A guide to SharePoint 2007 customization options

1. A guide to SharePoint 2007 customization options Heather Solomon, WSS MVP

2. SharePoint Customization Options • What is “customization”? • Branding, look and feel, images, colors • Functionality, features, navigation • Lists, libraries, content • SharePoint has provided several ways to customize the user interface • A method can be selected based on site requirements, target audience, timelines and available resource skill set • Options are the mostly the same for MOSS 2007 and WSS v3, implementation of the options differ

3. SharePoint Customization Options • Options can be broken down into one of two categories: • Options that create customization • Options that package up and deploy customization • Ultimately, there is no “right way” to customize a site, there are just different ways to do it.

4. Customization Options • Master Pages (used in conjunction with Page Layouts) • Custom Site Definitions • Custom Site Templates • Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) • Extensible Style Sheet Language (XSL) • Themes • JavaScript

5. Customization Options • Master Pages (used in conjunction with Page Layouts) • Package and deploy customization • Custom Site Definitions • Defines customization • Custom Site Templates • Package and deploy customization • Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) • Defines customization • Extensible Style Sheet Language (XSL) • Defines customization • Themes • Package and deploy customization • JavaScript • Defines customization

6. Master Pages • Master Pages are an ASP.NET 2.0 feature that provide a way to centrally control the layout and design of a web page • SharePoint site collections can utilize multiple Master Pages • A Master Page can alter the layout, branding and physical content organization on a web page • A Master Page does not include additional functionality, but can reference a JavaScript file • SharePoint utilizes Page Layouts (content pages) to display the content • Both Master Pages and Page Layouts are stored in the content database • Create custom Master Pages based off an existing Master Page or from scratch

7. Master Pages • Suggested uses: • Change the branding and look and feel of any site • Benefits: • Easy to create, edit, delete and manage • Does not require access to the web server, all changes can be done through the site interface or SharePoint Designer • Allows for drastic alterations of the default SharePoint look and feel • Drawbacks • Requires a web savvy resource to design and create • Application of one Master Page will not affect all site pages • In summary, Master Pages are a solid and great way to update the look and feel of any SharePoint site

13. Custom Site Definitions • All sites are based off a Site Definition • Site Definitions are stored on the web server in the SiteTemplates folder • Custom Site Definitions can be created and customized to fit needs. Creating a custom Site Definition is fairly simple: • Copy a Site Definition • Edit an XML file on the web server • Reset IIS • Create new site • Edits to Site Definitions appear across entire SharePoint farm

14. Custom Site Definitions • Suggested uses: • Incorporate a lot of custom functionality • Create a “clean slate” definition to start all sites from • Create a custom “site template” to be used over and over • Benefits • Very thorough and complete way to implement customizations • Available for site creation from anywhere in the environment • Drawbacks • Can be labor intensive • Once created, a site can’t alter what site definition it is based on • Editing Site Definitions after they have been created and used for sites is discouraged • In summary, creating a custom Site Definition is a soup to nuts approach for handling site customizations

15. Custom Site Templates • Site Templates tracks navigation, web part, list, library and content changes • Creating a Site Template takes a snapshot of the site and stores a copy in the content database • Site Templates are used to create new sites • Site Templates can be used for creating Role Based Templates • Stored in the content database, only exist as a concrete file when saved locally as a STP file

16. Custom Site Templates • Suggested uses: • Role Based Templates • Quickly duplicate changes made in one site into a new site • Benefits • Fast to create • Can be created by site managers; does not require administrator access • Complete management through the user interface • Drawbacks • Can’t be updated once created • Handled individually in the site template gallery • In summary, custom Site Templates are a quick and efficient vehicle to spread basic content and list customizations made to a SharePoint site

17. Site Template Sample

18. CSS and XSL • SharePoint heavily utilizes styles for content and page element display • Styles can be overridden for a low overhead solution for updating the look and feel of a site • Styles can be accessed and edited by using SharePoint Designer • Styles are stored on both the web server and the content database, in multiple .CSS and .XSL files • XSL is used to modify the display of XML data, most notably present in the Content Query Web Part and the Summary Links web part

19. CSS and XSL • Suggested uses: • (CSS) Brand a site quickly by changing out default colors for company or project colors • (CSS) Use in Master Pages, Site Definitions and Themes for customizations • (CSS) Override default SharePoint styles to customize look and feel of select elements • (CSS) Create multiple versions of one design scheme • (XSL) Use to customize display of Content Query Web Part (CQWP) data • Benefits • (CSS) Quick way to change out colors and images of the existing layout • (CSS) Can specify different CSS files for different sites • (XSL) Extensible way to customize content in the CQWP

20. CSS and XSL • Drawbacks • (CSS) Limited to working with the existing styles in regards to some of the default SharePoint content • (XSL) Requires a resource with XML/XSL skills • In summary, nearly any situation or other customization method could and would benefit from customizing the styles. It is a very efficient way to change the SharePoint design from the default look to a branded and custom look.

21. CSS Samples

22. XSL Samples

23. Themes • Custom design that can be saved and applied to WSS sites • Consists of design and color changes that are applied to a site after the site is created • Affects all existing and new pages in a site • Has to be individually applied to every site • Themes are stored on the web server and consist of CSS and images • Does not store changes to content • Create themes in SharePoint Designer

24. Themes • Suggested uses: • Brand several sites differently while using one base • Quickly update the look and feel of a site • Benefits • Quick way to create multiple designs based on the same layout • Extend customization functionality of Master Pages and Site Definitions • Available to any WSS site in the environment • Drawbacks • Has to be applied to each site individually • Doesn’t allow for list, library, web part attribute or content changes • Sometimes cumbersome to create • In summary, themes are a good way to apply various image and color changes to a single or multiple web sites.

25. Theme Samples

26. So How Do I Select a Method? • What is the product(s) you are using? • What is skill sets do you have available? Do you have a budget for design? • What do you really need to update? • How many sites do you need to customize? • Do you need to integrate a lot of custom functionality and code? • Does your design change often?

27. So How Do I Select a Method? • What is the product(s) you are using? • Themes are WSS only • What skill sets do you have available? Do you have a budget for design? • Some options require heavy coding and design • What do you really need to update? • Many options can accomplish what you need without altering site layout • How many sites do you need to customize? • One site, can do nearly any option; many sites, look at streamlined approaches for ease of maintenance • Do you need to integrate a lot of custom functionality and code? • Then you may need to look into a custom site definition • Does your design change often? • If so, select a method that centrally stores design changes

28. Heather Solomonme@HeatherSolomon.comwww.SolomonCreative.com A Guide to SharePoint 2007 Customization Options