Christophe Humbert San Diego SharePoint
User Group March 1st, 2011

 Get a grasp of
how client side scripting can enhance the user experience  Be aware of the risks that come with such solutions

 Demos  Rendering Web
Pages:  The traditional approach: server/browser  Client side scripting: ▪ AJAX ▪ Progressive enhancement  The demos explained  Advantages/shortcomings  Step by step: Easy Tabs installation

Name Christophe Humbert Title SharePoint
“functional” consultant Mission Make the most of the OOTB features Field Gear Calculated Columns Content Editor Web Part Data View Web Part (SharePoint Designer) Workflows (SharePoint Designer) Country eFrance, eU.S.A., eChina Latest News Started “User Managed Solutions LLC” in 2011 (San Diego, 92127)

 The solutions presented here
apply to all flavors of SharePoint 2007 and 2010  They can be installed via the standard SharePoint UI  They rely on custom code, and are not available out of the box. However, many of them:  Are packaged, and can easily be installed by end users or power users  Are available for free

 Standard  Styled tabs
 Accordion

 Snapshot
 Original list

 Tutorial
 Live demo

 Image Rotator  Slideshow
 Slideshows or sliders are obviously a popular trend right now in the web design world – and for good reason. It’s an effective way to highlight something important and create some visual interest. [Source]

 Various visual indicators 
Countdown

 Matrix view

Server Browser User enters URL
Retrieve Page information Retrieve content from database Build HTML Render HTML page User action

Server Browser User enters URL
Retrieve Page Asynchronous information JavaScript Retrieve content And from database XML Build and send HTML Render HTML Page Web services Request additional RSS content owssvr html Retrieve and send REST content Build HTML User action Format: html, xml, JSON

Server Browser User enters URL
Retrieve Page information Retrieve content from database Build and send HTML Render HTML Page Modify and render HTML User action

 SharePoint 2007:  events
are added on the server side  Full page refresh for new date  SharePoint 2010:  events are added on the client side (progressive enhancement)  Partial page refresh for new date (AJAX)  Works well for rich display, or for content updates

 Image Rotator  Slideshow
 Cross-site snapshot

Page template Top navigation Web
Part Web Part Quick Launch Web Part Web Part  Scripts can be added to the page template, or via a Web Part (usually a Content Editor Web Part)

Users’ needs
OOTB Web Parts

Custom Web Part Users’ needs
OOTB Web Parts

Custom Web Part Users’ needs
OOTB Web Parts Progressive enhancement

 Easy Tabs  Color
coded calendar  PivotTable

 High flexibility  Example:
color coded calendar  Lighter to test and install  Easy to remove – back to the OOTB behavior  Client side interaction works offline  Leverages resources outside the SharePoint world  Benefits from the active JavaScript community (e.g. jQuery plugins)  Great way to empower the users and encourage user adoption

 Risk: users gone wild
 Solution: educate the users  Method or hack (example: HTML Calculated Column)  Doesn’t solve everything (permissions, access other domains)  Issues with older browsers, or if the user turns off client side scripting  Dependent on the original, OOTB Web Parts  If the original HTML content is modified, the script needs to be executed again

 Get the script 
Upload the script to the Site Assets library  Tagging  Add a Content Editor Web Part  Link the CEWP to the script  [optional] Export the CEWP, upload it to the Web Part gallery

 Client side scripting is
a powerful addition to your SharePoint toolbox  See it as a complement to server side options, rather than a competitor  It is code that requires attention and maintenance, don’t be fooled by its apparent ease of use

 SharePoint User Toolkit 
http://sp2010.pathtosharepoint.com/sharepoint- user-toolkit/  SharePoint User Managed Solutions (SUMS)  LinkedIn open group (everybody has read access)

 Sites regularly updated with
fresh, up-to-date content:  jQuery Library for SharePoint Web Services – Marc Anderson, SharePoint MVP  SharePoint JavaScripts – Alexander Bautz  Path to SharePoint  Search the Web for “SharePoint JavaScript” or “SharePoint jQuery”

 Allows users to embed
custom html in a SharePoint page HTML includes <script> and <link> tags  Best practice: store the script in a central library and link to it

 jQuery is a popular
JavaScript library  Built on JavaScript  Strengths: ▪ Offers AJAX in a packaged, user friendly interface ▪ Addresses cross-browser inconsistencies ▪ Has prebuilt animation functions (fade, etc.)

 Recognition of AJAX as
a standard way to interact with the browser  Development of JavaScript libraries that address cross-browser issues  New generation of browsers with JavaScript engines that boost performance  New standards that increase the features of client side scripting (e.g. canvas element)