SharePoint list.items.GetDataTable column names not match field names - sharepoint

I am binding an SPGridView to a SPList. As code samples suggest, I am using the following code to create a dataview based on the list.
dim data as DataView = myList.Items.GetDataTable.DefaultView
grid.DataSource = data
etc...
What I am finding is that the column names in the resulting dataview do not always match the source fields defined in the SPList. For example I have columns named
Description
ReportItem
ReportStatus
these show up in the resulting dataview with column names like
ReportType0
ReportStatus1
This leads me to think that I have duplicate field names defined, but that does not seem to be the case.
Seems like I am missing something fundamental here?
Thanks.


The GetDataTable method is returning the internalName (or staticName -- I can't remember for sure which but they are frequently the same) representation of the columns, rather than the Title representation, which is what you see in the Web interface. I believe GetDataTable does a CAML query under the covers, and you have to use that internalName for field references in CAML.
This blog talks about it in a little more detail.


So I posted about this on my blog, but I wrote a little utility method that you can use, right after you get the data table it basically remaps the column names in the DataTable to their friendly names.
DataTable table = list.GetItems(list.DefaultView).GetDataTable();
foreach(DataColumn column in table.Columns)
{
column.ColumnName = list.Fields.GetFieldByInternalName(column.ColumnName).Title;
}
Hope that helps!


What you also could do (if you´re using .NET 3.5) is to use an anonymous type and bind against that. If you´re doing this you might wanna go with a Linq DataSource as well.
I have made a post that explains this here.

Related

SharePoint Web Parts can not be connected via hyperlink fields

In short:
I'm trying to filter an XSLTListViewWebPart based on what is selected in another XSLTListViewWebPart. Using a String field as connection this is working fine. Using a hyperlink field no data is displayed.
In more detail:
I have two lists, say Accounts and Projects. Both have a hyperlink field accountURL.
All accounts have different accountURLs. Different projects can have the same value for accountURL. Both are displayed on a page using the XSLTListViewWebPart.
The simple goal is to filter the Projects list based on which item is selected in the Accounts list using the accountURL field. So I established a web part connection using the acountURL as a filter. Alas, when an item in the Accounts list is selected no items are showwn in the Projects list although I double checked that there are matching values.
When using a string field instead of a hyperlink field for accountURL everything works like a charm. Problem is, I need the hyperlink field.
Is this desired behaviour? Do you have any suggestions for a workaround?
(I already tried converting the hyperlink field to a string field via a calculated column which did not work out either.)
All was and is to be done in the web interface or SP-Designer. Coding a WSP is not an option for this problem. As I'm not quite familiar with the correct terminus technicus I use field and column interchangeably.
All help is greatly appreciated.
Ben

Someone on the Microsoft forum suggested the following workaround which does its job well:
Add a hidden text column to both lists.
Use a workflow which is triggered on item creation and update to copy the value of the hyperlink column to the hidden text column.
Connect both webparts using the hidden column as filter.
Nonetheless, I still wonder whether it is possible to use hyperlink columns or other special columns for filtering. I also had the problem that I cannot use a person column as lookup.
Does anyone know if whether there ist some kind of overview
which column types can be used for filtering/formulas/lookup/...?
Cheers,
Ben

Use list filter value when adding new items to list

In a webpart page I got a list that is filtered on a value given from another webpart.
When adding an item to that list (from this webpart page); is there a way to preset the column the list is filtered on to be the same as the filter value?
Thanks.
Ivar

this link describes how to pre-fill field based on a query string variable. It can be useful for you, and if you add some modification to this solution your problem should be solved. The thing is that when you come to the part where you create the parameter for the "New item form" web part, you'll not specify to be a query string parameter. Instead it should be of type "None", and after that when you make the connections between the webparts you'll connect them in a way that they pass parameters to each other, not filters. I had some similar problem recently and made it work out in this way.

Sharepoint Multiple Values Column?

I want to create a custom field with multiple values like it may store array variables.
also this field is not a lookup field.
what can be the field type that I should inherit from to achieve this ?
thanks

SPFieldMultiColumn may well be the class you're looking for. Here is the relevant MSDN article:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.sharepoint.spfieldmulticolumn.aspx
Good luck with it though, custom fields can be a pain in the ears at the best of times.

Performing join between document library and list

I have a document library where i have columns called Title and Category(is a lookup field) and User.Also,I have a list where i am just storing categories. I would like to join both document library and list so that i can dispaly all categories and the documents associated with it. once i get everything i would like to perform filtering so that it dispalys only selected user's documents.The displaying of the documents is working fine but not filtering. My questions is CAn we perform join between doc library and list? Plesae help me.
Thanks

The content query web part (CQWP)is probably the easiest way to do this without code. Since you only have one field in your lookup (categories) you don't need to do a join as SharePoint stores the lookup value in the Document Library. You will need to edit your CQWP to add this field, there is a good tutorial on doing this here. It also explains how to filter your CQWP.
Finally you will need to clean up your lookup field as SharePoint will store the value like this: 1;#Category1.
The CQWP uses XSLT to display the results so in your case you probably don't want to show 1;#Category1 you probably only want to show Category1. You can use the following XSLT to accomplish this:
<xsl:value-of select="substring-after(#Name_Of_Your_Lookup,'#')"></xsl:value-of>

Auto number column in SharePoint list

In a SharePoint list I want an auto number column that as I add to the list gets incremented. How best can I go about this?

Sharepoint Lists automatically have an column with "ID" which auto increments. You simply need to select this column from the "modify view" screen to view it.

You can't add a new unique auto-generated ID to a SharePoint list, but there already is one there! If you edit the "All Items" view you will see a list of columns that do not have the display option checked.
There are quite a few of these columns that exist but that are never displayed, like "Created By" and "Created". These fields are used within SharePoint, but they are not displayed by default so as not to clutter up the display. You can't edit these fields, but you can display them to the user. if you check the "Display" box beside the ID field you will get a unique and auto-generated ID field displayed in your list.
Check out: Unique ID in SharePoint list

If you want to control the formatting of the unique identifier you can create your own <FieldType> in SharePoint. MSDN also has a visual How-To. This basically means that you're creating a custom column.
WSS defines the Counter field type (which is what the ID column above is using). I've never had the need to re-use this or extend it, but it should be possible.
A solution might exist without creating a custom <FieldType>. For example: if you wanted unique IDs like CUST1, CUST2, ... it might be possible to create a Calculated column and use the value of the ID column in you formula (="CUST" & [ID]). I haven't tried this, but this should work :)

I had this issue with a custom list and while it's not possible to use the auto-generated ID column to create a calculated column, it is possible to use a workflow to do the heavy lifting.
I created a new workflow variable of type Number and set it to be the value of the ID column in the current item. Then it's simply a matter of calculating the custom column value and setting it - in my case I just needed the numbering to begin at 100,000.

it's in there by default. It's the id field.

If you want something beyond the ID column that's there in all lists, you're probably going to have to resort to an Event Receiver on the list that "calculates" what the value of your unique identified should be or using a custom field type that has the required logic embedded in this. Unfortunately, both of these options will require writing and deploying custom code to the server and deploying assemblies to the GAC, which can be frowned upon in environments where you don't have complete control over the servers.
If you don't need the unique identifier to show up immediately, you could probably generate it via a workflow (either with SharePoint Designer or a custom WF workflow built in Visual Studio).
Unfortunately, calculated columns, which seem like an obvious solution, won't work for this purpose because the ID is not yet assigned when the calculation is attempted. If you go in after the fact and edit the item, the calculation may achieve what you want, but on initial creation of a new item it will not be calculated correctly.

As stated, all objects in sharepoint contain some sort of unique identifier (often an integer based counter for list items, and GUIDs for lists).
That said, there is also a feature available at http://www.codeplex.com/features called "Unique Column Policy", designed to add an other column with a unique value. A complete writeup is available at http://scothillier.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!8F5DEA8AEA9E6FBB!293.entry

So I am not sure I can really think of why you would actually need a "site collection unique" id, so maybe you can comment and let us know what is actually trying to be accomplished here...
Either way, all items have a UniqueID property that is a GUID if you really need it: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.sharepoint.splistitem.uniqueid.aspx

Peetha has the best idea, I've done the same with a custom list in our SP site. Using a workflow to auto increment is the best way, and it is not that difficult. Check this website out: http://splittingshares.wordpress.com/2008/04/11/auto-increment-a-number-in-a-new-list-item/
I give much appreciation to the person who posted that solution, it is very cool!!

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