SharePoint: General

How to Create Rounded Corners for Web Part Title Bars

Heather Solomon — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:25:03 GMT

Per some feedback, I added instructions to my latest branding article on how to create rounded corners for a web part title bar.

» Part 3: Changing the look and feel of SharePoint components - Intro and Web Parts

Branding SharePoint - Part 3: Changing the look and feel of SharePoint components - Intro and Web Parts

Heather Solomon — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:25:35 GMT

I have posted the next article in my branding series, which is a follow up to Part 1: Designing your SharePoint site, and Part 2: Creating the Design in SharePoint.

» Part 3: Changing the look and feel of SharePoint components - Intro and Web Parts

The next installment (coming very soon) will cover changing navigation systems in SharePoint.

Big Update to CSS Reference Chart

Heather Solomon — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:05:02 GMT

I have posted a large update to my SharePoint 2007 CSS reference chart. In addition to adding some new styles and tips, I have added "Copy to Clipboard" functionality that will copy the CSS source code for the given style to your clipboard, so you don't have to chase down styles by looking up line numbers. Instead you can just do a copy, paste into your CSS file, and make modifications from there.

The only section I did not do this for was the calendar, because I have previously posted all the calendar styles in a clean, condensed CSS file for your use.

Enjoy! As with anything, there may be a mistake or two. If you do a copy and it is not the correct style, please let me know.

» CSS Reference Chart for SharePoint 2007

Content Types and CSS Resources

Heather Solomon — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:58:55 GMT

In my sessions last week I stressed the importance of learning about content types, and really stressed the importance of learning CSS. I have had several people ask me for some suggestions for resources for both of these topics. If you have a resource or a book you just love that I don't mention here, please post a comment about it for everyone's benefit. Thanks!!

Content Types

Introduction to Content Types on MSDN
Plan content types (Office SharePoint Server) on TechNet
What Are Content Types, Anyway? blog post by Andrew May
Content Type Technical Posters for Download by Andrew May
Creating and Using Content Types in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 screencast on Channel 9 by Ted Pattison
What are Content Types? blog post by Martin Kearn

CSS

CSS: The Definitive Guide
CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions
Beginning CSS Web Development: From Novice to Professional
CSS: The Missing Manual
Transcending CSS: The Fine Art of Web Design

Recommendations from readers:
Pro CSS and HTML Design Patterns

SharePoint Conference 2008 Wrap Up & Slide Decks

Heather Solomon — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:05:41 GMT

First off, thanks to everyone who attended my sessions and who stopped by the SharePoint Experts booth and said hello. I got to meet a lot of people last week and it is very exiciting to see the huge interest in SharePoint branding. Thank you so much for all of the positive feedback and comments. Last week was a great week, if you didn't make it, be sure to try to go next year. :-)

I have posted my slide decks from my two presentations on my Speaking page, and below are direct links to download the ZIP files. I will be presenting my Intro to Branding session again at TechEd 2008 Developer Conference, and a version of it at the TechEd 2008 IT Professional Conference.

Cheers!

» SharePoint Tools for Style: How to Start Branding SharePoint
» SharePoint Tools for Style: Advanced Techniques for Branding SharePoint

New SharePoint Blogger - Matt Passannante

Heather Solomon — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:59:22 GMT

He may be new to blogging, but he is definitely not new to SharePoint. I am very happy to say that SharePoint Experts Director of Implementations and Senior Trainer Matt Passannante is now blogging!

Matt is a fantastic guy with an infectious enthusiasm about SharePoint. He really knows his stuff and has unique and solid theories and ideas about how to map out and set up SharePoint. He will also be at the SharePoint Conference next week, so be sure to stop by and meet him at the SharePoint Experts booth (#710) or check out his session about MOSS deployment on Monday at 1pm in 606-609.

Welcome Matt! http://www.sharepointblogs.com/matt

SharePoint Conference - I'll be there and presenting!

Heather Solomon — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:41:40 GMT

Well like all things in life, time is zipping by and now the SharePoint Conference (SPC) is already upon us! If you are heading to Seattle next week, be sure to stop by the SharePoint Experts Booth, Ask the Experts lunch, Game Night and/or one of my sessions and say hello.

Our whole crew from SharePoint Experts will be presenting, including Dustin Miller, Todd Baginski and Matt Passannante. We have a booth (#710) and of course we have some very cool vendor swag, so be sure to stop by. SharePoint Experts is sponsoring the Ask the Experts lunch on Wednesday from 11:30 - 1:00 PM PT and Game Night on Wednesday night from 5:00 - 9:00 PM PT.

I have (sudo) back to back presentations about branding. Both sessions are on Wednesday, March 5th:

SharePoint Tools for Style: How to Start Branding SharePoint
6ABC, 10:15 AM - 11:30 AM
You have a site design and your trusty copy of SharePoint Designer, but now what? In this session, we cover SharePoint branding concepts and benefits and show step by step how to create a custom master page using Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer.

SharePoint Tools for Style: Advanced Techniques for Branding SharePoint
6ABC, 1:00 - 2:15 PM
SharePoint branding can be flexible, fun, and frustrating all at once. During this session, we do a deep dive into the details of branding and look at how to handle CSS, multiple designs, navigation styling and manipulating content placeholders. We also address branding other SharePoint elements such as application screens, My Sites, and Blogs.

I look forward to seeing you there!

SharePoint Bootcamp Tickets on Sale!

Heather Solomon — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:45:53 GMT

Want to go to Disneyland and learn about SharePoint? Our next public SharePoint Bootcamp just went on sale for May 12-16, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Orange County Hotel in Anaheim, CA.

Say Heather, what is SharePoint Bootcamp? Several times a year SharePoint Experts hosts public classes in several different flavors for SharePoint. In Anaheim we will be hosting the Original SharePoint Bootcamp (taught by Dustin Miller), the SharePoint Development Bootcamp (taught by Todd Baginski) and the SharePoint Branding Bootcamp (hey, taught by me!). We have a laid back atmosphere, we feed you like crazy, and we give away cool stuff. :-)

If you sign up by March 1st, you can get the discounted rate of $2,500. After 3/1, the rate is $2,800. Don't delay! Classes fill up FAST. And it is a great time of year to visit the area and plenty of things to do after you max out on SharePoint during the day.

Learn more and buy tickets

DOCTYPES and SharePoint

Heather Solomon — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:28:39 GMT

I got asked by two separate friends of mine just within a few days of each other if I had any recommendations for what DOCTYPE tag should be used in SharePoint. Honestly up until that point, I had not put a lot of thought into outside of the attitude of look up whatever A List Apart recommends and use that. So I delved into it a bit more and now I do have an opinion on the matter.

A little info first, DOCTYPE is short for Document Type Declaration. A DOCTYPE associates a web page with a Document Type Definition (DTD). The DTD is the definition of the particular version of HTML or XHTML you are using in your site and is what will be used for rendering of the web page. For DTDs, there are generally 3 types, strict, transitional and frames.

Strict means there isn't presentational elements in your code, such as formatting and alignment. Instead everything has be to controlled separately in the CSS. Transitional allows both CSS and presentational elements in the code. Frames, well is for frames and if you are still using those we need to chat. :-)

Based on your DTD and what browser you are viewing your site in, your page will render in Standards mode or Quirks mode. Standards mode renders the page based on the DTD you defined. Quirks mode will render the page the best it can while emulating older browsers. If you don't define a DTD to use, the browser will default to Quirks mode.

So what about SharePoint? First off, note that default.master does not specify a DTD! The publishing master pages (blueband, blackband, etc) use the HTML 4.0 Transitional DTD that renders in Standards mode.

For my base master pages, I put in a DOCTYPE that uses the HTML 4.0 transitional DTD that will render the site in quirks mode. Why? It is the lowest common denominator and appropriate for the general use of the master page. This is not to say this is the DTD you should be using for your site. Ultimately, you need look at the site's target audience and purpose and select a DTD based on your individual site needs.

However, I do think Transitional DTDs should be used since there is a lot of rendered code with out of the box SharePoint that you don't have control over, therefore your page will have presentation elements in the code and not solely use CSS for formatting. That and Transitional is best when you use tables for page layout. Tables vs. CSS positioning wars aside, out of the box SharePoint makes heavy use of tables for layout so stick with the transitional DTDs.

I personally don't use the XHTML DTDs because I have yet to see justification for using them, and I get a bit worried about the fact that XHTML 1.0 won't be supported in XHTML 2.0 and vice versa. It seems to me if you go with a XHTML DTD, you are limiting yourself. But again, this goes back to what does your site need, not what makes me nervous.

Another important thing about DTDs, is you need to select one BEFORE you delve too deep in developing your user interface. The DTD you specify in the DOCTYPE tag will affect how your page is rendered, so don't write a bunch of HTML and CSS and then apply or change the DTD, many of your page elements could go out of whack and you will have to rewrite some of your code.

Here are the two DTDs I think are best for SharePoint:

HTML 4.0 Transitional in Standards Mode (use this one if you can):
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD html 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">

HTML 4.0 Transitional in Quirks Mode:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD html 4.01 Transitional//EN">

Here are some additional resources:

UPDATE 1/25/08: Well DOCTYPES must be in the air, Waldek Mastykarz just posted about DOCTYPEs as well, and recommended the use of XHTML 1.0 Strict or Transitional DTD. He talks about his reasonings and the benefits, drawbacks and challenges with this approach. For a different viewpoint, read his article here.

UPDATE 3/10/08: Randy Drisgill has tested SharePoint in the next version of Internet Explorer, IE8, and has a recommendation to include the meta tag that forces IE8 to render the web page based on IE7 parameters.
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=7" />

UPDATED: Base Master Page - DOCTYPE

Heather Solomon — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:40:48 GMT

I have updated my Base Master Pages again, this time changing or adding the DOCTYPE tag in each. Please note that the base master pages include the HTML Transitional DTD that will display your site in quirks mode. Please replace the DTD if you need a more refined presentation mode for your site.

I selected this DTD because it can assist the broadest audience (older browsers, mobile views, newer browsers, etc). If you want to use a standards compliant presentation mode, you can switch the DOCTYPE to:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">

For more info about DOCTYPEs, check out the info at W3Schools.