SharePoint 2013 – Comparison of Features with previous versions

SharePoint 2013 comes with powerful features which incorporate considerably upgraded search abilities along with new provisions for intranet-oriented searches, enhanced digital content management, web content usability as well as cross-site publishing. Let us have a brief overview of the new functionality and features of this new version of SP and compare it with older versions. 

  

New Licensing Model

Owing to the licensing changes in Sharepoint 2013, an “external connector” is not required by “external users”, as was the case for previous versions. This ensures substantial reduction of cost for clients because it facilitates access to SP solutions like external project collaboration sites, customer portals or websites by vendors, partners, customers or other outside users. 

 

Fresh Search Features

The FAST search technology has been integrated into the 2013 version of SP. As a result, the search functionality has been enhanced ensuring the following benefits:

• Continuous Crawl: The indexing and crawling components have undergone a major upgrade in SharePoint Search. A great deal of content could not be frequently crawled in SharePoint 2010 but currently it is possible to index content frequently. This is of great significance because files added within SP can be located instantly by the users.
• Query Conditions or Rules Engine: This feature facilitates the dynamic display of content by the web pages. Search has been incorporated with a new query engine which makes room for application of rules and display of results depending upon particular conditions. SharePoint 2010 did not possess this feature. As this feature has been incorporated in the latest SP version, it enables better control over sorting and displaying of results as per user attributes.
• Service-Oriented Page Design: This allows web pages to dynamically come up with content that is most relevant to the user, while facilitating storage of the content within a central repository. This was also available in SharePoint 2010, but in the latest version, this feature is more practical and efficient as it is loaded with new enhancements and web parts.
• Query Actions: These help to manage the presentation of the search results. Currently it is possible to specify the categories of records that will be displayed in search results using custom HTML. This could not be done in an efficient manner in SharePoint 2010.

Intranet-Oriented Search Advantages

Along with the search enhancements made through the introduction of fresh search features, there are certain improvements that have proved to be of immense significance to Intranet users.

• File Preview: It is possible for users to preview Microsoft Office files from the search results page. Optimization and sorting of search results can be done on the basis of users clicks. Because it is possible to preview files prior to opening, increasingly accurate search results can be obtained for the end users, a feature which was not available in SharePoint 2010.
• Deep Links: In case of SharePoint 2013, major sections and chapters from a file are displayed with the results. One can conveniently jump to particular sections without downloading the file and searching for the required content.

Enhanced Web Content Usability

• WYSIWYG Improvements: Content can be copied directly from Word and pasted within the SP text editor. The text gets displayed in the website's defined style, which implies that much editing is not required. Compared to the earlier versions, SharePoint 2013 allows more convenient editing of content and web pages.
• Friendly URLs: This features renders user-friendly URLs for all SharePoint pages as against the long URLs characteristic of SharePoint 2010.
• Flexible Branding: Non-SharePoint tools such as Adobe Dreamweaver can now be utilized for branding as well as page design.
• Video Embedding: With the help of this feature, SharePoint 2013 enables convenient embedding of videos from third-party hosting solutions. Hence the user can efficiently add videos to the sites.

Digital Asset Management

Companies which have great volume of videos, images or other content can now efficiently leverage SharePoint for organizing their assets. Images can be effectively stored in a central repository and can also be reused on pages across the site.

Cross-site Publishing

This aspect helps in storage and maintenance of content in a single or more than one authoring site collections. Again, this content can be displayed in one or more than one publishing site collections. This feature in the 2013 version of SP ensures consistency of content shared throughout diverse areas and sites. 

 

The above-mentioned features indeed make SharePoint 2013 more advanced and convenient to use than the previous versions. It also comes with other significant enhancements such as SkyDrive, increasingly robust work-flow platforms and improved site performance. You can hire developers from top SharePoint application development services companies in India who can help you build products within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide custom SharePoint development services. If you would like to talk to one of our certified SharePoint developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Compatibility Report of SharePoint 2013 and HTML5

SharePoint 2013, which is the newest version of this web application development platform, comes with a number of beneficial features, out of which, compatibility is definitely a major one. However, before you go into the compatibility of this new improved platform and HTML5, let us have a look at the prominent features of the same.

SharePoint 2013 and its Features

To begin with, the platform facilitates enhanced user experinece by means of remarkable design as well as increased templates and layout capability. Additionally, fast search, improved work flow, e- discovery tools along with office web apps are also offered by SharePoint 2013. It is for this reason that business enterprises have an increased preference for upgrading from SharePoint 2010 version to the latest one. However, the infrastructure procurements must be considered when it comes to enterprise upgrades.

HTML5 and its attributes

HTML5, on the other hand, has made the developer's work easy primarily by virtue of its host of semantic features. This highly improved version of the Markup language offers several other tools as well as elements such as newer media as well as structural elements, attributes, form types, link relation types as well as the semantics for internationalization.

Compatibility between SharePoint 2013 and HTML5

The popular web application development platform now appears to be completely compatible with HTML5. The compatibility is best echoed by the presence of Channels, which allow designing different look and feel for the varying devices that are used for viewing the sites. Even the use of SharePoint sites on the mobile devices such as that of the iPods or Smart Phones has become quite common. These are also built using HTML5, hence, offer different views of SharePoint.

The compatibility of the development platform with HTML5 ensures that the Sites work equally well on any device and that they are optimized for the mobile browsers such as that of the Mobile IE9, Windows Phone 7.5, Android or Safari. The Office Web Apps pave the way for the documents and files to open on all of the these without necessitating the installment of Office on the devices.

Browser Compatibility of SharePoint

The latest version has witnessed a minimizing of the ActiveX controls to a great extent. The Drag, Drop and Multi File upload support leads to an excellent user experinece with Firefox and Chrome. The few office integration scenarios that are avilable are for the power users only, which further promises the average users with a commendable expeirnece with Firefox as well as Chrome.

This newest version of the platform also offers excellent mobile browser experience, thanks to the new contemporary views.

The contemporary view offers an optimized mobile browser experinece while the view is also available to the Mobile Internet Explorer Version 9.0 as well as the later versions like Windows Phone 7.5, iPhone iOs 5.0, Safari 4.0 or even the Andorid 4.0.

The Classic View, on the other hand, is rendered in HTML format while also providing backward compatibility for mobile browsers.

Finally, with the full screen UI view, a complete desktop display of the site is available on the SmartPhone devices too.

The ultimate outcome of the compatibility of this platform can be seen in terms of features such as menu button including that of the Site contents, sign out, close and switch to PC view. A navigation window, a tap-to-open links, automatic pagination of lists with over 20 items add to the alreday compatibility feature of the web applictaion development platform. With this platform, one can even create new list items and edit them too. For instance, a new task in a task list is created on the mobile device. The same can be edited in the list with the help of the Edit option. Custom SharePoint development will just get a whole new meaning with HTML5 coming into picture with SharePoint.

We provide SharePoint application development services. If you would like to talk to one of our SharePoint developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Top 5 SharePoint Collaboration Apps for Android

A number of SharePoint tools are available for Android devices which are capable of rendering functionality similar to that available for Iphones and iPads. As is true for many Sharepoint apps that are meant for mobile devices, some functionality is not present or has particular limitations, in comparison to the notebook or desktop experience. This is all the more obvious when the task is of document editing, and is not only restricted by the SharePoint app in use, but also by the tools that are present within your device.

One concern to be considered is that versions of Android which are 2.3 or below do not render support to NTLM authentication. This might prevent users from entering the SharePoint site in case they are accessing the earlier versions through tablets or Smartphones. However, newer Android apps, offer extra capability to Android users accessing SP data. These applications render basic access to SP documents, calenders, lists in addition to other features such as app level content sorting, passcode lock, offline access, and so on. Let us have a look at 5 of the top SP collaboration apps for Android.

SPtoGO

With the help of this, you can have convenient access to SP images, documents, events or tasks from your tablet or phone. This tool is very easy to use, so there is no need for you to be a SharePoint expert in order to use it. The content-centric design is done keeping in mind the everyday user. With the help of the SPtoGO passcode prompt available in the Settings tab, access to the enterprise SP content can be restricted from your phone. Moreover, you can seamlessly perform a number of activities such as add, view or update tasks, download documents to the phone to ensure offline access, upload photos from phone to SharePoint image library.

SPConnect SharePoint

This tool enables you to have access to a Microsoft SP site through the Android phone. You can conveniently collaborate with your team members while you are on the go. It is also possible to update as well as review documents within document libraries whenever you want. With SharePoint within your fingertips, meetings can be scheduled within a team calendar or a team announcement can simply be posted. The Android system requirements for this collaboration app include external storage system for caching of files along with a document viewer for modification and viewing of documents.

SharePlus

Through this collaboration app, you will be able to automatically synchronize your choicest SharePoint libraries as well as lists and incorporate them within your Android Smartphone or tablet. Wherever you are, you will be able to coordinate with your team through sharing of documents and task lists. The most noteworthy thing about SP is that it is capable of working with the existing SharePoint credentials, hence there is no need to seek special permissions. The main features include document management, content management and offline support, amongst others.

Harmon.ie Lite

This is a free app which allows non-technical business users to have comprehensive access to Office 365 as well as SharePoint sites straightaway with the help of Android devices. It is possible to share and edit documents, gain access to real-time updates or enhance the social network. There are a number of benefits, including access to SP and Office 365 on the go, native Office user experience with respect to document editing, enhanced project management, noteworthy productivity and adoption of social networking features.

SharePoint DocExplore

Document navigation has become very easy with the help of this collaboration app. This app provides a great method for easy document retrieval. SharePoint DocExplore allows you to browse and search document libraries from Microsoft SP, rendering a collapsible and visual tree view. The app comes with an intuitive interface wherein you can select the theme as well as animation according to your choice. The sub-sites and document libraries can be made to slide vertically or horizontally depending on the type of animation.

You can hire developers from top SharePoint development services companies in India who can help you build products within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide SharePoint site migration services. If you would like to talk to one of our SharePoint programmers or would like to take a look at the work they have done, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Why Should You Migrate from SharePoint 2010 to SharePoint 2013 ?

The much awaited and highly anticipated SharePoint 2013, the popular web application platform finally arrives. Now, it is obvious for most organizations to question as to whether it would be a wise idea to upgrade to SharePoint 2013. Some are yet to understand if the upgrade will be beneficial for them in the long run. In order to take the right decision regarding migrating to the new version of this prominent web development platform, one needs to carry out a little research and grasp the nuances involved in the same.

The latest application platform comes with a good number of significant upgrades. The major difference between the two versions of the platform lies in the user experience offered by the two, which is quite a significant point for the businesses. Eventually, a migration from the 2010 version to the latter version is quite desirable. Here is a list of reasons on why it is so:

Better User Experience

The brand new version of SharePoint puts much emphasis on the social experience that users would like to have. The concerned discussion board has paved the way for an interesting activity stream, similar to that of Facebook. Though there is a similar feature in the 2010 version of this web development platform, the one in the latest version is certainly more user friendly, allowing users to be there in the loop with easily accessible continuous updates.

Increased Socialization

Additional socializing is facilitated by what is better known as the ‘Gamification’ of the community site template. As such, users can now participate by means of assigning points, badges as well as a leadership board, incorporating the ‘top contributors”. With these increased opportunities to take part in social activities, presented by the latest version, users will also be able to be a part of workplace discussions.

Easier Customization

The newly introduced features in the publishing site reduce the necessity of gathering good amount of SharePoint knowledge. Extreme expertise is no longer required in order to be able to design a site on this platform and carry out its branding successfully. Customization is easily available, which implies that the web application development platform can be used for specific purpose and requirements.

Integration with Other Products

Perhaps the best and the most beneficial feature incorporated in the SharePoint 2013 is its ability to integrate with the other Microsoft products. It works well with several programs and in particular, with Office 365, that has been recently released. Thus, the end users can be rest assured that the documents, images and files will be stored safely enough for others to access them. At the same time, all of these data will be compatible with any program used by any other party.

Advancements in Social Capabilities

The advancements made in the area of the SharePoint social capabilities are impressive apart from being quite beneficial. The enhancements revolving around mobile experience add to the overall significance of the platform.

Device- friendliness

The latest version is made much more device- friendly than the previous version. Since the program is accessible via a wide range of device, users can enjoy staying connected on tablets, Smartphones and so on, all the time. Users with an inclination for apps can also download these from external sites. With this, companies can also design apps and thereby, restrict the use completely to the private SharePoint 2013 files. Additionally, businesses have the chance of keeping track of certain things better such as that of employee travel, spending and work hours.

The above- mentioned features of SharePoint 2013, especially the ones relating to the user- interface and usability of the platform implies that a migration can be of real help. SharePoint 2013 is perfectly suited when it comes to offering the best- possible experience to the users. Hence custom SharePoint development becomes essential.

We provide SharePoint application development services. If you would like to talk to one of our certified SharePoint developers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Impact of SharePoint 2013 on Healthcare IT

Healthcare organizations which were early adopters of Microsoft SharePoint platform gained quite comprehensively from the capabilities of the framework. The new SharePoint 2013 version promises much more in terms of enhanced functionalities to benefit them. The primary ones include App Marketplace, Business Intelligence, Mobile, Communities, Video Searches and Micro Blogging. Apart than the intended benefits one common purpose achieved by the functionalities is reduction in the cost of operations for healthcare setups using them. With optimized workflow engines replacing manual tasks, improved compliance with regulatory mandates and availability of customized solutions, Healthcare setups are likely to notice significant reduction in their operational expenditure.

SharePoint’s predominant use in the healthcare industry has been in content management and in document and activity based collaboration. The new version interestingly has shifted the focus on its adoption more towards social solutions - which in the current day context has a lot of relevance. For e.g. it has a major contribution to make in knowledge management. In the healthcare industry this is of critical relevance as it can lead to not only better care solutions but saving of millions of lives. Knowledge gathered through experience and shared through the social platforms enhances its utility and relevance in making better decisions and reducing chances of committing errors.

The use of SharePoint is business intelligence is expected to gather pace as we progress. Since there are information systems now taking care of activities which were earlier handled manually, it has resulted in an explosion of data – most of which is highly critical and can be harnessed in various ways to draw greater benefits. From using dashboards and reports to analyze collated data from diverse sources to using them for predictions activities; all this and many more complex activities can be made possible using the features offered SharePoint 2013. EHR adoption which is fast happening is only going to expedite the whole process.

Mobility has brought about a huge change in the healthcare industry. The entire healthcare delivery mechanism is likely to undergo a complete metamorphosis in the next few years. SharePoint, when it was developed in 2001, was not expected to be built for such times. As the world progressed towards the use of mobile devices, subsequent versions i.e. SharePoint 2007 & SharePoint 2010 were released to keep pace with the changing demands. However, the response from the industry was not that very encouraging and the versions were considered inadequate. SharePoint 2013 is expected to dispel such notions because this version is about creating access to meaningful information.However, the healthcare organizations currently using SharePoint applications have to be willing to upgrade in order to derive the benefits. The major differentiating features include the following:

• A contemporary view to render sites in HTML5 which can work with all the updated versions of browsers
• Provision to render the SharePoint sites across different mobile devices by the use of channels
• Capability to push notifications to mobile devices
• Availability of two new native apps: The SharePoint Newsfeed App and The SkyDrive Pro App. Thus users now will have the ability to not only follow people and feeds but also documents thus enabling them to be accessed more easily without having to go through the SharePoint interface. Plus, they will also now be able to store documents to be able to use them offline.
• Better view of MS Office tools like Word, Excel and PowerPoint

SharePoint, throughout its lifecycle has drawn flak for its user experience. The upgradations, although have brought in changes, have been found wanting. The 2013 version seems to have put forth solutions for the prevalent issues in usability. Besides, there are now modern applications available which are suited to be used for mobile, social and cloud capabilities. In healthcare industry, one of the main areas concern and focus is data security. So the CIO’s of the Healthcare enterprises have to look beyond the benefits of these additional features and figure out their impact on the security aspect of things. They also have to look at how third-party apps can integrate with these features. Migration will also be another area which will require their attention. You can hire developers from top SharePoint development companies in India who can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide SharePoint 2013 developmentservices. If you would like to know what makes us certified SharePoint developers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Things to keep in mind while migrating from ColdFusion to Microsoft SharePoint

Being a ColdFusion developer, chances of not knowing much about SharePoint certainly stands high. Therefore, before you take the plunge to migrate from ColdFusion to Microsoft SharePoint, you must consider developing some basic knowledge of working amid the particular environment.

What is SharePoint?

Well, in simple terms, it is referred to an application of content management system that allows an access of data stored in MSSQL database. The incorporated search services of SharePoint keep it apart from just file storage in common folders and add the context of team collaboration and data file management that are usually generated by the Microsoft Office Suite.

So, what are the aspects that you must primarily keep in mind to ensure a successful migration of ColdFusion to SharePoint? Well, here is a look at the aspects that prominently focuses on the task of understanding the content management system application:

Exploring the site hierarchy of SharePoint and roles that are permission based

The application usually exists in the form of a structured site grouping referred to as site collection. In this respect, it is to be made clear that site permissions are usually linked to the Active Directory login of a user. All permissions to site collection typically begin at the top level and spread downwards to the created sites thereby, acceding to the permission of the parent level.

Here is a quick look at some of the principle permission levels related to sharepoint application development :

• Read – users can only have a view of the data along with the sites
• Contribute – Users can view, add, delete, and update the data along with the sites
• Design – Users can views, update, delete, add, approve, and customize the data as well as the sites
• Complete control – Users can exert complete control over the data alongside the sites.

Knowing Lists of SharePoint: Views and Items

The SharePoint List is often recognized as the foundation of a site related to the application. In simple terms, a List is nothing, but similar to a database table. The content management system application comes with a several template concerning a List i.e. task list, contacts, calendar, etc. Each of these features their own default columns; however, the application can be customized catering to the exact needs as well as interests. For instance, you can always go ahead and add a column to the particular list like customer ID, document library, etc. You can also consider the idea of creating custom lists featuring no pre-incorporated or defined columns and save them as templates, if you wish.

Usually, the List consists of four default pages that are generated following the creation: a look

• NewForm.aspx – allows the users to add items maintaining a pre-generated approach to the list.
• DispForm.aspx – allows the users to review an item in read-only form
• Edit Form.aspx – allows the users to undertake editing of a integrated item with proper permissions
• AllItems.aspx – allows a display of all list items maintaining a view that is non-filtered

Adding to all these is the final feature of the List that is Stored Views. This actually refers to filtered displays of Items present in the list catering to the chosen criteria of a user.

SharePoint Pages and Web Parts

When it comes to displaying a web page in SharePoint, it is to be noted that a usual page is likely to consist of pre-defined aspects and Web Part Zones that allows an addition of a Web Part. What is a Web Part? Well, a code snippet that exhibits the contained data of SharePoint in a specific layout. For instance, you can have a calendar Web Part that specifically exhibits Items from a Calendar List of the content management system application, offering you the options of exhibiting contents as a list of events or in the form of calendars offering monthly, weekly, and daily views. Building a page featuring multiple Web Parts allow you to put forward a design enabling a view in the form of dashboard quite quickly.

Once, you get all the necessary permissions within the environment of SharePoint, you can easily go ahead and experiment with the migration. Being a ColdFusion developer, you now have the choice of creating ColdFusion applications within SharePoint in a way like never before.

We provide sharepoint bespoke development services. If you would like to know what makes us expert sharepoint developers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.