Exploring the 40 Application Templates of WSS 3.0

1. Introduction
   
   Microsoft had launched 40 application templates that can be used in Windows SharePoint Services to implement Custom Scenarios tailored to address the needs or requirements of specific business processes or sets of tasks. Microsoft states that these application templates “can function as a starting point for partners and developers looking to build more sophisticated Windows SharePoint Services solutions using Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007”.


2. Availability of Application Templates
   The Templates are available for download at no extra charge from the following site, http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/sharepoint/bb407286.aspx.
   As Microsoft suggests, each application template addresses a business scenario and provides a base of functionality that can be either used directly out of the box, or customized for company specific needs.
   The Application Templates fall under two groups
   · 20 Site Admin Templates –
   o These custom templates can be installed by Administrator for the SharePoint site into the Template gallery without requiring server administration access.
   · 20 Server Admin Templates –
   o These are Site Definition files that implement tight integration and enhanced functionality with the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 platform. To install these install the user needs to have administrator permissions on the server. The user also needs to be the administrator in the SharePoint groups to install the server admin templates.
   These templates are available for download as individual templates and also as a complete package.


3. Installing the Application Templates
   The downloaded templates will be in EXE format. Run the EXE file to extract them to a location on your computer.
   Install Site Admin Templates
   a) Select the Template file, .stp, from the extracted distribution for the application template you wish to install.
   b) Log into your SharePoint site as the site Administrator.
   c) From the Site Actions drop-down menu in the top right, select Site Settings.
   d) Under the Galleries section, select Site templates.
   e) Select Upload to load an application template into this SharePoint site.
   f) Browse to the .stp file from the distribution and select Open. If you have several application templates to load into your site, you can use the Upload Multiple Files… option to load them all at once.
   g) Click Ok to complete the upload of the application template to your SharePoint site.
   Install Server Admin Templates
   a) If you are downloading the templates individually then in order for the server admin templates to be installed the Application Template Core Solution needs to be installed first. The Application Template core solution is available for download in the following link http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=85162&clcid=0x409
   b) If the entire package of 40 templates in downloaded then Application Template Core Solution comes as a part of it.
   c) To install the Application Template Core Solution,
   i. Open command prompt and navigate to the following path “%PROGRAMFILES%\common files\microsoft shared\web server extensions\12\bin”
   ii. Types the following command, “stsadm.exe -o addsolution -filename \ApplicationTemplateCore.wsp”, where is the location you extracted the Application Template Core files to, and then press ENTER.
   iii. Type “stsadm.exe -o deploysolution -name ApplicationTemplateCore.wsp –allowgacdeployment”, and then press ENTER. This will deploy the solution in the GAC.
   iv. If any error encountered while deploying through the STSADM command then the solution can be deployed from the Central Administration -> Operations->Solution Management. If the Application Template Solution is not deployed then go ahead and deploy it manually.
   d) Now that the Application Template Core Solution is installed now we can go ahead and install the Server Admin Templates. The steps are as follows,
   i. Open command prompt and navigate to the following path “%PROGRAMFILES%\common files\microsoft shared\web server extensions\12\bin”
   ii. Type “stsadm.exe -o addsolution -filename \.wsp”, where is the location where the template files are located and .wsp is the .wsp file for your template, and then press ENTER
   iii. Type stsadm -o deploysolution -name .wsp -allowgacdeployment, and then press ENTER
   iv. Check if the templates are installed in the Central Administration site by browsing to Central Administration-> Operations -> Solution Management.
   v. If the templates are not deployed then go ahead and deploy them manually.
   vi. Run iisreset for the sites to be updated with the new templates.


4. Creating sites based on the Application Templates
   Using the application templates is easy.
   · Browse open the SharePoint Site using Administrator privileges.
   · Click on the Site Actions Menu
   · Select the Create Sub-Menu
   · Select the Sites and Workspaces
   · Provide the necessary information for creating the site
   · In the Template Selection section you can find two new tabs added,
   o Custom – Site Admin Templates
   o Application Templates – Server Admin Templates
   · Select the Template for the site and click on Create.