Updating Legacy SharePoint Customizations to the Add-in Model

 SharePoint add-in model
 Legacy SharePoint customizations
 Add-in model techniques
 Updating UI and declarative customizations
 Using the PnP Provisioning Engine
 Updating timer job customizations
 “Preferred modern approach” to development

 Who here is a…
 Developer?
 System administrator?
 Power user?
 Others?
 Have you heard of the SharePoint add-in model?
 Maybe you know it as the app model? 
 What about the SharePoint client object model?
 What version(s) of SharePoint?

 Many SharePoint customizations built before
SharePoint 2013 were deployed using:
 Farm solutions (2007+)
 Sandboxed solutions (2010)
 Shortcomings of solutions
 Full-trust code runs in the same process as SharePoint
 Server file system footprint
 Requires an app pool reset to deploy updates
 Sandboxed solutions were severely constrained

 Components hosted in isolated
add-in domain
 Can use JavaScript, HTML, CSS,
declarative markup
 No server-side code

 Add-in components can be hosted
anywhere (cloud or on-premises)
 Authorized using OAuth or the
JavaScript cross-domain library
 Can use ANY implementation
language (ASP.NET, PHP, etc.)

 The add-in model is a no-brainer for most new
development efforts
 SharePoint Framework is NOT related to the add-in model
 SharePoint Framework is complementary to the add-in model
 What about all of our legacy customizations?

 Most legacy customizations fall into one of the
following categories:
 User interface customizations
 Custom master pages, branding, web parts
 Declarative customizations
 XML for custom site columns, content types, list instances
 Timer job customizations
 If you had to migrate to the cloud tomorrow,
where would you start?

 Get a list of deployed solutions (farm and
sandboxed)
 Using the UI or PowerShell
 Map deployed code to functionality
 Is anything no longer needed?
 Determine if any no-code sandboxed solutions can be deployed to
SharePoint Online
 Categorize customizations by type

 Build and deploy add-ins using the add-in model
 Add-in model techniques
 Supported on-premises and in SharePoint Online
 No magic bullet, lots of rework may be required

 Getting away from legacy feature framework
 Remote provisioning of assets
 Making customizations with a “lighter touch”
 When necessary, running custom server-side code
outside of SharePoint

 Started by Microsoft in 2013
 Improve developer productivity
 PnP Core Component
 CSOM extension methods
 PowerShell cmdlets
 Provisioning engine
 Timer job framework
 https://github.com/sharepoint/pnp

 “Make SharePoint not look like SharePoint”
 Use corporate logo and branding
 Edit existing .master page or start from scratch
 Minimal.master popular starting point
 Issues with upgrades
 SharePoint Online
 Supported, NOT recommended

 “Change the appearance of these things”
 DOM manipulation
 Styling things
 Hiding things
 Embedded within pages
 Master page <head> section
 Content editor/script editor web parts
 Overwriting out-of-the-box CSS files 

 “Lighter touch” UI customizations
 Including themes and composed looks
 Externalize CSS and JavaScript customizations
 Remote provision these files where necessary
 Reference using Alternate CSS URL
 CustomAction script registrations

 Most common UI customization
 Easy to build in Visual Studio
 Design view removed from SharePoint Designer
 No more Data View web parts or conditional formatting
 Add-in parts not ideal
 Loaded in <iframe>
 Not responsive

 App script parts
 Reference external JavaScript
 Define container <div> where content is loaded
 Include in Content property of .webpart file
 Remote provision to site web part gallery
 SharePoint Framework

 XML to define artifacts
 Site columns
 Content types
 List definitions and instances
 Visual Studio can generate
 Elements.xml files
 .NET code not required
 Often deployed via sandboxed solutions

 Sandboxed solutions include a DLL file in the
generated .wsp by default
 Must be removed to deploy to SharePoint Online

 Remote provision assets using CSOM
 Standalone console application
 Provider-hosted add-in

 “Save site as template”
 Captures customizations to a site
 Site columns and content types
 List instances and list items
 Branding assets and other files
 Requires PnP-PowerShell
 https://github.com/sharepoint/pnp-powershell

 Generate provisioning template
 Get-PnPProvisioningTemplate
 XML file can be modified by hand or programmatically
 Save copies of additional files if necessary
 Write once, apply everywhere
 Apply-PnPProvisioningTemplate
 Development, staging, pre-production, production…

 Run autonomously on a schedule
 Run with elevated permissions
 Execute against multiple sites
 Log information and errors

 Remote timer job
 Console application
 Scheduled to run via:
 Windows Task Scheduler
 Azure WebJob/Azure Scheduler

 Define a class that inherits from TimerJob
 Execution logic in TimerJobRun event
 Instantiate class, set up authentication in Main()
 User or service account
 Client ID and secret values (app-only authentication)
 Define sites where timer job should run
 Call Run()

 Add-in model is capable and powerful enough
to handle most legacy customizations
 Apply all customizations with a “lighter touch”
 Remote provision assets
 SharePoint Developer PnP: here to help!
 Keep an eye on SharePoint Framework

Updating Legacy SharePoint Customizations to
the Add-in Model
Tooling up for SharePoint Framework
Individuals and organizations start
for free at pluralsight.com

Updating Legacy SharePoint Customizations to the Add-in Model

Updating Legacy SharePoint Customizations to the Add-in Model

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Updating Legacy SharePoint Customizations to the Add-in Model

Similar to Updating Legacy SharePoint Customizations to the Add-in Model (20)

More from Danny Jessee

More from Danny Jessee (13)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Updating Legacy SharePoint Customizations to the Add-in Model