Pushing data into a SharePoint server

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Introduction

Windows 2003 comes standard with something called Windows SharePoint™ Services, found here. This provides some pretty impressive Intranet functionality right out of the box (well, with one additional download).

Once set up, it provides a database driven website with content that is controlled by the users. Users can add various types of content, using predesigned "web parts", which are basically ASP.NET web controls. In addition, it provides a Web Service API which developers can use to push data right onto the website.

This article shows how to implement a simple user feedback web form, with results that display on an intranet site. We'll use part of the API to do that. (Development of custom "web parts" is also worthy of an article, but I'll leave that to someone else).

Preparation

Before you can use the sample code, you need to have a Windows 2003 server set up with SharePoint Services. You can find the download at the URL mentioned previously. Once installed, you will need to create a website, using the provided admin tools. On the website, you will need to set up a "List", which will contain the feedback in a format that the intranet users will like. You can and should customize the fields of your list, as follows:

• Name (rename title)
• Comment (rename description)
• Email address (new field)

I won't go into how to set up SharePoint Services. If you have problems, post a question below, and I will answer as best I can.

Using the code

First, we create a simple ASP.NET form, containing fields for Name, Comment and Email address. Add validation controls if you need. Add a web reference to the Lists web service, found at http://YourSharepointServerName/_vti_bin/Lists.asmx.

The web service provides an UpdateListItems method, which takes some XML as a parameter. The XML is of a format:

<Batch><Method><Field>FieldValue</Field></Method></Batch>

Error handling is primitive, so you should be sure to use the correct case for everything (XML is case-sensitive), and the correct names for all of your fields.

The following snippet of code can be added behind your form's submit button:

private void btnSubmit_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
    Lists listService = new Lists();
    listService.Credentials = GetCredentials();
    //we need to login as a user of sharepoint

    Page.Validate();    //force the validation, for non-IE browsers
    if (Page.IsValid)
    {
        XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
        XmlElement updates = doc.CreateElement("Batch");
    
        updates.InnerXml = string.Format(
            "<Method id=1 Cmd="New">" +
            "<Field Name='ID'>New</Field>" +
            "<Field Name='Title'>{0}</Field>" +
            "<Field Name='Body'>{1}</Field>" +
            "<Field Name='Email'>{2}</Field>" +
            "</Method>", 
            txtName.Text, 
            txtComment.Text, 
            txtEmail.Text);

        XmlNode node = null;
        try
        {
            node = listService.UpdateListItems(
             System.Configuration.ConfigurationSettings.AppSettings["listName"], 
             updates);

            //TODO: Really, we should parse the returned 
            //XmlNode object to check for success code.
            Response.Redirect("thanks.aspx");
        } 
        catch (WebException err)
        {
            if (err.Message.StartsWith("The underlying connection was closed"))
                lblError.Text = "The feedback service is currently" +
                                " unavailable.  Please try again later";
            else
                lblError.Text = err.Message;
        }
        catch (Exception err)
        {
            lblError.Text = err.Message;
        }
    } 
    else
    {
        //do nothing.  The validation controls 
        //will kick in on the postback.
    }
}

Notice that, when setting updates.innerXML, we specify the original list field names for those that we renamed. SharePoint remembers the original name separately. You can see the actual field name when editing the field in SharePoint, as part of the URL (something like &Field=Title near the end).

For this code to work, you need to add an appsetting for listName to your web.config file. The setting should contain the name that you gave to your particular list.

The SharePoint Lists Web Service requires that you authenticate. You can do this using a Windows username and password that has access to the SharePoint website. I stored these credentials inside of the web.config file, and then created the following code to return the credentials:

private NetworkCredential GetCredentials()
{
    try
    {
        return new NetworkCredential(
            System.Configuration.ConfigurationSettings.AppSettings["userName"], 
            System.Configuration.ConfigurationSettings.AppSettings["password"], 
            System.Configuration.ConfigurationSettings.AppSettings["domain"]);
    } 
    catch (Exception err)
    {
        throw new ApplicationException(
            "Service failed to login to the network.", 
            err);
    }
}

And that's about all there is to it. I hope this article helps in getting started with SharePoint services.

Points of Interest

When using the sample code, be sure to edit the web.config file first, to contain appropriate settings for your environment.