Essential Knowledge for SharePoint Add-Ins
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This document discusses SharePoint add-ins, formerly known as apps. It provides an overview of add-ins, how they differ from traditional SharePoint solutions, and how to develop and install them. Add-ins allow custom code to run alongside SharePoint and can be used to integrate SharePoint with external systems, modify SharePoint sites, or add custom forms and web parts. They are developed using Visual Studio and deployed by uploading packages to the add-in catalog. Add-ins have their own identity and permission model separate from users.
Essential Knowledge for SharePoint Add-Ins
- 1. SharePoint Add-Ins Essential Knowledge By Joshua Petryk Room 7 – 10:00 am Central
- 2. Intros Joshua Petryk Senior Consultant with Trophy Consulting Developer, Architect, Cloud Champion!
- 5. Familiar Concepts SharePoint Concepts ◦ Site hierarchy ◦ Site Collections ◦ Webs ◦ Artifacts ◦ Web Parts ◦ Pages ◦ Lists ◦ Content Types ◦ Et al. ◦ Solutions ◦ Packages of SharePoint Artifacts ◦ Built by Developers Web Technology ◦ Http / REST ◦ Domains ◦ iFrames
- 6. Defining SharePoint Add-Ins Formerly known as SharePoint Apps. Only a cosmetic change. But why? ◦ Confusion - everything's an app! ◦ Facebook, Uber, LinkedIn, Yelp, Word, PowerPoint, Excel – “real” apps. ◦ Appception – an app for an app? ◦ Customers familiar with Add-Ins (think COM). Reference: http://www.jeremythake.com/2015/06/office-365-app-model-rename-cheat-sheet/
- 7. What are Add-Ins? Custom code running beside SharePoint. SharePoint artifacts – lists/pages/workflows etc. Uses HTTP calls - Client Side Object Model. Modular packages. Installed per site or farm. Explicitly asks for permission.
- 8. Why Use Add-Ins? Integrate SharePoint with external systems Emulate timer jobs Read/Write data from web sources Modify SharePoint sites Automate branding One-click apply settings Bulk edit navigation Custom Visual Web Parts Graphical charts Publishing Articles as tiles Custom image gallery with a rotator Custom forms Automate site creation Interactive list item creation form Submit feedback or issues Copy items between sites And Much More!
- 9. What do they look like? Full Page ◦ Custom webpages ◦ May inherit from SharePoint Web Parts ◦ Placed on site pages where installed Custom Actions ◦ Ribbon buttons ◦ Item dropdown menu Image Source: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/fp179930.aspx
- 10. Example Web Part Add-In Edit list items to form the tiles. Get a live preview at the bottom! Add the web part to your site.
- 12. Two Ways to Acquire Upload package to Add-In catalog. Download from SharePoint Store. Site Contents
- 13. Store Example See a Preview See Description, Version, Reviews, Release Date etc. Try It Buy It Select Number of Licenses
- 14. Add-In Catalog May read as “App Catalog”
- 15. Uploading Add-Ins Upload .app package to “Apps for SharePoint” library. Edit Properties to set Icon, Description, Enable or Disable.
- 17. Add-Ins vs Traditional Solutions Farm Solution ◦ Installed to the Farm ◦ SharePoint Online - NO ◦ Required Tools ◦ SharePoint Server instance ◦ Visual Studio ◦ SDK ◦ Full Trust – No restrictions! ◦ Potential Farm Instability Add-ins ◦ Uploaded as a Zip (.app) ◦ SharePoint Online - YES ◦ Recommended Tools ◦ Visual Studio ◦ Must ask for permissions ◦ List only ◦ Web only ◦ Site Collection only ◦ Tenant
- 18. Developing / Hosting On-Prem? More complex than Online. Configure your SP environment: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/fp161236.aspx Set up High-Trust certificates: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/fp179901.aspx
- 19. VS Templates Get started with Visual Studio
- 20. SharePoint – Hosted Template Note Elements.xml, AppManifest.xml
- 21. Provider – Hosted Template Need a Certificate On-Prem Note AppManifest.xml Note Web Project
- 22. App Manifest The XML files that defines an Add-In
- 23. Add-In Types SharePoint Hosted ◦ Special Add-In Web ◦ JavaScript CSOM Only ◦ SharePoint Artifacts ◦ Deploy pages, lists, views, content types, workflows. ◦ Similar to Solutions (Elements.xml) etc. Provider Hosted ◦ Remote web server – your choice ◦ No technology restrictions ◦ REST or C# CSOM Only Host Web Remote Web Server Database Server Host Web Pages ListWorkflow App Web
- 24. Add-In Deployment Scope Tenant Scope ◦ One instance per farm/O365 Tenant ◦ Use-case: centralized functions. ◦ Installed under Add-in Catalog site collection ◦ Global admins only! ◦ “Deploy” to other Site Collections ◦ Makes tile appear in Site Contents ◦ Redirects to global “Add-in Web” ◦ No Web Parts or UI Controls ◦ No “Host Web” “Site” (Web) Scope ◦ One instance per SPWeb ◦ Use-case: web specific functions. ◦ Includes Web Parts / UI Controls ◦ User must have permissions to install ◦ Appears on Site Contents ◦ Directed to unique “Add-in Web” Reference: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/fp179896.aspx
- 25. Tenant Scope Go to Site Contents of Add-In Catalog site. Install App. Wait for Install. Click on the menu button. Click Deployment. Choose site collections, managed paths, or site templates to deploy to.
- 26. Add-In Security
- 27. Add-In Identity Add-Ins have an identity separate from users Manage permissions in Site Settings
- 29. App-Only Permission Provider hosted only! Similar to Elevated Permissions Bypass User Permission Check Good for un-attended tasks (Timer Job)
- 30. Acquiring Add-Ins Two Ways ◦ Upload package to Add-In catalog. ◦ Download from SharePoint Store.
- 31. Recap
- 32. Key Takeaways The only way run code in SharePoint Online. Any web developer is an Add-In developer. No farm solution overhead. Microsoft Stack not required!
- 33. Sneak Peak! Office Excel Visualization inside of a SharePoint Add-In?
- 34. Tweet Us For a Chance To Win 2 Rangers Tickets @trophysoftware
- 36. www.trophyconsulting.com Visit Us at Booth 203
Editor's Notes
- #2: How’s everyone doing?
- #3: I’m Josh…
- #5: Show of Hands: Who is considering Add-Ins?
- #6: Show of Hands: Who is familiar/ done custom solutions
- #8: Think of them like extensions running on top of sharepoint. You can add custom functionaly for your business. They do not live “inside” sharepoint and they do not have full control over SP. They must explicitly be granted permissions.
- #18: Key differences – Solutions must be built using Visual Studio, you must have a SharePoint Server on the dev machine, must use the SharePoint SDK. Solutions must be installed to farm using STSADM or Powershell cmdlets Add-ins are packaged into zips (manifests) – uploaded to Add-in catalog. Add-Ins don’t require VS but it helps scaffold them from templates.
- #24: Main points – SharePoint hosted is for more “traditional” SharePoint customizations where you want list templates, workflows, content types that are easily deployed. You get the full SharePoint UI experience – List Views – Ribbon etc. Traditional SharePoint developers will be more familiar with building solution manifests and the tooling in Visual Studio is very similar to Solutions.
- #25: The thing to remember about Tenant Scope is that you don’t have multiple app web instances. If your app relies on deploying custom SharePoint artifacts on each site then you want Site Scope. Ex: Your want a custom time tracking app that can used by multiple teams. Time tracking information should be specific to each team. Site Scope You want to collect company feedback or issue reports in a central location. Install the app into Tenant Scope. Users can click on Site Contents > Feedback App to be taken to the “central” form. Tenant Scope
- #26: Note: The add-in is not being deployed to individual sites! It’s simply adding a link back to the add-in in the catalog via a Site Contents tile.
- #29: Permission levels must be explicitly accepted by the installing user and only apply to the level granted. Users must accept permissions to install an app on a site. Permission level dictates what code can be called in the app. If selling in Office 365 store can’t do Tenant permissions.
- #30: Normally a user logs into the app to execute a SharePoint command. SharePoint verifies that the Add-In identity and user both have permission. If you use App-Only permission, then user permission not taken into account. Ex: App has permission to entire site collection – User does not.