I have been working on a solution for my current client that would allow the uses to access the Citrix web interface through their SharePoint home page.

There are a few ways to do this:

1. Add a link to the SP home page that opens up the Citrix Web Portal
2. Add a Page Viewer web part to the SP page, opening the Citrix Web Portal
3. Install Citrix Web Interface for SharePoint 2007 (WISP 2007), and utilize the supplies Citrix specific web parts

Each of these solutions has it’s pros and cons.

1. Adding a link to the home page is quick and easy, but not the most elegant way of doing things.
2. Adding the Page Viewer web part to the front page offers a more intuitive solution.  This provides the users with an obvious place to login to the Citrix server and will also present their available applications in a familiar environment.
3. The most robust solution is to install WISP 2007.  This solution provides an integrated solution to presenting the user with their Citrix application options.  This tool integrates Single Sign On, SharePoint and core Citrix functionality very nicely.

My client opted for solution #2: Add a Page Viewer web part to the home page.

To do this:

1. Add a Page Viewer web part to the page

2. Edit the web part properties to add the URL for the Citrix Web Portal

HEY! In order for the Citrix Web Portal to function properly, the full domain will need to be added as a trusted domain on the client.

 

3. After the domain is trusted by the client, the users will be presented with the familiar login interface of the Citrix Web Portal

Thanks for listening.

I know ... Two posts in a row with links.  Lame.  I know.  BUT -- This is a great article.

If you are or are planning to be a programmer - you MUST read this article by over at Coding The Wheel.

The Programming Aphorisms of Strunk and White

Enjoy!

 

Thanks for listening.

HEY!

I just came across this link on Delicious:

http://packetlife.net/cheatsheets/

This is a great reference for network (and some non-network) geeks!

Enjoy.

 

Thanks for listening.

When submitting an InfoPath for to a SharePoint list, the data from the IP form can be used to to populate values in the document list or other lists on the SharePoint site.

Here are the steps.

InfoPath

After the IP form is complete, the fields that are to be exposed to SharePoint need to be promoted as properties. 

1. Select the Form Options selection from the Tools menu
2. Select the Property Promotion option on the left side of the Form Options Dialog

3. Click the Add button to add a field to the list

a. The Select a Field or Group dialog box will show all of the fields used in the IP form.
b. Select the field you want to make available to SharePoint
c. Update the Column Name to the name you want to show in SharePoint

HEY! This name does NOT need to be the same as the field name you selected from the list. IP/SharePoint keep a reference to the field, not the pushing name.

HEY! When you select the field from the list, IP will attempt to create a user friendly name for the field. The result of this is the addition of spaces added to the name. Sometimes this makes sense, not often. So make sure you check the name before you click OK.

 

d. Click OK
e. Repeat this for all of the fields you want to be available in SharePoint

4. Publish the form to SharePoint

SharePoint

In the list used to store the data from the IP document (this can be the same list used to store the IP document or a different list altogether), create new column(s) to store the data.

1. Select the List Settings option from the Setting menu option

2. Under the Columns group, select Create Column
3. Enter the data for the new column: Name, Type, Description, etc…
4. Click OK
5. Repeat steps 2-4 as necessary to add all of the columns needed

SharePoint Designer

After the IP form has been completed and submitted to SharePoint and the workflow is started, the fields that where promoted will be available to the work flow.

This example is based on a custom work flow in SharePoint Designer

To reference the fields from the Conditions logic section:

1. Utilize the first condition block or add a new one
2. Select the “Compare <Your List Name Here > field” option

3. Select the Field label on the new condition description

4. The promoted fields, along with all other list fields, will show in the list
5. Select the field you want to test
6. Select the Value label
7. Enter or select the appropriate value for the conditional test

To use the promoted fields to populate the current list:

1. Create a new Action
2. Select the Update List Item option

HEY! The order of items in this list is dynamic. Items will not always show in this order. The order of the items is based on the last one used.

3. Leave the List selection as Current Item
4. In the Update List Item dialog box click the Add button
    a. From the Set this field dropdown, select the field (column) to update
    b. Select the (function) button next to the To this value box
          i. Leave the Source field as Current Item
          ii. From the field dropdown, select the promoted field to use
          iii. Click OK
     c. Click OK

    

     d. Repeat for each column that is to be updated with the IP form data

5. Click OK

To use the promoted fields to create a new list item in a different list:

1. Add a new Action
2. Select the Create List Item option

3. Select the this list option
4. From the List dropdown, select the list to use

HEY! After the list is selected, the Field/Value list will show all of the required fields (columns) for the list

5. In the Create New List Item dialog box click the Add button
     a. From the Set this field dropdown, select the field (column) to update
     b. Select the (function) button to the right of the To this value box
          i. Leave the Source field as Current Item
          ii. From the field dropdown, select the promoted field to use
          iii. Click OK
     c. Click OK
     d. Repeat for each column you want to update with the IP form data
6. Click OK

To use the promoted fields to update an existing list item in a different list

1. Create a new Action
2. Select the Update List Item option

3. Select the this list option
4. From the List dropdown, select the list to use
5. In the Create New List Item dialog box click the Add button
     a. From the Set this field dropdown, select the field (column) to update
     b. Select the (function) button to the right of the “To this value” box
          i. Leave the “Source” field as Current Item
          ii. From the field dropdown, select the promoted field you want to use
          iii. Click OK
     c. Click OK
     d. Repeat for each column you want to update with the IP form data
6. Select the appropriate list item to update
     a. From the Fields dropdown (at the bottom of the dialog), select the field to use as a unique reference for the item to be updated
     b. Enter the value to be used as the key to identify the list item to be updated. (if the data is stored as a work flow variable or a promoted field, use the (function) button to reference that data)

    

7. Click OK

Thanks for listening.

I have moved the contents of this post to the Tutorials page.  Things just got a little too crowded!

 SharePoint Designer provides a good interface for workflow development.  One, of the few, drawback is that; it is not always intuitive.  One case of this is creating a custom approval workflow.

I have blogged before about creating a custom approval workflow with multiple approvers.  This example shows how to create the approval workflow with multiple approvers.  Each approver is required to review and act.

This example shows how to create an approval workflow that allows for multiple approvers, but only one is required to act.

Develop a Custom OR Approval Workflow with SharePoint Designer

Thanks for listening!

 

Microsoft announced the latest version of Visual Studio today!  VS2010!

Take a look at the new web page:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/products/cc948977.aspx

Pretty cool!!!!!!!!!

Here is a link to the press release too:

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/sep08/09-29VS10PR.mspx

 

Thanks for listening.

 

A big THANKS! to the folks (Tim and Doug) over at AZSharePointPros.com for last night's AZ SharePoint User's Group meeting.

The meeting was very informative and there was a a full house.

Rick Taylor's presentation on forms based authentication for MOSS was particularly interesting to me.  This technique will allow me to save one of my clients some monthly money by moving their SharePoint extranet inside.  This will give them immediate control of the users and content.  They are going to soooo excited!

Tim Baggs' did a great job with everyday workflows in SharePoint Designer. (I don't know anyone that speaks that fast!)  I think everyone learned something.  Thanks to Tim, I have a new method for creating great forms for data collection in my custom workflows.  Can you say "data view", I knew you could.

Thanks again guys!

Thanks for listening.

So… Here I am, setting up a new dev box. I have installed VS2008 and start the process of applying SP1. (Slow at best.)

I left it to do its thing and went on to do other work.

When I checked on the progress, I noticed something from the Wayback Machine.

In the lower right hand corner, just below the “Installer Progress” bar, is an old fashioned spinning line! For those of you who are too young to know what that is; back in the old days, we used to use the “|”, “/”, “-“ and “\” to show the user that the program was still running. Similar to the AJAX process indicators.

Holy cow – Do I feel old!

What

One of the first tasks I needed to take care of for my current client was to create a multi-level workflow.  The client’s main requirement was that the workflow be designed in SharePoint Designer.  The second requirement was the data collection was to be done with an InfoPath form.

How

This was implemented by utilizing C# behind the IP form, published properties from the IP form, workflow variables in SharePoint Designer and custom tasks in SPD.

Flow (The other requirements)

The process to be controlled by the workflow is used to grant access to internal systems.  Access to these systems is granted by the company division that controls the systems.  In this case, there were three divisions.  The request is to be routed from division to division sequentially.Additionally, the request is rejected or approved as a whole.  If any division rejects the request the entire request is rejected.The initiating user was also to be kept in the loop as to the status of the request.  Email notification from the workflow was used to meet this requirement.

The Details

I have created a tutorial that outlines the steps that were taken to implement this solution:
http://cycogeek.fiesta25.com/blogs/cycogeek/page/Create-Custom-Approval-Workflow-with-SharePoint-Designer.aspx

Take a look.  Any and all feedback will be appreciated.

Thanks for listening.

When you create a custom work flow in SharePoint Designer, the work flow attaches the work flow tasks to the first list it finds.  This is usually the first list shown in the "List Gallery".

There are two ways to deal with this.

The first is to create a new list and name it in a way that will put it first in the list.  IE: AAA My Task List. Then create your new work flow.  This is not alway sconvenient as the work flow may already be created.

The second way it to edit the xxx.xoml.wfxconfig.xml and change the GUID related to the task list.  

NOTE: This will need to be done in each of the supporting .aspx files as well.  The easiest way to do this is the good ole ctrl+h (Find and Replace).

To get the GUID for the new list:
1. Open the list you want to associate the work flow to in SharePoint
2. Goto Settings --> List Settings
3. Right click on "Audience targeting settings"
4. Select "Copy Shortcut"
5. Open Notepad (or other text editor)
6. Paste

It will look similar to this:
http://spsp/_layouts/ListEnableTargeting.aspx?List={f01fc4bf-6185-4d7f-a4bf-276b0beacf07}  

This is the GUID for the list.

Thanks for listening.