Difference between SharePoint 2010 and MOSS 2007

SP 2010

MOSS 2007
Look and feel

In SP 2010 look and feel perspective there

will be a ribbon where we can have a look
and feel like Office 2010

In MOSS 2007 there is no ribbon

Deployment of Web parts

In SharePoint 2010 deploying custom web
part is pretty simple i.e. just right click on the
solution and click Deploy

In MOSS 2007 you need to drag the dll either

to bin or GAC

Silverlight Application
In SP 2010 we can create a Silverlight
application directly from Visual Studio 2010

In MOSS 2007 we have to create a web part

to host Silverlight application

Shared Database & Service Application

In SP 2010 there is no SSP but there is a
concept of Service Application like BCS as
one service application, Excel Services as
another service application, User Profile as
separate service application

In MOSS 2007 we have SSP where we can

work around with BI,Search Settings, User
Profile Import, Excel Services, Info path
In Database also we use to have separate area
for SSP stuff

General idea is that you have an application

for each service, rather than one application
with lots of service crammed into it
Own database rather than shared database in
SP 2010
Easy exports/imports between the forms
In SP 2010 we can update existing
information

In MOSS 2007 through we can just read the

information and we can't update the existing
services

Improvement in Deployment
In SP 2010 we can Deploy through Farm
based and solution based solution in SP 2010
Alerts

In MOSS 2007 there is no such option

In SP 2010 it has been improved in validation

and unique values. While creating column
itself we have an option "Allow Duplicate
values" to Yes or No

In MOSS 2007 alerts were sent only through

emails but in SP 2010 users can also send
alerts to mobile device as SMS message. A
New property delivery channel is introduced
to indicate, whether the alerts is delivered as
Email or an SMS message

Improvements of events
New events for list creation and web creation

No List and web events in MOSS 207

Getting Items from the list

In SP 2010 through object model we can
fetch multiple list data by LINQ query and
object model

In MOSS 2007 we can fetch only through

object model

Rating
In SP 2010 we can have rating column by
default

In MOSS 2007 we should install the feature

that is available in codeplex to have rating

Key Word Suggestions

In SP 2010 we can have keyword suggestions

In MOSS 2007 we dont have any keyword

suggestions

Taxonomy
In SP 2010 we can create Taxonomy by using
Managed Metadata service

In MOSS 2007 we dont have taxonomy

Other Features
In SP 2010 we have Power Shell Scripting,
JavaScript object model, Chart Web Parts

In MOSS 2007 we dont have Power Shell

Scripting, JavaScript object model, Chart
Web Parts

Running stsadm command

In SP 2010 we have to go 14 hive path to run
stsadm command

In MOSS 2007 we have to go 12 hive path to

run stsadm command

SharePoint Interview Questions and

Answers
Get More Questions and Answers

Q
Ans

What is SharePoint?
SharePoint is a browser based document collaboration platform given by
Microsoft.

Q
Ans

What are features of SharePoint 2010?

Some features are :
Document Collaboration
Enterprise Search FAST Search
New Enhance Web Part
Readymade Silver Light web part
Business Connectivity Services
Social Media Investments
Large lists
Enhanced collaboration features
Visio Services
Usage reporting and logging
Better Network Differencing & SharePoint Offline in SharePoint Workspace
High Availability/ Disaster Recovery Innovation
Admin Insights through the Logging & Usage database, and dev dashboard
Service Applications
SharePoint Designer Enhancements like portable workflows, and granular
delegation
Sandbox Solutions

Q
Ans

What is WSS?
Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) is a Web portal used for collaboration
within a business or organization. WSS is easily accessible through an Internet
browser such as Internet Explorer. SharePoint is a hosted application - which
means in order to use it to full potential, it must be hosted on a Windows
server.
WSS provides a solid base to set up one or more intranet sites.
The main WSS features are:

Unlimited number of team sites or portals

Document management with collaboration and sharing capabilities
(Check-in/Checkout, workflow, meta-data, 'warn me', discussions...)

Task management and calendars on group level

Central notification management (problems, complaints, help desk...)

Collecting information/surveys via question forms

Extended search engine within each site

Workflow (examples: expense reports, holiday administration...)

Digital dashboards, with or without scorecarding

Get More Questions and Answers

Q
Ans

What is MOSS?
MOSS stands for Microsft Office Share Point Server. MOSS is a portal based

platform for complete management of documents & web services. It is a

platform for creation of customized web based applications & portals like
blogs, wiki etc. MOSS provides security features and can be configured to
return separate content based on the fact that the user has logged on using
internet, intranet or extranet.
MOSS provides extra features as compared with WSS

Consolidation of all the team sites within the organization

Enterprise search : search through different sources within the
organization with one
interface (portals, mail, ERP, CRM ...)
Central personnel data base with extended search capabilities, linked
(or not) to
internal personnel management.
Business Data Catalog (BDC): default link to external systems (e.g.
CRM/ERP)
Report Center : central management of all reports and data
connections.

Excel Services : provides Excel features in the web browser.

Creation of web-based e-Forms, full web-browser access.

Q
Ans

Difference between Library vs List ?

Library is used to store the document and Lists are the container of similar
items in form of rows and columns. In Library you can create core document
like Word, Excel, PowerPoint. But in List You can not create document, instead
of that you can attach document in a particular List.

Q
Ans

What is difference between Document Library and Form Library?

Document Library contains core document such as , MS word, Excel,
Powerpoint. But Form library contains document in XML form. Such as InfoPath
form.

Q
Ans

What is Central Admin in SharePoint?

Central admin is the default website by sharepoint while installing.

Q
Ans

What is stsadm command?

Stsadm command is used to perform all administrative work. For e.g. backup,
restore, installing feature, adding web part to site etc.

Q
Ans

What is the command to take backup and restore for sharepoint site?
Backup command:
stsadm -o backup -url http://moss:4002/ -filename c:\bkupsite.bak
To restore :
stsadm -o restore -url http://moss:4004/ -filename c:\bkupsite.bak

Q
Ans

What is a Farm?
n the context of SharePoint, the term farm is used to describe a collection of
one or more SharePoint servers and one or more SQL servers that come
together to provide a set of basic SharePoint services bound together by a
single Configuration Database in SQL.
Farms can range in size from having everything (all SharePoint roles and SQL

server) on one machine to scaling out every individual SharePoint serve role
onto dedicated sets of servers. A farm the highest administrative boundary for
SharePoint and everything that happens inside SharePoint happens in a farm.
In Short : A sharepoint Farm is a collection of one or more sharepoint server
which having a single configuration database.
Q
Ans

What are sites available in SharePoint?

Team Site
Blank Site
Document
Workspace
Blog
Group Work Site
Visio Process
Repository
Basic Meeting
Workspace
Blank Meeting
Workspace
Decision Meeting
Workspace
Social Meeting
Workspace
Multipage
Meeting
Workspace
Assets Web
Database
Charitable
Contributions
Web Database
Contacts Web
Database
Issues Web
Database
Projects Web
Database
Document
Center
Records Center
Business
Intelligence
Center
My Site Host
Personalization
Site
Enterprise
Search Center
Basic Search
Center
FAST Search
Center
Enterprise Wiki
Publishing Portal
Publishing Site
Publishing Site
With Workflow

Central
Administration
Q.
Ans

What is a site definition in sharepoint?

Site definition is a combination of template and XML. Site definition available
in sharepoint are STS for Team and Blank Site, MPS for ,meeting workspace.
BLOGS for Blogs site.

Q.
Ans.

What are SharePoint object model?

In Sharepoint Object model there are two Important namespaces.
The Microsoft.Office.Server namespace is the root namespace of all Office
Server objects and Microsoft.SharePoint is the root namespace for all WSS
objects.

Q.
Ans.

What is a site collection?

Site Collection is collection of sharepoint site. i.e. Sharepoint site collection is
logical grouping of multiple sharepoint site.
A site collection is a group of Web sites that have the same owner and share
administration settings, for example, permissions. When you create a site
collection, a top-level site is automatically created in the site collection. You
can then create one or more subsites below the top-level site.
A site collection must exist within a Web application. You can create a site
collection based on an existing Web application, or you can create a Web
application and then create a site collection within that application.

Q.
Ans.

What is a site?

Site is a collection of web pages which is used to store information in

organised way.
Site stores list of documents, discussion, events, task and many other
types of information.
Site provides controlled access to share information among user. i.e.
Only Authorize users are allowed to access shared information.

Q.
Ans

What are web Parts in Sharepoint?

Web Parts are the fundamental building blocks for Share Point user interface,
and with them we can build and integrate many different types of
applications.
Webparts are smallest component in sharepoint. Web parts are used to give
more functionality to the page. In sharepoint we have custom web part as well
as ready made 3rd party web part. You can create a custom web part by using
visual studio
Various web parts available in sharepoint web part gallery are:
Data view web part, Content editor web part, Form web part, Excel web
access web part, Image web part etc.

Q.
Ans.

What is web application in Sharepoint?

In sharepoint Webapplication is a IIS website. Each web application is
associated with one IIS website. For each web application, content database is
created.

Q.
Ans.

What is CAML?
CAML stands for Collaborative application markup languages. It is in xml form.

And it can be sued to retrieve the data from sharepoint list as well to update
and insert.
Q.
Ans.

What are Content types?

A content type is a reusable thing provided by WSS. content type defines the
column for an item in a library or list and same can be used for any library or
list in that sharepoint application.
For e.g. you are creating a list for leave application then if you are creating
column for HR department, IT department then it does not makes any sense.
So used content type where you can create your own column or site column
(Given by sharepoint) and you can use this content type with any list or
library.

Q.
Ans.

What is BDC?
BDC i.e. Business Data Catalouge. It is a middleware for your sharepoint site
and back end data such as SAP, Siebel and any other Line of Business
application.
In BDC you can not modify data from your sharepoint list. It will be available
to your site in read only.
In Sharepoint 2010 it is named as BCS (Business Connectivity Services). BCS
is two way, i.e. Data can be edit from sharepoint list as well from the back end
data base.

Q.
Ans.

What is workspace?
A site or workspace is when you want a new place for collaborating on Web
pages, lists and document libraries. For example, you might create a site to
manage a new team or project,collaborate on a document or prepare for a
meeting.

Q.
Ans.

Workflow can be applied to what all elements of SharePoint ?

While workflow associations are often created directly on lists and document
libraries, a workflow association can also be created on a content type that
exists within the Content Type Gallery for the current site or content types
defined within a list.
In short, it can be applied ...

Q.
Ans.

At the level of a list (or document library)

At the level of a content type defined at site scope

At the level of a site ( Sharepoint 2010 )

What are the ways to initiate the workflow ?

Automatic (on item added or item deleted)

Manual (standard WSS UI interface)

Manual (Custom UI Interface)

Programatically through custom code

Get More Questions and Answers

Q.
Ans.

What are the types of input forms that can be created for a workflow ?
You can create four different types of input forms including an association
form, an initiation form, a modification form, and a task edit form. Note that
these forms are optional when you create a workflow template.

Q.
Ans.

What are ways to create input forms for workflow ?

Two different approaches can be used to develop custom input forms for a
WSS workflow template.

You can create your forms by using custom application pages, which
are standard .aspx pages deployed to run out of the _layouts directory.
( disadv: lot of code required when compared to Infopath approach)
using Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 /2010 (disadv: picks up a
dependenct on MOSS, i.e. it cannot run in a standalone WSS
environment)

Q.
Ans

What is the difference between method activity and event activity in WF ?

A method activity is one that performs an action, such as creating or updating
a task. An event activity is one that runs in response to an action occurring.

Q.
Ans.

What is different with SharePoint 2010 workflows ?

Some of the additions in workflow model are :
1. SharePoint 2010 workflows are build upon the the workflow engine
provide .Net Framework 3.5.
2. In addition to the SharePoint lists we can now create workflows for
SharePoint sites as well.
3. SharePoint Designer 2010 also has a new graphical workflow designer for
designing workflows and deploying them directly to SharePoint.
4. Another Improvement in SharePoint Designer 2010 is that it now allows you
to edit the out-of-the-box workflows that come with SharePoint.

Q.
Ans.

What is the difference between an Internet and an intranet site?

An internet site is a normal site that anyone on the internet can access (e.g.,
www.msn.com, www.microsoft.com, etc.). You can set up a site for your
company that can be accessed by anyone without any user name and
password.
An intranet (or internal network), though hosted on the Web, can only be
accessed by people who are members of the network. They need to have a
login and password that was assigned to them when they were added to the
site by the site administrator

Q.
Ans.

What are the various kinds of roles the users can have?
A user can be assigned one of the following roles

Reader - Has read-only access to the Web site.

Contributor - Can add content to existing document libraries and lists.

Web Designer - Can create lists and document libraries and customize
pages in the Web site.

Administrator - Has full control of the Web site.

Q.
Ans.

What are the types of authentication available for Sharepoint 2010 ?

Claims

Windows

Forms-based authentication

Ref : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262350(office.14).aspx
Q.

What is claims based authentication ?

Ans.

Claims is a new authentication method that SharePoint 2010 can utilize. This
allows a single authentication store for multiple types of authentication
(Windows NTLM, SQL FBA, LDAP, etc) which allows all of these types of
authentication to access SharePoint under a single URL.
Claims creates a SAML token based on the sign-in, that contains the users
identity.
Ref: http://blogs.technet.com/ritaylor/archive/2009/06/03/claims-basedauthentication-an-overview.aspx

Q.
Ans.

Q.
Ans.

How do we use the claims identity outside of SharePoint?

LOB systems

External partner services

Separate SharePoint farms

What is LINQ to Sharepoint ?

Q.

LINQ is a feature of the programming languages C# 3.0 and Visual

Basic .NET
LINQ adds, to each of the languages, a SQL-like syntax and vocabulary
for querying data sources.
LINQ to Sharepoint allows developers to use SQL-like syntax to query
Lists and Libraries in Sharepoint.
LINQ to Sharepoint internally converts the LINQ query to a CAML query
to fetch records
Advantage : Strongly typed access to the entities of the list.
Disadvantage : If the new columns are added or its datatype changed,
the datacontext class used by LINQ is no longer valid and may break
the code

Ans.

Name the tool used to create DataContent classes for use in LINQ
queries?
SPMetal.exe

Q.
Ans.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of LINQ to Sharepoint ?

Advantages:

Intellisense

Strongly typed access to the entities of the list

Faster development

Simplify complex queries

Disadvantages:

If the new columns are added or its datatype changed, the datacontext
class used by LINQ is no longer valid and may break the code
Extra layer to the actual CAML query

Q.
Ans.

Can MS Visio be used to create a Sharepoint workflow ?

MS Visio cannot be used to create the Sharepoint workflow itself, but can be
used for workflow visualization. What this means is that, the flow diagram
designed in Visio can be imported in Sharepoint Designer where all the
functionality can be added and deployed to Sharepoint.
Note:
To use Visio 2010 for workflow visualization, you must be running the
Enterprise version of SharePoint Server 2010 and Visio 2010 Premium.

Q.

Whats new in Shared Service Provider (SSP ) in Sharepoint 2010 ?

( Alt Q: What is "Service Application" ? )

Ans.

Service Application or Service App is a concept in Sharepoint 2010, where

SSP Services are split out into separate services.
What is replaced :

Profiles, Audiences = People Service App

Search = Search Service App

Excel = Excel Service App

Whats new :

Project Server = Project Server App

Visio Services = Visio Service App

Advantages :

Web applications can be configured to only use a subset of the

deployed services.
You can deploy multiple instances of the same service in a farm by
giving the new service instances unique names.
You can share services across multiple web applications in a farm.

Ref :
http://blogs.msdn.com/uksharepoint/archive/2009/10/21/sharepoint-2010new-shared-services.aspx
http://aknauer.blogspot.com/2009/11/sharepoint-2010-advantages-ofservice.html
http://www.andrewconnell.com/blog/archive/2009/10/19/the-new-serviceapplication-architecture-in-sharepoint-server-2010.aspx

http://www.andrewmilsark.com/blog/post/2009/10/20/SharePoint-2010Service-Applications-(Shared-Services)-Overview.aspx
Q.
Ans.

Explain types of SharePoint Sites

Types of sharepoint sites:
Wiki: This is usually where everyone is allowed to add/change content for a
common knowledgebase.
Blog: This type of site is for posting specialized articles or information for
everyone to read.
Publishing site: This site is used to approving particular content before its
published to everyone.
Document library: A site mainly used for document management purposes.
Download site: This type of site helps in monitoring the count of downloads
and track them.
List or Forum: The idea is to have specific people post a topic and then allow
others to comment on the posts.
Survey: Usually a site thats accessed by everyone for conducting a survey.
Dashboard: The idea of a dashboard is for business executives to gain
information and perform reporting tasks.

Q.
Ans.

What is SharePoint Workflow? Explain its purposes

Workflows are implementation of business processes allowing people to
collaborate on documents through various project tasks assigned to
individuals. They enhance productivity and organization of work in an
organization. This enables people to only concentrate on tasks given to them.
Its basically a planned series of tasks assigned to individuals to achieve an
outcome.
Workflows included in MOSS:
Approval
Collect Feedback
Collect signatures
Disposition approval
Three-state
Group approval
Translation management
Overall MOSS workflows target at higher productivity keeping collaboration
and business processes in mind.

Q.
Ans.

How is SharePoint Portal Server different from the Site Server?

The Sharepoint Site Server has search capabilities which are more advanced
using SharePoint. It uses digital dashboard technology, which provides a nice
interface for creating web parts and also allows showing them on dashboards
pages. Site Server on the other hand, does not have anything as advanced as
that. The biggest difference would be Sharepoint Portal Servers document
management features which also integrate with web folders and MS Office.

Q.
Ans.

What are ways to create input forms for workflow?

MOSS has the capability for a workflow participant to fill an initiation form to
start a workflow. The initiation form can have fields that support:

Single line of text

Multiple lines of text

Number (up/down counter arrows)

Yes/No (Checkbox)

Choice (dropdowns)

Date and time (calendar)

One can use these to create forms by using custom application pages (aspx
pages), which are deployed to run out of the _layout directory on MOSS server
or using Microsoft Office Infopath 2007 /2010
Q.
Ans.

What is an application pool?

A group of one or more URLs that are served by a particular worker process or
set of worker processes.

Q.
Ans.

Why are application pools important?

They provide a way for multiple sites to run on the same server but still have
their own worker processes and identity.

Q.
Ans.

What are zones?

Different logical paths (URLs meaning) of gaining access to the same
SharePoint Web application.

Q.
Ans.

What are Web Application Policies?

Enables security policy for users at the Web application level, rather than at
the site collection or site level. Importantly, they override all other security
settings.

Q.
Ans.

What are content databases?

A content database can hold all the content for one or more site collections.

Q.
Ans.

What are My Sites?

Specialized SharePoint sites personalized and targeted for each user.

Q.

What is the difference between Classic mode authentication

and Claims-based authentication?
As the name implies, classic authentication supports NT authentication types
like Kerberos, NTLM, Basic, Digest, and anonymous. Claims based
authentication uses claims identities against a against a trusted identity
provider.

Ans.

Q.
Ans.

When would you use claims, and when would you use classic?
Classic is more commonly seen in upgraded 2007 environments whereas
claims are the recommended path for new deployments.

Q.

Describe the potential components for both a single server, and

multiple servers, potentially several tiered farms.
A single-server SharePoint Server 2010 environment leverages a built-in SQL
Server 2008 Express database. The problems with this environment is
scalability, not being able to install the with built-in database on a domain
controller, the database cannot be larger than 4 GB, and you cannot use User
Profile Synchronization in a single server with built-in database installation.
An example of a multiple tier farm would be a three-tier topology, considered
one of the more efficient physical and logical layouts to supports scaling out
or scaling up and provides better distribution of services across the member
servers of the farm. This is considered a good architecture since one can add
Web servers to the Web tier, add app servers to the application tier, and add
database servers to the database tier.

Ans.

Q.

What are some of the tools that can be used when backing up a
SharePoint 2010 environment?

Ans.

SharePoint farm backup and recovery

SQL Server

System Center Data Protection Manager

Q.
Ans.

What Microsoft tool can be used for incremental backups?

System Center Data Protection Manager

Q.
Ans.

What is Managed Metadata?

Managed metadata is a hierarchical collection of centrally managed terms
that you can define, and then use as attributes for items.

Q.
Ans.

What are Terms and Term Sets?

A term is a word or a phrase that can be associated with an item. A term set
is a collection of related terms.

Q.
Ans.

How do Terms And Term Sets relate to Managed Metadata?

Managed metadata is a way of referring to the fact that terms and term sets
can be created and managed independently from the columns themselves.

Q.
Ans.

Are there different types of Term Sets?

There are Local Term Sets and Global Term Sets, one created within the
context of a site collection and the other created outside the context of a site
collection, respectively.

Q.
Ans.

How are terms created and used?

There are several ways; however the most common is to use the Term Store
Management Tool.

Q.
Ans.

How is Managed Metadata, and the related Term technology used?

Through the UI, the most common use is through the managed metadata list
column which allows you to specify the term set to use. It also related to
searching and enhancing the user search experience.

Q.
Ans.

What is a sandboxed solution?

Components that are deployed to run within the sandboxed process rather
than running in the production Internet Information Services (IIS) worker
process.

Q.

What are some examples of things that might run within the
SharePoint sandbox?
Any of the following are acceptable answers:
Web Parts
Event receivers
Feature receivers
Custom Microsoft SharePoint Designer workflow activities
Microsoft InfoPath business logic
Etc.

Ans.

Q.
Ans.

Why are sandboxed solutions used?

Primarily because they promote high layers of isolation. By default they run
within a rights-restricted, isolated process based around Code Access Security
(CAS). Isolation is possible to increase with activities like running the
sandboxing service on only specific SharePoint 2010 servers.

Q.

What is a content source in relation to SharePoint search? Whats the

minimum amount of content sources?

Ans.

A content source is a set of options that you can use to specify what type of
content is crawled, what URLs to crawl, and how deep and when to crawl. You
must create at least one content source before a crawl can occur.

Q.
Ans.

What is a search scope?

A search scope defines a subset of information in the search index. Users can
select a search scope when performing a search.

Q.
Ans.

What is a federated location with SharePoint search?

Federated locations provide information that exists outside of your internal
network to your end-users.

Q.
Ans.

How does managed metadata affect search?

Enhances the end-user search experience by mapping crawled properties to
managed properties. Managed properties show up in search results and help
users perform more successful queries.

Q.
Ans.

What is query logging in SharePoint 2010?

Collects information about user search queries and search results that users
select on their computers to improve the relevancy of search results and to
improve query suggestions.

Q.
Ans.

What authentication type does the SharePoint crawler use?

The crawl component requires access to content using NTLM authentication.

Q.
Ans.

Please describe what a Service Application is in SharePoint 2010.

Service applications in SharePoint 2010 are a set of services that can
possibly be shared across Web applications. Some of these services may or
may not be shared across the SharePoint 2010 farm. The reason these
applications are shared is the overall reduction of resources required to supply
the functionality these services cultivate.

Q.
Ans.

Please provide an example of one of these service applications.

Any of the below are acceptable answers:
Access Services
Business Data Connectivity service
Excel Services Application
Managed Metadata service
PerformancePoint Service Application
Search service
Secure Store Service
State service
Usage and Health Data Collection service
User Profile service
Visio Graphics Service
Web Analytics service
Word Automation Services
Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Subscription Settings Service

Q.
Ans.

What are Service Application Groups used for?

Just provides a logical grouping of services that are scoped to a particular Web
Application.

Q.

How are Service Applications deployed in terms of IIS (Internet

Information Services)?
They are provisioned as a single Internet Information Services (IIS) Web site.

Ans.

Get More Questions and Answers

Q.
Ans.

Explain how connections are managed with Service Applications.

A virtual entity is used that is referred to as a proxy, due to label in

PowerShell.
Q.
Ans.

What are some common examples of SharePoint 2010

services architectures, and what are the advantages of each design?
The three most popular designs are single farms with either a single service
application group or multiple service application groups, or Enterprise services
farms.
Single farms with a single service application group are generally the most
common, and have the advantages of easy deployment, simple service
application allocation, effective resource utilization and cohesive
management.
Single farms with multiple service application groups is less common, and
have the advantage of potential individual management of service
applications as well as allowing data isolation, and while being more complex
to deploy and maintain allows targeting of sites to particular service
applications.
Enterprise Service Farms is pretty uncommon as it is a complete farm
dedicated to Service Applications but promotes autonomous management
and high levels of data isolation.

Q.
Ans.

Are there any other type of relevant service architectures?

Depending on the environment requirements, a specialized farm can also be
used in order to deploy specific services tailored to the organizational
requirements which can aid in scaling out and conservation of resources.

Q.
Ans.

What is the User Profile service?

Allows configuring and managing User profile properties, Audiences, Profile
synchronization settings, organization browsing and management settings,
and My Site settings.

Q.
Ans.

What are User Profiles?

Aggregates properties from diverse identity content sources together to
create unified and consistent profiles across an organization, used throughout
the SharePoint environment.

Q.
Ans.

What is Excel Services?

Allows sharing, securing, managing, and using Excel 2010 workbooks in a
SharePoint Server Web site or document library. Excel Services consists of the
Excel Calculation Services (ECS), Microsoft Excel Web Access (EWA), and Excel
Web Services (EWS) components.

Q.
Ans.

What is PerformancePoint Services?

Allows users to monitor and analyze a business by building dashboards,
scorecards, and key performance indicators (KPIs).

Q.
Ans.

What is Visio Services?

Allows users to share and view Microsoft Visio Web drawings. The service also
enables data-connected Microsoft Visio 2010 Web drawings to be refreshed
and updated from various data sources.

Q.
Ans.

What is Access Services?

Allows users to edit, update, and create linked Microsoft Access 2010
databases that can be viewed and manipulated by using an internet browser,
the Access client, or a linked HTML page.

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What is the Secure Store Service (SSS)?

A secure database for storing credentials that are associated with application
IDs

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What is Content Deployment?

Content deployment enables you to copy content from a source site collection
to a destination site collection.

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Backup / DR Questions
Describe how redundancy can be built into a SharePoint
environment. Please be specific in regards to any auxiliary
components.
Multiple front-end web servers (WFEs) can be deployed and correlated
through Windows NLB or anything approach. Application servers can be
deployed into the farm for a variety of purposes, depending on organizational
requirements. Databases can be clustered or mirrored, again depending on
requirements and environment.
From a basic standpoint, what is the difference between SQL
clustering and mirroring?
Clustering provides a failover scenario whereby one or more nodes can be
swapped as active depending on whether a node goes down. In mirroring,
transactions are sent directly from a principal database and server to a mirror
database to establish essentially a replica of the database.
Governance Questions
What Is Governance in terms of SharePoint 2010?
Governance is the set of policies, roles, responsibilities, and processes that
guide, direct, and control how an organizations business divisions and IT
teams cooperate to achieve business goals.
What are some useful, OOB features of SharePoint that aid with
governance of an environment?
Any of the below are acceptable answers. There are some others but these
are the major ones that I generally look for from a candidate:
Site templates consistent branding, site structure, and layout can be
enforce a set of customizations that are applied to a site definition.
Quotas limits to the amount of storage a site collection can use.
Locks - prevent users from either adding content to a site collection or using
the site collection.
Web application permissions and policies comprehensive security
settings that apply to all users and groups for all site collections within a Web
application.
Self-service site creation - enables users to create their own site
collections, thus must be incorporated into a governance scheme.
Monitoring Questions
Describe the monitoring features that are baked into SharePoint
2010.
Diagnostic logging captures data about the state of the system, whereas
health and usage data collection uses specific timer jobs to perform
monitoring tasks, collecting information about:

Performance Counter Fata

Event Log Data

Timer Service Data

Metrics For Site Collections and Sites

Search Usage Data

General Workflow Questions

What is a declarative workflow? Can non-authenticated users

Ans.

participate in workflows?
Workflows created by using Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2010, the default
setting enables deployment of declarative workflows. Yes, however you do not
give non-authorized users access to the site. The e-mail message and
attachments sent from notifications might contain sensitive information

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What is Windows Powershell ?

Windows PowerShell is a new Windows command-line shell designed
especially for system administrators. In the SharePoint administration context,
Windows PowerShell is another administration tool that supersedes the
existing Stsadm.exe.

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How is Windows Powershell different from Stsadm ?

Unlike stsadm, which accept and return text, Windows PowerShell is built on
the Microsoft .NET Framework and accepts and returns .NET Framework
objects. In addition to that it also gives you access to the file system on the
computer so that you can access registry,digital signature certificate etc..

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What are cmdlet's?

Windows PowerShell introduces the concept of a cmdlet which are simple
build in commands, written in a .net language like C# or VB.

Q.

Can you Create PowerShell scripts for deploying components in

SharePoint ?
If you are creating a webpart with VS 2010 then you can deploy it using ctrl +
f5. However, to activate the webpart feature you can write a powershell script
(.ps1) and execute it after dpeloyment.

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Where is Powershell located in sharePoint ?

On the Start menu, click All Programs -> Click Microsoft SharePoint 2010
Products -> Click SharePoint 2010 Management Shell.

Q.

If you need going to install a webpart or any custom solution in

SharePoint 2010 using PowerShell What permissions do you need?
In order to use Windows PowerShell for SharePoint 2010 Products, a user must
be a member of the SharePoint_Shell_Access role on the configuration and
content database. In addition to this, the user must also be a member of the
WSS_ADMIN_WPG local group on the computer where SharePoint 2010
Products is installed.

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How to list all the commands in PowerShell ?

Get-Command * commands gets you all the Powershell command

Q.

What is the advantage in using Windows PowerShell over stsadm in

SharePoint 2010 ?
Unlike stsadm, which accept and return text, Windows PowerShell is built on
the Microsoft .NET Framework and accepts and returns .NET Framework
objects.Windows PowerShell also gives you access to the file system on the
computer and enables you to access other data stores, such as the registry
and the digital signature certificate stores etc..

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How would you deploy WebPart Using Windows PowerShell?

At the Windows PowerShell command prompt (PS C:\>), type the below
command :
Install -SPWebPartPack -LiteralPath FullPathofCabFile -Name Nameof
WebPart

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What would you like to see in the next version of SharePoint?

A few suggestions:

1.

SPS and STS on same machine

2.

Tree view of Categories and Folders

3.

General Discussion Web Part

4.

Personalization of Dashboards

5.

Role Customization

6.

Email to say WHY a document has been rejected for Approval

7.

More ways to customize the interface

8.

Backup and restore an individual Workspaces

9.

Filter for Visio

10.

Better way to track activity on SPS

Ability to Save as from Adobe to space on My Network Places

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What is a site definition?

Its a methods for providing prepackaged site and list content.

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What is a template?
A template is a pre-defined set of functions or settings that can be used over
time. There are manytemplates within SharePoint,Site Templates, Document
Templates, Document Library and ListTemplates.

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How do you install web parts?

Web Parts should be distributed as a .CAB (cabinet) file using the MSI Installer.

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What is a DWP?
The file extension of a web part.

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What is the GAC?

Global Assembly Cache folder on the server hosting SharePoint. You place
your assemblies there for web parts and services to share them.

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Can I post any kind of document? Can i restrict some document types
You can post documents in many formats, including .pdf, .htm and .doc. In
addition, if you are using Microsoft Office XP, you can save documents directly
to your Windows SharePointServices site. Yes, you can restrict document types
by either adding them to central admin or by using a custom event receiver.

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Can I create custom templates?

Yes you can. You can create site or list templates which are nothing but a set
of files, pages and data so that they can be re-used for business process. For
e.g. creating a issue tracking list template will be used to various other teams.

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How can I make My site public?

By default, all sites are created private.If you want your site to be a public
Web site, enable anonymous access for the entire site. Then you can give out
your URL to anybody in yourbusiness card, e-mail or any other marketing
material. The URL for your Web site will be:http://
yoursitename.wss.bcentral.com Hence, please take special care to name your
site.These Web sites are ideal for information and knowledge intensive sites

and/or sites where you need to have shared Web workspace.Remember:

Under each parent Web site, you can create up to 10 sub-sites each with
unique permissions, settings and security rights.
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How do I make my site non-restricted?

If you want your site to have anonymous access enabled (i.e., you want to
treat it like any site on the Internet that does not ask you to provide a user
name and password to see the content of the site), follow these simple steps:
# Login as an administrator
# Click on site settings
# Click on Go to Site Administration
# Click on Manage anonymous access
# Choose one of the three conditions on what Anonymous users can access:**
Entire Web site** Lists and libraries** Nothing Default condition is nothing;
your site has restricted access.
The default conditions allow you to create a secure site for your Web site.

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Can each user have access to their own calendar?

Yes there are two ways to do this,
* by creating a calendar for each user, or
* by creating a calendar with a view for each user.

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What types of files can I upload / post to the site?

The only files restricted are those ending with the following extensions:
.asa, .asp, .ida, .idc, .idq.Microsoft reserves the right to add additional file
types to this listing at any time. Also, no content that violates the terms of
service may be uploaded or posted to the site.

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Can SharePoint be linked to an external data source?

SharePoint data can be opened with Access and Excel as an external data
source. Thus, SharePoint can be referenced as an external data source.
SharePoint itself cannot reference an external datasource.

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How does Ribbon works ?

A file called CMDUI.XML stays at the web front end which contains the Out-ofBox site wide Ribbon implementation i.e. all the Ribbon UI for the entire site.
In addition to this you have a CustomAction for each ribbon component. These
CustomActions have CommandUIExtentions block which has
CommandUIDefinitions and CommandUIHandlers which make up the activity
of the ribbon component. So, when the ribbon is loaded the
CommandUIDefinition merges with Out-of-Box definition in the CMDUI.XML

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How would you add a link in the Ribbon?

You can add any link or Custom Action under any of the existing tabs of the
ribbon or can create a new a new tab and place your links under it.

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What does CMDUI.XML contain?

The definitions for the out-of-the-box ribbon elements are split across several
files in the SharePoint root, with TEMPLATE\GLOBAL\XML\CMDUI.XML being the
main one.

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What is REST ? How is it used in SharePoint 2010 ?

REST (Representational State transfer) is a protocol (powered by ADO.NET
services) which is used for getting data out of sharepoint via Url. It is mostly
used to access data from sharepoint even when you are not in the sharepoint
context.

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What datatype is retured by REST ?

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REST does not return an object of type SharePoint Site\List. Instead, it returns
an XML output.

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What is the difference between a Site Definition and a Site Template?

Site Definitions are stored on the hard drive of the SharePoint front end
servers. They are used by the SharePoint application to generate the sites
users can create. Site Templates are created by users as a copy of a site they
have configured and modified so that they do not have to recreate lists,
libraries, views and columns every time they need a new instance of a site.

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How will you use WebParts or other solutions Created in SharePoint

2007 in SharePoint 2010 ?
In SharePoint 2010 the 12 hive is now replaced by 14 hive, So we will rewrite
and recompile any code that refers to files and resources in 12 hive. In
addition to we must recompile custom code written for Windows SharePoint
Services 3.0 and Office SharePoint Server 2007 that does not run on IIS.

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What has Changed in SharePoint 2010 Object model?

Microsoft has replaced the 12 hive structure that we had in SharePoint 2007
with 14 Hive structure in 2010.
It has apparently added four new folders to its hive.
The Folders are :
* Policy
* UserCode
* WebClients
* WebServices

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How do you create a Custom action for an item in a list ?

This can be done by adding a new feature into SharePoint. You would need to
use customaction tag in your elements.xml file and will have to set various
properties like imageurl or UrlAction for your customaction. You can later add
this feature into sharepoint using stsadm install feature command.

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How would you bind this CustomAction to a specific list ?

To do this you can either create a new list type(again a feature) and use the
listtype number for the new list in your RegistrationType property of the
Customaction. The CustomAction will then show up only for the items of this
list type. or You can create a new content type and then use that content
type's id in your cutsomaction to bind the custom action to items of just that
content type. Add the new content type to the list where you need this
customaction.

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How do make an existing non-publishing site Publishing?

You can simply activate the SharePoint Publishing Feature for the Site, you
want to make publishing.

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What are Application Pages in SharePoint?

Unlike site pages (for example, default.aspx), a custom application page is
deployed once per Web server and cannot be customized on a site-by-site
basis. Application pages are based in the virtual _layouts directory. In addition,
they are compiled into a single assembly DLL.
A good example of an Application Page is the default Site Settings page: every
site has one, and it's not customizable on a per site basis (although the
contents can be different for sites).
With application pages, you can also add inline code. With site pages, you
cannot add inline code.

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What is Authentication and Authorization?

An authentication system is how you identify yourself to the computer. The
goal behind an authentication system is to verify that the user is actually who

they say they are.

Once the system knows who the user is through authentication, authorization
is how the system decides what the user can do.
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Which is faster a WebPart or a User Control?

A WebPart renders faster than a User Control. A User Control in SharePoint is
usually loaded by a webpart which adds an overhead. User Controls however,
gives you an Interface to add controls and styles.

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What SharePoint Databases are Created during the standard Install?

The databases that are automatically created when you run the SharePoint
Products Configuration Wizard for SharePoint Server 2010, Standard
Edition 1. Secure Store database - The Secure Store service application database
stores and maps credentials, such as account names and passwords. Prefixed
with "Secure_Store_Service_DB_".
2. State database - The State service application database stores
temporary state information for InfoPath Forms Services, the chart Web Part,
and Visio Services. Prefixed with "StateService".
3. Web Analytics Staging database - The Staging database temporarily
stores un-aggregated fact data, asset metadata, and queued batch data for
the Web Analytics service application. Prefixed with
"WebAnalyticsServiceApplication_StagingDB_"
4. Web Analytics Reporting database - The Reporting database stores
aggregated standard report tables, fact data aggregated by groups of sites,
date and asset metadata, and diagnostics information for the Web Analytics
service application. Prefixed with
"WebAnalyticsServiceApplication_ReportingDB_"
5. Search service application Administration database - The
Administration database hosts the Search service application configuration
and access control list (ACL), and best bets for the crawl component. This
database is accessed for every user and administrative action. Prefixed with
"Search_Service_Application_DB_".
6. Search service application Crawl database - The Crawl database
stores the state of the crawled data and the crawl history. Prefixed with
"Search_Service_Application_CrawlStoreDB_'.
7. Search service application Property database - The Property
database stores information that is associated with the crawled data,
including properties, history, and crawl queues. Prefixed with
"Search_Service_Application_PropertyStoreDB_"
8. User Profile service application Profile database - The Profile
database stores and manages users and associated information. It also stores
information about a user's social network in addition to memberships in
distribution lists and sites. Prefixed with "User Profile Service
Application_ProfileDB_".
9. User Profile service application Synchronization database -The
Synchronization database stores configuration and staging data for use when
profile data is being synchronized with directory services such as Active
Directory.Prefixed with "User Profile Service Application_SyncDB_".
10. User Profile service application Social Tagging database - The

Social Tagging database stores social tags and notes created by users, along
with their respective URLs.Prefixed with "User Profile Service
Application_SocialDB_".
11. Managed Metadata database - The Managed Metadata service
application database stores managed metadata and syndicated content
types. Prefixed with "
Managed Metadata Service_".
In addition to all the databases created with Standard edition, Enterprise
addition install adds two more databases :
1. PerformancePoint service application database - The
PerformancePoint service application database stores temporary objects,
persisted filter values, and user comments. Name Prefix
"PerformancePointServiceApplication_.."
2. Word Automation Services database - The Word Automation Services
database stores information about pending and completed document
conversions.Name Prefix "WordAutomationServices_..."
Note : You do not have to use these naming conventions. You can either
specify database names when you create them, or change the database
names after they have been created.
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What files gets created on a file system, when a Site collection is

created ?
Windows SharePoint Services does not create any files or folders on the file
system when the site collection or sites are created; everything is created in
the content database. The Pages for the site collection are created as
instances in the content database. These instances refer to the actual file on
the file system.
How would you remove a webapart from the WebPart gallery? Does it
get removed with Webpart retraction?
No, Webpart does not get removed from the WebPart gallery on retraction.
You can write a feature receiver on Featuredeactivating method to remove the
empty webpart from the gallery.
what is the difference between SharePoint Portal Server and
Windows SharePoint Services?
SharePoint Portal Server is the global portal offering features like global
navigation and searching. Windows SharePoint Services is more content
management based with document libraries and lists. You apply information
to certain areas within your portal from Windows SharePoint Services or
directly to portal areas.

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what is a document library?

A document library is where you upload your core documents. They consist of
a row and column view with links to the documents. When the document is
updated so is the link on your site. You can also track metadata on your
documents. Metadata would consist of document properties.

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what is a meeting workspace?

A meeting workspace is a place to store information, attendees, and tasks
related to a specific meeting.

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what is a document workspace?

Document workspaces consist of information surrounding a single or multiple

documents.
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what is a web part?

Web parts consist of xml queries to full SharePoint lists or document libraries.
You can also develop your own web parts and web part pages.

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what is a web part zone?

Web part zones are what your web parts reside in and help categorize your
web parts when designing a page.

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how is security managed in SharePoint?

Security can be handled at the machine, domain, or sharepoint level.

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how are web parts developed?

Web parts are developed in Visual Studio .Net. VS.Net offers many web part
and page templates and can also be downloaded from the Microsoft site.

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what is a site definition?

Its a methods for providing prepackaged site and list content.

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what is a template?
A template is a pre-defined set of functions or settings that can be used over
time. There are many templates within SharePoint, Site Templates, Document
Templates, Document Library and List Templates.

Q.

what are the differences between web part page gallery, site gallery,
virtual server gallery and online gallery?
Web Part Page Gallery is the default gallery that comes installed with
SharePoint. Site Gallery is specific to one site. Virtual Server gallery is specific
to that virtual server and online gallery are downloadable web parts from
Microsoft.

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What does AllowUnsafeUpdates do ?

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What does RunWithElevatedPrivileges do?

If your code modifies Windows SharePoint Services data in some way, you
may need to allow unsafe updates on the Web site, without requiring a
security validation. You can do by setting the AllowUnsafeUpdates property.
C#:
?
1 using(SPSite mySite = new SPSite("yourserver"))
2 { using(SPWeb myWeb = mySite.OpenWeb())
3 {
4 myWeb.AllowUnsafeUpdates = true;
5 SPList interviewList = myWeb.Lists["listtoinsert"];
6 SPListItem newItem = interviewList.Items.Add();
7 newItem["interview"] = "interview";
8 newItem.Update();
9 }
10 }
Assume that you have a Web Part in which you want to display information
obtained through the Windows SharePoint Services object model, such as
the name of the current site collection owner, usage statistics, or auditing
information. These are examples of calls into the object model that require
site-administration privileges. Your Web Part experiences an access-denied
error if it attempts to obtain this information when the current user is not a
site administrator. The request is initiated by a nonprivileged user. you can

still successfully make these calls into the object model by calling the
RunWithElevatedPrivileges method provided by the SPSecurity class. C#:
SPSite siteColl = SPContext.Current.Site;
SPWeb site = SPContext.Current.Web;
SPSecurity.RunWithElevatedPrivileges(delegate()
{
using (SPSite ElevatedsiteColl = new SPSite(siteColl.ID))
{
using (SPWeb ElevatedSite = ElevatedsiteColl.OpenWeb(site.ID))
{
string SiteCollectionOwner = ElevatedsiteColl.Owner.Name;
string Visits = ElevatedsiteColl.Usage.Visits.ToString();
string RootAuditEntries =
ElevatedSite.RootFolder.Audit.GetEntries().Count.ToString();
}
}
}
)
Get More Questions and Answers
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What is a SharePoint Feature? What files are used to define a feature?

A SharePoint Feature is a functional component that can be activated and

deactivate at various scopes throughout a SharePoint instances.
Scopes include

Farm

WebApplication

Site (site collection)

Web (site)

Features have their own receiver architecture, which allow you to trap
events such as when a feature is

installing

uninstalling

activated

deactivated

The element types that can be defined by a feature include

menu commands

link commands

page templates

page instances

list definitions

list instances

event handlers

workflows

The two files that are used to define a feature are

feature.xml

manifest file(elements.xml)

The feature XML file defines the actual feature and will make SharePoint
aware of the installed feature. The manifest file contains details about the
feature such as functionality.
Common stsadm commands associated with feature are

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stsadm -o installfeature

stsadm -o uninstallfeature

stsadm -o activatefeature

stsadm -o deactivatefeature

What are content types ?

A content type is a flexible and reusable WSS type definition that defines
the columns and behavior for an item in a list or a document in a document
library.
For example,
-you can create a content type for a customer presentation document with
a unique set of columns, an event handler, and its own document template.
-You can create a second content type for a customer proposal document
with a different set of columns, a workflow, and a different document
template.
Then you can attach both the contenttypes to a document library, which
allows you to capture metadata based on the contenttype selected during
creation of the document.
Content type can be created by the following

from the rootweb of a site collection, go to Site Action > Site Settings

> Galleries > Site content types

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using a feature

What does SPWeb.EnsureUser method do?

Checks whether the specified login name belongs to a valid user of the
Web site, and if the login name does not already exist, adds it to the Web
site. e.g SPUser usr = myWeb.EnsureUser("mmangaldas");
While creating a Webpart, which is the ideal location to Initialize my
new controls ?
Override the CreateChildControls method to include your new controls. To make sure that the new controls are initialized.. call 'EnsureChildControls' in the
webparts Render method. You can control the exact Rendering of your controls by calling the .Render method in the webparts Render method.
How to query from multiple lists ?

Use SPSiteDataQuery to fetch data from multiple lists. more details..

How Does SharePoint work?
The browser sends a DAV packet to IIS asking to perform a document check in. PKMDASL.DLL, an ISAPI DLL, parses the packet and sees that it has the
proprietary INVOKE command. Because of the existence of this command, the packet is passed off to msdmserv.exe, who in turn processes the packet and
uses EXOLEDB to access the WSS, perform the operation and send the results back to the user in the form of XML.
What is the difference between Syncronous & Asyncronous events?

Syncronous calls ending with 'ing' E.g. ItemDeleting Event Handler code
execute BEFORE action is committed WSS waits for code to return Option
to cancel and return error code
Asyncronous calls ending with 'ed' E.g. ItemDeleted Event Handler code
executes AFTER action is committed WSS does not wait for code to return
Executed in its own Worker thread.

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What is ServerUpdate() ?

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What is query.ViewAttributes OR How can you force SPQuery to return results from all the folders of the list?

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What are the two base classes a WebPart you are going to use within SharePoint 2007 can inherit from?

Any changes in the list, i.e. new addition or modification of an item.. the
operation is complete by calling the Update method.But if a List is set to
maintain versions .. and you are editing an item, but don't want to save it as
a new version, then use the SystemUpdate method instead and pass in
'false' as the parameter.
If you use SPQuery on any SPlist .. it will bring back results from the
current folder only. If you want to get results from all the folders in the list..
then you need to specify the scope of the query by the use of
ViewAttributes..
e.g. query.ViewAttributes = "Scope=\"Recursive\"";
There are two base classes that a WebPart which is going to be consumed
by SharePoint can inherit from, either the SharePoint WebPart Base class
or the ASP.NET 2.0 WebPart base class. When inheriting from the
SharePoint WebPart Base class your derived WebPart class will inherit
from Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.WebPart. When inheriting from
the ASP.NET 2.0 WebPart base class your derived WebPart class will
inherit from System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebPart. It is
considered good practice to use the ASP.NET WebPart base class since
the old base class is meant for backwards compatibility with previous
version of SharePoint, however there are four exception when it is better to
leverage functionality from the SharePoint WebPart base class:

Cross page connections

Connections between Web Parts that are outside of a Web Part

zone

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Ans.

Client-side connections (Web Part Page Services Component)

Data caching infrastructure

What are the differences between the two base classes and what are the inherit benefits of using one over another?

The difference is the Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.WebPart base

class is meant for backward compatibility with previous versions of
SharePoint. The benefit of using the SharePoint WebPart base class is it
supported:

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Cross page connections

Connections between Web Parts that are outside of a Web Part
zone

Client-side connections (Web Part Page Services Component)

Data caching infrastructure

ASP.NET 2.0 WebParts are generally considered better to use because SharePoint is built upon the ASP.NET 2.0 web architecture. Inheriting from the ASP.NET
2.0 base class offers you features that inherit to ASP.NET 2.0, such as embedding resources as opposed to use ClassResources for deployment of said types.
What is the GAC?

The GAC stands for the global assembly cache. It is the machine wide
code cache which will give custom binaries place into the full trust code
group for SharePoint. Certain SharePoint assets, such as Feature
Receivers need full trust to run correctly, and therefore are put into the
GAC. You should always try to avoid deployment to the GAC as much as
possible since it will possibly allow development code to do more than it
was intended to do.

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What is strong naming (signing) a WebPart assembly file mean?

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What are safe controls, and what type of information, is placed in that element in a SharePoint web.config file?

Q.

Signing an assembly with a strong name (a.k.a strong naming) uses a

cryptographic key pair that gives a unique identity to a component that is
being built. This identity can then be referred throughout the rest of the
environment. In order to install assemblies into the GAC, they must be
strongly named. After signing, the binary will have a public key token
identifier which can be use to register the component in various other
places on the server.
When you deploy a WebPart to SharePoint, you must first make it as a safe
control to use within SharePoint in the web.config file. Entries made in the
safe controls element of SharePoint are encountered by the
SharePointHandler object and will be loaded in the SharePoint environment
properly, those not will not be loaded and will throw an error.
In the generic safe control entry (this is general, there could be more), there
is generally the Assembly name, the namespace, the public key token
numeric, the typename, and the safe declaration (whether it is safe or not).
There are other optional elements.
What is the CreateChildControls() method? How can you use it to do
something simple like displaying a Label control?

Ans.

The CreateChildControls method in WebParts is used to notify the WebPart

that there are children controls that should be output for rendering.
Basically, it will add any child ASP.NET controls that are called instantiating
each control with its relevant properties set, wire any relevant event
handlers to the control, etc. Then the add method of the control class will
add the control to the controls collection. In the relevant WebPart render
method, the EnsureChildControls method can be called (or set to false if no
child controls should be called) to ensure that the CreateChildControls
method is run. When using CreateChildControls it implies that your
WebPart contains a composition of child controls.
In order to create something like a label control in Create, you would create
a new label control using the new keyword, set the various properties of the
control like Visible=True and ForeColor = Color.Red, and then use
Controls.Add(myLabelControl) to add the control to the controls collection.
Then you can declare EnsureChildControls in the Render method of the
WebPart.

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What does the RenderContents method do in an ASP.NET 2.0 WebPart?

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What is the WebPartManager sealed class? What is its purpose?

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What is a SPSite and SPWeb object, and what is the difference between each of the objects?

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How would you go about getting a reference to a site?

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The render contents method will render the WebPart content to the writer,
usually an HtmlTextWriter since WebParts will output to an HTML stream.
RenderContents is used to tell how the controls that are going to be
displayed in the WebPart should be rendered on the page.
*** Side Question: I got asked what the difference between
CreateChildControls and the RenderContents method. The
CreateChildControls method is used to add controls to the WebPart, and
the RenderContents method is used to tell the page framework how to
render the control into HTML to display on a page.
The WebPartManager sealed class is responsible for managing everything
occurring on a WebPart page, such as the WebParts (controls), events,
and misc. functionality that will occur in WebPartZones. For example, the
WebPartManager is responsible for the functionality that is provided when
you are working with moving a WebPart from WebPartZone to
WebPartZone. It is known as the the central class of the Web Part Control
Set.
*** Side Question: I got asked how many WebPartManager controls should
be on a page. In order to have WebParts on a page there has to be just
one WebPartManager control to manage all the WebParts on the page.
The SPSite object represents a collection of sites (site collection [a top
level sites and all its subsites]). The SPWeb object represents an instance
SharePoint Web, and SPWeb object contains things like the actual content.
A SPSite object contains the various subsites and the information regarding
them.
C#:
oSPSite = new SPSite("http:/server");
oSPWeb = oSPSite.OpenWeb();
What does a SPWebApplication object represent?

The SPWebApplication objects represents a SharePoint Web Application,

which essentially is an IIS virtual server. Using the class you can instigate
high level operations, such as getting all the features of an entire Web
Application instance, or doing high level creation operations like creating

new Web Applications through code.

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Would you use SPWebApplication to get information like the SMTP address of the SharePoint site?

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How do you connect (reference) to a SharePoint list, and how do you insert a new List Item?

Yes, since this is a Web Application level setting. You would iterate through
each SPWebApplication in the SPWebApplication collection, and then use
the appropriate property calls (OutboundMailServiceInstance) in order to
return settings regarding the mail service such as the SMTP address.
Side Question: I got asked if there are other ways to send emails from
SharePoint. The answer is yes, there is. You can use the SendMail method
from the SPutility class to send simple emails, however it is not as robust
as using the System.Net.Mail functionality since it doesnt allow things like
setting priorities on the email.
C#:
using(SPSite mySite = new SPSite("yourserver"))
{
using(SPWeb myWeb = mySite.OpenWeb())
{
SPList interviewList = myWeb.Lists["listtoinsert"];
SPListItem newItem = interviewList.Items.Add();
newItem["interview"] = "interview";
newItem.Update();
}

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}
How would you loop using SPList through all SharePont List items, assuming you know the name (in a string value) of the list you want to
iterate through, and already have all the site code written?

C#:
SPList interviewList = myWeb.Lists["listtoiterate"];
foreach (SPListItem interview in interviewList)
{
// Do Something
}
How do you return SharePoint List items using SharePoint web services?

In order to retrieve list items from a SharePoint list through Web Services,
you should use the lists.asmx web service by establishing a web reference
in Visual Studio. The lists.asmx exposes the GetListItems method, which
will allow the return of the full content of the list in an XML node. It will take
parameters like the GUID of the name of the list you are querying against,
the GUID of the view you are going to query, etc.
Side Question: I got asked how I built queries with the lists.asmx web
service. In order to build queries with this service, one of the parameters
that the GetListItems method exposes is the option to build a CAML query.
There are other ways to do this as well, but that was how I answered it.
How customizable is the user-to-user access?

User permissions apply to an entire Web, not to documents themselves.

However, you can have additional sub webs that can optionally have their
own permissions. Each user can be given any of four default roles.
Additional roles can be defined by the administrator.
Can each user have access to their own calendar?
Yes there are two ways to do this,

by creating a calendar for each user, or

by creating a calendar with a view for each user

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Can SharePoint be linked to a SQL database?

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What does partial trust mean the Web Part developer?

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How can I raise the trust level for assemblies installed in the BIN directory?

This is possible via a custom application, but it not natively supported by

SharePoint or SQL Server.
If an assembly is installed into the BIN directory, the code must be ensured
that provides error handling in the event that required permissions are not
available. Otherwise, unhandled security exceptions may cause the Web
Part to fail and may affect page rendering on the page where the Web Part
appears
Windows SharePoint Services can use any of the following three options
from ASP.NET and the CLR to provide assemblies installed in the BIN
directory with sufficient permissions. The following table outlines the
implications and requirements for each option.
Option
Pros
Cons
Easy to implement.
This option is least secure.
In a development
This option affects all
Increase the trust environment, increasing
assemblies used by the
level for the entire the trust level allows you to virtual server.
virtual server. For test an assembly with
There is no guarantee the
more information, increased permissions
destination server has the
see "Setting the while allowing you to
required trust level.
trust level for a
recompile assemblies
Therefore, Web Parts may
virtual server"
directly into the BIN
directory without resetting not work once installed on
the destination server.
IIS.
Recommended approach.
This option is most secure.
An assembly can operate
with a unique policy that
meets the minimum
Requires the most
permission requirements
configuration of all three
for the assembly.
options.
By creating a custom
security policy, you can
ensure the destination
server can run your Web
Parts.
Install your
Easy to implement.
This option is less secure.
assemblies in the This grants Full trust to
Assemblies installed in the
GAC
your assembly without
GAC are available to all
affecting the trust level of virtual servers and
assemblies installed in the applications on a server
BIN directory.
running Windows
SharePoint Services. This
could represent a potential
Create a custom
policy file for your
assemblies. For
more information,
see "How do I
create a custom
policy file?"

security risk as it potentially

grants a higher level of
permission to your assembly
across a larger scope than
necessary
In a development
environment, you must reset
IIS every time you recompile
assemblies.
Licensing issues may arise
due to the global availability
of your assembly.
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When retrieving List items using SharePoint Web Services, how do you specify explicit credentials to be passed to access the list items?

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What is CAML, and why would you use it?

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What is impersonation, and when would you use impersonation?

Impersonation can basically provide the functionality of executing something in the context of a different identity, for example assigning an account to users
with anonymous access. You would use impersonation in order to access resources on behalf of the user with a different account, that normally, that wouldnt
be able to access or execute something.
What is the IDesignTimeHtmlProvider interface, and when can you use it in WebParts?

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In order to specify explicit credentials with a Web Service, you generally

instantiate the web service, and then using the credentials properties of the
Web Service object you use the System.Net.NetworkCredential class to
specify the username, password, and domain that you wish to pass when
making the web service call and operations.
*** Side Question: I got asked when you should state the credentials in
code. You must state the credentials you are going to pass to the web
service before you call any of the methods of the web service, otherwise
the call will fail.
CAML stands for Collaborative Application Markup Language. CAML is an
XML based language which provides data constructs that build up the
SharePoint fields, view, and is used for table definition during site
provisioning. CAML is responsible for rending data and the resulting HTML
that is output to the user in SharePoint. CAML can be used for a variety of
circumstances, overall is used to query, build and customize SharePoint
based sites. A general use would be building a CAML query in a SharePoint
WebPart in order to retrieve values from a SharePoint list.

The IDesignTimeHtmlProvider interface uses the function

GetDesignTimeHtml() which can contain your relevant render methods. It
was helpful to use in 2003 since it allowed your WebPart to have a preview
while a page was edited in FrontPage with the Webpart on it, because the
GetDesignTimeHtml() method contains the HTML for the designer to
render.

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What are WebPart properties, and what are some of the attributes you see when declaring WebPart properties in code?

Q.

Why are properties important in WebPart development, and how have you exploited them in past development projects? What must each
custom property have?

Ans.

Properties are important because WebParts allow levels of personalization

WebPart properties are just like ASP.NET control properties, they are used
to interact with and specify attributes that should be applied to a WebPart
by a user. Some of the attributes you see with ASP.NET 2.0 properties are
WebDescription, WebDisplayName, Category, Personalizable, and
WebBrowsable. Although most of these properties come from the
System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts class, ones like Category come out
of System.ComponentModel namespace.

for each user. WebPart properties make it possible for a user to interact,
adjust, and increase overall experience value with the programmatic assets
that you develop without having the need to use an external editor or right
any code. A very simple example of exploiting a property would be
something like allowing the user to change the text on the WebPart design
interface so that they can display whatever string of text they desire.
Each custom property that you have must have the appropriate get and set
accessor methods.
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What are ClassResources? How do you reference and deploy resources with an ASP.NET 2.0 WebPart?

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What is a SharePoint Solution File? How does it differ from WebPart .cab files in legacy development? What does it contain?

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What is a .ddf file and what does it have to do with SharePoint Solution creation?

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What file does a SharePoint solution package use to orchestrate (describe) its packaged contents?

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What deployment mechanism can you use to instigate Code Access Security attributes for your WebParts?

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What is a SharePoint Feature? What files are used to define a feature?

ClassResources are used when inheriting from the

SharePoint.WebPart.WebPartPages.WebPart base class, and are defined
in the SharePoint solution file as things that should be stored in the
wpresources directory on the server. It is a helpful directory to use in order
to deploy custom images. In ASP.NET 2.0, typically things such as images
are referenced by embedding them as resources within an assembly. The
good part about ClassResources is they can help to eliminate recompiles to
change small interface adjustments or alterations to external JavaScript
files.
A SharePoint solution file is essentially a .cabinet file with all a developers
ustom componets suffixed with a .wsp extension that aids in deployment.
The big difference with SharePoint solution files is is that a solution:
allows deployment to all WFEs in a farm
is highly manageable from the interface allowing deployment, retraction,
and versioning
Can package all types of assets like site definitions, feature definitions (and
associated components), Webparts, etc.
Can provide Code Access Security provisioning to avoid GAC deployments
Just to name a few things
A .ddf file is a data directive file and is used when building the SharePoint
solution bundle specifying the source files and their destination locations.
The important thing for someone to understand is that the .ddf file will be
passed as a parameter to the MAKECAB utility to orchestrate construction
of the SharePoint solution file.
The solution Manifest.XML file.
SharePoint solution files can add in order to handle code access security
deployment issues. This is done in the element in the SharePoint solution
manifest.XML, which makes it easier to get assemblies the appropriate
permissions in order to operate in the bin directory of the web application.
A SharePoint Feature is a functional component that can be activated and
deactivate at various scopes throughout a SharePoint instances, such as at
the farm, site collection, web, etc. Features have their own receiver
architecture, which allow you to trap events such as when a feature is
installing, uninstalling, activated, or deactivated. They are helpful because
they allow ease of upgrades and versioning.
The two files that are used to define a feature are the feature.xml and
manifest file. The feature XML file defines the actual feature and will make
SharePoint aware of the installed feature. The manifest file contains details

about the feature such as functionality.

Side Question: I got asked how the introduction of features has changed
the concept of site definitions. SharePoint features are important when
understanding the architecture of site definitions, since the ONET.XML file
has been vastly truncated since it has several feature stapled on it.
Q.
Ans.

What types of SharePoint assets can be deployed with a SharePoint feature?

Features can do a lot. For example, you could deploy

Simple site customizations

Custom site navigation

WebParts

pages

list types

list instances

event handlers

workflows

custom actions

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What are event receivers?

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When would you use an event receiver?

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What base class do event receivers inherit from?

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If I wanted to not allow people to delete documents from a document library, how would I go about it?

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How could you append a string to the title of a site when it is provisioned?
In the OnActivated event:

Event receivers are classes that inherit from the SpItemEventReciever or

SPListEventReciever base class (both of which derive out of the abstract
base class SPEventRecieverBase), and provide the option of responding to
events as they occur within SharePoint, such as adding an item or deleting
an item.
Since event receivers respond to events, you could use a receiver for
something as simple as canceling an action, such as deleting a document
library by using the Cancel property. This would essentially prevent users
from deleting any documents if you wanted to maintain retention of stored
data.
Event receivers either inherit from the SPListEventReciever base class or
the SPItemEventReciever base class, both which derive from the abstract
base class SPEventReceiverBase.
You would on the ItemDeleting event set: properties.Cancel= true.
33) What is the difference between an asynchronous and synchronous
event receivers?
An asynchronous event occurs after an action has taken place, and a
synchronous event occurs before an action has take place. For example,
an asynchronous event is ItemAdded, and its sister synchronous event is
ItemAdding.
SPWeb site = siteCollection.RootWeb;

site.Title += "interview";
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site.Update();
Can an event receiver be deployed through a SharePoint feature?
Yes
What is a content type?

A content type is an information blueprint basically that can be re-used

throughout a SharePoint environment for defining things like metadata and
associated behaviors. It is basically an extension of a SharePoint list,
however makes it portable for use throughout an instance regardless of
where the instantiation occurs, ergo has location independence. Multiple
content types can exist in one document library assuming that the
appropriate document library settings are enabled. The content type will
contain things like the metadata, listform pages, workflows, templates (if a
document content type), and associated custom written functionality.

Q.
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Can a content type have receivers associated with it?

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What two files are typically (this is kept generally) included when developing a content type, and what is the purpose of each?

Q.
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What is an ancestral type and what does it have to do with content types?

Q.
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Can a list definition be derived from a custom content type?

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When creating a list definition, how can you create an instance of the list?

Q.
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What is a Field Control?

Q.
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What base class do custom Field Controls inherit from?

Q.
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What is a SharePoint site definition? What is ghosted (uncustomized) and unghosted (customized)?

Yes, a content type can have an event receiver associated with it, either
inheriting from the SPListEventReciever base class for list level events, or
inheriting from the SPItemEventReciever base class. Whenever the content
type is instantiated, it will be subject to the event receivers that are
associated with it.
There is generally the main content type file that holds things like the
content type ID, name, group, description, and version. There is also the
ContentType.Fields file which contains the fields to include in the content
type that has the ID, Type, Name, DisplayName, StaticName, Hidden,
Required, and Sealed elements. They are related by the FieldRefs element
in the main content type file.
An ancestral type is the base type that the content type is deriving from,
such as Document (0x0101). The ancestral type will define the metadata
fields that are included with the custom content type.
Yes, a list definition can derive from a content type which can be seen in
the schema.XML of the list definition in the element.
You can create a new instance of a list by creating an instance.XML file.
Field controls are simple ASP.NET 2.0 server controls that provide the
basic field functionality of SharePoint. They provide basic general
functionality such as displaying or editing list data as it appears on
SharePoint list pages.
This varies. Generally, custom field controls inherit from the
Microsoft.SharePoint.WebControls.BaseFieldControl namespace, but you
can inherit from the default field controls.
SharePoint site definitions are the core set of functionality from which
SharePoint site are built from, building from the SiteTemplates directory in
the SharePoint 12 hive. Site definitions allow several sites to inherit from a
core set of files on the file system, although appear to have unique pages,
thereby increasing performance and allowing changes that happen to a site
propagate to all sites that inherit from a site definition. Ghosted means that
when SharePoint creates a new site it will reference the files in the related
site definition upon site provisioning. Unghosted means that the site has
been edited with an external editor, and therefore the customizations are

instead stored in the database, breaking the inheritance of those files from
the file system.
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How does one deploy new SharePoint site definitions so that they are made aware to the SharePoint system?
The best way to deploy site definitions in the SharePoint 2007 framework is to use a SharePoint solution file, so that the new site definition is automatically
populated to all WFEs in the SharePoint farm.
What is an ancestral type and what does it have to do with content types?

An ancestral type is the base type that the content type is deriving from,
such as Document (0x0101). The ancestral type will define the metadata
fields that are included with the custom content type.

Q.
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Can a list definition be derived from a custom content type?

Q.
Ans.

When creating a list definition, how can you create an instance of the list?

Q.
Ans.

Can multiple SharePoint installs point to the same DB?

Multiple SharePoint installs can use the same database server. Not literally the same database on that server. That server must be SQL Server 2000 or SQL
Server 2005. It cannot be Oracle or another vendor.

Yes, a list definition can derive from a content type which can be seen in
the schema.XML of the list definition in the element.
You can create a new instance of a list by creating an instance.XML file

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