Display Images based on field value in Salesforce

It's very common requirement to display images for a specific field value in a record, as pictorial representation will be more conveying than text.

For example, to display Status of a record pictorially, lets have some rule as

• If status Open - display Green image
• If status Planning - display Amber image
• If status Closed - display Red image

To implement this requirement in Salesforce, we have to store images in Salesforce , either in Documents or Static Resources and then, using Formula Field in the object, by comparing data of the actual field, we will set Image  relative path of the stored images

Lets do step by step as shown as below

Step 1 : Create images with the 3 colors as required and zip them.

Step 2: Add this zip file to the static resources and set the access of it as public

To do this , follow below steps

1.  Login to salesforce environment and Go to Setup
2. Under Build, select 'Develop' and then 'Static Resources' 
3. Click on New and fill in the required information by uploading the Zipped file
4. select Cache Control 'Public' and save

Step 3: Open the Object in which we need to set the images and create a Choice field to select Status and then a new Formula field to set image according to the data of the created Choice Field

To do this, follow below steps

1. Go to Setup
2. Under Build, Select 'Create' and then 'Objects'
3. List of all objects displayed. Click the object in which we need to create these fields
4. Go to Custom Fields section and click 'New'
5. Choose 'Picklist' for Data type and provide required information as below
   
   
   
6. Save it and then in similar way click on 'New' in Custom Fields section and for Data type, choose 'Formula'
7. Provide Field name and label, then select Return type as 'Text'
8. Now, under 'Advanced Formula' section, write formula as below
   

    IMAGE(CASE( Status__c ,  
    'Open', '/resource/status/green.png',  
    'Closed', '/resource/status/red.png',  
    'Planning', '/resource/status/yellow.png',  
    ''), "rating")  
   

   
   
9. And, for Blank Field Handling, select Treat blank fields as blanks'
10. Provide the required access and also add it into the layouts

Step 4: Now, add this formula field in detail screen layout and also View if required.
Once you add it into the layout, you can see the same in detailed screen of a record. Also, if you add these fields in a View, it will be displayed as in below image

Create a List from Custom Template using Powershell in Sharepoint

Lets consider a situation where we have lots of team sites under a Site collection. Now a new requirement has come and we want to store Team Updates in their corresponding sites.

To do this, creating the custom list with required fields in every list is a long time process. If we create a list in one site and save it as template, we can create New list using this template in other sites. Still manually opening all sites and creating a new list will take long time.

This creation part can be achieved using Powershell. For this, lets assume we created a list and saved it as template. This template will be available in site collection. We can also import List template to Site Collection gallery from external.

Now, open the server and use below Powershell commands in Sharepoint Management Studio

 //Get Site collection through SPSite command  
 $spSite = get-spsite("http://Site Collection URL")  

 //Get current website into which new template to be added  
 $SPWeb = Get-SPWeb("http://Site URL") 
 
 //Get list of all custom templates existing in the site collection  
 $listTemplates = $spsite.GetCustomListTemplates($spweb)  

 //Create list using the above templates, by selecting the custom template you are looking for  
 $SPWeb.Lists.Add("Title of List","Description",$listTemplates["Template Name"])
  

Above example is shown for a single site. We can loop the command for list of sites by storing them into an array or if for all subsites, we can fetch them through command and loop.

As our List template is custom one, we need to follow above steps. If we want to create list from sharepoint's default templates, we can use below commands

 //Get current website into which new template to be added  
 $SPWeb = Get-SPSite("http://SiteURL")  

 //Get list of all templates. Its just for your reference to see list  
 $SPWeb.ListTemplates | Select Name, type, type_client, Description  

 //Create list using the template name. The template name should be in above list  
 $SPWeb.Lists.Add("Title","Description","Template Name")  

You can also save an existing list as a template using below commands

 //Get current website in which the list is created  
 $SPWeb = Get-SPSite("http://SiteURL")  

 //Get the list by using list name which to be saved as template  
 $list = $web.Lists["List Name"]  

 //Use below command to save it as template.   
 //Lat parameter ( 1 / 0 ) indicates if to be stored with data or without data  
 $list.SaveAsTemplate(“Template Name”,”Template Title”,”Template Description”,1)  

Calculated Column & Caclulated value in Sharepoint 2010

We have Calculated columns in Sharepoint. The data in these columns can be set based on other column Information. These columns will not be displayed in New / Edit forms as the data in these columns and are calculated internally according to the formula provided by us, before saving the record in database.

You can see simple example in below image, where we are fetching Request Created Day based on created date field.

Use this link to know more about the formulas for calculated columns.

One important point to remember about these columns is, The calculation of the value is done only when an Item created and updated. So, we can't use general functions like 'Today' , 'Me' in the formula.

We can also set Calculated value for Default value to a column. If there are any requirements where default value is to be calculated, we use this.

As an example, if we want to set default value for a title in Status list with Date in it as "Status as on [Date]", we can use below formula in Default value by selecting 'Calculated Value'

 ="Status as on "&TEXT(Today,"dd/mm/yyyy")

Important point to remember here is, We can't use other columns in these formulas as these are calculated before the Edit / New screen loaded and by then we don't have data in other columns.

We can use generic formula like 'Today' or 'Me' and the value set with corresponding data when the screen loaded.

Restrict Record level Access in Salesforce

There are different approaches available to restrict access at different levels in Salesforce.

In this article we look into options available to restrict record level access in a object.

To restrict access at a record level, first we need to configure Organization-Wide Default (OWD) sharing of the object to 'Private'. This configuration once set, all the records will be private. Other users can't access them. Now, we open access using variety of means, like roles, groups, profiles ,sharing rules and manual sharing.

To configure OWD sharing, follow below steps.

1. From Setup, click Security Controls > Sharing Settings.
2. Under Organization Wide-Defaults, click Edit.
3. Change the picklist next to the 'Custom object' to Private.
4. Click Save

The check box is 'Grant Access Hierarchy'. If checked, access to a record will be provided to the Owner's top level hierarchy as per roles defined in the Organization.

Let us assume we already have some Roles and Profiles created as per our Org structure.

Now, to assign access to the records, we use 'Sharing Rules'. These are rules we define to provide access to record based on some criteria of data / owner.

We can provide access to a  Role. In some cases, we might need to provide access to multiple people of different Roles and Profiles. In such cases, we can create a User groups and provide access to the group through these rules.

To create a Sharing Rule, follow below steps,

1. From Setup, click Security Controls > Sharing Settings.
2. Under 'Custom Object' Sharing Rules, click New.
3. In the Label field, Rule Nmae, provide relevant name.
4. For Rule Type, select Based on Criteria.
5. In Criteria, choose the criteria you are looking for, as a sample selecting the following values:
• For Field, choose City.
• For Operator, choose equal to.
• For the Value type, enter 'Hyderabad'.
6. For Share With, we have different options i.e. Roles / Groups. Choose Roles and Subordinates and select Warehouse Manager from the picklist.
7. For Access Level, choose Read/Write.

 Once the rule is saved, a job will be executed to run the rule on the object we created. So, each time you update the rule, it is executed.

Internally, for every object we have 'object__Share' table with corresponding apex modal object. When a Sharing rule is executed, if the criteria is met on a record, corresponding access entries are entered into this table.

Irrespective of rules / criteria if we want to provide access on a record, we can provide through Manual sharing,  by using default 'Sharing' option available on detailed screen

To implement Manual Sharing, follow below steps

1. Click on the record for which we want to add i.e. open detailed screen
2. Click on 'Sharing' button available along with other default action buttons
3. A list with available accesses for the record are displayed. click on 'Add'
4. A screen to choose User / Role / Group is displayed. 
5. Select the corresponding people / group to whom we need to provide access and click on Save

In this way we  can restrict access to a Record.

If we need to provide access to a record dynamically based  on a criteria where value and access mappings are dynamic, we can implement the above 'Manual Sharing' option using Apex.

We can create a Custom object to map criteria and corresponding access details. Now, using a trigger on our Object, upon insert or update, we validate the criteria and if true, add record to the 'Object__Share' table through Apex with corresponding details.

 if(/* Condition to validate */)  
       {  
         //If true,   
         TF_Location__Share jobShr = new TF_Location__Share();  
         // Set the ID of record being shared.  
         jobShr.ParentId = record.id;  
         // Set the ID of user or group being granted access.  
         jobShr.UserOrGroupId = '005j000000BYezb';  
         // Set the access level.  
         jobShr.AccessLevel = 'Read';  
         // Set rowCause to 'manual' for manual sharing.  
         // This line can be omitted as 'manual' is the default value for sharing objects.  
         jobShr.RowCause = Schema.TF_Location__Share.RowCause.Manual;  
         // Insert the sharing record and capture the save result.   
         // The false parameter allows for partial processing if multiple records passed into the operation.  
        Database.SaveResult sr = Database.insert(jobShr,false);  
        // Process the save results.  
        if(sr.isSuccess()){  
            // Indicates success  
        }  
       }  

Custom Timer job in Sharepoint 2010 using Visual Studio

Sharepoint provided a platform to develop timer jobs and deploy in its environment. We can monitor the jobs in central admin along with other jobs. Scheduler configuration is also possible through central admin.

To manage timer jobs, acces to Central Administrator > Monitoring > Review Job definitions
And to monitor job executions, Central Administrator > Monitoring > Check Job Status

Let’s create a sample Timer job and deploy it for better understanding.

Requirement: We have project sites for each project where their health statuses etc. are maintained in predefined template lists.  Now, customers need a dashboard to look into the project status at one place along with individual sites’ links.

Approach: For this, we are creating a list with required details in parent site and we develop a Timer Job to which runs at certain interval and updates the statuses of all sites into this list and a dashboard is created using this list.

Step 1: Create ‘Project Statistics’ list in Site collection / Parent site and ‘Project Details’ in child site (Individual project sites)

Step 2: Now we need to create a Timer job. To do this, follow below steps

1. Open Visual Studio and create a new project using  ‘Empty Sharepoint Project’ Template
   
   
   
2. If Sharepoint has single Server, provide the web application where it has to be deployed and don’t forget to select ‘Deploy as a Farm Solution’ and then click on ‘Finish'
   
   
   
   Note: If site url is not provided, we can package it and deploy the WSP solution using Powershell.
3. Now, create a new class file in visual studio and extend the class from ‘SPJobDefinition’. Use below code as sample reference
   

        public StatusUpdateTimerJob()  
          : base()  
        {  
        }  
        public StatusUpdateTimerJob(string jobName, SPService service,  
            SPServer server, SPJobLockType lockType)  
            : base(jobName, service, server, lockType)  
        {  
          this.Title = "Project Status Update Timer Job";  
        }  
        public StatusUpdateTimerJob(string jobName, SPWebApplication webapp)  
          : base(jobName, webapp, null, SPJobLockType.ContentDatabase)  
        {  
          this.Title = "Project Status Update Timer Job";  
        }  
        public override void Execute(Guid targetInstanceId)  
        {  
          //Write your logic to delete existing records from main list (Project Statistics) in parent site and then  
          //Iterate through all child sites and insert new records to above list from 'Project Details' list  
        }  
   

   Above code has 3 overloaded constructors which will be called internally as per need and write your logic in Execute method
4. Now we create a feature to install and uninstall the Job. To do this, right click on ‘Features’ in solution explorer or Visual studio and click ‘Add Feature’
   
   
   
   Provide Feature Title and Description , this will be displayed in Features list of a site collection and select scope to ‘Site’
   
   
   
   In the event Receiver class of the above created feature, replace the code with below

    const string JobName = "ProjectStatus Update Timer Job";  
    public override void FeatureActivated(SPFeatureReceiverProperties properties)  
    {  
         SPSite site = properties.Feature.Parent as SPSite;  
         DeleteJob(site); // Delete Job if already Exists  
         CreateJob(site); // Create new Job  
    }  
    private static void DeleteJob(SPSite site)  
    {  
         foreach (SPJobDefinition job in site.WebApplication.JobDefinitions)  
              if (job.Name == JobName)  
                   job.Delete();  
    }  
    private static void CreateJob(SPSite site)  
    {  
         StatusUpdateTimerJob job = new StatusUpdateTimerJob(JobName, site.WebApplication);  
         SPMinuteSchedule schedule = new SPMinuteSchedule();  
         schedule.BeginSecond = 0;  
         schedule.EndSecond = 5;  
         schedule.Interval = 5;  
         job.Schedule = schedule;  
         job.Update();  
    }  
    public override void FeatureDeactivating(SPFeatureReceiverProperties properties)  
    {  
         DeleteJob(properties.Feature.Parent as SPSite); // Delete the Job  
    }  
   

   
   The above methods are to Create Job and Delete job which are called when feature activated and deactivated accordingly.
5. Now are ready with our Timer job and we have to deploy it in the server. We can deploy it directly from Visual studio using ‘deploy’ Option in ‘debug ‘ or by packaging and installing the Solution
   To install Solution, use below Powershell commands
   

    Add-SPSolution -LiteralPath c:\SampleTImerjob.wsp  
    Install-SPSolution -Identity SampleTImerjob.wsp -GACDeployment  
    enable-spfeature -identity SampleTImerjob _Feature1 -url ‘Site collection URL’  
   

   We deployed it in GAC, as it’s a Timer job and should be accessed globally.
   
   Note: 1st 2 commands should be executed in one window and the last one should be in a new window as the dll is deployed in GAC, it will not reflect for the powershell window if we try to enable in same window

Step 3: Using above commands, we even activated the feature. So, the job will be created and it is scheduled. You can see it in ‘Central Admin’ as explained in the starting

We can also reconfigure the schedule by clicking on the title.

With this we implemented our requirement and for every 2 minutes, statuses for all project sites are updated in parent site and the dashboard is prepared on top of the list.

One important point to not to forget is, if we are modifying the Timer job, we have to update the Assembly version number. If not, the changes might not reflect properly