Example uses of SPServices, JavaScript and SharePoint

I wanted to write about spservices.codeplex.com from Marc D Anderson - we've found ourselves using this really special library time and again across different projects to talk back to SharePoint quickly.

Starting Workflows

Here's a page from one of our Process Wiki articles.

• We have a special "Contributor-only" webpart on the right. 
• It shows the various workflow status' on the current page, as traffic light bubbles. 
• The "Certify Process Page" calls a javascript function that calls StartWorkflow via SPServices.
• The workflow is a Nintex workflow and triggers a significant multi-stage approval process.  But you can use StartWorkflow to start SharePoint workflows as well.

Getting List data, lots of list data

Here's our task list, represented as a taskboard.

• This one is completely done with SPServices to get the list items
• Convert the objects to JSON using SPServices.SPXmlToJson
• Then binding the objects to UI via KnockoutJS
• There's JQuery UI's drag and drop in play, so we can change the Task's status by dragging the task across a different column.
• Update task using SPServices' UpdateItem call.
• And some nice CSS. 
• This particular page also runs via SharePoint 2010's OData listdata.svc, but is completely viable with SPServices on SP2007 as well.

Getting User Profiles via Search

Here's our People page.

• First, get SharePoint to index your people.
• Use SPServices to call SharePoint search to return a bunch of people, including their picture (one would say, especially their picture).
• Here I use Knockout to render the pictures.  When clicked, each one opens that user's My Site page.
• There's a filter box on the top right, as well as "fake" refinements on the left hand side that allows us to re-query SharePoint search for filtered people.
• One possible idea here would be to use SPServices' User Profile Service support and talk directly to the User Profile service, if you want to skip the search service.

Summary

A quick post of 3 recent javascript customizations that heavily used SPServices.  Hope that give you guys a lot of ideas.  Let me know what you guys think.

How to create your Windows 8 Start Button with PowerShell

Before I go on, I have to say I find the Start Menu unnecessary.  There are already many ways to get to your Start Screen:

• Throw mouse to lower-left corner (with the mouse)
• Press the Windows key (on your keyboard)
• Swipe in from the left edge (touch screen)
• Press the Start button (any device with a hardware start button)

That said, Windows is still about choice.  And here's how you can add your own "Start Menu Button"

1. Create a shortcut.
2. Type in this:
   powershell.exe -Command "Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms; [Windows.Forms.SendKeys]::SendWait('^({ESC})')"
   
   (all in one line)
   This sends the Windows key (CTRL-ESC) via Powershell.
   
   
3. Configure the shortcut to run minimized
   
   
4. Change the Icon, I select this icon from the bootux.dll file %SystemRoot%\System32\bootux.dll) 
   
   (All the icons are white, select them to see what they look like) 
   
5. Drag the shortcut and pin it to the task bar, on the far left.
   
   
6. Now you have that familiar Start menu button back.  Click it and you'll get the Start Screen to pop up. 
   

Notes

• Does not appear to work in Windows RT, but if you have a Surface just hit that start hardware button

XML deserialization - cannot have child contents to be deserialized as an object

Element MyValue from namespace http://schemas.datacontract.org/2004/07/Services cannot have child contents to be deserialized as an object. Please use XmlNode[] to deserialize this pattern of XML.

I was playing with DataContractSerializer, and getting this strange error when performing de-serialization (turning XML back into an object of type MyClass).

[DataContract]
public class MyClass
{
    [DataMember]
    public string MyName;

    [DataMember]
    public object MyValue;
}

The error message actually is pretty clear about what the issue is, but English is a sucky language.  Let me highlight what the error message is really saying:

Element MyValue from namespace http://schemas.datacontract.org/2004/07/Services cannot have child contents to be deserialized as an object. Please use XmlNode[] to deserialize this pattern of XML.

Read it again:

Element MyValue cannot be deserialized as an object.

The deserializer was actually talking about the fact that it can't turn <MyValue>1</MyValue> back into an object of the type Object.

If you change your DataContract to

[DataContract]
public class MyClass
{
    [DataMember]
    public string MyName;

    [DataMember]
    public string MyValue;
}

Then the deserializer will be happy.

The SharePoint Pinterest-style Image Library

A picture is worth a thousand words.

In the latest version of spaspa.codeplex.com, I created a separate Knockout Template and bind the Images library (BaseTemplateID 851) to it.  Then I inserted a simple jQuery Plugin Wookmark https://github.com/GBKS/Wookmark-jQuery

The end result is that when we have pictures, they are displayed in an awesome layout.

As an added bonus, I'm calculating the thumbnail image from SharePoint, so instead of rendering:

http://spg-dev-jl/PublishingImages/wallpaper_08.jpg

Original: 78K

I'm rendering

http://spg-dev-jl/PublishingImages/_w/wallpaper_08_jpg.jpg

Thumbnail image generated by SharePoint.  Which is a far smaller file - 16k.

Next update, I'll try to resolve those pesky SharePoint users and get the correct user name and picture.  So we don't have Mr. Bill Gates staring back at us! ;-)

Test your C#: Generic overloaded constructors

I love languages.  Here's one for a language nut.

public class Response<T> {

    private T result;
    private string error;

    public Response(T result) { this.result = result; }
    public Response(string message) { this.error = message; }

}

You can use this generic class as a wrapper for returning data.

return new Response<int>(1000);

Or to return an abnormal result

return new Response<int>("Something has gone wrong");

Question 1

The fun part then, is what happens when you have this?

var result = new Response<string>("Is this a result or an error?");

What is result

Question 2

What about this:

public class Sample
{
    public static Response<T> GetSample<T>(T arg)
    {
        return new Response<T>(arg);
    }
}

and then:

var result = Sample.GetSample("Is this an error?");

What is result