Intro to SharePoint: Web Parts

I started listening to some webcasts that were put together for .NET developers who need to learn SharePoint (me).  These webcasts focus on basic SharePoint concepts in hour-long segments, and can be found here.  The one I listened to today was on Web Parts, and here is what I got from the presentation.

 

Speaker:

Robert Bogue

Microsoft MVP for MOSS

Thor Projects LLC

www.thorprojects.com/blog

 

 

WEB PARTS

 

Web parts are modular and reusable building blocks used to build portal-style applications.  They can be customized and personalized, meaning two people can use the same web part at the same time, and based on their personal properties, the web part will display something completely different for each person.  I can also have two instances of the same web part running on the same page at the same time, as long as the properties are different (such as two weather report web parts, one for Chicago and one for LA).  Web parts are a great way to put custom code into a SharePoint site

 

Web part infrastructure is required.

 

Web parts are available out of the box with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.

 

A web part page in WSS includes:

SPWebPartManager

One or more SPWebPartZones

Editor Zones

Catalog Zones

 

 

DEVELOPMENT:

 

A web part project must inherit from System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebPart

 

2 ways to install the assembly

Put in BIN folder

Put in GAC

 

<SharePoint>

        <SafeControls>  …

needs to be in the configuration section of the config file on every front-end Web Server

 

Web parts support persistent properties

On a user basis (customizable for each user)

Tracked once for all users

Users can modify them through the browser

Or, for more complex and controlled editing, you can use the GetEditorParts method

 

Connectable web parts route the output of one web part into the input of another web part.  (Good for Master-detail, searching, filtering.)

 

There is no built-in support for treating .ascx files (user controls) as web parts, but you can use .ascx files in pages.  You use the LoadControl method of the Page object to load an .ascx file at runtime.

 

ASCXs can be dropped in IIS web app folder or in 12\Template\ControlTemplates folder.

 

Wrappers for ASCXs are available, or you can build your own

 

 

OTHER:

 

Become familiar with the way web parts are deployed in a SP environment

Deploy in BIN folder

Registration of Safe Control

User features to make web parts available

User solutions to deploy web parts inside the farm