Web Parts and Web Part Pages

Before discussing the customization of any of the portal sites, certain basic concepts must be addressed. A SharePoint site contains one or more Web Part Pages. Web Part Pages contain Web Parts that can display the contents held in the site’s lists or document libraries, as well as Web Parts that display other content. There are two versions, also known as views, of a Web Part Page.

• Shared Version This version is the Web Part Page that every user with the appropriate permissions on a site can view.

• Personal Version This version of a Web Part Page is available only to you and not to others.

To customize the Shared Version of any Web Part Page within a Web site, you must have the following rights, all of which are included in the Design and Full Control permission levels by default.

• Manage Lists

• Add and Customize Pages

• Apply Themes and Borders

• Apply Style Sheets

A member of a Web site’s Site Owners group has Full Control permissions and therefore is able to customize the Shared Version of Web Part Pages.

To customize the Personal View of any Web Part Page, the Web Part Page must be designed to be personalized. You must have the following rights, all of which are included in the Contribute, Design, and Full Control permission levels by default.

• Manage Personal Views

• Add/Remove Personal Web Parts

• Update Personal Web Parts

A member of a Web site’s Members group has Contribute permission and therefore is able to customize the Personal Version of Web Part Pages if they are designed to be personalized.

In the following exercise, you will familiarize yourself with the customization capabilities of Windows SharePoint Services.

OPEN the SharePoint site. This exercise will use the http://wideworldimporters site, but you can use whatever SharePoint team site you wish. If prompted, type your user name and password, and click OK.

BE SURE TO verify that you have sufficient rights to add contacts to a Contacts list. If in doubt, see the Appendix on page 435.

1. On the right of the top link bar, click Site Actions.

2. Click Edit Page.

Internet Explorer redisplays the Web Part Page in edit mode and states that this is the Shared Version of the page. Any changes that you make to the Web Part Page are visible to all users of the site. The Web Part Page is displayed in a grid-like manner, displaying two Web Part Page zones denoted by two blue borders labeled at the top as Left and Right. At the top of each Web Part Page zone is an orange rectangle containing the text Add a Web Part.

Tip 

Web Part Page zones are containers for Web Parts. Therefore, on a SharePoint team site, the Left zone contains the Web Parts named Announcements and Calendar, whereas the Right zone contains the Web Parts named Site Image and Links. In edit mode, these Web Parts contain the word edit followed by a down arrow on their title bar and a Close button. The Announcements, Calendar, and Links Web Parts display information held within the Announcements, Calendar, and Links lists, whereas the Site Image Web Part is a built-in Web Part that displays the Windows SharePoint Services image.

Other Web Part Pages might be comprised of more or less than two zones, depending on the Web Part Page template used when creating the Web Part Page. You can also add or remove zones from a Web Part Page by using a tool, such as Office SharePoint Designer.

2. Below Site Actions, click Exit Edit Mode.

The Web Part Page is displayed in normal mode, in which the zones are no longer visible. In addition, the word edit and the Close button in the title bar of the Announcements, Calendar, and Links Web Parts are no longer visible. The title bar of the Site Image Web Part does not appear.

3. In the upper right corner of the page, click the arrow next to the Welcome <your name> message.

4. Click Personalize this Page.

Internet Explorer redisplays the Web Part Page in edit mode and states that this is the Personal Version of the page. Any changes that you make to the Web Part Page only affect your view of the Web page.

Tip 

When a Web page is not in edit mode, there is no visible indication as to whether the page shows the Shared Version or the Personal Version of the page. If the Show Personal View option is displayed on the Welcome drop-down menu, you are viewing the Shared Version of the page. If the Show Shared View option appears, you are viewing the Personal Version of the page. As an Administrator or Web designer, you cannot customize the personal views of specific users; you can only customize the shared view and your own personal view.

5. Below Site Actions, click Exit Edit Mode. The Web Part Page is displayed in normal mode.

CLOSE Internet Explorer.