To overcome this, I used the “Send an HTTP request to SharePoint” action to create the item through a REST API.

I have used REST APIs on numerous occasions to overcome limitations of Microsoft Flow; however, I thought a quick instructional on how I did it would be useful as they can seem a little overwhelming to new users.

To begin, create a Flow and get to the step where you would normally use the “Create Item” action.

Create the next step, in the search bar type in “HTTP request,” and select “Send an HTTP request to SharePoint.”

Next, fill out all the fields on the action.

• Site Address: This is the site where the list you are adding an item is located. For example: “https://companyname.sharepoint.com/sites/sitename”
• Method: Post
• Uri: _api/web/lists/getbytitle(‘ListName’)/items

When entering the Uri, make sure to replace ‘List Name’ with the name of the list you want to create the item in. If there are any spaces in the list name, replace the spaces with %20. In the example below, you will see that my list name is “Proposals Needing Review” so I entered _api/web/lists/getbytitle(‘Proposals%20Needing%20Review’)/items

• Headers: enter “content-type” for the key and “application/json;odata=verbose” for the value.

• Body: For the body enter the fields and values using JSON. For example:

  	{
  	“Field 1”: “Value 1”,
  	“Field 2”: “Value 2”
  	}
  	

  A couple of things to note:
  • You must place quotation marks around the field and value even if the value is entered using “Dynamic Content”.
  • A hyperlink field must be entered using the following format:
    “Hyperlink field name”:

    {
    
      “_metadata”: {“type”: “SP.FieldUrlValue”},
    
      “Description”: “Description Value”,
    
      “Url”: “Url Value”
    
      }

  • The last field and value must be:
    “__metadata”: { “type”: “SP.Data.MYLISTNAMEListItem” }
    In this example replace “MYLISTNAME” with the actual name of the list you are creating an item in and replace any spaces in your list name with “_x0020_”. For example, for my list titled “Proposals Needing Review” I have:
    “__metadata”: { “type”: “SP.Data.Proposals_x0020_Needing_x0020_ReviewListItem” }

Your Flow will now create items using the REST API and correctly populate the hyperlink field.

If you continue building your flow, you will realize that you are unable to reference fields from the “Send HTTP request to SharePoint” step as dynamic content.

For example, if I go to update the item using the “Update Item” action and try to pass in the item ID from the “Send an HTTP request to SharePoint” step, the only dynamic content is “Body.” We do not see any of the fields that we passed into the item like Title, ID, etc.…

To access the fields, we need to parse out the fields we entered into the body of the request using the “Parse JSON” action.

To begin, run the flow. From the Flow results page, navigate to the “Send an HTTP request to SharePoint” step and expand it.

• Scroll down to the Body section and copy everything in the field.
• Paste it in a text editor to use later.
• Now go back to editing the Flow and add a new step.
• Enter “json” into the search box.
• Select “Parse JSON” from the list.

In the “Content” field select the Body output from the “Send an HTTP request to SharePoint” step.

Under the “Schema” input select “Use sample payload to generate schema.”

In the popup that appears enter all the JSON you copied from body output on the Flow results page earlier.

When you are finished select “Done.”

If we try to update the item again using the “Update Item” action, we will see that all the fields from the item are now available as dynamic content under the “Parse JSON” step.

Now if we run our flow we can see that it correctly adds the item and populates the hyperlink field.

DMC’s Digital Workplace Solution Team has extensive experience implementing Microsoft Flow solutions in a wide range of industries for a wide range of customers. 

Contact us today to get started on your next Microsoft Flow project. 

Learn more about DMC’s Microsoft Consulting Services.

Learn more about DMC’s Digital Workplace Solutions team.

The post Creating SharePoint List Items in Microsoft Flow Using a REST API appeared first on DMC, Inc..

Beyond the lost productivity of the new employee, a mismanaged onboarding process can cause frustration across departments, damage the employer’s brand, and have negative effects on employee retention.

Additionally, having a systematized offboarding process can be of equal, if not higher, importance. On top of ensuring all employees leave the organization in the best way possible, a formal system will ensure that access to accounts and IT systems are removed on time, exit interviews are conducted, and key stakeholders are notified ahead of time to ensure a smooth transition. 

Watch the quick video below to see how DMC’s employee onboarding and offboarding solution using SharePoint could help your organization gain control of both your onboarding and offboarding processes.  

Learn more about DMC's SharePoint Employee Onboarding solution.

The post Employee Onboarding and Offboarding in SharePoint appeared first on DMC, Inc..

After a recent batch of updates were applied to a SharePoint 2016 farm, a large number of items quit working on the application server. Outgoing emails stopped sending, workflows stopped working, and scheduled tasks that used the server object model stopped working. 

It was a mess. Worse yet, troubleshooting this proved to be a challenge because the SharePoint tracing service wouldn’t start, and the SharePoint management shell couldn’t connect to the farm.

Down for the Count?

It seemed like this server was down for the count and we were bracing ourselves to rebuild it. 

Here are a few details on some of the many symptoms we were seeing:

• The SharePoint Tracing Service would not run, meaning there were no log files to look at. When trying to start it from the Services control panel, we got the message “Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.”
• The SharePoint management shell could not connect to the farm and also displayed the following on startup:

Could not read the XML Configuration file in the folder 16\CONFIG\PowerShell\Registration\.
Could not find a part of th e path 'C:\Windows\System32\16\CONFIG\PowerShell\Registration'.
No xml configuration files loaded.
Unable to register core product cmdlets.
Could not read the Types files in the folder 16\CONFIG\PowerShell\types\.
Could not find a part of the path 'C:\Windows\System32\16\CONFIG\PowerShell\types'.
"No Types files Found."
Could not read the Format file in the folder 16\CONFIG\PowerShell\format\.
Could not find a part of the path 'C:\Windows\System32\16\CONFIG\PowerShell\format'.
No Format files Found.

• We saw many errors in the Windows logs that the farm is unavailable. For example:

WebHost fai  led to process a request.
Sender Information: System.ServiceModel.ServiceHostingEnvironment+HostingManager/62476613
Exception: System.ServiceModel.ServiceActivationException: The service '/ddb6d31923f94358821025a906ed543e/FeedCacheService.svc' cannot be activated due to an exception during compilation.  The exception message is: The farm is unavailable.. —> System.InvalidOperationException: The farm is unavailable.

• The SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard reported that it “Failed to detect if this server is joined to a server farm.”

Procmon to the Rescue

All these issues began happening after the server reboot that followed applying updates. While it seemed like the server was in a very bad state, I felt there was a chance that something simple was causing all SharePoint components to fail, like a configuration file or registry setting somewhere. However, with no SharePoint logs, it was difficult to narrow down what that setting was. Before going down the path of rebuilding the server, I decided to give my favorite last resort troubleshooting tool a try: Process Monitor, or procmon.

I downloaded procmon to the application server, fired it up, and configured it to filter events from the wsstracing.exe process only. I then tried starting up the SharePoint Tracing Service again and looked for clues in procmon. 

Shortly before aborting, wsstracing.exe tried to read the registry key:

 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Web Server Extensions\16.0\Location 

A quick check revealed that that key was empty on the server. I changed it back to the SharePoint install location:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\16\

Everything came back to life!  

We are not sure which of the updates that were applied actually caused this, but everything has been working correctly since fixing the registry key.

Quick summary

If it looks like everything on a SharePoint server suddenly stops working, make sure the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Web Server Extensions\16.0\Location points to the right place.

Learn more about DMC SharePoint Consulting Services.

The post SharePoint 2016 Forgets Where It’s Installed After Update appeared first on DMC, Inc..

To solve this we have to serialize the variable in the only way that we have access to: List Fields. These fields can be set and used as de facto variables. The biggest issue we face using fields in this manner is that the fields we would prefer to keep hidden will appear on the new, edit, and view forms in SharePoint.  However, in this article I’ll demonstrate an easy way to eliminate this issue as well.

First, if it is not already, turn on Content Types for the list you’ll be working with.

Next, create a field to store the variable you want to store.

Before you click create, make sure the two checkboxes at the bottom of the screen are checked. 

Without checking these boxes, the field will appear on the forms for items of this content type. However, they will still be writable, and even readable from a view if you add the field. This is exactly the behavior we want from our “variable” field.

Now write to the field as you would any item, using the Update Item action in SharePoint Designer. 

It is also a good idea to think about whether or not you will ever be in a position to read from the field before data are written to it. If this is the case, and even if it isn’t, a good practice would be to check if the field is empty before reading from it to prevent strange error cases.

Once you've done this, you now have a field which will persist between runs of the workflow but can still be seen in views if the content is added. This is also important to know because this is not a place to store sensitive information, only information not relevant to the user.

The content cannot be written to from the New Item form.

However, it can be seen in a view if configured properly. This is useful for debugging the values stored in these fields.

Next Steps:

Think of the value of implementing persistent variables in other cases:

• Allowing for multiple Contract Generations, or restrict it to a single time only with Integer and Boolean variables.
• Restrict the execution of a Reminder Workflow if conditions are met with a Boolean variable.
• Set a programmatically Created Site's new URL in a site tracking list, without letting a user change it inadvertently. Remember, these variables can still be seen by users in views!

If you'd like to learn more about DMC's Microsoft Consulting Services, click here, or if you'd like to work with DMC to implement persistent variables in your SharePoint environment, please contact us.

The post Persistent Variables in SharePoint Designer Workflows appeared first on DMC, Inc..

Step one is to set up site columns for your document. In this case, I’ve only set up a few fields, but you’re free to use as many as you like. The reason for needing a list and a document type is that, in using this solution, I’ve, for security purposes, created a list where my templates will live to prevent the inadvertent editing of a contract template.

The first thing to do is to set up two document libraries: “Contract Templates” and “Active Contracts”. 

Feel free to name these libraries as you please, but it’s important that you add the content types you’ve created to the document libraries.

Next create a contract generation list, which I’ve named “Contract List.” In this list add the site columns as well as any fields which might assist in tracking, such as an expiration date. This list will allow for easy reporting and grouping, but most importantly, if certain metadata is required content, that metadata can be enforced here, whereas it would not be possible to do so in the document creation.

Next you need to create a template. To do this you need to create a new document directly from the library; this ensures that the metadata are listed in the document information panel.

Once here, you can copy in the contract and start adding your quick parts. Wherever you want your metadata to appear, you insert a quick part. You can then test it out by modifying the metadata and opening the document.

Once the quick parts have been added, the finished product will look like this:

The last step, now that you’ve set up your libraries and templates, is to actually generate the document. For this you’ll need to create a new list workflow against the “Contract List.” In this list you must begin by copying the template from the first library to the second.

Next, you update the metadata in the newly created item to the matching data from the Contract List to the Active Contracts field.

When you open the document in the Active Contracts library you’ll see that the places where you’ve added quick parts are now being assigned by the document library’s metadata.

How can you improve this?

• Modify the workflow such that any future changes to the metadata from either the list view or the library view reflect in both lists
• Require approval in the Contract List before a contact is created
• Add an expiration reminder
• Color code the documents
• Create multiple templates, and use document metadata to determine which template to use

To learn more about DMC’s Microsoft Consulting Services click here. To learn more about working with DMC to implement your own Contract or document generation solution, please contact us.

The post Automated Contract Generation using Document Metadata In SharePoint 2013 appeared first on DMC, Inc..

The first thing we have to do is create the key fields in the list for which we want to set reminders. I’m going to assume that for most of us, the list or document library (this solution will work for both), is already established. With this being the case, I won’t go through the trouble of creating a brand new list. Instead I’ll outline, at a minimum, which fields will be required.

• Assigned To: This field should hold the user who will be notified about the impending expiration. Existing Created By fields can be used, but remember to think holistically about the solution. Sometimes that person will leave the organization, transition to a different department, or be on vacation when you need to notify them. As such, I find it best to have a separate assignment field.
• Expiration Date: This field should contain the date on which the list item or document will expire. It is also possible to use the Created By date, and calculate the expiration date on the fly, but again, thinking holistically about the situation: it is often best to be able to change this date if the expiration rules change throughout the year.

These fields are by no means exhaustive; as the workflow is built, you’ll see obvious places to add additional fields to make the solution more customizable. In fact, at the end of this article I’ll give a list of possible improvements to customize the workflow to your organization and improve your workflow skills.

Moving on to the workflow itself, the biggest thing to understand is how Loops and Parallel blocks work. It is entirely possible to set a workflow with two steps: wait until the expiration date, and then email the assigned user. That looks like this:

However, what you’ll find is that this won’t service the needs of most organizations. If a document changes, or is approved before the expiration date, the workflow won’t be able to reflect this and will still notify the user on the original expiration date. As such, the first thing we need to do is put the “wait” command into a loop.

This means that each time we get to the expiration date, the loop will start over again. However, this will cause a major issue when we reach the expiration date, and the assigned user will get a massive flood of emails. To avoid this, set the looping condition to "Yes" after reaching the date. 

Now, in order to take into consideration any changes that happen we have to add a parallel block to our loop. Normally each step occurs in sequence, Step A before Step B and so on.  When these steps are set to run in parallel, Step A and Step B occur at the same time. Before Step C occurs, Step A and B must both complete. However, in our case, we need to move on to Step C when either A or B occurs. To set this, create a Boolean variable and set it to "yes". Then right click the parallel block and select Advanced Properties.  There is only one property; set it to a new variable.

Now with this property set, create a second block where we will wait for a change in the item. Now the workflow will wait for either a change in the property or a change in the item. If it detects a change in the item, the whole loop starts over again, this can then take into consideration any changes made in the expiration date. 

With that you have a working and functional expiration date reminder. Here are a list of additional modifications we’ve used with clients in the past that you can try to help spruce up the reminders.

• Send a notification two weeks before the expiration date.
• Set the notification interval from a field in the item.
• Send notifications after the expiration date.
• Set an escalation contact if the item is overdue that will be emailed automatically.
• Set multiple people to be assigned the same task, list, or document.

As always if you’re interested in us implementing an expiration workflow for your SharePoint site, or need help with other SharePoint problems, please read more about DMC’s Microsoft Consulting Services.

The post Building Content Expiration Reminders in SharePoint 2013 appeared first on DMC, Inc..

There is one key difference, which if you do not complete, your color code icon will not display. The new step is to change the list web part to a style of Basic Table instead of Default.  Follow these simple updated steps and you will be color coding lists on Office 365 in no time!
For a list of available colors, click here

Watch the video tutorial:

• Step 1 – Create a “Status Indicator” column in your list. This column can either be calculated using other data within the list or selected manually upon creation.

Example:

=IF(OR(Status=”Not Started”,Status=”Deferred”),”Yellow”,IF(OR(Status=”In Progress”,Status=”Complete”),”Green”,IF(Status=”Waiting on Someone Else”,”Red”)))

• Step 2 – Create a “Status” column that is a calculated value. The output is a single line of text. Copy and paste this into the calculated field:

=”<DIV style=’font-weight:bold; font-size:50px;margin-top:-30px; color:”&[Status Indicator]&”;’>•</DIV>”

• Step 3 – Add the list to your web part or wiki page
• Step 4 – Edit the web part to show the Status column and change the Style to Basic Table
• Step 5 – Add a Content Editor Web Part directly underneath the List/Task Web Part
• Step 6 – In 2010 and 2013, you will need to load the below code to a location on your site in a text file and point the content editor to the location. In 2007, you can copy and paste the below code into the content editor settings box itself.

<script type="text/javascript">
  //
  // Text to HTML
  //
  var theTDs = document.getElementsByTagName("TD");
  var i = 0;
  var TDContent = " ";
  while (i < theTDs.length) {
    try {
      TDContent = theTDs[i].innerText || theTDs[i].textContent;
      if ((TDContent.indexOf("<DIV") == 0) && (TDContent.indexOf("</DIV>") >= 0)) {
        theTDs[i].innerHTML = TDContent;
      }
    } catch (err) {}
    i = i + 1;
  }
  //
  // ExpGroupRenderData overwrites the default SharePoint function
  // This part is needed for collapsed groupings
  //
  function ExpGroupRenderData(htmlToRender, groupName, isLoaded) {
    var tbody = document.getElementById("tbod" + groupName + "_");
    var wrapDiv = document.createElement("DIV");
    wrapDiv.innerHTML = "<TABLE><TBODY id=\"tbod" + groupName + "_\" isLoaded=\"" + isLoaded + "\">" + htmlToRender + "</TBODY></TABLE>";
    var theTBODYTDs = wrapDiv.getElementsByTagName("TD");
    var j = 0;
    var TDContent = " ";
    while (j < theTBODYTDs.length) {
      try {
        TDContent = theTBODYTDs[j].innerText || theTBODYTDs[j].textContent;
        if ((TDContent.indexOf("<DIV") == 0) && (TDContent.indexOf("</DIV>") >= 0)) {
          theTBODYTDs[j].innerHTML = TDContent;
        }
      } catch (err) {}
      j = j + 1;
    }
    tbody.parentNode.replaceChild(wrapDiv.firstChild.firstChild, tbody);
  }
</script>

<script type="text/javascript">
  //
  // Text to HTML
  //
  var theTDs = document.getElementsByTagName("TD");
  var i = 0;
  var TDContent = " ";
  while (i < theTDs.length) {
    try {
      TDContent = theTDs[i].innerText || theTDs[i].textContent;
      if ((TDContent.indexOf("<DIV") == 0) && (TDContent.indexOf("</DIV>") >= 0)) {
        theTDs[i].innerHTML = TDContent;
      }
    } catch (err) {}
    i = i + 1;
  }
  //
  // ExpGroupRenderData overwrites the default SharePoint function
  // This part is needed for collapsed groupings
  //
  function ExpGroupRenderData(htmlToRender, groupName, isLoaded) {
    var tbody = document.getElementById("tbod" + groupName + "_");
    var wrapDiv = document.createElement("DIV");
    wrapDiv.innerHTML = "<TABLE><TBODY id=\"tbod" + groupName + "_\" isLoaded=\"" + isLoaded + "\">" + htmlToRender + "</TBODY></TABLE>";
    var theTBODYTDs = wrapDiv.getElementsByTagName("TD");
    var j = 0;
    var TDContent = " ";
    while (j < theTBODYTDs.length) {
      try {
        TDContent = theTBODYTDs[j].innerText || theTBODYTDs[j].textContent;
        if ((TDContent.indexOf("<DIV") == 0) && (TDContent.indexOf("</DIV>") >= 0)) {
          theTBODYTDs[j].innerHTML = TDContent;
        }
      } catch (err) {}
      j = j + 1;
    }
    tbody.parentNode.replaceChild(wrapDiv.firstChild.firstChild, tbody);
  }
</script>

Contact our team today to get started on your next SharePoint project and learn more about our SharePoint expertise. 

The post Color Coding Lists in SharePoint 2013, 2016, or Office 365 appeared first on DMC, Inc..

The majority of the issues that I’ve fixed have been startup related. Usually, if it’s an error while already inside of Outlook, it’s because you lost the network connection mid-session or your .ost file (outlook mail profile) temporarily became inaccessible. A restart of Outlook usually will fix this. However, it’s the Outlook start-up issues that plague and ANNOY us the most, and a simple reboot of your computer, doesn’t always fix these issues. Nonetheless, definitely try restarting your computer first before trying anything below!

A couple of side notes: While this is more specific to Outlook 2013 running on Windows 8, most of these fixes apply to the older versions as well. Also, these are very specific fixes to the problems I’ve encountered. This blog does not include the obvious, time consuming, and perhaps more risky fixes of completely uninstalling/repairing Outlook, running a scan on your OST file or deleting and recreating your profile from scratch.

Here are some of the most common errors I’ve encountered since I’ve been at DMC:

Problem One: Outlook Not Responding

When attempting to start Outlook, the splash screen comes up; however, your mouse cursor just spins and when clicking anywhere on the screen, it will tell you “Outlook is Not Responding.” Eventually, if you wait long enough, you may get an error that tells you it will close and send an error report to Microsoft. Otherwise, the only thing you can do is kill the outlook.exe process in Task Manager.

This is most likely an add-in issue. Outlook opens checked add-ins (such as CRM, GoToMeeting, etc.) every time it starts. If one of those plug-ins becomes corrupt, your Outlook application will hang.

1. Open Outlook in Safe Mode. There are two ways to do this.
   1. While holding CTRL, click the Outlook shortcut until it prompts you to open in safe mode.
   2. Type “Outlook /safe” in the Windows Start Menu – Run Application.
2. Once in Outlook, open the File Menu, click Options, Add-Ins.
3. Select COM Add-ins and click GO
4. Clear out all add-in in the list (this disables the Add-In’s) and click OK.
5. Restart Outlook
6. If it opens successfully, then you know it was an add-in that was the problem. Follow steps 2-4 above and enable each add-in one at a time (remembering to restart Outlook after each one) to find out which one was the culprit. Once you nail down which add-in it is, reinstall the add-in software. You may need to go to the third party application’s software for tips on doing this.

Problem Two: Outlook hangs on “Loading Profile”

This is probably the most common Outlook issue. When attempting to open Outlook, the splash screen stays static with the status “Loading Profile”. You can try the steps above to fix it; however, it most likely is an issue with a driver or application and not an add-in. So far, I’ve seen two applications/drivers that have been the culprit. The first is Abbyy PDF Transformer, a built-in PDF creator that installs by default with most Epson Scanners. Basically, this comes with the software suite that Epson printers/scanners will install along with the printer driver. The fix here is to simply remove the Abbyy software from your computer if you have it. Or, the second is Built in Graphics Card Driver. You would need to look up your graphics card model and go to the graphic card’s website to find the latest driver. For example, www.nvidia.com for NVidia drivers. If you’ve done this, the fix that I think will take care of this issue involves disabling your hardware acceleration. Follow the steps below to fix the problem. As a reminder, if you are not comfortable working in the registry, always back it up before making any changes.

1. Run regedit (Win + R ; “regedit”)
2. Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Common
3. Create a New Key and name it “Graphics”
4. Select Graphics, right-click on the right panel and create a New DWORD (32-bit) Value and name itDisableHardwareAcceleration.
5. Enter Value data as 1

Try to run Outlook 2013 normally now.

Problem Three: Outlook and Lync cannot be run at the same time

When attempting to start Outlook, with Microsoft Lync open in the background, you receive an error, “cannot open the Outlook window. The set of folders cannot be opened. The information store could not be opened”. In both instances that I’ve seen, you can temporally get around this by ending both the Outlook.exe and Lync.exe processes. Then, start Outlook first. Next, open Lync. While you may still get the error above, both programs will function correctly after closing the error. I’ve seen this twice now, and both times the issue required a different procedure to fix it. You may ultimately need to completely uninstall Office 2013 to fix the problem; however, the (hopefully) quick fix here is to just uninstall Lync and reinstall it. Lync is most likely bundled in your Office 2013 suite, so to remove it, you must go to the Control Panel – Programs & Features and click on “Change” to your Microsoft Office 2013 install. Click “Add or Remove Features” and place a red box (not available) next to “Lync.” Click continue, and then reboot your computer. To reinstall, follow the exact same process, except change the Lync status from “not available” to “run from my computer.” Then attempt to start both Lync and Outlook, and hopefully your error will go away. The other option, if that does not work, is to install Lync Basic, which runs as a separate program (links below). Make sure to remove Lync as described above before reinstalling it.
32 Bit 
64 Bit

Obviously, there are plenty of other Outlook 2013 annoyances/bugs that I could write about here, but that would take us up until Christmas….. of 2015 to write. I tried to mention the ones that I’ve experienced most frequently since I’ve started to support Outlook at DMC over the last 5 months. My hope is that someone will stumble upon this blog, and it will help them fix one of the problems above.

Contact us today for more Office 365 solutions. Learn more about our Digital Workplace Solutions team and service offerings.

The post Solutions For Common Problems in Outlook 2013 appeared first on DMC, Inc..

In SharePoint 2007 and 2010, you could get around this by customizing the task URL in a notification email, or by having users use the "Open this Task" feature of the Outlook client. Unfortunately, neither of these options work with 2013 workflow tasks. So I came up with a quick little trick to get around the issue. It is just a custom display form that secretly redirects to the EditForm. This code is tested with SharePoint 2013 and Office 365 / SharePoint Online.

One Click Approval for SharePoint 2013 Tasks:

1. Open the task list in SharePoint Designer and create a new List Form  

   

    

2. In the Create New List Form window, set the Filename as “RedirectToEditForm”, the type as Display, and check “Set as the default for the selected type”. Also pick your Workflow Task content type.

   

3. Open the Form in Designer so that the code is displayed, then click the “Advanced Mode” button in the ribbon bar. This will open the entire page for edits.

   

4. Insert the following javascript directly after the line <asp:Content ContentPlaceHolderId="PlaceHolderMain" runat="server"> (this is around line 15)

   
    <script type="text/javascript">
       <!--
       var origUrl = window.location.toString();
       var editUrl = origUrl.replace("RedirectToEditForm","EditForm");
       window.location = editUrl;
       //-->
   </script>
    

5. Save the form, accepting the change from the site definition.

That is it! Now whenever someone opens a task, the EditForm is automatically displayed and only one click is needed to approve or reject the task. The redirection should occur before the first form renders so end users won’t notice what is going on.

Contact Us

For more tips and tricks, check out some of our other DMC SharePoint Blogs.

For help on implementing your own workflow processes with SharePoint, please Contact Us. We would welcome the opportunity to make your workflow project successful.

Learn more about DMC's SharePoint workflow services.

The post Always Open SharePoint 2013 Tasks in Edit Mode appeared first on DMC, Inc..

In previous versions of SharePoint, creating sites from a workflow required deploying custom actions. However, with the new Call HTTP Web Service action in SharePoint 2013, it is possible to apply some tricks and achieve the same result using only SharePoint Designer.

Creating a new site using only 2013 SharePoint Designer

Follow the tutorial below to deploy a “no-code” site creation workflow to your on-premise or SharePoint Online / Office 365 environment.

The steps look technical, but it is not necessary to understand all the details to make it work.

1. Create a new SharePoint 2013 workflow. It is best to create this as a list workflow.
   
   For example, you could have the workflow create a new site every time a new customer is added to a customer list.

2. Create the following string variables:

• RequestURL – set this to the following: https://<parent_site_url>/_api/web/webinfos/add (replace <parent_site_url> with the URL where you want to create the subsite):

• Title – the title of the new site. This could come from the list item.

• Description – description of the new site.

• SiteURL – URL stub of the new site. Your new site will be created at https://<parent_site_url>/<SiteUrl>/

• SiteTemplate – GUID of the site template. To use the default team template, set this to 'sts'. To use a custom template, see the bottom of this post.

3. Build the following dictionary variables: (using the Build Dictionary action).

There are four dictionaries; you should build them in the order below.

Note that each entry within a dictionary is in the form of Name = Value.

You must set the correct ‘Type’ for each of these Name-Value pairs, otherwise the action will not work.

requestHeaders

metadata

parameters (Screenshot for this one is below. Language 1033 is for English)

requestDictionary

These dictionary definitions come from the SharePoint REST API.

See the end of this MSDN page which includes a similar example in JavaScript.

4. Publish the Workflow and exit SharePoint Designer.

5. Enable App Permissions by going to Site->Site Settings->Site Actions->Site Features.
   
   Find the feature "Workflows can use app permissions" and click Activate.

6. Get the App Identifier. Goto the Site->Site Settings->App Permissions.
   
   Copy everything between the last | and the first @.

7. Set App Permissions.
   
   Append /_layouts/15/appinv.aspx to your site URL to visit the hidden App Permissions page.
   
   Enter the App ID from above and click lookup.
   
   Then, enter the following permission Request XML.
   
   Click Create, and when prompted, Trust It.
   
   This will give your workflow full control over the entire site collection.

<AppPermissionRequests><AppPermissionRequest Scope=”http://sharepoint/content/sitecollection” Right=”FullControl”/></AppPermissionRequests>

8. Create an App Step.
   
   Re-open the workflow in SharePoint designer and you should see that "App Step" is now available.
   
   Add an App Step at the end of the workflow.

9. Add the Call HTTP Web Service Action within the App Step.
   
   Right-click on the action and set the properties as shown below.
   
   Create the new variable ResponseContent.

10. Publish the workflow a final time.
    
    Run your workflow and your site should be created at the URL you defined above.
    
    Once you've successfully tested it, you can modify the rest of the workflow to include the correct title, add approval tasks, etc.

Finding the SiteTemplate GUID

The quickest way to get the GUID of a site template is to start creating a new site. When prompted to select the template open the “Custom” tab so that your template is shown. Press F12 in IE to open the developer bar and search for the template name.

You want the option value that looks like {84659096-89AD-4CC4-B1E2-5048DE9EDA46}#ProjectSiteTemplate.

Troubleshooting

If you have trouble making the HTTP call work, I recommend the following troubleshooting tactics:

1. Log the RequestURL immediately before you make the HTTP request.

2. Log the ResponseCode immediately after the HTTP request.

3. Email yourself the ReponseContent. (Note: you must email it to yourself, as the ResponseContent is usually too long for the workflow history list).

Learn more about DMC’s SharePoint Workflow services.

Contact Us for help on implementing your own workflow processes with SharePoint. 

The post Create Site From Template using SharePoint 2013 Workflow appeared first on DMC, Inc..