Is there a way to customize the layout of the default page on the My Site?
I know you can deploy a feature to push files into the hive to deploy a custom theme and a custom CSS, but what about the layout--where and which webparts show up for the user by default?
These both talk about customizing the look and feel:
Customizing MOSS 2007 My Sites within the enterprise
Customizing the My Site look and feel
But is there a way to build webpart zones and surface dataviews for lists, save those and have those pages come up as the default for when their My Site is initialized?
Most of the sites referenced here tell you to use a feature which changes the masterpage, which holds all your webpart zones, where they're located and what webparts are in those zones. After you've created a MySite masterpage which has the look and feel you want, you need to deploy the feature to switch masterpages. In addition, you need to add a feature which staples the original feature (which changes the masterpage) to any new site that is created. Inside your staple feature, you can specify which site types you want to staple the feature to.
Here is a good article which doesn't require you to write code, but does require you to create both of the features and deploy them: http://www.sharepointblog.com/2008/07/sp2007-custom-master-pages-on-subsites.html
The area where you'll want to pick out which site type the feature to change the masterpage applies to (what site type the feature is "stapled" to) is:
FeatureSiteTemplateAssociation Id="bb77f112-2cda-4e92-b0ff-820c0216a7fe"
TemplateName="STS#0"/> (this will staple it to the global template, any site created)
Here is a listing of the type of sites you can staple to: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/sharepointgeneral/thread/721bec39-2d32-4bbc-9094-a021a0d06dcb
So, if you want to staple the feature to just MySites, you'd put this into your stapler feature:
FeatureSiteTemplateAssociation Id="bb77f112-2cda-4e92-b0ff-820c0216a7fe"
TemplateName="SPSMSITE#0" />
You'll notice from the example that I posted a link to above, the stapler feature references the masterpage switching feature by the Id you supply in the FeatureSiteTemplateAssociation part of you stapling feature.
Related
I am trying to get a solution for my issue. I have a set of HTML CSS and Images, which I want to apply to my sharepoint portal as a part of branding.
My concern is I want to make my design as WSP or any other kind of solution so that it can be installed in any sharepoint 2010 portal so that the user can switch back between actual sharepoint design and this custom design.
In short I have a custom HTML design which I need to implement to any sharepoint website, this design can be turned On or Off by the administrator just using the portal/Site screens.
Thanks in advance
SharePoint branding is always a tricky job. The safest way to achieve your goal is to create a separate masterpage with your new branding. So the user can choose to apply the default branding with the default masterpage and when he wants another branding your customized masterpage can be used.
Create a new SharePoint project and add the needed css inside a mapped layouts folder. Then you can reference your own css file in the new masterpage. Watch out with changing the masterpage, because it contains a lot of placeholders which will render different parts of the page. Try to work around these placeholders and make sure the masterpage works in different scenario's (ex. that the layout isn't broken when page is in edit mode, ...)
Once you are finished with the design, the user can use it by applying it in the settings. Another option to make it easier for the enduser, is to create a control that is a switch to apply your masterpage (ex. with custom action).
by Default there are Themes, I don't Like those. How can I modify It completely and make a professional website. I have found same Questions on this blog but all for MOSS2007. I am working on Sharepoint 2010
The way I modify sharepoint, is as I do with almost every other CMS out there combined with the power of asp .Net (Remember that as CMS' go sharepoint is a poor solution if the only thing you want is a portal. Sharepoint is first and foremost a BI Solution).
When you edit your site in sharepoint designer (Site Action -> Edit in sharepoint designer) you can see a whole lot of options.
Here you can change the default masterpage to accomodate the look and feel of your site. You will do most of the hiding stuff here (those you don't want to be seen giving them the visibility=false attribute). Here you can also include a new CSS (place it in site assets) where you can override already existing css files.
From this point on, you will be able to add web pages to the site, that will conform to the masterpage, and thus you can use all the sharepoint power (web parts and even embedded html code) keeping the look and feel you have implemented on your master page.
So what you need to do is:
Modify master page in sharepoint designer
Add css files in site assets and include them in your masterpage
Add any other aspx pages or custom web parts that you will refer to in the sharepoint site
Create web pages with sharepoint assets, web parts or custom code
Enable anonymous access for the people you want to view your portal without authenticating (Bear in mind that there are some sharepoint controls that can only be viewed by logged in users)
There are multiple ways of customizing it.
My perfered way is CSS.
Add reference to a custom css in master page using feature
Modify the look and feel by modifying sharepoint out-of-box CSS
Following resources gives all the details of SharePoint 2010 css classes.
http://sp2010notes.wordpress.com/sharepoint-2010-css-chart/
http://sharepointexperience.com/csschart/csschart.html
I hope it helps.
Cheers.
Rajendra Shekhawat
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
I have around 9 web parts and 3 pages to be deployed. Each page will be having 3 webparts.
From a deploymnet perspective, i think i have the following two options:
Deploy the pages using a feature. The pages will have webparts present.
Create a custom site definition with a document library and have the three pages as part of the document library.
Can you please let me know which one of the options is better or is there any better solution?.
Please note that the solution needs to work on WSS 3.0 as well.
I would code the whole thing as a feature. You can staple it to the site definition for the site type you want it activated on.
If ever you need to migrate to the next version of SharePoint or another server it is easier to not have any custom site definitions. Also, the features leaves the site in a normal out-of-the box state; if you ever remove the feature nothing breaks.
Also, unlike the site definition it will also allow you to run it on sites that where created in the past.
First you need to deploy the webparts using WSP. Once it populated in webpart gallery you can copy the pages from page library and can paste in production.
During site creation using SharePoint, SharePoint offers some templates. If we need to create a site other than a template offered, how should we proceed?
You have 2 options:
Site Templates
Site Definitions
Many people use those terms interchangeably, but there are big differences between the two.
Site Templates
Site templates are easy to create. Basically, you create a site using a ite definition (e.g. the blank site) and start customizing it. You can add lists and libraries and setup the site however you want it. Then, go to Site Actions > Site Settings > Save site as template. You can save your site as a .STP file. The .STP file basically records everything that you added or changed on your site after site creation.
Once saved, your site template will show up in your site template gallery. You can go to the site template gallery and save the .STP file offline. Your new site template will be available in the subsite creation page in the "custom" tab. The template will only be availalbe in this site collection, unless you add the .STP file to the site template gallery of another site.
You can deploy site templates globally. So, if you want everyone to see a STP in their subsite creation page, you can run the following stsadm command:
stsadm -o addtemplate -filename BoardDirectors.stp -title "Board of Directors"
You can retract site templates whenever you want without affecting the sites that used them for creation. This makes them easy to version, as long as you don't want to push updates to existing sites.
One big problem with site templates is that you cannot staple features to them.
Site Definitions
Site definitions are collections of XML files deployed to the 12 hive. They are harder to develop; you basically have to use Visual Studio. The XML files have to be packaged into a SharePoint WSP and deployed using STSADM.
Creating a site definition gives you the most control over your site. Another benefit is that sites using the site definition will always reference the site definition's files, so updates will be recognized by sites using that site definition. For example, if you find a bug, you can fix it in one spot and all sites using that site definition will be fixed.
Note that withdrawing a site definition will break sites that use it.
Recently, many SharePoint experts have recommended staying away from creation new site definitions because of the overhead. Instead, if custom functionality is needed, they recommend coding custom features and just activating those features on sites.
Think about which option you need. In our organization, we chose not to create any new site definitions, and use site templates sparingly. Custom functionality is driven primarily by the use of features.
You are talking about custom "site definitions" and custom "site templates". Google those terms and you'll find tons of information.
You can design your own custom templates. Install VSeWSS extension for Visual Studio and it has a project type called "Blank Site" template. You can use it as a base starting point and customize the solution generated to your needs. All the information required to do so is available in the help document that comes with VSeWSS.