I liked the imagery of creating a steering mechanism or guide for SharePoint development, so I’ve named my solution the “Rudder.” The foundations for the Rudder are based on an ingenious Scripting Resource Center that Mark Miller first introduced on EndUserSharePoint.com in January 2010. With the addition of Microsoft’s OneNote and few other site assets, Mark’s resource center can easily be expanded into a configuration management system.
The addition of OneNote is the only significant change made to Mark’s suggestions, so an overview of “Building a SharePoint Scripting Resource Center” on EndUserSharePoint.com would be of benefit to anyone interested in creating this solution. Mark’s original post uses a wiki site to meet the documentation needs and certainly is the best option for those without a user license for OneNote.
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As with every SharePoint solution, there are hundreds of possible options. Those outlined here are meant to get the beginner started. These concepts can be expanded upon depending on the level of development and the needs of the organization.
Like Mark’s Resource Center, the Rudder should sit at the top of the site collection. My solution is contained in one document library. The location of the library and/or the need for it to be a separate subsite is entirely dependent upon the architecture and permission structure of the site. The library/site permissions must be set to read-only for all staff, granting elevated permissions to those contributing to the documentation.
From Site Actions, choose New Document Library. I plan to use this library to get quick proof of concept ideas and to capture documentation notes, so with that in mind, upon creation of the library, I have chosen the default options of the template to be a web part page document type (see Figure 2-1). This facilitates creating web part pages that are handy for all kinds of quick mockups and provides another option for restructuring and filtering information captured in this library on dedicated pages as this resource grows.
Name the library without spaces. After creation, use the Library Tools, Library tab to modify the Library Settings and edit the Title field to make it more readable, as shown in Figure 2-2. Create all lists and library names without spaces and edit after creation to include the spaces for readability.
Navigational settings are dependent upon the location of the site, so set the Quick Launch settings to those that make the most sense to site structure. Creating a version history with each edit once OneNote was linked to the library caused a duplicating folder issue, so I have opted to turn versioning off.
The concepts of using content types can be difficult to grasp, but the best way to learn them is to jump in and try it out. Content types provide structure for related types of content while allowing unique actions to take place based on specific properties. A content type also acts as a wrapper that gives items more presence in the database so they can be surfaced in other ways if the need arises.
Figure 2-3 represents the structure of the Rudder’s library content types.
Those familiar with the process can use the list as a quick guide. For anyone new to creating content types, the settings can be found under Site Actions, Site Settings under the Galleries subheading (see Figure 2-4). Click Create at the top of the Site Content Type page to get started (see Figure 2-5). If these settings are not available to you, check with your site administrator.
The content types described here are just suggestions. Depending upon the needs and level of development in the organization, the library can be expanded or even divided should the need arise. The structure of the library should make the process of documenting as simple as possible. Developing an engaging process or method of capturing documentation is really the key takeaway; the structure of the library should be based on the needs of the user.
The base or parent content type within this library structures the OneNote documentation, but when metadata is used in conjunction with OneNote, there is a tendency for the library to require check-in of each document even when metadata is not required. So I purposefully left out capturing metadata in this instance and added no additional columns. The parent content, then, is simply based on a document content type. Create a new group called “SharePoint Rudder” and put all related content types in this group as they are created (see Figure 2-6).
OneNote is the real star of the show and, since OneNote automatically creates folders via the native linking interface within a SharePoint library, I have opted to show the folder a little love and take advantage of the options that incorporating folders provides. Folders allow a level of comfort and putability (correct placement) of documentation that is particularly useful when using multiple content types. Folders may be lesser players, but when used in conjunction with (and not in lieu of) metadata, they do earn their spot in the SharePoint tool belt.
Creating folder content types is the same as creating any other content type. In this case, use the parent type of folders (Figure 2-7).
Add from existing site columns to capture any additional keywords or consider adding a managed metadata field (Figure 2-8).
Here is where it starts to come together. There are more content types to build, but if the library and these first content types are structured now, the rest of the build can be documented in the notes, getting this ball rolling and illustrating perfectly how slick this solution works.
Going back to the SharePoint Rudder library previously created (see Figure 2-1), use the Library Tools, Library tab to find Library Settings (see Figure 2-9).
Within the Library Settings, under the General Setting grouping, choose Advanced Settings (Figure 2-10).
There are three settings to change:
Allow management of content types? Yes
Make “New Folder” command available? No
Should this document library be a site assets library? Yes
Even though the default of Web Part Page was picked for the document template, the Content Type is listed as Document, and that should be edited (see Figure 2-11).
Renaming the content type WPP (short for Web Part Page) will eliminate confusion as further content types are added and the settings within the library are configured (see Figure 2-12).
Now add the two content types previously created (SharePoint Rudder and Rudder folders) to this library from the Document Library Settings page. Select Add from existing site content types. Select the SharePoint Rudder group to filter out the other site content types, and move them over to the Add column (see Figure 2-13).
One more setting to configure in this library is to show the toolbar, which is needed in order to structure this library with the appropriate content types and folders. From the All Documents default view of the Rudder library, click Site Actions, Edit Page (see Figure 2-14).
Use the drop-down menu to edit the web part and make the toolbar visible (see Figure 2-15).
From New on the toolbar, there are new content type options, the two previously created and the default web part pages (see Figure 2-16).
Create a Rudder folder for each content type listed in Figure 2-3 and add one to house web part pages (see Figure 2-17).
With or without the addition of folders, the configuration of this library will integrate perfectly into SharePoint Documentation Sets.
If OneNote did not already default to folders, I might opt to leave folders out, but the addition of folders allows for more finite permissions control, provides a way to limit the type of content in each, and is handy for applying metadata to all items stored within. Start with the OneNote folder and select Change New Button Order in the Edit menu (Figure 2-18).
Set the Visible content types on the OneNote folder to SharePoint Rudder, the parent content type created just for housing OneNote (Figure 2-19).
Use the same technique for the WPP folder and limit the content within to just web part page creation (the default template used to create the library, Figure 2-20).
Once this is set, the only option under New is WPP and the description is clearly displayed (Figure 2-21).
