Thursday, March 26, 2009
Modify a Links List with SharePoint Designer
In this 5 minute screencast, Lee Reed shows how to modify a links list by removing those annoying little tags before each of the headings of an expanding and contracting list in a web part. Nice going, Lee.
Author: Lee Reed ThoughtBridge, Atlanta, GA
Lee Reed is an expert in collaboration and user adoption on the Microsoft SharePoint 2007 platform. His consulting with companies large and small throughout the East Coast has resulted in many successful collaboration environments and increased user adoption.
Lee is currently the Director of Business Process and SharePoint Education for Thoughtbridge, a Microsoft Gold Partner focused exclusively on the Microsoft SharePoint 2007 platform.
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Good stuff. Once converted to XSLT Data View, the web parts become so customizable.
Great tip, Lee. Thanks for sharing.
Lee, I love your posts on how to do things in Designer rather than avoiding it. This one was great. Hope you’ll keep the examples coming.
Thank you.
Lee, Great idea for taking the fear out of ‘convert to data view’. Virtual beer flowing in your direction. Thanks!
Common request, I get this one a lot too. Great video Lee, thank you.
I wish the Links List just had more OOTB View options to toggle the group header display. SharePoint V 14 maybe?
If you don’t have SPD this can be done with the following JQuery script. Change the regular expression search to the Label to remove.
function handleError() {
return true;
}
$(function() {
window.onerror = handleError;
$(”td.ms-gb”).each(function () { $(this).html($(this).html().replace(/\s: /,”")); });
$(”td.ms-gb”).find(”a”).each( function() {
if ($(this).text().search(/Category/)>-1) {
$(this).text(”");
}
});
});
I have implemented this solution on a standard custom list and it worked exactly as advertised. However, one word of caution for those that attempt to do this if you need to make connections with another webpart. It appears to interfere with your ability to do so through Designer or the browser afterwards.
I am a little puzzled by advocating Designer as a tool for “end users”. Obviously if you are a Sharepoint admin or developer you will have access to and knowledge about how to use Designer but in my organization we do not allow “end users” to use Designer.
John – There are different levels of End Users. At EndUserSharePoint.com we define an End User as an Information Workser, Site Manqager or Site Collection Manager. These are people who do not have access to the server platform.
If your definition of End User is restricted to Information Worker, then, yes, we would not advocate the use of SPD at that level.
Hope that clarifies.
Mark
First, I want to thank all of you for your comments on the video(s). At EUSP we feed on, and respond to, your feedback. This fuels our passion to contribute something meaningful to the interweb regarding SP. Please keep feedbacking!
Now, I understand, and share, John Walton’s mixed feelings about giving end users access to SPD. We all have concerns about providing this tool to people who are unprepared to wield its power. These concerns are usually voiced as, “end users don’t understand the power SPD has and they can kill a site all too easily.” It’s all too true.
Unfortunately, SPD is an “all or nothing” type of tool. You either have Dr. Evil-type power or you have none at all. I will guarantee you, though, that the end user wielding the power has NO desire to blow up a site and will actually be more cautious in its use than you (or I) are.
I suggest that an answer to this dilemma is quite simple: identify trusted ‘power users’, educate them regarding the PROPER use of SPD in your environment and provide them a sandbox within which to learn. You would be surprised at how quickly that ‘novice’ user can turn out amazing feats of SharePoint dexterity after a just a little SPD education. (I’ve seen it happen time and time again.) Heck, we were ALL novices at this stuff not all that long ago, weren’t we? Give them a chance, albeit with a watchful eye. What’s that saying? Trust…but verify?
Managing SPD’s use in your environment is a little like that feeling you get when you balance only on the back two legs of your chair. It’s a little scary, and a little exciting, all at the same time….as the best things in life often are.
Here’s a great post from the SharePoint Designer team that covers locking down users abilities to use SPD in your environment.
http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepointdesigner/archive/2008/11/25/locking-down-sharepoint-designer.aspx
What would happen in your environment if users could download SharePoint Designer for Free? Has the cost of the tool been THE thing keeping your people from utilizing SPD in your environment? If so, you better read the article…and hang on.