Welcome to SharePoint Designer 2013 Customer Preview

The SharePoint Designer team has spent a large amount of effort revamping and changing up how we create and edit workflows in SharePoint Designer 2013. The bulk of the new features are in this area. Here’s a short list of some, but not all, of the new stuff we have for you all:

1) Ability to create workflow based off the new .Net 4.x Workflow Infrastructure

a. While at the same time still able to create and edit the old SharePoint 2010 Workflows

2) Tight integration with Stages.

a. Workflows no longer have to be serial.

b. All 2013 Workflows are now state-based, and you can have your workflow jump to any stage you want, even to a previous stage.

3) The new Visual Designer

a. A brand new design surface that integrates the Visio canvas right inside SharePoint Designer

b. You can create workflows using click and drag

c. You can even set the properties of every action right within the Visual Designer. No need to jump back to the Text-Based Designer if you do not wish to.

4) Copy and Paste

a. You can now Copy, Cut, and Paste within the Text-Based Designer!

5) Loops!

a. Loops are now a fully integrated action which you can use within all 2013 Workflows

6) Call Web Service Action

a. You can now call Rest/HTTP web services right from within SharePoint 2013 workflows.

7) Start Workflow Actions

a. We now have an action that lets you spawn up old 2010 workflows right from within a 2013 workflow.

b. You can use this action to take advantage of any 2010 workflow functionality (e.g. your old custom actions)

8) Packaging

a. You can now package individual workflows straight from within SPD

9) Dictionary Type Variables

a. You can now create variables that can hold an array of values!

b. Combining this with the new Loop action opens up a whole host of new scenarios.

There are still many more new features we’re introducing this release, and we’ll go over them all in separate blog entries. For now, I highly recommend everyone go out and download the current Customer Preview version of SPD and try it out yourselves!

Installing the BI features of SharePoint 2013

Now that SharePoint 2013 and SQL Server 2012 SP1 have been released I thought about revisiting my post on how to install the BI features of SharePoint 2013. As in the previous post I am installing the bits on a fully updated Windows Server 2008 R2 machine, I have added the Web role as well as the Application Server role. In my case the server is a domain controller as well but this is not something that you should do in real life, since I am just using my server for demo purposes it works ok.

In short the following is the order that I use when installing:

1. SharePoint 2013 Pre-reqs 
2. SharePoint 2013 Server 
3. Three instances of SQL Server 2012 SP1

So starting with the installing SharePoint 2013 is the first thing that I do.

The installation starts with the splash screen that looks like this:

First step is to install the software prerequisites. The launcher launches the installation program that downloads and install the pre-required software.

During the process you have to restart the system

When the system has restarted and you log on to the server the SharePoint 2013 Products Preparation Tool will start and continue the installation and configuration of the system. It will reboot a couple of times before it is finished

In addition to the prerequisites installer you also need to check the Hardware and software requirements for SharePoint 2013 located at: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262485(v=office.15).aspx for additional requirements that you may need to install.

In my case I would need to have the following software to get a working environment for Business intelligence: 
SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services ADOMD.NET 
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30440

You also need to install the SQL Server 2012 SP1 PowerPivot for SharePoint components from here here.

The spPowerPivot.msi installs all the necessary requirements for Power View and PowerPivot to work. This includes the OLE DB provider and ADOMD.NET and the AMO.

Now that all the pre-reqs have been installed it is time to install SharePoint 2013. I start the installation from the splash screen.

After filling in my installation keys and acknowledging the EULA, we are good to go with the installation:

When the installation has finished be sure to uncheck the Run the SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard checkbox.

Now it’s time to install SQL Server 2012. Note that Service Pack 1 for SQL Server 2012 is a requirement for PowerPivot for SharePoint. If you do not install it you will get an error on the “SharePoint installation requirement for PowerPivot for SharePoint” rule  when you try to install PowerPivot for SharePoint.

Rule “SharePoint installation requirement for PowerPivot for SharePoint” failed. SharePoint Server 2010 is not installed on this computer. Please install SharePoint before you install PowerPivot for SharePoint.

So to avoid this and to avoid installing it in several steps I use the slipstream distribution of SQL Server 2012 SP1. This download can be found on http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35575

In case you do not use the slipstream package you need to install SP1 before you install PowerPivot for SharePoint. You also need to uninstall the Reporting Services Add-in for SharePoint. Instead you need to install the Reporting Services Add-in for SharePoint Products from SP1 that can be found here http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35583

I start the installation from the DVD and select all options except for Reporting Services – Native and Distributed Replay Controller. 

Since I am installing a demo environment I choose to run Analysis Services under the Administrator account this is of course not recommended.

In my case I want the default installation to be in Tabular mode. I will add a second instance of SQL Server Analysis Services in Multidimensional and Data Mining Mode later.

Reporting Services will be configured later from SharePoint Central Admin.

After the default instance has been installed you can start the installation of the PowerPivot for SharePoint instance. So start the SQL Server 2012 SP1 slipstream installation and choose to add a new instance, the role that you need to specify is the SQL Server PowerPivot for SharePoint. Note that I have unchecked the option of adding a SQL Server Relational Engine to my installation since I already have one installed. 

I leave the instance ID and root directory to the default. As you can see I have also installed a second instance for Analysis Services Multidimensional but I did not show this in the blog.

I use the same service account that I used for the other instances, this is not recommended of course but it works for my demo environment.

Now it is time to run the PowerPivot for SharePoint 2013 Configuration tool.

This is a new farm so the only thing needed is to fill in all the details necessary.

After pressing Validate and everything validates ok the only thing that you need to do to click run in the configure tool.

After the configuration you will see the following message:

Now SharePoint 2013 has been configured and you can start using the PowerPivot features. Since this was a new farm by default I also got a new site and site collection configured on my server.

Once this has been done you can start adding the extra service applications that are needed to get a fully working BI site. You do so under application management where you choose to manage service applications.

Once in you will see the list of installed service applications. What you then need to do is to click the new button in the ribbon.

First I choose to add a new PerformancePoint Service Application.

 

In the application settings there are a couple of things that need to be filled out.

In my case I just choose a name of the service application and specify that it should be added to the default proxy list of the farm.

I also specify that it should run in a new Application pool with the account that I am using throughout the farm, again this is not the recommended procedure.

When the service application has been created I click on the name to configure the security for it.

Under the application setting I add the account that will be used when accessing data sources unless I specify anything else in the data source setting. 

Then the service needs to be started this can be done under Manage services on server

Next step is to add the Visio Graphics Service, this can be used to build nice looking reports from Visio.

Here again I specify the Application name as well as the account for the application pool.

The next step is to create the Reporting services service application in case you do not have it in the list of service applications you need to install the service application manually the steps necessary for that can be found here:http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg492276.aspx#bkmk_install_SSRS_sharedservice

Now you can create the Reporting Services Service Application

 

I use the account that I have used throughout the farm

I associate it with the web application that I want to enable it in.

Now that all services have been configured in central admin it is time to move to the site and enable the BI features. First thing that is necessary is to enable the PerformancePoint Services features in the site collection.

After that has been done the features need to be enabled on the site level as well.  So I enable the BI Center Data Connections feature, the PerformancePoint Services Site Feature and the SharePoint Server Enterprise Site features.

The last steps is to add the apps that will host the BI material. In my case I add the following apps. Dashboards Library, PerformancePoint Content List, DataConnections Library for PerformancePoint and a Data Connection Library.

Now everything is installed and configured so that you can use all the BI features of SharePoint 2013 and SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 1.

New Features in SharePoint 2013

If you've not had time yet to work with SharePoint 2013 Preview, here's a look at what's new so far. Your assessment of the value of said new features will vary, depending on your mileage and usage.

1. Authentication

Microsoft says that SharePoint 2013 Preview has been improved to make claims-based authentication easier to use. It extends support for application authentication via Open Authorization 2.0 (OAuth) as well as for server-to-server authentication.

 
SharePoint 2013 Sample Authentication Architecture Fragment

Users can grant apps in the SharePoint store and catalog access to certain resources and data. Server-to-server security tokens that contain user identity claims enable cross-server authenticated access between, say, SharePoint 2013 Preview and Exchange 2013 Preview. (See also Microsoft's architecture posters website for the one labeled  "Extranet with Dedicated Zones for Authentication" and to see full views of the image excerpts below.)

2. Business Connectivity Services

Microsoft added a bunch of new features to BCS in SharePoint.

 
SharePoint 2013 BCS Architecture

You might like these: Support for OData Business Data Connectivity (BDC) connections, in addition to connections for WCF, SQL Server, and .NET assemblies. Automatic generation via Visual Studio 2010 of BDC models for OData data sources. An event listener with an event subscriber on the SharePoint 2013 Preview side, to enable SharePoint users to receive notifications of changes to the external system. Self-contained apps for SharePoint.

But wait--there's more: Enhancements to external lists that bring them to functional parity with other SharePoint lists. The exposure of the REST APIs for web and mobile app developers to use. Six new Windows PowerShell cmdlets specifically for OData. And the ability, via Business Connectivity Services Client Runtime, to have side-by-side installations of Office 2010 and Office 2013 Preview on the same client computer.

3. eDiscovery

Showing SharePoint's increasing presence in the world of litigation, eDiscovery improvements have been added that, unfortunately, are probably sorely needed. They include a new site template, the eDiscovery Center, which creates a portal for managing cases—you can access cases to search, hold content, and export content.

Microsoft has added improvements to in-place holds, including site-level preservation; the ability for users to work with content that's preserved; and the ability to define the scope of preservation via a query filter.

You can also now take the results of your eDiscovery search—including documents, wiki pages, Exchange email messages and tasks-- and export them into a review tool.

4. Mobile devices

Optimized viewing for mobile device users was a no-brainer addition to SharePoint Server 2013 Preview—it had to be done.

Other new features include the following: The ability to render a single SharePoint published site in multiple formats for different devices. The ability to enable a push notification service on a SharePoint site to send device updates to a Windows Phone device.

We're not done yet: A new geolocation field type for use in mobile app development. The ability for some devices to display PerformancePoint Web Parts, Excel Services reports, and SQL Server Reporting Services reports. And finally, enhanced viewing of Office Web apps (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) via mobile browsers.

5. Records management and compliance

Reflecting perhaps not a dearth of added features, but the distance SharePoint 2010's records management features had improved from SharePoint 2007's, you'll find that SharePoint 2013 Preview has enhanced compliance simply by extending retention policies to SharePoint sites.

This also applies to any Exchange Server 2013 Preview team mailboxes associated with those sites.

6. Business intelligence

SharePoint 2013 Preview adds tons of new features, including the following: New features in Excel for business intelligence (BI): In-Memory BI Engine (IMBI) for near-instant analysis of millions of rows of data; Power View Add-in for Excel, which offers visualizations, animations, and smart querying to enable users to visualize modeled data; decoupled PivotChart and PivotTable reports allowing for the creation of PivotChart reports without having to add a PivotTable report on the same page; and the ability to do trend analysis from cells in PivotTable reports that use OLAP data.

It also adds Excel service enhancements such as an updated Business Intelligence Center site template, and improved timeline controls.

Visio Services improvements include the ability for users to add comments to a Visio drawing on the web via Visio Services.

And PerformancePoint improvements include the ability for users to copy dashboards and dependencies to other users or site collections; an enhanced UI; support for Analysis Services Effective User feature, which eliminates the need for Kerberos delegation for per-user authentication; and support for PerformancePoint on the Apple iPad.

7.Social computing

It's no surprise that Microsoft wanted to beef up the social computing features in SharePoint, and with SharePoint 2013 Preview, it's on track for doing so. Basically, it's enhanced the administration and user experience, and added ways for enterprise users to collaborate more fully and naturally using social media features.

One way is by enhancing the ability create discussions—via two new templates called Community Site and Community Portal. Microsoft also redesigned the UI for MySites, and added Microblog and Newsfeeds features, and improved features users need around saving, synchronization, sharing, and moving content.

Because of the new MySites features, you'll also find Microsoft made several changes to the User Profile service application settings in Central Administration around configuring permissions, privacy, micro-blogging and newsfeeds, and more.

8. Web content management

Microsoft improved the video upload process for content authors, and improved image display and performance of a site with its image renditions feature, which reduces the size of an image file that is downloaded to the client.

It added an integrated translation service that gives content authors or managers the ability to choose which content will be exported for human translation and which for translation by machine.

And cross-site publishing does just as it says, giving you the ability to display content in one or more publishing site collections. You can also designate any library or list as a catalog, enabling content to be reused on publishing site collections.

It added managed navigation, which lets you use term sets to define and maintain navigation on a site. And it added the ability to create more user-friendly URLs.

In the area of branding, Microsoft made it less mysterious, and now designers use such tools as Adobe Dreamweaver, Microsoft Expression Web, or another HTML editor, rather than having to use SharePoint Designer or Visual Studio 2013 to brand a SharePoint site.

And it added the ability for designers to design sites for display on different devices, such as tablets, smartphones, and desktops. Additional features enhance search, authoring, and publishing.

9. Workflow

Microsoft made architectural changes in SharePoint Workflow. If you want to have the nearly identical experience of building workflows in SharePoint 2013 Preview as you do in SharePoint 2010, you simply install SharePoint Server 2013 Preview.

But if you want the SharePoint 2013 workflow platform, you need to install and configure Windows Azure Workflow to communicate with your Preview farm. SharePoint Designer 2013 Preview includes new functionality designed specifically for Windows Azure Workflow, and called the SharePoint 2013 Workflow platform.

These new features include a visual workflow that uses a Visio 2013 Preview add-in, the ability to enable no-code web service calls from inside a workflow, new actions for the task process, the ability to start a workflow built on SharePoint 2010 from a workflow built on SharePoint 2013, and new workflow building blocks called Stage, Loop, and App Step.

Note that to manage and monitor the Windows Azure Workflow in SharePoint 2013, you must use Windows PowerShell. (To get a head start on working with PowerShell, consult our latest SharePoint and PowerShell article 

"Exploring and Inventorying SharePoint Using Windows PowerShell.")