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.

InfoPath - Form stuck on Installing, Upgrading or Deleting

When you publish an InfoPath Form through Central Administration, a few things happen:

1. Central Administration creates a WSP package for this form.
2. Central Administration creates timer jobs to deploy the package to each of the web applications that uses this form (defined by Activate to Site Collection, in Central Administration)
3. Administration Service on each server then runs the timer job to deploy the form.
4. The deployment job actually does a bunch of things:
1. Creates a list of upgrade templates in \14\TEMPLATE\FEATURES\FT-01-72d7f7bc-0c6e-ba52-fa91-bb24c0014ed6
   Note, for some sites, this list is incredibly long, and can take a long time. I can't think of any good reason why we need all the versions, but may be this can potentially affect form upgrades.
2. Creates a content type for the form
3. Copy the form template to %site collection%/Form Templates/template.xsn
4. (do other stuff)

Review this article from Microsoft: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/infopath/archive/2006/10/23/behind-the-scenes-of-administrator-approved-form-templates.aspx 

So when a form is stuck on "Installing" or "Upgrading"

1. Check timer jobs. If there are jobs that can't start - they will wait
1. Check all administration service are running on both servers
2. Check timer service is running (timer service calls administration service to deploy)
2. If your administration service is OFF, then you can try using the command line to execute those timer jobs
1. stsadm -o execadmsvcjobs
2. The benefit is if there's exceptions thrown here you'd see it in the console
3. Do this on all SharePoint servers. If the administration service is running, then this stsadm command won't do anything.
3. If your job is missing, you can check in Solution Management /_admin/Solutions.aspx
1. Go to Solution Management under Central Administration /_admin/Solutions.aspx
2. Find the farm solutions that for the form. The name would be form-formname.wsp.
3. If the solution isn't deployed, you can select deploy - global
4. If your admin service isn't running, you'll get a warning saying that jobs are scheduled but no admin service means they won't run.
5. Use stsadm -o execadmsvcjobs
4. If nothing else works, or if we want to do a complete removal.
1. In form templates, select the form template, and hit Remove.

Form is stuck on "Deleting"

1. Go to Solution Management under Central Administration /_admin/Solutions.aspx
2. Find the farm solutions that for the form. The name would be form-formname.wsp.
3. If the status is Deployed, then retraction hasn't started.
4. Click the package and select Retract Solution.
5. If your admin service isn't running, you'll get a warning saying that job is scheduled but no admin service means they won't run.
6. In command line, stsadm -o execadmsvcjobs, on both servers.
   C:\ > stsadm -o execadmsvcjobs
   Executing job-application-server-admin-service.
   Executing job-password-management.
   Executing solution-deployment-form-tradepackageform.wsp-0.
   Operation completed successfully.
   
7. You'll see this back on solutions.
   

Name:    form-packageform.wsp
Type:    Core Solution
Contains Web Application Resource:    No
Contains Global Assembly:    No
Contains Code Access Security Policy:    No
Deployment Server Type:    Front-end Web server
Deployment Status:    Deployed
Deployed To:    Globally deployed.
Last Operation Result:    The solution was successfully retracted.
Last Operation Details:   
SRV02 : The solution was successfully retracted.
SRV03 : The solution was successfully retracted.
Last Operation Time:    1/8/2013 11:01 AM


8. You can then remove the solution package.
9. If you go back to Form Template management, the form will be removed from the list, and you can re-upload as usual.