I use SSRS in SharePoint Integrated mode. I want to add (to SharePoint 2010) custom reports page which displays SSRS reports. User can select (from drop down or menu) which report should be rendered (ajax would be nice but it is not 'must have'). My question is: what is the best approach to implement such page? Should I use ReportViewer Control, SSRS webpart or something different?
Firstly SSRS with sharepoint integrated mode is really very slow and no real solution to it, if this is not a problem for you than do it using ReportViewer control.
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It`s possible in sharepoint 2010, will set up a list of custom data source and then adapt new input forms from visual web parts which will replace the existing add, edit and delete forms?
if it is possible, then how?
Here is an article on MSDN that describes how to use InfoPath to customise the Display, Edit and New forms for external list data (business connectivity services).
Just like in SharePoint 2007 you can change the association of the New, Edit and Display forms using SharePoint Designer in SharePoint 2010. You can create new ASPX pages, or use InfoPath forms as per the above. These ASPX pages can contain the functionality you want directly, or host visual web parts with the right permissions.
Here is an article that describes how to change the associated forms for a list with SharePoint Designer. I would recommend creating new pages and associating the list to those rather than trying to update the existing pages. This avoids any problems if the out of the box files are updated by a service pack / hotfix etc, and also allows you to revert to the out of the box forms if needed.
how to render infopath webpage in sharepoint.
I have designed the MS office infopath form, & stored in the my sharepoint site document library, (in fact i created new one). But when i want to open that form it direct redirect in MS office infopath with running form. Which i don't want. I want to open form in sharepoint site. How it is possible . Please guide me ....
The ability to display InfoPath natively in a browser is part of InfoPath Forms Services, which is only provided bundled with MOSS Enterprise, not MOSS Standard or the free WSS.
Forms Server is available as a separate license altogether as well, but there's no other mechanism to display InfoPath forms in a browser without rolling your own solution, which would be a rather complex undertaking.
Did you publish the form to a forms library or did you simply upload it? In order for Forms Services to render a form it must be published using InfoPath's File>>Publish command.
A web part can't use certain objects such as Page.Request as detailed in Best Practice to create designer friendly server controls when running in a designer such as SharePoint Designer.
You can use the DesignMode property to determine if a web part is running inside a designer and act appropriately.
However this doesn't seem to work for Toolparts - it always returns false.
How do you determine if a Toolpart is running inside SharePoint Designer?
We need the Toolpane.InCustomToolpane property
So from the toolpane code its
this.ParentToolPane.InCustomToolPane
An aside - I think the reason for this difference (though its a poor reason) is that the web part page is loaded into a designer taken from Visual Studio (Whidbey) as mentioned in the msdb blog, but the toolpart is loaded into a browser window.
Do I need Infopath installed locally to edit forms in a workflow for sharepoint?
Authoring InfoPath forms
If a person needs to create a new Infopath form or needs to change the layout of the existing form one needs to use InfoPath client.
The form layout and data structure is saved as XML so one might try to edit it but I would recommend you not to mess with it.
Filling forms
In order to fill the forms there are two scenarios:
User fills a form via web browser (InfoPath client is not required)
User fills a form via InfoPath client
The first option does sound interesting but limitations do apply:
You must purchase MOSS Enterprise license (for difference between SharePoint editions check this: overview or details here). There is an option to purchase a dedicated Forms Server.
Infopath as web form does not support all the features as the Infopath client form
Although web forms sound very appealing, my experience taught me that most important features are not available in the web edition. Check here for detailed list.
Default workflow forms
Your original question is not clear, but if you are talking about editing default workflow forms like Approval workflow form (which is InfoPath) there is no easy way to do it.
You won't need InfoPath as long as your forms are browser-enabled and you are running on MOSS (to use the InfoPath Forms Services).
If you are on plain WSS, then you will need InfoPath installed to fill out forms.
I don't think this is necessary if the forms are stored in a SharePoint document library.
Do you mean to edit individual forms, or to design a form?
Yes you do, it will be rendered as HTML in the site, but to edit it, you need a copy of infopath.
If you are just a user, and it's a web form, then you do not need to install the software, Otherwise, you should. It depends on what form the InfoPath display.
If you are a developer, you must install it locally so as to edit the template and deploy it.
I have a requirement to select some data from a table in a database (SQL Server) and display it on a page in a SharePoint site (MOSS 2007).
I have a little bit of experience of MOSS, so I know I have a couple of options:
BDC
SSRS
or possibily even a custom ASPX page.
I've never really worked with any of these. Can anyone advise on the +/-'s of each?
It all depends on what functionality is required once the table is displayed in SharePoint. Do you need extra bells and whistles or is a dump of the data adequate? (Think about the future as well.) Here's some thoughts...
Business Data Catalog (BDC)
If you want to nicely integrate the SharePoint look and feel with your data as well as get some cool functionality, BDC is a good solution. There is no need to program anything and these are the features you get. However if this data will only be used once in one way then it is probably overkill.
You would need to roll your own XML description of the data so SharePoint knows how to pull it from the database (or use something third party like Lightning Tools). As Colin mentioned it requires the Enterprise license of MOSS.
SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS)
If Reporting Services is already available for use then this is the quickest and simplest solution. It works well but can get painful as more advanced features are required in your reports.
You should be able to use the Report Designer wizard to point to your table and set everything up for you. There are SSRS web parts that can be used within SharePoint, or indeed you can run SSRS inside SharePoint using SharePoint integration mode.
Application Page
This method Steven mentioned lets you integrate an ASP.NET application into SharePoint (such that it can be accessible by a URL within your SharePoint site). This allows anything that ASP.NET does, and the code-behind will be aware of SharePoint so you can tap into that if needed as well. The cons here are code access security and deployment.
See this webcast for how to do it.
Web Part
Similar to developing an application page but much more integrated with SharePoint. A custom web part is very powerful and allows you to integrate ASP.NET code on a SharePoint page. As you would know web parts can be dragged to whatever location and give a consistent properties pane. Again, code access security and deployment needs to be considered.
If you like designer view in Visual Studio then be aware this isn't the approach that Microsoft push. You can however use something like SmartPart where you would develop your custom app as a user control and the SmartPart wraps it into a web part. I'm used to doing it the MS way now and actually prefer the additional control this gives, however it can take more time.
Page Viewer Web Part
If you don't want to touch your SharePoint installation at all then have a look at this web part. It takes a URL as parameter and displays an IFrame containing the page that would be your report, either in SSRS or standard ASP.NET.
The downside from this lack of integration is problems with sizing the IFrame, and possible security warnings from the browser if accessing the URL in a different domain.
Don't forget the DataView Webpart. It has a pretty small developement footprint and works really well as a first "cut" if you are unsure as to how hardcore you need the final result to be.
It renders using XSLT, giving you full control of the final HTML, so it can do some pretty things with Javascript and co.
For a very simple example of charting.
Have you ever used the .NET Framework do develop webpages?
MOSS 2007 uses this framework for master / template files.
So your best choice would be to create an ASPX template file to display the results on the webpage.
BDC is the way to go if you want to keep it "strictly Sharepoint". The problem is, it is only included in the Enterprise edition of SharePoint. If you have the Standard edition, you could go for SSRS and the SSRS webpart, or, create your own webpart. That way you can use your data display anywhere in your site and it's also ASP.NET compatible.
As Nat said - if all that is needed is to display some data from a database on a page - the DVWP is a great solution. Just open your page in SharePoint Designer, add the database connection, and drop the web part on your page. You can use any of the several pre-formatted layouts, or design/tweak your own so the data is displayed as you need.
Relatively straightforward, lots of HowTos online, and far faster/easier to setup than something like BDC.