Mattias Wollnik from Microsoft has created a nifty PowerShell script that makes it much easier to move content from file shares into SharePoint 2007 and SharePoint 2010 beta sites.   The FCI SharePoint Uploadscript is based on the File Classification Infrastructure(FCI) provided by Windows Server 2008 R2.  The FCI allows administrators to setup policies that control the metadata associated with individual files.  Using Mattias’ script, you can upload files and it will automatically set any matching metadata properties that are present in the target document library.

This is similar to the way that properties are promoted for Office 2007 documents, except that the script works for any file type.  The File Classification Infrastructure provides a snap-in that lets you setup custom file management tasks.  To use the script, you setup a new task that invokes PowerShell with the appropriate parameters.

For example, to upload files to a document library called “Company Files” in the Litware demo portal, you would specify an action type of “Custom” with the executable set to “C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe” and the arguments set to the following:

-noninteractive –file c:\scripts\FciSharePointUpload.ps1 –file “[Source File Path]” –url “http://litwareinc.com” –libPath “Company Files” –sourceAction url –user litwareinc\administrator –password pass@word1

The “[Source File Path]” string tells FCI to substitute the actual file path when the source files are processed.  One cool feature is the ability to upload files directly to a SharePoint 2010 Records Center site, specifying the target content type on the command line.  Using this feature, if any Content Organizer rules exist for the specified content type, they will be applied and processed automatically.

To do this, simply include the –useOfficialFileWebService parameter and then specify the content type using the –contentType parameter instead of -libPath, as in the following example:

-noninteractive –file c:\scripts\FciSharePointUpload.ps1 –useOfficialFileWebService –file “[Source File Path]” –url “http://litwareinc.com” –contentType “My Content Type” –sourceAction url –user litwareinc\administrator –password pass@word1

To learn more about the script with examples and a complete source code listing, visit http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/ScriptCenter/en-us/f538c34c-4f74-4645-9649-fd25e49805d6.

It's kind of surreal, but the day has finally arrived when I can say "it's done"! My new book, Professional SharePoint 2007 Records Management Development:
Managing Official Records with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 is on its way to store shelves and is available directly from Wiley.com, Amazon.com and other online retailers.

  This book is for developers who need to build records management solutions, and who need to understand the ins and outs of the records management framework that is built into the SharePoint platform.  For a more complete synopsis and to review the TOC, just click the image to the left to visit the Wiley information page.

One thing you'll notice is that Wrox is now using a new cover format.  If you expected to see my face on the cover, you won't.  Those shrewd marketing folks at Wiley decided to give the entire Wrox line a "makeover".  I have to say I was a little disappointed at first, but I actually like the new cover design.  Who am I to argue with the marketing guys, right?

Once you get the book, you’ll also notice that I took a slightly different approach than some of the other development books out there, in that I tried to structure the chapters so that the code in later chapters builds on and extends the code presented early in the book.  On the one hand, it adds consistency because you end up with a set of reusable components that can be applied to many different types of solutions.  On the other hand, it means that in order to understand and use some of the later examples, you have to dig into the earlier ones.  I know this may be a bit frustrating for some readers, but I’m hoping that the end result justifies the approach.  I’d be very interested in getting your feedback, so don’t be shy.

On the up side, there is a LOT of code included with the book, and the kicker is it’s ALL available online NOW.  That’s right, you can download the HUGE set of code examples directly from Wrox RIGHT NOW by just clicking on the “downloads” tab on the book’s information page on the Wiley site.

As always, I'm here to serve, and I'm especially eager to hear what you think.  Wiley has setup a forum just for this book at the Wrox Programmer to Programmer site.  Just log in to the P2P site and search on my name and you’ll find the forum.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this book a reality, especially Eli Robillard, Dan Attis, Aaron Cutlip, Todd Meister, Stacy Draper and all the folks at Wiley.  It was a long and arduous road, but it was also a wonderfully enlightening and strengthening experience thanks to everyone involved.

-John

SharePoint training provider Combined Knowledge will host the first European SharePoint Best Practices conference in London April 6-8, 2009.  Microsoft veteran Joel Oleson will deliver the keynote and the speakers list reads like a "who's who" of the top SharePoint experts, MVPs and Microsoft product team members. 

I'll be presenting a session on designing and building records repositories using the powerful records management features provided by Office SharePoint Server.  I'm pretty excited about it, since this will be my first trip to London.  The conference will be held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, which is right in the middle of all the London sights, so I'll be sure to stay busy before and after my talk! :)

Hope to see you there.

Last week I had the privilege of speaking at the SharePoint Saturday event in Virginia Beach.  I talked about the upcoming release of CAML.NET 2.0, and I did a session on records management in MOSS.  The turnout was very good, with people coming in from all directions - some to speak, some to listen - but everyone came away with a very positive experience.

First of all, it was held at the brand-spanking new Advanced Technology Center at Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach, which is kind of an interesting story.  It's actually part of the Virginia Beach public school system - an innovative approach to providing high school students with literally everything they need for all things geeky!

The list of speakers was impressive, and I've got to hand it to Susan Lennon and the other organizers, who did an amazing job their first time out.  Becky Isserman (who is coming to Jacksonville to speak at our next JOG meeting next month!) gave a great talk on using Silverlight in SharePoint.  Todd Bleeker was there and they had to arrange a special room just for Joel Oleson because of the large turnout.  Joel's talks were very interesting and provided everyone with a unique perspective on SharePoint Governance and strategies for migrating to SharePoint.

You can download my records management slides from here.

This "SharePoint Saturday" idea is picking up steam around the country.  There is another one scheduled for New York and probably more to come throughout the year.  It's kind of like a code camp just for SharePoint.  I'm looking forward to participating in more of them.  If there's one happening in your area, then I highly recommend it.

Stay tuned.

Let's face it, SharePoint is a huge development platform no matter what angle you approach it from.   As most of you know, I've spent the past year or so traveling and teaching SharePoint developer courses for the Ted Pattison Group, and my focus has been pretty broad, covering topics ranging from features to content types to workflow and everything in between. 

Now, as the platform continues to mature and as developers become more and more familiar with the basics of SharePoint development, it is increasingly evident that more specialized training is needed, particularly in the area of Enterprise Content Management (ECM).  To that end, I'm pleased to announce the immediate availability of two new courses I've developed that are being offered through the Ted Pattison Group:

• ECM401 - Enterprise Content Management with SharePoint Server 2007 (hands-on)
• WC-ECM401 - Enterprise Content Management with SharePoint Server 2007 (online)

Both versions of the course are available for immediate registration.  The online version is a great option for those unable to attend the hands-on course.

• The hands-on version includes 12 modules instead of 10 with a deeper treatment of content modeling and using workflow to drive ECM solutions.
• The hands-on course is 4 full days with lectures, demos and labs.  The online version is 5 days with about 3 hours of lectures and demos each day plus labs assigned as homework.
• The online version is conducted via Live Meeting and students may submit questions during the lecture which are answered at the end of each session.  Questions may also be submitted directly to the instructor via email or live chat.
• Students attending the hands-on course receive a student workbook with slides and labs.  Online students receive the workbook in electronic format.

Feel free to contact me directly with any questions you may have about either version of the course.  For additional details and to review the course outline, please visit the Ted Pattison Group website using the following links.

Here is the upcoming course schedule, with links to the registration form.

Our next meeting is Thursday, March 20, 2008.  We'll be talking about item level auditing and regulatory compliance. Here's an abstract:

Regulatory Compliance - Item Level Auditing in SharePoint

Speaker: John Holliday, MVP Office SharePoint Server

Dealing with regulatory compliance issues in the midst of an ever-increasing volume of content at least requires a robust method for tracking what happens to a document as it moves through a SharePoint portal. Windows SharePoint Services includes built-in functionality for keeping tabs on the "who, what, when and where" for every document in every document library, but this functionality is not enabled by default. In this session, we'll examine programming techniques for controlling the auditing support provided by WSS and we'll look at the enhanced audit reporting features provided by MOSS. We'll also explore strategies for implementing item-level auditing while minimizing its impact on the overall performance of a SharePoint farm.

• Date: Thursday, March 20th, 2008; 6p-8p
• Location: Bank of America, Building 500, 9000 Southside Blvd; 2nd Floor; Sea Oats room
• Meeting Location Map: http://floridaofficegeeks.org/JOG/Pages/Meeting%20Logistics.aspx
• RSVP Required: http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=124804

Note: Jacksonville Office Geeks is also known as the JAXDUG Office Developer SIG.

Wrox Press has posted a promotional excerpt from the Professional SharePoint 2007 Development book due out in June. The topic is "Creating Content Type Metadata for SharePoint 2007 Document Management Solutions" from one of my chapters. To read the excerpt, go to http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-305185.html. Comments and feedback are welcome.

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