EPM/SP2010 – Adding PDF iFilter

Here the steps from Microsoft KB for adding iFilter for SP2010, summarised for clarity.

1. Install PDF iFilter 9.0 (64 bit) from http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=4025 (http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=4025)

2. Download PDF icon picture from Adobe web site http://www.adobe.com/misc/linking.html (http://www.adobe.com/misc/linking.html) and copied at C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\TEMPLATE\IMAGES\

3. Add the following entry in docIcon.xml file, which can be found at: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\TEMPLATE\XML
<Mapping Key="pdf" Value="pdf16.gif" />

4. Add pdf file type on the File Type page under Search Service Application

5. Open regedit

6. Navigate to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\14.0\Search\Setup\ContentIndexCommon\Filters\Extension

7. Right-click > Click New > Key to create a new key for .pdf

8. Add the following GUID in the default value
{E8978DA6-047F-4E3D-9C78-CDBE46041603}

• Restart the SharePoint Server Search 14
• Reboot the SharePoint servers in Farm
• Create a Test site (with any out-of-box site template) and create a document library upload any sample PDF document(s).
• Perform FULL Crawl to get search result.

“Want to get the best out of your existing EPM & SharePoint investments?”

Automate some of the Microsoft EPM and SharePoint business processes to get the most out of your existing investments. Enhance system performance and improve end-user adoption by extending out-of-box capability with our fully packaged Add-on solutions. View packaged add-on solution gallery by system category.

Need a bespoke solution for EPM or SharePoint? Want to share your custom development cost with other users who may want similar solutions? It will be cost effective and makes business sense all around!! The more requesting similar solutions, the lesser the cost for those participating! Sort of GroupON approach. The added benefit is that the solution will be supported and maintained!

Post/Share your high level requirements in the group link below!!

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Microsoft-EPM-App-Store-4207121?gid=4207121&trk=hb_side_g

EPM2010 SP1 - How does it impact you? And, the Mystery behind Patching Process.

If you missed my last webinar, here is the link to download the PPT copy. Hope this helps.

Topics covered;

• The key fixes and enhancements include in SP1.
• Practical things you should consider and have in place before taking the leap towards patching.
• Approach and best practices for patching your EPM/SharePoint environment.
• FAQs

FREE Add-on to Un-Publish Completed Tasks – www.EPMAppStore.com

Un-publish Completed EPM Project Tasks Automatically set completed Project Tasks to not publish to Project Web App (PWA). Removes clutter of completed tasks from Team Member views (My Tasks & My Timesheets) Get the Team focused on getting the work done and improve adoption of EPM!! Get your FREE Download from; www.EPMAPPStore.com

SharePoint Usage Survey Results from OpenText.com

Over 2100 people participated in their survey: how are Businesses Using SharePoint?

Some of the more interesting results include:

• #1 Challenge is End User Adoption
• 44% of companies lack a training program
• 35% considering or using SharePoint in the Cloud

These results aren’t unexpected! I will share my take and field experience of this in a following post.

Microsoft EPM/SP 2010 – SP1, How it Impacts you & the Mystery behind Patching (FREE MPUG Webinar)

Intended Audience/Role: PMs, PMO and EPM/SharePoint 2010 Administrators

Description

Eager to upgrade to Microsoft EPM/SharePoint 2010 Service Pack 1, but afraid of breaking something in the process?

Join veteran Microsoft EPM consultant, PJ Mistry, for this FREE 1.5 hour webinar discussing the ins and outs of Service Pack1. PJ will discuss how this will impact you if you are an existing user and thinking about upgrading and also the mystery behind the patching process. In this webinar, you will learn;

1. The key fixes and enhancements include in SP1.

2. Practical things you should consider and have in place before taking the leap towards patching.

3. Approach and best practices for patching your EPM/SharePoint environment. Applies to Service Packs and Cumulative Updates.

There are many myths and some uncertainty about how best to implement software updates for EPM/SharePoint. Attending this webinar will bring you a step closer to the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Register for Webinars

• Date: Tue, November 29, 2011 @ 17:00 (BST)
• Register: http://www.mpug.com/Lists/Event%20Calendar/DispForm.aspx?ID=543&Source=http://www.mpug.com/Lists/Event%2520Calendar/Calendar.aspx 

About the Presenter

PJ Mistry is the Director of Projects at Project Solution Ltd, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. He is an avid evangelist of Microsoft SharePoint and Enterprise Project Management (EPM) with over 12 years hands-on field experience. His achievements include 10,000 user rollout of EPM and integration with SAP. His technical expertise has been a key ingredient in the development of some of the add-ons that fill the key gaps in the out-of-box offering/ capability of Microsoft SharePoint & EPM. To learn more visit: www.EPMAPPStore.com. Contact him at: PJ@ProjectSolution.com. Follow him on Twitter @EPMSolution or blog www.EPMGuy.com.

Resource Management In SharePoint Using EPM Live’s WorkEngine (FREE Webinars)

Microsoft SharePoint is a widely used collaborative platform that is commonly deployed for content management and general collaboration. EPM Live’s WorkEngine adds additional value to your existing investment in SharePoint by providing enterprise resource management tools and capabilities right in a SharePoint environment (Foundation or Server).

The ability to effectively plan and allocate limited resources against all of your project and work demands requires tools for visibility, analysis and execution. Today, you can have such tools without implementing yet another expensive, standalone solution. WorkEngine provides capabilities that enable your SharePoint users to perform:

• Resource capacity planning
• Resource scheduling
• Analysis of resource capacity vs. demand
• Resource scenario modelling
• Online time reporting and progress updates
• Comprehensive resource reporting and dashboards

Join us to learn how resource management can be successfully performed by leveraging and extending existing Microsoft SharePoint technology. These capabilities are offered to be deployed in your own Microsoft SharePoint environment, or as an online/SaaS service.​

Register for Webinars

• Date:     Thursday, November 17, 2011
• Time:     4:00 PM - 5:00 PM GMT (11:00a – 12:00p EST)
• Register: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/980681222

If you are unable to attend the webcast this Thursday we invite you to register for the encore presentation of this webinar on November 30, 2011.

• Title:      Resource Management In SharePoint Using EPM Live’s WorkEngine
• Date:     Wednesday, November 30, 2011
• Time:     4:00 PM - 5:00 PM GMT (11:00a – 12:00p EST)
• Register: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/276430014

Delivering Business-Critical Solutions with SharePoint 2010 – Microsoft Download

Siloed information and processes can limit business performance and consume IT resources. This white paper discusses how SharePoint 2010 can connect users to business data that currently resides in disparate systems, allowing solutions that streamline processes and result in better, faster decisions by your organization.

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28133

Why People Micromanage? Learn to manage by exception using appropriate tools

Interesting Article by Ron Ashkenas in HBR;

Over the past few decades I've worked with hundreds of managers, and many complain that they work for micromanagers. But strangely I don't recall anyone who ever admitted to being one.

I was thinking about this incongruity while working with a group of senior managers from a manufacturing division who were trying to streamline their operational reporting processes. During the meeting, the team listed their various monthly reports and the review meetings that accompanied them.

From the discussion it became clear that the same data was being sliced, diced, and formatted in many ways and then being checked and rechecked by a variety of managers at different levels. In addition, ad-hoc reports were being created in response to particular questions raised by the regular reports. In other words, operational reporting had become a cottage industry that sucked up time and resources.

None of the senior managers found this process productive, and they knew that their people complained about being "micromanaged to death." At the same time, none of them felt accountable for having created this problem. Somehow this burdensome, costly culture of micromanagement happened unintentionally.

So if nobody's waking up in the morning intending to be a micromanager, then why do people still feel micromanaged? Let me suggest two mostly unconscious reasons:

Managers worry about being disconnected. As managers rise through the ranks, they often become concerned that they've lost touch with the actual work of the organization. Because they have less direct contact with the shop floor or customers, they start to feel isolated. One way of reducing this anxiety is to seek information in as many ways as possible — through reports, meetings, and one-on-one conversations. But since this attempt to stay connected is largely unplanned and driven by idiosyncratic anxiety, the result is that managers at different levels and functions end up looking at the same basic data in many different ways.

Managers stay in familiar operational territory. Many managers are unable to let go of their old job or their old ways of doing their job. It's the well-worn saying: "What got you here won't get you there." Many managers are promoted based on their ability to achieve operational goals, manage budgets, control their numbers, and solve problems. However, at higher levels managers usually need to dial down their operational focus and learn how to be more strategic. To do so, managers have to trust their people to manage day-to-day operations and coach them as needed, rather than trying to do it for them. For many managers this is a difficult transition and they unconsciously continue to spend time in the more comfortable operational realm of their subordinates.

When the unconscious need for more direct information converges with a manager's tendency towards operational focus, micromanagement is often the result. And when many managers operate this way, we end up with the complex micromanagement culture described above.

The good news is that once you discover these unconscious patterns, it's possible to do something about them. The divisional manufacturing meeting that I attended is a good example. During the discussion, managers began to confront their patterns — both individually and as a team — and agreed to eliminate or modify certain reports and reviews. They also agreed to continue holding regular meetings to recalibrate their information appetite.

The message here is that with every promotion, managers need to learn a little more about how to lead using an "instrument panel" instead of direct observation. In doing this, managers need to work together to standardize the cockpits — so that the instruments and information not only make sense to them, but don't become overwhelming for everyone else.

What's your experience with micromanagement?

Why People Micromanage - Ron Ashkenas - Harvard Business Review

SharePoint 2010 SP1 and June CU Upgrade issues

I came across some issues after upgrading to June 2011 CU and wanted to share this with the rest of you. If any of these issues is a concern, then you should hold off applying June 2011 CU and apply Aug 2011 CU instead. See latest updates here.

There are some issues reported by end users on SharePoint 2010 SP1 and June CU. You may need to verify on your end. Here is the list of the potential issues for your reference from Harry Chen's blog.

1. Security validation error when people picker is on an infopath form.
http://ghamson.wordpress.com/2011/07/20/security-validation-issue-form-services-issue-with-sp1june-2011-cu-release-2-in-sp2010-sharepoint-msproject-projectserver/

2. Cannot provision new PWA sites through the GUI. Workaround is to create via powershell.  We have verified this is an issues on SP1 and June CU.
http://projectserverblogs.com/?p=4991

3. Unable to open Performance Point Dashboard Designer after SP1/June CU
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/sharepoint2010general/thread/4c71d238-d4ff-4320-833b-47985b36a8e1

4. JS Bug in grouped view since SP1?
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/sharepoint2010general/thread/ea9e87d5-5b5f-408e-a1bc-a6326ef458ad

5. SP 2010 Document Library Column "Show Filter Choices" is not ...
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/sharepoint2010general/thread/70c6cc25-d1c9-42cd-8d3d-463252e4e1f0

6.Sharepoint Wiki Link Creation Failing
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/sharepoint2010general/thread/d03f842b-71ae-492c-b083-2abde53068a9

7. SP2010 Column Filter causing Unable to display Web Part error and ...
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/sharepoint2010general/thread/44cfd798-be7a-4436-8786-bd44049e7def

8. Security validation issue
http://www.infopathdev.com/forums/p/20173/70028.aspx

9. June CU Unique Permissions \ People Picker Issue - This has been confirmed in our environments and Microsoft claimed it will be fixed in August CU.

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/eu/sharepoint2010setup/thread/7669d518-f7c9-4be4-9cd7-a1d5eae5ddd7

10. Update-SPProfilePhotoStore not working after SP1 + CU June 2011 - We are having issues to import pictures and it is an issue.

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/sharepoint2010setup/thread/b6f1789c-de63-429d-ab22-4bb5dd953770

11. BI status list display form missing source list after upgrade
http://sharepointconnoisseur.blogspot.com/2011/09/sharepoint-2010-sp1-and-june-cu-upgrade_14.html

SharePoint Connoisseur: SharePoint 2010 SP1 and June CU Upgrade issue #3 - Broken functions

EPM/SharePoint 2010 – Aug 2011 CU, latest downloads

There has been some changes to the Aug CU packages as result of changes to SPF. Even though the article dates show Oct, these are NOT the Oct updates.

The version has been incremented to 14.0.6109.5005

After the upgrade, use the following PowerShell command to display the Farm version;

Get-SPFarm | Select -ExpandProperty BuildVersion

SharePoint 2010 Foundation

Article ID: 2553050 - Last Review: October 17, 2011 - Revision: 2.0

Description of the SharePoint Foundation 2010 cumulative update package (SharePoint Foundation server-package): October 13, 2011

Hotfix Download Available View and request hotfix downloads

More info <http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2553050>

SharePoint 2010 Server

Article ID: 2553048 - Last Review: October 17, 2011 - Revision: 2.0

Description of the SharePoint Server 2010 cumulative update package (SharePoint server-package): October 13, 2011

Hotfix Download Available View and request hotfix downloads

More info <http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2553048>

Project Server 2010

Article ID: 2553049 - Last Review: October 17, 2011 - Revision: 2.0

Description of the Project Server 2010 cumulative update package (Project server-package): October 13, 2011

Hotfix Download Available View and request hotfix downloads

More info <http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2553049>

Project 2010

Article ID: 2584056 - Last Review: September 1, 2011 - Revision: 1.0

Description of the Project 2010 hotfix package (project-x-none.msp): August 30, 2011

Hotfix Download Available View and request hotfix downloads

More info <http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2584056>

Known issue 1
After you install this hotfix, you must restart the User Profile Synchronization Service for profile synchronization to work correctly.
Workaround
To work around this issue, follow these steps:

1. Visit Central Administration.
2. Click Manage Services on the System Settings section.
3. Find User Profile Synchronization Service in the list of services and then click Stop if its status is Started. Click Start and provide the credentials to start the User Profile Synchronization Service as soon as its status is Stopped.

Note

This is build 14.0.6109.5005 of the cumulative update package.
I would recommend that you test hotfixes before you deploy them in a production environment. Take necessary backups before attempting to upgrade.

Because the builds are cumulative, each new release contains all the hotfixes and security updates that were included with the previous update package releases.

How to Deploy Aug 2010 CU Updates?

Earlier there were different camps recommending different approaches.  SharePoint folks recommend applying SPF and then SPS updates. If in doubt, I would suggest a blended/safe approach;

• First of all, ensure your system is at SP1 level
• Then apply (SharePoint Foundation 2010 Aug CU) + (SharePoint Server 2010 Aug CU) + (Project Server 2010 Aug CU)

Obviously, you don't need to deploy SharePoint Server or Project Server updates if you are running only SharePoint Foundation 2010.

Observe the best practice of updating the binaries first (on all web/app servers, one at a time) and then upgrade by running the SharePoint Config Wizard (on all web/app servers, one at a time starting with the one hosting the Central Administration). Some of you have asked for some detailed steps and this will follow next week.

The Project Map: Your road map to project management

Here is a great article from Microsoft online help….

Applies to: Microsoft Excel 2010, Project 2010, Project Server 2010

The Project Map can help you accomplish your project goals by teaching you how to work with the standards and practices of project management methodology as you use Project 2010.

The Project Map follows the phases of the project life cycle:

• Initiate your project.
• Plan your project with tasks, budgets and resources.
• Track and monitor your project.
• Close your project.

Click the links to go to “project management goals,” which provide you with detailed information on how to accomplish that goal.

Step 1: Initiate a project

The initiation phase of a project plan helps you prepare for creating a schedule in Microsoft Project. Activities that occur at this time include:

• Preparing a charter that outlines the scope of your project at a high level.
• Understanding who your stakeholders are.
• Getting familiar with the communication and scheduling tools you’ll need to manage your project.

GOAL DESCRIPTION

Introduction to project management
Learn the basics of project management to get the most out of Microsoft Project and complete your project successfully.

Microsoft Project basics
New to Microsoft Project? Learn the basics of the program and how to get started using it for simple project management tasks.

Get to know Project 2010
Project 2010 has powerful new scheduling features, a timeline view, and the team planner, as well as the new ribbon interface.

Initiate a project
The best projects exhibit good planning before the schedule is created. Learn what happens before the schedule happens, such as stakeholder needs, project expectation setting, company constraints and portfolio, and charter drafting.

Step 2: Plan and build a schedule

After a project has been approved and initiated, it’s time to put it together using scheduling software. Activities that occur at this time include:

• Adding tasks to a schedule.
• Creating relationships between tasks using outlining and task linking.
• Assigning people and other resources to tasks.

GOAL DESCRIPTION

Set up a project
Once you've finished your initial planning, use Project 2010 to create and set up your project plan.

Add tasks
Most projects begin with a list of the tasks that need to be completed. Once you create or import your task list, you can then define the relationships between them.

View your project
Project managers, stakeholders, and team members need different types of project information. Project 2010 provides many customizable ways to view the critical elements of your project.

Manage resources
Resources are typically people assigned to tasks in your project plan. They can also include anything that is used to complete a project, such as equipment and materials.

Manage risks
The best way to prevent risks to future projects is to learn from the risks that came up in past projects.

Step 3: Track and monitor your project

Once your project is underway, you need to know what’s happening in order to keep it on-track. Activities that occur at this time include:

• Understand which views in Project help you discover problems in your schedule.
• Take corrective action on problem tasks that are affecting the project end date.
• Communicate problems and possible solutions to your team and stakeholders.

GOAL DESCRIPTION

Track progress
Though Project makes tracking easy, there are several steps to take before you can begin tracking your progress.

Manage project costs
Going over budget often causes projects to fail. Project 2010 can help you add and manage resources to make certain your project ends on time and in good shape.

Work with multiple projects
Use Project 2010 collaboration features to communicate across and manage multiple projects.

Communicate project information
Project 2010 can sync a task list to a list on a SharePoint site. Or you can import a SharePoint list into Project. This helps communication and collaboration in organizations that do not use.

Create and print reports
Project allows you to create visual and textual reports in Excel or Visio to help you analyze and present project information to stakeholders.

Manage risks
Identify potential trouble spots by anticipating risks and responding to risk events, and report project progress to stakeholders and team members.

Use Project Server to manage your project
Discover how Microsoft Project Server can be used to track and manage tasks and assignments throughout your organization.

View your project
Project managers, stakeholders, and team members need different types and depths of project information. Project 2010 provides many customizable ways to view the critical elements of your project.

Step 4: Close your project

All projects come to an end, but this doesn’t mean that your work is finished. If you don’t record the successes and challenges of the project, you’re doomed to repeat the problems in the next project. Activities that occur at this time include:

• Reporting your project successes and challenges to team and stakeholders.
• Archiving your project so that it can be used to help ensure the success of future projects.

GOAL DESCRIPTION

Close your project
Not all work on a project ends when the project ends. Archiving a project is also important, especially if you want others in your organization to copy the successes you had.

Capture and archive project information with SharePoint
Project 2010 can sync a project task list to a list on a SharePoint Server 2010 or SharePoint Foundation 2010 site. Or you can import a SharePoint list into. This is an important option for collaboration, especially if your organization does not use Project Server.

Create project reports
When a project has completed, then it’s time to put a stamp on it by creating reports to show everyone the success of the project. .

View your project
Project managers, stakeholders, and resources need different types and depths of project information. Project 2010 provides many customizable ways to view the critical elements of your project.

The Project Map: Your road map to project management - Project - Office.com

What You Need to Know about Project Server 2010 Service Pack 1, Part 1:

The release of Service Pack 1 for Project Server 2010 and Microsoft SharePoint marks a major milestone in the product development lifecycle. All fixes prior to the June 2011 Cumulative Update (CU) are included in SP1. In addition, there are some key enhancements included in SP1 that users will appreciate, from new browser support to site storage metrics. In this article I cover seven of the most interesting and useful updates.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/6ah4fob

In my next article, I'll lay out a basic plan for you to follow in implementing Service Pack 1.

SP1 WebNLearn! Sign up to join PJ Mistry for an MPUG WebNLearn session on Nov 29, 2011 that explores what you need to understand about the contents and implementation of Service Pack 1!

Project 2010 – strange scheduling behaviour to be aware?

While working on a master program I modified a sub-project. Chose to save the changes etc. I then opened the sub-project and noticed that the schedule was not at all what I had seen or saved in the master project.

Checked everything, and all looked ok. The Tasks were set to ‘Auto-schedule’ and Calculation was set to ON.

Then, simply hit F9 to force the calculation and Voila!! things changed.

So, something to be wary about. If the scheduling seems odd, go for the F9 key. Obviously, there is a hidden baguette/issue in Project 2010.

BTW, the version is SP1 + June 2011 CU.

EPM/SharePoint 2010 – How to display farm version?

use the following PowerShell command to display the Farm version.

Get-SPFarm | Select -ExpandProperty BuildVersion

If you have deployed Service Pack1, then your result should looks like this.

If you have deployed June 2010 CU, then your result should looks like this.

Hope this helps.

Microsoft EPM 2007/2010 - Don’t Trash the Cache!

Here is a good reminder and advice from Brian Smith (Microsoft Product Team) which I think every should be aware of….

By Brian Smith - MSFT

I was going to use the title asking ‘why are people still deleting the cache?’ until my colleague Corrie came up with this much better one!  Rather than asking why you are still doing it – I am telling you not to!

I know there is a lot of history behind this one, and for those of you that used Project Server 2007 in its early days there were some challenges such as the ‘check-in pending’ saga that got people in to the habit of deleting the project cache.  We fixed the problem, then we fixed it again (and again) and you should not generally be seeing any issues with leaving your cache alone to do its job.  However, many customers I talk to are routinely deleting the project from the local cache before they open it and then again after they close it! Why!?!  Its job is an important one – it saves you having to pull that data from the server again – which will reduce network traffic, the hit on both the web services and the database, which means they can be getting on and doing useful stuff.

I’ll also address a miss-conception here that I have heard from a number of customers – the choice of where to load the project from – cache or server?  You don’t have a choice – Project will load it from the cache if it is there, and then load any incremental pieces it needs from the server, to get you the current version of that plan.  In the screen shot below:

the line actually reads ‘Retrieve the list of all projects from Project Server’.  It does not also read – ‘…and open any I might choose after clicking this link from the server and ignore the local cache’.  You don’t get the choice and you don’t need to choose.

I’m sure many of you will not have read this far before clicking the comments option to tell me of all the problems you are having.(and I’m sure some of you are still having problems).  First check that you have the latest cumulative updates and service packs.  If you are still really having issues unless you delete the local cached copy then we certainly need to hear about it so we can fix the problem rather than have you waste your time and system resources doing things that you should not need to do.

I will admit that there can be times when as support engineers we will ask you to remove your local cache to troubleshoot specific scenarios.  The cache itself also has intelligence that allows it to decide that it may have some bad stuff – and it will get a new clean copy of data from the server (symptom of this will be several files in the cache directory with 1,2,3 etc. at the end).  There have also been a few bugs we have worked on recently which ONLY surface when the user has cleared their cache!

So please, if you have been deleting your cache as a matter of routine, then either stop – or speak to your PMO or IT people and ask why they have you do this – and if we need to fix something else then we can take a look.

View this post online.

Book: Office 365 - Connect and Collaborate Virtually Anywhere, Anytime

News from Microsoft Press…….

Good content for working with SharePoint online.

Microsoft Office 365: Connect and Collaborate Virtually Anywhere, Anytime (ISBN 9780735656949), by Katherine Murray, as a free eBook.

For details on this book, including the Table of Contents , see here.

To download your free PDF eBook, click here.

SharePoint Library – How can I change/reset the URL?

Best practice when creating a SharePoint Library is to create the Library with a title which has no spaces i.e. gaps between words. For example you wish to create a document library for your admin team. And, you want the UI to reflect the full name ‘Administration Team’.

Recommended steps you should take (using the above scenario) are;

1. create the library with the title ‘Admin’ which is nice and short.
2. then, change the title, as you want it to appear in the UI, within the library settings.

What is the benefit of this you may ask? Well, firstly the URL part is short i.e easy to remember and secondly, as the title does not have any gaps you can easily map your available network drive, within windows explorer, directly to this library. You can even setup an AD policy to roll this out to users very much like any other network drive share.

Now, here comes the tricky part. You have already created some libraries which have gaps in the titles. How do we overcome this issue without re-recreating the libraries and moving the content?

The solution is to use SharePoint Designer! Within SPD, open your site and select All Files > Lists and find the library you want to rename.

Right click and rename the URL Part. Note: you will need admin/owner rights to connect SPD to the site to do this.

There you have it!! Let me know if this helps.

del.icio.us Tags: SharePoint,Library

Un-Publish Completed Tasks - Add-in for EPM2007/2010 (FREE Download)

del.icio.us Tags: Project,EPM,Project Server

Refer to earlier post regarding ‘My Tasks – Why do I see completed Tasks/Assignments in Current View?’

Get this free add-on for P2007/2010 NOW!!

Business Benefit

• Get your Project Team focused on incomplete tasks.
• Manage Tasks by exception by reducing the clutter of completed tasks in team Members' views and reminders.
• Improve end-user adoption of your investments in Microsoft EPM Solution.

(click image link below to lead you to the solution gallery where you can download this Add-in)

Hope this helps. Enjoy!!

Author: PJ Mistry (Web: http://www.ProjectSolution.com | Email: PJ@ProjectSolution.com | Blog: http://EPMGuy.com |Twitter: http://twitter.com/EPMsolution)

EPM/SharePoint + Office Better Together!!

Key feature that often gets overlooked when selling benefits of EPM/SharePoint internally to end-users.

I am back!!

Apologies about the radio silence. I was on sick leave due to a shoulder problem. Back from surgery and ready to go!! Thank you for those who sent best wishes. Much appreciated. There has been a lot changes here at our offices with a few new faces/hires. Looks like they are still looking for a couple more: support technician and consultant for SharePoint and EPM. If you are interested please contact admin@projectsolution.co.uk.

SharePoint 2010: Word experienced an error trying to open the file

Here is a great post by Mano Mangaldas

If you get the error "Word experienced an error trying to open the file" or "Word has encountered a problem" while opening or creating a new document based on a template.. in SharePoint 2010
Or
if your document hangs at "Opening in Protected View"

probably you have to disable Protected view in Office 2010..
Below are the steps..

1. Run one of the Office 2010 application (e.g. Word 2010).
2. Click on File menu, and select Options.
3. In the “Options” dialog, select Trust Center in the left pane.
4. Click on Trust Center Settings in the right pane.
5. Select Protected View in the left pane of “Trust Center” dialog.
6. Disable any of all of the protected view options as below by unticking the check boxes:
   • Enable Protected View for files that fail validation
   • Enable Protected View for files originating from the Internet
   • Enable Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations
   • Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments

Microsoft EPM - Managing Programs/Master Projects, Part10 – inserting/ embedding Sub-Projects into Master Projects

In this post, we will review how we bring everything together i.e. inserting/embedding Sub-Projects into Master Projects.

Once all the projects are published, return to the master project.

• In the master project, click Insert > Project.
• Next, select the projects to insert, one at a time. Ensure that each Project being selected is Checked-in and also the option 'Link to Project' is selected. See below for further details. Remember to insert the Projects in the order you want them to appear on the Program schedule.

Note: If you don't want to update the subproject with changes from the original project, or if you don't want to show changes from the subproject in the original project, clear the 'Link to Project' check box.

The Master Project/Program structure will start taking shape as you add/insert the Sub-projects. See example below.

If an inserted Sub-project needs to be moved/relocated to another part of the overall WBS, this can be done just as easily as you would move a task/summary task.

Critical Note: After the sub-projects are inserted, it is important to expand them so that their data is refreshed.

Configuring Cross-Project Dependencies

Once the sub-projects are inserted in the Master Project/Program, it is important to review and set up (as necessary) the dependencies on the various components that make up the overall Program.

Create dependency links between tasks and milestone across projects as necessary. See example below.

!	Important Note: It is recommended that cross-project dependencies are not created at summary task level. It is recommended that users add associated notes to cross-project linked tasks and milestones for ease of reference.

The procedure for creating dependencies on tasks and milestones across inserted sub-project projects is very much similar to that within the same project. For example, select the tasks/millstones to link and then click the 'Link Tasks' button on the toolbar. Refer to example below.

Linked tasked and milestones can be viewed easily by adding the 'External Tasks' column to your view and then setting auto filter to quickly filter in and out these links.

Once the dependencies are created, external dependent tasks and milestones will show up as 'ghost' tasks within the sub-projects. See example below:

!	Important Note: It is recommended that for ease of reference, appropriate task notes are added when external project dependencies are created.

Saving & Publishing Master Project with Sub-Projects

Once all the sub-projects have been inserted and the required dependencies created, it is time to save the projects.

· Expand all sub-projects that have not been expanded since inserting into the Master Project/Program.

· Select File > Save

· Ensure that you select 'Yes to All' in the save dialogue to save changes on all inserted sub-projects and the Master Project/Program.

· Close the Master Project/Program including associated Sub-project.

Note: If there are some changes pending, the above save dialog box will appear.

· Ensure that the Master Project/Program and all the associated Sub-projects are properly checked in prior to exiting the application.

You can review the cache status via the File > Open Dialog box.

Setting Baselines (Optional if required)

Open individual sub-projects and baseline as required by your Business Processes.

· Open each sub-project via File > Open

· From the toolbar select Tools > Tracking and then select 'Set Baseline'.

Note: User may choose either to baseline the entire project or selected tasks.

· Save, Close and Check-in the Sub-project.

· Repeat the above steps for each Sub-project.

That’s all for now folks. In the next post, we will review process for updating sub-projects.

SP2010–Getting to grips with PowerShell commands

Here are some nice Tips from Niklas Goude for PowerShell commands for SharePoint.

In SharePoint 2010 you can manage sites through Windows PowerShell. You can create new sites in a site collection using the New-SPWeb cmdlet

New-SPWeb http://SP/TeamSite -Template “STS#0” –Name “Team Site” `
-Description “Description of Site” –AddToTopNav –UseParentTopNav

You can retrieve an existing site using the Get-SPWeb cmdlet:

Get-SPWeb http://SP/TeamSite

You can configure a site through the Set-SPWeb cmdlet:

Get-SPWeb http://SP/TeamSite | Set-SPWeb -Description “New Description”

And finally, you can remove a site using the Remove-SPWeb cmdlet:

Remove-SPWeb http://SP/TeamSite -Confirm:$false

Setting the –Confirm switch parameter to $false omits the confirmation returned from PowerShell.

Microsoft EPM - Managing Programs/Master Projects, Part9 – Creating Sub-Projects

Hope you have been following the previous steps ok. Once the programme is published, it's time to create the projects i.e. ask the PMs to create their individual plans for their work-packages. Do so within Project Professional.

· Create a new project using an appropriate Enterprise Project Template.

· Update/set the Project Start date and Project attributes as appropriate.

· Create/Add new project tasks in the usual way, as appropriate for the project. There may be some additional activities that you may wish to add, i.e. in addition to those inherited from the Enterprise Project Template. Here is one of the example projects that will be part of the overall programme.:

· Build Project Team and assign Enterprise Resources to Project activities/tasks as necessary.

· Save the new Project using the 'agreed' naming convention for the Program and its constituents.

For example, use a common prefix for all components, say Project number or Project Keyword e.g. ‘Gemini Product_00_Program’, ‘Gemini Product_01_Screening’. This is so that all the components of the Program appear together when opening via Project Professional > FILE > OPEN and also with PWA > Project Centre view when sorting by file name. See example below showing Program and Sub-projects;

· Then publish the project. On first Publish, be sure to select to provision the Project workspace as a sub workspace of the Program workspace.

· Once the Project is published, close and check-in the Project.

· Repeat this for any other projects that are part of the overall Program.

In the next post, we will review how we bring everything together i.e. inserting/embedding Sub-Projects into Master Projects.

Gartner: Combine strategy and leadership to maximise the contribution of IT

Interesting Reading for Managers……

Strategy and leadership are the two most important disciplines for CIOs to exercise to drive sustained success, writes Dave Aron, vice-president and Gartner Fellow.

Few would argue with the fact that strategy and leadership have an interdependent and symbiotic relationship. Successful CIOs use leadership skills to energise people behind their IT strategy, which, in turn, provides the needed focus to leadership to maximise IT's business contribution.

I would go yet further and say that strategy and leadership are the two most important disciplines for CIOs to exercise to drive sustained success. This is particularly true during highly dynamic and uncertain times, when the content of other management disciplines - such as process and metrics - are prone to frequent change. In such environments, strategy is central to providing vision and direction, and leadership is required to inspire people to take the needed actions.

Read Further….

SharePoint - Social Tagging; what is it?

I often get asked this question?

This is a new feature of Sharepoint 2010, which takes Sharepoint to a whole new level. social tagging is also referred to as folksonomy.

Tagging of a content is basically assigning description words or categorising the content. There are two types of tagging social and expertise tagging. social tagging refers to content and adds metadata to content, i.e describes what th content is and what it is about. Expertise tagging is related to a person and describes the person. For example skills, projects they have worked on etc.

Social tagging helps users to grow the portals information architecture over time where as expertise tagging helps build relationships and connections to others in the organisation.

Hope this helps.

Microsoft EPM - Managing Programs/Master Projects, Part8 – Creating the Program Structure

The following example illustrates the process for creating a Master Project/Program Structure following best practices;

· Login to the Enterprise using Project Professional.

· Create a 'new' Program structure/outline using an Enterprise Template.

Note: the Enterprise template will have all the required default options for scheduling tracking. The Enterprise Template will also have the appropriate Program activities and Milestones.

Fig - New Enterprise Templates

Fig - select Enterprise Template

Fig - New Program activities

· Set Project Start date and appropriate attributes for Program.

· Update Program work structure/activities as necessary.

· Build Team and assign Enterprise Resources to Program activities/tasks as necessary.

· Save Program using an appropriate naming convention.

For example, use a common prefix for all components, say Project number or Project Keyword e.g. P001 Sat Rem Program, P002 Sat upgrade Design. This is so that all the components of the Program appear together when opening via Project Professional > FILE > OPEN and also with PWA > Project Centre view when sorting by file name. See example below, showing Program and Sub-projects;

· Next, Publish the Program schedule to the server. This will prompt the creation of a SharePoint Services site/workspace.

Note: If you use WSS for EPM2007, then create the WSS site when you publish the programme. Publishing the Program and then the projects in the right order is paramount so that the project WSS sites can be created as WSS subsites. Note at this stage we've not yet set up any sub projects.

In the next post, we will review creation of individual sub-projects.