Advanced Feature Development

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Advanced Feature Development

• Neil Iversen
• Inetium
• http//justaddcode.com

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The Plan

• Feature Refresher
• Feature Limitations
• Custom Actions
• Dealing with Dependencies
• Stapling
• Managing Files
• Feature Receivers
• Some Techniques
• Questions

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Feature Refresher

• Deployment vehicle for SharePoint applications
• The Goal
• Setup.exe style deployment
• The Reality
• Not exactly

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Feature Refresher

• Ability to customize SharePoint
• Used extensively by SharePoint itself
• Actions
• Install/Uninstall
• Activate/Deactivate
• Stored in the Hive
• 12\TEMPLATE\FEATURES
• Separate directory for each feature
• Scopes
• Web, Site, Farm, Web App
• Common Scenarios
• List Templates
• Workflow

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Key Feature Limitations

• Limited set of supported schemas
• Supports fewer file options than Solutions
• Must be bundled in Solutions for larger farms
• Upgrading deployed features is difficult
• Might not follow expected behavior

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Feature Lifecycle
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Mentioning Solutions

• Bundled into one file (.wsp)
• Can combine multiple features
• Deploys across all web front ends
• Can easily update SafeControls in web.config
• Deploy Code Access Security (CAS)

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Custom Actions

• Create your own menu options
• Many extensibility points
• Main Attributes
• Title
• Location
• GroupId
• Sequence
• HideCustomAction
• Hides an existing Custom Action

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Custom Actions

• URL Prefixes
• site Relative link to the SPWeb
• sitecollection Relative link to the SPSite
• URL Replacements
• ItemId List Items ID
• ItemUrl List Item URL
• ListId ID of the List
• SiteUrl Like site except it can be used
  anywhere
• Example
• ltCustomAction
• Id"325b7c78-f041-4d1b-856b-f9b1e49ddfeb"
• GroupId"PersonalActions"
• Location"Microsoft.SharePoint.StandardMen
  u"
• Sequence"1000"
• TitleMy Title"
• DescriptionA Custom Action
• ltUrlAction Urljavascriptalert(You were at
  SiteUrl)"/gt
• lt/CustomActiongt

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Managing Files in Features

• Deploy a file into a site
• Web
• Document Library
• URL can be aliased
• MobileRedirect (\m) uses it
• Not as powerful as Solutions
• Uninstall behavior is non-intuitive
• Example
• ltElements xmlns"http//schemas.microsoft.com/shar
  epoint/"gt
• ltModule Namefile" Url Path"gt
• ltFile UrlMyFile.aspx" /gt
• lt/Modulegt
• lt/Elementsgt

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DEMO Features and Files
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Dealing with Dependencies

• Problem Feature depends on another SharePoint
  Object
• Solution Create dependency between the features
• Example
• ltActivationDependenciesgt
• ltActivationDependency FeatureId"52890518-036f-
  4027-babd-f4c7df3ee429" /gt
• ltActivationDependency FeatureId"6d276cfc-1c84-
  46cc-8566-500e66213e06 " /gt
• lt/ActivationDependenciesgt

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Dependency Limitations

• Feature Chains
• Limited to one visible feature
• Dependencies cant be triggered at a higher scope
• Ex Farm Feature cant depend on a Web Feature
• Features cant be automatically activated at
  different scopes
• Ex Web Feature cant activate a Farm Feature
• Hidden Features
• Automatically Activated for Dependencies
• Automatically Deactivated when the last
  Dependency is Deactivated
• Cant be depended on in different scopes
• Cant have their own dependencies
• Can add an additional level to Feature Chains

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Stapling

• Problem Cant customize out of the box Site
  Definitions
• Solution Stapling!
• Scopes Farm, Web App, Site
• Note Not Web
• FeatureSiteTemplateAssociation
•  ltFeatureSiteTemplateAssociation
  Id"b04e59b1-2c21-48fa-9497-470b1ab711b0"
  TemplateName"STS0" /gt 
• ltFeatureSiteTemplateAssociation
  Id"fd45b13f-6334-4bce-b87c-49e3f820a74c"
  TemplateNameGLOBAL0" /gt

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(No Transcript)
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DEMO Stapling in Action
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Feature Receivers

• The Custom Feature
• .NET Code
• Override
• FeatureInstalled, FeatureUninstalling
• FeatureActivated, FeatureDeactivating
• Example
• ltFeature Id"0a7e1ca9-ee71-4407-80a0-b5b57f4f6f5d"
  
• TitleMy Feature Reciever"
• Scope"Site"
• ReceiverAssemblyMyAssembly, Version1.0.0.0,
  Cultureneutral, PublicKeyTokene35a4d2663eae0ae"
  ReceiverClassMyAssembly.MyFeatureReciever"
• xmlns"http//schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/"gt

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Feature Receivers Getting Context

• Getting Context
• Retrieving the Current Scoped Object
• SPFeatureReceiverProperties
• SPFeatureReceiverProperties.Feature.Parent
• Cast to the appropriate type
• Scope Web
• SPWeb web (SPWeb)properties.Feature.Parent
• SPSite site (SPSite)properties.Feature.Parent
• Example Usages
• Perform clean uninstalls of features
• Upgrade features using Activate
• Set dependencies to chain actions together
• Web.config changes
• Address gaps in current supported Features
• Policies, Custom Fields,

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Feature Receivers - Debugging

• Based on Deployment/Activation Method
• Stsadm
• Runs as currently logged in user
• Console.WriteLine
• Web Interface
• Runs as App Pool user
• Need to use logger (EventLog, or some Logging
  code)
• DLL Deployment
• Overwrite Existing DLL
• iisreset

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Feature Properties

• Configuration for your Feature
• Allow different values for Dev/Test/Prod
• Combine with scoped property bags to set
  configurations
• Example
• ltPropertiesgt
• ltProperty KeyMyKey" Value123" /gt
• ltProperty KeyDBServer" Valueprodsql001" /gt
• lt/Propertiesgt

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DEMO Deploying SPWeb Properties
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Manually Activating Features

• Why?
• Evade chaining restrictions (at your own peril)
• Working with Hidden Features
• Manage Stages of a Site with a Web Part
• Creating a Suicide Feature

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Manually Activating Features

• Get your Context
• Ex SPWeb
• Find the Feature Collection
• Ex SPWeb.Features
• Find the Features Guid
• Ex Guid featureGuid new Guid(0a7e1ca9-ee71-440
  7-80a0-b5b57f4f6f5d)
• Activate!
• Ex SPWeb.Features.Add(featureGuid)

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DEMO Feature Activation
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Your Feedback is Important

• Please fill out a session evaluation form and
  either put them in the basket near the exit or
  drop them off at the conference registration
  desk.
• Thank you!

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Questions?
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Thanks!

• Other Sessions
• SharePoint 212 Customizing the Mobile
  Experience
• When Thursday 1115am
• Where Mandalay Bay B
• SharePoint 314 PowerShell for SharePoint
  Developers
• When Thursday 2pm
• Where Mandalay Bay B

• Neil Iversen
• Inetium
• http//justaddcode.com