Sharepoint Online From Scratch - Peter Kalmstrom PDF
Sharepoint Online From Scratch - Peter Kalmstrom PDF
Sharepoint Online From Scratch - Peter Kalmstrom PDF
2.1.1 Apps
The word ”app” is used widely and with different meanings, but in Office 365 an app is
generally a web based application that is run in a web browser like Internet Explorer,
Google Chrome or Firefox. Office 365 comes with various apps, and when you build your
SharePoint platform, you will use templates to create your own apps for various purposes.
2.2 SET UP AN OFFICE 365 TRIAL
Office 365 has several different subscription plans, but I recommend the Office 365
Enterprise E3. The steps below refer to that plan, but the process is similar for other plans.
Office 365 is a web-based platform, so you need to start in a web browser.
1. Type the web address Office.com in the address bar.
2. On the Office Online page, click on ‘See all Office options’.
3. A home window will open. Click on ‘See options for business’.
4. A business window will open. Select the ‘See plans & pricing’ option.
5. For the Enterprise plan, go to ‘See more plans & pricing’.
6. Under the Enterprise tab, you will find the Office 365 Enterprise E3 option.
7. Click on ‘Learn more’ and go to the free trial.
8. Fill out the entries in Step 1-3.
9. Click on ‘Create my account’.
When the account has been created, click on ‘You’re ready to go’. Now you can use
Office 365 for free and try it. When the evaluation period is finished, you need to
subscribe to Office 365 to continue using it.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/Office-365-Course/Setting-up-Office-365.htm
2.3 SIGN IN TO OFFICE 365
When you have created an account, you need to sign in to Office 365. These are the steps.
1. Open a web browser.
2. Type the web address Office.com in the address bar.
3. In the top right corner of the page, click on the ‘Sign in’ button. A Sign in wizard will
open.
4. Type the e-mail address of the account. (Note that you have to type the correct address,
otherwise you will be redirected to the wrong login page.)
5. Click on the ‘Next’ button.
6. The Office 365 login page will open. Enter your password.
When you have been signed in, the Office 365 home window will open, and you can start
working with Office 365.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/Office-365-Course/Signing-into-Office-365.htm
The heading ‘Office 365’ takes you back to the Office 365 start page.
Here you can find an icon for alerts from Microsoft regarding your Office 365 tenant and
subscription.
The gear icon is for your personal Office 365 settings. Here you can for example change
the Office 365 theme, set another start page than the default one and select which
notifications you want to see in your Office 365 navigation bar.
The language of Office 365 will automatically be set to the same as in the regional settings
of your computer, but if you want to change the language of your Office 365, you can do
that too in the settings.
In the Office 365 settings, you can also change your login password.
Under the question mark icon, you can find Help, Community, Legal and Privacy links.
The icon far to the right is meant to be replaced with your photo. Click on this icon to add
another image. Under this icon, you can reach and add more information about yourself
and your account, and here you should sign out when you want to leave Office 345.
Tips:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/Office-365-Course/Office-365-Navigation-Bar.htm
2.5 ADD USERS
Each user of Office 365 has his/her own account in the organization’s tenant, and to create
such accounts you need to be an Office 365 administrator. The user accounts can be added
one by one or in a bulk.
3. In the window that opens, select ‘Download a blank CSV file’. This file has headings
but no other data.
4. Open the CSV file and enter your information.
5. Make sure that your CSV-file actually has commas and not some other deliminator. You
can for example save the CSV file and open it in Notepad to check that the deliminator is a
comma. Replace any other deliminator with a comma and save the file again.
6. Go back to Office 365 and upload the CSV file.
7. Click on Next and follow the instruction on the screen to create the user accounts.
If you have the user details in an Excel file or another file with a grid, put it side by side
with the CSV file by using the Windows key + the right/left arrow key. Then you can copy
the information in the Excel file column by column and paste it into the CSV file under
suitable headings.
Each user also needs a user name. In Excel you can create all of them with a formula:
=lower(B2)&”@DOMAIN”, where B2 is the first name of the user and DOMAIN is the
domain of your Office365 tenant.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/Office-365-Course/Import-Users-CSV.htm
2.6 SUMMARY
Now you have set up your Office 365 tenant, added users to it and understood how you
can navigate among the apps. It is time to start using SharePoint!
3 GET STARTED WITH SHAREPOINT ONLINE
In this chapter we will look at how SharePoint is built and how you can move around
among sites and apps. I will also describe the SharePoint permission system, so that users
from start can be given access to what they need and information can be hidden from users
who don’t need it.
In this section I will describe:
How to share information in SharePoint
The outline of the SharePoint architecture
Different kinds of pages and how to create a page
How to reach the SharePoint admin center
The difference between sites and site collections and how to create both
How a SharePoint site collection for a team is built
Where each user can find his/her sites and how you can follow and promote sites
The SharePoint navigation and how you can modify it
Permissions, security groups and permission inheritance
How to enable Information Rights Management for the tenant, a site or a document
library
3.1 SHARING
One of the most important reasons for using SharePoint is that you want to share
information within a company or organization. These are the most common sharing
methods:
Create a new document directly in SharePoint, or upload an existing document to the
SharePoint site.
Add info to a SharePoint list, for example a team tasks list or a team calendar.
Use the Newsfeed on the home page of the SharePoint team site. Create a new entry,
like or reply to an existing entry or upload an image or even tag someone.
Add or edit SharePoint pages. You can fill your pages with text, images, links or videos
and insert tables, app parts and web parts.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Share-Info-In-SharePoint.htm
3.2 ARCHITECTURE
SharePoint is built as a hierarchy, where the highest level is the SharePoint tenant,
followed by site collections and the lowest level is the list item. Each site collection can
have all the lower levels, and things like permissions, navigation and themes can be
inherited from higher to lower levels. We will look at the different levels from the bottom
and up, from the content to the container.
3.2.1 Apps
SharePoint Apps are always contained within a site. They can be of three different types:
Lists. A list is very much like a database or Excel table. It contains items such as
appointments in a calendar list, contacts in a contact list or tasks in a tasks list. You can
also create your own custom list such as a Cost Center list. Each list has many settings,
such as which columns, views and permissions should be used on that list.
Document libraries. A library can do almost everything that a list can do and it has most
of the same settings and features. The main difference is what they contain. Lists contain
items, while libraries contain files. Refer to SharePoint Libraries.
Other apps. These can look and behave in a wide range of ways. Your organization can
purchase or build them, and they are out of scope for this book. When I talk about apps, I
refer to lists or libraries and not to other apps.
Lists – included libraries and calendars – use columns to characterize the content with
metadata and keywords. The columns can be filtered in various ways, and the lists
themselves have views that display the content from different angles. You will find much
more information about this in the chapter SharePoint Apps.
You can also create a new site from The Sites Page, refer to Create a Subsite.
When you create a new site, there are different kinds of site templates to select from.
You can set the Permissions to be inherited or unique, and there are choices for the
Navigation.
At the bottom of the left panel in the Office 365 Admin Center, you can find the link to the
SharePoint Admin Center.
In the SharePoint admin center, you can see all the tenant’s site collections. Even the first
time you visit the SharePoint admin center, it has some links to site collections that are
created automatically when SharePoint is installed.
The link with the same name as your tenant domain + sharepoint.com (for example
https://kalmstromnet.sharepoint.com) is the default site collection.
Once you have found your way to the SharePoint Admin Center it is a good idea to
bookmark it in your web browser, as you will most likely want to come back here often.
It might take up to 15 minutes for SharePoint to create the new site collection, but usually
it is much quicker.
In the creation process, SharePoint creates a root site for the site collection, with the URL
https://[tenant].sharepoint.com/sites/[site collection name]. The site collection created in
the image above gets the root site URL
https://kalmstromnet.sharepoint.com/sites/Example/
SharePoint also creates the default document libraries, among them the Documents, Site
Assets and Site Pages libraries. Your choice of site template decides which default apps
are included in the top site of your new site collection and which features are enabled by
default.
From the root site, you can create new subsites, pages, libraries and lists, and they will all
belong to the same site collection and their URLs will all begin in the same way.
By default everything in a site collection also share the same permissions, because if you
don’t break the inheritance, lower levels, like lists/libraries and items/documents, inherit
the same permissions as the higher level. Refer to Permissions.
One tenant can have from a few up to 500 000 site collections. I recommend that you have
many, instead of gathering too much data in the same site collection.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Create-A-New-Site-
Collection.htm
3.3 TEAM SITE
The team site is intended for work group collaboration, and it is the most often used type
of SharePoint site.
1. The Office 365 section is the same as you find in most Office 365 apps; refer to The
Office 365 Navigation Bar. There is however an important difference for the SharePoint
administrator, because the settings gear has many options for managing and modifying the
SharePoint site. Ordinary users with Edit permissions on the site can also add new apps
and pages from under that gear.
2. The SharePoint ribbon has various controls under the tabs. As always with the Office
ribbon, the tabs and controls within those tabs vary depending on what you have selected
and which object you are working with. The image below shows the controls under the
PAGE tab.
3. The Top Navigation usually shows links to sites within the same site collection.
4. The Quick Launch usually shows links to apps within the current site.
5. The SHARE command is used to share sites. As the team site by default is shared by all
the tenant’s user accounts it is not often used, but other sites also have the same SHARE
command.
6. Each user can use the FOLLOW command to Follow Sites. The user can find all
followed sites in The Sites Page.
7. The EDIT command opens SharePoint Wiki Pages in edit mode, so that you can
customize them. When a page is open in edit mode the EDIT command is replaced by a
SAVE command.
8. The Focus on Content command shows the page without the navigation parts. Click on
the icon again to show the navigation.
9. The Search field is used for Global Search in SharePoint. By default, the current site is
searched, but the search can be filtered or you can search in all content of the tenant; refer
to Search.
10. The Get Started tiles give links that may be important when you are new to
SharePoint. These tiles are often removed after a while, when the team site should be
customized. They are easy to remove by clicking on REMOVE THIS. You can also create
your own link tiles; refer to Promoted Links.
11. The Newsfeed is intended for sharing information and ideas among the people who
use the team site. Each user can define personal Newsfeed settings in his/her profile. Also
refer to Add Links to a Newsfeed.
12. SharePoint stores different kinds of files in document libraries, but the content of those
libraries can also be displayed in a page by using an app part. The default page of your site
(called Home.aspx) contains a web part part that displays the files contained in the
Documents library. Here you can create new files, upload exiting ones and search among
the files.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/Office-365-Course/Start-With-SharePoint.htm
When a user clicks on the Sites button in Office 365 he/she is directed to a kind of
SharePoint Favorites page. Here each SharePoint user can find links to SharePoint sites he
or she has decided to follow, sites promoted by the organization and suggestions for sites
to follow (sites followed by colleagues).
The SharePoint admin can manage the promoted sites and create new sites from the Sites
page.
To stop following a site, click on the ellipsis to the right of the site icon in the Sites page
and select Stop following.
3.4.2 Promoted Sites
The sites on top of each Sites page are called promoted sites, and they are displayed as
tiles that the SharePoint administrator can customize. Click on ‘Manage’ to add your own
tile or customize an existing tile by changing the title, description or background image of
the tile. The image must be available in Site Assets or elsewhere in the tenant, and the
ideal size is 150x150 pixels.
The team site that is created automatically when SharePoint is set up, is promoted by
default. SharePoint administrators can also promote other important sites, or link directly
to particular content within a site such as an app, a particular item within an app or even
content outside of your SharePoint Online tenant.
1. Copy the link to the site, page etc. that you want to promote.
2. In your Sites page, click on ‘Manage’ and then on ‘Add a promoted site’.
3. Paste the link you copied and add a title, description and background image.
4. Stop the editing.
To have more navigation options in the site collection; refer to Navigation with SharePoint
Server Publishing Infrastructure.
If you want to try this, be prepared that you might need to try several times before you get
the dropped link to stay under the heading. I have found it especially difficult in Internet
Explorer!
It is easier to create headings in the Navigation Settings page, which is available when the
SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure has been activated for the site collection; refer
to Create a Mega Menu.
4. When you click on the new Navigation link, you will have more navigation options than
before you enabled the SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure. The box below is
included in the new Navigation settings page.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/SharePoint-Navigation.htm
Also refer to the chapter SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure. It will give you
much more info about this feature.
Another way to navigate is to use the SharePoint Search; refer to Share Navigation, about
navigation between site collections.
3.6 PERMISSIONS
SharePoint permissions are very easy to use if you accept the default settings. That can
work for a small team, but if you want to have more control over what users can see and
do, SharePoint permissions get more complex. However, when you understand how the
SharePoint permissions work, you can also take advantage of the benefits they give.
In the Permission Levels page, you can see what the different levels give users permission
to do. It is possible to edit these levels, but I recommend you to not do that. It is safer to
create your own Custom Permission Levels. You can also remove levels on this page, but
think twice before you do that, and test three times in a non-production site collection!
3.6.2 Inheritance
SharePoint sites, apps and so on, beneath the site collection root site level, by default
inherit the same permissions as the higher level. This means that sites inherit the same
permissions as the site collection, the lists inherit the site permissions and the items inherit
the list permissions.
Therefore users who have Edit permission on a site by default also have Edit permission
on all lists in that site, and they even have Edit permission on all items in each list – if you
don’t Break the Inheritance!
When you check the radio button for unique permissions a permissions page is displayed:
When you create an app or a page there is no such choice. Instead you have to open the
app or page and stop the inheritance.
To stop existing permission inheritance, find the Shared With command and open the
advanced settings. For libraries, you can find it under the LIBRARY tab in the ribbon.
To stop the inheritance of files and list items, click on the ellipses and find Shared With
under Advanced.
In both cases, click on ADVANCED to reach the page where you can stop inheriting.
Click on Stop Inheriting Permissions.
Now the ribbon will change, so that you can grant new permissions.
Click on ‘Delete unique permissions’ if you want to go back to the inherited permission
levels. Note that a page is also a file and an item, so if you have a page that you want to
assign unique permissions to, you would follow the same steps as above.
Demos:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/SharePoint-Permissions.htm
3.7 INFORMATION RIGHTS MANAGEMENT
Files and e-mails are often the weakest security points in an organization’s security
system. When documents without any inside protection are sent as e-mail attachments or
shared on memory sticks, they are accessible to agreessors. In the same way e-mails
without protection can be forwarded outside the organization and constitute a risk. That is
why you need Information Rights Management, or IRM.
If you enable IRM in Office 365, you can limit the actions users will be allowed to take on
as well e-mails as files that have been downloaded from SharePoint libraries. The IRM
settings can for example allow users to read files but not print or copy them.
IRM is an important Office 365 selling point, because it is much easier to implement IRM
on Office 365 than it is for on-premise installations. Here I will explain how to enable
basic IRM for Office 365 and how to enable IRM in a SharePoint document library.
You can also reach the list settings from the Site Contents. Click on the ellipsis at the list
you want to use, and a SETTINGS link will be displayed.
The settings pages are a bit different depending on app type, but all give many options on
how to customize the list.
4.3 SEARCH
SharePoint gives several ways to search among all or part of the content in site collections,
sites or lists. Here we will look at the two search fields.
SharePoint lists and libraries have two different Search fields, for local and global search.
The calendar and survey lists only have the global search. When you use the SharePoint
Search, the results are trimmed by permissions. Therefore each user will only see results
that he or she is allowed to open.
When you use the global search with the options Everything, People and Conversations,
the search engine goes through the whole SharePoint tenant, and the results are shown in a
Search Center page for the tenant. By default, the Search Center has the URL
<host_name>/search/.
When you use the global search with the default option, This Site, the search results will
be shown on a search results page for the current site.
Learn more on how you can take advantage of the SharePoint Search in the Enhance the
SharePoint Search section.
4.4 ADD AN APP
Use the ‘add an app’ command when you want to create a new app. SharePoint Online
offers many templates that you can base a new app on, but you can also create your own
templates; refer to Save the List as a Template.
Each new app will be placed inside the SharePoint site where you create it.
1. Open the settings gear and select Add an app.
You can also open the Site Contents library from the Quick Launch or Settings gear and
click on ‘add an app’.
3. Find the list app that is most similar to the list you want to create, or select the Custom
List. Click on the icon to create the new app.
4. Give the list a name and click on Create. If you click on the Advanced Options link,
you will reach a few more settings.
4.5 VIEW DISPLAY MODES
Lists and libraries can be displayed in Standard or Quick Edit mode. The view display
mode is changed under the LIST or LIBRARY tab. As the View button is greyed out on
the image below, we can understand that this screenshot is taken from a list in Standard
view mode.
The Quick Edit button is greyed out when the list is shown in Quick Edit mode or when it
is not possible to switch to the Edit more for some other reason.
Calendars have no edit option in the calendar views, but you can create new
Datasheet/Edit views in a calendar list too.
4.5.1 Standard
The Standard view display mode has a button for creating new items.
Each item has an ellipsis (…) and if you click on it, you can see options on what to do
with the item. In lists, the dropdown is displayed when you either left or right click on the
ellipsis.
In libraries, the option dropdown is displayed at right click. If you left click on the ellipsis,
you will see information about the file.
The information window also has an ellipsis, which give the same options dropdown as
left click on the ellipsis to the right of the file name.
For list items, you can also right click on the ellipsis at the item you want to edit and select
Properties, or open the whole list in edit mode and change cell values.
You can also right click on the ellipsis at the file and select Properties.
4.8 COLUMNS
The information in each list item is kept in different kinds of columns. There are many
types of columns, and they work in different ways. The default column type is Single line
of text, but when you create or edit a column, you can select other options:
The columns are generally the same for each item in the list (unless you use several
content types; refer to Create a Content Type Form), even if each column does not have to
be filled out for each item.
When you use the list item form to enter the data, the columns are displayed as fields.
Therefore SharePoint list columns are also called fields. The information in the list
columns is often referred to as metadata.
I recommend you to use site columns as much as possible. Indexed columns can be
valuable for very large lists, with more than 5000 items, but I advise you to instead archive
items or split lists and don’t let them grow that big.
2. Open the list in Quick Edit mode and click on the plus sign. You can select the most
common column types right away, but if you select More Column Types, you will be
directed to the Create Column page.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com//Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Categorization-Columns.htm
When you open the Site columns page and click on the Create button, you will find the
same kind of choices as when you create a list column.
In the Standard mode, you can filter by more than one value.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com//Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Categorization-Column-
Filtering.htm
Learn more about columns:
Columns and Metadata
Rate files in document libraries
Enterprise Keywords
Required Column Values
Default column values
Term Store
Add Columns for Date, Choice and Currency
4.9 VIEWS
All lists can show the information in different views. A list view is a permanent filter, as
opposed to a filtered column. Each view is a separate .aspx page that can be linked to,
opened in a new tab, customized and so on.
The default view, created by SharePoint, is called “All Items” in lists, “All Documents” in
libraries and “All Events” in calendars. The All Events view can be shown as Day, Week
and Month. These are basic views that show all items or files.
There are two kinds of views: personal and public. The personal view is only shown to the
person who creates the view, while public views are shown to all users. The public view is
the default and the one we are referring to here below.
You can see a maximum of three views above the items in a list or library. The rest are
hidden under the ellipsis, where you also can find the links to modify the view or create a
new view.
I recommend you to create new views and arrange data in ways that suit your
organization, and when doing this you should combine meaningful views with the use of
columns for relevant metadata. This way the information can be sliced and diced in many
ways, and your SharePoint apps will be very informative.
When you have many views for a list or library, you can create a Views Landing Page.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/View-Intro.htm
Click on the Modify View button under the LIBRARY/LIST/CALENDAR tab.
Click on the view name in the list of existing views in the List Settings.
Click on the Create View button under the LIBRARY/LIST/CALENDAR tab.
Click on the Create view link in the List Settings under the list of existing views.
Whichever method you use, you will come to the View Type page, where you can select
what kind of list or library to create. (You can also start from an existing view and modify
it.)
When you have selected the Standard, Datasheet or Gantt View you will have the View
Options shown above. The Calendar View opens a page with different options and the
Access and SharePoint Designer Views open Access or SharePoint Designer.
If you check this box for another view, it will become default instead. If you just uncheck
the box in the default view, the All documents or All items view will become default as it
was from the beginning.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/View-Default.htm
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/View-Grouped.htm
4.9.4 Totals
The Totals feature can be used to summarize the values in a column. The SharePoint
Totals can also calculate other values for number columns, like average, maximum and
minimum. The result of the calculation is shown on top of the column that is calculated. It
is however not shown in the Quick Edit mode.
You can also use the Totals feature to count the number of items in columns of all types.
Scroll down to Totals in the Create/Edit View page and click on the plus sign. Select the
value you want to calculate from the dropdown to the right of the column that should have
the Totals.
In the image below, the average of the Amount column should be calculated.
Note that the totals feature does not work in the same way on all types of columns. It
works best on number and currency columns, somewhat less on text-based columns and
not at all on calculated columns.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com//Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/View-Total.htm
In lists and libraries, you can also click on the ellipsis and select Version History.
The image below shows a document that has six versions. To open an earlier version, click
on the blue marked date and time of the version you want to open.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Version-History.htm
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Append-Changes-to-Existing-
Text.htm
4.11 ALERTS
SharePoint apps have an Alert Me button for e-mail notifications on either all items or
singular items. These e-mail alerts can be somewhat customized, because you can decide
at what time they should be sent and for what changes.
The site collection administrator can set alerts to be sent to other users, and each user can
also set his/her own alerts.
It is possible to set alerts for single list items, library documents and calendar events.
1. Select the item and click on the Alert me button under the ITEMS/FILES/EVENTS tab
in the ribbon.
2. Change the title if you don’t want to use the default: list + item.
3. If you are a site collection administrator, you can add other persons who should have
this alert.
4. If you have text messaging service set up, you can choose between having the alert by
sms or by e-mail. (This is not possible in all countries.) Otherwise e-mail is the only
option.
5. Select at what changes you want to receive alerts.
6. Select when you want to receive alerts.
7. Click OK. You will now receive an e-mail confirming that your alert has been set up.
You can also set an alert for changes in a whole list, library or calendar.
1. Open the list for which you want to set an alert.
4. Click on the Alert me button under the LIST/LIBRARY/CALENDAR tab in the ribbon.
5. Follow the steps 2-7 above.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/HelpDesk-Alerts.htm
To have customized notifications you should create SharePoint Workflows.
4.12 DELETE
4.12.1 Delete an Item
If you want to delete several items or files it is best to use the Quick Edit mode, where you
can select several rows at a time:
1. Hold down the Ctrl key and click on the first cell to the left in the items you want to
delete.
2. Right click and click on Delete.
(This is not possible for calendars, as they don’t have an edit display mode.)¨
To delete a single item, file or event, you can use the Delete option under the
ITEMS/FILES/EVENTS tab.
To delete a list item or library file, you can also click on the ellipsis and select the Delete
option.
To delete an open list item or calendar event, you can click on the Delete Item button in
the item ribbon.
Note that you cannot delete a Default View. If you want to delete a default view, you must
first set another view to default.
You can also go into Site Contents and click on the ellipsis at the app you want to delete.
Then click on the REMOVE link.
In both cases, you will be asked to confirm that you want to delete the app.
When you open the recycle bin, you can restore selected content or delete it.
Before you start using the template in the new site collection, remember to change any
default column values set to suit another site collection.
4.14 SHAREPOINT CALENDARS
Use a SharePoint team calendar to share event information like holidays, leaves, delivery
dates and other information that is of common interest to users who have access to the
calendar, for example members of a workgroup.
To create a calendar, Create a New List on the Calendar template. To add an existing
calendar to another page; refer to Add a Calendar to a Page.
4.15 SURVEY
A survey is a kind of app where you can create questions that other users can answer. You
can use surveys for all kinds of questions, from simple lunch meeting setups to advanced
questionnaires about work processes.
The survey app does not have a ribbon. Instead the settings are managed from a Settings
dropdown.
Once you have exported the results to an Excel spreadsheet, you just have to refresh it to
have new responses included. From the Excel sheet you can create graphical
representations of the survey answers; refer to Analyze SharePoint List Data in Excel.
4.16 DECLARE RECORD
When you want to protect a file or a list item, you can declare it “record”. This means that
you put certain restrictions on it that are not tied to permissions. Most often you want to
protect documents from being edited or deleted when you declare them records.
Declaring record can be done manually on list items and on files in document libraries, or
you can build a workflow that declares a record. You must be a list contributor or
administrator to manually declare items as records.
When a file with an icon has been declared record, the icon will have a lock.
List items that have been declared record are not marked in any way, but when you try to
edit or delete it you will have a message:
Here I will give the necessary settings for a library that should have the possibility to
declare record. The principle is the same for other SharePoint lists.
2. Paste or write in the URL to the site you want to open. Note that only the first part of
the URL you see when you open the site should be entered, for example
https://kalmstromdemo.sharepoint.com/sites/Example/.
3. Click on Open.
Now your SharePoint site will open in SharePoint Designer. You will see the site contents
to the left in what resembles a folder view, and to the right there is a summary page with
information about the selected item.
5.4 CREATE A LIST IN SHAREPOINT DESIGNER
Instead of creating new lists in the web browser interface, you can use SharePoint
Designer 2013. It is quicker and saves you some clicks and loading of new pages.
1. Open the Site in SharePoint Designer
2. Click on the SharePoint List button in the ribbon.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/SharePoint-Designer-2013-Create-
List.htm
5.5 SUMMARY
This chapter has introduced SharePoint Designer. You have learned how to find and install
SharePoint Designer 2013 and SharePoint Designer 2010, and you know how to handle
the 2010 version to be able to open a SharePoint Online site.
Now you can open a site in SharePoint Designer, and you also know how to create a list.
You can however do much more in SharePoint Designer. I will come to that later in this
book – the first time as soon as in next chapter, where I explain how to use SharePoint
Designer to import folders to a SharePoint document library.
6 SHAREPOINT LIBRARIES
SharePoint document libraries are a type of lists, so everything mentioned in the
SharePoint Apps chapter above also applies to libraries.
SharePoint libraries also have some unique qualities and features, and they are described
here.
In this chapter I will explain why using SharePoint libraries is a good way to store and
share information. You will also learn how to:
Create content in document libraries
Upload files to document libraries in various ways
Use – or not use! – folders
Use Word Online and create a Word template for a document library
Use OneNote to create and share notes
Manage OneDrive for Business for storage and synchronization
6.1 WHY DOCUMENT LIBRARIES
Document libraries are often the best way to share documents within an organization, and
it is certainly much better than sending e-mail attachments. When you use SharePoint
document libraries for file sharing you have everything in one place, and all who have
been given permission can reach the library.
Document libraries give the same kind of benefits as mentioned in the section about app
Benefits, like alerts, version history and filtering.
I recommend that you use several document libraries, as a way of characterizing files. For
example, if your site is made for sharing information about a new product you could have
these document libraries:
Suggested Specifications
Supplier Contracts
Design Sketches
Radio Commercials in mp3 format
Within these libraries you would of course have files. Those files are sometimes referred
to as documents in the SharePoint user interface. You can download files from the
document library to your computer by clicking on the file name.
Refer to Information Rights Management for a description on how you can protect files in
SharePoint libraries.
6.2 DOCUMENT OPTIONS
A SharePoint document library is more than a place for file storage and sharing – it is also
a place where you can work with the files.
When you click on the ellipsis to the right of the file name in a document library, you will
have many options for what to do with the file. You can work with the file online or open
it in a desktop application. You can also download the file, share it, rename it and much
more.
6.3 LIBRARY SETTINGS
Each library has a settings page where you can find many different kinds of settings,
including settings for permissions, columns and views.
The Library Settings button is found under the LIBRARY tab in the ribbon.
You can also reach the library settings from the Site Contents. Click on the ellipsis at the
library you want to use, and a SETTINGS link will be displayed.
6.4 ADD CONTENT TO DOCUMENT LIBRARIES
You can add content to a SharePoint library either by creating a new document in
SharePoint or by uploading existing files to the library. The upload of existing files can be
done in several different ways.
3. A new document will open in the online version of the default document type.
4. Create the document. It will be saved automatically when you go back to the library.
5. To save and return to the library, click on the site text (a). To work in the desktop
version instead, click on the ‘OPEN IN …’ (b).
When you use the +New icon to create a new document in the library, you can by default
select what kind of document you want to create:
1. Click on the +New icon.
2. Click on the kind of file you want to create.
3. A new file will open in the online version of the Office app you selected.
Document libraries may have custom Content Types that restrict the options. Later in this
book you will learn how to create such content types.
In the library, open the LIBRARY tab and click on the Quick Edit button. Select the cell
that has the name of the new file and change the name. This method is especially suitable
if you need to rename several files.
In the library, open the FILES tab, select the file and click on the Edit Properties button.
Now you can change the name of the file.
In the library, select the file, click on the ellipsis and select Properties. The same dialog
as in the image above will open.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Create-Content-in-SharePoint.htm
To have documents created and named automatically based on specified templates; refer
to The Document Set Content Type.
If the client application is unavailable, the document will be opened in the browser even if
you have set documents to open in the client application.
You can also click on the Upload Document button under the FILES tab in the library
ribbon.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Upload-File.htm
This is the import process:
1. Open the SharePoint library in Windows Explorer by clicking on the Open with
Explorer button under the LIBRARY tab in the ribbon.
You can also open the library in Windows Explorer from the Upload dialog.
2. The library will open as a folder in your Windows Explorer.
3. Copy and paste the files or folders you want to upload to SharePoint to the library
folder.
You can also add the SharePoint library folder to Quick Access/Favorites and drag the
files into it. This is a good solution if you often upload files to the same SharePoint
library,.
If you have the library among your Quick Access/Favorites folders, you don’t even have
to open SharePoint to add new files to the library. (But they will not be uploaded to
SharePoint until you are connected to the internet.)
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Import-Files.htm
4. Select the files or folders you want to add to the document library.
5. Click on Open and then OK, and the upload begins.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Import-Files-SPD.htm
Also refer to OneDrive for Business for information about synchronization between
SharePoint and a PC folder.
If you select Word Online and another person is editing the same document, you will have
a message about it:
You can also see where in the document the other user is working.
You can continue your editing, because all changes, no matter which one of the users who
made them, will be visible in the document.
You can be more than two users on the same document. I have seen examples on around
15 people collaborating on a document in Word Online!
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Word-Offline-Overview.htm
NOTE: when Allow Management of Content Types is set to Yes in the advanced library
settings, there is no edit option and you cannot replace the template either. If you have
allowed management of content types, you probably want to use the more advanced
Content Types option instead.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Create-Word-template.htm
The notebook file type is one of the default file types you are offered when you create a
new file in a document library that has the default content type; refer to Create a file in a
library.
You can reach all the team site’s notebooks by clicking on the Notebooks icon at the top
left in OneNote Online.
If you don’t want users to have access to OneNote, you can Edit Links and remove the
Quick Launch link. You can also delete existing notebooks in the Site Assets library.
To remove OneNote from the default options when you create a new document in a
library, you need to change the content type of that library; refer to Connect the Content
Type to an App.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/OneNote.htm
6.7 LIBRARY FOLDERS
The old and tried folder is the most popular but least recommended way of
characterization in SharePoint. It has some benefits, though, especially when used with
OneDrive for Business or with the “Open with Windows Explorer” feature; refer to Import
Files and Folders from Windows Explorer.
The main argument for folders is that users will feel at home, and you will not have to
change the way information is stored compared to the file server. However, you will
quickly experience that folders have some major drawbacks. SharePoint is really not built
for handling folders in a good way, and it has some serious folder-related annoyances.
If you don’t want to allow user to create new library folders as described below, you can
Hide the Folder Option.
Give the folder a name that tells what kind of files it contains, and click on Create.
2. Click on Sync now in the first dialog and then Sync now again in the second dialog.
3. If this is the first time you synchronize a SharePoint library, OneDrive for Business
creates a new ‘SharePoint’ folder on your PC. You can see the path to that folder in the
second ‘Sync now’ dialog.
4. OneDrive for Business then creates a new folder under the SharePoint folder. It gets the
name of the SharePoint site + the name of the library.
5. All the files in the SharePoint library are shown in the new folder. They have a green
flag that indicates that they are synchronized.
If you add the new SharePoint folder to your Favorites/Quick access it will be smooth to
move files between the SharePoint folder and your other folders.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/OneDrive-SharePoint.htm
6.8.2 MySite
OneDrive for Business is also used for a personal SharePoint site collection called MySite,
where the stored files are private unless the user decides to share them. The Office 365
Enterprise subscription plans include unlimited OneDrive for Business space in the
MySite collection for each user.
The default MySite library, Files, has limited features, so I recommend you to create new
libraries in the MySite site collection. They will have all the SharePoint library features,
so they will give you more options than the Files library.
In fact, adding additional apps and subsites to a MySite site collection opens up the whole
range of SharePoint functionality for each user. As each user is an administrator of his/her
own site collection, the possibilities actually nearly endless.
In this section, I will explain how SharePoint users can take advantage of MySite.
You can also reach MySite directly from the office.com home page or by starting writing
OneDrive in Windows and select OneDrive for Business.
(Note that there is also a “OneDrive” included in Windows 8.1 and 10. It is connected to
your Microsoft account – not to your organizational Office 365 account – and it does not
have unlimited storage space. That is not what we are talking about here.)
The path to MySite looks like this:
https://TENANTNAME-my.sharepoint.com/personal/LOGINNAME/.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/OneDrive-Intro.htm
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/OneDrive-More-Libraries.htm
6.9 SUMMARY
The chapter about SharePoint libraries has shown how to create content in libraries and
how to upload files and folders. I have also described how you can work several people
with the same document in Word Online and how you can create a Word template and use
the notebook.
Finally you have learned how you can take advantage of OneDrive for Business and
MySite to create your own SharePoint site collection with unlimited storage and
synchronization to your PC – and with all the SharePoint features on top of that.
7 EDIT PAGES
SharePoint Wiki Pages can be highly customized. You can add text or links or insert
images, videos etc. directly in the content areas of the page. You can also insert various
kinds of Web Parts and customize them. Web Part Pages can be edited too, but not to the
same extent.
In this chapter, you will learn how to:
Open pages in edit mode
Edit wiki pages, and use the commands in the ribbon
Edit web part pages, and add and edit web parts.
7.1 OPEN A PAGE IN EDIT MODE
Before you can edit a page, you must open it in edit mode. This is done differently if the
page is a wiki page compared to a web part page. You can see which page it is by looking
at the top right corner, where only the wiki page has an EDIT link.
Click on the settings gear in the Office 365 panel and select Edit page.
The page will open in Edit mode. The Edit button and link will now be replaced with a
SAVE link in the top right corner and a Save button under the PAGE tab.
Place the mouse cursor where you want to insert content.
Besides customizing the wiki page directly, you can add web parts to the page and
customize them.
The Check Out button will now be replaced with a Check In button, which you can use
when you are finished editing. The page will also have a warning.
If you Save the page without checking out, it will remain checked out. You have to check
in the page to give other users access to the edited version and to let other users edit the
page.
If you check in the page without saving first, it will be saved automatically.
When a user tries to edit a page after this setting is done, a warning message is displayed
and the user has to click OK to check out the page.
Instead of using the controls in the Font ribbon group, I recommend you to use styles. The
Styles ribbon group is found further to the right under the FORMAT TEXT tab.
The styles are stored in a Styles library that is common for a site and all its subsites. It is a
bit of work to edit the styles so that they become as you want them, but then they are there
and can be used in other pages too.
The styles will give your SharePoint site a consistent look, and if you want to change
something, you can just change the style. Then the change will be applied on all pages
where that style is used.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Start-Edit-Webpart.htm
1. In the menu below the picture, open the Embed Information.Copy the embed code.
2. In the page, open the INSERT tab and click on the Embed Code button.
3. Paste the picture embed code into the form (and modify it if needed).
4. Click on Insert.
If you prefer to create the table in Word or another Office application, you can copy that
table and paste it into the SharePoint page.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Table.htm
Note that only the code of the body is displayed, and there are some limitations when it
comes to JavaScript and CSS. Also refer to Add Custom CSS to a Page and Add Custom
JavaScript to a Page.
7.2.6 Save
When you have finished editing the page, you must save it to keep the changes. Click on
the SAVE link on the top right of the page. You can also click on the Save button under
the ribbon PAGE and FORMAT TEXT tabs.
The Save button has more options. Use the Stop Editing option when you want to discard
your changes.
Click on the version you want to restore and then on Restore this version.
You can also restore earlier versions via the Site Content. Click on the Site Pages icon and
then on the ellipsis at the page you have been editing. Find Version History, select the
version you want to restore and select Restore from the dropdown.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Start-Edit-Webpart.htm
7.3 WEB PARTS INTRODUCTION
A SharePoint web part is a building block that you can add to a SharePoint page and most
often also fill content. There are different web parts for different kinds of content. All
SharePoint Pages are built of web parts, but you can only customize the web parts in Wiki
Pages and Web Part Pages.
I recommend you to explore the web parts. It is a safe environment to work in, because
you can always go back and Restore Earlier Versions if you make a mistake.
3. Select a category.
4. Select a web part and click on the Add button.
5. (Drag and drop the web part, or drag other web parts above it, if you don’t want the new
web part to be placed on top.)
6. Make your changes or additions to the web part.
7. Save the changes by clicking on the Save button or link.
8. Publish the page to make it available to other users. You can also submit it for approval.
9. Sometimes web part pages have a Stop Editing button instead of a Publish button.
Another way to reach the Edit Web Part command is to open the WEB PART tab and click
on the Web Part Properties button.
The Edit Web Part panel is shown to the right of the web part and have the name of the
web part in the top banner. These panels look different for different web parts, but all of
them have various options. The image below shows the panel for a Documents web part.
7.3.5 Add a Calendar to a Page
When you have created a team calendar you probably want to display it on a page, maybe
on the home page of the team site, instead of having it in a separate list.
1. Open a Page in Edit Mode.
2. Add a Web Part – in this case your newly created calendar app. (You can also find it
under App Part).
3. Edit the Web Part Design as you prefer and save the page.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Calendar-App.htm
If no column is marked as required, an uploaded file will show up in the library, accessible
to all users, without categorization.
With a required field, the user has to Edit File Properties to make the categorization so
there is a risk that this will be omitted.
When a new file is created in the library, or when a file is added to a library that is opened
in Windows Explorer, no dialog will be shown. Instead the file will have an icon, which
shows that it has to be checked in.
To check in a file, open the Edit File Properties dialog and add the missing value. Then
check in the file with the Check in button in the library ribbon or via the ellipsis,
Advanced.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Categorization-Required-
Values.htm
8.1.2 Default Column Values
If you want to avoid mandatory columns and still want to have them categorized, you can
use a static or calculated value that is added by default to each new item or document.
Default values increase the risk of wrong categorization, but on the other hand default
values can help users get started with categorization.
The default value for a column is set in the Edit Column dialog. Enter or select the value
that should be default. The default setting looks a bit different in different column types.
When a default value has been added, it can be seen and changed in the List Settings,
‘Column default value settings’ under General Settings.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Categorization-Default-
Values.htm
8.2 ENTERPRISE KEYWORDS
Enterprise Keywords can be used by the whole organization. They are synchronized
between all the tenant’s lists and libraries and managed centrally in the Term Store.
This means that once a keyword has been added in one library, it will come up as a
suggestion when a user starts writing a similar word in the same or another library.
When that is done, an Enterprise Keywords column of the type Managed Metadata is
added to the library. It can however only be seen when you open the properties of a
document. I recommend you to Modify the View so that it becomes visible in the library
or list views.
6. Click on Save.
In the Create Column dialog you can then connect the column to one of your term sets.
Write a keyword, and all term sets with that keyword will be shown. Select the top level of
the term set you want to use.
Now all keywords added to this column will be stored in the term set you connected it to,
and all keywords in the term set can be suggested to users.
You can of course also open an existing Managed Metadata column from the library
settings to connect it to a term set or change the term set the column is connected to.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Categorization-Term-Store-
Start.htm
8.4 CATEGORIZATION OF LIBRARY FILES
When you share documents in SharePoint, it is possible to put all of your files directly into
a big document library with lots of folders within folders. Most things will work as they
do in a file server, and you will have the additional features of version history, full text
search, workflows, views and alerts. But there are better ways!
All of the categorization methods mentioned above work well for all apps, included
libraries, but here I will mention some other methods that are special to libraries.
A new rating column will be created and displayed in the default view. You may of course
also include it in any other views; refer to Modify a View.
The like rating has a Like link, and when you click on it a smiley emoticon is shown at the
file. It is possible to remove the linking by clicking on Unlike.
In both cases SharePoint also shows how many users who have rated the file.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com//Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Categorization-Ratings.htm
8.5 SUMMARY
Now you have learned categorization methods like rating, required and default column
values and use of enterprise keywords. You know how to reach the Term Store and
manage keywords centrally, and you understand how important it is to consider the use of
columns, lists and libraries.
I will come back to categorization of SharePoint content in later chapters. This was just an
introduction.
9 LINKS
Links are the foundation of everything on the web. A link, formally called hyperlink, is a
reference to another specific web page, section, document, image or sound. It is also
called URL or shortcut.
In SharePoint, a link is recognized when the mouse cursor transforms into a hand when
you hover over text or an image. When you hover over text, the link will often be
highlighted and underlined.
In this chapter you will learn:
How links can be added, edited and used in SharePoint
Different ways to add links to Wiki Pages, lists, images and file servers
How to write and use wiki links
How to add captions and make a link open in a new window
How to create promoted links
How to create a Links app and add links to it
9.1 ADD LINKS TO A WIKI PAGE
When you want to add links to Wiki Pages you have two options: ‘From SharePoint’ and
‘From Address’. Both are found under the ribbon INSERT tab.
First you must Open the Page in Edit Mode. Then, place the mouse cursor where you want
to add a link, or select the text or image you want to add a link to.
To copy a link, right click on it and select Copy Shortcut. Then you can paste it in the
‘From Address’ dialog or at any other place where you want to add it.
Here you can add a description that will be shown in a pop-up window when users hover
the mouse cursor over the link. You can also add a bookmark on the web page you are
linking to and enter it under the LINK tab. Then the page will open at that bookmark.
Check the box for Display icon if you have linked to an Office file and want the file type
to be indicated with an icon. In other cases you will just have a white icon of no interest.
Under the LINK tab you can also set the link location to open in a new tab, remove a link
and open the link location.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Add-Links-to-a-Page.htm
9.2 ADD LINKS IN LISTS
When you want to add a link to a list, you should first Create a Column of the type
Hyperlink or image in the list. Give the column a name and select to format the URL as
Hyperlink.
You can also add links in columns of the type Multiple lines of text, if the radio button for
Enhanced Rich text is selected.
When you open an item and write in a Multiple lines of text field, you will have the same
Link Options in the ribbon as when you add links to a page.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Add-Links-to-Lists.htm
9.3 ADD LINKS TO A NEWSFEED
To add links in a Newsfeed you can either paste or type the URL. Press Enter after
entering the URL, and you will have a possibility to type or paste another display text than
the link.
Click on the check icon to save the display text, before you click on Post to publish the
whole Newsfeed entry.
9.4 LINK AN IMAGE
If you Add a Picture to a wiki page, you can link the image just like you link text.
1. Open a Page in Edit Mode.
2. Select the image on the page.
3. Open the INSERT tab and click on the Link button.
4. Select one of the two options for where to point the image link.
5. Select the location or enter the address, depending on option, and click OK.
6. Select the image. Two more tabs, IMAGE and LINK, will be visible in the ribbon.
7. Open the LINK or IMAGE tab and edit the link.
9.5 LINK TO A FILE SERVER
When you don’t want to upload a file to SharePoint, but still wish to have quick access to
it from a SharePoint page, you can give a link on the page.
You can link to any file server address (UNC).
1. Copy the link of the network folder that you want to link to a SharePoint page.
2. Open a Page in Edit Mode and click on the Link button under the ribbon INSERT tab.
3. Select the From Address option.
4. Type the address in the format File: //[folder link].
5. Write a text display and click OK.
6. Click on the link to show the LINK tab, and set the link to open in a new page.
7. Save the page.
Now the folder link will be displayed on the page. When you click on the link, you will
get a warning message. Click ‘Allow’ and the linked network folder will open.
You can also link to a specific document on a file server.
1. Right click on the document file in the file server and select Create shortcut.
2. Right click on the shortcut and select Properties.
3. Copy the path in the Target field. This will give you the whole link, including File: //.
4. Insert the link on the SharePoint page as described above.
When the file is an Office document, you can also have the correct link from within the
document.
1. Open the document and Enable Editing.
2. Under the FILE tab, click on the file location on the Info menu and select Copy link to
clipboard. This will also give you the whole link, including File: //.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Link-Shared-Drive.htm
9.6 WIKI LINKING
Wiki links can be added to Wiki Pages and help you achieve things that are difficult to
manage in other ways. With wiki links you can for example link to a page that has not
been created yet. The page must be open in Edit mode; refer to Open a Page in Edit Mode.
Wiki links only work within one site. This means that you can link to pages, lists, libraries
and even to a certain view or item, but you can not use a wiki link to link to content in
another site, site collection or outside SharePoint.
The wiki link syntax has to be typed in, and the links must start and end with double
square brackets, [[ … ]]. When you type the first two brackets on a SharePoint wiki page
in edit mode, you will be shown a list of the site’s pages, lists and views. Select one of the
options, and the closing brackets will be added automatically.
You can also type in the syntax instead of selecting, for example if you want to link to a
non-existing page. Then you have to add the closing brackets manually too.
3. Click on the link, and you will be asked to create the page.
4. Click on Create, and the new page will open in edit mode, so that you can customize it.
5. When you return to the page where you created the link, it will no longer be underlined,
and the link will take you to the page you just created.
4. Save the page, and the link will be shown with the list name as display text.
5. When you save the page, the link will be shown with the view name as display text.
9.6.4 Wiki Link to an Item
When you want to link to a specific item in a list or library, the process is nearly the same
as when you link to a view.
1. Write the two brackets and click on List.
2. All apps are displayed. Click on the list/library that has the item you want to link to.
Now the link is completed – but it still only points to the list/library.
3. Remove the two end brackets.
4. Press the Ctrl key + the space key. Now the items of that list will be displayed, and you
can select the item you want to link to.
5. If there are many items in the list, you will first be asked to start typing to have choice.
In the image below I have written an s, and then all items that begin with an s are
displayed.
6. When SharePoint creates the link, the ID number of the item is added as the actual
location for the link. After that comes a pipe (vertical bar) and then the display text, which
is the title of the item.
7. When you save the link, the item name will be shown as display text for the link.
5. Enter the address in the URL field and give a description that gives a suitable display
text. The Notes text will be shown in a separate column.
6. Click on Save.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Links-List-App.htm
9.8 PROMOTED LINKS
When you first create a SharePoint Online team site, it has links in the shape of moving
tiles on the start page. These links are called promoted links, and you can create such links
yourself and place them on any SharePoint page.
1. Add a Web Part, the Picture Library Slideshow web part in the Media and Content
category.
2. Edit the Web Part and select which picture library should be used and how the images
should be displayed.
3. Click OK and save the page.
Demos:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Picture-Library-Slideshow-Web-
Part.htm
3. Press Enter or click on the arrow to the right of the address field.
4. Select where your picture should be saved on the SharePoint site.
5. Click on Save.
The final step, to paste the copied code into another page, is a bit different depending on
what kind of SharePoint page you want to use.
Wiki Page:
1. Open the Wiki Page in Edit Mode.
2. Under the FORMAT TEXT tab, click on the Edit Source button.
3. Delete the existing code and paste the code you copied from SharePoint Designer.
4. Save the page.
Web Part Page:
1. Open the Web Part Page in Edit Mode.
2. Add a Web Part to a Web Part Page, the Content Editor web part in the Media and
Content category.
3. Under the FORMAT TEXT tab, click on the Edit Source button.
4. Paste the code you copied from SharePoint Designer.
5. Publish the page.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Clickable-Links-SPD2010.htm
10.5 SUMMARY
In the Links chapter you have learned how to add pictures to SharePoint wiki pages and
web parts. I have also shown some ways to create hotspot images and add them to
SharePoint pages.
11 CONNECT AND EXPORT SHAREPOINT DATA
SharePoint lists can be opened in other platforms, where you can take advantage of
features that make it easier to work with the data. You can find the Connect & Export
ribbon group under the LIST/LIBRARY/CALENDAR tab.
SharePoint lists that build on the Tasks template, also has another button for
synchronization with Project; refer to Sync SharePoint Tasks list with Project.
In this chapter, I will show several different ways to connect and synchronize SharePoint
with Outlook, Excel, Project and Access. I will explain how the result of the connection is
different for connections to Excel, compared to Outlook, Project and Access, and I will
make a comparison between Excel and SharePoint. I will also give some examples on how
Access can be used with SharePoint.
Another way to connect is to show content from Excel in a web part on a SharePoint page.
This can also be done with Visio drawings in a similar way.
11.1 CONNECT SHAREPOINT AND OUTLOOK
The Calendar, Tasks and Contacts list types have a lot of semi-hidden functionality that
allows them to synchronize with Outlook. You can also synchronize SharePoint libraries
with your personal Outlook.
Click on the ‘Connect to Outlook’ button under the LIST/LIBRARY/CALENDAR tab to
make the connection.
To open the Folders view, click on the ellipses (…) at the bottom left corner of any
Outlook view.
(Contacts and Calendar lists are also displayed in the Outlook Contacts/Calendar view.)
When you open a file in Outlook, you first have to click on the Edit Offline button to work
with it. Then you can edit and save the files as usual, and the changes will be synchronized
to SharePoint next time you are connected to SharePoint Online.
As you have the files in Outlook, you can also use other Outlook settings, like send and
receive settings, on the folder that is synchronized with SharePoint.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Sync-SharePoint-Files-with-
Local-Outlook.htm
When the boxes for both calendars are checked, they will be displayed side by side and
you can drag and drop or copy and paste events from one calendar to the other. Uncheck
one of the boxes if you want to see only one calendar.
In Outlook, you can categorize the SharePoint calendar events with colors, just as you do
with your personal calendar, but these colors are not displayed in SharePoint – at least not
when this book is published!
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com//Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Outlook-Sync-Calendars.htm
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Sync-SharePoint-Tasks-List-
with-Outlook.htm
.
2. Select what data you want to view in the Pivot table. The default option is the table you
clicked in.
3. Drag and drop the fields you want to work with to some of the four Pivot areas.
4. To create a chart, click in the Pivot table and then on the PivotChart button under the
PIVOTTABLE TOOLS, ANALYZE tab.
5. Select the chart type and design you prefer, to visualize the data from the SharePoint
list.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/HelpDesk-PivotTable-Chart.htm
In my book and e-book Excel 2016 from Scratch (also suitable for earlier versions), you
can learn much more about Excel. My focus is on calculation and visualization, from
basics to advanced, and I give links to more than 60 online articles with video
demonstrations and downloadable exercises.
11.2.3.1 Export an Excel Table to a SharePoint List with the Excel Export
button
The easiest way to move items from Excel to SharePoint is to export an Excel table to a
SharePoint list by using the ‘Export Table to SharePoint List’ button in Excel.
1. Copy the URL to the SharePoint site where you want the new list to be created. Note
that you should only copy the site URL in itself:
2. In Excel, format the data as a table.
3. Click on the Export button under TABLE TOOLS >DESIGN >External Table Data and
choose Export Table to SharePoint List.
4. Paste the URL you copied into the Address field in the dialog that opens.
5. Check the box for read-only connection.
6. Write the name you wish to use for the SharePoint list that is going to be created. You
may also add a description for it. Click Next.
7. In the new dialog that opens, you can see the different list columns that will be created.
It is not possible to change anything here, so if the list looks wrong you have to go back
and make changes in the table. Click on Finish.
Now a new SharePoint list will be created on the site you gave the URL to, and the data
from the Excel table will be added into it.
When the process is finished, you will get a message dialog with a link to the new list.
You can also open the list by clicking on the new Open in Browser button in Excel or by
going into the SharePoint Site Contents and find it.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Import-Excel.htm
3. Give the app a name and browse to the Excel file you want to import.
4. Enter the URL of the SharePoint site to where you want to import the Excel table.
5. Click on Import, and you will be asked to log in to SharePoint again.
6. Select the table or range that you want to import and click on Import.
Now the Excel data you selected will be imported to the SharePoint list app.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Import-Excel-Spreadsheet.htm
2. Create a new site or give the URL to an existing site. If you have already synchronized
a SharePoint site, you can select that URL from the existing sites.
3. Verify the site.
4. Select the list you want to use and click on Save.
Now items are created in the Tasks list from all the Project items, and links are established
between the Project and SharePoint fields. The Project file itself will be saved in the
SharePoint Site Assets library.
Copy the URL to the SharePoint site. Open Project, click on the ‘New from SharePoint
Tasks List’ button and paste the URL. Then click on the ‘Check Address’ button and select
the list you want to open in Project.
Now a new Project file will be created, connected to the SharePoint list and added to the
SharePoint Site Assets.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Project.htm
11.4 CONNECT SHAREPOINT AND ACCESS
When you open a SharePoint list in Access, you can take advantage of Access features
like find and replace, and you can copy and paste more easily in Access than in the
SharePoint datasheet view.
Access is also a good to use as an intermediary to connect data from two platforms that
cannot be directly connected. You can, for example, work with SharePoint lists from
different farms or connect an SQL Server database with SharePoint.
You can also export an Excel table to SharePoint via Access. This will give you more
influence over the connection than if you make a Direct Export/Import of Excel Data to
SharePoint.
The detection does not always work, so if the button is inactive even though you have
Access installed, you can instead open Access, create a new desktop database and link it to
the SharePoint list like this:
1. Close or delete the default table.
2. Click on the More button under the EXTERNAL DATA tab in the ribbon and select
SharePoint List.
3. In the dialog that opens, paste or type the path to the site that has the list you want to
open in Access.
4. Select the linked table option and click Next.
5. Now all lists and libraries of the site are shown. Select the one you want to use, and it
will open in a new table. You can also select multiple lists or libraries. Each of them will
be connected as a linked table.
12. Run the query by clicking on the Run button under the DESIGN tab.
Now when you go back to the SharePoint list and refresh it, you can see the Excel data
distributed in the list columns in the way you mapped it in Access.
This described method of using Access to get data into SharePoint works very well with
other data sources too, not only Excel data sources. For an example with an SQL database;
refer to Import data from SQL to SharePoint Online below.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Import-Access.htm
15. Click on the Run button under the DESIGN tab to run the query. You will now be
asked to enter values for the parameters Year and Month. Use numbers for both.
16. Run the query for every month and year, to have the SharePoint To Do list updated
with all the recurring tasks.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Recurring-Tasks.htm
5. In the window that opens, check the radio button ‘Link to the data source by creating a
linked table’ and click OK.
6. In the Select Data Source dialog, click on New to create a new data source, for which
you use the SQL driver.
7. Save the new data source.
8. Change the default database to pick up the new data source.
9. When you are back in the Select Data Source dialog again, select the new data source
and link it to the Access table.
10. Select BusinessEntityID as the Unique Record.
Now we have two connections in Access, with SQL and with SharePoint, and we can
connect the SQL contacts database to the SharePoint contacts list. It is time to create a
query that selects data from the SQL database table and appends it to the SharePoint list.
1. Click on the Query Design button under the CREATE tab and select the SQL database
table.
2. Click on the Append button under the ribbon DESIGN tab to append data to the
SharePoint list.
3. Select how the data from the SQL database table should be added to the SharePoint list.
4. Click on the View button under the ribbon DESIGN tab to view the result.
5. If everything looks good, click on the Save icon.
6. Run the query by clicking on the Run button under the ribbon DESIGN tab. Now the
SQL Server data will be imported to the SharePoint list.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Import-data-from-SQL-to-
SharePoint-online.htm
2. In the Action Catalogue, select the action ‘Open Query’ and the query that deletes data.
3. Select the action ‘Open Query’ again and now select the Add query to run.
4. Select the action ‘Close the database’.
5. Save the macro.
To further simplify the update you can add a Run button in Access.
1. Click on the ‘Blank Form’ button under the CREATE tab.
2. Click on the button icon and then in the form.
3. Select the action Run Macro under Miscellaneous.
4. Select the new macro you just created.
5. Give the button a text and save the form.
6. Click on Options under the FILE tab, and select the new form as Display Form for the
Current Database.
7. To test, close Access and open it again. Then click on the button to run the query.
Demo: http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Update-Imported-
SQL-Data.htm
11.5 CONNECT SHAREPOINT AND VISIO
Visio is a diagramming and vector graphics application that is part of Microsoft Office.
You can use the Visio Access web part to display and interact with Visio drawings in
SharePoint, and below I described two examples on how it can be used.
SharePoint also has a site collection template with a default library that is intended for
Visio files.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/SharePoint-Search-Intro.htm
12.3 MANAGED PROPERTIES
When you want SharePoint to search only among content with specific properties, you can
use Managed Properties. These are written before the search word, with a colon as
separator.
Example: to find files with the word “consumer” in the file name, you should write
Filename:consumer in the search field. When you enter the search term like this, you are
telling the search engine to give you all files which have the word consumer in the
filename. (By default, if you do not supply a managed property, you are searching all
content.)
Which managed properties are the most relevant ones depends on how you are using
SharePoint, but the Body, Title, Author and FileType managed properties are very useful.
When you create a site column of the type Single line of text, Choice, Managed Metadata,
Date and Time, Number, Currency or Yes/No, a new managed property is created. For
example, if you create a single line column named Street, you can configure the
SharePoint Search to allow you to search for Street:avenue.
Demos:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/SharePoint-Search-Managed-
Properties.htm
12.4 THE CONTENT SEARCH WEB PART
The Content Search web part searches anything from the index of the entire SharePoint
tenant to a specified URL, and it can be used for all purposes when you want to collect
certain data and display it on a page.
Note that the SharePoint Search results are always trimmed by permissions. You only see
results that you are allowed to open. Therefore, users who don’t have access to some of
the search hits in the Content Search web part will not see that content.
4. In the Content Search edit panel, select a Display Template for Control and Item. I
recommend ‘List with Paging’ and ‘Two lines’.
With a few steps you can add your own search vertical to the Search Center:
1. Create a Page from the Search Center, so that the new page will use the Search Results
page layout. This page is a web part page.
2. Modify the Search Results web part in the new page, so that it only shows the type of
information you want: Edit the Web Part and click on the ‘Change query’ button.
3. Select the query ‘Items matching a content type (System)’. Restrict to the content type
and app you want to use.
4. Set the number of items to show.
5. Make any other changes in the web part you prefer.
6. Publish the page.
Now the Search Results web part of your new page only shows the type of items you have
decided. The last step is to add the search vertical to the Search Center.
1. Open the Site Settings and click on the ‘Search settings’ link in the Search group.
2. At Configure Search Navigation, click on ‘Add Link’.
3. Enter a title and browse to the new search page you just created.
4. (Make sure the new vertical will be displayed among the first and not under the ellipsis,
by changing the order or remove an existing vertical.)
3. Define the other settings for the new site and click OK.
To see the new Search Center in the top navigation/global navigation, you have to show
subsites in the navigation:
1. Click on the Navigation link under the Look and Feel group in the site settings.
2. Check the box for ‘Show subsites’. Click OK.
Replace the default Search Center with your own:
1. Copy the URL of your new Search Center page.
2. Open the Site Settings of the site collection root site, and click on the Search Settings
link in the Search group.
3. Paste the URL you copied into the field ‘Search Center URL’, and remove the part after
the last dash (/).
4. Uncheck the box for ‘Use the same results page settings as my parent’. Click OK.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/SharePoint-Search-Center.htm
12.6 MODIFY THE REFINEMENT WEB PART
The Search Center has no Quick Launch to the left. Instead there is a Refinement web
part, which allows users to filter search results by certain criteria. Among the most
commonly used refiners are Author, Modified and Object Type.
The Refinement web part can be customized and the refiners changed:
1. Open the Web Part Page in Edit Mode.
2. Edit the Web Part.
3. Click on the ‘Choose Refiner’ button and Add and/or Remove refiners. Here you can
also change their order.
Refer to Add Managed Metadata Refiner on how to add refiners based on Managed
Metadata.
12.7 SUMMARY
In this chapter you have learned to take advantage of the SharePoint Search. Now you
know how to use and customize the Content Search web part to assemble data from
several sites on one page. You have also learned how to create a custom Search Center
with a modified Refinement web part, and you can build a custom search vertical and a
customized search results web part.
In the next chapter I will recommend a navigation method that builds on the SharePoint
Search, and I will also come back to the Content Search web part that you have learned to
know in this chapter.
Another way to enhance the SharePoint Search is to let a workflow fill out the Title field
in apps, to make them better searchable; refer to Set Title Workflows.
13 BETWEEN SITE COLLECTIONS
In this chapter, we will have a look at how you can go outside a Site Collection and share
content and navigation between several collections. I will describe two methods for
sharing files and two methods for navigation, and I will comment on benefits and
drawbacks.
13.1 SHARE DOCUMENTS
There are several ways to share documents between site collections, and here I will
describe two of them. Common for all methods is that you should have the shared
documents in one place, so that you don’t have to change at several places when the
documents must be edited. That is why copy and paste documents is such a bad idea.
I recommend you to Add an Enterprise Keywords Column to SharePoint libraries that
contain files you want to share. This makes it easy to find the files in filtering and
searching.
For this navigation method, you should Add a Search Vertical to the Search Center that
searches in all or specified site collections. Usually a search vertical is intended to show
only search results of a particular type, but a search vertical can also be used to find site
collections.
The necessary settings can be used in both the Content Search web part and the default
Search Results web part. Therefore you can use this method whether you have modified
the page to Show the Search Results in a Custom Results Web Part or not.
Make the settings in the Query Builder of the web part that shows the search results in the
search vertical page:
1. Under Property filters, select ‘content class’ ‘Equals’ ‘Manual value’ and ‘STS_Site’ to
get the search results to show only site collections.
2. Click on ‘Add property filter’ and then on ‘Test query’. You will probably have some
site collections included that you don’t want to search.
3. To add property filters that remove site collections you don’t want to include in the
searches, select ‘Path’ under Property filters and then ‘Not contains’ ‘Manual value’ and
the path to the site collection you want to exclude.
When the new Search vertical has been displayed with the other verticals in the Search
Center (refer to Add a Search Vertical to the Search Center), you can use it to search only
site collection top sites. When the Sites vertical is selected, sites matching the searched
term will be displayed.
Users can access the Search Center by selecting Everything in the top right Search field.
You can also copy the link to the Search page (remove the search term!) and add it to the
top-level site of the site collection in the same way as in The Links Method. This has to be
done manually for the root site in each site collection.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Site-Collection-Navigation.htm
I suggest that you give the Content Type Hub site collection a specific name and Follow it,
so that you can find it more easily next time.
Now you can add new Site Columns to the content type. Add the columns from a new or
existing site column group.
If you choose one of the simpler column types when creating your new site column,
SharePoint will create Managed Properties of the column names. This allows you to use it
as a search filter, which might be very useful. Single line of text, choice, managed
metadata, date and time, number, currency and yes/no are the ones considered simple in
this context.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Content-Types-Create.htm
3. Under the new Content Type group, click on ‘Add from existing content types’.
4. Select the group and content type you want to use. Click Add and then OK.
5. (I advise you to Delete the Default Content Type.)
Now the content type is added to the app, and users can start creating new items of this
type. If you have deleted the default content type, all new items will be of the same kind,
as there is no other possibility.
You might find it useful to add several content types to an app, but my preference is
usually to create new apps for each content type.
If the columns are not shown, open the FILE tab and select to show the document
properties.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Content-Types-Add-Doc.htm
14.6 CREATE A DOCUMENT CONTENT TYPE TEMPLATE
When you have added a custom content type to a library app and set the open behavior to
the client application, as described in the section above, the metadata entered in the
columns will always be displayed in SharePoint.
However, as the metadata columns are placed above the actual document, they will not be
included if you print the document.
To include the values of the metadata columns in a printed document, you need to create a
template which has the content type fields in the document body too. These body fields
will be filled out automatically when you fill out the content type fields in the Document
Property– and vice versa.
Create a template by creating a Word document that you connect to your content type.
1. Create a new Word document.
2. Insert a table with two columns and as many rows as you have metadata columns in the
content type + one more row for the title.
3. Enter the column labels in the cells of the left column.
4. Place the mouse cursor in the first row of the right column. Open the Quick Part under
the INSERT tab and select Document Property and then Title.
5. Repeat step 4 for each row and select the other metadata columns.
6. Save the document as a .docx or .dotx file to your computer.
7. Now you must connect the Word document to your content type, to be used as a
template for new library items.
8. In SharePoint, open the Site Settings and click on the Site Content Types link.
9. Select the content type group you want to connect the template to.
10. When the content type group opens, upload the template you have just created. (Here
you can also enter the URL to an existing template.)
11. Make sure that the radio button for Yes at ‘Update all content types inheriting from
this type’ is selected.
Now the template will be used when you create a new document in a library where you are
using the content type you connected the template to.
You can of course use all other Word features in your template and make it compliant with
your company graphic profile as needed.
Demos:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Content-Types-Template.htm
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Content-Types-Connect-
Template.htm
14.7 THE DOCUMENT SET CONTENT TYPE
When you work with projects within an organization, you often create a set of documents
for each project. Templates are often used for such documents to make them consistent.
With a document set you can have such documents created and named automatically from
your specified templates when you create a new project item. All the documents for a
project are found in that project item.
If you plan to use folders for project documents or similar, I recommend you to study
document sets first. Using document sets is a better option than folders in many ways.
Another way to avoid folders, is of course to use one library for each project. In my
opinion, the document sets give a better overview, and separate libraries do not give you
the automatic creation and name giving of documents.
When you create a new project item in a library that uses a document set content type,
there will be no choice of document type. Instead you will have the specified set of
documents created automatically.
The content writer can just open each document and start writing, instead of creating and
naming three new documents.
In the image of an open item below, the specified documents are an Excel cost break-
down, a PowerPoint executive overview and a Word specification. By default the auto-
created documents are named with the name of the project item (here ‘Support system’) +
the name of the template.
Libraries with document sets are using a content type based on the Document Set Content
Types parent group, so to create a document set you must create such a content type.
Create a Content Type for a Site Collection, and use the Document Set Content Types
parent group and the Document Set parent.
When the content type has been created and you have added the site columns you need,
click on the new link ‘Document Set settings’ in the Site Content Type page. At Default
Content, add links to the templates you want to use in this document set.
Then you only have to Connect the Library to the Content Type.
In the library, each item will have the document set icon to show that it contains several
files.
Demos:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Document-Set-Content-Type.htm
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Document-Set-Use.htm
14.8 SUMMARY
After studying this chapter I hope you understand how content types are used and feel
inspired to create your own content types for lists and libraries. You have learned to create
a content type and add it to an app, and you can also connect a document template to a
content type.
You can find more information about content types in the chapter about SharePoint forms,
where I explain how to Create a Content Type Form. In the chapter Phone Messages, I
create a content type for a list, and in Meeting Notes and Action Points I show how you
can use site collection specific columns, even if you are using a content type that is shared
between several site collections.
15 ISSUE TRACKING TIPS
SharePoint Tasks or Issue Tracking list templates are useful for helpdesk and support
groups, but these templates are also suitable for incident management, issue tracking and
other shared tasks. In this section I will give some tips on how you can handle and
enhance such list templates.
My intention is not to give a recipe on the perfect helpdesk list. Instead I want to point to
these various options, so that you can make the modifications that best suit each team:
Comparison of the two templates
Suggestions for a helpdesk list
E-mail notification
Data entry and edit button
Edit multiple list items
Landing page with views, issues list and Excel chart
Status indicator icons
15.1 TASKS AND ISSUE TRACKING LIST TEMPLATES
SharePoint provides two templates that can be used as helpdesk lists and often can replace
each other: the Tasks list and the Issue Tracking list. Both have their benefits and
drawbacks, and there are some differences you should be aware of when you decide which
list template to use.
Only the Tasks list has a timeline.
The Tasks list has more in-built views than the Issue tracking list.
Only the Tasks list item has a ‘Show more’ link, but there is no way to decide what
should be hidden. The Issue tracking list item shows all fields as soon as you open it.
Only the Tasks list item has a ‘Start Date’ field.
Only the Issue Tracking list item has a ‘Category’ dropdown.
Only the Issue Tracking list item has a Comments field.
The ‘Predecessors’ field in the Tasks list item has a corresponding ‘Related Issues’ field
in the Issue Tracking list item.
If you use the Issues Tracking list template you loose the ability so synchronize the list
with Outlook and Project!
timeline
6 views 3 views
Show more
Start Date
Category
Comments
I recommend that you choose the list that has most of the features you need and then
modify it, for example by adding or deleting columns and creating more views.
In the following articles I will give you some tips on how to enhance the Issue Tracking
template, and I hope you will find them useful even if you choose to use the Tasks list.
What I describe is applicable to both list templates.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Tasks-Issues.htm
15.2 CREATE A HELPDESK LIST
Here I will give some suggestions on what to think about and how to modify the default
SharePoint Issue Tracking list if it should be used by a support team.
Create a New List based on the Issue Tracking or Tasks template. Then make the
following changes:
When the list has been created and is displayed under Recent in the Quick Launch, Edit
the Quick Launch and drag the list link to the permanent links. Refer to Edit Links.
Make sure Versioning is enabled, so that you can see different versions of the list items.
Make sure that multiple selection is not allowed for the Assigned To column; refer to
Edit the Column.
Add a new column for additional people you want to assign a task to (instead of
allowing multiple selection).
Change the Category names into something that suits your team. Write the values in
alphabetical order.
Delete any columns you will not need, for example the Related Issues column; refer to
Delete a Column.
Add new columns for important metadata; refer to Create a Column.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/HelpDesk-Creation.htm
15.3 E-MAIL NOTIFICATION TO ASSIGNED
The E-mail Notification to Assigned alert is only available in SharePoint lists that build on
the Tasks or Issue Tracking template. It sends an automatic e-mail to the person who has
been assigned a task, and the setting is done for the list, not on a personal level.
The Tasks and Issue Tracking e-mail notification is very easy to set – you just click a radio
button – but it is not possible to customize the notification at all. It is only sent when a
tasks has been assigned to a user, and only to that user.
There is no control over when the e-mail is sent out, but normally it is sent within a few
minutes after the assignment.
1. Open the List Settings and click on Advanced settings in the General Settings group.
2. Click Yes to ‘Send e-mail when ownership is assigned’. Click OK.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/HelpDesk-Email-Notification.htm
To have more control over when e-mails should be sent, what they should contain and to
whom they should be sent, you can create SharePoint Workflows.
15.4 EDIT BUTTON AND DATA ENTRY VIEW
When you want to enter new information in a SharePoint list or edit existing data, you
want to get to the right place as quickly as possible. If you create a Data Entry view or add
an edit button to an existing standard view, you simplify the process of entering data into a
SharePoint list and minimize the number of clicks and waiting.
1. Open the list view where you want to add the Edit button.
2. Modify the View and check the Display checkbox for ‘Edit (link to edit item)’.
3. Select the first position for the Edit button. Click OK.
Open a SharePoint List in Access. Now you can copy and paste more quickly than in
SharePoint, and you can use the Access Find and Replace feature to edit multiple items
that should be changed in the same way. Everything you change will be reflected back to
the SharePoint site.
Run an Access Query. When you have a SharePoint list open in Access and want to
change multiple items in the same way, the quickest method is to run a query:
1. Click on the Query Design button under the CREATE tab in the Access ribbon.
2. Add the list table to the query.
3. Click on the Update button under the DESIGN tab in the ribbon.
4. Select the field you want to update.
5. Fill out the update value and the criteria.
6. Click on the Run button under the DESIGN tab in the ribbon. Now the values will be
replaced quickly, and everything will be reflected back to the SharePoint site.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/HelpDesk-Edit-Multiple-
Items.htm
15.6 LANDING PAGE WITH ISSUES
A simple Views Landing Page for an Issue Tracking or Tasks list can be enhanced with a
web part that shows the list items on the same page, where users can work with them. The
description below is for an existing landing page.
If you start from scratch, follow the instructions in Create a Views Landing Page, but
include the layout mentioned below and add the links directly in the sidebar.
6. Type the name of the item you want to show in the web part.
7. Uncheck the box for All Workbook interactivity, and make other settings to customize
the web part before you click OK.
8. (If the chart size does not fit you can change it in Excel. Save and refresh the
SharePoint page, to check if it looks better.)
9. Save the page.
To use the status indicator feature, you must first create a reports library. From this library
you can then create a status list. There is no status list template if you go directly from
‘add an app’.
1. Add an App, and select the Report Library template.
2. Open the new library, and click on New. Select ‘Web Part Page with Status List’.
3. Give the list a name and make the settings.
4. SharePoint will now create a web part page with three web parts: the Status List and
two parts for Excel Web Access.
You can use the web part page, but here I will show how to put the status list on a Views
Landing Page.
1. In the Status List created in step 4 above, click on New and select the option
‘SharePoint List based Status Indicator’.
2. Give the Status Indicator a name and browse to the list you want to connect it to. Select
view and calculation options, and set the Status icon rules. The image below shows the
setting for an average of hours worked for an issue category, where the goal is a maximum
of 40 hours.
3. Open the landing page in Edit mode.
4. Add a Web Part, the Status List in the Business Data category.
5. Edit the Web Part and browse to the Indicator list. Make other settings that you prefer.
Click OK and save the page.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/HelpDesk-Key-Indicators.htm
15.9 SUMMARY
Most organizations use SharePoint lists for different kinds of issue tracking, and in this
chapter I have given suggestions on various ways to enhance such lists. I have also
described how to create a landing page with view links, list items, status indicators and an
Excel chart that visualizes the list data.
16 SHAREPOINT WORKFLOWS
SharePoint workflows are most often created in SharePoint Designer, and they can be used
for all kinds of SharePoint lists and libraries. They let you customize when and how e-
mail notifications should be sent, and they can also be used for calculation, archiving and
much more.
Here I will first give an overview on how workflows are created in general and then show
a few examples. I hope this chapter will make you understand theworkflow possibilities
and encourage you to explore them and create your own workflows. The chapter will
cover:
The general principle behind workflows
The difference between a list workflow and a reusable workflow
Differences between SharePoint 2010 and 2013 workflows
How to check a workflow
E-mail alert to high prio assignee – workflows in text based and Visual Designer view
Alert e-mail to assigned with cc
Overdue alert to manager
Declare Record workflow
Set Title workflows
16.1 GENERAL
The principle of all workflows is that you select conditions to be met and actions to be
taken when these conditions are met.
When you have clicked on one of the buttons in the image from the SharePoint Designer
ribbon above, you will have this kind of link for the Condition button:
Click on the links to select or type in the valid values, fields or what your workflow
should be using or doing.
Switch between the two workflow pages with the thumbnail links under the tab, or use the
buttons Edit Workflow and Workflow Settings in the ribbon. In the Workflow Settings
page there is also an ‘Edit workflow’ link.
For list workflows, you need to set when the workflow should be started, and I
recommend you to check this extra as the checking not always sticks in the box. This is
done in the Workflow Settings page.
Then you must assign content type again in the site collection(s) where you want to use
the workflow. When you do that in the root site of the site, the workflow will be applied in
all apps that are based on the associated content type in that site collection.
1. Open the Site Settings in the root site of the site collection, and click on the Site content
types link in the Web Designer Galleries group.
2. Select the Content Types group, and then click on the content type you want to use the
workflow with.
3. Click on the Workflow settings link and then on Add a workflow.
4. Select the workflow. (You might have to activate it. In that case there is an Activate
button.)
5. Give the workflow a name, and set it to start when an item is created or changed if that
is what you need. (You can also leave the start options blank, in case you want to start the
workflow with a timer; refer to Retention Stages.
6. Make sure that you select ‘Yes’ for ‘Add this workflow to all content types that inherit
from this content type?’ or ‘Add this workflow to all related content types’, before you
click OK.
Now all the site collection’s existing and new libraries that use the content type will have
this workflow.
If you only want to assign the workflow to one list, you can open the List Settings and
then the Workflow Settings for that list. Click on ‘Add a workflow’ and select the content
type and then the workflow you want to add.
Even if you have checked the workflow for erros, you should always control that it really
works as intended. Simulate the condition described in the workflow, and see if the set
action is performed.
You can also see details on running and completed workflows, if you right click on the
ellipsis at an item and select Advanced and then Workflow.
If you cannot check the workflow directly, because it is activated by a timer and not by a
changed or created item, you can start it manually. Click on the Workflows button under
the ITEMS tab and select the workflow you want to test. Click on the Start button to start
the workflow manually.
4. Open the site settings again and click on the ‘Manage site features’ link in the Site
Actions group, to activate the workflow for the site.
5. Find the reusable workflow in the list and activate it. (Note that you have to activate
twice, first under ‘Solutions’ and then under ‘Manage site features’, even if you are using
the root site of the site collection.)
6. When the activation has finished you will see an Active icon, and the Activate button
has been replaced by a Deactivate button.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/HelpDesk-Notification-2010-
Workflow.htm
Then you can continue with the same End steps as in the SharePoint 2010 workflow. This
is the finished workflow:
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/HelpDesk-Notification-2013-
Workflow.htm
Start Visio before you begin working in SharePoint Designer. Then you can follow the
same Start steps as when you are creating a workflow in the Text-Based Designer.
Then follow these steps:
1. Click on the View button in the ribbon, and select Visual Designer. Visio will now open
inside SharePoint Designer.
2. Under Shapes in the left panel, click on Conditions and then drag the shape ‘If any
value equals value’ to the design surface as the first stage.
When a column is of the type Date and Time, users will have a DateTimePicker at the
Date field. In the Quick Edit mode, the hour and minute selectors are placed below the
Today info.
When you Create a Column of the type Date and Time, you will have some options that
are only available for this column type.
If you change the Display Format from Standard to Friendly, the selected date will be
shown like this:
17.1.2 Choice Column
When a column is of the Choice type, users are asked to make a choice among several
alternatives.
At the bottom of the Create Column page you should fill out the choices in the order you
want them to be shown and select display method for the choices. The default value will
be filled out if no value is selected.
If you also want to use a Totals for the Quote Value column, add it at the same time to this
view. Then you can build other views on this view. Create a View as usual, but select to
start from an existing view instead of selecting one of the view types.
All views created this way will have the Totals and the same filtering. You only have to
change the filter choice and give this view another name.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Quotes-Views.htm
1. Open the site in SharePoint Designer that has the list you want to use.
2. Open the Summary page for the list.
3. Start Creating a List Workflow.
4. Set the workflow to start automatically when an item is created.
5. Click on the ‘Edit the workflow’ link.
6. At Transition to stage, enter ‘go’ and press Enter.
7. Click on ‘stage’ and select ‘End of Workflow’.
8. Click on the Condition button in the ribbon to set the conditions for the workflow.
9. Select ‘If current value field equals value’ and the condition if the current item field you
want to have automatically filled out is empty.
10. Write in Set and press Enter to have choices. Select the alternative ‘Set field in current
item’.
11. Select the field you want to have automatically filled out.
12. Set the field to the field you want to fetch the name from.
13. Publish and Check the Workflow.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Quotes-Titles-Workflow.htm
Also refer to Set Title Workflows.
17.3 SUMMARY
Even if you don’t need a quotes library I hope this chapter has given you some insight in
how columns for dates, choice and currency are created and used and how you can create
views based on filters or calendar and Gantt views based on dates.
18 SHAREPOINT FORMS
Forms are often used in SharePoint lists. You can customize them by adding and removing
Columns, but you can also re-design the form itself if the design is not optimal for your
organization.
In this chapter, I will show some different ways to customize SharePoint forms. I cannot
tell you which method is best, because each organization has its own prerequisites and
requirements, but by knowing the options you can understand what is best in each case.
A convenient way to customize SharePoint forms is to use InfoPath, but it has some
drawbacks, which I discuss.
Add a web part to a form. This is the only no-code way to show, for example, an
instruction or a video above the actual form.
Create a content type form.
Open the list in Access and customize the form there.
18.1 WHY CUSTOMIZE A FORM?
Why customize list forms at all, in the first place? Isn’t it enough that you can add and
remove or hide Columns and put them in any order you want? Yes, that is certainly useful,
and we should absolutely take advantage of it, but that does not solve all forms issues.
One of the reasons to customize a form is to avoid unnecessary scrolling. In most
SharePoint forms the fields are just put below each other, even if the entry only requires a
number or a choice of yes and no. These fields can very well be put side by side instead.
Or you might want to have more space in the description field, to avoid scrolling there.
18.2 OPEN THE FORM IN A NEW DIALOG
When you open a list item, the browser by default directs you to another page, usually the
Display form page. You can also select to “Open in a form” which opens the list item in a
pop-up dialog within the same browser window.
1. Open the List Settings and click on the Advanced Settings link.
2. At the bottom, select the Yes radio button for ‘Launch forms in a dialog’.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/SharePoint-Forms-Intro.htm
18.3 CUSTOMIZE THE FORM IN INFOPATH
InfoPath is an Office application that is included in Office 2013. Forms customization
with InfoPath is smooth, and you can rather easily create better forms than the in-built
ones. You should however be aware of the drawbacks if you decide to use InfoPath.
Microsoft has announced that InfoPath will be deprecated. It will be replaced by
something else, but so far they have not told us what.
Microsoft will support the InfoPath 2013 client application until April 2023, and
InfoPath Forms Services will be fully supported in Office 365 “until further notice”.
InfoPath is not included in Office 2016, so your current installation will be wiped out if
you upgrade. You will have to download and install InfoPath 2013 again.
Another, less important, drawback with InfoPath forms is that new columns are not
automatically added to the form when you create them via the Create a Column command.
Instead you have to open the list form in InfoPath again, and add the new column as
another field in the form.
You can find the ‘Customize in InfoPath’ button under the ribbon LIST tab.
When you click on the button, the list form opens in InfoPath, and you can start
customizing it.
3. To customize the form, click on the Views button under the ribbon HOME tab and
select the Design View. Now you can change captions and drag fields to resize them.
To use the form, you should instead select the Form View. Any changes you make will be
saved to both Access and SharePoint as soon as you move the cursor to another field.
To always open the data base list in the Form View, click on Options under the FILE tab
and select the list at the Display Form entry.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips//SharePoint-Online-Course/SharePoint-Forms-
Access.htm
18.5 ADD A WEB PART TO A FORM
SharePoint list forms are contained in web part pages, and the existing web parts cannot
be customized without extensive coding. You can however add another web part which
can be customized, and I recommend The Content Editor Web Part.
In the Content Editor web part you can embed code and add tables, links, pictures, videos
or even another web part, so this is the only no-code way to show for example an
instruction or a video above the form.
1. Click on the button ‘Form Web Parts’ under the LIST tab in the ribbon. The three
options correspond to the form that opens when you create a new item, the form that
shows the item and the form that opens in edit mode.
2. Select one of the options, depending on which form you want to customize.
3. Add the Content Editor web part in the Media & Content category; refer to Add a Web
Part to a Web Part Page.
4. Add the content you wish to add from the options under the ribbon tabs.
5. Edit the Web Part and set the Chrome Type to None to avoid having the Content Editor
caption on the web part.
6. Click on the Stop Editing button.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/SharePoint-Forms-Content-
Types.htm
18.6 CREATE A CONTENT TYPE FORM
You can modify list web parts with content types, and one way to customize a form is to
use a content type to design an entry form for a tasks list. If you hide fields that are not
important at first task creation, users will have a simpler form to fill out.
When work on the task begins, the full form can be selected in a dropdown. The switch to
the other form can also be done automatically with a workflow.
1. Create a Content Type. Select the parent content type to be fetched from List Content
Types and then select Tasks as the parent content type.
2. Add the new group to an existing or new group.
3. Open each column that you want to modify and hide those of the columns that are not
necessary in an entry form.
4. Connect the Content Type to an App where you want to use the new form.
5. Under the Content Types group in the List Settings, click on the link ‘Change new
button order and default content type’ and set the new content type as number one.
Now, when you create a new task, it will open with the new content type. Next time you
open the same task, you can select to instead select the earlier content type from the new
dropdown.
When they click OK in the dialog, they will see the customers in the selected country in
the Customers web part.
These are the steps to connect web parts to show filter choices by selection:
1. Add a Page or use an existing wiki page.
2. Add a Web Part, the Customers list.
3. Place the mouse cursor outside the Customers list web part on the page.
4. Add a Web Part again, now the Choice Filter web part in the Filters category.
5. Edit the Web Part – the Choice Filter web part.
6. Enter your choice alternatives in the right panel.
7. Expand the edit accordion in the top right corner of the Choice Filter web part and
select Connections >Send Filter Values To >Customers.
To use this method you must first create a separate list that contains all the country names
from the Customers list.
1. Add a Page or use an existing wiki page.
2. Click on the Text Layout button under the FORMAT TEXT tab and select two columns.
3. Add a Web Part in the left column – the Countries list.
4. Add a Web Part in the right, – the Customers list.
5. Edit the Web Part – the Countries list.
6. Expand the edit accordion in the top right corner of the Countries list web part, and
select Connections >Send Row of Data To >Customers.
7. In the pop-up dialog, select ‘Get Filter Values From’.
8. Click on Configure.
9. Connect the Country field in the Provider to the Country field in the Consumer.
The list item display form is a web part page, so you can very well enhance it to show data
from another list by connecting web parts.
1. In the Countries list, open the ribbon LIST tab and click on ‘Form Web Parts’.
2. Select ‘Default Display Form’ and it will open in edit mode.
3. Click on the link ‘Add a Web Part’ and select the Customers list web part. Click on
Add.
4. The Customers list web part gets added to the top. Minimize it and drag it below the
Countries list web part. Then restore the list again.
5. (Click on Stop Editing as a security measure, in case the next step fails. The page is
saved automatically when you stop editing.
6. Open the Default Display form again, as in step 1 and 2.)
7. Edit the Web Part – the Countries list.
8. Open the accordion in the top right corner of the Countries list web part and select
Connections.
9. Select ‘Provide Row To’.
10. In the pop-up dialog, select ‘Get Filter Values From’.
11. Click on Configure.
12. Connect the Country field in the Provider to the Country field in the Consumer.
13. Click on Finish and Stop Editing.
Now users can open a country item and see all customers from that country.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Connect-Web-Parts-Display-
Form.htm
19.2 ADD CUSTOM CSS OR JAVASCRIPT TO A PAGE
CSS is a language that describes how HTML (or XML) elements must be rendered on, for
example, a web page. The look of your SharePoint site is decided by CSS code in the
background. JavaScript is a programming language for web pages.
How to write CSS and JavaScript is far out of scope for this book, that is mainly no-code,
but here I will show how you can do if you have a snippet of code that you want to use on
a SharePoint page.
I will however describe how you can add code to make small changes in a site page. There
are three ways to do it, but you can not do it by directly pasting your CSS or JavaScript
code into the HTML source of the page. It will look fine until you save the page, but when
you do that your code will disappear.
If you want to modify an object on the page but don’t know the name for it, press the F12
key to show the browser’s developer tools. Click on the ‘Select element’ icon at the top
left and select the element you want to find the name for.
The activation takes a few minutes, and you can see the message “working on it” at the
top of the page while the Publishing Infrastructure is being activated. When the activation
has finished, you will see an Active icon, and the Activate button has been replaced by a
Deactivate button.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Publishing-Infrastructure-
Activate.htm
20.2 NAVIGATION CHANGES WITH THE PUBLISHING
INFRASTRUCTURE
When the SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure has been activated for a site
collection, the Look and Feel group in the Site Settings has become different.
The links to the Quick Launch and the Top link bar are now replaced with a link to
Navigation settings, which give more options than before.
These are the most important changes in the Navigation settings:
The navigation areas are called local and global navigation instead of Quick Launch and
top navigation.
You have to enable ‘Show subsites’ in the Navigation Settings to display links to
subsites. Even if you select ‘Use the top link bar from the parent site’ when you create a
new subsite, the link will not be shown until you enable ‘Show subsites’.
There is a Structural Navigation settings box that helps you move links and add link
headings more easily than without the Publishing Infrastructure.
When you click on ‘Add Link…’ you will have more advanced options than before. You
can, for example, set links to open in a new window.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Publishing-Infrastructure-
Navigation-Changes.htm
20.3 CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
When the SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure is activated, there is a link to the
Content and Structure application under Site Administration in the Site Settings.
(You can however use Content and Structure even without enabling the Publishing
Infrastructure, by adding “sitemanager.aspx” to a site URL.)
Use Content and Structure to manage the site collection’s files, apps and sites. Files can be
moved between sites and you can even move sites. You don’t have to download anything,
as everything is handled on the server.
The interface of the Site Content and Structure page resembles Windows Explorer. You
can see the site collection hierarchy in the navigation pane as a tree view to the left, and to
the right you have the content of the selected item.
To work with the site collection, right click on the content you want to modify and select
one of the options. You can also use the controls on top in the right panel.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Publishing-Infrastructure-
Content-Structure.htm
20.4 CREATE A MEGA MENU
When the SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure is activated, you can use the
Navigation page to create a mega menu within the global navigation.
In such a menu the links are grouped under headings, which makes it more scalable than if
you just put the links in a long row. (Another navigation option is to use the SharePoint
Search.)
If the SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure is not activated, you can still create
headings and add links under them by using drag and drop, but it is often difficult to get
the links where you want them. The Navigation Settings page that comes with SharePoint
Server Publishing Infrastructure makes it easier.
A bit down on the Navigation Settings page you can find the entry ‘Structural Navigation:
Editing and Sorting’. Here you can add headings and links and move content up and down
in the navigation. You can also delete content here.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Publishing-Infrastructure-
Mega-Menu.htm
20.5 THE CONTENT QUERY WEB PART
The Content Query web part is only available when the SharePoint Server Publishing
Infrastructure feature has been activated for the site collection. Then you can find it in the
Content Rollup web part category.
The Content Query is similar to The Content Search Web Part that I have used in several
earlier examples, but there is an important difference in how the search is performed: The
Content Search can search the index of the entire tenant, while the Content Query only can
search the site collection (default) or specified sites in the site collection.
There is a certain delay before the index is updated, so you will not see your changes right
away when you let the Content Search web part search the whole index. With the Content
Query web part any changes are shown more quickly, and therefore the Content Query is
suitable for content that is often changed, like tasks.
The Content Query is a bit easier to configure than the Content Search, as you don’t have
to build a query. You can find all options in the Content Query web part properties.
Here is an example on how you can use the Content Query web part to collect tasks from
sites within the same site collection and show them on a page.
1. Open a Page in Edit Mode.
2. Add a Web Part, the Content Query web part in the Content Rollup category.
3. Edit the Web Part and open the Query accordion.
4. Add site URLs, if you want to restrict the search to certain sites and not include the
whole site collection.
5. Select to show items from the Tasks list type.
6. Expand the Presentation accordion and remove the text in the URL textbox under Fields
to display. Under Presentation you can also group and sort the displayed items, set the
number of columns and make other settings.
7. Expand the Appearance accordion and enter a suitable title for the web part.
8. Make any other web part settings you prefer, apply and save the page.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Publishing-Infrastructure-
Content-Query.htm
20.6 SHAREPOINT SERVER PUBLISHING
Once the SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure feature has been activated for the
site collection, you can activate the SharePoint Server Publishing feature for the site.
Enable the SharePoint Server Publishing feature for sites where you want to have more
layout options than those I have shown in earlier chapters.
The SharePoint Server Publishing also gives you access to the Master page feature. Here
you can specify a master page for the site and use an alternate CSS URL for the entire site
and its subsites.
Another SharePoint Server Publishing feature is the Image Renditions, which lets you
define different image formats.
Enable the SharePoint Server Publishing feature in the Site Settings, via the link ‘Manage
site features’in the Site Actions group. Scroll down to the feature and click on Activate.
The activation only takes a few seconds, and after that you will have several new libraries
in the Site Contents and links to the Master page and Image Renditions settings under
Look and Feel in the Site Settings.
6. Check the box for subsite inheritance if you want all subsites to use the CSS file.
7. Click OK.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Publishing-Infrastructure-
Alternate-CSS-URL.htm
20.7 SUMMARY
In the chapter about SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure we have looked at the
changes this feature gives in the Site Settings Look and Feel group and at the new
navigation options they give.
You have also learned how to use the Content and Structure application and the Content
Query web part, and you have seen how the activation of SharePoint Server Publishing
can give a site more layout options.
21 CREATE EXAMPLE DATA
When you are trying different solutions and scenarios for SharePoint apps, it is helpful to
use example data. In this chapter I will show how to create example data for a SharePoint
list in Microsoft Excel and Access.
21.1 CREATE EXAMPLE DATA IN EXCEL
Here we will first create a column for Hours Worked and then add example data to it.
1. Create a Column and select the radio button for the Number column type.
2. Write a description how the column should be used.
3. Select to show 0 decimals and click OK.
Modify the View so that the item limit includes all the rows in the grid. This way you can
easily paste the example data you create in Excel into the new column.
To create the example data you can use the Excel RAND function.
1. Create a new Excel spreadsheet.
2. Enter a RAND function in a cell to generate random numbers: =int(RAND()*100)
3. Drag the cell down to copy the formula to as many cells as you need for the
SharePoint list column.
4. Copy the column and paste it into the SharePoint column you just created.
When you don’t have too many rows in the SharePoint datasheet grid, it works well to
paste the values you have copied from Excel. For long SharePoint lists it is safer to Open a
List in Access and paste the values into the new column there.
21.2 CREATE EXAMPLE DATA IN ACCESS
When you add users to a SharePoint site, a hidden users list is created. This list can be
seen when you open the list in Access. Here I will explain how to open a SharePoint list in
Microsoft Access and create example data for Priority and Titles.
1. Open a List in Access.
2. Create a new table for Priorities.
3. Copy the priority values from the SharePoint list column where you already have them,
and paste them into the Access table.
4. Create another table for Titles. Copy or write some titles into the table.
5. Click on the Query Wizard button under the ribbon CREATE tab. Keep the default
Simple Query Wizard option. Click OK.
6. Select the fields from the different tables that you want to include in the query. In this
case it is the Title and Priority fields but also the ID and Work email fields from the User
info table.
6. Add a link to the rental agreement item. Pick the link from the function guide. Choose
the Data source ‘Workflow Context’ and the Field from source ‘Current Item URL’.
7. Publish and Check the Workflow.
Associate the Reusable Workflow with a Content Type used in the rental agreements lists.
That is done once for the whole site collection. Then all lists that use the rental agreements
content type will have the send renewal e-mail workflow.
NOTE: this workflow is still not finished. It must be set to start on a specific date for each
rental agreement. This date is defined in the Information Management Policy Settings;
refer to the next section, Retention Stages.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Rental-Agreements-Reusable-
Workflow-Email.htm
22.5 RETENTION STAGES
To set the e-mail sending date for the workflow created in the section above,the Renewal
E-mail Workflow, you must create a retention stage in the Information Management
Policy Settings of the content type. There you can set the alert to be sent on a calculated
date, and you can also set the rental agreements to be deleted permanently at a specific
number of years after the end date.
1. Open the Site Settings from the root site of the site collection.
2. Click on the ‘Site content types’ link in the Web Designer Galleries group.
3. Select the content type group that contains the rental agreements content type and then
the content type itself.
4. Click on the ‘Information management policy settings’ link.
5. Enable retention and click on ‘Add retetions stage…’ to add two retentions:
Set the Event Renewal Date to 0 days and the Action to start the workflow that sends
the renewal alert.
Set the Event End Date to your preferred number of years and the Action to
Permanently Delete the item.
These retention settings cannot be checked immediately, as they are time dependent, but
you can make sure that they are active in a list by going into the List settings and open the
‘Information management policy settings’ link. Click on the content type, and you should
see a message that the policy settings cannot be changed, as they are inherited from the
parent content type.
Demo:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Rental-Agreements-Timer-
Retention.htm
For a simpler retention stage example, refer to Overdue Alert to Manager.
22.6 SUMMARY
In this chapter we have looked at how SharePoint can be used to facilitate the management
of rental agreements. We have created a content type for rental agreements lists and added
two reusable workflows to it: one for renewal date and one for a time activated e-mail
alert.
23 PHONE MESSAGES
In this chapter I will show a way to use SharePoint to automate the distribution of phone
messages within an organization. The system also has a way to register if the phone
message has been taken care of or not.
It might seem a bit of overkill to go through all this trouble for phone messages, but my
intention is to repeat and expand techniques that we have gone through earlier and that
you can use for any information distribution within your organization. The phone
messages are just a simple piece of information that everyone can relate to.
I will first describe a simple solution that is difficult to scale. Then I will show a more
advanced solution that will work over many site collections in a SharePoint tenant.
These are some of the things you have already learned to create, which are repeated and
used in another way in this chapter:
List app with list columns
List Entry view
List views
Alert workflow
Content type
Add web parts
Reusable workflow
Create an app template
Search vertical
Managed Metadata column
Customize Refinement web part
23.1 CONSIDERATIONS
Before you start creating a SharePoint solution for phone messages management, or
similar, you have to consider what kind of list columns and views are needed. In my
example I use these:
Columns
Caller name – Single line of text
Caller phone number – Single line of text
Called person – selection from People or Group
Returned? – Yes/No, with the default value set to No
Views
Today’s calls
Un-returned calls
Grouped per person called
Entry view
Another very important thing to consider, is whether you should create a simple list, or
spend some more time in creating a scalable solution that can be used in the whole tenant.
I show both options below, but as always I recommend the scalable solution.
Demos:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Phone-Messages-Intro.htm
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Phone-Messages-Enterprise-
Case.htm
23.2 CREATE A PHONE MESSAGES LIST
In this section I will first explain how to create a simple SharePoint list app for phone
messages, a list that can satisfy a small company or a limited number of users. After that I
will show a more advanced solution, which will work over many site collections in a
SharePoint tenant.
To create this view, select the Datasheet view type and hide the Returned column. (The
calls that are entered in this list have not been returned yet.)
Filter the items to only show items with the ID 0. As there are no such items, no existing
items will be shown in this view. It is only to be used for entering new phone messages.
Demos:
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Phone-Messages-Entry.htm
http://www.kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Phone-Messages-Views.htm
23.4 CREATE A PHONE MESSAGES TEMPLATE
1. In the Content Type Hub, create Phone Messages Views for the Phone Messages list
you created.
2. Save the App as a Template.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Phone-Messages-Enterprise-
Template.htm
23.5 PHONE MESSAGES ALERT WORKFLOW
In this section I will show two types of workflows for e-mail alerts about missed calls.
One is suitable for the simple SharePoint list app for phone messages. The other one is
reusable and can be connected to a content type, so I recommend you to use that workflow
when your phone messages list is built on a content type in the Content Type Hub.
The message should contain the name and telephone number of the person who called and
info about who received the call. It is also good to have a link to the list item in edit mode,
so that the user quickly can mark the call as returned.
11. Click OK to all dialogs, and Publish and Check the Workflow.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Phone-Messages-Workflow-
Link.htm
4. Create the workflow as described for the list workflow in the section above.
To distribute the workflow to other site collections; refer to Reusable Workflow Template.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Phone-Messages-Enterprise-
Reusable-Workflow.htm
23.6 MY MESSAGES
You can add a Content Search web part that shows each user his/her phone messages to a
page that is often visited, for example the SharePoint home page. In this example the
current user’s unreturned calls are shown independently of which site collection the phone
messages were created in.
1. Open a Page in Edit Mode.
2. Click on the Text Layout button under the FORMAT TEXT tab and select ‘One column
with sidebar’. This will give you a web part with the default document library in the
sidebar.
3. Delete the default web part, because it is here we will add the web part for the
unreturned calls.
4. Add a Web Part, the Content Search web part in the Content Rollup category.
5. By default, the web part shows the latest changed items in the site collection. To change
that, Edit the Web Part and click on the ‘Change query’ button.
6. In the Query Builder, select ‘Items matching a content type’ and don’t restrict by app.
Restrict the search to the phone messages content type.
7. Switch to Advanced Mode and Add two Property Filters: ‘CalledOWSUSER’
‘Contains’ ‘The name of the user who runs the query’ and ‘CallereturnedOWSBOOL’ ‘Not
equals’ Manual value and the manual value is Yes.
8. Make any other web part settings you prefer, apply and save the page
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/Phone-Messages-Enterprise-My-
Calls.htm
23.7 ENHANCEMENTS
There are more you can do to enhance the phone messages solution, for example add a
phone messages search vertical in the Search Center and add a Managed Metadata column
to the phone messages list. Search verticals and Managed Medatada have been described
earlier in this book, so here I will just point out what is special for the phone messages
application.
A template is also a good option for the meeting notes list, if you want to use the same
kind of list in several site collections.
Upload the Template to Another Site Collection if needed.
Demo:
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/SharePoint-Meetings-Content-
Type-Use.htm
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/SharePoint-Meetings-Action-
Points.htm
http://kalmstrom.com/Tips/SharePoint-Online-Course/SharePoint-Meetings-Upload-
Templates.htm
24.4 ENHANCEMENTS
Now we have set up the meetings management system in SharePoint, with the content
types and list templates. Next step is some enhancements that make the meetings easier to
find.
As always when you create a search vertical you start with creating a new page from the
Search Center, so that the new page will use the Search Results page layout. In the
Content Search Query Builder, select the query ‘Items matching a content type (System)’.
Do not restrict by app or tag but restrict to the meeting notes content type.