Microsoft cloud engineer - SharePoint, Office 365, Azure, DotNet, Angular, JavaScript.
Microsoft cloud engineer - SharePoint, Office 365, Azure, DotNet, Angular, JavaScript.

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Renaming a View – Best Practice

When renaming SharePoint views users are often stuck with the unintended side effects of having both an internal file name and external display name.   If understood and managed properly this can be an advantage (not a bug).   A short simple internal name can provide a concise URL while longer display names can provide end user navigation and context.

Type
Object
Description

Internal

ASPX file name

Shows in Designer, Explorer, URL bar, and other technical views

External

String display for navigation

Shows in navigation bar, HTML display title, MS Office clients, and other end user views

 

The Internal name is set at creation time and cannot be easily changed later.  So, the next time you make a new view try to use a short name first then come back and rename to something longer immediately after.   This way you get the best of both worlds:  a short URL and a longer more descriptive navigation link. 

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TPS_report

Extracting hyperlink destinations from Excel (Document Library item URLs)

I recently needed the destination URL for several hundred items across layers of nested folders in a giant SharePoint Document Library.    Right clicking with “copy link location” just wasn’t going to work here.   The datasheet view, Excel, and Access all came to mind as possible tools.   In then end a quick Excel UDF (User Defined Function) helped get the job done.   This is easily done against SharePoint Document Libraries because the default Title column links to the file item URL.

  1. Choose “Export to Spreadsheet” from your document library
  2. Open the .IQY file when prompted
  3. Press Alt+F11, then Insert > Module
  4. Paste in this code:
    5. Function GetAddress(HyperlinkCell As Range)
    GetAddress = Replace _
    (HyperlinkCell.Hyperlinks(1).Address, "mailto:", "")
End Function
  5. Save the workbook.   Note:  You might be prompted to save as XLSM for a macro enabled workbook, change the file type, and save.
  6. Use the =getaddress(cell) function to see the URLs  (screenshots below)

 

 

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Sources Cited

http://www.ozgrid.com/VBA/HyperlinkAddress.htm

Function GetAddress(HyperlinkCell As Range)

    GetAddress = Replace _

    (HyperlinkCell.Hyperlinks(1).Address, "mailto:", "")

End Function

MS Virtualization Quick Reference

For myself and friends working with Microsoft virtualization technologies I decided to write a quick reference guide comparing and contrasting the tools available today.  This area is changing so quickly it’s hard to stay current.  Hope you find it helpful.

Virtual PC 2007

Key Features: Simple, easy, and abundant.   Friendly GUI interface, drag and drop files across Host–>VM desktops.   With so many Windows XP desktops out there there is a favorite for learning and labs.

Host O/S: Windows XP mostly.  Older systems.

Guest Capability: 32-bit only

Keyboard Shortcuts: [Right Alt] to release (if lacking VM additions).   [Ctrl+Alt+Break] will toggle to/from full screen.

Download Link:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/details.aspx?FamilyID=04d26402-3199-48a3-afa2-2dc0b40a73b6&displaylang=en#filelist

Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1

Key Features: Web based interface, easy remoting.  More features (VHDMOUNT, VMC editing).  Dominant in data centers.

Host O/S: Windows XP / Server 2003.   Older systems.   Can also run on Server 2008 for backward compatibility and access to VHDMOUNT utility.

Guest Capability: 32-bit only

Keyboard Shortcuts: [Right Alt] to release (if lacking VM additions).    Full keyboard shortcut listing here.

Download Link:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualserver/

Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008

Key Features: FAST!!   Direct access to bare metal.   Latest in core VM tech from Microsoft.   Easy snapshots, rich settings editor, VHD compression tool.

Host O/S: Windows Server 2008 only

Guest Capability: 64-bit and FAST!

Keyboard Shortcuts: [Ctrl+Alt+Left Arrow] to release (if lacking Hyper-V Integration Services).

Download Link:

(comes with Windows Server 2008)

Windows Virtual PC RC

Key Features: Only option for Windows 7 that I’m aware of.   Still in Release Candidate status.

Host O/S: Windows 7 (all editions)

Guest Capability: More than even Hyper-V?  64-bit with “boot as VHD” feature too?

Keyboard Shortcuts: Not sure, haven’t run yet.

Download Link:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/details.aspx?familyid=4C3A0944-A2E6-4F01-9C57-5B55885875CC&displaylang=en

Favicon Generator

While not directly related to SharePoint I think “favicon.ico” is a nice tool for giving any website a stronger brand.   All modern browsers support this feature and keep the icon in your bookmarks to make the site easy to identify.   I’ve tried creating these several ways so I’ll save you the trouble and say that Dynamic Drive has the best.    http://tools.dynamicdrive.com/favicon/     Upload any common image file and it resizes, handles color palette , give you an instant download, and even a nice URL bar preview too.

How do I add this to my site?   I want my bookmark icon to be cool!

  • Add the “favicion.ico” to the root  (i.e.   https://www.spjeff.com/favicon.ico)
  • Add HTML in the page <head> that says  …  <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" />
  • Bookmark to your heart’s content

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@ SPJeff

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