Corey Roth [MVP] : TechFest

SharePoint Workspace: Are you using it? Why not?

CoreyRoth — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:11:45 GMT

Picture it. Your vice president is about to get on a plane. He or she tells you, “I need a list of all of our products and the latest prices. I want to be able to make changes and have them be effective when I am back in the office.” Look at your custom applications you have now. Is this something you can do? How would you do it without SharePoint? Export the data from some database as a spreadsheet perhaps and then manually import it later with SSIS? Sure that would work but geez that is a lot of work. There are lots of approaches. What if there was a tool that let you take the content from database tables and bring it offline? Your users could edit it and then it would synchronize the changes when they were back online again. Oh wait, there is. It’s called SharePoint Workspace.

SharePoint Workspace, the tool formerly known as Groove, is quite possibly one of the coolest SharePoint tools there is and it is heavily under utilized. I honestly don’t think people understand the true power behind it. I run into very few end users actually using it. The situation I described is completely possible using SharePoint Workspace and Business Connectivity Services (BCS) and it doesn’t require a single line of code. Hard to believe right? Maybe some of you are familiar with this functionality by now, but most people I talk to have no idea it’s available.

Business Connectivity Services lets you expose data from databases, web services, as well as custom .NET applications. You can use the BCS using SharePoint Designer. I’ve written about how to use SPD to configure an external list in a previous post. After you set up your BCS connection, the key is to set up an external list.

Once the external list is created, look for the Sync to SharePoint Workspace button in the ribbon.

This will create a package that sends your data to SharePoint Workspace for you to view and edit. If you have customized the edit forms using InfoPath you will even see those customizations inside SharePoint Workspace as well. Here is what SharePoint Designer looks like with an external list.

I know I’ve been talking about data in a database, but it actually starts with the fact that you can sync many different types of list items including documents. I use this regularly when I am traveling for clients while working on new projects. SharePoint Workspace lets me sync all of the documents in a document library from my project site. I can view documents, edit them, and have my changes synchronized back to the document library when I get back to the office. As a consultant, this functionality is an absolute must have and it ensures I always have all of the latest project documents with me regardless of whether I have an Internet connection or not.

SharePoint Workspace is awesome. The only drawbacks that really affect me right now with it is that it doesn’t support syncing calendars or form libraries. It’s still an excellent tool though. Go try it right now on a document library you have been working with. I promise it will change the way you work on a daily basis. Help me get the word out about this great tool and let’s see what we can do with it!

This weekend, I’m speaking more about SharePoint Workspace at Houston TechFest. If you want to learn more, be sure and attend.

Speaking at Tulsa TechFest about SharePoint Development and ECM

CoreyRoth — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 23:32:05 GMT

It’s hard to believe it’s time for Tulsa TechFest already. We get a great group of speakers and attendees here every year. I’m always impressed with the quality of the event and the amount of people that attend in a town the size of Tulsa. If you have never been before, I highly recommend it. It’s a great place to get free training on a variety of topics (not just SharePoint). I’m speaking on two topics this year. The first talk is for developers looking to start SharePoint development. While the second talk is about the basics of ECM in SharePoint 2010. I hope to see all of you there. If you’re in town early on Thursday night, we’ll be going to Max Retropub (Map) after the community town hall. It’s the perfect place for geeks specializing in old video games. :) Feel free to join us. Hit me up on twitter (@coreyroth) if you need more information.

Slides from my BCS talk at Houston TechFest posted

CoreyRoth — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:39:00 GMT

I had a great time at Houston TechFest this weekend. I met a lot of new people and I got to see a lot of old friends. At TechFest, I spoke about how to code advanced SharePoint BCS solutions using BCS entity models and custom connectors. The slide deck is posted on slide share. I’ve also attached the code for the custom connector I used at the bottom of this post. If you have any additional questions, feel free to ask.

Speaking at Houston TechFest on October 9th

CoreyRoth — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 20:02:15 GMT

I am excited to be returning to Houston next week to speak at Houston TechFest. This looks like it will be a great event and I’ve been curious to see what Tech Fests look like in other cities. I’ll be speaking on an advanced SharePoint development topic about how extend the BCS using BDC Models and Custom Connectors. If you like to see a lot of code in a session, this one is for you. I hope to see you all there!

Presenting two talks at NWA TechFest

CoreyRoth — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:53:49 GMT

David Walker is at it again! This time it is a TechFest in Northwest Arkansas this week on July 8th. I’m going to be doing two talks there. The first about the BCS and the second about Enterprise Search. If you’re from Tulsa, sorry you’ve already seen my BCS talk, but I won’t be offended if you go see someone else. Just tell them how great my BCS talk is. :-) After that, I’ll be talking about Enterprise Search in 2010. This intro talk will show you how to get started with Enterprise Search and most of the take-aways from the session also apply to MOSS 2007. So if you can make it come on by to the event. It should be a good one.

Slides from my Enterprise Search talk at Tulsa TechFest 2009

CoreyRoth — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:52:00 GMT

I had a great time speaking again at Tulsa TechFest 2009. I gave my intro talk on Enterprise Search again, but this time I updated it to talk about features upcoming in SharePoint 2010. My slides are attached at the bottom of this post. I always really enjoy TechFest and getting the opportunity to meet and talk with so many great people. David Walker did an excellent job as usual putting everything together, but I would like to see the two day format return. :-) Maybe if some of us get together and offer him a hand, we can have two days next year.

Speaking at Tulsa TechFest 2009

CoreyRoth — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:02:52 GMT

@SPKyle let work get in the way of his speaking gig, so I get to fill his spot this year. :-) I’m going to be giving my intro talk on Enterprise Search. This is a good talk for anyone that isn’t very familiar with what Enterprise Search can do for their organization. It’s also good for those that are looking to learn more about what other types of content can be indexed. I’ve also updated it to include what’s new in search with SharePoint 2010.

It wouldn’t be a Tech Fest without a Dot Net Mafia event. If you are coming in early to speak or attend the conference, we’ve got something for you to do Thursday night. We’ll be meeting at our usual venue, Dirty’s Tavern (325 E. 2nd St – 2nd and Elgin) which is just a few blocks down from the Crowne Plaza hotel. We’ll probably be meeting there around 7:00 or 8:00 and hanging out until whenever. If you get hungry, there is a Pizza place right next door. If you need more info, get a hold of me on twitter. Look forward to seeing you all there.

Tulsa TechFest 2008 - Another Good Turnout

CoreyRoth — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:26:38 GMT

Last week, I attended and spoke at Tulsa TechFest. This year had a pretty good turnout thanks to David Walker and all of his volunteers.. With 17 tracks, it is no wonder, this event is reportedly one of the largest community organized tech events. Even cooler that it's in Tulsa, OK. Not only did it bring in people from Tulsa, but it also attracted people from Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri (and probably other places - those are just the places that I met people from). I decided to mix it up this year and check out some sessions other than the SharePoint ones. I caught DotNetMafia's own Kyle Kelin's talk on jQuery along with Chris Patterson's talk on iPhone development. I also caught Caleb Jenkin's talk on Silverlight with Visual Studio 2008. I have to say Caleb has the best looking slide deck of any presenter I have ever seen. No idea how he does it.

Of course, I did hang out in the SharePoint room as much as possible. I was the first speaker in the room and did my new session on Implementing Partial Trust in SharePoint (slides and code available at that link). I also caught the SharePoint Cowboy's talk on High Performance SharePoint Development as well as Jim Hudson's and Richard Oltmann's talk on building fault tolerant SharePoint farms.

All in all, it was a great conference and I had a good time as always. The Beer and Code Meetup was immensely successful. It had a good mix of attendees and speakers. I am pretty sure Caleb taped everything, so no telling what we'll end up seeing on CommunityCast.tv. I think it will be even bigger next year. Maybe next year, we can make it official. :) Looking forward to next year.

Also don't forget that this Thursday is the first SharePint Meetup at Crawpappy's. We'll see you there.

Beer and Code Meetup was a Huge Success

CoreyRoth — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:22:06 GMT

Last night after Tulsa TechFest, the DotNetMafia organized a meetup at Dirty's Tavern. We had a pretty good turnout and ended up hanging out with people from the Tulsa branch of WAKA (World Adult Kickball Association). Those people are a lot of fun. Anyhow, I think everyone had a good time, and be looking for the DotNetMafia to do it again next year. We'll be sure and get a food sponsor too. Thanks for coming.

Don't forget Tulsa TechFest tomorrow!

CoreyRoth — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:55:12 GMT

Just one last reminder that Tulsa TechFest is tomorrow and Friday. There will be a lot of great speakers there and it should be a lot of fun. I'll be giving a talk on the oh so exciting topic of Partial Trust and Code Access Security in SharePoint. If you have ever wanted to deploy SharePoint code in the bin folder, this session is for you.

Also don't forget the Beer and Code Meetup at Dirty's Tavern after the event!

Slides and Code Samples from Tulsa TechFest

CoreyRoth — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:15:00 GMT

Today, at TechFest, I gave my talk on Implementing Partial Trust in SharePoint and I had a great time. As promised, here are the slides and code samples. If you have any more questions, feel free to leave me a comment.

Announcing Beer and Code Meetup after Tulsa TechFest

CoreyRoth — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:05:20 GMT

I am excited to be speaking at Tulsa TechFest again this week. As I mentioned in the past, the DotNetMafia will be doing a social event this Thursday night after TechFest hands out all those prizes around 6ish at Dirty's Tavern (325 E 2nd St). Whether you are into SharePoint, Agile, .NET, PHP, Ruby, or whatever, this is a great chance to come by and mingle with other IT professionals. I can't promise any free beer, but Dirty's Tavern has some of the cheapest beer in Tulsa. Dirty’s Tavern is downtown. Just minutes away from TechFest. Also don't forget, that next week is the first SharePint meet up on October 16th. Looking forward to seeing all two of my readers there!

Slides from Tulsa TechFest

C-Dog's .NET Tip of the Day — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 02:15:00 GMT

This weekend I spoke at Tulsa Tech Fest and it was quite the good time. I am not the kind of douche bag that drops names but I did have the opportunity to party with some respected names in the industry this weekend. All in all a good time. Here are the...(read more)

Speaking at Tulsa TechFest on Saturday 10/20

C-Dog's .NET Tip of the Day — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 21:28:18 GMT

In case any one actually reads this and cares, I'll be speaking at Tulsa TechFest this Saturday (10/20) at 10:30a about MOSS 2007. The talk I will be giving is called Searching Business Data with MOSS 2007 Enterprise Search . Registration is now FREE...(read more)