SharePoint Web Part Toolkit

All items contained within the Web Part Toolkit are o= ffered as-is. The tools are designe= d for use by server administrators.

Requirements

Executables and assemblies require Windows SharePoint Services to be installed.
Executables should be run from a local drive of the Windows SharePoint Services s= erver

SharePoint Web Part Toolkit 1

Requirements. 1

Table of contents. 1

InstallAssemblies – an assembly installation tool for Windows SharePoint Services. 2

Overview.. 2

Setup. 2

Interactive mode. = 2

Installation options and what they mean. 3

Creating Web Part dwps. 4

Command line mode. = 4

SharePoint Configuration Analyzer (sca.exe) 6

Overview.. 6

Setup. 6

Using SCA.. 6

SharePoint Explorer (spex.exe) 7

Overview.. 7

Setup. 7

Using Spex. = 7

Web Part Assembly: WebPartToolKit.WebParts.dll 9

Overview.. 9

Setup. 9

Using GhostHunter 10

Using Inspector <= /span>11

References. 13

InstallAssemblies= – an assembly installation tool for Windows SharePoint Services

Overview

InstallAssemblies is an assembly installation tool for Windows SharePoint Services. The tool is designed for use within development and testing environments.

Setup

Copy the executable to a local drive of the server ho= sting Windows SharePoint Services.

Interactive mode

By default, InstallAssemblies will start in interacti= ve mode. Once InstallAssemblies= .exe boots (see figure below), you will need to select which assemblies to install. This can be done by either:

Clicking on the “Select assemblies” button, or
Dragging and dropping assemblies onto the tree view control initially labeled “No assemblies have been selected”.

Afterwards, ensure all other options are properly set= before clicking on the “Install” button. The results of all actions are di= splayed in the Results sections.

Installation options and what they mea= n

The description and operational behavior of each opti= on is detailed below.

Package Deployment - Assemblies are installed using Windows SharePoint Services “Web Part Package Deployment” functionality.

This option utilizes the “addwppack” functionality of WSS’ STSADM.exe. The Web Part Packaging functional= ity of stsadm.exe is extremely powerful as it will automatically deploy the packa= ge to all SharePoint virtual servers on a given machine. In addition, Web Part dwps are al= so deployed to the Virtual Server Gallery.

· Generate dwps – By default, Web Part = dwps are generated for the assemblies included in the Web Part Package.

· Save Web Part Package – By default, o= nce the dynamically created Web Part package has been installed, InstallAssemblies.exe will delete the web part package it created.

Xcopy Deployment - Assemblies are installed using traditional = xcopy methods.

When this option is chose= n, assemblies are placed in the desired location by using either copying the = file or using gacutil.exe (with the /f option). If Web Part dwps are required, you will need to follow the steps fo= r creating Web Part dwps listed below.

Install Location: GAC - Assemblies are installed into the Glob= al Assembly Cache.

If Package Deployment is = chosen, stsadm.exe is called with the ‘-globalinstall’ option.

Install Location: BIN - Assemblies are copied to the applicati= on bin folder of the server URL provided.

Generate SafeControl entries – A SafeControl entry is automatically created for each namespace which contains either a Web Part = or Web control. Default is on.<= /p>

Creating Web Part dwps

If you want to generate Web Part dwps, you have two options. Once your assemblie= s have been selected, you can…

Double click on a specific assembly name to view the dwps for that assembly = only, or
Click on the "View dwps" button to view the dwps for all assembli= es.

Command line mode

InstallAssemblies offers a command line interface for= use in batch and script files. Type “InstallAssemblies.exe /?&#= 8221; to view the help screen (shown below).

SharePoint Config= uration Analyzer (sca.exe)

Overview

SharePoint Configuration Analyzer is a diagnostic too= l that verifies settings on your server that are critical to running Microsoft Wi= ndows SharePoint Services or Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server and to hosting W= eb Parts on your server. SharePoint Configuration Analyzer also reports on Web Part usage on your server and retrieves a set of log files, configuration files, and Web Part packages used by Windows SharePoint Services and Inter= net Information Services (IIS). In a server farm configuration, running ShareP= oint Configuration Analyzer on each front-end server is a useful way to find and repair inconsistencies in server configurations and to ensure that all Web= Part assemblies are deployed on all front-end servers.

Setup

Copy the executable to a local drive of the server ho= sting Windows SharePoint Services.

Using SCA

Information on how to use Analyzer can be found in th= e Help section.

SharePoint Explor= er (spex.exe)

Overview

For those familiar with the original WSS (web store s= ystem), Spex is the first cousin of Platinum Explorer (a.k.a. Plex.exe). The tool allows you to view Web P= art and Web Part Page properties in an easy to use client app.

Setup

Copy the executable to a local drive of the server ho= sting Windows SharePoint Services.

Using Spex

All server references are SQL references. Therefore, be sure to use the sam= e SQL instance and database names used to provision your site.

In Tools | Options …

“Database” refers to the content database. The default naming format for WSS is sts_servername_1.
“Preview” parameters are not used at this time. These fields can be ignored.
“Authentication” credentials are required. If SQL authentication is being used, be sure to provide the necessary information for both the user name and password. If those fields are left bla= nk, Spex will use NT authentication to access the SQL server.

= ;

Web Part Assembly: WebPartToolKit.WebParts.dll

Overview

The tools assembly contains two of the most powerful = and popular administrative-level web parts – the GhostHunter and Inspect= or web parts.

Users must be server administrators; otherwise, all functionality is disabled.

Setup

The tools assembly can be installed in one of two way= s. Both methods are nearly identical= in form, with the exception that the MSI installer offers the optional additi= on of code access security permissions as well as an entry in the Add or Remove Programs list.

MSI Installer: “SharePoint Web Part Toolkit – Web Parts.msi&#= 8221; includes the tools assembly, web part dwps, SafeControl entries, and a code access security permission set.= The installer was created using Wppack= ager.
Use InstallAssemblies.exe: By default, InstallAssemblies will create a web part package containing the tools assembly, web part dwps, and SafeCo= ntrol entries. Please review = the InstallAssemblies opti= ons section for more information.

The WebPartToolkit.WebPart assembly requires Full trust. This can be accomplis= hed one of two ways:

Install the assembly into the Global Assembly Cache (GAC).
Install the assembly into the bin *a= nd* adjust the trust policy with the following permission set and code gr= oup (reference the Share Point code access security docu= ment for details on what needs to be done).

Note: If you choose the MSI install, adjusting the trust policy can be auto= matically handled for you when installing the assembly to the bin folder.

&= nbsp; <IMembershipCondition version=3D"1" AssemblyVersion=3D"1.0.0.0" Name=3D"WebPartToolkit.WebParts= " class=3D"StrongNameMembershipCondition" PublicKeyBlob=3D"0024000004800000940000000602000000240000525341310004= 0000010001005D95F90E7D9372BD6422ABD52A15E205B183B8C8046B56D702E1BA5C57FBE4= E02F23AA08E310FACC6DCCE7189399F8EDA88DA47429D7186D4099240C35A20E99FD2B39C6= 933C394E488DAC6EE07FB07DE7241AA31EAD9ECE42319AD66F50D228763A3D560666A8AC19= 5A7EC538520AF5212C702F39F166AED90C11EB625CFED9" />

</CodeGroup>

Using GhostHunter

The GhostHunter Web Part identifies all ghosted[1] pages on a site and optionally reverts unghosted pages to their original form.

It is important to note that the GhostHunter Web Part= offers functionality which cannot be found within Windows SharePoint Services. Neither the SharePoint object mod= el nor the browser user interface offers a means of 1) identifying a page’s ghosted state or b) reverting unghosted pages to their original ghosted form. The GhostHunter Web Pa= rt was specifically designed to address these two limitations.

Use the GhostHunter Web Part with cauti= on and at your own risk. It is strongly recommended that y= ou are highly familiar with the concept of ghosted and unghosted pages before resetting = any pages.

Key items to note:

Reverting pages to their original ghosted state will destroy existing page cont= ent and meta info. It is hi= ghly recommended that you make a backup copy of a page before resetting the page.
By default and for tracking purposes, the GhostHunter Web Part will reco= rd all reset actions in the server’s application event log.
Web Parts which exist on an unghosted page will be moved to the Web Part = Page gallery if the original ghosted page does not contain identical WebPartZones.= This is not a loss of data &= #8211; only change in number of web parts which are rendered. To place the parts back onto= a page, simply go to Modify Page | Add Web Parts | Browse and select Web Part Page Gallery. From= there you can drag/drop the web parts as needed.

Using Inspector

The Inspector Web Part offers a comprehensive run-tim= e look at the Web Part page and its Web Parts.&n= bsp;

Note: The Inspector Web Part primarily oper= ates in a read-only mode. The only a= ction which can change the state of your page is the Delete functionality. As wi= th any delete action, be absolutely sure you are deleting the correct item. Once the action is committed, the= re is no way to recover a deleted web part instance.

References

Packaging and Deploying Web Parts for M= icrosoft Windows SharePoint Services

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?u= rl=3D/library/en-us/odc_sp2003_ta/html/sharepoint_deployingwebparts.asp

Microsoft Windows Sh= arePoint Services and Code Access Security

http://msdn.micr= osoft.com/library/default.asp?url=3D/library/en-us/odc_sp2003_ta/html/shar= epoint_wsscodeaccesssecurity.asp

Using Wppackager to Package and = Deploy Web Parts for Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies

http://msdn.micr= osoft.com/library/default.asp?url=3D/library/en-us/odc_sp2003_ta/html/shar= epoint_deployingwebparts_msi.asp

Windows SharePoint Services Administrator's Guide

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.= aspx?FamilyID=3Da637eff6-8224-4b19-a6a4-3e33fa13d230