Exercise 11-1: The Accelerator for Proposals

The Microsoft Office Solution Accelerator for Proposals is intended to deploy a foundation for teams creating proposal documents with the Microsoft Office System. In general, all of the accelerators that Microsoft produces must be customized for an organization before they are truly useful. In this exercise, you will install, customize, and use the proposal accelerator with your portal.

Prerequisites

Before beginning this exercise, you should download the installation files for the accelerator from www.microsoft.com/office/solutions/accelerators/default.mspx . You must also download the installation files for the XML Content Filter from www.microsoft.com/sharepoint/server/techinfo/reskit/xml_filter.asp . Copy the installation files to a directory and extract them. All of the installation steps in this exercise assume you have extracted the files. Once the packages are unpacked, you will find the following key items:

Microsoft.Solutions.InformationWorker.Proposals.Server.msi : An installation package for elements that belong on the SharePoint Services servers.
Microsoft.Solutions.InformationWorker.Proposals.Client.msi : An installation package for elements that belong on each client machine.
Proposals_Overview_Guide.doc : An overview of the accelerator.
Proposals_Build_Test_Guide.doc : A document outlining the accelerator installation process.
Proposals_Planning_and_Architecture_Guide.doc : A document to use for planning your rollout of the accelerator to an organization.
Proposals_Customization_Guide.doc : A document to assist in customizing the accelerator.
XMLFilter.dll : The XML Content Filter component.

Installing the Accelerator

The proposal accelerator ships with generalized installation instructions. The installation in this exercise has been adapted to work with the test configuration used throughout this book. Initially, you will install the XML Content Filter. Then you will perform the server-side setup followed by the client-side setup.

Installing the XML Content Filter

The XML Content filter is required for the proposal accelerator to function correctly, but it does not ship as part of the accelerator. The XML Content Filter allows the search and indexing service to crawl documents with an .xml extension. This is important to the solution because the proposal template is an XML document.

To install the XML Content Filter, here is what you need to do:

Log in to SPSPortal as a local administrator.
Open Windows Explorer and copy the file XMLFilter.dll into the directory c:\windows\system32 .
Select Start All Programs Accessories Command Prompt.
In the Command Prompt window, change to the directory where the XMLFilter.dll file is installed by typing the following:
```
  cd c:\windows\system32  
```
Register the dynamic-link library by typing the following into the Command Prompt window:
```
  regsvr32 xmlfilter.dll  
```
Select Start Administrative Tools Services.
In the Services dialog, right-click the Microsoft Search service and select Restart from the pop-up menu.

Setting Up the Server

Once the XML Content Filter is installed, you may perform the general setup of the server. The server setup consists primarily of running an MSI file that executes a setup wizard. The setup is fairly straightforward, but you should pay special attention to the Content Site URL entry to ensure that the setup routine understands correctly where you intend to set up the Content Library for the solution. You must provide this URL before the library is actually set up.

To set up the server, follow these steps:

Log in to SPSPortal as a local administrator.
Select Start Run.
In the Run dialog, click Browse.
Select the file Microsoft.Solutions.Informationworker.Proposals.Server.msi and click Open.
In the Run dialog, click OK.
In the Microsoft Office Solution Accelerator for Proposals wizard, click Next.
In the License Agreement step, accept the license agreement and click Next.
In the Select Installation Folder step, accept the default settings and click Next.
In the "Microsoft Proposals web service location" step, change the Content Site URL to http://SPSPortal/sites/Sales/ProposalsHome/ContentLibrary and click Next.
Click Install to begin the installation.
Select Start Administrative Tools Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
In the IIS Manager dialog, expand the SPSPortal node.
Right-click the Application Pools folder and select New Application Pool.
In the Add New Application Pool dialog, name the new pool PropAccPool .
Select to use MSSharePointPortalAppPool as a template.
Click OK.
Open the Web Sites folder.
Right-click the Microsoft Office Solution Accelerator for Proposals virtual directory and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
On the Home Directory tab, select PropAccPool from the drop-down list of application pools.
Click OK.
Right-click the SPSPortal node and select All Tasks Restart IIS from the pop-up menu.
In the Stop/Start/Restart menu, click OK.

Setting Up the Proposal Site

After the general server setup is complete, you must manually construct sites in SharePoint Portal Server (SPS). This requires you to create a new site collection ”or identify an existing one ”under which you will create the Proposals Home page. You must also define special cross-site groups for the solution and add members . Finally, you must create the Content Library site at the location you specified during the server setup.

Creating the Sales Site Collection

The proposal accelerator relies on several templates to create the sites necessary to support the designed workflow. Templates such as these can be added to SPS, but only under a site collection. If you want to make templates available at the portal level so that they can be used to create new sites, you must use the STSADM tool. In this exercise, you will keep it simple and create a site collection under which you can install the required templates.

To create the site collection, follow these steps:

Log in to SPSPortal as a member of the Administrator site group .
Open Internet Explorer and browse to the portal home page.
On the portal home page, click the Sites link.
On the Sites page, click the Create Site link under the Actions list.
On the New SharePoint Site page, name the new site Sales .
Ensure the web site address for the new site is http://SPSPortal/sites/Sales .
Click OK.
On the Add Link to Site page, click OK.
On the Template Selection page, select Blank Site from the list.
Click OK.

Adding New Site Members

Once the top-level site is created, you should immediately add members to it. When you later create the proposal sites beneath this collection, you will inherit permissions from the site collection. Therefore, you should add users to the site collection who are eligible to contribute to the proposal. Generally, you should add users to the site collection as members of the Contributor site group at a minimum so that they can participate in the process.

To add new members, follow these steps:

Navigate to the Sales site collection.
From the site home page, click the Site Settings link.
On the Site Settings page, select Administration Manage Users.
On the Manage Users page, click the Add Members link.
Type the user names of the people to add to the site collection.
Assign them to appropriate groups.
Click Next.
Click Finish.

Creating the New Cross-Site Groups

The proposal accelerator uses a specific set of cross-site groups to track roles within the proposal process. Using these cross-site groups allows you to assign more granular permissions to the group of people who have access to the site collection.

Complete these steps to add new cross-site groups:

Navigate to the Sales site collection.
From the site home page, click the Site Settings link.
On the Site Settings page, select Administration Go to Site Administration.
On the Top-Level Site Administration page, select Users and Permissions Manage Cross-Site Groups.
On the My Cross-Site Groups page, click the New Cross-Site Group link.
On the New Cross-Site Group page, name the new group Authors and give it the description " The group that provides content for the proposal ."
Click Create.
On the Members page, click the Add Members link.
Add members to the site group.
On the My Cross-Site Groups page, click the New Cross-Site Group link.
On the New Cross-Site Group page, name the new group Coordinators and give it the description " The group that manages the content for the proposal ."
Click Create.
On the Members page, click the Add Members link.
Add members to the site group.

Setting Up Site Templates

Once the site collection is created, you may install the required templates beneath the collection. When you run the server-side setup, the proposal accelerator extracts three templates that must be added to the site collection. These templates are then used to create the Proposals Home, each individual proposal site, and the Content Library.

To set up site templates, follow these steps:

Navigate to the Sales site collection.
From the site home page, click the Site Settings link.
On the Site Settings page, select Administration Go to Site Administration.
On the Top-Level Site Administration page, select Site Collection Galleries Manage Site Template Gallery.
On the Site Template Gallery Page, click the Upload Template link.
On the Upload Template page, click the Upload Multiple Files link.
Navigate to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Solutions\Information Worker\Proposals\SharePoint .
Select to upload the three template files found in this directory.
Click the Save and Close link.

Creating the Proposal Home Site

Once the templates are uploaded, they can be used to create the required sites. The Proposals Home will be created directly underneath the site collection. All other sites will be created beneath the Proposals Home site. You should pay close attention to the location of sites and ensure that they follow the URL hierarchy entered during the server-side setup.

Follow this procedure to create the home site:

Navigate to the Sales site collection home page.
From the home page, click the Create link.
On the Create page, select Web Pages Sites and Workspaces.
On the New SharePoint Site page, name the new site Proposals Home .
Ensure the URL for new site is http://SPSPortal/Sites/Sales/ProposalsHome .
Click Create.
From the Template list, select Microsoft Proposals Home Portal.
Click OK.

Creating the Content Library

The Content Library is where all boilerplate information is stored. Teams may also use the Content Library to store reusable blocks of text for multiple proposals. The library can also be searched directly from Microsoft Word in the task pane.

Here is what to do to create the Content Library:

Navigate to the Proposals Home site.
From the home page, click the Create link.
On the Create page, select Web Pages Sites and Workspaces.
On the New SharePoint Site page, name the new site Content Library .
Ensure the URL for new site is http://SPSPortal/Sites/Sales/ProposalsHome/ContentLibrary .
Click Create.
From the Template list, select Microsoft Proposals Content Library.
Click OK.

Setting Up the Client

After the server is completely configured, you must set up the client. Each client that will use the proposal accelerator must have the installation files run on it. The best way to accomplish this task is to create a group policy in Active Directory that will make the software available to users through the Add or Remove Programs dialog.

Here are the steps to follow to create a group policy:

Log in to SPSController as the domain administrator.
Open Windows Explorer and create a new directory named C:\SoftwareDistribution .
Right-click the new folder and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
On the Sharing tab, select the option Share This Folder.
Click OK.
Copy the file Microsoft.Solutions.Informationworker.Proposals.Client.msi into the directory C:\SoftwareDistribution .
Select Start Administrative Tools Active Directory Users and Computers.
In the Active Directory Users and Computers dialog, right-click the sps.local node and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
On the Group Policy tab, click New.
Rename the new policy object Proposal Accelerator Client .
Select the Proposal Accelerator Client object and click Edit.
In the Group Policy Object Editor dialog, expand the tree to locate the Proposal Accelerator Client User Configuration Software Settings Software Installation Node.
Right-click the Software Installation node and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
On the General tab, type \\SPSController\SoftwareDistribution .
Click OK.
Right-click the Software Installation node and select New Package from the pop-up menu.
In the Open dialog, specify the path to the client install using Universal Naming Convention (UNC) convention by typing \\SPSController\SoftwareDistribution\Microsoft.Solutions.Informationworker.Proposals.Client.msi .
Click Open.
In the Deploy Software dialog, select the Published option and click OK.

Caution

The client installation package is dependent upon the Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.1 and Microsoft Word .NET programmability support. Be sure to upgrade SPSCLient or the proposal accelerator installation package will fail.

Once the group policy is created, the client software will be available from the Add or Remove Programs dialog on SPSClient . When applications are published through a group policy, each individual user must choose whether or not to install the package.

To install the client software, you will need to take these steps:

Log in to SPSClient as a local administrator.
Select Start Control Panel.
In the Control Panel, double-click Add or Remove Programs.
In the Add or Remove Programs dialog, click Add New Programs.
Select the "Microsoft Office Solution Accelerator for Proposals ”Client v1,0" item and click Add.
In the Microsoft Office Solution Accelerator for Proposals wizard, click Next.
In the License Agreement step, accept the license agreement and click Next.
In the Select Installation Folder step, accept the default settings and click Next.
In the "Microsoft proposals web service location" step, change the location to http://spsportal:6002/MSProposals.asmx and click Next.
Click Install to begin installation.

Customizing the Accelerator

Before the accelerator can be used, you must customize the proposal template, modify the Smart Document schema, and load some items into the Content Library. In this exercise, you will use standard Microsoft Word templates to create your proposal template. Then you will modify the schema to match the new template.

To modify the proposal template, follow these steps:

Log in to SPSClient as a member of the Administrator site group for the Proposals Home site.
Navigate to the Proposals Home page.
On the home page, click the Documents and Lists link.
On the Documents and List page, select Document Libraries Templates.

On the Templates page, select Edit in Microsoft Office Word from the drop-down menu associated with the proposal template.

Note	If you receive an error indicating that the XML expansion pack for the Smart Document cannot be found, then the client installation was not performed correctly. Check your group policy or install the client software manually before proceeding.

When the proposal template is open in Microsoft Word, select File New from the menu.
In the New Document pane, select Templates On My Computer.
On the Reports tab, select the Professional Report template.
Click OK.
When the new document opens, select Edit Select All and then select Edit Copy from the menu.
Switch to the proposal template and select Edit Paste from the menu.
When you have pasted the report text into the proposal template, select File Save.
Close Microsoft Word.

Once the template is changed, you must modify the schema to reflect the changes. In the following procedure, you will modify the schema directly on the server and then upload the changes to the Manifests library.

Log in to SPSClient as the local administrator.
Open the file at C:\Program Files\Microsoft Solutions\Information Worker\Proposals\ProposalsSchema.xsd in Visual Studio for editing.

Remove several of the document elements from the schema so that your final schema appears as shown in Listing 11-2, which follows this procedure.

Listing 11-2: The Document Schema

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> <xsd:schema xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns="http://microsoft.com/Solutions/InformationWorker/Proposals/" targetNamespace="http://microsoft.com/Solutions/InformationWorker/Proposals/" elementFormDefault="qualified" version="1.0"> <xsd:complexType name="GeneralSection" mixed="true">     <xsd:attributeGroup ref="SectionAttributeGroup" /> </xsd:complexType> <xsd:element name="Title" type="GeneralSection" /> <xsd:element name="Customer" type="GeneralSection" /> <xsd:element name="CompanyInformation" type="GeneralSection" /> <xsd:attributeGroup name="SectionAttributeGroup">     <xsd:attribute name="Title" type="xsd:string" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="ID" type="xsd:string" use="required" />     <xsd:attribute name="CreatedBy" type="xsd:string" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="DateCreated" type="xsd:long" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="ModifiedBy" type="xsd:string" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="NotificationSentBy" type="xsd:string" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="DateModified" type="xsd:long" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="DueDate" type="xsd:long" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="CurrentOwner" type="xsd:string" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="CurrentOwnerEmail" type="xsd:string" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="OriginalOwner" type="xsd:string" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="OriginalOwnerEmail" type="xsd:string" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="NotificationCustomBody" type="xsd:string"         use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="NeedNotify" type="xsd:boolean" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="NotifyPreviousOwner" type="xsd:boolean"         use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="IsChangePublicationPending"         type="xsd:boolean" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="DateNotified" type="xsd:long" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="DateWmiEventSent" type="xsd:long" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="Notes" type="xsd:string" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="Status" type="xsd:string" use="optional" />     <xsd:attribute name="State" type="xsd:string" use="optional" /> </xsd:attributeGroup> </xsd:schema>

Save and close the file.
Navigate to the Proposals Home page in Internet Explorer.
From the home page, click the Documents and Lists link.
On the Documents and Lists page, select Document Libraries Manifests.
On the Manifests page, click the Upload Document link.
On the Upload Document page, click Browse.
In the Choose File dialog, navigate to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Solutions\Information Worker\Proposals\ProposalsSchema.xsd .
Click Open.
Click the Save and Close link.

Note	Microsoft Word caches the Smart Document schema based on the updateFrequency element in the Manifest.xml file. If you open a proposal template and then subsequently edit the schema, the updates may not be available for a significant time.

Using the Accelerator

Once you have finished the customization, you are ready to use the accelerator. Using the accelerator begins with creating a new proposal site. After the site is created, you can open the template proposal and assign tasks.

Follow these steps to create a new proposal:

Log in to SPSClient as a member of the Coordinators cross-site group associated with the proposals site collection.
Open Internet Explorer and navigate to the Proposals Home site.
From the home page, click the Proposal Library link.
On the Proposal Library page, click the link Create Proposal Site.
Name the site Book Proposal and give it a description.
Fill in an appropriate URL for the new site.
Type New Moon Books into the Customer field.
Click Create.
On the New SharePoint Site page, click the link to go to your new site.
On the Book Proposal home page, select Documents Shared Documents from the Quick Launch bar.
On the Shared Documents page, select to open the proposal document by selecting "Edit in Microsoft Office Word" from the drop-down menu.
When the proposal opens, highlight the document title Proposal and Marketing Plan.
In the task pane, click "Assign a new section link."
Select to assign the proposal title section to a team member.