76 posts from: Heather Solomon SharePoint Design
What has been, what is now, and what is coming!
(Indexed 2010-02-24):
Wow, it has been awhile since I posted on my blog. This is an update on the past, the present and the future. Thanks to everyone for your support, comments and care.2009 was a challenging year for me and I went through several personal changes and challenges. I stayed super busy between being a Mom and helping to run a business. Any leftover time I came across I generally used to catch up on sleep! Many people reached out to me to see if I was OK and sent me very caring sentiments and just reall...(truncated)...
Brand it baby! Buy tickets by Wednesday for my next branding class...
(Indexed 2009-04-20):
Themes? Master pages? CSS? Page layouts? Content customization? All covered next week in my SharePoint Branding Boocamp in Anaheim, CA. You will get a lot of one on one time with me to work on your plans, designs and issues with your SharePoint sites. Check out more info in this post, or online at: http://www.sharepointbootcamp.com/sharepoint_branding_bootcamp.htm Thanks! [Image]
Learn how to brand SharePoint
(Indexed 2009-04-13):
In two weeks I am headed to sunny Anaheim California to teach my SharePoint Branding Bootcamp. There are still seats available and I would love to have you join me for a week (April 27 - May 1st)learning how to effectively brand the SharePoint interface.A lot of my materials have been updated to include the latest tips and tricks I have discovered. This class covers more than just where SharePoint CSS files are or how to create a theme, we delve into master pages, WCM page layouts, customizing t...(truncated)...
Styling SharePoint with Attribute Selectors and IE6
(Indexed 2009-03-09):
I recently posted some methods for styling SharePoint web parts using attribute selectors. I heard back from several people about how they can't use this option due to IE6's lack of support for attribute selectors. I was aware of this at the time of the post but neglected to point it out in the post text.IE6 usage is steadily dwindling (Jan '09 - 18.5% browser market share; source: W3). I know there is also internal use of IE6 throughout organizations, but this is also slowly receding. CSS is us...(truncated)...
Controlling Single Web Parts with CSS Article Posted
(Indexed 2009-02-25):
I often get questions about how can a particular web part be branded separately from all the rest or be branded by type. For example you want every Contacts list to have a green header bar instead of a tan header bar. Or perhaps you want a column of web parts on a page to look different than the main area that contains other web parts.The latter I have always had a solution for, the former I figured out something today. As with everything that I focus on, these are "no custom development" / "no ...(truncated)...
Modifying the second level navigation arrow image
(Indexed 2009-02-09):
If you are working with the default navigation menus in SharePoint, you may come across the need to modify the sub menu arrow that appears to the right of the navigation text, see a screen shot: View image. Usually the first thing you will do is a right-click -> Save Picture As... to grab the image name. But with this one you will get "WebResource.gif". Upon further inspection, you will find an image name in the page source and a JavaScript reference to WebResource.axd.WebResource.axd is a .NET ...(truncated)...
Random Design Bits for SharePoint OTW....
(Indexed 2009-02-09):
I often sit and stare at the computer screen wondering what on earth I should blog about. I guess I work with SharePoint branding too much on a daily basis to have particular items stand out to me that say "Hey, blog me!". In an effort to get out helpful bits, I am turning to my blog comments. I unfortunately don't have time to address all the great comments people send me, but I have saved them all. I am going to start picking questions at random to answer here on my blog in hopes of helping ou...(truncated)...
SharePoint 2007 Design Tip: Gantt View with custom master pages
(Indexed 2008-11-10):
I recently discovered that your custom master page may affect the Gantt view of a SharePoint list. I have seen the colored task bars extend past the framed container of the chart when a custom master page and CSS is applied to the site. If this happens to you, you can try the following: Systematically strip out the CSS and HTML to identify what code is causing the problem. Be sure to make backups of your files first. Adjust the DOCTYPE tag that you are using. When this happened to me, I ha...(truncated)...
SharePoint 2007 Design Tip: Top toolbar display in Firefox
(Indexed 2008-11-10):
If you are working with SharePoint in Firefox, the top toolbar (Welcome menu, My Site, My Links) may not display correctly. Click here for a screenshot. Add this to your CSS to correct this problem:.ms-globallinks { white-space:nowrap}This works in Firefox and won't wreck IE. [Image]
SharePoint 2007 Design Tip: Create a custom search input interface
(Indexed 2008-08-21):
Acommon request is to alter the default look of the search input and button area to something that better matches a design or fits better in space that is available. When working with the default search, you are limited to the CSS classes provided to you and the layout that ships with SharePoint. It is possible to create your own search display by deploying a Feature. Note I am not referring to search results, just the search box area available on most SharePoint pages, generally located in the ...(truncated)...
SharePoint Breadcrumbs - Sample of differences, chart of uses and resources
(Indexed 2008-08-13):
I don't think I am alone when I say "I hate the page level breadcrumb in SharePoint". While dead useful for users, it becomes a bit nightmarish for devigners. For this post I am going to ignore the Global Breadcrumb that appears in the upper left of a SharePoint site by default, because honestly most people hide it and it doesn't cause near the heartburn as the page level breadcrumb. Some background.... the page level breadcrumb (from this point forward just called breadcrumb) is included on the...(truncated)...
A Bit More About Disabling Themes in Master Pages
(Indexed 2008-08-13):
Randy Drisgill came across a great challenge and weird issue with SharePoint in regards to disabling themes on custom master pages. I wanted to expand a bit more on what he has posted about. Themes can wreck havoc on master pages since by default theme styles are called after regular SharePoint styles. Depending on your changes, themes may leak through via changing styles you did not, or if you used the Alternate CSS property in Master Page Settings to call your custom styles. The Alternate CSS ...(truncated)...
Blog and Wiki styles added to CSS Reference Chart
(Indexed 2008-08-06):
I added Blog and Wiki styles to my SharePoint 2007 CSS Reference Chart.[Image]
Branding SharePoint - Part 3: Changing the look and feel of SharePoint components - Intro and Web Parts
(Indexed 2008-07-09):
I have posted the next article in my branding series, which is a follow up to Part 1: Designing your SharePoint site, and Part 2: Creating the Design in SharePoint. Part 3: Changing the look and feel of SharePoint components - Intro and Web PartsThe next installment (coming very soon) will cover changing navigation systems in SharePoint. [Image]
How to Create Rounded Corners for Web Part Title Bars
(Indexed 2008-07-09):
Per some feedback, I added instructions to my latest branding article on how to create rounded corners for a web part title bar. Part 3: Changing the look and feel of SharePoint components - Intro and Web Parts[Image]
Big Update to CSS Reference Chart
(Indexed 2008-07-02):
I have posted a large update to my SharePoint 2007 CSS reference chart. In addition to adding some new styles and tips, I have added "Copy to Clipboard" functionality that will copy the CSS source code for the given style to your clipboard, so you don't have to chase down styles by looking up line numbers. Instead you can just do a copy, paste into your CSS file, and make modifications from there. The only section I did not do this for was the calendar, because I have previously posted all the c...(truncated)...
SharePoint Conference 2008 Wrap Up & Slide Decks
(Indexed 2008-03-10):
First off, thanks to everyone who attended my sessions and who stopped by the SharePoint Experts booth and said hello.I got to meet a lot of people last week and it is very exiciting to see the huge interest in SharePoint branding. Thank you so much for all of the positive feedback and comments. Last week was a great week, if you didn't make it, be sure to try to go next year. :-)I have posted my slide decks from my two presentations on my Speaking page, and below are direct links to download th...(truncated)...
SharePoint 2007 Design Tip: Import your CSS for SharePoint Themes
(Indexed 2008-01-30):
One of the major drawbacks of SharePoint themes is you have to reapply the theme to any site that uses your custom theme in order to see any new changes that you have made. This happens because when you apply a theme to a SharePoint site, a copy of the theme is added for the site in the content database. Try it out, open a test site in SharePoint Designer and look at the folder structure in the Folder List task pane. If you have already applied a theme to this site, you will see a _theme folder....(truncated)...
DOCTYPES and SharePoint
(Indexed 2008-01-25):
I got asked by two separate friends of mine just within a few days of each other if I had any recommendations for what DOCTYPE tag should be used in SharePoint. Honestly up until that point, I had not put a lot of thought into outside of the attitude of look up whatever A List Apart recommends and use that. So I delved into it a bit more and now I do have an opinion on the matter. A little info first, DOCTYPE is short for Document Type Declaration. A DOCTYPE associates a web page with a Document...(truncated)...
UPDATED: Base Master Page
(Indexed 2007-12-10):
Please note that there has been two typos in my Base Master Page file. I have uploaded a corrected version and it is available on the Base Master Page web page on my site. Typo 1In the HEAD area of the master page, the SharePoint tag pulling in the Theme was before the SharePoint tag pulling in all of theCSS files. This resulted in overriding your custom themes with the default SharePoint CSS styles which meant you canceled out any Theme you applied. In your existing master pages, make sure the ...(truncated)...
SharePoint Calendar CSS - Clean and Condensed - Repost for RSS
(Indexed 2007-11-28):
I am reposting this post because Feedburner didn't pick it up.... I posted Calendar CSS code for SharePoint. Check it out here: http://www.heathersolomon.com/blog/archive/2007/11/20/ShareP...(truncated)... [Image]
SharePoint Calendar CSS - Clean and Condensed
(Indexed 2007-11-20):
One of the SharePoint branding tasks that I find rather frustrating is skinning the Calendar control. The control is already pretty complex with the multiple views and options for appointments, but add in the fact that every line and color block is run by its own style and you have the making of a bad branding headache. I attempted to document many of the styles in my CSS Chart, but realistically it isn't feasible for me to document every single calendarstyle in that chart. Instead I have gone t...(truncated)...
SharePoint Branding Design Gotchas
(Indexed 2007-10-12):
I have pulled together a list of items in SharePoint 2007 that may haunt your custom branding if you don't take special note to address it in the interface. Often while branding SharePoint you can get wrapped up with just working with a single web page while changing your design. There is a large application to worry about and this list will hopefully help you avoid bits and pieces of the old SharePoint look popping up on you after you are done branding SharePoint. If there are other elements in...(truncated)...
Meeting Workspace Master Page Woes
(Indexed 2007-10-11):
If you have no need or plans to use Meeting Workspaces in your SharePoint site, you can skip this. You can always come back and go through this in case you do decide to use Meeting Workspaces. For those of you who are planning on using Meeting Workspaces, this post is for you. By default when you create a Meeting Workspace site, it uses it's own master page called the mwsdefault.master. This file is stored in the Global folder in the 12 directory (12TemplateGlobal) on the SharePoint web serve...(truncated)...
Turning a Master Page into a Theme
(Indexed 2007-10-04):
I got asked a question I have never heard before, so I decided to post a reply here.Q: Can you turn a SharePoint master page into a theme?A: Depends. I know, awful answer, but it really does depend on what you have done in your master page. Master pages control more design elements than a theme does. So depending on how you created those changes, they may or may not translate over to a theme. SharePoint uses a set of CSS styles. Some of those styles are referenced in the user controls like Searc...(truncated)...
SharePoint 2007 Design Tip: Using Background Images in your Site Design
(Indexed 2007-09-27):
A common trick in CSS design is to set a background image in the body tag fora site that contains a lot of the graphic elements of a site. This is often used to create colored columns and bars in CSS only design. See a screenshot. For example:body { background: url("myimage.gif");}When you do this in SharePoint, the background image will also appear in the Rich Text Editor used in the Content Editor Web Part. See a screenshot. You can fix this issue pretty easily. Add a DIV tag around your page ...(truncated)...
Branding SharePoint - Part 2: Creating the Design in SharePoint
(Indexed 2007-09-26):
Part 2 of a multi-part series, in this article I cover site design implementation options (a fancy way to say master pages, themes and CSS) that you have for implementing your site design in SharePoint 2007. Branding SharePoint - Part 2: Creating the Design in SharePoint Part 1 of this series is: Branding SharePoint - Part 1: Designing your SharePoint Site[Image]
SharePoint 2007 Design Tip: Welcome Menu Arrow Display
(Indexed 2007-09-17):
While working with the Welcome menu in your SharePoint site (the drop down menu with the options to sign in as a different user, log out, etc) if you strip the menu out of the table that the SharePoint default.master page uses, the arrow that appears to the right of the Welcome menu may drop down to be level with the baseline of the welcome text. SharePoint default.master code:You can correct this by adding a font-size attribute to the wrapping container you use to place the menu in your custom ...(truncated)...
Branding SharePoint - Part 1: Designing your SharePoint Site
(Indexed 2007-09-13):
Part 1 of a multi-part series about how to brand SharePoint sites. In this first segment, I talk about gathering design resources and having a little SharePoint know-how before you dive into creating designs for your SharePoint site. The next part will address how to start your code for your final design.Branding SharePoint -Part 1: Designing your SharePoint Site[Image]
Updated Base Master Page for Collaboration Sites
(Indexed 2007-07-26):
I have updated my base master page for MOSS collaboration sites (although I don't like to call them that now, alas that is for another post. For consistency sake, I will keep the name).I cleaned it up and labeled more content placeholders, moved a lot of unneeded items to the hidden panel at the bottom of the page.Enjoy. Base Master Pages[Image]
Base Master Page for WSS Sites
(Indexed 2007-06-29):
For anyone waiting on me to post base master page code for WSS sites, I have gone through the process of dismantling default.master from a WSS only installation and turns out it is identical to the base code for a MOSS collaboration site. So you can safely use the one for either instance.Base Master Pages[Image]
TechEd Session Follow up and Resources
(Indexed 2007-06-07):
Thanks to everyone who came to my session at TechEd. There was a ton of information to cover and I had to zip through it rather fast in order to hit the highlights. I am going to post a series of articles based on my presentation that will present more information about each topic that we covered. In the meantime, I have updated my Speaking page to include the slide deck (with extraneous slides removed) and posted links for the CSS Chart I showed in the session, and a download for the base Publi...(truncated)...
Master Pages vs. Themes: Which Do You Choose?
(Indexed 2007-05-14):
Over the last few months I have heard a lot of confusion and question about if a site should use a master page or a theme. In this post I am going to go through some basic pros and cons and information to help you make a better decision as to how to brand your SharePoint 2007 site.If you need more info about either master pages or themes, check out these posts:What is a Master Page (and component information for both master pages and page layouts)About Themes (note this refers to WSS v2, but is ...(truncated)...
SharePoint Tip: How to specify a Theme
(Indexed 2007-05-11):
WSS v2 made use of Themes, a package of CSS and images that changed the look, or skin, of a WSS site. New with MOSS 2007, Themes can also be used for MOSS sites as well as WSS v3. Below are the steps to set a Theme for your MOSS 2007 or WSS v3 site: In your site, select Site Actions, then Site Settings. MOSS sites, select Modify all Site Settings. Under the Look and Feel category, select Site Theme. Select a Theme, and select Apply.[Image]
SharePoint Tip: How to tell if your WSS site is on a WSS only install of SharePoint
(Indexed 2007-05-11):
I often come across confusion around branding options and navigation customizations for WSS v3 sites. One of the first questions I ask is if the WSS v3 site is on a server with only WSS v3 installed, or is it on a server where MOSS 2007 has also been installed. This often adds to the confusion.In addition to the differences between MOSS 2007 and WSS v3, there are differences in WSS sites depending on if the host server also has MOSS 2007 installed. In regards to branding and navigation, WSS site...(truncated)...
The DOCTYPE tag and SharePoint Master Pages
(Indexed 2007-02-21):
I came across a new issue this week. All of my custom master pages that I have done (including the base code I provide here) include a DOCTYPE tag that references the latest HTML specifications (). Unfortunately, the master page file used by default for SharePoint (default.master) does not specify a DOCTYPE tag at all. So when the browser page renders the code, it reverts to quirks mode, which renders the HTML according to old rules. This has a cascade effect. The default SharePoint styles have ...(truncated)...
SharePoint 2007 CSS Chart Updated
(Indexed 2007-02-21):
I have posted more styles to my CSS chart for SharePoint 2007, and thanks to Kerry Dirks for pointing out that I omitted navigation styles for Quick Launch!CSS Chart for SharePoint 2007[Image]
Customized SharePoint 2007 Search Center Width Workaround
(Indexed 2007-01-30):
In SharePoint 2007, you may run into display issues with the form fields for Search Center when you apply your custom Master Page. I am not referring to the Search inputs usually located in the header area, but the actual Search Center site (http://site.com/SearchCenter) and the search area located near the top of the page under the horizontal navigation.I have an easy workaround for this issue, read about it here.[Image]
Heather's Base Master Page File for SharePoint 2007
(Indexed 2007-01-26):
I have created a base master page file that can be used for creation of new custom master pages. Microsoft provides this, but I ran into issues with this code and instead created a base file using components of default.master (that ships with SharePoint).This code contains all the necessary content placeholders in order for the page to run. You can wrap your custom code around the placeholders and add your custom CSS file(s) in order to brand the master page.The majority of the placeholders are ...(truncated)...
SharePoint 2007 Design Tip: Quick Launch Bar Width
(Indexed 2007-01-24):
If you are designing custom master pages for a SharePoint 2007 site, be sure to make the width of your Quick Launch bar (a.k.a. left navigation bar) a minimum of 165 pixels. Otherwise the calendar control in an Events list will go over your allowed width and you will have to rework your design to accommodate the 'Today is' date.The issue lies with the lower portion of the calendar control that lists the current date. Your width needs to accommodate the longest possible value:Today is:Wednesday, ...(truncated)...
SharePoint 2007 CSS Reference Chart
(Indexed 2007-01-23):
In the same vein as my SharePoint 2003 CSS References chart, I have started a similar chart for MOSS 2007 and WSS v3. This is a work in progress and does not have every style.Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services v3 Cascading Style Sheet Reference Guide[Image]
SharePoint CSS Trick: Align your Search Inputs
(Indexed 2007-01-16):
I banged my head on this one for awhile and finally just had to pick apart the View Source code for a MOSS page....If you are creating a custom Master Page for MOSS 2007 and use the Search user control () you may have issues getting the search inputs to align to the right. That is how it is in the default look and feel, yet when you use this user control in your custom master page it mysteriously scoots over to the left. I don't choose to use the default code, so I was determined to figure out w...(truncated)...
How to Create a Theme in Windows SharePoint Services v2
(Indexed 2006-11-29):
I have sat on this article waiting for time to finish up the sister article for How to Create a Theme for WSS 3.0. I will get that one polished up one of these days, but in the meantime, here is a step by step guide on how to create a theme for WSS 2.0. Contents include how to design a theme, how to create the files, theme styles and how to test and deploy the theme. Keep reading more in the full length article...[Image]
Customizing the Content Query Web Part and Custom Item Styles
(Indexed 2006-11-29):
With MOSS 2007 and WSS 3.0, we can use the Content Query Web Part (CQW or CQWP) to display SharePoint content from another source on a SharePoint page. This web part is rather nifty and one of my new favorite things about MOSS 2007. At first glance you tend to pass it by, then when you see what it can do, it is pretty cool. Imagine if you will, creating a list in SharePoint 2003 and then adding it as a web part to your WSS home page or SPS portal area. You are then limited to controlling the vie...(truncated)...
MOSS 2007 Design Component Relationships and Diagrams
(Indexed 2006-11-14):
One of the MOSS 2007 buzzwords is master pages. But what all does that entail? How does the master page work with the content in the site and how do we do things like add web part zones and field controls? To aid and benefit SharePoint designers and those of us assigned to user interface customization, here is a break down of the relationships between master pages, page layouts, controls and content types. This is not a technical breakdown with sample code, this is just to explain the relationsh...(truncated)...
CSS Options with Master Pages
(Indexed 2006-10-27):
Skinning a SharePoint 2007 site with Master Pages is by no means and open/shut case of altering the look and feel of a site. There are some CSS inheritance issues that have to be contended with first. As a quick refresher, styles applied to elements in a page will be styled according to the last property that was applied to it. An inline style will override a style listed in the HEAD tag or in a linked CSS file. Additionally, you can selectively override style properties by selectively listing w...(truncated)...
SharePoint Styles & Application.master Skinning Workaround - A thought in progress
(Indexed 2006-10-26):
So I don't have this fully flushed out and wrapped up into a neat and tidy article with a How-To, but I will soon.The Issue Summed Up (more resources: Shane,and Shane followup) Master pages control the look and feel with SharePoint 2007 sites. One of the issues with this is application.master. This master page controls the look and feel of SharePoint pages that have URLs with "_layouts". This is a good chunk of a SharePoint site. Unlike the other master pages and customization techniques for a s...(truncated)...
SharePoint Permissions Tip: Master Page Access
(Indexed 2006-10-26):
If you are set up in some capacity on your MOSS 2007 site as having Full Control, this won't necessarily give you access to upload and mange files in the Master PageGallery. If you have been granted Full Control, but don't see all the options in the Master Page Gallery (see below), you also needtohave the Design right. You can set this for the Group you are in or forat the user level.MasterPage Gallery options with and without the Design right. The lower screenshot is with the Design right. [Ima...(truncated)...
Create a Feature: Master Pages for Site Collections
(Indexed 2006-10-19):
Yesterday I posted an article about creating master pages on the web server outside of the content database for easier maintenance. Andrew Connell has showed me a way to make this process even better by making this into a SharePoint Feature. I have created a new article about how to do this: Create a Feature: Master Pages for Site Collections [Image][Image]
How to Create and Store Master Pages on the Server for Use with Site Collections
(Indexed 2006-10-18):
In this brief article I go through how to create master page(s) on the web server that appear in the Master Page settings for a site collection for the Collaboration Portalor Publishing Portal site templates. This will be useful if your requirements entail using one or a few master pages for several site collections and you need to not create multiple versions of the master page in various content databases. This allows you to create a single master page, use as many times as you like, and updat...(truncated)...
SharePoint 2003 Image Reference Guides
(Indexed 2006-07-14):
To go with the SharePoint 2003 CSS Reference Chart I posted yesterday, here is a reference guide for images in SharePoint 2003. For popular images, it includes:File name Function Associated CSS information ScreenshotSharePoint 2003 Image Reference GuideSharePoint 2003 CSS Reference Chart[Image][Image]
SharePoint 2003 CSS Reference Guide
(Indexed 2006-07-13):
I have posted my trusty SharePoint 2003 CSS Reference guide. For popular CSS styles, it includes:Portal/WSS specificationClass/ID nameDescriptive function in siteSPS.css and OWS.css line number and general propertiesScreenshotSharePoint 2003 CSS Reference[Image]
New article posted: Intro to SharePoint 2003 and Customization Options
(Indexed 2006-07-03):
I did a bunch of work for a project that ended up falling through.... instead of letting all that work collect virtual dust, I am going to post it all on my blog. Here is the first article: Overview of SharePoint 2003 and Introduction to the Components of the User Interface Part One Overview of SharePoint 2003 and Introduction to the Components of the User Interface Part TwoThis article is geared for people just getting into SharePoint, wanting to understand the differences between SharePoint Po...(truncated)...
SharePoint CSS Tricks: Shift the top tool navigation to the left
(Indexed 2006-05-22):
Have you ever wanted to move the very top tool navigation of a portal or WSS site over to the far left of the screen? This comes in handy especially if you have created a new site header graphic and would like that screen space for your custom graphics instead of navigation.Add this custom CSS statement to your CSS file to move over that top navigation: .ms-bannerframe .ms-banner { padding-right: 10px; vertical-align: top; padding-top: 3px; text-align: right}Applies to:WSS Top Nav (Documents an...(truncated)...
New SharePoint Community site from Microsoft
(Indexed 2006-05-12):
Microsoft has launched a new community site for SharePoint. It has rotating blog and blog post links, rotating MVP profiles and links to SharePoint resources. RSS feeds are available. A lot of thought and collaboration went into this project, check it out. :-)SharePoint Products and Technologies Community[Image][Image] [Image] [Image]
BarracudaTools.com - new SharePoint Tools
(Indexed 2006-05-08):
We all know Mindsharp, but do you know Barracuda? Todd Bleeker and Bill English have launched a new division of their company, Barracuda Tools, which is a web part and web part solutions provider for SharePoint. Their flagship product, DeliverPoint, is a SharePoint User Management tool that a lot of user admin things that you wish SharePoint would. Check it out.Our fellow blogger Andrew Connell busted his tail getting this site up, and hey yours truly did the design of the site, I mean you go...(truncated)...
SharePoint and Cascading Style Sheets: How to update, change and reference
(Indexed 2006-04-26):
One of the more powerful tools in user interface (UI) customization for SharePoint is the use and editing of cascading style sheets (CSS). This article covers several ways to change the styles used by SharePoint Portal and WSS sites.SharePoint and Cascading Style Sheets: How to update, change and reference[Image][Image] [Image] [Image]
TechEd: BOF Session and TechEdConnect
(Indexed 2006-04-26):
My Birds of a Feather session proposal was accepted for TechEd (woot!) so if you are around Tuesday evening at 6:30pm, stop by and chat SharePoint user interface stuff with me. TechEd will even feed you pizza that night! And you never know what you may witness, last year I saw a woman dressed up as SuperGirl (cape and all) zipping around on a motorized scooter while packs of geeks chased after her. Who needs XBox? :-PI have also created a profile in TechEd Connect. If you haven't already done...(truncated)...
Send me an idea for a SharePoint Theme
(Indexed 2006-03-31):
So one of my many pet projects that I would like to do, is create a SharePoint Theme Pack. If you have a design idea, please send it to me! I need help thinking of a variety of themed themes to help give the pack some true variety. So for example....Mac UI themeEarthy tree-hugger themeVista themeuhh, ummm..... now you see why I need help So please, if you got it, send me an idea, I would appreciate it. :-)[Image][Image] [Image] [Image]
Vote for me! BOF Session at TechEd
(Indexed 2006-03-30):
My Birds of a Feather session proposal has been accepted for public voting, so please go vote for my session (mine is about midway down the list). Even if you aren't attending, do a gal a favor and vote anyways. There is no login, no spam, no commitments. :-)Customizing the SharePoint Interface Looking to dress up your SharePoint installation or apply several different user interfaces to individual sites? Come discuss and explore the many ways to customize SharePoint. Walk away with information...(truncated)...
Birds of a Feather - Have you voted?
(Indexed 2006-03-29):
Be sure to vote for Birds of a Feather sessions for TechEd US! Some sessions to note and vote for....Migrating your Content Management Server 2002 sites to Web Content Management in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Hosted by Andrew ConnellAC is one of the elite few CMS MVPs and has gotten his hands rather dirty with vNext. SharePoint crowds out CMS a bit, but this is a valuable technology, so don't let it fall off your radar screen. Getting Ready for the next generation of SharePoint Ho...(truncated)...
The Beauty of Custom Lists - Templates now available
(Indexed 2006-03-24):
After being poked by AC to go the extra mile, I have made available three of the list template examples for both the STS (WSS) and SPSTOC (portal) site definitions. I didn't do a form example because that one is very particular to an individual's needs and I could provide little value including a template as a starting point. Hope this gives someone a leg up and decreases your time to market. :-)The Beauty of Custom Lists (now with templates available for download)[Image][Image] [Image] [Image...(truncated)...
The Beauty of Custom Lists
(Indexed 2006-03-23):
Spurred by a newsgroup thread a couple of weeks ago, I have put together some ideas and instructions on how to utilize one of SharePoint's out of the box web parts, custom lists. The article covers:» Frequently Asked Questions» Anonymous (or as close as you can get) Submit Info list» Picture or File Info and Thumbnail List» A Form that is, but isn’t» Additional Ideas» SharePoint Portal Considerations» Additional ResourcesI feel that custom lists can be e...(truncated)...
SharePoint Developer Positions
(Indexed 2006-03-22):
Because of my blog, I get contacted about job positions and if I know of anyone who is looking. About 99.9% of these are for SharePoint developers. In the essence of help thy neighbor, if you are interested in learning more about these positions, drop me a line at contact@heathersolomon.com. [Image][Image] [Image] [Image]
SharePoint Customization Article - Interface Customizations Into and Options
(Indexed 2006-01-10):
A lot of people face the issue of how to change the SharePoint interface and are met with a lot of info and options which results in confusion. I have put together a brief overview of main options and talked about the issue of why straight-forward advice for this topic is hard to come by. An Into and Overview of Options for SharePoint User Interface Customization[Image]
Bil Shares a Good Theme Testing Trick
(Indexed 2005-12-19):
I can attest that building themes are a royal PITA due to the reasons Bil outline in his post Site Settings, Apply Theme, Apply, Lather, Rinse, Repeat.Bil has taken it a step further and provided an idea for a simple web part that makes this process go a little easier. Check it out. Now all we need is for Bil to provide this little ditty for us complete web part morons so we don't have to build it. :-P Hint, hint, nudge, nudge, say no more. [Image]
SharePoint Design Tip: Condense those My Site Styles
(Indexed 2005-10-21):
Everyone talks about OWS.css and SPS.css, but there are more style sheets in SharePoint, one of which is the tip topic for today. OWSPERS.css is the style sheet for personal sites (a.k.a. My Site). This is important because changes to OWS.css or SPS.css will not affect personal sites. The OWSPERS.css has all of the style sheet code from OWS.css, SPS.css and MENU.css copied in one, very long file. So if you make a change to OWS.css or SPS.css and want the same change applied to personal sites...(truncated)...
SharePoint Design Tip: Secret to my CSS Trickery
(Indexed 2005-10-11):
It may be painfully obvious, but if not... I go about doing lots of little things here and there in the SharePoint user interface (UI) by manipulating the display using CSS and IDs and class names that are already in the code. Luckily there are a lot of ID/classes assigned to elements in the page, and if you know a little about CSS, you can use it to your advantage to morph or hide UI items. This technique is how I hide the Site Settings and My Site links for portal.Adjusting the UI is as eas...(truncated)...
More SharePoint goodness...
(Indexed 2005-10-05):
E. Shupps has been busy... not only did he customize a SharePoint install right down to the last link and setting (it looks good!) he has been posting all sorts of SharePoint goodness lately...Search Index Rules Syntax SharePoint does a pretty good job of handling long, complex or unique URLs within the interface; many lists use relative pathing, Area and Site URLs preserve spaces for easy readability, and so on. One instance where this is definitely NOT the case is the application of rules for ...(truncated)...
SharePoint Usability Tip: Hide the My Site link in Portal
(Indexed 2005-10-03):
Quickly hide the “My Site” link in Portal by adding this style rule to your custom style sheet:#hlMySite {display: none}This changes the display to none, so you aren't actually removing the link from the code.[Image]
WHOA! New way to alter the default Title column in a SharePoint list
(Indexed 2005-09-30):
I have to admit, I am pretty geeked over this:Via Yazan Khasawneh:SharePoint lists is one of the greatest features inside this great portal, even most of SPS and WSS architecture is basically a list.But there is something that I really hate about lists, when you create a list, a default column is created, you cannot change the column Type, it is simply "a single line of text", so if someone requested from you to create a list with one column, and if he/she asked that this column type should be a...(truncated)...
Creating Custom User Menus in SharePoint
(Indexed 2005-09-27):
Via E. Shupps:Finally, after much delay, the lastest installment in the Extreme SharePoint Design series is finished. In this installment we will explore the creation of custom menus using the default Actions and Views sections in SharePoint Portal Server 2003. Originally intended to be a much shorter article, I kept finding additional things I felt needed to be included to present a complete picture, so the final version is rather lengthy. Hence the linked PDF as opposed to one big blog post. D...(truncated)...
SharePoint Design Tip: Name your Definitions
(Indexed 2005-09-14):
While in development and working with user interface customizations, name the site definitions so as you move around the site(s) you can quickly and easily see which site definition the area or site is using so you canmake sure you are editing the right site definition files. For example, open the default.aspx page for the SPSTOPIC site definition and add the text “SPSTOPIC” after the tag: SPSTOPIC The title will then appear clearly at the top of the screen above the header.This is ...(truncated)...
Add a simple CSS Button to SharePoint site
(Indexed 2005-09-12):
Here is some simple CSS code to add a button on your SharePoint page. The link has a class assigned to it so the default SharePoint styles won't control the appearance of the link text. This code does differ slightly than what you would do for a regular non-SharePoint web page. One implementation of this code is to add it to a Content Editor Web Part to display custom nav on a SharePoint page. Modify the look and feel of it to make a custom set of links or subnav on the page. Here is the code: ....(truncated)...
Applying a theme to a portal area
(Indexed 2005-09-07):
Via Yazan:Applying WSS Themes to SPS Areas You can apply the Windows SharePoint Services themes on SharePoint Areas it is really simple and it can save you a lot of effort .Lets say that you want to customize the Home area.1- Add the following to the url "_layouts/1033/themeweb.aspx" the full URL will look like this .http://localhost/_layouts/1033/themeweb.aspx.2- Choose the theme you want to apply like in WSS sites and click apply.3- Navigate to the home page that you want .4- Now you will noti...(truncated)...
SharePoint CSS Tricks: Modify the Content Editor Web Part text
(Indexed 2005-08-25):
Ever wanted to change the style of the text within a Content Editor Web Part (CEWP)? Add these custom styles to your style sheet:CEWP paragraph formattingdiv.ms-WPBody{} CEWP H1 header formattingdiv.ms-wpbody p h1, div.ms-wpbody h1 {} CEWP H2 header formattingdiv.ms-wpbody p h2, div.ms-wpbody h2 {} CEWP H3 header formattingdiv.ms-wpbody p h3, div.ms-wpbody h3 {} CEWP unordered and ordered list formattingdiv.ms-wpbody p ul, div.ms-wpbody ul {} div.ms-wpbody p ol, div.ms-wpbody ol {}CEWP links for...(truncated)...