Month: December 2018

Ramp up on SharePoint Framework Extensions at SPC 2019

theChrisKent Conferences, PnP, SharePoint, SPFx , , , ,

I will be speaking at the SharePoint Conference 2019 in Las Vegas, May 21st-23rd! I’m honored to have the opportunity to talk about two of my favorite SharePoint subjects: List Formatting AND SharePoint Framework (SPFx) Extensions!

I’m, of course, super excited to be able to talk about List Formatting (see my previous post for details about that session). I am a huge proponent of using view and column formatting to customize your modern list views. There’s so much you can accomplish using simple JSON. But, I’m also fully aware of the limitations. When you hit those limitations, that’s the perfect time to use the SharePoint Framework.

SharePoint Framework Extensions allow you to not only customize your fields (Field Customizers) to take them far beyond what Column Formatting can do, they provide extensibility and customization to modern pages using the same awesome tooling and APIs available for client-side web parts.

Need a custom footer or header? SPFx Extension. Need to provide toast notifications? SPFx Extension. Need to add a custom menu option to the action bar or the context menu? SPFx Extension. Need to add your own analytics to every page? SPFx Extension. Need to create custom field renderings that provide interactivity? SPFx Extension.

I love the SharePoint Framework. Client-side web parts are awesome and they get most of the attention (they also came out first) and I’ve created several. But, my favorite part of SPFx are Extensions. They are often easier to create than web parts (depending on how much interface you actually need), and they provide some really awesome deployment models that can really simplify global customizations across your tenant.

Understanding SharePoint Framework (SPFx) Extensions

SharePoint Framework Extensions are the replacement for Custom Actions, JS Link, and more for Modern Pages in Office 365 and SharePoint 2019. Whether you’ve started experimenting with the SharePoint Framework or not, come find out exactly what the Extensions are, when to use them, limitations, and advantages. SharePoint Framework Extensions are not only powerful and flexible tools to customize SharePoint, when it comes to modern pages, they’re the only way.

That’s the overview of my session on SPFx Extensions, but an even simpler description is just: SPFx Extensions 101.

At first glance it might seem strange that I would be presenting a session in the Business Apps track (List Formatting) and then this one within the SharePoint Development track. However, both sessions are about enabling you to customize modern pages.

Modern sites and pages are awesome and if you’re still using on-premises SharePoint 2016 or earlier or if your organization is still using a large number of classic sites, you may not even know just how awesome they are yet (another reason to attend SPC). While so many features that used to require customizations to either provide (or provide a more usable/functional implementation) are available and no longer require custom implementations, there are still cases where some minor tweaks are required. These can be anything from dynamic visualizations, to corporate logos and universal links on every page, to 3rd party integrations, to disclaimers for specific site classifications, and more.

Knowing when to use List Formatting vs SPFx Extensions and understanding what both are intended for is a key skill for not just developers, but power users, managers, architects, admins, and more. Both sessions can be attended independently, but I highly encourage you to attend both as they will work together to create a much fuller picture of modern site customization options and techniques.

SharePoint Framework extensions are available in both Office 365 and SharePoint 2019. If you are on either environment or suspect that you will be eventually, this will be an essential session to understand what can be accomplished and the tools needed to do so. This session will serve as both a comprehensive overview for admins, architects, and admins as well as provide implementation details (code/tooling/samples) for developers. I’m really looking forward to this session and hope you’ll join me!

If you still have questions or ideas, I’ll also be helping with the Patterns and Practices (PnP) booth and will be happy to talk with you further! Just come find me. We can just talk, or you can bring your laptop and we’ll take a look at your code together!

Register!

The SharePoint Conference 2018 was fantastic. It’s amazing to be in the presence of so many SharePoint (and related tech like PowerApps, Flow, OneDrive, Yammer, Teams, and more) experts and have them be so approachable. If you are a SharePoint professional (user, admin, manager, developer, etc.) then you should definitely attend SharePoint Conference 2019. Go ahead and register now. You can even save $50 by using the discount code KENT!

See and hear from the experts directly!

Whether you attend my sessions or not, I hope you’ll come and say hello. In the meantime, feel free to reach out on this blog, twitter, or attend one of the PnP Calls!

Join me at SPC to learn all about List Formatting in O365 and SP2019!

theChrisKent Column Formatting, Conferences, List/Library Settings, SharePoint , , ,

I love List Formatting (column formatting and view formatting). I’ve contributed many samples, created an editor, and I present List Formatting Quick Tips during the Patterns and Practices (PnP) Special Interest Group call for general SharePoint Development. Now, I get to speak about it at the SharePoint Conference in Las Vegas this May!

List Formatting in O365 and SharePoint 2019

Did you know you can quickly and easily provide dynamic visualizations directly in List views? Both non developers and developers can change how fields and rows look in modern list views by creating simple JSON objects. Learn how to conditionally format fields and rows to take your lists from simple tables to meaningful views. We’ll cover the basics of list formatting, tips and tricks, and the tools and resources available to enable you to get started immediately.

That’s the quick blurb about the session, but what kinds of things will we actually cover?

We’ll start with the basics and show you the many options for applying formats. I’ll cover both the out of the box options (JSON and preformatted options) as well as show you the PnP List Formatter tool I wrote.

We’ll talk about syntax and possibilities primarily by walking through many of the amazing community samples. You’ll be inspired by what you can do and how easily you can do it. They’ll be some code, of course, and we’ll talk about how it works, but if that’s not your thing, I’ll also be showing you lots of ways you can skip the code altogether.

We’ll also talk about some of the limitations and the alternatives you might consider when your needs go beyond what List Formatting can do (hint, attend my other session on SharePoint Framework Extensions). I’ll share several clever tricks for working around these limitations.

My goal is for you to leave the session excited about what you can do without having to be a developer or deploying code (You only need Designer level permissions on your site). I’ll assume nothing about your experience level and they’ll be plenty of material for those of you just getting started. But, I’ll also be providing lots of advice and advanced scenarios so that even those that have been using List Formatting for a while are sure to get a lot as well.

If you still have questions or ideas, I’ll also be helping with the Patterns and Practices booth and will be happy to talk with you further! I seriously love this stuff and would love to talk with you.

Register!

It’s almost January, and if your company is just about to get new budgets for the new year. Make sure you’re on the list! The sooner you register, the cheaper it is. You can even use KENT to save an additional $50! WOWEE!

Employees that attend conferences are generally some of the best. Take advantage of access to so much knowledge. Don’t just attend your co-worker’s talk about what they learned – be the one giving the talk! Show off your own expertise and use this conference to grow your career.

My day job is consulting. My company would be happy to take your money, but it’s even cheaper to ensure your team is up to date on what’s available and how to do it. The more of your team you send the better.

Attend!

I attended the conference last year and it was awesome! If you are a SharePoint professional (user, admin, manager, developer, etc.) then you should attend! There are tons of sessions from both experts in the community and Microsoft themselves.

Many of the biggest announcements are made at the conference and Microsoft engineering is out in full force. It’s the perfect time to find out what’s happening in SharePoint (and related technologies like PowerApps, Flow, OneDrive, Yammer, Teams, and more) and to get answers to your questions. The speakers, Microsoft engineers, and other members of the community are highly accessible. Find them! Ask them things and suggest ideas directly. Seriously, it’s one of the most valuable parts of the conference and you’re missing out if you aren’t doing this!

Even better? Find one of the experts and buy them a drink (or hand them one of the free ones). There are lots of networking opportunities and people are often amazed at how approachable so many members of the community are!

Have Fun!

Attend as many sessions as you can and participate in the after hours events if you’re interested. But you’ll also be in Las Vegas. So go catch a show! The MGM Grand itself is host to David Copperfield. Paolo Pialorsi and I attended it last year and it was awesome!

This is us in the FRONT ROW taking a picture in front of the no pictures sign

Whether you attend my sessions or not, I hope you’ll come and say hello. In the meantime, feel free to reach out on this blog, twitter, or attend one of the PnP Calls!