Some useful methods in SPUtility class

SPUtility is a very rich class, which contains a number of useful functions; it also contains a number of obsolete functions. I found following methods very useful in our daily programming. 

1. System DateTime to ISO8601 DateTime

Converts a system DateTime value to ISO8601 DateTime format (yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssZ)

string isoDateTime = SPUtility.CreateISO8601DateTimeFromSystemDateTime(DateTime.Now());

//Output: 2010-03-30T15:30:33Z

2. Redirect

Signature of Redirect method:

public static bool Redirect(string url, SPRedirectFlags flags, HttpContext context)

The below link will provide you detailed information about the SPRedirectFlags.

http://www.tonstegeman.com/Blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=102

3. Transfer to Success or Error Page

These methods are useful when you are

    SPUtility.TransferToErrorPage("Hi this is an Error Page", "this is link","{your_url}");

    SPUtility.TransferToErrorPage("Hi this is an Error Page {0}, {1}", "click here to Go to Top site", "{your_url}");

 

    SPUtility.TransferToSuccessPage("Hi this is an Sucess Page");

    
    SPUtility.TransferToSuccessPage("Hi this is an Sucess Page {0},{1}", "{url}", "This is Link", "{url}");

Useful link:

http://www.sharepointkings.com/2008/05/how-to-use-sputilitytransfertoerrorpage.html

4. Email

Send an email from the context of the given SPWeb.

SPWeb web = SPContext.Current.Site.OpenWeb();
string subject = "Email from the " + web.Title + " web";
string body = "The body of the email";

SPUtility.SendEmail(web, false, false, "someone@somewhere.com", subject, body);

5. 12-hive Path:

Returns the filesystem path for the 12-Hive, or any of the folders beneath it.

(C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12)

string featuresPath = SPUtility.GetGenericSetupPath("Template\\Features");

6. Full URL:

Return absolute url from relative url

string webUrl = "/sub/default.aspx";

SPUtility.GetFullUrl(SPContext.Current.Site, webUrl);

//Output: "http://localhost/sub/default.aspx"

There are methods that I did not describe; I will publish them as soon as I find out how they can be used.

Reference Links:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.sharepoint.utilities.sputility_members.aspx

SPWeb.ProcessBatchData method to improve SharePoint list operations performance

The common way to add or update multiple items in SharePoint list is SPListItem.Update. You can an existing item or add a new item using SplistItemCollection .Add(). 

Sample Code Snippet:

for (int itemCount = 0; itemCount < 100;s itemCount++)

{

SPListItem newItem = listItemCollection.Add();

newItem.Update();

}

Using Batch Update:
ProcessBatchData method takes XML format as input and it will directly communicate with SharePoint content database.

StringBuilder query = new StringBuilder();

query.Append("<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?><Batch>");

for (int itemCount = 0; itemCount < 100; itemCount++)

{

query.AppendFormat("<Method ID=\"{0}\">" +

"<SetList>{1}</SetList>" +

"<SetVar Name=\"ID\">New</SetVar>" +

"<SetVar Name=\"Cmd\">Save</SetVar>" +

"<SetVar Name=\"{3}Title\">{2}</SetVar>" +

"</Method>", i, listGuid, someValue, "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office#");

}

query.Append("</Batch>");

spWeb.ProcessBatchData(query.ToString());

Conclusion:
If you have to update a larger number of items its highly recommended to not use the Update method on every item. Instead – use the batch update function ProcessBatchData provided by SPWeb.

Reference Links:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc404818.aspx

SharePoint 2010: Version History for Multiline text column with “Append Changes to Existing Text” not visible in SharePoint 2010 Custom Edit forms

Problem Statement:

If you have created a Multiline textbox with “Append Changes to Existing Text”

This will display a version history for that column in default Edit and Display form, but the same thing won’t work in the custom edit and display forms.

Solution:

Add tag below the text fields control with Control mode “Display” and unique Id.

<SharePoint:AppendOnlyHistory runat="server" id="ff21disp{$Pos}" controlmode="Display" fieldname="Comments "></SharePoint:AppendOnlyHistory>

Introduction...

Hey Guys,
This is my first BLOG post. I always think to write any blog on SharePoint but frankly speaking, I didn’t have the time last year due to project deliverables. I now realize that there is so much information that I came across which is truly useful and I don’t always have time to write a blog post. This year I have decided to give my time to this blog. Thanks for reading and I hope all my time and effort helps you on many levels.