The Sentri Blog

SharePoint Saturday Boston - Sentri presentations

Great day yesterday at the SOLD OUT SharePoint event!  

The Sentri SharePoint team presented 3 topics around SharePoint - Logging & Debugging, File Migration, and Collaboration solutions. 

For those that missed, below are links to the decks presented:

SharePoint Logging & Debugging: The Troubleshooters Best Friend - Jason Himmelstein

Best Practices for Migrating Content from File Shares to SharePoint - Deanne Damato

Collaboration Doesn't End with SharePoint - Mike Gilronan

Hope to see you at the next live event!

Constructing a Retrieve Multiple Query in CRM 2011

by Nahi Simon (original posting on 4/19/2012)

We looked at how to construct a Retrieve Query in CRM. That example, addressed the "singleton" case i.e. retrieve a single record from an entity by passing in the entity ID. This post will walk through how to construct and process a retrieve multiple query in CRM. The pre-requisites for this to work are the same as those listed in my previous post.

First of all go ahead and place the following function into one of your form jscript references:

 

The next step is to call the above function to retrieve the values you are looking for. You will need to call the function passing in the following parameters:

• entity - the entity logical name e.g. Product, Contact, Account
• filter - a valid filter clause which will retrieve 1 or more records from the entity (see example)
• fields - the list of fields in the select statement you wish retrieve from the query. NB: These are case sensitive so be sure to check how they are defined on the entity. You can also use the OData Query tool to get the syntax. Errors encountered with configuring this option are most likely to be with the case sensitivity of the fields
• fn - the name of the function you will be using to handle the query results

The following is a sample call to the retrieveMultiple function:



Note the following:

• The filter is a compound where-clause. You can construct this in the same way you would construct a regular SQL query.
• We are only retrieving a single field in this query. Multiple fields could be retrieved by adding onto the select-clause as you would in a regular SQL query.

Finally you will need to define the action function to handle the returned results. Below is a sample of how to go about processing the results:

 

SHARE 2012 Recap

I was fortunate to be able to speak at this week's SHARE Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.  SHARE is a unique conference in the SharePoint world because it's not focsed on technology at all:  it's exclusively focused on business users of SharePoint.

There were four tracks:

1. Building the Roadmap
2. Delivering Business Value
3. Governance
4. Training & Adoption

and I wish I could have attended every session in all of them -- this is what I've been spending pretty much all of my time thinking and talking about for the last six years!  Additionally, the keynote presentation from the inspirational Braam Mahlerbe went way beyond even business, a real-world reminder of what possibilities higher purpose and determination can provide us.

Big "thank yous" are due to the Eventful Group team for organizing a phenomenal conference and to my co-presenter, John Schmottlach from Empirix/Apps Associates, as well as many others who supported us.

I've been tweeting about the Conference all week, and won't recap that here, but I did promise to post our slides.  They are below.  I hope to see YOU at this conference next year!

SHARE2012 Conference A Decade of Adoption Best Practices

View more presentations from Mike">http://www.slideshare.net/mikegil">Mike Gilronan.

 

SQL Server 2012 Launch News

by Jason Himmelstein (originally posted on 3/5/2012)

We are a mere 2 days away from the Virtual Launch of SQL Server 2012 and there is a ton of great information & free training (and some pay for) that is primed and ready to go for us to digest. Here is a list of some of the events that you can partake in:

SQL SERVER 2012 VIRTUAL LAUNCH EVENT

This is it people! What we have been waiting so long for has finally arrived. There is a full day of speakers in multiple tracks to enlighten us on all that is new and wonderful in this version of SQL Server.

Date & Time: March 7th, 2012 @ 11a Eastern Time
Cost: Free
Registration Link: https://www.sqlserverlaunch.com/WW/Register
Keynotes: Ted Kummert & Quentin Clark
Full agenda: http://www.sqlserverlaunch.com/ww/Agenda

A few of the highlights:

Powerful Self Service Analysis with PowerPivot	Julie Strauss
Empowering End User Insight Through Rapid Data Exploration & Visualization with Power View	Carolyn Chau
Going Under the Hood with the New BI Semantic Model	Ashvini Sharma
A Technical Best Practices Tour with ColumnStore Index	Susan Price & Eric Hanson
Introduction to SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn, New High Availability Solution	Santosh Balasubramanian

SQL SERVER 2012 SPECIAL OPS TOUR

A 12 City Tour featuring 4 of the SQL Server Product group of highly-skilled experts who have come to divulge the most revealing facts and features around SQL Server 2012.

Date & Time: Various
Cost: Free
Registration Link: http://specialops.sqlpass.org/FreeRegistration.aspx

24 HOURS OF PASS

Join SQL Server experts as they take an in-depth look at the hottest SQL Server topics over 24 consecutive (and free!) technical webcasts.

Date & Time: March 21, 2012 beginning at 00:00 GMT (8pm Eastern Time)
Cost: Free
Registration Link: Big long ugly link

A few of the highlights:

Performance Tuning for Pirates!	John Sterrett
VertiPaq Under the Hood	Marco Russo
SQL Server First Responder Kit	Kendra Little
Moves Like Jagger - Upgrading to SQL Server 2012	Mark Broadbent
Automate Policy-Based Management Using PowerShell	Allen White

 

SQL SERVER CONNECTIONS

During the Spring Connections Conference in Las Vegas the in-person SQL Server Launch event will be taking place.

Date & Time: March 21, 2012 beginning at 00:00 GMT (8pm Eastern Time)
Cost: See website
Registration Link: https://www.devconnections.com/shows/sp2012/register.aspx?s=185
Keynotes: Shawn Bice

A few of the highlights:
SQL Server Connections happens to be going on alongside Visual Studio Connections, ASP.Net Connections, SharePoint Connections (where I will be speaking), Silverlight Connections, HTML5 Connections, and Cloud Connections.

PASS SQLSATURDAY

PASS SQLSaturday’s are free 1-day training events for SQL Server professionals that focus on local speakers, providing a variety of high-quality technical sessions, and making it all happen through the efforts of volunteers.

Date & Time: Various
Cost: Free
Registration Link: http://sqlsaturday.com/

PowerPivot & Claims Based Authentication- Part 2

by Jason Himmelstein (originally posted on 3/6/2012)

I promised an update on this in my previous article and it is time to share what I have learned.

The issue:

As many of us have painfully found, PowerPivot v1 on a Claims Based Authentication web application is not supported in SharePoint 2010. I had a case open with Microsoft last year that had the aspirations of rectifying that situation. We had hoped that working with the PowerPivot team (a part of the SQL Server Product team) and the SharePoint Product team that we would be able to find a way for Microsoft to change their stance and provide us a way to allow PowerPivot v1 to be supported.

The answer for v1:

Sadly, the changes that would have to be made were too drastic for Microsoft to make in the middle of PowerPivot v1’s existing product lifecycle.

The new and improved question:

That begs the question: Is there hope that PowerPivot v2 will be able to work on a Claims Based Authentication web application?

The caveated answer:

Keeping in mind that the product has not launched yet and things can still change (they won’t, but lets keep hoping) and that all of the SQL 2012 TechNet that are posted currently have the following statement at the top of them:

[This documentation is for preview only, and is subject to change in later releases. Blank topics are included as placeholders.]

The answer is still no. In the TechNet article entitled “Hardware and Software Requirements (PowerPivot for SharePoint and Reporting Services in SharePoint Mode)” you will find the section under PowerPivot Sofware Requirements says in reference to SharePoint web applications:

“PowerPivot for SharePoint only supports SharePoint web applications that are configured for classic-mode authentication. If you are adding PowerPivot for SharePoint to an existing farm, be sure that the web application you plan to use it with is configured for classic-mode authentication. For instructions on how to check authentication mode, see the section “Verify the Web application uses Classic mode authentication” in Deploy PowerPivot Solutions to SharePoint.“

Well damn. Is there any hope that this is ever going to change?

Keep your chins up. Rumor in the interwebs is that there is going to be a new version of SharePoint coming in sometime soon. I can tell you that Microsoft has heard and continues to hear our cries out about this matter. The more we raise this up as an issue, the more real it will be to Microsoft and the more likely they will be to invest in making the change. If there is no perception that this is an issue, then there is no attention that will be paid and no investment dollars that will be spent.

If this is an issue for you, make sure that your Microsoft reps hear about it. I talk about this with every Product Team member that I can get to listen to me for 5 minutes and I have never met with anything other than a warm reception and a sincere desire to know the feedback on how to make the product better.

Is this going to stop you from deploying PowerPivot v2 and Power View?

Not a snowman’s chance in the hot Jamaica sun. I cannot wait for the final bits to drop so that I can get this amazing new product suite into the hands of every customer who wants to do BI. The new BI story is too game changing not to get on the bus, and if I am riding it why not be driving

SharePoint Logging & Debugging at NYCSPUG

by Jason Himmelstein (originally posted on 3/7/2012)

If you are in the greater NYC area and are looking for a way to put an exclamation point on a great day of geeking out during the Virtual SQL Server 2012 launch, find your way over to the Microsoft offices at the Avenue of the Americas and come hear all about SharePoint Logging & Debugging.

Here is the primer:

Troubleshooting and debugging issues in Enterprise SharePoint farms is a daunting task at best. SharePoint 2010 provides the tools to tackle the task, but not the roadmap. Come and join us as we lift the veil on the new and exciting features in SharePoint 2010, providing the roadmap to save you a ton of time every time you troubleshoot or debug an issue in SharePoint. Reclaim your evenings and weekends once and for all by taming the SharePoint debugging beast!

There will be food and drinks provided, and a SharePint following the event that promises to be a great time. I have even heard that there will be some other out-of-towners making an appearance.

If all of that isn’t enough to rope you in, I will be giving away a Lync certified Plantronics Voyager PRO UC.

You can also check out my deck here: http://slidesha.re/wxIvNe

Hope to see you there!

Sentri aquires Clearway Corporation

by Sentri - (original posting 4/03/12)

We are excited to announce the acquisition of Clearway Corporation.   

This acquisition will complement and support Sentri’s existing Lync, Exchange, System Center, and SharePoint practices by expanding the Cloud delivery options of these services with Office 365, Intune and Azure. As a result, Sentri will be able to provide its customers with benefits available to only the tier III Cloud Champion providers.

Sentri and Clearway have been collaborating on customer projects over the past year and have decided to merge their teams to deliver more focused and dedicated solutions to their customers. The Clearway acquisition is well-timed to expand Sentri’s expertise to provide Microsoft solutions in the Cloud, and underscores Sentri's commitment to provide both breadth and depth of Solution Consulting and IT services around the Microsoft platform: Professional, Strategic, Managed, and Cloud.

Alex Beletsky, Sentri’s Founding Partner stated, “There is an undeniable movement towards IT deployments in the cloud.” Alex adds, “Clearway, a leader in Microsoft Cloud Solutions was an obvious acquisition choice to strengthen our management team, broaden our solution delivery capabilities, and expand our cloud offerings as we move into new regions.”

Gene Rodgers, former CEO at Clearway who will now become Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), said, “Clearway and Sentri have won over 15 Microsoft partner excellence awards in the last ten years, including East Region Partner of the Year and Northeast Partner of the Year for each of the last three years, demonstrating our common philosophy for excellence.” Gene continues, “The synergies of Clearway and Sentri will result in outstanding customer experiences.”

Colm Whelan, a leader in both the SharePoint and Office 365 communities, will join Sentri’s management team as the Director of the Cloud Services. Colm states, “Sentri cloud solutions will encompass both public cloud solution through Office 365 and Azure, and private cloud solutions through datacenter and desktop virtualization and management.”

Clearway has been a pioneer of cloud-based solutions (Microsoft's first certified Cloud Partner) and a leading provider of consulting and innovative Microsoft technology-based business solutions to generate sustainable competitive advantages. In addition to consulting services, Clearway has provided the community (and will continue to under the Sentri name) a valuable SharePoint resource: the New England SharePoint User Group.

Sentri acquires the KMA SharePoint practice

by Sentri  (original posting on 2/13/12)  

We are excited to share the news...

The KMA SharePoint practice has been acquired by Sentri!

Below are some useful resources to learn about the acquisition and what it may mean to you.

RESOURCES:

- Acquisition Details: Press Release

- Email us: info@sentri.com

- Learn about Sentri: www.sentri.com

- Attend Live Event: 4/10 Microsoft Roadmap Event (Sentri is the partner of choice)

And be assured, the KMA SharePoint team will continue to blog, speak, and be a resource to the Microsoft SharePoint community - just with a new name!

SharePoint Preview Pane defaulting to 1st item in list

by Derek Cash-Peterson   (original posting on 4/13/2012)

A client of ours wanted to use the preview pane for a list view. The default view of the preview pane has the right hand pane blank. You need to select an item or hover an item from the left pane to populate the right pane. The client wanted the right hand pane to have the right hand pane default to first item in the list.

 Add a reference to Jquery into the master page.

• On the list view page add a content editor web part.
• To do this go to the list view page and add ?ToolPaneView=2 to the query string. This brings the list view page into edit mode where you can add a web part to it.
• In the content editor web part add the following JQuery. $("document").ready(function () { $('div.ms-ppleft table tr td.ms-vb-title').first().trigger('onfocus'); //click(); })
• Save the page.
• The preview pane should now default to the first item in the list.