Searching SharePoint Help

While SharePoint does provide quite an extensive Help that is accessible to all users via the top right nav in the Portal, it is has no search capabilities and requires the user to always start from the index and navigate through and find what they are looking for. However since the "Help" is just a collection of webpages, you can use SharePoint Search to index it and allow users to search against it.

1. Goto Site Settings > Configure Search and Indexing
2. Add a New Content Source with Content Index: Non_Portal_Content and Content Source: Web Page or Web Site
3. Enter the following properties
Address: http://PortalServer/_vti_bin/help/1033/sps/html/SharePointHelp.htm
Description: SharePoint Help
Crawl Configuration: This Site - follow all links on this site
Source Group: SharePoint Help
Click OK and then start a Full Index
4. Now create a new Search Scope with the following properties
Manage Search Scopes > New Search Scope
Name: SharePoint Help
Topics and Areas: Include No Topics or Areas in this source
Content Source Groups: Limit the scope to the following groups of content sources: SharePoint Help

Click OK. Now once the indexing is completed your users will be able to select "SharePoint Help" from the search drop down box on the Portal and search against the included Help files.

How to change the Maximum File Upload Size

By default SharePoint allows a maximum file size of 50MB that can be uploaded into any document library. This might be too much as you might not want users downloading 50MB files over your LAN/WAN. To change the maximum file size
1. Goto SharePoint Central Administration > Configure Virtual Server Settings from Virtual Server List Page.
2. Select your server
3. Goto Virtual Server General Settings (in Virtual Server Management)
4. Change the value of the Maximum Upload Size in MB's.

If you increase the file size limit, your site might occassionally time out for users while they are uploading files. To accomodate this increase the default time out property for IIS.

Field Lengths in SharePoint Lists

The following is the field length restrictions enforced by SharePoint
Single Line Field : 255 chars
Multi line field (document, forms, picture library) : 255 chars
Multi line field (everywhere else) : no limit

SharePoint Database Structure

This section in MSDN details all the tables that are used by SharePoint - both for Config and for Content. It explains each table and all included fields.

http://tinyurl.com/lpvut

SharePoint Performance Monitoring

How SharePoint Performance is managed at Microsoft - http://tinyurl.com/k9whq

Introduction

In 2003, Microsoft IT deployed Windows SharePoint Services and Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server to create a global enterprise portal and team collaboration solution that supports more than 60,000 users, 250 group and division portals, 50,000 team sites, and manages more than 3 terabytes of information.

The article presents lessons learned and the best practices Microsoft IT has implemented to address the performance monitoring and management needs of its enterprise portal and team collaboration solution. This article will be helpful to Microsoft customers deploying SharePoint Products and Technologies in a similar environment. The specific topics covered in this article include:
• Monitoring Growth and Performance
• Microsoft Operations Manager 2005
• SharePoint Report Tool (SPReport)
• Windows Server™ 2003 Performance Console
• Optimizing Server Performance
• Web Front-end Server Lessons Learned and Best Practices
• Back-end Database Server Lessons Learned and Best Practices
• Server Farm Network Optimization
• SharePoint Report Tool (SPReport)

.dot templates in SharePoint Document Library

If you upload a Word template (.dot) files into a SharePoint document library, and open it in Word, you will notice Word lets you overwrite the template, rather than create an Untitled Document.

When you select a .dot file in Word's File Open dialog box, Word will simply open the file, not use it as a new file template. Word uses .dot files for templates only when the .dot file is selected from within the File -> New -> From Template dialog box.

So when you click on a document in SharePoint, SharePoint assumes you want to edit it and is similar to opening it using File -> Open; and not File -> New.