Aggregating Site Content Across Site Collections Without Custom Code

Flash Player 9 (or above) is needed to view presentations.
We have detected that you do not have it on your computer. To install it, go here.

more share options
Embed For WordPress.com

Without related presentations

Notes on slide 1

1. Poll audience for how many developers vs. administrators.2. Pollaudience for who has run into this issue before.

Poll audience for familiarity with Site Collections (e.g. how many have used multiple site colls. in a web app.?)Site collections are stored within web applications. (click)All web applications have a root site collection. (click)Site collections are not hierarchical. (click)Additional site collections are stored at same level as root site collection.Hierarchies can be implied through the use of managed paths.Cover site collection architecture and note how diagram boxes them off.

As you can see there are many advantages to leveraging site collections.I recommend at least 2 site collections per web app. (1 for “control”, 1 for collaboration)Does collaboration occur in “control”, sure but they are typically sites where users do their jobs thus this needs to be “controlled” by knowledge management personnel.Collaboration site coll. is less structured and more conducive to creativity.

Unique navigation easily overcome by custom sitemap provider.Unique theme/brand easily overcome by leveraging features.OOB difficulties- CQWP, Site Aggregator and TOC web parts are limited to one site collection.- Site Directory requires additional configuration as Master Site Directory.Good outweighs the bad.

Consider Adventure Works, the world’s largest outdoor equipment manufacturer and reseller. (click)Corp. intranet utilizes publishing portal enterprise template and only has 1 site collection.Marketing department site is utilized by corporate marketing managers to share information to rest of company. (click)Product sites utilize the collaboration portal enterprise template.

Content Query Web Part only aggregates within a site collection.CQWP requires publishing infrastructure.SSP level means that site collection barriers are moot.Search indexes respectitem level security.XSL allows for highly customized display of results.

Search Core Results Limitations:Only 100 results per page.Only 6 per page due to Cross Web Part Query ID property limitations. This connects other web parts to results part (e.g. paging).DFWP LimitationsNeed to consider that editing a page in SPD automatically makes it customized and requires you to detach it from page layout.Discuss customized vs. uncustomized. Uncustomized files are provisioned to WFE from content DB in the form of templates, most efficient (previously referred to as ghosted files)Customized files are files where the content lives exclusively in content DB, less efficient (previously referred to as unghosted files)Explain how to add DVWP and keep a page uncustomized. (e.g. export web part by creating hidden dataviewpage in site to use SPD on)

Today we will implement the Search Core Results Web Part on the marketing intranet site to aggregate sales brochures from the collaborative product marketing sites without writing any custom code.Will also demonstrate how to use DVWP to do the same and demonstrate how to customize results.

Employee Directory: mention how search core results is not ideal here as you would likely need more than 100 records per page.

I first read about this approach from SharePoint MVP Dan Attis.Visit my blog in the coming weeks for walkthroughs of everything covered here today. Demo will also be available on EndUserSharepoint.com in the coming weeks.

Poll audience on familiarity on MS Tag. Provide demo of Microsoft Tag using Windows Mobile device.Talk about potential applications in SharePoint.

2 Favorites

Lori Hanley, Professional Geekolator at Lockheed Martin, favorited this 2 months ago
Tags no aggregation code sharepoint
Thuc Ho, Software Architect at CSC, favorited this 5 months ago
Tags aggregating

Aggregating Site Content Across Site Collections Without Custom Code - Presentation Transcript

AggregateSite Content Across Site Collections without Custom Code
Matt Bremer
Solutions Architect - Covenant Technology Partners
Agenda
Site collection overview
Scenario
Why search?
Solution overview
Demo
Review
Q & A
Site Collection Overview
Web Application
Root Site Collection
Addl. Site Collection
Advantages
Multiple content databases
Distributed administration
Unique security
Unique navigation
Unique theme/brand
Site quota templates
Unique content deployments
Dedicated recycle bins
Dedicated search settings
Disadvantages
Additional administrative effort
Unique navigation
Unique theme/brand
Aggregating content across site collections difficult out of box
Scenario
Adventure Works Corporate Intranet
Publishing Portal Template
Marketing Site
Product Sites
Collaboration Portal Template
Each product has own site collection
Each product site collection hosts a marketing team site where sales brochures are generated
Custom content type used for all sales brochures
Scenario
Business Requirements
Aggregate all product sales brochures into corporate intranet marketing site
Only product marketing groups should have permission to create and edit their respective sales brochures
Why Search?
Available at SSP level
Security trimming
Extensible
Solution Overview
Search Core Results Web Part
Configurable via UI
Disadvantages
Data View Web Part
Configurable only via SharePoint Designer
Disadvantages
Demo
Where’s the code???
Review
Search is ideal OOB solution
No custom code required
Extensible
Optimized
Security trimming
Some additional scenarios
Employee directory
Calendars
Portal content in MySites
Endless possibilities
Q & A
It’s now time for “Stump the Presenter”!
Resources
SharePoint MVP Dan Attis
http://www.devcow.com/blogs/jdattis/archive/2007/04/17/SharePoint-2007-How-to-Rollup-Content-from-multiple-Site-Collections.aspx
Shameless Self Promotion
Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/mattbremer
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mattbremer
Email: events@sharepointevilgenius.com
Contact Me
Snap bar code below to download my vCard to your mobile phone
Visit http://www.microsoft.com/tag for more information