Brainlitter » Getting by with SharePoint Foundation, without Enterprise Filters

Getting by with SharePoint Foundation, without Enterprise Filters

As is often the case for me in the SMB area, many of my customers don’t have access to the Enterprise Edition of SharePoint and thus we need to get ‘creative’. Well, there are two web parts in SharePoint Enterprise that are very useful and as such, I’ve had to find workarounds. Luckily, some nice people have provided solutions and I wanted to point out two of them today.

 

In Enterprise SharePoint – SharePoint List Filter

Purpose(s): This Web Part is handy for taking a list, presenting it as a dropdown option and then using that to ‘send’ SharePoint web part data to other web parts on a Dashboard. Learn more the Enterprise Web Part here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/work-with-filter-web-parts-HA010033786.aspx

 

How to Fake it in WSS/Foundation: The “List Item Filter” web part in this CodePlex Project (http://sharepointobjects.codeplex.com/releases/view/35487) does the trick and I’ve successfully used in SharePoint 2010 installations.

 

In Enterprise SharePoint – Query String (URL) Filter

Purpose(s): This webpart is similar to the SharePoint List Filter web part in that it is all about passing SharePoint web part row data to other web parts to create a customized SharePoint Dashboard experience. The difference here is, rather than having the user select the item they want to filter on from a drop down list, they can specify it in a URL query (pass it as a value to the webpart) as a parameter, such as http://portal.somewhere.com/dashboard.aspx?ProjectName=SomeSexyProject . Learn more about the Enterprise Web Part here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/connect-a-query-string-url-filter-web-part-to-another-web-part-HA010250999.aspx

 

How to Fake it in WSS/Foundation: Sean Cleaver has produced a useful equivalent here (http://blog.seancleaver.com/sean_cleaver/2008/01/sharepoint-quer.html) that I tried tonight successfully with SharePoint 2010 Foundation

4 responses to “Getting by with SharePoint Foundation, without Enterprise Filters”

  1. HI Sean –

    I have a soon to expire trial of SharePoint 2013 Online E3 in which I am trying to do a feasibility study. Oh so many issues, no help from Microsoft (though promised). Just one issue you might be able to give me an answer on. I need filters in general, and Query (URL) Filter in particular. Marketing info says they come with E3, but I’ll be xxxxed if I can find them, nor turn them on in admin.

    Do you know if they are there, and what I’m missing? Or, alternatively, do you have filter solutions that would work in that environment?

    Thanks for any help you can give me

    Steve

    1. Hi Steve,
      Yep, it is definitely there in the E3 as it is considered an “Enterprise Feature”. To get it though, you have to enable the Enterprise Feature in Site Settings. Do it in the following two places and you should find “Query String (URL) Filter” as an option once the Enterprise (E3 for clarity) functionality is enabled.

      1. Site Settings, Site Collection Features, Activate the “SharePoint Server Enterprise Site Collection Features”       (you might even find what you are looking for after this step, I don’t remember if it is a “web scoped” feature or not, which might need this next step)
      2. Site Settings, Manage Site Features, Activate the “SharePoint Server Enterprise Site Features”

    1. Should do Sunil. To be honest though, haven’t worked with Foundation in some time now as Microsoft’s focus on “SharePoint for the small office” would be to point you to Office 365. Foundation just ain’t what it was anymore… 🙁

Comments are closed.