Finding the solution id from a wsp is quite difficult if you do not have access to the manifest.xml used to create it. I’m using SharePoint installer to install wsp files to client environments, as they think it is a lot safer, than batch files or typing in stsadm commands.

There’s one wsp that I needed to package using SharePoint installer but does not have the source code for it, SharePoint installer requires the solution id. But I don’t have the source code anymore.

In this case a quick and easy way was to login to your development server and deploy your solution package if its not there yet. Then run this stsadm command:

stsadm -o enumsolutions > C:\Temp\solutions.txt

This will list all solutions that is added on your farm, just look for the name of your solution and underneath it is the solution ID.

Audience targeting is a nice feature available in SharePoint Server to allow an administrator to hide and show webparts based on user permissions. A web part can be targeted to certain groups and be hidden for others. If you’re using SharePoint Server and the audience targetting box is missing when you edit a web part. You need to check the following.

1. If you’re using a list web part, for example, a document library web part, make sure that Audience Targetting is enabled on that list. You can go to list settings and click audience targetting.

2. Make sure that you properly configured Shared Services Provider on your Central Administration Site, otherwise it will not be shown.

NOTE: This is only applicable for SharePoint Server 2007, audience targeting for web parts are not available in WSS.

Whenever my system drive reports that there is no space left, my usual suspect is the SharePoint trace log, it is located under the 12 hive folder at LOGS. Clearing this folder up usually frees up a couple of gigabytes but it’s not uncommon to have hundreds of gigs worth of logs on your system drive. Since this folder continually grows, it is a good idea to store it somewhere else, in a different drive or partition.

Below are the steps to change the default SharePoint log directory:

1. Login to Central Administration site
2. Go to Operations tab, and click on Diagnostic Logging.
3. Scroll down the page, under the Trace Log section.

You may also change the number of logs to be kept and how long does each file will be used. Make sure that you have enough space as this folder will keep on growing.

Just found of a new method within the SPListCollection object that season WSS 3.0 devs will appreciate a lot. In WSS 3.0, there’s not really a neat way to get an instance of a list that might not exist.

I usually use SPList myList = web.Lists[listName]; but it throws a null reference error if the list is not there. Looping through the SPListItemCollection object is usually how we’ll check for a list instance, but I think its a waste of resources.

In SharePoint 2010, a new method “TryGetList” is implemented to get the list and it throws a null refernce if it doesn’t find it.

using (SPWeb web = site.RootWeb)
{
 SPList myList = web.Lists.TryGetList("My List Name");

 if (myList != null)
 {
  ...
 }
}

I’m excited to get my hands dirty in SP2010, I hope incoming projects will be based on it.

I just turned a new leaf in my SharePoint career and now officially in my 7th SharePoint project. This is my second major project doing a migration from a different platform to SharePoint.

A few years back, I was doing a migration from a java based content management system into SharePoint. One of the issues raised during our user acceptance test was the Created By and Modified By values in SharePoint for pages that has been migrated are always “System Account”. When i try to modify it through the object model, I just received an error saying “Invalid data, updating read only fields”, so I gave up.

The tool that we are using for migration have the capability to do just that, and I was curious how they did it, so I did my research again, and found what I’ve done wrong in the past.

I found this code snippet from MSDN forums by a user named Shobha P.

SPSite site = new SPSite(siteUrl);
SPWeb web = site.OpenWeb();

web.AllowUnsafeUpdates = true;
SPList list = web.Lists["Test"];
SPListItemCollection collection = list.Items;

foreach (SPListItem item in collection )
{
SPUser user = web.EnsureUser(UserName Login Name);

//1073741823;#System Account   //User name values are in this format ID;#Login Name
string value1 = user.ID + “;#” + user.Name; //Create in same format
item["Author"] = value1; //for Created By field
item["Editor"]=value1 ;  //Modified By field
item.Update();  //Update the item
}
list.Update();
web.Update();

Things to watch out for:

• The AllowUnsafeUpdates flag has to be set to true, I might not have done this before.
• Make sure the User ID exists in the web application.

That’s about it, enjoy SharePoint programming, and be proud that you now have a way to set those fields as the users expect. Microsoft failed to realize that this is a big issue in terms of usability for migration projects, fortunately we don’t have to resort to hacking the content databases.

By the way, this should work with SP 2010 as well, since the behaviour is still the same, and they still refuse to expose the Created By and Modified By as a ListItem attribute.

If your SharePoint page turns blank after an ajax request, look no further.
Below is how you can fix it on your SharePoint deployment.

This issue is encountered if you are doing any asynchronous (ajax) request on your SharePoint page, and it appears that this issue does not affect all site templates but only publishing sites.

The fix is very simple, you just need to modify how SharePoint renders the title tag. Unfortunately the default masterpages in SharePoint look like this:

<title id=”onetidTitle”>
<asp:ContentPlaceHolder id=”PlaceHolderPageTitle” runat=”server”/>
</title>

And change it to this, make sure it is all contained within a single line.

<title id=”onetidTitle”><asp:ContentPlaceHolder id=”PlaceHolderPageTitle” runat=”server”/></title>

Deploy the masterpage, and that should be enough to fix this issue.

I’m about to begin with a new SharePoint project and the management decided for it to be based on MOSS 2007. Basically its a baseline moss based portal, where future projects will be based on. And one of the critical requirements is it should support migration to SharePoint 2010 effortlessly.

Honestly, I don’t know where to start gathering my list of things that won’t work properly in SharePoint 2010. I heard from Ted Pattison that custom Site Definitions should be avoided and use features instead. I will also try not to use any functionality that has been replaced in 2010 such as BDCs.

I’m still in search for other things to take note of, what types of issues did you encounter on your migration to SharePoint 2010? Care to share, and hit the comments. Thanks!

 Projected fields are one of the new things SharePoint developers can use in their disposal with the improved list relationships and joins in SharePoint 2010. With projected fields, we don’t need to put several lookup fields from the parent list, in its basic sense, we just need to define one lookup field from the child list, and through the projected fields, we can display other fields from the child list.

Projected fields are read-only, and the most common use for it is by including extra fields from parent list to the view of child list.

Pentax latest camera body, aimed at the entry-level market has made a lot of good reviews. I was shooting with a K10D for about 2 years now, and it’s a great body for its price, but its high ISO performance is just too limiting for me. So despite all the trade offs, I went ahead and sold my K10D for a used K-X, with no cash out.

Pentax k-x price Philippines is 31,000 with a kit lens and 28,000 body only, available only in Camerahaus.

Below are sample images that I took with it, these images are shot in a poorly lit restaurant that my previous body would have a very different time locking AF.

Pentax k-x iso 12800

I was amazed that aside from the lack of color noise, even at ISO 12800 that the image is very well exposed, it turned out brighter that what my eyes saw.

All images are straight from the camera, no noise reduction, shot at 1/30s shutter, f/4 and ISO 12800.

Phottix. a photography company that creates cheaper alternatives to OE products such as batteries, battery grips, flash triggers, has released a cheaper ($101) but comparable alternative to the industry standard, Pocket Wizards. For years, Pocket Wizards has been the king of flash triggers, as it is arguably the most reliable and offers the greatest range, but it comes with a price, one that is too steep for most hobbyist and amateur photographers.

The Atlas, which aims to be a cheaper alternative to the Pocket Wizards is set to offer us a better alternative. From the looks of it, it have a very good built quality, and phottix atlas features similar to that PWIIs, and they’re in fact compatible with each other, or so they said.

Atlas in Moscow from Phottix Journal

I can’t wait to get my hands on a pair of these, as I lost my Phottix Tetra triggers in Ondoy which flooded our house chest deep. It looks almost similar to the PWIIs and claims to have the same range as well, but unlike the PWs, they can be used as flash stands, and can be mounted directly to light stands.

Features and specifications

• A transmitter and Receiver (transceiver) just like the Pocket Wizard II
• Can be used as a flash or studio strobe trigger, as well as wireless shutter release
• 100 meters range
• Hot shoe port and PC Sync port
• Sync speed up to 1/250 sec
• Can trigger 4 different channels or all at the same time
• use two AA batteries

Edit Jun 16:

As it turns out, the Phottix Atlas has been released for purchasing on Phottix Store, which cost $101 (it’s $126 yesterday) each. My high hopes has been put down as I think that with that price is too much for something positioned as a “cheap alternative” to the reliable PocketWizards II. It’s a very good price if for $101 you can get 2 as you need atleast two of them to use it.

I think, the Phottix Atlas is a good alternative for photographers who already have a set of PW IIs and wanted additional receivers for more flash heads. Preliminary tests, shows though that the range of phottix atlas features a better distance compared to its competitor. That might be the reason why its priced that way. If you ask me, $80 is a reasonable price while $120 for two is a great deal.