Visual Studio 2012 Update 2

Visual Studio 2012 Update 2 is now available!

You can download it from here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=38188

To read more about the improvements made in Update 2, you can click here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2797912

Also, just as you could do so with Visual Studio 2012 Update 1, you can also execute Visual Studio 2012 Update 2 with the /Layout switch in order to obtain an offline installation. (http://www.windowsvalley.com/visual-studio-2012-update-1-offline-installer/)

Enabling SharePoint Document Management in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011

If you want to enable SharePoint Document Management integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, you will need to have SharePoint 2010 (or SharePoint 2013) already set up and installed.

In your SharePoint environment, it is recommended that you first install the Dynamics CRM List Component to your SharePoint Web Application/SharePoint Site Collection.

You can download the CRM List Component from here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5283

The instructions for installing the CRM List Component are included with the download page, but here are a few screenshots on how to accomplish it:

1. Go into Site Actions-->Site Settings
2. Beneath the Galleries heading, click on Solutions
3. Upload and Activate the Solution

If you are unable to Activate the Solution in the Solutions Gallery, 

1. Log into Central Administration and go into Application Management
2. Beneath Service Applications, click on Manage services on server
3. Make sure that the "Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Sandboxed Code Service" service has been started

In order to configure Dynamics CRM 2011 for SharePoint Document Management, you can do the following:

1. Click on Settings
2. Click on Document Management
3. Click on the Document Management Settings icon
4. Go through the Wizard to configure the SharePoint site along with its corresponding entities in CRM.

Now, when you navigate back to Dynamics CRM and open a CRM record, you should be able to view the CRM List Component view when you click on Document Management:

SharePoint Custom Claims Provider on CodePlex

If you have a basic requirement to implement a Custom Claims Provider in your SharePoint 2010 or SharePoint 2013 environment to integrate with either your Active Directory or LDAP repository, you no longer have to write a Custom Claims Provider from scratch!

CodePlex now has a project for a Custom Claims Provider that is packaged as a SharePoint Farm Solution that can be readily deployed to either your SharePoint 2010 or SharePoint 2013 Farms:

SharePoint 2010 Custom Claims Provider

SharePoint 2013 Custom Claims Provider

Visual Studio Toolbar differences between Visual Studio 2010 and 2012

If you are switching from Visual Studio 2010 over to Visual Studio 2012, most of the main toolbar menu headers should be the same.

However, the ONE major difference between the 2 IDEs is the switch from the Data menu item to the SQL menu item.

In the case of Visual Studio 2012, while the SQL menu item replaces some of the functionality for Schema and Data Comparisons, as well as the Transact SQL Editor, it does not completely replace the Data menu item.

In the case of the Data menu item, you also have 2 menu items for "Show Data Sources" and "Add New Data Source".  

While neither of these menu items seem to exist in Visual Studio 2012, you can perform these same operations in the Data Sources pane which is usually hidden along with the Toolbox.

Classic Shell vs. ViStart

If you have examined available FREE Start Menu alternatives for Windows 8, you may have come across 2 particular alternatives called Classic Shell (http://classicshell.net/) and another alternative called ViStart (http://lee-soft.com/vistart/)

I compared the 2 of these products and came up with the following differences:

1. ViStart does not allow spanning the Start menu across multiple monitors
2. ViStart has an extended load time and is filled with adware during the installation
3. ViStart does not have an option to launch Windows Explorer by right clicking on the Start Menu icon
4. ViStart does not provide additional Start menu options such as Printers or Network Connections
5. ViStart does not have the extensive set of right-click menu options as presented in Classic Shell
6. ViStart has poor searching functionality and cannot find items such as "inetmgr"
7. ViStart does not have the ability to install the Start menu for "All Users" of the system while Classic Shell does have such functionality.
8. ViStart does not uninstall "cleanly".  It leaves traces of "Start" as a text menu item with no associated Start menu orb.
9. ViStart displays with a "shadow background" on Windows Server 2012 rather than integrating seamlessly into the Windows Server 2012 Taskbar.
10. ViStart has special "Metro" Start menu items for "Show Metro" and "Show Metro Apps"
11. ViStart provides additional skin options other than the standard look and feel associated with past versions of Windows ranging from Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.
12. Both ViStart and Classic Shell provide an option to skip the Metro User Interface and go directly to the Desktop.
13. Classic Shell uses a "Shell" icon instead of the traditional Windows 7 Start menu icon
14. Classic Shell groups the Programs and Apps separately into a Windows XP style set of program groups vs. ViStart which offers the full "traditional" Windows 7 Start Menu interface

Classic Shell

ViStart on Windows 8

ViStart on Windows Server 2012

ViStart Uninstallation "Start" menu

Overall, Classic Shell is the clear winner in terms of features and functionality that mimic the original Windows 7 Start menu!!

Creating a custom ASP.NET or WCF Web Service for SharePoint 2010

If you are looking at writing and deploying a custom ASP.NET or WCF Web Service for SharePoint 2010, you can follow the MSDN walkthroughs to accomplish this.  Though the articles refer specifically to SharePoint Foundation, you can also apply these same practices while deploying your web services to SharePoint Server.

NOTE: You should also make sure that your services are created and deployed on the .NET 3.5 platform, otherwise you will receive a PlatformNotSupportedException when attempting to execute your code.

Walkthrough: Creating a Custom ASP.NET Web Servicehttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms464040(v=office.14).aspx

Walkthrough: Creating and Implementing a Custom WCF Service in SharePoint Foundationhttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff521584(v=office.14).aspx

Where can I find the WCF Tools such as WCFTestClient.exe?

If you are looking for WCF Tools to test out your WCF Service, locating all of the various tools can be a little bit confusing since they are found in different locations.

For example, if you are looking for WcfTestClient.exe, this can be found at C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 11.0\Common7\IDE (for Visual Studio 2012).

However, if you are looking for some other debugging tools for WCF Services, they can instead be found in the Windows SDK directory here:  C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v.8.0A\bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools (for Visual Studio 2012).

Some of the tools that can be found in the Windows SDK directory include the following:

1. SvcConfigEditor.exe
2. SvcTraceViewer.exe
3. SvcUtil.exe