WSS3.0 Creating a new theme

Copy the chosen theme in the themes folder in 12 Hive and rename folder to new theme name

"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\TEMPLATE\THEMES"



In your new theme folder, rename OLDNAME.INF file to NEWNAME.INF (Wheat to LewTek) Ensure its upper case!

1. Open NEWNAME.INF with notepad or your favorite text editor (LEWTEK.INF)
2. Change the value of title under [info] from Oldname to Newname.
3. Change all values under [titles] from Oldname to Newname.

Make theme available in sharepoint

Next we need to edit this file so that we can actually choose our newly created theme. This will make it available in the list of themes on the Site Theme page.

1. Open SPTHEMES.xml in notepad or any other text editor for editing. It is located in the following directory:
   • "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\TEMPLATE\LAYOUTS\1033\SPTHEMES.XML"
2. Next you need to add your new template. Add the following lines under the tag (you may find it easier to just copy and paste the tags for an existing theme, and then changing it):

<Templates>
<TemplateID>LewTek</TemplateID>
<DisplayName>LewTek</DisplayName>
<Description>Type a description for your new theme.</Description>
<Thumbnail>images/thlewtek.gif</Thumbnail>
<Preview>images/thlewtek.gif</Preview>
</Templates>

Preview Thumbnail

1. The thumbnail and preview tag reference an image. This image does not exist yet and you’ll need to create it. Once your theme is complete, you can take a screenshot of it and then resize it.
   • This will be the preview image on the Site Theme page.
   • Ensure that the size of the image is 375 x 231 pixels.
   • Once you create the image, place it in the following directory:
     • "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\TEMPLATE\IMAGES"
       
       
2. Now if you navigate back to the Site Theme page and refresh it – you’ll see your custom theme available to apply to the site. You’re done!
   
   

Theme Editing Tips

• The file theme.css in your theme folder contains all of your styles
  • Edit this style sheet to make changes to your theme’s look – change the colors, change the font, etc...
• Images in your theme folder can be edited / replaced.
• After making any changes to your theme, reset IIS prior to reapplying the theme.
  • The theme is stored in the database when you apply it, so you must refresh.
  • You reset IIS by Start > Run: iisreset
    
• Make incremental backups of your Theme folder as you are working. Somewhere along the way you WILL mess up and need to revert.

WSS3.0: Master Pages vs Themes

Master Pages

• Can totally change the look of a site.
• Can hide SharePoint components that you don't want to use.
• Will allow you to alter the layout of the page, in addition to changing the colors and images used in the site.
• Will not affect _layouts pages. You will need to use a workaround. Application pages will not be changed.
  

Themes

• Can re-skin the layout of a site to use different images and colors.
• Can only hide SharePoint components that can be controlled through hiding it in the CSS (display: none set on a class/ID).
• Affects _layouts pages. But you will need to apply theme to each subsite individually.
  
• Can be used as an alternate CSS file application method, similar to alternate CSS setting in MOSS sites.
• Are installed on the web server unless you customize the file.

Sharepoint: Tips

To bring up a webpart toolbar pane on the right side of any page in sharepoint add:

ToolPaneView=2 to the end of the URL

e.g. http://sharepoint/default.aspx?ToolPaneView=2

ToolPaneView=3

brings up the search dialog

Excel: Conditional Formatting

While using Excel to gather business requirements we often have repeated cells of data. To make things easier to scan and read we can use conditional formatting to change the look of repeated cells.

For example, the following data would be hard to read when there are hundreds of columns and thousands of rows:

Whereas the following data is much easier to scan and read:

To create this effect, in Conditional Formatting create a formatting rule where
Format values where this formula is true:
=(A2=A1)

Text Format:
Font Color = Grey

Sysadmin: AT scheduling command

A schedule to run a batch file at 0:30 AM each day Monday to Sunday.

at 00:30 /every:M,T,W,Th,F,S,Su "e:\Constant_bak.bat"

Inside batch file, it copies a file and backs it up.

copy \\ebnews99\e$\constants.asp \\ebnews99\e$\constants_bak.asp

Sysadmin: SORT command

Handy command line utility to sort plaintext file content and output in alphanumeric order.

The "/+1" defines at which character from the beginning of a new line should the utility start ordering from.

/t is the temporary storage location used to processed the data, useful if the data exceeds available memory

/c is the output file location

sort /+1 source.txt /t c:\temp\tempstorage.txt /o c:\temp\sorted.txt

Sysadmin: Windows XP/2000 Command List

Here's the ultimate Windows XP/2000 command list that will make any Linux user feel at home at the command prompt. A lot of these commands are intended for administrating a network, but they are great for savvy home users as well. We even listed which OS you need for these commands.

• at (windows XP/2000)
  Scheduling utility.


• bootcfg (XP only) This utility allows you to set up your boot options, such as your default OS and other loading options.


• cacls (XP, 2000, & NT4.0) Changes the ACLs (security Settings) of files and folders. Very similar to chmod in Linux.


• comp (XP & 2000) This utility is very similar to diff in Linux. Use the /? switch to get examples of command usage.


• contig (works with NT4.0 and newer) A great defrag utility for NTFS partitions.


• control (XP only) - unpublished!
  Allows you to launch control panel applets from the command line.

control userpasswords2, for example will launch a helpful local user admin utility.

• defrag (XP only - NT4.0 and Win2k use contig) Yes, XP comes with a command line disk defrag utility. If you are running Win2k or NT4.0 there is still hope. Contig is a free defrag program that I describe on the defrag page.


• diskpart (XP only) Use this command to manage your disk partitions. This is the text version for the GUI Disk Manager.


• driverquery (XP only) Produces a list of drivers, their properties, and their versions. Great for computer documentation.


• eudcedit (XP only) -

unpublished!
Private Character editor. Yes with this program built into Windows XP you can create your own font!

• findstr
  Find String - similar to Linux's Grep.


• fsutil (XP only) - unpublished!
  This is a utility with a lot of capability. Come back soon for great examples.


• getmac (XP & 2000) This command gets the Media Access Control (MAC) address of your network cards.


• gpresult (XP & 2000) This generates a summary of the user settings and computer group policy settings.


• gpupdate (XP only) Use this utility to manually apply computer and user policy from your windows 2000 (or newer) domain.


• ipconfig (XP, 2000 & NT4.0) This handy tool displays IP settings of the current computer and much more.


• MMC (XP, 2000 & NT4.0) - Microsoft Management Console This is the master tool for Windows, it is the main interface in which all other tools use starting primarily in Windows 2000 and newer systems.


• more Utility used to display text output one screen at a time. Ex. more c:\windows\win.ini


• msconfig (XP only) The ultimate tool to change the services and utilities that start when your Windows machine boots up. You can also copy the executable from XP and use it in Win2k.


• msinfo32 (XP &smp; 2000) An awesome diagnostic tool. With it you can get a list of running processes, including the residing path of the executable (great for manually removing malware) and get detailed information about hardware and system diagnostics.


• narrator (XP only) Turns on the system narrator (can also be found in accessibility options in control panel). Will will allow your computer to dictate text to you.


• netsh (XP & 2000) A network configuration tool console. At the 'netsh>' prompt, use the '?' to list the available commands and type "exit" to get back to a command prompt.


• netstat (XP) A local network port tool - try netstat -ano.


• nslookup (all) A DNS name resolution tool.


• openfiles (XP Only)
  Allows an administrator to display or disconnect open files in XP professional. Type "openfiles /?" for a list of possible parameters.


• Pathping (XP & 2000) A cross between the ping and traceroute utilities. Who needs Neotrace when you can use this? Type "pathping " and watch it go.


• recover (XP & 2000) This command can recover readable information from a damaged disk and is very easy to use.


• reg (XP & 2000) A console registry tool, great for scripting Registry edits.


• sc (XP & 2000) A command line utility called the Service Controller. A power tool to make service changes via a logon/logoff or startup/shutdown script.


• schtasks (XP only) A newer version of the AT command. This allows an administrator to schedule and manage scheduled tasks on a local and remote machines.


• secedit (XP & 2000) Use this utility to manually apply computer and user policy from your windows 2000 (or newer) domain. Example to update the machine policy: secedit /refreshpolicy machine_policy /enforce To view help on this, just type secedit. NOTE: In Windows XP SP1 and news, this command is superceded by: gpupdate /force


• sfc (XP & 2000) The system file checker scans important system files and replaces the ones you (or your applications) hacked beyond repair with the real, official Microsoft versions.


• shutdown (XP & 2000) With this tool, You can shut down or restart your own computer, or an administrator can shut down or restart a remote computer.


• sigverif (XP only) Microsoft has created driver signatures. A signed driver is Microsoft tested and approved. With the sigverif tool you can have all driver files analyzed to verify that they are digitally signed. Just type 'sigverif' at the command prompt.


• systeminfo (XP only) Basic system configuration information, such as the system type, the processor type, time zone, virtual memory settings, system uptime, and much more. This program is great for creating an inventory of computers on your network.


• sysedit (XP/2000) System Configuration File Editor. An old tool that was very handy for the Windows 9X days. msconfig is what you want to use now.


• tasklist (XP pro only) Tasklist is the command console equivalent to the task manager in windows. It is a must have when fighting scumware and viruses. Try the command: tasklist /svc to view the memory resources your services take up.


• taskkill (XP only) Taskkill contains the rest of the task manager functionality. It allows you to kill those unneeded or locked up applications.


• tree (XP & 2000) An amazing experience everyone should try! This command will provide a 'family tree' style display of the drive/folder you specify.


• WMIC (XP & 2000) Windows Management Instrumentation Command tool. This allows you to pull an amazing amount of low-level system information from a command line scripting interface.

Of course this list in note exhaustive. We wanted to focus on tools that are particularly helpful that everyone would use. For the official list, please visit: Microsoft Windows XP Pro Command Reference

Sysadmin: CCMexec.exe kills my pc

Since moving to a different floor at work, my PC has been going berserk. At around 10:30AM everyday the disk would thrash and run out of control. At first I thought it was the corporate virus scanner throwing a hissy-fit but downloading filemon.exe from sysinternal shows that my pc has been overtaken by this rather annoying executable - CCMEXEC.EXE.

A quick google around later, I found out that this file is used by Microsofts SMS service. Apparently used by the SMS host to deploy software and patches to desktop pc's across the corporate network. Basically another big brother tool from M$.

Killing this executable cured my PC from its spastic habits but I'll need to investigate more as to why it only runs on my PC and only at 10:30AM each day!! It is basically sucking the life force out of my HD causing it to wear and will probably make it sucidal in the end.

TSQL: CASE statements example

select top 500 
a.SarID, 
a.Createdate as CreatedDate, 
a.ApprovedDate, 
a.CompletedDate,
CASE a.status 
WHEN 'C' THEN 'COMPLETED'
WHEN 'R' THEN 'REJECTED'
WHEN 'A' THEN 'APPROVED'
WHEN 'L' THEN 'LODGED'
WHEN 'X' THEN 'X'
WHEN 'P' THEN 'P'
ELSE 'Unknown'
END as RequestStatus, 
(select fname + ' ' + sname from intranetwarehouse..staffdetails where id = a.personid) as LodgeFor, 
a.createdby as LodgeByUsername,
a.approvedby as ApprovedByUsername,
(select fname + ' ' + sname from intranetwarehouse..staffdetails where id = a.approverid) as ApproverName,
e.name as SystemName,
CASE e.status 
WHEN 'I' THEN 'Inactive'
WHEN 'A' THEN 'Active'
ELSE 'Unknown'
END as isSystemActive,
d.name as ApplicationName,
CASE d.status 
WHEN 'I' THEN 'Inactive'
WHEN 'A' THEN 'Active'
ELSE 'Unknown'
END as isApplicationActive,
c.name as OptionName,
CASE c.status 
WHEN 'I' THEN 'Inactive'
WHEN 'A' THEN 'Active'
ELSE 'Unknown'
END as isOptionActive,
CASE b.status 
WHEN 'P' THEN 'PENDING'
WHEN 'A' THEN 'APPROVED'
WHEN 'R' THEN 'REJECTED'
WHEN 'L' THEN 'LODGED'
ELSE 'Unknown'
END as OptionApprovalStatus,
a.Comment
from ittservice..sar as a, ittservice..optionaccessrequests as b, ittservice..options as c, ittservice..applications as d, ittservice..systems as e
where a.sarid = b.sarid
and b.optionid = c.optionid
and c.applicationid = d.applicationid
and d.systemid = e.systemid
and year(a.createdate) = '2008'
order by a.sarid