SharePoint - Find a reference to default.aspx from a site definition - sharepoint

Is there a way from within a feature to locate the default.aspx which is delivered with a custom site definition.
I have a scenario where I replace the default.aspx page with a custom page, but when the feature gets deactivated I need to put the original back in place.
I have considered moving the existing default.aspx to default-old.aspx when the initial replacement happens (activated) however the existing default.aspx doesn't exist yet (when feature executes during provisioning) and hence I do not have the ability to rename the existing.
Hence my question, how can I locate through code the default.aspx page associated with a site definition?
thx

You can use SPWeb.Navigation.Home.Url
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.sharepoint.navigation.spnavigation.home.aspx

I would give your new/updated default page a different name, deploy and then change the welcome page of the site by code in a feature receivers feature activated event. If you are working with Moss 2007 you can use the PublishingWeb.DefaultPage property or for WSS this approach.

Related

Setting up default web parts on a Wiki Page from a Web Template in SharePoint 2010?

My team is trying to build out a Web Template which includes an instantiated Wiki Page with some default Web Parts added to it; but we're unable to get this behavior to happen.
In brief, we're looking to add some default.aspx (or Home.aspx, the name is unimportant, just the functionality) to the SitePages directory, GhostableInLibrary; so it's visible to all SiteCollections made from this Web Template.
It is of note that we're basing our Web Collection off the Team Site, and that the Wiki will be the default Home Page for the new site.
Site templates can be used to customize newly created sites except for the top site of a site collection. Since site templates are all managed in site collection's Solution gallary, so a site template CAN'T be used to define its own container.
You need a Site Definition to customize the first site of your site collection.
For how to use site template, you can goto, http://weblogs.asp.net/soever/archive/2009/10/19/sharepoint-2010-site-exporting-as-wsp-solution-part-1.aspx
For how to create a site definition, you can goto, http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg276356.aspx
If you want to strap onto an existing template without creating a new copy, or you don't have the original site template to access. You use a process called feature stapling.
When you create a sharepoint solution it would contain two features, one for your actual functionality and one that simple staples it to an existing template.
Here is an article discussing it some more. http://mssharepointtips.com/tip.asp?id=1065

Sharepoint features, custom aspx pages at various site levels

I've asked a similar sort of question here but what to be more specific.
I want to be able to deploy a solution and activate a feature that provisions various custom aspx pages to different site levels within my web site.
So my first custom aspx page would be at the root: http://example.org/custompage1.aspx
And then another custom aspx page would appear at a deeper level: http://example.org/subsite1/custompage2.aspx
I've got my solution scoped to the "web" level. If I activate the feature at the sub site level I can access the custom aspx page that should appear at this deeper level, but, I can also access the other page that should only appear at the root of the web site e.g. http://example.org/subsite1/custompage1.aspx
Which is wrong, wrong, wrong!
I tried to scope the feature to “site” but this only seemed to provision the root custom aspx page, not the page that should appear at the deeper level of the web site.
"Custom aspx" pages are known in SharePoint as "Application" pages, and they are deployed in the _layouts directory (usually C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\TEMPLATE\LAYOUTS). All pages inside the Layouts directory are available from every site in the web application.
If you know in advance which page goes with which site then you could put code in each custom page that checks to see if it's being accessed from an "invalid" site, and if so, throw a custom 404 error (see here: Hidden Features of ASP.NET) or something similar.
Anything you do in the feature xml will only apply to the site on which the feature is activated. If you want to do something across multiple sites based on relative urls, you will need to set up a feature receiver and use custom code to deploy files/features to the other sites.
The easiest approach is probably to create a seperate web scoped feature within your solution and have the site scoped feature receiver activate it on subsites.
Clorphil nailed the answer. I would only add that you can use SPContext.Current.Web within your page to determine which web site you are in when called.

SharePoint 2007 Publishing site with deep menu structure

I am a beginner in SharePoint and I need to create publishing site that will have multilevel menu. Requirement is that levels will not be fixed and that client should be able to add pages and customize menu.
If I am not mistaken pages can be created only in the first level under the site. I don't see something like folders concept. For the navigation purposes I can add heading and it will be shown as another level. If I need more levels I need to create sub sites.
Site
Page1
Page2
Heading
Page3
Is this correct?
Site
Page1
Page2
Sublevel_1
Page1_1
Sublevel_2
Page2_1
Sublevel_3
Page3_1
...
Can I do something like this without creating SharePoint sub sites ?
If I don't need I will skip writing some custom menu control or write custom SiteMapProvider. I will than need to write UI for managing navigation also.
EDIT:
I have managed to create Folder in Pages list and create (actually move) pages to that folder and even create sub folder but they are not showing on the menu not even in the navigation settings page. I can't approve folder, it is in pending status what ever I try.
I looks like this is not possible by the Andrew Connell: Subfolders are not Supported in the Pages Library in MOSS Publishing Sites
Out of the box, you can modify the navigation for a Publishing site manually.
I assume that you are after a more automated way to do this. Unfortunately, the way to modify the navigation for a PublishingWeb is through the object model and the PublishingWeb.CurrentNavigationNodes object, which would require a timer job or some other method to update as pages are edited/added/deleted.
This is non-trivial and you will still need to create a solution/feature package.
The other way is to create a custom navigation provider.
The issue with both of these options (aside from the actual coding and release) is caching the navigation structure. We have used the standard web cache for the object holding the navigation structure, but using the standard user browsing (i.e. the menu code itself) to kick of a refresh of the navigation is fraught with threading issues.
You can create multiple document libraries in a site and then put the pages in the various libraries. That way you wouldn't need to create sub-sites

SharePoint error relating to page layout after creating site from template

Inside SharePoint I've previously created a site template by appending _layouts/savetmpl.aspx to the end of my site and new sites have been created correctly and work as expected.
I've now come to do the same thing again and yet this time the new site is throwing an error relating to the page layout.
The error is:
This page is not using a valid page layout. To correct the problem, edit page settings and select a valid page layout.
When I try to select a different one, there is only the one to select. This page layout is in use on other sites and they render fine.
Has anyone else seen this issue?
All the best
First, if you append the _layouts/savetmpl.aspx tho the url, i suppose you dont have it in the Site Settings options, so you are using a Publishing site. This is because Microsoft doesn´t support this option (save as template in publishing sites). And they dont support it because it has some bugs, for sure.
So, I would recommend not using this option in important sites, or if you plan to ask support to Microsoft in the future.
However that error indicates that the page layout or his associated content type (ou parent content types) are not correctly installed in the site collection. Are you using your own (custom) content types? Please confirm if the ID of the associated content type (something like 0x0100C6739B7D12DE419aA2F9A2F96CC26818) is exactly the same in the Page Layout on working sites and in the not working sites.
Hope it helps
Do the sites/site collection where the templates working have all the same features enabled as teh sites/site collection where the template isn't working?
Can you check the server logs? <12 hive>\LOGS
Did you add a custom page layout, use it, and then forget to check that "save content" checkbox when you saved your template?

Create SharePoint web page outside of document library

I'm reasonably new to SharePoint 2007 and trying to move from an ASP.NET to SharePoint way of thinking has been an interesting experience!
I would like to create a page at the same level as the default.aspx page in a subsite. The "SharePoint way" of doing things involves putting the page into a document library. I am reluctant to do this as the breadcrumb navigation of the page then includes the name of the libarary but I would like the library to be transparent to the user.
I can create a page in the right place in SharePoint designer but I can't find a way to use a SharePoint template. I have tried copying the default.aspx page, but the navigation linkes are not updated.
Am I missing something or can someone suggest a solution?
I see what you are saying. I would like to share my thoughts on how I will do it.
If the Breadcrumb is your only reason why you want to move to a different than lib, the I recommend you to override the ContentPlaceholder that has the BreadCrumb in your Page, so that BreadCrumb wont be there. But URL will be there for the User to Guess ./DocLib/default.aspx.
And if the reason to hide the document library is to make sure that you don't want to allow the user to get into the Lib and change something. I recommend you strip out the permission from the Document Lib and give all the user ReadOnly and add the user with more right who you thing will need to edit the pages.
And finally you wanted to it in a Place, you can try deploying them as a Feature that will provision the pages as Ghostable rather then GhostableInLibray.
While 1,3 cab be packaged in a WSP. 2 one needs bit of a Manual / custom Code if you are trying to automate the process.
Steps to create Ghostable pages you can refer to this
It doesn't seem to be possible. Subsites can be used to be categorise content by topic, but they can't be used very much.

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