blog.frederique.harmsze.nl my world of work and user experiences

June 23, 2010

DIWUG slides 22 juni : SharePoint 2010 [dutch]

Filed under: SharePoint — Tags: , , — frederique @ 07:41

This is for the Dutch Information Worker User Group, hence the Dutch talk and slides http://www.diwug.nl

Dit zijn de slides die ik gisteravond heb laten zien in mijn DIWUG presentatie (ppt, 4MB):

No-code information worker solutions met SharePoint Designer 2010
Kenniswerkers willen effectief en efficiënt samenwerken. Met SharePoint 2010 kunnen hiervoor nog betere oplossingen gerealiseerd worden. En met SharePoint Designer 2010 kunnen we die oplossingen gebruikersvriendelijker inrichten en uitbreiden, zonder te programmeren.
In deze sessie kijken we vanuit een functioneel perspectief naar een paar van dit soort oplossingen en hoe je ze kunt configureren met SharePoint Designer 2010.
Spreker: Frédérique Harmsze – Macaw

May 31, 2010

Smart validation right out-of-the-2010-box

Filed under: Interaction,SharePoint — Tags: , — frederique @ 23:47

In SharePoint list and libraries, we can always specify if a particular field is required or not. For example, documents in a library have to be categorized, issues have to be assigned to somebody and tasks need a status, which can be ‘Not started’ of course.

In real life we often need smarter validation than just making a field required. To avoid messing up your process, a start date should be before the end date. To avoid losing money, the discount you give should be smaller than the actual cost of the item. And to avoid bothering your users, they should not have to fill in fields that are not important for this item. For example, high priority tasks really need a Due Date, which you can just skip for lower priority tasks.

Validation: the Due Date is required because the Priority is High

Validation: the Due Date is required because the Priority is High

In 2010, you can actually specify the validation settings for your list, in a formular with the available columns. This only works for “calculable colums”, not for multiple lines of text or lookups. If the formula is true, then you can save the item. And if it is false, then you need to fix the problem. You can specify the error message as well.

Link to the validation settings

Link to the validation settings

So, with the formula =IF(Priority=”1. High”,IF([Due Date]<>””,TRUE,FALSE),TRUE) we can ensure that high priority tasks always get a Due Date.

Validation settings

Validation settings

Now of course none of this ensures that the users actually enter sensible Due Dates or that they adhere to them. But we have at least made it a bit easier to enter the right data.

February 28, 2010

2010 shortcuts for editing document properties

Filed under: SharePoint — Tags: , — frederique @ 23:52

Ok, I’m not implying that now there are more than 2010 shortcuts. But I do mean that in SharePoint 2010 and Office 2010 we have some new and some improved shortcuts for editing the properties of documents stored in a team site. We want to edit these properties, for example, to provide or change a description and to select a category.

In the document library, we can now use the classical edit icon, drop-down menu and datasheet, as well as the new inline editing option. And in Word, we not only have the document information panel, but also the new backstage view.

Updated classics: Edit icon, drop-down menu and properties form in the Document Library

We still have the classic drop-down that already offered the Edit properties option in 2003. Now we have an updated version, which has more options.

Selecting the option Edit properties or clicking the Edit icon opens – as usual – the form where you can edit these properties. The update here is that the form is opened in a ‘pop-up layer’ instead of a separate page.

Updated classics: Datasheet view in the Document Library
To edit the properties of multiple documents at the same time, we still have the Datasheet view. This view now is offered as a button in the new ribbon.

New: Inline editing in the document library view
In the 2010 Document Library, we can edit the properties that are displayed in the view directly, by way of inline editing. The properties displayed in the view are the most important properties, which we want to change most often.

For that purpose we do need to enable inline editing in that view. In the ribbon, click Library > Modify View > Inline editing > Allow inline editing.

Modern classic: Document information panel in Word
When we create a new document from the document library, using the New Document button, Word opens with a Document Information Panel at the top. Hhere we can enter the properties straightaway. We already had that in 2007.

New: Backstage view in Word
In 2010, we have a new and improved ‘backstage view’. Here we can not only see the properties of the document, but we can also edit them inline. So we don’t have to go back to the document library to edit the properties, while we are working in Word.

We’ve always had more than one way to perform a task in a team site. That is a good thing, because the user does not always approach from the same angle, with exactly the same purpose. So the user can choose the method that best suits her needs at that time. And now we have some more options that allow us to get the job done more easily.

December 31, 2009

SharePoint 2010: Interface of the Public Beta

Filed under: SharePoint — Tags: — frederique @ 17:51

In my previous post, I could only show images of the “secret” Beta. Here is what the Public Beta looks like by default. It’s not shockingly different from the secret beta, but is has evolved a bit.

Public beta - content page

Public beta - content page

They have cleaned up obvious obviously beta-looking things, like the language labels: instead of ‘en-us’ you see the full ‘English’ (I’m not sure what happened to the ‘us’ versus ‘uk’ distinction).
The Quick Launch has been styled. They have added an overview of ‘Recently modified’ to the Quick Launch.
On the other hand they have removed clutter from the ribbon, such as the separate buttons for ‘Edit HTML Source’  and ‘Convert to XHTML’ that have been moved into one dropdown called HTML. I guess the audience is not supposed to need single click HTML code manipulation.

So I suppose this will basically be what the launched product will look like – until you customize the look & feel of course.

November 20, 2009

SharePoint 2010: Now we’re editing content

Filed under: SharePoint — Tags: , — frederique @ 02:19

The public beta of SharePoint 2010 has been released. See Mirjam’s blog. So now we are not only talking: we are getting somewhere. Three cheers et cetera, but let me get back from celebrating the news to pointing out specific functionality that is not just cool but really useful.

Content on the page
What we often want, not just in internet sites but also in intranet sites, is pages where we can publish content. We want to explain about our unique selling points, the benefits of green tea, the process of quality assurance or whatever topic is on our minds. And we want to do that explanation in text, with a readable layout. Accompanied by images that illustrate and clarify our point.

Content editor
In the “old” sharepoints we can do that, using things like Content Editor Web Parts and Image Web Parts. But you have to click deeply to get to your text. The Rich Text Editor functionality for layout is not that solid. And it is a real hassle to add a picture interlaced with the content: you go back and forth between your text and the picture library where you have to store your picture before you can use it on the page. MOSS 2007 was already better at this than SPS 2003, but still messy when you try to actually create interesting pages.

Editable pages

In the new SharePoint 2010, creating and editing content on a page is a lot easier, because all pages are implemented as wiki pages. So


  1. You create a new page, or click on Edit on a web part page like the homepage of the site.
  2. You put your cursor in the content field
  3. And you start typing.

SharePoint 2010 - Format

SharePoint 2010 - Format


Ribbon
The ribbon that we’ve already met in Office 2007 is now all over SharePoint 2010 as well. On every page, you get a ribbon that offers you the options that are relevant to:


  • you, given your permissions – no editing ribbons if you have only read permission;
  • the page you are on [at least, that is what I think and hope];
  • the element on the page you have selected – when I select the Announcements web part, I suddenly see the options to manage the announcement list and its items.
    [That means that you have to be careful where you put your cursor, or you will get lost in the ribbon jungle]

SharePoint 2010 Announcements web part ribbon

SharePoint 2010 Announcements web part ribbon


For a content element, the ribbon offers rich text functionality: fonts, bulleted lists, predefined styles etc. To see what it would do to your selected text, just hover over the style in the menu and you get a preview. Click to confirm, and the style has been applied.
[Personally, I am happy we still have a button Edit HTML source, so that I can save the layout when I get entangled in rich text options that try to think for themselves instead of listening to me.]

Inserting images
From the ribbon, I can insert an image, or anything else. Even a web part, which is not something that I’ve ever inserted into a Word document. But let me get back to the images.
I typically want to insert an image that I have not uploaded into the site yet, so select: the ribbon tab Insert > Image > From computer > Browse for the image and select the library where the image will be stored in the site.

SharePoint 2010 - Insert ribbon

SharePoint 2010 - Insert ribbon
SharePoint 2010 - Insert image

SharePoint 2010 - Insert image

The image lands on the page, I select it, and then I can manipulate it just like in Word. For example, by clicking the ‘make it smaller’ arrow, I can actually see the image shrink. [In my current sandbox I cannot enter a size manually, which cost me a lot of clicking to shrink my overlarge image. I hope I can just enter the size by typing the number in the public beta…


SharePoint 2010 - Resize the image via the ribbon

SharePoint 2010 - Resize the image via the ribbon


I can also position the image the same way as in Word: select left or right alignment, and drag and drop it to the right location.

SharePoint 2010 - Position the image via the ribbon

SharePoint 2010 - Position the image via the ribbon


Now I just have to remember that I do not see any Save buttons in the work-on-my-image mode, and that I need to click on the text or on Edit to be able to save it. Et voila! We have enabled the visitors to read & see what we want to convey to them right on the page.

It may not be perfect, at least not on the beta, but it is such a huge improvement of functionality that I need in my real life of intranet projects, that I am definitely happy.

NB : these screenshots were taken with the « secret» beta, because my colleagues are working on the installation of the public beta – installations always take some doing.

November 1, 2009

SharePoint 2010: Now we’re talking

Filed under: SharePoint — Tags: — frederique @ 00:57

I’m not a gadgety type of person and I don’t get excited about tools for their own sake. But I am excited about the new SharePoint 2010, because it looks like it is really going to make my work more effective, efficient and pleasant. It will allow me to create better information worker solutions for my clients, and of course help me in my own information work.

This assessment is not just based on Microsoft’s sales pitch, but also on some hands-on experience in a sandbox site. At Macaw, we’ve had the beta 1 version at our disposal for a few months, as members of the Partner Evidence Program, but it was still a “secret”. Fortunately, the veil has been lifted at the recent conference in Las Vegas and now we are allowed to talk about it. Unfortunately, we still have only that rather creaky beta 1 to play with, as we must wait until the end of November for the public beta.

I’ve worked for years with SharePoint 2003 and 2007, and these are quite useful, but they have limitations that drive me crazy sometimes. SharePoint 2010 undoubtedly has its own share of quirks and no system is perfect, but it does seem more mature. So what I am talking about here? I won’t try give a full list of what’s new and what’s hot here, but some examples are:

  • An interface that is more intuitive and less click-intensive. Web editing directly on the page, where you can enter text, lay it out and add pictures without counterintuitive detours. The Fluent User Interface a.ka. the ribbon offers you buttons for the actions that make sense in the context that you are looking at.
  • Tagging that helps you to find information relevant to your subject, as well as people who are experts in or at least interested in that subject.
  • Business Connectivity Services that integrate other systems into your working environment in SharePoint: not only can you see data from e.g. SAP but you can also add and edit data in such systems (if you have permission to do so of course)
  • Document management features including document sets, which allow you to manage not just single documents but also entire dossiers.
  • SharePoint Workspaces, in which you can take the content of your site offline, say, to keep working on a long flight.

This is going to keep me talking for a while…

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