The SPWebCollection returned by the member SPWeb.Webs is a not sorted list of SPWeb objects. So i wrote a class which makes it possible to return a sorted list of SPWeb objects based on the property of a SPWeb. It is basically very simple and uses some standard .NET interfaces for enumerating and comparing.

SPSortedWebCollection col = new SPSortedWebCollection(currentWeb.Webs, "Number");

foreach(SPWeb child in col)
{
...
}

Reading through my RSS feeds i came accross a post pointing out that Microsoft has released a number of applications for WSS. These applications are from abscense and vacation schedule to Help Desk support. Here are some of them listed:

• Absence Request and Vacation Schedule Management
• Change Management
• Employee Timesheet and Scheduling Management
• Help Desk Dashboard
• New Product Development
• Project Team Site

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sppt
/wssapps/default.mspx

It seems that SharePoint is really important for Microsoft! Bill Gates has taken the lead of PM manager himself on the windows SharePoint services v3 User Experience.

That's great news!! :)

http://blogs.msdn.com/bowerm/archive/2005/08/03/447378.aspx

It took some time to get everything up and running at my new employee, so there is time to start blogging again. I needed some search functionality in WSS while SPS was not installed. I found the following tool:

Tim Heuer already mentioned in a post about this tool found at the website of SharePoint Experts. Its a search tool which makes it possible to search through multiple WSS sites without even SharePoint Portal Server installed. Even the costs are not that high :)

Here some of the features mentioned at their website:

Search multiple sites simultaneously
Results are returned from the current site, and all children of the current site

No new UI necessary
Search queries are entered using default search box

No complicated install
Just back up one file (to be safe!) and drop in our replacement!

Template-based results
Customizable XSL templates format the results

Server-side script interface
Call PowerSearch™ from any web app by passing URL parameters, and receive XML results (planned feature for next release)

SOAP Web Service interface
Integrate PowerSearch™ results into any site design using FrontPage and the XSLT Data View web part, or easily include results in your Windows Forms applications (planned feature for next release)

Custom filters and limits
Use the XSLT Data View to apply custom filters and limits to search results, such as "records modified in the past week" (planned feature for next release)

PowerNav™-aware
Future releases of PowerNav™ will extend your ability to customize PowerSearch results

http://www.sharepointexperts.com/software_powersearch_wss.htm

http://timheuer.com/blog/archive/2004/08/12/1155.aspx

AJAX is a very cool technique. No more rountrips to the server. Real-time updating is at hand. The interactivity and user experience grows dramatically. AJAX (asynchronous Java-script + XML) is fantastic, AJAX is new, AJAX is hot!!!! But what is it? Imagine a search engine which gives you instant feedback on the number of results that match your query... Imagine a data entry application that validates upon entry... Imagine a poll on a website which automatically updates any changes...

It seems we have a new blogger in town :)  Welcome!! His name is Maxim Tarassenko and he wrote a "how to" article about implementing OWS Web Controls to simplify SharePoint Development.

"In order to simplify SharePoint development, it is possible to use standard web controls implemented in Microsoft SharePoint assemblies and used by SharePoint team throughout the whole SharePoint system. These are for example OWS web controls contained in Microsoft.SharePoint.dll and available both in Windows SharePoint Services as in SharePoint Portal Server."

 

http://www.dotnetblog.de/PermaLink,guid,9e6c6910-2b91-40cc-94c4-83697913b685.aspx

Modonovan posted an article which explains how to use the IRuntimeFilter to hide or show WebParts in the Portal. as stated in the article:

"By implementing IRuntimeFilter you are essentially creating a rule or a set of rules that determine if a web part should be displayed or not. For example:

• SharePoint Portal Server (SPS) uses a IRuntimeFilter for audiences. A user will setup the audiences that are allowed to see a web part (using the advanced section in the web part’s toolpane), then when a user visits the web page the filter runs and determines if the web part should be shown or not. If a virtual server is extended with SPS then the Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.Audience.AudienceManager filter is installed by default.
  
• You could create a custom IRuntimeFilter that determines if a web part should be displayed based on the WSS role the user is a member of. This is what the sample code in this document does
  
• You could create a custom IRuntimeFilter that determines if a web part should be displayed based on any arbitrary property or rule(s) that you come up with."

I often use some kind of check in my code behind to find out which roles the current user has and then based on the information i show or hide the WebPart. This solution presented by Modonovan is far better. :) Thanks!!

http://blogs.msdn.com/modonovan/archive/2005/07/07/436394.aspx

It seems that Microsoft started their own virtual earth as an attack on Google Maps. As stated on the blog of the Virtual Earth team:

"Why Would I use VE? isn't it just like Google maps?
 
A lot of bloggers are taking their first look at VE and wondering why thy would use it instead of Google maps and Google Local. Why? Because our amps go to 11. Seriously, I guess it’s really a matter of taste and utility. At Virtual Earth our goal isn’t just to build an impressive feature list. More importantly to us, we want to enable our users to carry out everyday useful tasks REALLY well. Sure, we’ve built monster features like Autolocate and Autorefresh into VE, but it’s the user scenarios they enable that will keep people coming back to MSN Virtual Earth day after day. Let’s take a quick tour of how we have enabled you to carry out some of these most common tasks."

http://spaces.msn.com/members/virtualEarth/

http://virtualearth.msn.com/

At SharePoint Thoughts a good article is posted about the most seen error message in SharePoint. You know that message which pops up when you try to drag a WebPart on your Portal site. Its a generic error message from SharePoint caused by one of the following:

• is applied whenever an instance of WebPart cannot be created or
• is disallowed, either explicitly or implicitly, from rendering via the SafeControls list.

Read more by following the link below:

http://www.bluedoglimited.com/SharePointThoughts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=189

Mart and Maurice also posted an article about error messages. Follow the link below:

http://blogs.tamtam.nl/mart/SharePointErrorMessagesAreTheBest.aspx

It is almost time. Monday August 1st i will be leaving Tam Tam for another company called LogicaCMG. My year of work at Tam Tam was a lot of fun and i have learned a lot there. I even started this blog at Tam Tam. I wil certainly continue this blog but at a new location. The new location i already mentioned in a post is going to be http://net.bloggix.com

 

From my collegeas at Tam Tam i got the fish shown in the pictures above. Their names are Stef and Paul. Thanks guys :)