Developing Collaboration Solutions with Access 12 and

Transcript Developing Collaboration Solutions with Access 12 and

Developing Collaboration Solutions With Access 12 And Windows SharePoint Services “v3” Clint Covington OFF307 Lead Program Manager Microsoft Corporation

Introducing Access 12

Allows end users to easily track information, build quick business applications, and collaborate via Windows SharePoint Services (WSS).

Gives professional developers and IT highly RAD, customized, and easy to manage business applications that combine the best of the client and server.

End Users Much easier to use Out-of-the-box apps Easy to add a field, form, and report Power Users WSS for collaboration WYSIWYG authoring for forms & reports “Codeless” macros Outlook data collection Pro Developers / IT Whole new class of apps integrated with WSS Rich and reach interfaces Server-side manageability Highly RAD Utilize managed code Confident upgrade path

Out-of-the-box templates New UI including ribbon and navigation pane Easy filtering Extensible templates

New Template File Format

ACCDT is based on the Open Packaging Conventions file format XML describes the manifest and database properties, table schema, sample data Text files describe queries, forms, reports Getting started shows all ACCDT files in the Office\Templates\[lcid]\Access directory Customize, deploy via SMS to different groups SDK for developing templates

Import Contacts From Outlook Data Collection Creating Reports Just Got Easier

Import From Outlook

Sub SetWSSProperties() Dim db As DAO.Database

Dim td As DAO.TableDef

Set db = CurrentDb Set td = db.TableDefs("Customers") ' Set the WSSTemplateID table property so that the table will migrate to the right list type ChangeProperty td, "WSSTemplateID", dbInteger, 105 ' Set the WSSFieldName field properties so that the fields will migrated correctly ChangeProperty td.Fields("ID"), "WSSFieldID", dbText, "ID" ChangeProperty td.Fields("First Name"), "WSSFieldID", dbText, "FirstName" ChangeProperty td.Fields("Company"), "WSSFieldID", dbText, "Company" ChangeProperty td.Fields("Job Title"), "WSSFieldID", dbText, "JobTitle" ChangeProperty td.Fields("Business Phone"), "WSSFieldID", dbText, "WorkPhone" ChangeProperty td.Fields("Home Phone"), "WSSFieldID", dbText, "HomePhone" … End Sub

Import Contacts From Outlook

Launches the Outlook Global Address Book RunCommand acCmdAddFromOutlook Save a record as an OutlookContact RunCommand acCmdSaveAsOutlookContact Extensible to developers through table and column properties Table prop WSSTemplateID=105 Field prop WSSFieldID = [field name]

Access Data Engine - ACE

Engine based on Jet code-base and installed with Office, 100% backwards compatible with Jet Connects to external data sources Foundation for richer support of complex data Multi-choice combo box (M-M joins) Attachments Append only Read and write Excel “12” file formats SharePoint ISAM enhancements OM changes to DAO and ACE OLEDB provider (ADO)

Complex Data Structures Made Easy

Many to many joins are difficult to create Queries are complicated UI metaphors aren’t naturally built into database front-end tools

Complex Data Structures Made Easy Attachments

Linking to Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) Advertise Access Views In SharePoint Offline Lists Workflow

Getting Data From WSS

Reduces network traffic Data is fetched via Web services First request in session downloads all list data, subsequent requests pull changed items Lazy population of table on background thread provides snappy user experience WSS passes a token for last updates, GetListItemChangesSinceToken returns changes including deleted items Change log APIs optimized for synchronization Use offline for explicit refreshes of the cache

Offline Object Model

Use read-only properties to determine offline state IsOffline TableDef property HasOfflineTables database property Use RunCommands to invoke methods acCmdTakeOfflineSharePointLists acCmdReconnectSharePointLists acCmdSynchronizeSharePointLists acCmdDiscardChangesSharePointLists acCmdDiscardChangesRefreshSharePointLists

WSS Tracking Features

Tracking improvements to ‘list’ architecture Version history for all SharePoint items “Append-only” comment fields Multi-valued lookup fields Large list indexing support Feature areas List history and versioning Project Tasks list Email support Distribution list support Sync APIs for Access and Outlook synchronization UI extensibility Alerts and RSS Updated ‘Issue tracking’ template Integration with Windows Workflow Foundation for approval or custom workflows

Managed Code In Access

Managed Add-ins Implement Extensibility.IDTExtensibility2 Managed Task Panes Implement ICustomTaskPaneConsumer Expose custom properties in the managed task pane and access through Applications.ComAddins

‘Form button that opens a managed task pane Private Sub cmdOpenTaskPane_Click() Application.COMAddIns(“ManagedTaskPaneAddin.Connect”).Object.taskpaneVisible = true End Sub

Programmable Task Pane eBay Web Service Excel service Web service

Other Tracking Sessions

OFF310: Windows SharePoint Services: Developing Collaboration and Tracking Applications OFF201: Office “12”: Introduction to the Programmable Customization Model for the Office “12” User Experience (Part 1) OFF302: Office “12”: Developing with the Programmable Customization Model for the Office “12” User Experience (Part 2) OFF322: Building a Solution Using a Spreadsheet in Server-Based Scenarios OFF415: Windows SharePoint Services: Developing Custom Workflows

Summary

Microsoft is committed to Access as a developer platform SharePoint Services integration allows developers to build new types of collaborative applications Developers can build and deploy tracking templates

This presentation is for informational purposes only. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, in this summary.

Appendix

New ACCDB file format

Can be emailed and stored in SharePoint document libraries Default for all new database Supports complex data features Multiple value lookups Attachments Append only SharePoint list offline Office file encryption not Jet encoding