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Difference between Closed and Deleted Web Part

Let's understand what really happens when one clicks the X button on Web Part.

What user is thinking now his Web Part is deleted from the site. In fact its not completely deleted rather its just 'Closed'. The Web part still resides onto your SharePoint site using your server resources on subsequent page loads.

When user thinks he accidentally deleted Web Part he will again perform the same function of adding the same web part adding redundant load on the server unknowingly.

Here is a way to permanently 'Delete' a Web Part. Instead of Clicking on Close 'X' button we can go to

Site Actions > Edit Page: Find the web part and click: edit > Delete As shown in the snapshot below.

Done! Web part is deleted for permanent which helps in increasing your site performance.

Alternate way to view and delete web parts - Browse to SharePoint Site URL with additional parameters like below.

http://mySharePointSite/Sites/Default.aspx?contents=1

The page will give you option to select multiple Closed/Open web parts so that you can Delete, Close or Reset all of them at once.

Have Fun with SharePoint!!!!

SharePoint How to Videos

How to Video's on SharePoint.

Adding Documents to SharePoint Site

Create a new SharePoint Site Collection Administrator

Add Links to a SharePoint List

Add Users to a SharePoint Security Group

Change the SharePoint Site Title and Description

Create a New SharePoint User

Create a SharePoint Announcements List

Create a SharePoint Document Library

Create a SharePoint Links List

Many more to come....keep visiting this space!!

What is SharePoint?

SharePoint is basically a Content Management System from Microsoft, today known as MOSS - Microsoft office SharePoint server.

MOSS is often used for collaboration, file sharing and web publishing. It allows organizations to create document sharing workspace with features as Authentication, File versioning, Check in-Check out etc.

MOSS is build upon ASP.Net 2.0 platform hence its highly customizable too. To get idea of how SharePoint helps in collaboration see below video.

How to create a SharePoint Site Programatically

Often you get a requirement from user to create SharePoint site for them. You are flooded with 1000's of such user request, and you don’t have time to work on each of the request. SharePoint Object model is there to help you out. How?

Using SharePoint Object model you can create SharePoint Site programmatically.

· Create a SharePoint Web Part which will take required information from user for the site like Site Name, Site Language, Site template(See table below)

· Use above information and once user has submitted all required information run the SharePoint API to create a SharePoint site.

Let’s see the code now which can be written inside Web Part.

SPSite site = SPContext.Current.Site;

SPWeb web = site.OpenWeb();

SPWebCollection sitesCollection = web.Webs;

SPWeb webSite = sitesCollection.Add("sitename", "Description of the Site", "This is site created programmatically.", 1033, "STS#2", true, false);

That’s it. You have just crated a SharePoint site using SharePoint Object model.

Let’s understand few important parameters from above code.

Below are Site Definitions used to create a Site with pre-defined template.

Value	Site Definition
STS#0	Team Site
STS#1	Blank Site
STS#2	Document Workspace
MPS#0	Basic Meeting Workspace
MPS#1	Blank Meeting Workspace
MPS#2	Decision Meeting Workspace
MPS#3	Social Meeting Workspace
MPS#4	Multipage Meeting Workspace
WIKI#0	Wiki
BLOG#0	Blog

1033 is to create Site in English Language.

Deploying Event Receivers

This can be done in either below three ways

1. Deploy programmatically through code
2. Using STSADM command ( SharePoint Feature)
3. Using content types

Let’s see how to deploy using code. This method is not suitable when you are working in Development life cycle. Best practice is to create a Feature and deploy that to your production server and you are good. But for illustration purpose lets see the code way!!!

In my previous post we created simple Event Log event receiver which logs the user entries in a text file. Lets deploy the same Event Receiver.

Console Application for Deploying Event Receiver:

using System;

using System.Collections.Generic;

using System.Linq;

using System.Text;

using Microsoft.SharePoint;

namespace DeployEventLog

{

class Program

{

static void Main(string[] args)

{

SPSite spsite = new SPSite("http://SharePointForFun:555/");

SPWeb mysite = spsite.OpenWeb();

SPList theList = mysite.Lists["EventLog"];

SPEventReceiverDefinition newReceiver = theList.EventReceivers.Add();

newReceiver.Class = "EventLog.LogEvent ";

newReceiver.Assembly = "EventLog",

Version= 1.0.0.0,Culture=neutral,PublicKeyToken=234c6d4671b2a894";

newReceiver.SequenceNumber = 5055;

newReceiver.Type = SPEventReceiverType.ItemAdded;

newReceiver.Update();

Console.Read();

}

}

}

That's it. Once you run this console application Event gets deployed to the SharePoint server defined in the SPSite object. Have Fun with SharePoint.

SharePoint List Event Handler

One of the extremely powerful feature of SharePoint is the ability to create event receivers for any list type.

An event receiver is a piece of managed code that is launched in response to an event takes place within SharePoint. These events can be triggered in response to changes to list items, creation of new lists items, list items being deleted and much more.

List event handlers are made possible through the concept of event receivers.
An event receiver is a .NET framework class contained in the strong-typed assembly in GAC.

One of the prime examples of using event receivers is to log the entries for admin purpose to track the changes to list data.

Here are the steps to create your own event receivers.

1. Create a class that inherits from SPListEventReceiver or from SPItemEventReceiver.
2. Strong name the assembly.
3. Deploy assembly to GAC
4. Deploy the event receiver with code to SharePoint.

Sample List Item Event Receiver Code:

Using system;

Using system.IO;

Using system.Text;

Using Microsoft.SharePoint;

namespace EventLog

{

Public class LogEvent : SPItemEventReceiver

{

Public override void ItemAdded(SPItemEventProperties properties)

{

WriteTextToLog(String.Format(“[{0}] Item added: {1}”, properties.ListItem.Title,DateTime.Now.Tostring()));

}

Public override void ItemDeleted(SPItemEventProperties properties)

{

WriteTextToLog(String.Format(“[{0}] Item deleted: {1}”, properties.ListItem.Title,DateTime.Now.Tostring()));

}

Public void WriteTextToLog(string text)

{

StreamWriter file = File.AppendText(@“c\SharePointlog.txt”);

file.write(text + "\n");

file.close();

}

}

}

Check out for more list/item events at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms437502.aspx
After you have written your event receivers you can follow steps 2 and 3 mentioned above.
I will explain in my next article how you can deploy the event receiver to SharePoint using code.

Let's start SharePoint Fun

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