Professional SharePoint 2007 Web Content Management Development: Building Publishing Sites with Office SharePoint Server 2007

This book covers MOSS 2007 WCM Publishing sites. You will find some chapters that seem to cover general WSS 3.0 topics, but everything is treated in the context of a Publishing site. While the chapters are arranged in a logical order, it is not necessary to read the book from cover to cover in a linear fashion.

By allowing multiple users to create and update web pages without the use of HTML or specialized editing software, SharePoint Server 2007 Web Content Management (WCM) is a fascinating system that organizes web content and design edits from each one of the site’s contributors and then compiles all those changes into a finished product. Author and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server MVP Andrew Connell presents the first book to focus on the features and fundamentals of WCM as well as the various services that are offered by the Windows SharePoint Services platform.

Tackle each core aspect of a typical Publishing site development project using the techniques outlined in this book. You’ll walk through key points, design elements, and development approaches that will demonstrate how WCM brings the power of content management to a large audience, and you’ll quickly grasp why SharePoint Server is a robust platform for hosting content-centric Web sites.

What you will learn from this book

  • Optimal methods for embarking on web content management projects
  • Leveraging the provided Publishing Web Parts and creating custom Web Parts
  • How to create custom field types and field controls
  • How to customize the SharePoint authoring environment
  • Techniques for implementing sites with multiple languages and devices
  • Ways of creating a minimal SharePoint site definition
  • Implementing an offline authoring experience
  • Various performance tips, tricks, and traps

Who this book is for

This book is for Web development professionals, particularly ASP.NET 2.0 developers who are building content management sites with the SharePoint platform.

Book Errata

The following lists the errors and/or omissions that have been identified in the book since it was published. Hey… sometimes things are missed! You can also view the official errata for the book on the main page for the book on the WROX website, linked above.

Ch02 - WSS v3 Development Primer

  • Page 31, Section Safe Mode Parser: In the last paragraph, the second sentence should read “All customized pages are routed through the safe more mode parser…”.

Ch03 - Overview MOSS 2007 and Web Content Management

  • Page 49, Listing 3-3: The C# using statement is not required (in fact, it isn’t recommended) as a call to the SPWeb.Dispose() method is not necessary. General rule to follow is to not dispose of objects you didn’t create.

Ch05 - Creating a Minimal Site Definition

  • Page 81, Listing 5-6: The element is not syntactically correct… looks like some stuff was trimmed out by mistake. Replace the line that looks like this:

    <NavBars Name="SharePoint Top Navbar" ID="1002"></NavBars>

    With this:

    <NavBars> <NavBar Name="SharePoint Top Navbar" ID="1002" /> </NavBars>

Ch06 - Site Columns, Content Types, and Lists

  • Page 96, first bullet list: WROX production lost the formatting for these three bulleted items. They should look like this:
    • Press Release – [Page content type ID]00242457EFB8B24247815D688C526CD44D01
    • Executive Biography – [Page content type ID]00242457EFB8B24247815D688C526CD44D02
    • Product Detail – [Page content type ID]00242457EFB8B24247815D688C526CD44D03

Ch07 - Master Pages, Page Layouts

  • Page 71: The figure on this page should have the VariationRootPageLayout.aspx circled and not the RedirectPageLayout.aspx

Ch11 - Web Parts

  • Page 205: In the paragraph there is a reference to the “(George)” file. Ignore the word “(George)”. WROX has tech editors put their comments in the manuscript inline and in this case, WROX production just missed this instance.

Ch15 - Authentication and Authorization

  • Page 294: The last sentence before the last table should read “The additional three permission levels…

Ch20 - Incorporating ASP.NET 2.0 Application

  • Page 396: In the code sample (with the grey background) in the middle of the page, the second line should read:

    Database db = SPContext.Current.Site.WebApplication.Farm.GetObject(dbid);

Code Download Errata

You can download the complete code solution from the main page for the book on the WROX website, linked above.

Ch05 - Creating a Minimal Site Definition

  • Updated the site definition’s onet.xml file to reflect the change listed with the element in the book errata listed above.
  • Updated the site definition’s onet.xml file to set the element in the Publishing Feature within configuration #2 site template with the following:
  • Modified the page layout MinimalTmp.aspx in the PublishingMinimal Feature to set all instances of the server control to as SharePoint is case sensitive when provisioning the files.
Andrew Connell
Developer & Chief Course Artisan, Voitanos LLC. | Microsoft MVP
Written by Andrew Connell

Andrew Connell is a web & cloud developer with a focus on Microsoft Azure & Microsoft 365. He’s received Microsoft’s MVP award every year since 2005 and has helped thousands of developers through the various courses he’s authored & taught. Andrew’s the founder of Voitanos and is dedicated to helping you be the best Microsoft 365 web & cloud developer. He lives with his wife & two kids in Florida.