Free SharePoint 2013 eBooks

Looking for new and free SharePoint reference books? This eBook collection will certainly satisfy your appetite for improvement in SharePoint technology field. There’s plenty of valuable tutorials here to keep you busy reading for a while. Be sure to grab few of these eBooks, check more related goodies at the bottom and don’t forget to tell us what you think.

SharePoint 2013 WCM Advanced Cookbook

SharePoint 2013 Server includes new and improved features for web content management that simplify how you design publishing sites, and enhances the authoring and publishing processes of organizations.

With SharePoint 2013 WCM Advanced Cookbook, you will learn about a full-fledged web content management system using Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013.

Publisher: Packt Publishing

By: John Chapman

Published Year: 2014
Pages: 436
Download PDF (7 MB)
Buy the paper book version

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SharePoint 2013 Branding and User Interface Design

If you are planning, designing, and launching your brand using SharePoint, this book and author trio will walk you through everything you need to know in an understandable and approachable way.
This visual book provides step-by-step instructions in a simple and striking format that focuses on each of the tasks you will face in your own branding project.

Publisher: Wrox
By: Randy Drisgill, John Ross, Paul Stubbs
Published Year: 2013
Pages: 432
Download PDF (54 MB)
Buy the paper book version

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Pro SharePoint 2013 App Development

Using step-by-step tutorials, author Steve Wright creates a sample SharePoint app throughout the course of the book, and you can walk with him through the entire lifecycle of a SharePoint app.

Publisher: Apress
By: Steve Wright
Published Year: 2013
Pages: 432
Download PDF (15.5 MB)
Buy the paper book version

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Microsoft SharePoint 2013 App Development

Led by two SharePoint experts, you’ll learn development techniques such as building app lists, creating event handlers, and the major classes in the object model that provide access to content stored in SharePoint.

Publisher: Microsoft Press
By: Scot Hillier, Ted Pattison
Published Year: 2013
Pages: 202
Download PDF (34 MB)
Buy the paper book version

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Pro SharePoint 2013 Branding and Responsive Web Development

Pro SharePoint 2013 Branding and Responsive Web Development is the definitive reference on the technologies, tools, and techniques needed for building responsive websites and applications with SharePoint 2013. The book focuses on solutions that provide the best browser experience for the myriad of devices, browsers, and screen orientations and resolutions.

Publisher: Apress
By: Eric Overfield, Rita Zhang, Oscar Medina, Kanwal Khipple
Published Year: 2013
Pages: 580
Download PDF (26 MB)
Buy the paper book version

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Microsoft SharePoint 2013: Designing and Architecting Solutions

Determine the best design for your SharePoint implementation by gaining a deeper understanding of how the platform works. Written by a team of SharePoint experts, this practical guide introduces the Microsoft SharePoint 2013 architecture, and walks you through design considerations for planning and building a custom SharePoint solution. It’s ideal for IT professionals, whether or not you have experience with previous versions of SharePoint.

Publisher: Microsoft Press
By: Shannon Bray, Miguel Wood, Patrick Curran
Published Year: 2013
Pages: 488
Download PDF (55 MB)
Buy the paper book version

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SharePoint 2013 User’s Guide, 4th Edition

Microsoft SharePoint 2013 provides a collection of tools and services you can use to improve user and team productivity, make information sharing more effective, and facilitate business decision–making processes. In order to get the most out of SharePoint 2013, you need to understand how to best use the capabilities to support your information management, collaboration, and business process management needs. The SharePoint 2013 User’s Guide is designed to provide you with the information you need to effectively use these tools.

Publisher: Apress
By: Anthony Smith
Published Year: 2013
Pages: 536
Download PDF (53 MB)
Buy the paper book version

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Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Inside Out

You’re beyond the basics, so dive right into SharePoint 2013—and really put your business collaboration platform to work! This supremely organized reference packs hundreds of timesaving solutions, troubleshooting techniques, and workarounds. It’s all muscle and no fluff. Discover how the experts facilitate information sharing across the enterprise—and challenge yourself to new levels of mastery.

Publisher: Microsoft Press
By: Darvish Shadravan, Penelope Coventry, Thomas Resing, Christina Wheeler
Published Year: 2013
Pages: 904
Download PDF (124 MB)
Buy the paper book version

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Pro SharePoint 2013 Administration, 2nd Edition

Pro SharePoint 2013 Administration is a practical guide to SharePoint 2013 for intermediate to advanced SharePoint administrators and power users, covering the out-of-the-box feature set and capabilities of Microsoft’s collaboration and business productivity platform.

Publisher: Apress
By: Robert Garrett
Published Year: 2013
Pages: 655
Download PDF (32 MB)
Buy the paper book version

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Professional SharePoint 2013 Administration

The new iteration of SharePoint boasts exciting new features. However, any new version also comes with its fair share of challenges and that’s where this book comes in. The team of SharePoint admin gurus returns to presents a fully updated resource that prepares you for making all the new SharePoint 2013 features work right. They cover all of the administration components of SharePoint 2013 in detail, and present a clear understanding of how they affect the role of the administrator.

Publisher: Wrox
By: Shane Young, Steve Caravajal, Todd Klindt
Published Year: 2013
Pages: 840
Download PDF (56 MB)
Buy the paper book version

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Practical SharePoint 2010 Branding and Customization

With Practical SharePoint 2010 Branding and Customization, SharePoint branding expert Erik Swenson cuts through the fluff and discusses accessible, easy-to-understand consulting and processes to create aesthetically pleasing, highly usable branded and customized SharePoint websites, both internally and externally. Designed to be a quick reference, how-to guide that lets you dive straight into the task at hand, you’ll find this book’s attention to detail and pragmatism make it an attractive companion during your branding experience.

Publisher: Apress
By: Erik Swenson
Published Year: 2013
Pages: 368
Download PDF (7 MB)
Buy the paper book version

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Professional SharePoint 2013 Development

A team of well-known Microsoft MVPs joins forces in this fully updated resource, providing you with in-depth coverage of development tools in the latest iteration of the immensely popular SharePoint. From building solutions to building custom workflow and content management applications, this book shares field-tested best practices on all aspect of SharePoint 2013 development.

Publisher: Wrox
By: Reza Alirezaei, Brendon Schwartz, Matt Ranlett, Scot Hillier, Brian Wilson, Jeff Fried, Paul Swider
Published Year: 2013
Pages: 816
Download PDF (47 MB)
Buy the paper book version

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Exploring Microsoft SharePoint 2013

Your guide to the most significant changes in SharePoint 2013. Discover what’s new and what’s changed in SharePoint 2013—and get a head start using these cutting-edge capabilities to improve organizational collaboration and effectiveness.

Led by a Microsoft MVP for SharePoint, you’ll learn how to take advantage of important new features and functionality, including app development, collaborative social enterprise tools, enhanced versioning, themes, improved search, and an extended client object model.

Publisher: Microsoft Press
By: Penelope Coventry
Published Year: 2013
Pages: 200
Download PDF (17 MB)
Buy the paper book version

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SharePoint 2013 For Dummies

SharePoint Portal Server is an essential part of the enterprise infrastructure for many businesses. Building on the success of previous versions of SharePoint For Dummies, this new edition covers all the latest features of SharePoint 2013 and provides you with an easy-to-understand resource for making the most of all that this version has to offer. You’ll learn how to get a site up and running, branded, and populated with content, workflow, and management. In addition, this new edition includes essential need-to-know information for administrators, techsumers, and page admins who want to leverage the cloud-hosted features online, either as a standalone product or in conjunction with an existing SharePoint infrastructure.

Publisher: Wiley
By: Ken Withee
Published Year: 2013
Pages: 384
Download PDF (32 MB)
Buy the paper book version

If you are unable to download email me

Ref : topsharepoint

Making SharePoint Look Good!

This presentation walks users through what to expect when trying to make SharePoint look good with emphasis on some of the points that should be considered before diving in. The presentation covers the publishing features, the components of a publishing solution and helpful tips to consider when designing for SharePoint. Additionally, the demo at the end shows to two most common tasks when it comes to creating a publishing site: building a page layout and using the content query web part for content roll up. Learn more about Eastridge.

Making SharePoint Look Good! from Cory Peters

How W3C link checker Works

W3C link checker is a highly recommended link checker. It checks the website and its component such as hypertext links for both HTML and XHTML format; if it is working properly. It is important that a website contains high technical quality. W3C link checker will generate the following reports:

CSS style sheet and extracts a list of anchors and links
It checks that no anchor is defined twice.
All the links are dereferenceable
Warns about HTTP redirects

You can check your URL at W3C Link Checker and you will have to check through this form.

When it is in summary mode, it may take time for loading process. When the checking is done, it will show you “List of broken links and redirects” if broken links were found. You have to go through the pages, fix the broken link or if unresolvable it would be better to delete it. However, the link checker considers robots exclusion rules. When the robots.txt files of the website disallow link checks, there will be no single information from the website that will be seen.

Also view “Markup Validation Service” This validator checks the markup validity of Web documents in HTML, XHTML, SMIL, MathML, etc.

Ref : W3C link checker in SEO

Sharepoint 2010 Fixed width Master Page Styling, no scrollbar issues

Recently I have created a custom master page for our new SharePoint server, First I have noticed that when the page loads, SharePoint  runs a java script function and sets the width of the page.

It is searching for the div tag  with Id  #s4-workspace  and if it finds one with this id, sets its width to fit the content. So I have added a class  s4-nosetwidth. If we add this class to s4-workspace,SharePoint wont set its width.

But very first time when I tried to create fixed width master page, I have faced so many issues with scroll bars and SharePoint modal dialog windows are not opening correctly. They are opening either with in  small height  and added scroll bars or  opening in fixed width and height with out scroll bars.

Mainly IE7 adding its own scroll bar to body  , as the page is fixed width so the scroll bar that is showing in the middle of the page is looking pretty ugly. I have fixed all these issues and below is the styling.

html{
background-color:#55A0A7;
overflow/**/:auto;
}

body.v4master {
width:1024px;
margin:0px auto;
overflow:visible;
background-color: transparent !important;
}

.ms-dialog body.v4master {
height: 100%;
overflow: hidden;
width: 100%;
}
body #s4-workspace {
left: 0;
overflow: auto !important;
overflow/**/: visible !important;
position: relative;
width: 100% !important;
display:table;
border-spacing:0px;
}

.ms-dialog body #s4-workspace{
display:block !important;
overflow/**/: auto !important;
}

Creating flat site collection breadcrumb for SharePoint sites

SharePoint has several ways to navigate through site hierarchy and many users are used to breadcrumb to see where they are etc. Some consider collapse breadcrumb “folder” control not too intuitive and you may be asked to define your breadcrumb more explicitly or as a “flat” set of links.

To save yourself some time from custom development of the breadcrumb you can take the breadcrumb “folder” content and render it in a flat format. To do that we will take the SharePoint:ListSiteMapPath control which lives on each masterpage and place it right inside s4-titletext in your main masterpage:

Here is the code:

<sharepoint:ListSiteMapPath ID="ListSiteMapPath11" runat="server" 
SiteMapProviders="SPSiteMapProvider" 
RenderCurrentNodeAsLink="false" 
PathSeparator="" CssClass="s4-breadcrumb" 
NodeStyle-CssClass="s4-breadcrumbNode" 
CurrentNodeStyle-CssClass="s4-breadcrumbCurrentNode" 
RootNodeStyle-CssClass="s4-breadcrumbRootNode" 
NodeImageOffsetX=0 
NodeImageOffsetY=582 
NodeImageWidth=16 
NodeImageHeight=16 
NodeImageUrl="/_layouts/images/fgimg.png" 
RTLNodeImageOffsetX=0 
RTLNodeImageOffsetY=582 
RTLNodeImageWidth=16 
RTLNodeImageHeight=16 
RTLNodeImageUrl="/_layouts/images/fgimg.png" 
HideInteriorRootNodes="true" 
SkipLinkText=""/>

Now you just need to adjust the CSS to flatten the structure; in here I’ll add the following CSS into the masterpage

.s4-title-inner .s4-titletext

{ margin-bottom: 3px; }

.s4-title-inner .s4-titletext ul, .s4-title-inner .s4-titletext ul li

{ display: inline; }

.s4-title-inner .s4-titletext ul.s4-breadcrumbRootNode, .s4-title-inner .s4-titletext ul.s4-breadcrumbNode

{ margin-left: 5px; }

This CSS is specific to the breadcrumb in s4-titletext and will not affect other elements on the masterpage.

Reference : Creating flat site collection breadcrumb for SharePoint sites

The Best Way to Add Custom JavaScript and jQuery to SharePoint

During extensive SharePoint user interface customization you’ll likely encounter a scenario where you need to make a web part or user control do something it was not intended to do or have a look that cannot be accomplished using the CSS hooks provided out-of-the-box. The solution is to create a custom master page and include a reference to a JavaScript file where you can modify the Document object. While straight JavaScript will do, I prefer to use the jQuery JavaScript library, which is far more robust, easier to use, and allows for plugins. Follow the steps below to add jQuery to your master page.

1. Go to jquery.com and download the latest jQuery library to your desktop. You want to get the compressed production version, not the development version.
2. Open SharePoint Designer (SPD) and connect to the root level of your site’s site collection.
3. In SPD, open the “Style Library” folder.
4. Create a folder named “Scripts” inside of the Style Library.
5. Drag the jQuery library JavaScript file from your desktop into the Scripts folder.
6. In the Scripts folder, create a new JavaScript file and name it (e.g. “actions.js”).
7. Open your master page file in SPD.
8. Within the <head> tag of the master page, add a script reference to the jQuery library just above the content place holder named “PlaceHolderAdditonalPageHead” (and above your custom CSS references, if applicable) as follows:
   // <![CDATA[
   src=”/Style%20Library/Scripts/{jquery library file}.js” type=”text/javascript”>
   // ]]>
9. Immediately after the jQuery library reference add a script reference to your custom scripts file as follows:
   // <![CDATA[
   src=”/Style%20Library/Scripts/actions.js” type=”text/javascript”>
   // ]]>

Your custom master page now includes jQuery and a reference to your custom scripts file where you can add jQuery scripts. SharePoint includes a number of JavaScript files throughout the site, so be careful that the scripts you add do not conflict with SharePoint’s; the jQuery library itself does not conflict with SharePoint.

The Best Way to Add Custom CSS to SharePoint

To thoroughly customize your SharePoint site, you’ll need to use a custom CSS. SharePoint offers a way to specify a single CSS file to use via the “Master page” settings for the site. However, using this approach still limits you to customizing only those IDs and classes that are included on the pages by SharePoint. Moreover, using this setting applies to both site and system pages, which may not be desirable.

With these downsides in mind, the best approach is to create a custom master page and include references to one or more custom CSS files. Follow the steps below to include a custom CSS file in your master page.

1. Open SharePoint Designer (SPD) and connect to the root level of your site’s site collection.
2. In SPD, open the “Style Library” folder.
3. Create a new CSS file and name it (e.g. “customstyles.css”).
4. Open your master page file in SPD.
5. In the tag add a link to your custom CSS just above the content place holder named “PlaceHolderAdditonalPageHead” as follows:

<link href=”/Style%20Library/customstyles.css” rel=”stylesheet” type=”text/css” />

Your custom master page is now using your new CSS file in addition to all of the CSS files SharePoint uses out-of-the-box. The idea is that you are taking advantage of the “cascading” property of cascading style sheets by layering your custom styles on top of what SharePoint creates in order to alter the SharePoint look-and-feel as desired—like a skin.

How to Create a Custom SharePoint Master Page

The first step in customizing your SharePoint site is to create a custom master page.  The following steps will help you do just that (please note there are differences indicated between SP 2007 and SP 2010).

1. Open SharePoint Designer (SPD) and connect to the root level of your site’s site collection.
2. In SPD, open the “_catalogs” folder, then open the “masterpage” folder.
3. Identify the out-of-the-box (OOTB) most like your ultimate design.
   1. (SP 2007) If your SharePoint’s site design is to be fixed-width and centered on the page, select BlueBand.master and copy it.
   2. (SP 2007) If your SharePoint’s site design is to be a liquid layout that fills the page regardless of the user’s screen resolution, select default.master and copy it.
   3. (SP 2010 beta) You want v4.master.
4. In SPD, right-click on the master page you want to duplicate and select “Copy,” then paste it back into the same folder.
5. Rename the new file something project-specific.  For instance, if this master page is to be used on the sales portal, you might rename the new master page SalesPortal.master.
6. Publish and approve the new master page.
7. In your browser, navigate to your site’s Site Settings page.  Under the “Look-and-Feel” column click “Master page.”
8. Select your new master page as the site master page (the need to set the system master page will vary by project).  Save the settings change.

Your site is now using the new master page you created.  From here you modify the master page to your liking, including adding custom CSS and custom JavaScript and jQuery.

SharePoint 2007 and 2010 CSS Reference Chart

Just came across these good SharePoint CSS Reference Charts, its worth reading.

SharePoint 2007 CSS Reference Chart

SharePoint 2010 CSS Reference Chart

ASP.NET Dynamic HTML with HTML Controls

There are many times that you need to process a data list and generate HTML to output to an ASP.NET page. Most of the time, a Repeater is the best choice for this, but sometimes using a Repeater is not practical because the HTML has too many levels or is built with too many conditionals. In these cases, you could use a StringBuilder and output the result to a Literal control, but working with strings can be error prone. My preferred method to add a Placeholder control to the page and then just add Controls to its Controls collection in the code behind.

This works out well if you want to use web controls, but not if you want to use HTML controls. One of the goals with web controls was to make the properties more consistent across controls, but if you are familiar with HTML, then using the HTML controls might be more natural because the properties match the attributes you are already familiar with.

The issue with HTML Controls is that they are not as friendly to work with. For many elements, such as divs, you will have to use the HtmlGenericControl class. Although web controls have a property for CssClass, this is not available for HTML controls. If you want to add a new div control with a CSS class, you will end up with something like this:

var divContainer = new HtmlGenericControl(“div”);
divContainer.Attributes.Add(“class”, “div-class”);

To improve on this syntax, I added a derived control with a CSSClass property:

public class HtmlClassedControl : HtmlGenericControl
{
public HtmlClassedControl(string tag) : base(tag)
{
}

public string CssClass
{
get { return GetAttribute(“class”); }
set { Attributes.Add(“class”, value); }
}
}

Next, I added another derived class for the div control to eliminate the constructor parameter:

public class HtmlDiv : HtmlClassedControl
{
public HtmlDiv() : base(“div”)
{
}
}

With these changes, the syntax becomes:

var divContainer = new HtmlDiv {CssClass = “div-class”};

That may not seem like much of a change, but if you are adding 20 or 30 controls with nesting and looping, it makes a huge difference in readability and maintainabiliy… not to mention less code to write. You could easily add classes for other HTML elements such as ordering list, list item, etc.