SharePoint – InfoPath / Forms Library missing

Testing InfoPath, I try to do the simplest thing – publishing an InfoPath form to a SharePoint as a template, and allowing it to create a new library based on this template - I got this error:

The following computer running windows SharePoint Services does not contain the required InfoPath form template:
http://vm-spdev-xxxx/
A generic form template will be used instead

Warning: This is very bad

You should not continue – because if you do…

1. InfoPath will create a new Document Library instead of a Forms Library and deploy the InfoPath file as a template in this document library. 
2. It will appear as if everything’s working – you can do New –> InfoPath Form (as a document), fill it out and save it back to the list.
3. And when you want to update the template it will complain that the default document isn’t based on a Form template.
   
   InfoPath failed to publish because the default content type in the document library is not based on the Form content type
4. You got confused – you went to check the Library and sure enough it says the default content type is a Document
5. You add a Form content type, and switch it over as the default content type… only to discover SharePoint now publishes two different sets of columns in this list – one set for Forms, another set for Documents.
6. And it doesn’t appear as if the second publish worked…  I think this may be a different problem – because if I view as web page I see the new updated template

Instead, back out right now – delete that list in SharePoint and start over…  By the way… where’s – hmm where’s my Forms Library?

Went to site settings and activated:

• Site Collection Features –> Office SharePoint Server Enterprise Site Collection features
• Site Features –> Office SharePoint Server Enterprise Site features

No good, still no forms library.

More stumbling around, finally figured it out – I need to activate:

• Site Features –> Team Collaboration Lists

Personally I didn’t think this was obvious – but I did know Forms Library is part of WSS…  so may be it made some sense.

Now go back to InfoPath again and try to publish.

SharePoint – how do you stay on top of all this stuff?

SharePoint is a big product – and getting bigger.

People have wondered – how do you stay on top of all the new developments?

This is one trick I’ve found via Twitter – works relatively well.

1. You will of course need a twitter account
2. Go to the twitter search page and look for users.  Find “sharepoint”
   http://twitter.com/search/users?q=sharepoint&category=people&source=find_on_twitter
3. You will see a bunch that comes up on top – sorted by # of followers:
   • sharepointbuzz is crazy – as far as I can tell – this re-twits anything anyone says about #sharepoint (that’s useful).  I followed for a bit and decided that was too much reading.
   • SharePointMVPs is a good one – basically this one twits whenever one of the SharePoint MVPs writes a new blog (or white paper) – HIGHLY recommended
   • SharePoint is the MS official one – not necessary if you are already following the SharePoint team blog RSS
4. Read twitter on the go – in your iPhone or BlackBerry or Windows Mobile
5. If you see a topic that’s interesting, flag it with “favourites”
6. Review your twitter favourites a couple times a week.

Bingo!

Stay on top of all the up to date #SharePoint news

Anyone has a good tip about how to catch up on the old stuff between 2007 – 2009 let me know…

SharePoint – thoughts on sharepoint.microsoft.com

http://sharepoint.microsoft.com had a face lift.  I decided to go have a quick look and make some comments.

Nice bits

• The site looks cleaner
• It is running on SharePoint
• Sign-in is tied with Windows Live (passport)

Horrible bits

• View Source was horrifying – I had hoped it may be running on SharePoint 2010 – but it looks like it’s still MOSS 2007
  • Big viewstate
  • Big initialize data for SilverLight
  • These are all things I’d hope to see disappear when we finally see SharePoint 2010…  I guess I’ll have to keep waiting.

Awesome

• Great HTML comment in the footer of the page:

<!---

Developed by Celina Moser Baginski

For questions and/or comments, please email me at

[email protected]

--->

• Given that this is on every page – I assume it’s on the master
• I can’t fine Celina Moser Baginski when I went to browse around http://www.consejoinc.com/ though.  Makes me wonder – if you don’t talk about your employees on your company’s own site, why would you let them put their email addresses directly into the master page of your client’s site?

SharePoint – Microsoft Certified Masters, and why I should care

A couple of weeks ago, the first batch of MCM: SharePoint were announced.

Curiously, I went to see what it takes to be a SharePoint master.

Initially, I had assumed that it was just going to be a higher level of certification after you’ve completed the 4x MSTS: SharePoint certificates.

First reaction was: woah US$18,000?  Hmm… sounds a bit crazy.

Realizing that it is a 3 weeks training course made the money side more acceptable.

Seriously, if a company will send their top SharePoint architect on a 3 week full time training, US$18,000 – this must be some serious crack.

But then starting to read about what they say after completing the training

http://www.harbar.net/archive/2009/05/07/reality-check-microsoft-certified-master-for-sharepoint-2007.aspx

It begins to dawn on me that this is not your average level yet-another-certification.

It is a massive amount of work, time, effort.  In fact I would argue that the money aspect quickly went out the window with the shear amount of work that’s required to actually make it, and pass it at the end.  If you can take that much time off from client work to get through the course, by all means go for it!

Here are more materials.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/master/Sharepoint/default.mspx

So finally, what does this all mean for me?

For now, as a personal goal - I’ve decided to chew through the pre-reading list.

http://www.dynamicevents.com/MCM/MCMSharePointPre-Reads.pdf

They even provided a nice checkbox column for me to tick them off as I go…  nice!

I think if I can get through these 81 documents before SharePoint 2010 comes out it’d be awesome!

Migrating from Windows Live Spaces to SquareSpace - outline

This is going to be a series of blogs, and hopefully release source code for getting your blog out of Windows Live Spaces.  I want to split this into two major sections, and then have a few trailing articles discussing the differences and things as I encounter them.

First Half: Export your blog data out of Windows Live Spaces

• No export option
• MetaBlogAPI – documented on MSDN
• Export to some sort of format: XML?  MoveableType?
• Cleaning the data
• Exporting comments?

Second Half: Import your blog data into SquareSpace

• Using a format that SquareSpace understands
• Unhappiness with documentation – regarding DYI imports
• Imported Blogs go under a new journal
• Migrating content between journals

Extended Time:

• Release code
• Gotchas
• Data cleaning
• Pictures