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The launch of Lync 2010 on Wednesday completes and really super-charges our wave of 2010 productivity products released in the past year, including Office, SharePoint and Exchange. I enjoyed hearing Bill Gates share his thoughts on the significance of Lync and the future of the unified communications space.

 

As an end user myself I love the experience Lync brings to SharePoint and Office with the real-time collaboration I rely on every day to find and interact with people and teams across our business and others outside Microsoft. These products were built to work together and the experience speaks for itself.  Here are my personal favorites:

 

• See the people I interact with through the visual experience of Lync and the social capabilities of SharePoint, including photos from SharePoint My Site and high definition video that delivers the best image based on bandwidth.
• Find the people I need to work with using Lync skills search which accesses SharePoint’s people search and skills, expertise and organization information in SharePoint My Site. I can quickly find who I’m looking for and start interacting with them immediately. No more sending e-mails to large aliases asking “does anyone know…?”
• Connect instantly with people’s names lit up with presence icons throughout SharePoint and Office that allow me to initiate IM, phone or online meetings on the fly. This allows me to interact with someone as we co-author a document or ask a question to the person who submitted approval for a budget in Excel from inside SharePoint or Excel. Very cool and very fast.
• Post recorded meetings to SharePoint sites using the Lync recording manager. All of my team’s documents, meeting notes and interactions and decisions can be easily saved and shared in SharePoint.
• Know more about the people I’m working with through Lync contact cards that show up every place I see someone’s name. No more assigning a task or workflow approval to the wrong person!

 

There are a ton of other compelling new Lync features that will delight your users. I encourage every SharePoint customer to explore the incredible productivity and business impact that many of our Lync customers are realizing today. Many customers can experience hosted versions of these products working together through the recently announced Office 365 service.

 

For our SharePoint IT professionals and developers, SharePoint 2010 and Lync 2010 offer an extensible platform to build rich applications that deliver unified communications and collaboration. The possibilities are endless. Workflow solutions with the ability to click to communicate instantly with others in the approval chain to make a decision, sales portals that launch team sites with new opportunities and invite the account team to an online meeting, line of business applications with document management and the ability to work in real-time with others and the list goes on and on. Experience these products together the way we designed them. The Lync experience makes SharePoint better and more importantly makes all our work more productive and impactful.

-Eric Swift

General Manager

SharePoint Product Management Group

 

Below are further details and a workaround for the SharePoint 2010 October Cumulative Update issue discovered yesterday.

Packages Impacted

The Cumulative Update packages affected are the Server Packages for SharePoint Foundation, SharePoint Server and Project Server 2010, specifically; 

1. SharePoint Server Package 2394320
2. Project Server Package 2394322

The downloads for both of these packages have been removed from our servers.  If you have already downloaded them you SHOULD NOT install them.  They will be republished.

Issue Details

The October Cumulative Update for the packages listed above makes some changes and updates to the user profile database.  Unfortunately there are certain situations where this update does not complete as expected and leaves the update in an inconsistent state.  This causes issues with several SharePoint features that use the User Profile Application such as MySites, People and Expertise Search & Ratings.

Workaround

If you have already applied the October Cumulative Updates mentioned above, you should perform the following steps; 

 

If you encounter any issues following these steps or have questions specific to your environment/deployment please call Microsoft Product Support for assistance.

 

Check the following locations for the Microsoft.Office.Server.dll to determine the version. If the version is 14.0.5128.5000 or greater, the October CU is applied.

1. C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\ISAPI\Microsoft.Office.Server.dll
2. C:\Windows\assembly\GAC_MSIL\Microsoft.Office.Server\14.0.0.0__71e9bce111e9429c\Microsoft.Office.Server.dll

 

Using Central Administration perform the following steps

1. Click on Manage Service Applications
2. Select User Profile Service Application by clicking on it
3. At the top of the screen on the Service Applications tab, click on Manage
4. On the Manage Profile Service: User Profile Service Application page, click Manage User Permissions
5. On the Permissions for User Profile Service Application dialog, you will need to
   1. Specify the desired user accounts and click the Add button to add them to the list
   2. By default SharePoint 2010 RTM has these accounts
      1. NT Authority\authenticated users
      2. All Authenticated Users
   3. Once the user accounts are in the list, you will need to set the permissions appropriately for your environment and click OK.

Packages NOT Impacted

The following Cumulate Update packages are NOT affected by this issue and are safe to install;

1. SharePoint Foundation Server “Uber” Package 2394323
2. SharePoint Foundation Server Package 2405789
3. SharePoint Foundation Server Package 2427410
4. SharePoint Foundation Server Package 2436034

This issue does not impact the 2007 versions of these products.

 

Microsoft has discovered a critical issue in the recently released October Cumulative Updates for SharePoint Server 2010 and Project Server 2010, and we have removed the files from download availability.  If you have already downloaded the CU, do not install it.  If you have installed the CU, please contact Microsoft Support for assistance.  We will be posting additional information about the issue here as soon as we have it, and will make the Cumulative Update available for download again as soon as the issue has been fully resolved.

This week our President Kurt DelBene let the world know of our plans to release Office 365 and I wanted to share my thoughts on the announcement and positive impact it will have on the market, SharePoint customers, and our partners. Today Office, Exchange, Lync and SharePoint provide the productivity backbone for many organizations. With these products, companies are already seeing great results and high ROI. With Office 365 we’re proud to announce the next step in the future of productivity, bringing together these capabilities in an always-up-to-date cloud service.  It provides businesses of all sizes with professional grade productivity solutions at a predictable monthly cost.

 

To date, SharePoint 2010 is a huge hit with our customers. When I joined the business earlier this year, I was impressed with the passion shown by customers and partners using the product to transform the way their organizations collaborate and share information. We have more than 17,000 customers and 100 million people that rely on SharePoint every day. Now, with SharePoint Online as part of Office 365, millions more will be able to benefit from the power of SharePoint.

With great applications, SharePoint Online helps organizations and professionals create sites to securely share information, insights, and important documents with colleagues, customers, and partners.  

 

It’s simple to create Office documents and save them directly to SharePoint Online, easy to access your content off-line or on your phone, and quickly share information and insights using familiar tools.

 

And, with Office 365, organizations get the full benefit of Office, Exchange, Lync, and SharePoint because it is designed to work together.

For SharePoint developers and independent software vendors (ISV’s), the opportunities to configure and extend SharePoint Online today include the ability to:

• configure master pages, templates, page layouts, and site columns
• customize the site UI with custom Silverlight controls, navigation or functional controls
• build customized document workflows, using data and documents contained within SharePoint Online
• customize lists and content types
• use Sandbox Solutions to build custom web parts
• design browser based forms using InfoPath forms

Please visit the MSDN SharePoint Online Developer Resource Center to learn more about the opportunities to extend and customize SharePoint Online. 

I know many ISV’s will be wondering how to support some of the rich solutions created for SharePoint 2010, such as those that rely on full-trust code or connect to back-end systems using Business Connectivity services (BCS). Over time we intend to enable many of these features online, such as BCS.  Others like full-trust code require a new approach to run effectively in a highly scalable shared service. As we move towards public availability we will be providing further guidance on how we will be moving the capabilities or providing alternative approaches to support these advanced scenarios online.  

For IT professionals and site administrators, SharePoint Online offers easy ways to plan, set up and manage your SharePoint Online service using the SharePoint Online Administration Center including the ability to:

• set up a new service
• create or delete a site collection
• build extranet sites and invite customers and partners securely
• manage administrators for a site collection
• change storage quota and warning level
• access end user support and training content

Please visit the TechNet SharePoint Online Administration and Planning site for guidance on setting up and managing your SharePoint Online service and stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.

The announcement of Office 365 is an important milestone for the SharePoint business and I am looking forward to the opportunity it will bring to many more organizations and professionals who can now benefit from the power of SharePoint. Starting today, we begin testing Office 365 with a few thousand organizations around the world.  Over time, we’ll expand the beta to more organizations as we prepare to launch the service worldwide next year. I encourage you to learn more about SharePoint Online and sign up for the Office 365 beta at office365.com.

 

-Eric Swift

General Manager
SharePoint Product Management Group

 

Governance is a key component to ensuring the success of your SharePoint 2010 deployment, and one we frequently get asked about it as we travel to conferences and events. Represented by a set of established processes, procedures, and stakeholders, a well designed and implemented governance plan promotes adoption, ensures participation, and maximizes ROI.  By using the governance techniques, best practices, and recommendations available below, you can align your policies for using SharePoint 2010 with your culture and goals while still enabling teams and individuals to effectively collaborate and share information.

Resources

Resource Center (Governance in SharePoint Server 2010)

The Governance Resource Center provides documentation, references, and solutions to help IT Professionals plan and prepare to govern SharePoint 2010 environments.  The Governance Resource Center aligns to three (3) specific areas:

1.       IT Governance

2.       Information Management

3.       Application Management

Resource Center (ALM Resource Center | SharePoint 2010)

The ALM Resource Center provides documentation, resources, references, and solutions to help Developers with the coordination of all aspects of software engineering.

Whitepaper (SharePoint 2010 Governance Planning)

The SharePoint 2010 Governance Planning whitepaper targets the business value of governance and provides guidance for the necessary governance planning and implementation of SharePoint Server 2010.

Whitepaper (Implementing Governance in SharePoint 2010)

This document focuses on the product and technology aspects of SharePoint governance – the technical implementation. It provides high-level guidance on the many configuration options SharePoint provides to enable you to manage the environment for the benefit of all.

Whitepaper (SharePoint Server 2010 Operations Framework and Checklists)

This document details the operational processes, tasks, and tools that are required to operate and maintain a Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 environment. It explains how the management of SharePoint Server 2010 fits in with the overall Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) model.

Publication (Essential SharePoint 2010: Overview, Governance, and Planning (Addison-Wesley Microsoft Technology Series)

Essential SharePoint 2010 provides information derived from a business value perspective that documents and illustrates how to plan and implement SharePoint 2010-based solutions to maximize business results.

Virtual Lab (Configuring Tenant Administration on SharePoint Server 2010)

After completing this lab, you will be better able to create a new Tenant Administration site collection, manage site collections through Tenant Administration, and create a partitioned service application.

Virtual Lab (Monitoring SharePoint 2010)

The objective of this lab is to provide a basic introduction to using Service Level Monitoring to monitor services provided by SharePoint Server 2010. By the end of this lab you will be better able to create a Service Level Object, generate a Report of SharePoint Services Availability, and configure a Service Level Dashboard.

Solutions

Active Directory Domain Services Markers

Active Directory Domain Services Markers can be used to prevent and report on SharePoint installations in your organization.

Quotas

Quotas are used to specify limits to the amount of storage that can be used by a site collection and establish resource limits on sandboxed solutions.

Locks

Locks are used to prevent users from from adding content to or accessing site collections.

Self-Service Site Creation

Self-Service Site Creation is used to allow or prevent  users from creating site collections on demand.

For a comprehensive list of governance features see also http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262287.aspx.

               

 

 

x-post from the Microsoft Security Response Center blog -- The download links for the security updates are in the Security Bulletin.

As we announced yesterday, today we released Security Bulletin MS10-070 out-of-band to address a vulnerability in ASP.NET.  The bulletin and the blog by Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of Microsoft's .NET Developer Platform are available for more information.

This security update addresses a vulnerability affecting all versions of the .NET Framework when used on Windows Server operating system. While desktop systems are listed as affected, consumers are not vulnerable unless they are running a web server from their computer. 

The update will be made available initially only through the Microsoft Download Center and then released through Windows Update and Windows Server Update Services within the next few days. This allows customers the option to deploy it manually now without delaying for broader distribution.

For customers who use Automatic Updates, the update will be automatically applied once it is released broadly.  Once the Security Update is applied, customers are protected against known attacks related to Security Advisory 2416728.

If you can, please join me and Dustin Childs today for a live webcast where we will cover the details of this bulletin and take customer questions live. Here is the registration information:

Date: Tuesday September 28, 2010
Time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
Click Here to Register

Thanks,
Dave Forstrom
Director, Trustworthy Computing

x-post from the Microsoft Security Response Center blog.

Today we provided advance notification to customers that we will release an out-of-band security update to address the vulnerability discussed in Security Advisory 2416728. The update is scheduled for release tomorrow, Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at approximately 10:00 AM PDT. The bulletin has a severity rating of Important and addresses a publicly disclosed vulnerability in ASP.NET that affects all versions of the .NET Framework when used on Windows Server operating systems. Windows desktop systems are listed as affected, but consumers are not vulnerable unless they are running a Web server from their computer.

Based on our comprehensive monitoring of the threat landscape, we have determined an out-of-band release is needed to protect customers as we have seen limited attacks and continued attempts to bypass current defenses and workarounds.

The security update is fully tested and ready for release, but will be made available initially only on the Microsoft Download Center. This enables us to get the update out as quickly as possible, allowing administrators with enterprise installations, or end users who want to install this security update manually, the ability to test and update their systems immediately.  We strongly encourage these customers to visit the Download Center, download the update, test it in their environment and deploy it as soon as possible.

The update will also be released through Windows Update and Windows Server Update Services within the next few days as we test to make sure distribution will be successful through these channels. This approach allows us to release sooner to customers who may choose to deploy it manually without delaying for broader distribution. 

For customers using Automatic Update, this Security Update will automatically be applied once it is released broadly. Once the Security Update is applied, customers are protected against known attacks related to Security Advisory 2416728.

We will also hold a special edition webcast for the bulletin release on Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 1:00 PM PDT, where we will present information on the bulletin and take customer questions. If you are interested in attending the webcast, click here to sign up.

More information:

ASP.NET Security Update Shipping Tuesday, Sept 28th – Scott Guthrie’s blog. Out of Band Release to Address Microsoft Security Advisory 2416728 – Microsoft Security Response Center Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification for September 2010 – TechNet Security Bulletin

Who are the SharePoint MVPs? The SharePoint MVPs are a passionate group of 225 individuals across 50 countries, who freely share their deep knowledge, real-world experience, and objective feedback to help people enhance the way they use SharePoint. They are independent experts who are acknowledged as community experts on SharePoint, and are awarded for their community involvement. You can see some MVP highlights on the community page of our SharePoint product site.

How can I connect with a SharePoint MVP?

·         Attend one of the many conferences where they’re attending or speaking

o   Many SharePoint MVPs will be speaking at the SharePoint Connections conference in November

·         Interact with them via live chat

o   The next chat is on Wednesday 9/29 at 9am PDT

o   Learn more and add these chats to your calendar by visiting the MSDN event page http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/chats/default.aspx

o   Twitter Hashtag:  spmvpchat

·         Join our Facebook group or follow us on twitter to hear about upcoming chats and events

·         Review the MVP profiles and connect through their websites

·         Find them answering questions in the forums

How do I nominate an MVP?

If you know of someone extremely active in the SharePoint community, who is passionate about the product, goes above and beyond to share their knowledge and help others, and creates original content, then nominate them to become a SharePoint MVP

** Updated 9/27/2010 7:20PM ** – Updated with Out of Band Security Update announcement details.
** Updated 9/24/2010 4:30PM ** – Updated with additional defensive workaround published by the ASP.NET team valid for ALL affected versions of SharePoint listed below.
** Updated 9/22/2010 10:40AM ** – Updated verification step for SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and added an exception in the workaround for Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 running under ASP.NET 1.1.
** Updated 9/21/2010 11:05PM ** – Updated with workaround for SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and updated SharePoint 2010 workaround.
** Updated 9/21/2010 3:06PM ** – Included details for previous releases and workaround for WSS 2.0.

Update: Out of Band Release to address Microsoft Security Advisory 2416728 announcement.  See this post for details.

Update: Please note the additional workaround published 9/24/2010 4:40PM.  The original security advisory has been updated this afternoon to include additional defensive measures (Installing and enabling UrlScan or configuring IIS request filtering).  Please read the workarounds section of the security advisory and the update posted here for full details.  This extra step is applicable for ALL versions of SharePoint affected by this issue.

Update: Please note the important change from the 9/21/2010 3:06PM update to this blog post.  We originally stated that SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 did not require the workaround to be applied, however, we have recently discovered through testing that a variant of the issue does affect SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and also requires extra steps in the workaround for SharePoint Server 2010 (Steps 5-9).  Customers with these versions should refer to the relevant workaround below.  We will continue to keep this post updated with the latest guidance.

We recently released a Microsoft Security Advisory for a vulnerability affecting ASP.NET.  This post documents recommended workarounds for the following SharePoint products:

• SharePoint 2010
• SharePoint Foundation 2010
• Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
• Windows SharePoint Services 2.0

A workaround is not necessary for SharePoint Portal Server 2003. 

The workarounds for the affected versions of SharePoint and Windows SharePoint Services listed above are temporary measures that do not fix the underlying issue but help to block known attack vectors until an ASP.NET security update is released.  We will provide instructions on how to revert the workarounds when the security update is released.

We recommend that all affected SharePoint customers apply the workaround as soon as possible.  You should apply the workaround to every web front-end in your SharePoint farm.

Workaround for SharePoint 2010 & SharePoint Foundation 2010

1. Navigate to the SharePoint installation directory at %ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\template\layouts.
2. Create a new file called error2.aspx in this directory with the following content:
   <%@ Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" %> <%@ Import Namespace="System.Security.Cryptography" %> <%@ Import Namespace="System.Threading" %> <script runat="server"> void Page_Load() { byte[] delay = new byte[1]; RandomNumberGenerator prng = new RNGCryptoServiceProvider(); prng.GetBytes(delay); Thread.Sleep((int)delay[0]); IDisposable disposable = prng as IDisposable; if (disposable != null) { disposable.Dispose(); } } </script> <html> <head runat="server"> <title>Error</title> </head> <body> <div> An error occurred while processing your request. </div> </body> </html>
3. Navigate to %SystemDrive%\inetpub\wwwroot\wss\virtualdirectories.
4. For each subfolder in this directory, do the following:
   1. Edit web.config
   2. Find the customErrors node and change it to; <customErrors mode="On" redirectMode="ResponseRewrite" defaultRedirect="/_layouts/error2.aspx" />
   3. Save your changes
5. Navigate to %ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\isapi.
6. Make a copy of the web.config file at this location and rename it to web_backup.config
   1. Important: if you skip this step, the workaround may affect your ability to apply patches to your SharePoint installation at a later date
7. Edit web.config and add the following lines immediately following the <configuration> node, before <system.web>:
   <system.webServer> <handlers> <remove name="AssemblyResourceLoader-Integrated-4.0" /> <remove name="AssemblyResourceLoader-Integrated" /> </handlers> </system.webServer>
8. Save your changes
9. Run iisreset /noforce

Verifying the workaround:  After applying the workaround, you may not see a change in SharePoint’s error handling behavior.  For example, you will still receive a 404 error if you try to access a page that does not exist – this is unique to the SharePoint workaround and is different from the expected behavior described here. This is by design — the workaround described here specifically protects against the ASP.NET vulnerability in error cases that are not handled by SharePoint.

Workaround for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0

1. Navigate to the SharePoint installation directory at %ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\12\isapi.
2. Make a copy of the web.config file at this location and rename it to web_backup.config
   1. Important: if you skip this step, the workaround may affect your ability to apply patches to your SharePoint installation at a later date.
3. Edit web.config and add an httpHandlers section as shown:
   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?> <configuration> <system.web> <webServices> <protocols> <remove name="HttpGet" /> <remove name="HttpPost" /> <remove name="HttpPostLocalhost" /> <add name="Documentation" /> </protocols> </webServices> <customErrors mode="On" /> <httpHandlers> <remove path="WebResource.axd" verb="GET"/> </httpHandlers> </system.web> <location path="authentication.asmx"> <system.web> <authorization> <allow users="*"/> </authorization> </system.web> </location> <location path="wsdisco.aspx"> <system.web> <authorization> <allow users="*"/> </authorization> </system.web> </location> <location path="wswsdl.aspx"> <system.web> <authorization> <allow users="*"/> </authorization> </system.web> </location> </configuration>
4. Save your changes
5. Run iisreset /noforce

Verifying the workaround: Browse to http://servername/_vti_bin/webresource.axd.  In both cases (with and without the workaround), SharePoint will handle the error and redirect you to /_layouts/error.aspx.  This page takes a query parameter (ErrorText) with a more detailed description of the error that occurred.

After applying the workaround, ErrorText will always say “Path /_vti_bin/webresource.axd was not found”.

Workaround for Windows SharePoint Services 2.0

Only apply this workaround for sites that run under ASP.NET 2.0.  Sites running under ASP.NET 1.1 are not affected and do not need a workaround.

1. Navigate to the SharePoint installation directory at %ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\60\template\layouts.
2. Create a new file called error.aspx in this directory with the following content: <%@ Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" %> <%@ Import Namespace="System.Security.Cryptography" %> <%@ Import Namespace="System.Threading" %> <script runat="server"> void Page_Load() { byte[] delay = new byte[1]; RandomNumberGenerator prng = new RNGCryptoServiceProvider(); prng.GetBytes(delay); Thread.Sleep((int)delay[0]); IDisposable disposable = prng as IDisposable; if (disposable != null) { disposable.Dispose(); } } </script> <html> <head runat="server"> <title>Error</title> </head> <body> <div> An error occurred while processing your request. </div> </body> </html>
3. Navigate to %ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\60\isapi.
4. Make a copy of the web.config file at this location and rename it to web_backup.config
   1. Important: if you skip this step, the workaround may affect your ability to apply patches to your SharePoint installation at a later date
5. Edit web.config and add an httpHandlers section as shown: <configuration> <system.web> <webServices> <protocols> <remove name="HttpGet" /> <remove name="HttpPost" /> <remove name="HttpPostLocalhost" /> <add name="Documentation" /> </protocols> </webServices> <httpHandlers> <remove path="WebResource.axd" verb="GET"/> </httpHandlers> <customErrors mode="On"/> <trust level="Full" originUrl="" /> </system.web> </configuration>
6. Save your changes
7. Run iisreset /noforce

Verifying the workaround: For Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 installations, you can verify the workaround in two parts:

1. Browse to http://servername/_layouts/foo.aspx.  You should receive an error message stating “An error occurred while processing your request.”
2. Browse to http://servername/_vti_bin/webresource.axd.  You should receive an error message stating “Path ‘/_vti_bin/webresource.axd’ was not found.”

For more information:

Microsoft Security Advisory (2416728) – (Updated 9/24/2010) Vulnerability in ASP.NET Could Allow Information Disclosure Security Advisory 2416728 Released – Microsoft Security Response Center Blog Understanding the ASP.NET Vulnerability – Microsoft Security Research & Defense Blog Important: ASP.NET Security Vulnerability – Scott Guthrie’s Blog Frequently Asked Questions about the ASP.NET Security Vulnerability – Scott Guthrie’s Blog

Update on ASP.NET Vulnerability  - Scott Guthrie’s Blog

Security Advisory 2416728 - Workaround Update - Microsoft Security Response Center Blog

The SharePoint 2010 Software Development Kit (SDK) has been updated! Get it here: Download from the Microsoft Download Center

• Tips: Installing and Using the SharePoint 2010 SDK Download

What’s New in this SDK Update

We are excited to announce the latest quarterly update of the SDK for SharePoint Foundation 2010 and SharePoint Server 2010. This free update replaces previous 2010 versions of the SDK and includes the following:

• New code samples:  Silverlight List Viewer, plus new samples in Business Connectivity Services (BCS), Enterprise Content Management (ECM), and User Profiles and Social Data
• Updated documentation, including: new and updated How To, reference , and conceptual content
• Updated IntelliSense XML files for tooltips and auto-complete in Visual Studio

Here are two MSDN topics listing new and updated content and code samples in the AUG2010 version of the SDK (14.0.4763.1031):

• What’s New in the SDK for SharePoint Foundation 2010
• What’s New in the SDK for SharePoint Server 2010

A complete listing and description of the 44 code samples currently available in the SDK can be found here on MSDN Code Gallery: http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/sp2010sdk.

Change History Tables

Wondering what has changed in the SDK?  You can do a quick search in the compiled HTML Help (.chm) files for the phrase “content update” (include the quotes) to see all the changed topics.  We also publish the “Updated” date at the top of each article.  Check out an example here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff623048.aspx.

Working with Help in Visual Studio (MSDN and Local)

This update also coincides with republish of the SDK in the MSDN Library, in addition to offline Visual Studio Help for SharePoint.  Yes, that’s right—now you can get context-sensitive Help directly from your code by pressing F1 in Visual Studio. 

F1 Help and Working Offline

The MSDN Library is always the most up-to-date source of information, and Visual Studio uses online Help as its primary source by default when you press F1. If you need to work offline, however, you can first download Help content from MSDN using the Visual Studio 2010 Help Library Manager (Help > Manage Help Settings).  Here’s how:

1. Click Check for updates online.
   You may need to change your settings to I want to use local help.  You can find this under Choose online or local help in Help Library Manager.
2. Scroll down to SharePoint 2010 SDK, click Add, and then click Update.

IntelliSense XML Files Update

The latest drop of the SDK also updates all the IntelliSense XML files for SharePoint Foundation 2010 and SharePoint Server 2010.  Please refer to the Readme.txt file for installation instructions.  The readme.txt files is in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\SharePoint 2010\Intellisense once the SDK is installed.

You will get tooltips, updated descriptions, and auto-complete as you type code in the Visual Studio 2010 IDE once the IntelliSense XML files are updated.  Visual Studio 2010 and SharePoint 2010 must be installed on the computer you are installing the IntelliSense XML files on; the IntelliSense files only work in Visual Studio when the DLL and the XML file of the same name are in the same directory.  Please refer to the Readme.txt file for more information.

Randall Isenhour

Sr. Content Manager, SharePoint SDK