MOSS 2007 Design and Customization

5 Days –Level 300

Course Outline

The purpose of this 5-day course is to present students with strategies and techniques for customizing team sites and publishing sites in a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 environment. The class will teach professionals how to transform out-of-the-box SharePoint sites by applying corporate layouts, logos, colors, and graphics. In the process students will learn best practices in user-interface design and the use of graphic elements as well as how to incorporate workflow and business intelligence components into sites. The class is geared towards advanced web masters who have experience editing and maintaining traditional web sites using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and graphics files.

Skills Gained

After completing the course students will be able to: • Plan for a successful SharePoint Design • Build and deploy Master Pages and Layout Pages • Create Site and List Templates • Create custom Site Definitions and Themes • Create custom CSS for corporate branding • Create custom forms and data views • Create custom SharePoint workflows with SharePoint Designer • Deploy customizations • Design business intelligence solutions with Excel Services and BDC

Target Audience

The class is geared towards advanced web masters who have experience editing and maintaining traditional web sites. The class is also suitable for administrators or developers who want to gain a better understanding of the code-less design and customization process.

Prerequisites

Students attending this class should be advanced web masters who have experience creating, editing and maintaining traditional web sites, using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and graphics files. Experience with viewing and collaborating in a SharePoint site is strongly recommended but not required.

1. The SharePoint Site Design

This chapter introduces a proven process to SharePoint design and customization that follows a series of stages: Discover, Define, Design, Develop, and Deploy. The chapter explains these concepts through the use of a case study based on a real world deployment of MOSS. The basics of how to implement the site structure and taxonomy part of the design are presented along with an introduction to key architectural concepts.

2. Building the SharePoint Site Framework

This chapter explores the architectural elements of a MOSS design such as site collections, lists, libraries, web parts, and pages. This chapter also discusses ways to customize sites using only the browser-based user interface. We go on to explore how to implement the site structure and taxonomy part of the design. The chapter will also introduce tools such as SharePoint Designer and Visual Studio for interacting with SharePoint and creating customizations.

3. Designing and Customizing Non-Publishing Sites

In this chapter we focus on customizing Windows SharePoint Services sites and pages. We will examine how to customize Team Sites, Workspaces, Lists, Libraries and (non-publishing) .aspx pages first through the browser and then discuss how to extend those customizations through SharePoint Designer.

4. Web Content Management and the MOSS Publishing Feature

This chapter details SharePoint-specific features including Content Types and Web Content Management. We examine how Content Managers will be empowered to post information while Designers ensure the integrity of the site design and layout. In addition, we’ll explore some techniques for reusing content, allowing for ease of use and consistency across the site collection.

5. Using Web Parts to Design for a Tailored End User Experience

This chapter gives an overview of some of the most commonly used out-of-the-box Web Parts and how they can be configured to offer an enhanced user experience. We will examine when to configure Web Parts in the Brower and when to use SharePoint Designer; when it’s best to use Web Zones and when and how to use Web Parts outside of a zone. We’ll also discuss the value of using a variety of list views to help design for a richer user experience.

6. Design for Reuse with Site and List Templates, Site Definitions and Custom Themes

We examine how to create and deploy site and list templates and how to create custom site definitions. We will also learn to create custom themes as an option for incorporating corporate colors for site branding.

7. Using JavaScript and CSS to Customize Sites

In this chapter we explore how to use Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) styles to modify the design of a site and how to add JavaScript to a site to customize behavior or to hide or move elements on a page.

8. Creating and Customizing Master Pages

This chapter examines how to create and apply custom Master Pages for defining the overall look and feel of SharePoint sites. The chapter discusses the relationship between master pages and content pages and the use of Content Placeholder controls to specify the information available on the page.

9. Creating and Applying Layout Pages

In this chapter we explain how to create Layout Pages for generating SharePoint publishing site pages with customized content. The chapter covers overriding delegate controls and the use of field controls to position content on the page.

10. Working with Custom Forms

This chapter shows students how to create a customized version of the Add or Edit form for adding new list items or updating existing list items while hiding specific fields.

11. Connecting to Data through Data Form Web Parts and ASP.NET Controls

This chapter explains how to create custom Data Connections to databases and XML web services and how to bind them to pages through Data Form Web Parts. We go on to explore various ways to configure those data views to provide useful visual views of the information displayed. The chapter also covers how to use standard ASP.NET controls on pages including data-bound controls.

12. Building Business Intelligence sites using the Report Center

In this chapter we explore the use of the Report Center and Business Intelligence tools from the design point of view. We look at issues surrounding how to display data for visual impact and to establish relationships among different data sources within dashboards.

13. Creating Custom Workflows

This chapter provides an introduction to workflows in MOSS and explains how to work with out-of-the-box workflows as well as how to create custom workflows using SharePoint Designer.

14. Deploying Customizations

This chapter covers how to back up, export, and deploy the customizations made in one site collection or server to another. The chapter also discusses the use of Features and Solutions as part of the deployment process.

15. Doing It On Your Own

This chapter is a hands-on module in which students apply the techniques learned in the class to “complete” the outlined Web project outlined at the start of the class as would occur in a real-world scenario.