Site Settings Part 6 ( Site Actions)

Welcome to the 6^th part of site settings in SharePoint 2013. Here in this tip, we will be covering the Site Actions of the site.

Site Actions look small with three features, but it is an important part of SharePoint as it withholds our features with which our whole site works.

So let’s see how it works.

Manage Site Features

The first link is Manage Site features, as we can all see the site features in the below screen shots.

It contains default features, custom features (created by developers) and a new added advantage. The apps we download also come up as a feature but it is a kind of a trouble as it does not give them suitable names so all features will have the name as AppFeature.

Reset to Site Definitions

Next, we have Reset to Site Definitions. Here, if you have any custom page and you want to revert it back to a default page without all custom changes and custom web parts, You need to put the URL of that particular page and reset its particular default layout or if you want all the pages to get Reset, you can choose the other option.

Delete this Site

As the name states, clicking on Delete this Site deletes it.

See you again in the last part of Site Settings coming soon.

Site Settings Part 5 ( Search )

Introduction

Welcome to the Search feature in SharePoint 2013. This is a wonderful feature now available for all our important tasks. I know as a developer how many requirements we get on Search and as we don’t have much freedom in other versions of SharePoint we land up making custom search boxes for the users.

But history is not going to be repeated. Welcome to Search in SharePoint 2013.

I know your excitement. Let’s see what it has got for us developers.

Result Sources

Starting with the Result Sources, we can use this feature to scope our search queries. As per the below screen shot, we can see the following default search query which is provided by the external search service andSharePoint.

You can also have your own Query by creating one of your own. Like we can see:

·         Add the Name

·         Description

·         Protocol as to from where you want to query within SharePoint, or in another Remote Connection, Open Search or Exchange

·         Add the type whether it is SharePoint search results related to the indexing of SharePoint or it is People Search results where an index is set up to people.

·         Then we have Query Transform where you can build a query to index your search results.

·         Lastly, we have Credential Information where the search can be set up as if it is allowed to certain people or certain groups.

Result Types

Next, we have in here is Result Types as to how you want the result to display. As in the screen shot, we can see we have Person, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint. These are special templates created to show the search results so if you search a particular user it will come in a specific people template and the others in a similar way.

We almost have everything in our default result types, but if you create a Custom content type then for that we need a different template. But don’t worry, we can create one as below:

As stated, give it a name, conditions as to how you want to query and then select a Template. Template is nothing but a platform to show your results. You can easily create a template in Look & Feel section in SiteSettings to display your query results.

Query Rules

When it comes to Query Rules, you can have one to create queries using default rules like shown below:

As we can see, a Result Source from where you can select a source for your query, once you select any you have options to narrow down the query using user segments and categories.

Using this, you can have your own rule set up for your own search queries.

Schema

Managed Properties

Let’s come to the schema part we need not search for our schema files as it is present in the site settings itself as we can see we can look them up under Managed Properties

Crawled Properties

In a similar way, we have Crawled Properties which can be viewed from the Schema.

Categories

Here lastly, we have Categories which can be viewed as to under what category our search schema falls.

Search Settings

Here, we have search settings where you can enter a search URL if you want it to get searched from an external URL as well. In a similar way, you can identify a page to which the query results should go to and display the results and lastly you can configure the search navigation. These are so good and easy settings which were not available in our configurations in our last versions of SharePoint.

Searchable Columns

We would be aware by the term itself searchable columns which states it contains all the column names which are searchable and included as well can be included in the queries.

Search and Offline Availability

Then, we an exciting option for search and offline availability where we can index the site content as well as the aspx page content, we can also configure the offline client availability and lastly we can render the site and configure it as per our requirements.

Configuration Import & Configuration Export

Then, we have Configuration Import functionality where for every site you need not configure the above settingsagain. You can just export them from the site you want to use to and import it to your desired site, hereby saving lots of efforts.

A real interesting feature, isn’t it?

It does not even save our efforts but also our time which developers like us already have less of.

References : Microsoft & codeproject

Site Settings Part 4 ( Look and Feel )

Welcome to the 4^th part of Site Settings. Here, we will be discussing about the look & feel structure ofSharePoint 2013 configuration. So let’s go for it.

Design Manager

The first new feature is Design Manager in SharePoint 2013. Unlike SharePoint Designer, it is something different. Here, we can import HTML file that will be converted into a SharePoint master page or CSS files, JavaScript files, Images and other supporting files.

Then, we can Manage Device Channels, Upload Design Files, Edit Master Pages, Edit Display Templates, Edit Page Layouts, Publish and Apply Design and lastly you can create Design Packages which includes master page or CSS files, JavaScript files, Images and other supporting files.

Master Page

As per our screen below, we can see Site Master pages which you can inherit, specify one as default or reset them all back to their default Master page.

Then, we have System Master Page which is nothing but pages used for Administrative pages and views of Document Library which you want to be inherited from the master page you want which you can inherit, specify one as default or reset them all back to their default Master page.

Then, we have beautiful Themes of SharePoint 2013 which can be used to Inherit from parent sites or reset it back to the site default definitions.

Lastly, we have Alternate CSS URL where you can either specify your CSS files, use it as a default one or inherit from the Parent Site.

Title, Description and Logo

Then, we can see from our screen that we have default options for your Site Name, Description and Logo for theSite.

Page Layouts and Site Templates

As we can see Sub site Templates on our screen below, where we have an option to inherit site templates from parent site or they can choose any of the following site templates in the list.

The same logic goes on for Page Layouts and you can also choose an option from the below New Page DefaultSettings so when a new page is created, that will be a default page layout.

Welcome Page

This part of site settings allows you to provide the URL of the page which you want to be as a welcome page of the site whereas in other versions, we used to go to that page and make page as Home Page.

Device Channels

It is another new feature in SP 2013 which enables you to store certain site content, style your content, and change image even while maintaining the same URL across a pool of different devices such as I-pad, desktop or in mobile.

Isn’t it an important one? It is.

Here, you have to as per the below screen shot create a new item and, I’ll quote from the column reference” Specify one or more user agent substrings (for example: Windows Phone OS), placing each substring on its own line. When the user agent string of a visiting device contains any of the specified substrings, the channel will force site pages to display using that channel's optimizations, like a different Master Page or Device Channel Panel. You can also trigger this special rendering by using query strings, cookies or custom code, in which case the substrings don't matter.”

In easy words, you can differentiate your site between desktop, IPAD and Cellular.

Tree View

It is just a renamed feature of quick launch in previous versions, Here, we have Enable Quick Launch and Enable Tree View functionality to be applied on the navigation of the site.

Change the Look

My favorite feature is change the look. You can change the layout, theme or background by the following default themes. You can even create your own and upload them here. It is like a customization on clicks.

So once you select a template, just click on it. You will see the Try it Out option which will allow you to have a preview of it as well as put it as a default theme.

Import Design Package

If you have lot of sites and you want everyone to be configured the same as one of your sites, you import the design package from that site and upload it to your site so without wasting lot of effort and time, you can configure other sites by uploading a common Design package.

Navigation

Coming to the navigation, there is no change in the functionality compared to the other versions of SharePointso Microsoft is still on its old panel of navigation.

Image Renditions

A new functionality in 2013 where you can pre configure the height and width of the Display Template Picture or Display template Video even if it differs in its size uploaded by the user by providing you more control on yoursite.

So this was the fourth part of Site Settings. See you again in the other parts.

References : Microsoft & codeproject