Year: 2011

SharePoint Designer 2010 Workflow Email Link To Item

Brian T. Jackett Workflow

<Update: 2015-06-15> My colleague Joe Rodgers pointed out that the below steps do not work in SharePoint 2013 style workflows.  As it turns out there was an issue with the link that was generated for the “Workflow Context: Current Item Url”.  This issue is addressed in the SharePoint  2013 June 2014 CU (requires Service Pack 1 or the March 2013 PU).  See below for more details.

</Update>

In this post I’ll walk you through the process of sending an email that contains a link to the current item from a SharePoint Designer 2010 workflow.  This is a process that has been published on many other forums and blogs, but many that I have seen are more complex than seems necessary.

 

Problem

A common request from SharePoint users is to get an email which contains a link to review/approve/edit the workflow item.  SharePoint list items contain an automatic property for Url Path, but unfortunately that Url is not properly formatted to retrieve the item if you include it directly on the message body.  I tried a few solutions suggested from other blogs or forums that took a substring of the Url Path property, concatenated the display form view Url, and mixed in some other strings.  While I was able to get this working in some scenarios I still had issues in general.

 

Solution

My solution involved adding a hyperlink to the message body.  This ended up being far easier than I had expected and fairly intuitive once I found the correct property to use.  Follow these steps to see what I did.

First add a “Send an Email” action to your workflow.  Edit the action to pull up the email configuration dialog.  Click the “Add hyperlink” button seen below.

EmailLink1

When prompted for the address of the link click the fx button to perform a lookup.  Choose Workflow Context from the “data source” dropdown.  Choose Current Item URL from the “field from source” dropdown.  Click OK.

EmailLink2

Your Edit Hyperlink dialog should now look something like this.

EmailLink3

The end result will be a hyperlink added to your email pointing to the current workflow item.  Note: this link points to the non-modal dialog display form (display form similar to what you had in 2007).

EmailLink4

 

SharePoint 2013 Considerations (update 2015-06-15)

If you attempt to use this process for SharePoint 2013 style workflows (based on Workflow Manager and not the out of the box SharePoint 2010 workflow engine) you will notice that the URL generated is incorrect (ex. “Lists/MyList/1_.00”).  It will look something like the following.

EmailLinkWFItem2013_3_thumb[1]

 

The solution to this is to install the SharePoint 2013 June 2014 CU (I tested with the Server package but it may be included in the Foundation package as well).  After you install this cumulative update you may notice that the URL generated only includes from the list level and down (ex. “LIsts/MyList/DispForm.aspx?ID=1).  As such you will need to combine this with the site URL.  See below for example of the new URL that is generated.

EmailLinkWFItem2013_4_thumb

 

Conclusion

In this post I walked you through the steps to create a SharePoint Designer 2010 workflow with an email that contains a link to the current item.  While there are many other options for accomplishing this out on the web I found this to be a more concise process and easy to understand.  Hopefully you found this helpful as well.  Feel free to leave any comments or feedback if you’ve found other ways that were helpful to you.

 

-Frog Out

Slides, Code, and Photos from SPTechCon San Francisco 2011

Brian T. Jackett Conference/Tech Event, PowerShell, Presentation, SharePoint

    Note: Updated 2/12/11 with links to both presentation materials.

    This past week I presented two sessions at SPTechCon San Francisco 2011.  The first session was “The Expanding Developer Toolbox for SharePoint 2010” which .  Thanks to all of my attendees for this session.  They had so many great questions that we ran out of time before covering all of the planned material.  Especially for them I’ve provided the slides and code samples to walk through them on their own.

The second session was “Real World Deployment of SharePoint 2007 Solutions”.  In talking with attendees before the session many were looking for 2007 content.  At the conference SharePoint 2010 was represented much more heavily than 2007, so I was glad to fill a need in the community.

Slides and Code

Click here for “The Expanding Developer Toolbox for SharePoint 2010” materials

Click here for “Real World Deployment of SharePoint 2007 Solutions” materials

Photos

Pictures on FaceBook

Click here

Pictures on Windows Live (higher res)

Side Trips

Aside from the conference itself I also got to take a few side trips during the nights.  A special thanks to Dux Raymond Sy (Twitter) for organizing a Mongolian Hot Pot dinner on Monday (see pictures) and Michael Noel (Twitter) for organizing a Korean bbq dinner on Tuesday (again see pictures).  These were both new experiences for me and I thoroughly enjoyed the time with friends and trying something new.  Another thanks to Mark Miller (Twitter) for giving a personal tour around various sites of San Fran to myself and a few others.  It was great hearing the backstory of different neighborhoods and buildings from someone who had lived in the area for years.  Overall a great addition to the conference itself.

Conclusion

This is the 3rd SPTechCon I’ve attended and the conference is getting better with each iteration.  The fine folks at BZ Media should be proud of the effort they’ve put in.  The next SPTechCon will be in Boston in June.  As of right now I won’t be attending that one but I highly recommend anyone to go if you have the chance.

-Frog Out

Speaking at SPTechCon SF 2011 and SPSNOLA 2011

Brian T. Jackett Conference/Tech Event

SPTC_SanFran_headerJAN21

From Feb 7th-9th I’ll be presenting two sessions at SPTechCon San Francisco 2011.  My first presentation is a new session called “The Expanding Developer Toolbox for SharePoint 2010” which covers many of the new tools and functionality available to SharePoint 2010 developers.  My second sessions is called “Real World Deployment of SharePoint 2007 Solutions” (presented at last SPTech Con Boston) which covers tips, tricks, and advice on deploying SharePoint 2007 solutions.  If you hurry you may still be able to register for this SPTechCon.  Click here for registration information.  Hope to see you there.

SharePointSaturday

In addition to SPTechCon, I’ll also be speaking at SharePoint Saturday New Orleans 2011 on Feb 26th.  My presentation is called “Managing SharePoint 2010 Farms with PowerShell”.  I’ve given this presentation at a number of recent conferences and it has been popular.  I’m excited for this weekend as well since it will be my first time visiting New Orleans.  Click here for registration information.

 

Sessions

Where: SPTech Con San Francisco 2011

Title: The Expanding Developer Toolbox for SharePoint 2010

Audience and Level: Developer, Beginner/Intermediate

Abstract: LINQ to SharePoint, native Visual Studio 2010 support, easier access to logging, Business Connectivity Services… The list of new features and tools available to developers rapidly grew between SharePoint 2007 and 2010.  In this session we will cover these and many of the other newest features added for SharePoint developers to utilize.  This session is targeted to SharePoint 2007 developers upgrading their skills to SharePoint 2010 or developers new to SharePoint 2010.

 

Where: SPTech Con San Francisco 2011

Title: Real World Deployment of SharePoint 2007 Solutions

Audience and Level: Admin/Developer, Intermediate

Abstract: “All I have to do is run some STSADM commands to deploy my SharePoint solutions, right?”  If you are saying that to yourself then you are missing out on some of the more advanced processes you can employ to deploy and maintain your SharePoint solutions and farm.  In this session we will cover lessons learned from 3 years of deploying and automating SharePoint solutions.  This will include using a combination of STSADM, PowerShell, SharePoint API and a number of other tools in a real world situation to deploy an entire suite of custom SharePoint solutions.  This session is targeted to farm administrators and developers.  Prior experience with SharePoint solutions, STSADM and minimal PowerShell experience is suggested.

 

Where: SharePoint Saturday New Orleans

Title: Managing SharePoint 2010 Farms with PowerShell

Audience and Level: Admin, Beginner

Abstract: Having you been using STSADM (or worse hand editing processes) to manage your SharePoint 2007 farms? Are you hearing about needing to learn PowerShell to manage SharePoint 2010 farms? This session will serve as part introduction to PowerShell and part overview of how you can use PowerShell to more efficiently and effectively manage your SharePoint 2010 farm. This session is targeted to farm administrators and IT pros and no previous experience with PowerShell is required.

 

-Frog Out

The One Thing: Brian Jackett and SharePoint 2010

Brian T. Jackett Conference/Tech Event, PowerShell

Last weekend at SharePoint Saturday Virginia Beach (website) I was asked by Christian Buckley (twitter) from Axceler (website) to do a short video for his “The One Thing You Need To Know About SharePoint 2010” video series.  Below is the video.

Background

When Christian asked me to do this video I was in a time crunch to make it to the airport for my flight home.  I was literally running out the door right after we finished.  As a result I was rushed in my response which led to my funny line at the end about “being a better person.”  If I had more time I would’ve talked about how PowerShell now gives SharePoint admins native support for installing, configuring, and managing a 2010 farm with commandlets.  Also mentioning the benefits of PowerShell over STSADM such as being object oriented, having a consistent syntax, including a better help system, and integrating with other systems.  Since I wasn’t able to fit those in, at least I was funny right?

The Video

The One Thing: Brian Jackett and SharePoint 2010

 

-Frog Out

Goals for 2011

Brian T. Jackett Personal

    Recently I posted a recap of my goals from 2010.  Now it’s time to post my goals and focus areas for 2011.  Just as I did in 2010 I’m splitting goals between professional and personal.

Professional

  • Blog – I intended to continue blogging at least twice a month, sometimes more frequently when time and motivation allows.  I have begun looking at other platforms or distribution methods for my blogging and will continue to investigate those.  I’ll post details on here if anything changes.
  • Speaking – In 2010 I spoke at a conference, user group, or other venue about once a month.  While I gained much from those opportunities it was also very time consuming, expensive (many times paid out of my own pocket), and emotionally draining.  This year I already have 3 engagements lined up in the first 2 months.  In 2011, if given the opportunity, I will probably limit myself to speak at 6 total events outside of Columbus / Ohio and then do 1-2 locally.
  • Open Source – Last year I started an open source project on CodePlex called SavePSToSP.  You can read about the origins of that project here.  The idea has been implemented into a PowerShell module which assists with saving script files to a SharePoint document library.  I plan to support this project with monthly builds at least through June of this year.
  • Volunteering – Last year I helped out with SharePoint Saturday Columbus and Stir Trek conferences as well as serving on the steering committee for Buckeye SPUG.  I’m already helping the volunteer board for the next Stir Trek conference and the steering committee for Buckeye SPUG.  Nothing official has started with SharePoint Saturday so nothing to report on that front.
  • Windows Phone 7 Development – Sometime in Feb this year I should be getting a corporate Windows Phone 7 device.  I’m really looking forward to this so that I can develop on real hardware.  I plan to develop at least one application by year end.  Most likely it will have hooks into SharePoint or PowerShell.  I don’t know if it’s something I will submit to the marketplace yet.
  • Portal and Collaboration Lead – This year with the Sogeti Columbus office I have a more official role of Portal and Collaboration Lead within the new Application Development and Integration practice.  This new role means that I will be expanding my scope of knowledge outside just Microsoft products to include IBM and other open source solutions for portal and collaboration solutions.  This will be an interesting challenge, but I hope to learn about at least 2 other solutions aside from SharePoint.

Personal

  • Volunteering – I plan to continue volunteering at my parish’s high school youth group with weekly meetings and side events.  I also plan to continue doing an event once every other month with the Columbus Gives Back organization (website).
  • House/Condo – I plan to buy a house or condo this summer when my apartment lease runs out.  I’ve already begun the search and talked to a realtor and lender so it is quickly becoming a reality.

Conclusion

    Once again I’ve outlined some goals for myself this year.  Many are similar to ones from last year but I have a few new ones.  All of these along with work, social, and other commitments will keep me busy as always.  If you have any goals for 2011 that you’d like to share feel free to leave a comment.  Thanks and good luck fulfilling your goals as well.

 

      -Frog Out

Slides, Materials, and Pictures from SharePoint Saturday Virginia Beach 2011

Brian T. Jackett BCS, Conference/Tech Event, PowerShell, Presentation

This past weekend I presented “Managing SharePoint 2010 Farms with PowerShell” and “SharePoint 2010 and Integrating Line of Business Applications” SharePoint Saturday Virginia Beach.  A big thanks to everyone who attended my sessions.  I had a great time presenting, getting to meet new folks, and exploring a little bit of the local life.  Below are slides, materials, and pictures from the event.  Let me know if you have any comments, questions, or feedback.  Thanks.

Slides and Materials

Managing SharePoint 2010 Farms with PowerShell

SharePoint 2010 and Integrating Line of Business Applications

Photos

Pictures on Facebook

Click Here

Pictures on Windows Live (higher res)

Side Note: SavePSToSP CodePlex Project

During my “Managing SharePoint 2010 Farms with PowerShell” I made mention of a CodePlex project I am working on called SavePSToSP.  Click here for the link to that project.  I have been pushing out updates roughly once a month or more.  If you have any feedback or find it helpful feel free to let me know.

 

-Frog Out