Pop Up Form For Content Types And Custom Forms

I had a blog post earlier about how to link directly to the new form page for multiple content types, but how do we get that nice SharePoint pop up window that our users are used to seeing?  In my scenario I had created custom InfoPath 2010 forms for each of my content types in my SharePoint 2010 list.  This tutorial provides the syntax to make your links POP!  This is very simple, but is extremely handy if you want to keep the user on the same page and not have to redirect your user to the actual newform.aspx page.

Code Needed:

Javascript:OpenPopUpPage(‘Your URL For The New Form’)

Example

javascript:OpenPopUpPage('/sites/SiteName/Lists/ListName/newform.aspx?ContentTypeID=0x01002069B8F8E3CC074DB7793638F1D8896B’)

My example has the syntax to link directly to that content type's newform, rather than just using the newform.aspx which links to the default Content Type.

Cheers!

Dan

How To Show Related Items Within A Document Set

This tutorial will show you how to activate the document set feature / content type, how to create a Document Set Content Type, How to Add the Content Type to Your Library, and how to show Related List Items within the particular document set.  If you know how to do all of the other aspects of this article, feel free to skip to the end and just read the part under “Display Related Items Within The Document Set.”

(This post assumes that you know how to create a lookup from your list to a field within the Document Set Content Type.  I have a previous post which shows how to use the lookup field required to create the relationship)

Materials Needed:

1.    A Document Library

2.    A List

3.    A relationship between the list and document set (lookup field)

4.    Page Field Filter Web Part

 

Activate the Document Set Feature:

(This requires SharePoint Online for Enterprises or SharePoint Server 2010)

 

1.    Select Site Actions

2.    Select Site Settings

3.    Site Collection Administration

4.    Site Collection Features

5.    Activate Document Sets

 

Create the desired Document Set Content Type

1.    Select Site Actions

2.    Select Site Settings

3.    Select Site Content Types

4.    Select Create

5.    Enter the name of your Content Type

6.    Under Select Parent Content Type

a.    Select Document Set Content Types

                                          i.    (this is only available after activating the feature which we did previously)

7.    Select a group where you would like the Document Set Stored

8.    Select OK

 

Add the Created Content Type To Your Library:

1.    Select the Desired Library

2.    Select Library Tools

3.    Select Library

4.    Select Library Settings

5.    Select Advanced Settings

6.    Select “Yes” Allow Management of Content Types

7.    Select OK

a.    “Add From Existing Site Content Types” Will Now Appear Under Content Types

8.    Select Add From Existing Content Types

9.    Select The Document Set Content Type Which You Created Earlier

10. Select Add

11. Select OK

a.    (There will now be two content types listed under Content Types “Document” & “Your Document Set Name”)

Related List

I have an earlier post “Linking Lists & Editing The Default Display Form” on how to relate the two pieces of content.  In a nutshell though, you will need to have a lookup field which pulls a field from your created Document Set.  I will be using the Title from my Document Set Content Type for my example.

 Display Related Items Within The Document Set:

1.    Navigate To Your Library

2.    Create a New Document Set Item

3.    Open the Document Set Item

4.    Select The Page Tab

5.    Select Edit Page

6.    Select The Zone You Would Like Your Related Items Displayed

7.    Select Add A Web Part

8.    Select The List With Related Items

9.    Select Add A Web Part

10. Insert the “Page Field Filter” Web Part

11. Select The Page Filter Web Part

a.    Select Connections

12. Select “Send Filter Values To”

13. Select Get Filter Values From

14. Select Configure Connection

15. Select the Related Field From Consumer Field Name

16. Select Finish

17. Select Stop Editing

Your Document Set Should Now Display Only The Related Items!!!

 

 

An Example of When to Use Multiple Content Types for a List:

I wanted to create an example situation where you might want to create multiple content types to capture similar data.  For this example, picture having a list which is meant to capture HR Questions.  Typical HR questions could be along the lines of Benefits, Payroll, & Staffing.  We could create an all-encompassing form and use it to capture the data however; this will plague our items with null (blank) values.

To not have all the blanks and to better target our users we could create a content type for each question type.  Each content type ties back to the overarching idea which is “HR Questions,” but each content type drills down into more detail the components which comprise HR Questions.  By doing this we can easily tailor each content type to only capture data relevant to that question type, but still have all the data stored in one list to easily create metrics.

Creating a central location for your users to Ask HR questions, gives you a central repository for the information, and will enable you to easily create metrics which encompass all of your results.

Event Content Types Remove Recurrence, All Day Event, & Workspace From Forms

I have had many requests to modify the fields encapsulated within the Event Type and that is typically not an issue.  There are three pieces of Meta Data which seem to be impossible to remove through the site interface, “All Day Event,” “Recurrence,” & “Workspace.”  Although these fields can’t be removed through your site interface, you can hide 1 or all of these fields through SharePoint Designer.

 

Many of the sites I have worked on have requested a Calendar which allows the user to select “All Day Event” & “Recurrence,” but would like to have Workspace Removed. (We will remove it in this example)

 

How to Hide Workspace:

 

1.    Open Designer

2.    Under the sites tab, open the site where the Event Content Type Resides

3.    Under Navigation, select “Content Types”

4.    From the Content Types Tab, select the Event Type which needs to have Workspace hidden

a.    You should now have a tab open with the name of your content type

5.    Select “Edit Content Type Columns” under Customization

 

This is where it can be a bit tricky and you start to realize some of the quirks of SharePoint Designer.

 

When you select Workspace, there is not a dropdown arrow to select the Property Type from the combo box.  This is extremely irritating, but you have to click 3-4 (typically) to the right of the Optional Dialog until you will be presented with the dropdown options

 

You can now select the Hidden Property!  Save your content type and your updates should now be reflected in SharePoint!

 

Regards,

Dan

Why Use Content Types?

What is a content type?  A content type essentially at it's core is a grouping / set of meta data with a specific purpose.  For example, a Task within SharePoint is a grouping of the fields which would be needed to track a Task.  By creating a Content Type you can create custom "groupings" of meta data for your specific needs. As an example, you could create a content type for "Point of Sale Report" and attribute all of your meta data to that content type.

The real question is why use them?  By utilizing content types you can leverage your specific "groupings" and use them across lists and libraries across your sites.  The Content Type will allow you to have better control over your document management capabilities by attributing the corresponding IRDS (Information Retention & Disposal Schedule), creating views based upon the Content Types, and by creating workflows specific to that specific content type.

All of these benefits for content types or helpful, but by automating your IRDS you can make sure that you are always compliant with the Laws, reduce the amount of file space you are utilizing, and save countless dollars in discovery if there is ever a litigation issue.  The creation of content types help to reduce the amount of Null values in your list or library as well.  By better targeting the Content Types, your users are not having to leave blanks which do not apply to them with the notorious "catch all form."

I hope this was beneficial to you!

Regards,
Dan