Building Data-Driven SharePoint^® Applications with SharePoint^® Designer 2007: Hands-On

What is this course about?

This course provides extensive hands-on experience creating and customizing SharePoint applications with SharePoint Designer 2007. You acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to design site structure, define content layout, automate business processes, and integrate various data sources into your SharePoint environment.

Who will benefit from this course?

This course is valuable for those working in a SharePoint environment who need to provide easily developed business solutions without having to write code.

What background do I need?

A working knowledge of Microsoft Windows, Office, the Web and SharePoint technologies is helpful. Basic Web development experience is not required.

Do I need programming experience in order to take this course?

No, programming experience is not required for this course. The course covers customizing SharePoint 2007 sites with SharePoint Designer 2007.

What is SharePoint?

SharePoint is a technology platform that currently consists of three components: Windows SharePoint Services, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (previously SharePoint Portal Server 2003) and SharePoint Designer 2007 (previously FrontPage 2003).

What is Windows SharePoint Services?

Windows SharePoint Services, a component of Windows Server 2003, provides team services to Office System and other applications. Windows SharePoint Services allows teams to build Web sites where they can share information and collaborate on documents in real time, whether team members are in the next office or in another country. SharePoint sites are custom built using Web Parts and ASP.NET components and act as centralized hubs where team members can work together on documents and other business-critical tasks in a seamless manner. The open access available via SharePoint has the potential to create greater and more productive team communication while producing vital documentation faster than traditional collaborative methods such as e-mail.

What is MOSS 2007?

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, or MOSS 2007, extends the capabilities of WSS. It allows for enhanced user management capabilities, network-wide searching, personalized portals and includes a CMS (Content Management System).

What is the difference between MOSS 2007 and WSS?

Windows SharePoint Services is ideal for a small to mid-size organization and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 is appropriate for large, complex organizations. However, WSS is built into MOSS 2007. WSS is the foundation for a series of Microsoft products such as Project Server, Team Foundation Server, Portfolio Server and MOSS 2007.

What is SharePoint Designer 2007?

SharePoint Designer 2007 is a visual design tool that allows for customization of SharePoint 2007 sites and applications without having to write code.

Is SharePoint Designer 2007 compatible with SharePoint Foundation or SharePoint Server 2010?

No. SharePoint Designer can only be used to customized SharePoint 2007 sites. If your organization is deploying SharePoint 2010 technologies you will need to use SharePoint Designer 2010 to customize your SharePoint 2010 sites.

Which version of Windows SharePoint Services is used in this course?

In this course, you use Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.

Is this course applicable to Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 and SharePoint Portal Server 2003?

No. This course uses features only available in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.

How much time is spent on each topic?

What kind of exercises does this course offer?

Approximately 40 percent of class time is devoted to hands-on exercises, allowing you to develop your skills with SharePoint Designer. Exercises include:

• Creating Master and Content pages
• Defining Web Part zones and content regions
• Presenting and updating data within a form view
• Filtering related data in a master detail relationship
• Implementing business processes with custom workflows
• Utilizing the built-in Three-State workflow
• Styling Web content with Cascading Style Sheets and XSL
• Restoring site backups

How does this course differ from other Learning Tree SharePoint courses?

This course uses SharePoint Designer but focuses more on controlling the functionality of SharePoint sites by working with data, navigation and workflow. Course 955 is not a programming or graphic design course, but shows what a developer can accomplish with the drag and drop designers and wizards in SharePoint Designer. Course 538, SharePoint^® 2007 Technologies: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction, lays the foundation for Learning Tree's SharePoint curriculum and provides participants with the end user skills to effectively create, manage and use SharePoint sites. Course 953, Branding and Customizing Sites with SharePoint^® Designer 2007: Hands-On, targets those with a background in graphic arts or Web design who are interested in learning how to customize the appearance of their SharePoint sites. Course 515, Programming SharePoint^® 2007 Applications with .NET: Hands-On, offers .NET developers the skills to programmatically customize any aspect of SharePoint's functionality using the SharePoint object model.

If you customize your SharePoint site through the browser, then you may be interested in Course 538. If you use SharePoint Designer, you should consider taking Course 953 or 955. Course 515 is for those who use code to program their SharePoint site.

Does this course include the new features available in SharePoint 2010?

No, this course does not cover the new features in SharePoint 2010. However, we offer the following SharePoint 2010 courses:

• 1500, SharePoint® 2010 New Features Overview 
• 1501, SharePoint® 2010 Technologies: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction 
• 1505, Building Applications and Workflows with SharePoint® Designer 2010: Hands-On 
• 1510, Administering SharePoint® Server 2010: Hands-On 
• 2615, Programming SharePoint® 2010 Applications with .NET: Hands-On 
• 957, SharePoint® Governance: Best Practices for Managing SharePoint® Environments 
• 919, SharePoint® for Project Management 

How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses?

Learning Tree offers a number of courses that will help you expand upon the knowledge gained in this course and further your skills in several key areas. Those courses include:

• 522, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for Web Page Development: Hands-On 
• 512, ASP.NET WebForms: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction 
• 340, Project Management for Software Development 
• 315, Developing User Requirements: The Key to Project Success 
• 312, Software Quality Assurance: Delivering Consistent Quality 
• 489, JavaScript for Web Development: Hands-On 
• 515, Programming SharePoint® 2007 Applications with .NET: Hands-On