2007 products and technologies seasoned with significant field experience. The idea behind the book is to lower the learning curve for the reader, while providing the insight necessary to avoid common missteps. This book is an extension of the work the authors have done in their own blogs, books, and presentations.

This book is for the community of SharePoint professionals. That means that architects, designers, developers, administrators, and engineers all will find something useful in its pages. As a reader, you will want to focus on chapters that appeal to your areas of expertise directly. Some of the chapters, for example, assume a strong programming background, whereas others are centered on administration or maintenance. All readers should have some prior experience with SharePoint 2007 products and technologies to get the most out of this book, although the book does include an introductory chapter for those who are just getting started. The authors generally assume a working knowledge of SharePoint in an effort to focus the discussion on implementation and best practices.

This book covers SharePoint 2007 products and technologies. Specifically, you will find topics relating to both WSS and MOSS. The topics were selected by SharePoint MVP and Editor Scot Hiller based on the authors' capabilities to represent a cross-section of the most important areas within SharePoint. Although the chapters have been arranged in a logical order, they are intended to stand alone as independent articles.

Specifically, here's what the book covers:

• Introduction to SharePoint by Mike Walsh: an overview of SharePoint

• Configuring Forms Based Authentication by Stacy Draper: different approaches to FBA, along with their strengths and weaknesses including some custom solutions to problems such as user and role management.

• Understanding SharePoint Administration by Todd Klindt: the basics (such as backup and recovery), more advanced topics (such as command-line utilities and tips), and techniques for managing site templates.

• Developing Publishing Sites the Smart and Structured Way by Andrew Connell: an alternative technique for developing Publishing sites within MOSS discusses development with the SharePoint Designer (SPD), but then challenges the conventional thinking with a new structured approach. Readers will learn new ways to ease the management and maintenance of Publishing sites.

• Using SharePoint Designer 2007 by Dustin Miller: This often-maligned tool can be a powerful part of your SharePoint toolkit.

• Customizing and Branding the SharePoint 2007 Interface by Shane Perran and Heather Solomon: One of the first tasks in any SharePoint project is branding the use interface. The reader will learn all of the different ways to customize the look and feel of SharePoint using master pages, style sheets, and graphics.

• Understanding Web Parts by Jan Tielens: walks the reader through the creation and deployment of Web Parts. Readers should have a strong C# programming background.

• Creating Workflows in WSS by Robert Bogue: Readers will learn how to create custom workflows and forms for deployment in WSS including many tips and tricks from actual field experience. Readers should have a strong C# programming background.

• Creating Workflow in SharePoint Server 2007 by Joris Poelmans: The big difference between WSS and MOSS workflows is the ability to use InfoPath forms. This has extensive coverage of InfoPath forms and how to use them with MOSS workflows.

• Using the Business Data Catalog by Nick Swan: The Business Data Catalog (BDC) is used to allow MOSS to access line-of-business databases. Includes tips to make the development process easier. Readers should be familiar with XML.

• Using Excel Services by Luis Du Solier Grinda: Excel Services is used to allow MOSS to present spreadsheet data to end users through a browser. This technology is a foundational element in the development of dashboards in the SharePoint Report Center.

• Securing SharePoint Communication by Adam Buenz: Readers will learn to implement Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), Kerberos security, and how to use the Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server.

• Using Information Rights Management by Jason Medero: setting up IRM and using it with SharePoint libraries to restrict document functionality (such as printing and attaching) so sensitive information does not leave an organization.

• Upgrading from SPS 2003 to MOSS 2007 Using the Gradual Method by Shane Young: One of the biggest trends in the SharePoint community is upgrading from SharePoint Portal Server 2003 (SPS 2003) to MOSS. This examines all of the different upgrade approaches, and then walks the reader through the gradual method for upgrading. Contains a wealth of field experience learned from performing many upgrades.

This book is also available as part of the 4-book SharePoint 2007 Wrox Box (ISBN: 0470431946) with these 4 books:

• Professional SharePoint 2007 Development (ISBN: 0470117567)
• Real World SharePoint 2007 (ISBN: 0470168358)
• Professional Microsoft SharePoint 2007 Design (ISBN: 047028580X)
• Professional SharePoint 2007 Web Content Management Development (ISBN: 0470224754)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Written by the most well-known SharePoint experts in the field, this book arms you with in-depth information on the critical areas within the platform. Sixteen Microsoft MVPs guide you through SharePoint 2007's products and technologies, focusing on topics related to both WSS and MOSS. The authors share their unique knowledge and experience on the specific parts of SharePoint that they know best.

Covering the full breadth and depth of SharePoint, you'll learn everything from how to configure forms-based authentication and administer a SharePoint site to developing a publishing site within MOSS and building workflow solutions. You'll find different approaches to site design and corporate site branding using SharePoint Designer 2007 or using CSS depending on your needs. You'll see advanced development scenarios using Excel Services for reports and advanced administrative functions for securing SharePoint communication. All of this will help you develop a dynamic SharePoint site that meets the needs of your company.

What you will learn from this book

• The strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches to SharePoint authentication

• How to keep your SharePoint farm healthy including the essential command utilities you'll depend on

• A structured approach to developing SharePoint sites that eases management and maintenance

• Web Part development with C#

• Creating Workflows with either WSS or MOSS including InfoPath® forms with MOSS

• Developing applications with the Business Data Catalog, Excel® Services, and Information Rights Management

• The different approaches to a SPS 2003 to MOSS 2007 upgrade emphasizing the gradual method

Who this book is for

This book is for experienced .NET developers, Office (VBA) developers, and IT professionals developing and implementing SharePoint solutions.

About the Author

Scot Hillier is an independent consultant and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) focused on creating solutions for Information Workers with SharePoint, Office, and related .NET technologies. He is the author of ten books on Microsoft technologies, including Microsoft SharePoint: Building Office 2007 Solutions in C# 2005 (Berkeley: Apress, 2007). When not writing about technology, he can be found presenting at industry conferences such as Microsoft TechEd and SharePoint Connections. Hillier is a former U. S. Navy submarine officer and graduate of the Virginia Military Institute. He can be reached at [e-mail].

Robert Bogue, MCSE (NT4/W2K), MCSA:Security, A+, Network+, Server+, I-Net+, IT Project+, E-Biz+, CDIA+, is the president of Thor Projects LLC, which provides SharePoint consulting services to clients around the country. He has contributed to more than 100 book projects and numerous other publishing projects. He was recently honored to become a Microsoft MVP for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. Before that, he was a Microsoft Commerce Server MVP, and before that, a Microsoft Windows Servers-Networking MVP. He blogs at http://www.thorprojects.com/blog. You can reach Robert at [e-mail].

Adam Robert Buenz is a SharePoint Architect and Developer for ARB Security Solutions, LLC (sharepointsecurity.com). He focuses on security-centric collaboration environments that build off the SharePoint and .NET Framework. Focusing heavily on the security of SharePoint, along with integration of sister Microsoft platforms into SharePoint (such as ForeFront, ISA, MIIS, and DPM), he has developed against several of the largest health care, financial, and federal implementations of SharePoint within the United States. He is co-author of Professional SharePoint 2007 Development (Indianapolis: Wiley, 2007) and co-author of 7 Microsoft® Office Business Applications for Office SharePoint® Server 2007 (Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press, 2007). He lives wherever he is contracted, and can be contacted at [e-mail].

Andrew Connell is an independent consultant, instructor, and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server MVP with a focus on Web Content Management. He has authored and co-authored numerous books on the subjects of Microsoft Content Management Server and SharePoint, including the first published books on the latest release Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) v3 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007. Connell has spoken on the subject of Office SharePoint Server 2007 development and Web Content Management at various community events in the southeast United States, as well as national conferences such as TechEd, SharePoint Connections, VSLive, and the Microsoft SharePoint Conference. You can reach him at [e-mail] or subscribe to his popular SharePoint and Web Content Management focused blog at http://www.andrewconnell.com/blog. He would like to thank his wife, Meredith, for the support and encouragement in all his efforts; his son, Steven, who’s always there to put things in perspective (as well as put a smile on his face); and the other SharePoint MVPs who make up the most incredible and diverse group of talented professionals that he has been privileged to be a part of.

Stacy Draper is 37 years old, married, founder of Wild Wires, LLC (a consulting firm based in South Florida), author, and member of PMI. He holds an MCSD certification and MVP award. Being involved with Web development since 1993 has led his life in a very interesting direction. He started out in UNIX and, since 1997, has had a strong concentration in Microsoft technologies. Draper enjoys public speaking and has spoken at conferences, code camps, and user groups. Draper would like to dedicate his contribution to this book to his wife, who is his driving force, and his little bundle of joy, Alicia.

Luis Du Solier Grinda is a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server MVP. He worked a few years ago in one of the top Business Schools in Mexico City (IPADE) as a System Administrator, as well as designing and implementing the corporate SharePoint intranet for the company. After he became an IW and Collaboration expert, he joined one of the best Microsoft Certified Partners in Mexico City (PlexIT Consulting). Since then, he’s been working on many projects designing, creating, and implementing collaborative solutions related to the Microsoft Collaboration platform, SharePoint Products and Technologies. He has provided new technology solutions based on SharePoint and Office platforms for many companies. He also helped to manage the User Group from his country, and writes several blogs (English—http://www.sharepointblogs.com/ldusolier; and Spanish—http://sharepointmx.mvps.org/blogs/ldusolier, http://geeks.ms/blogs/ldusolier).

Todd Klindt is an IT Professional working mainly with SharePoint technologies. He currently works at UGS and maintains their internal SharePoint deployment. He has been in the IT field for more than ten years, getting his MCSE in 1996. He has written for Windows IT Pro and TechNet magazines, as well as serving as a presenter at TechEd. Klindt lives in Ames, Iowa, with his lovely wife Jill. You can visit his Web page at http://www.toddklindt.com, or email him at [e-mail].

Jason Medero, MCP, MCT, MVP (WSS) is a systems architect with a concentration in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and its related Microsoft technologies. He is an employee of B&R Business Solutions, a central New Jersey–based firm specializing in SharePoint and surrounding technologies, infrastructure, real-time communication, and application development. He is an active member of the SharePoint community, contributing as a mentor for both the SharePoint Portal Server (SPS) and Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) forums on MSD2D.com, along with many other popular forums. He would like to dedicate his contributions to this book to his family, colleagues, and soul mate, Kate.

Dustin Miller is the President and owner of SharePoint Experts (www.sharepointexperts.com), a leading provider of SharePoint Products and Technologies Training. He authored the first course devoted to SharePoint development and customization, the SharePoint Bootcamp (www.sharepointbootcamp.com), and also maintains two popular SharePoint Community sites, SharePoint University (www.sharepointu.com) and SharePoint Blogs (www.sharepointblogs.com). He lives in the Chicago suburbs with his wife, his son, and his white German shepherd dog. He would like to thank his wife, Julie, for her support and confidence during his crazy-busy work days and hectic travel schedule, and his son, Graham, for his uncanny ability to sniff his feet whenever Dad most needed a laugh.

Shane Perran is a Microsoft MVP for Windows SharePoint Services living in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He has been designing online user experiences for more than a decade. His strong passion for visual presentation, Web standards, and usability has paved the way for a successful transition into the SharePoint Products and Technologies world, where he has become well-known in the SharePoint customization space over the past five years. Perran’s SharePoint Customization blog (http://www.graphicalwonder.com) is a popular stop for customization experts across the globe. He would like to say thanks to his family for their constant support and encouragement, especially his fiancé, Amanda, for her patience and late-night proofreading. He would also like to thank his friends and calming voices of JC, BD, RC, and WN.

Joris Poelmans has more than seven years of experience with Microsoft development. He works at Dolmen (www.dolmen.be), a Belgian IT services company and Microsoft Gold Partner. His main competence area is Information Worker solutions, where he currently focuses on the SharePoint Products and Technologies platform. In October 2005, he was awarded with the Microsoft MVP award for Windows SharePoint Services. He is also one of the founding members of Belux Information Worker User Group (BIWUG at http://www.biwug.be). He regularly posts some SharePoint stuff on his blog at http://jopx.blogspot.com.

Heather Solomon is a Web designer with more than ten years of experience designing and deploying online applications and sites. Specializing in SharePoint branding, layout, and usability, she has extensive experience with SharePoint technologies and Web Content Management. Currently, Solomon works delivering training, branding, and consulting services to help corporations maximize SharePoint’s potential through her company, Solomon Creative. She is active in the SharePoint community, speaks at community events and conferences, is a contributing author to books and publications, and is active on her blog at www.HeatherSolomon.com/Blog. She would like to thank her family for their love and support. She says that words can’t describe the enrichment they bring to her life. She is also grateful for the chance to be involved in the SharePoint community. Being a part of this group has been one of the more unique experiences in her life.

Nick Swan is a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server MVP who has been developing with Microsoftbased technologies for seven years since completing Software Engineering in college. Having become interested in developing on top of SharePoint, he decided to start the SharePoint User Group UK (http://www.suguk.org). His particular focus recently has been the Business Data Catalog (BDC), which has led to the development of the application BDC Meta Man (http://www.bdcmetaman.com). You can visit his blog, SharePointNick.com, at http://www.sharepointnick.com.

Jan Tielens is currently working for the Belgian company U2U (http://www.u2u.be), which delivers developer-oriented courses focusing on Microsoft technology all around the world. His areas of expertise are Microsoft BizTalk Server, ASP.NET, and especially Information Worker technologies, including SharePoint. He became an MVP for Microso...

Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: Wrox; 1 edition (August 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470168358
• ISBN-13: 978-0470168356
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #590,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SharePoint Administrators - Buy this book!, August 29, 2007

By 

Andrew Velez (Southern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Real World SharePoint 2007: Indispensable Experiences From 16 MOSS and WSS MVPs (Programmer to Programmer) (Paperback)

A better title for this book would be "Everything You Wanted to Know About SharePoint But Were Afraid to Ask (or Google Couldn't Tell You). If you are a SharePoint administrator, and you want to do something that slightly deviates from the out of the box installation of WSS 3.0 or MOSS, then you definately should buy this book. I own 6 WSS 3.0 books and by far this one is the best. Other books tell you "you can do x advanced feature;" this book says "this is how you implement and use x advanced feature." Among other things it will teach you setting up form authentication, an in-depth look into STSADM, using Excel Services, Business Data Catalogs, and how (and why) to use SharePoint Designer. This book isn't for people just starting off with SharePoint, and I would still recommend another resource for the mundane type questions. However, if you want to really know how to maximize your SharePoint implementation, this book is definately for you.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Next best thing to having a Sharepoint MVP on the payroll, October 4, 2007

By 

Michael R. Groh "dad" (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Real World SharePoint 2007: Indispensable Experiences From 16 MOSS and WSS MVPs (Programmer to Programmer) (Paperback)

Just got my copy of "Real World Sharepoint 2007", and I'm really glad it's here. I've been tasked with converting an old Outlook application (written in VB6) to Sharepoint 2007 and was having a lot of trouble getting a grasp on the process of building a brand-new Sharepoint site. This book really helped bring things into focus.

I like the fact that this isn't a 7-pound doorstop book. Each chapter is to the point, and covers its topic with enough detail to keep me going. I'm getting my questions answered without spending hours searching the internet for bad or misleading information or having to wade though pages and pages of irrelevant fluff.

Normally I shy away from "ensemble" books with multiple authors. Too often the writing and coverage varies from chapter to chapter, and I come away feeling cheated on topics that weren't adequately covered. Fortunately, these guys avoided that trap. Each contributor took on a topic near and dear to him, and they've all done a great job of assembling an excellent Sharepoint reference. There are things in this book that I haven't seen anyplace else, and it's been a big help in my work.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book with practical advice, October 8, 2007

By 

Darvish Shadravan "bigd" (Des Moines, Iowa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Real World SharePoint 2007: Indispensable Experiences From 16 MOSS and WSS MVPs (Programmer to Programmer) (Paperback)

As the title indicates, this book has a lot of great information that you can put to work as you deploy SharePoint 2007. I like the way each chapter represents a discrete topic so that you can pull the book out when you need to accomplish a specific task and easily find the guidance you need.

Unlike some other books, this one is not just filled with info you can find in the product documentation. The MVP's that wrote the book provide advice that appears to come from actually doing real implementations. My only nitpick is that I wish there was a full chapter dedicated to InfoPath and Forms Services, but there are other books for that topic.

Definitely worth the investment for SharePoint admins or anyone else that needs details and directions to accomplish specific functionality with SharePoint. Also a handy reference for SharePoint developers that don't have any experience with the newer features of 2007 (BDC, Excel Services, etc).