How often do you hear a Client say “I am using SharePoint, can you make it look less like SharePoint?". It’s one of the most common requests that you get if you are working on a SharePoint Project. In this blog I will explain you how to package and deploy SharePoint Branding as a farm solution. I will also walk you through how to add CSS and JavaScript files to custom master page. We can develop custom master pages with the help of SharePoint development tools in Microsoft Visual Studio 2010.

Recently I had to deactivate/activate a hidden feature that was deployed to a SharePoint 2010 Site Collection.   It was deployed as hidden to prevent a critical capability from being turned off accidentally.  Hidden features do not show up on the Manage Site Features page, but they can be displayed using PowerShell. 

• List the active features 
• Deactivate/Activate the feature

List The Active Features

Most internet users are accustomed to opening PDF files in the browser or clicking a link and having Adobe Reader open the file.  In either case, you click a link and the PDF opens, no issues.  In SharePoint 2010 this may not be the case.  Since PDF files represent a security risk, SharePoint adds 'X-Download-Options: noopen' to the header when downloading a PDF stored in a library.  This tells the browser not to open the file, but rather save it to disk, thus not presenting the user with an 'Open' option.  SharePoint will add this to any file it deems a security risk, not just PDFs, although they usually come up first in this discussion.

Now that we know the cause, how do we fix it.  There are two ways to solve this issue, the correct way and the wrong way.  A quick Google search for this problem and 99.9% of the solutions tell you the wrong way.  Let's take a look at both options.

Earlier this year Microsoft launched SharePoint Online, which is part of its Office 365 product offering.  As with an on-site deployment of SharePoint, you can create sites and lists, share documents, etc.  However, SharePoint Online simplifies it all by removing the need to deploy, configure, monitor, update or upgrade an installation on your premises. You can use the Online Services Administration Center to create new sites, install solutions, and provide access to specific users.

Small and medium-sized businesses can now take advantage of the same enterprise-grade technologies that are available to larger companies, without having to take on the operational and hardware infrastructure necessary to host SharePoint on-site.

A common mis-conception about using this product concerns custom development.  SharePoint Online does not change your ability to customize your environment so that it meets your business needs.

Many of you might find this to be a funny question but almost daily I am asked, “what would you suggest as a platform for the development of XYZ Application --- .Net or Java?” or better yet “which one is better, .Net or Java?” Quite honestly, this is a loaded question and cannot be answered without significant analysis into both technical factors and a comprehensive review of the overall organization structure, existing investment, and review of why and what business problems XYZ application is being built to solve.