Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/djacobus/archive/2013/10/24/154465.aspxAs a Developer whom has worked closely with web designers (Power users) in a SharePoint environment, I have come across
the issue of making
the Data Form Web Part reusable across
the site collection! In SharePoint 2007 it was very easy and this blog pointed
the way to make it happen: Josh Gaffey's Blog. In SharePoint 2010 something changed! This method failed except for using a Data Form Web Part that pointed to a list in
the Site Collection Root! I am making this discussion relative to a developer whom creates a solution (WSP) with all
the artifacts embedded and
the user shouldn’t have any involvement in
the process except to activate features.
The Scenario: 1. A Power User creates a Data Form Web Part using SharePoint Designer 2010! It is a great web part
the uses all
the power of SharePoint Designer and XSLT (Conditional formatting, etc.). 2. Other Users in
the site collection want to use that specific web part in sub sites in
the site collection. Pointing to a list with
the same name, not at
the site collection root!
The Issues: 1.
The Data Form Web Part Data Source uses a List ID (GUID) to point to
the specific list. Which means a list in a sub site will have a list with a new GUID different than
the one which was created with SharePoint Designer! Obviously,
the List needs to be
the same List (Fields, Content Types, etc.) with different data. 2. How can we make this web part site agnostic, and dependent only on
the lists Name? I had this problem come up over and over and decided to put my solution forward!
The Solution: 1. Use
the XSL of
the Data Form Web Part Created By
the Power User in SharePoint Designer! 2. Extend
the OOTB Data Form Web Part to use this XSL and Point to a List by name.
The solution points to a hybrid solution that requires some coding (Developer) and
the XSL (Power User) artifacts put together in a Visual Studio SharePoint Solution. Here are
the solution steps in summary: 1. Create an empty SharePoint project in Visual Studio 2. Create a Module and Feature and put
the XSL file created by
the Power User into it a. Scope
the feature to web 3. Create a Feature Receiver to Create
the List.
The same list from which
the Data Form Web Part was created with by
the Power User. a. Scope
the feature to web 4. Create a Web Part extending
the Data Form Web a. Point
the Data Form Web Part to point to
the List by Name b. Point
the Data Form Web Part XSL link to
the XSL added using
the Module feature c. Scope
The feature to Site i. This is because all web parts are in
the site collection web part gallery. So in a Narrative Summary: We are creating a list in code which has
the same name and (site Columns) as
the list from which
the Power User created
the Data Form Web Part Using SharePoint Designer. We are creating a Web Part in code which extends
the OOTB Data Form Web Part to point to a list by name and use
the XSL created by
the Power User. Okay! Here are
the steps with images and code! At
the end of this post I will provide a link to
the code for a solution which works in any site! I want to TOOT
the HORN for
the power of this solution! It is
the mantra a use with all my clients! What is a basic skill a SharePoint Developer: Create an application that uses
the data from a SharePoint list and make that data visible to
the user in a manner which meets requirements! Create an Empty SharePoint 2010 Project Here I am naming my Project DJ.DataFormWebPart Create a Code Folder Copy and paste
the Extension and Utilities classes (Found in
the solution provided at
the end of this post) Change
the Namespace to match this project
The List to which
the Data Form Web Part which was used to make
the XSL by
the Power User in SharePoint Designer is now going to be created in code! If already in code, then all
the better! Here I am going to create a list in
the site collection root and add some data to it! For
the purpose of this discussion I will actually create this list in code before using SharePoint Designer for simplicity! So here I create
the List and deploy it
within this solution before I do anything else. I will use a List I created before for demo purposes. Footer List is used
within the footer of my master page. Add a new Feature: Here I name
the Feature FooterList and add a Feature Event Receiver: Here is
the code for
the Event Receiver: I have a previous blog post about adding lists in code so I will not take time to narrate this code: using System; using System.Runtime.InteropServices; using System.Security.Permissions; using Microsoft.SharePoint; using DJ.DataFormWebPart.Code; namespace DJ.DataFormWebPart.Features.FooterList { /// <summary> /// This class handles events raised during feature activation, deactivation, installation, uninstallation, and upgrade. /// </summary> /// <remarks> ///
The GUID attached to this class may be used during packaging and should not be modified. /// </remarks> [Guid("a58644fd-9209-41f4-aa16-67a53af7a9bf")] public class FooterListEventReceiver : SPFeatureReceiver { SPWeb currentWeb = null; SPSite currentSite = null; const string columnGroup = "DJ"; const string ctName = "FooterContentType"; // Uncomment
the method below to handle
the event raised after a feature has been activated. public override void FeatureActivated(SPFeatureReceiverProperties properties) { using (SPWeb spWeb = properties.GetWeb() as SPWeb) { using (SPSite site = new SPSite(spWeb.Site.ID)) { using (SPWeb rootWeb = site.OpenWeb(site.RootWeb.ID)) { //add
the fields addFields(rootWeb); //add content type SPContentType testCT = rootWeb.ContentTypes[ctName]; // we will not create
the content type if it exists if (testCT == null) { //the content type does not exist add it addContentType(rootWeb, ctName); } if ((spWeb.Lists.TryGetList("FooterList") == null)) { //create
the list if it dosen't to exist CreateFooterList(spWeb, site); } } } } } #region ContentType public void addFields(SPWeb spWeb) { Utilities.addField(spWeb, "Link", SPFieldType.URL, false, columnGroup); Utilities.addField(spWeb, "Information", SPFieldType.Text, false, columnGroup); } private static void addContentType(SPWeb spWeb, string name) { SPContentType myContentType = new SPContentType(spWeb.ContentTypes["Item"], spWeb.ContentTypes, name) { Group = columnGroup }; spWeb.ContentTypes.Add(myContentType); addContentTypeLinkages(spWeb, myContentType); myContentType.Update(); } public static void addContentTypeLinkages(SPWeb spWeb, SPContentType ct) { Utilities.addContentTypeLink(spWeb, "Link", ct); Utilities.addContentTypeLink(spWeb, "Information", ct); } private void CreateFooterList(SPWeb web, SPSite site) { Guid newListGuid = web.Lists.Add("FooterList", "Footer List", SPListTemplateType.GenericList); SPList newList = web.Lists[newListGuid]; newList.ContentTypesEnabled = true; var footer = site.RootWeb.ContentTypes[ctName]; newList.ContentTypes.Add(footer); newList.ContentTypes.Delete(newList.ContentTypes["Item"].Id); newList.Update(); var view = newList.DefaultView; //add all view fields here //view.ViewFields.Add("NewsTitle"); view.ViewFields.Add("Link"); view.ViewFields.Add("Information"); view.Update(); } } } Basically created a content type with two site columns Link and Information. I had to change some code as we are working at
the SPWeb level and need Content Types at
the SPSite level! I’ll use a new Site Collection for this demo (Best Practice) keep old artifacts from impinging on development: Next we will add this list to
the root of
the site collection by deploying this solution, add some data and then use SharePoint Designer to create a Data Form Web Part.
The list has been added, now let’s add some data: Okay let’s add a Data Form Web Part in SharePoint Designer. Create a new web part page in
the site pages library: I will name it TestWP.aspx and edit it in advanced mode: Let’s add an empty Data Form Web Part to
the web part zone: Click on
the web part to add a data source: Choose FooterList in
the Data Source menu: Choose appropriate fields and select insert as multiple item view: Here is what it look like after insertion: Let’s add some conditional formatting if
the information filed is not blank: Choose Create (right side) apply formatting: Choose
the Information Field and set
the condition not null: Click Set Style: Here is
the result: Okay! Not flashy but simple enough for this demo. Remember this is
the job of
the Power user! All we want from this web part is
the XLS-Style Sheet out of SharePoint Designer. We are going to use it as
the XSL for our web part which we will be creating next. Let’s add a web part to our project extending
the OOTB Data Form Web Part. Add new item from
the Visual Studio add menu: Choose Web Part: Change WebPart to DataFormWebPart (Oh well my namespace needs some improvement, but it will sure make it readily identifiable as an extended web part!) Below is
the code for this web part: using System; using System.ComponentModel; using System.Web; using System.Web.UI; using System.Web.UI.WebControls; using System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts; using Microsoft.SharePoint; using Microsoft.SharePoint.WebControls; using System.Text; namespace DJ.DataFormWebPart.DataFormWebPart { [ToolboxItemAttribute(false)] public class DataFormWebPart : Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.DataFormWebPart { protected override void OnInit(EventArgs e) { base.OnInit(e); this.ChromeType = PartChromeType.None; this.Title = "FooterListDF"; try { //SPSite site = SPContext.Current.Site; SPWeb web = SPContext.Current.Web; SPList list = web.Lists.TryGetList("FooterList"); if (list != null) { string queryList1 = "<Query><Where><IsNotNull><FieldRef Name='Title' /></IsNotNull></Where><OrderBy><FieldRef Name='Title' Ascending='True' /></OrderBy></Query>"; uint maximumRowList1 = 10; SPDataSource dataSourceList1 = GetDataSource(list.Title, web.Url, list, queryList1, maximumRowList1); this.DataSources.Add(dataSourceList1); this.XslLink = web.Url + "/Assests/Footer.xsl"; this.ParameterBindings = BuildDataFormParameters(); this.DataBind(); } } catch (Exception ex) { this.
Controls.Add(new LiteralControl("ERROR: " + ex.Message)); } } private SPDataSource GetDataSource(string dataSourceId, string webUrl, SPList list, string query, uint maximumRow) { SPDataSource dataSource = new SPDataSource(); dataSource.UseInternalName = true; dataSource.ID = dataSourceId; dataSource.DataSourceMode = SPDataSourceMode.List; dataSource.List = list; dataSource.SelectCommand = "" + query + ""; Parameter listIdParam = new Parameter("ListID"); listIdParam.DefaultValue = list.ID.ToString( "B").ToUpper(); Parameter maximumRowsParam = new Parameter("MaximumRows"); maximumRowsParam.DefaultValue = maximumRow.ToString(); QueryStringParameter rootFolderParam = new QueryStringParameter("RootFolder", "RootFolder"); dataSource.SelectParameters.Add(listIdParam); dataSource.SelectParameters.Add(maximumRowsParam); dataSource.SelectParameters.Add(rootFolderParam); dataSource.UpdateParameters.Add(listIdParam); dataSource.DeleteParameters.Add(listIdParam); dataSource.InsertParameters.Add(listIdParam); return dataSource; } private string BuildDataFormParameters() { StringBuilder parameters = new StringBuilder("<ParameterBindings><ParameterBinding Name=\"dvt_apos\" Location=\"Postback;Connection\"/><ParameterBinding Name=\"UserID\" Location=\"CAMLVariable\" DefaultValue=\"CurrentUserName\"/><ParameterBinding Name=\"Today\" Location=\"CAMLVariable\" DefaultValue=\"CurrentDate\"/>"); parameters.Append("<ParameterBinding Name=\"dvt_firstrow\" Location=\"Postback;Connection\"/>"); parameters.Append("<ParameterBinding Name=\"dvt_nextpagedata\" Location=\"Postback;Connection\"/>"); parameters.Append("<ParameterBinding Name=\"dvt_adhocmode\" Location=\"Postback;Connection\"/>"); parameters.Append("<ParameterBinding Name=\"dvt_adhocfiltermode\" Location=\"Postback;Connection\"/>"); parameters.Append("</ParameterBindings>"); return parameters.ToString(); } } }
The OnInit method we use to set
the list name and
the XSL Link property of
the Data Form Web Part. We do not have
the link to XSL in our Solution so we will add
the XSL now: Add a Module in
the Visual Studio add menu: Rename Sample.txt in
the module to footer.xsl and then copy
the XSL from SharePoint Designer Look at elements.xml to where
the footer.xsl is being provisioned to which is Assets/footer.xsl, make sure
the Web parts xsl link is pointing to this url: Okay we are good to go! Let’s check our features and package: DataFormWebPart should be scoped to site and have
the web part:
The Footer List feature should be scoped to web and have
the Assets module (Okay, I see, a spelling issue but it won’t affect this demo) If everything is correct we should be able to click a couple of sub site feature activations and have our list and web part in a sub site. (In fact this solution can be activated anywhere) Here is
the list created at SubSite1 with new data It. Next let’s add
the web part on a test page and see if it works as expected: It does! So we now have a repeatable way to use a WSP to move a Data Form Web Part around our sites! Here is a link to
the code: DataFormWebPart Solution
