artykul8

There are two hard-drive locations on a SharePoint server (with enabled search indexing) that are in constant use and often require significant space – log files and index files folders.

Log files location can be easily specified in Central Administration: Monitoring – Configure Diagnostic Logging.
In the Diagnostic Logging screen, you can specify a new path for trace log files and change other settings, such as how long to keep trace files, and what sort of information will be logged there.

Index files location, unfortunately, is not available through Central Administration. It is typically specified during SharePoint installation phase, along with the software installation folder. However, there is a way to change it through stsadm command:
stsadm -o spsearch -indexlocation “d:\SharePoint\Data”

You can verify that it changed successfully by running the following command before and after changing the index:

References:

Configure diagnostic logging (SharePoint Server 2010)

Changing Index locations in SharePoint 2010

Updates:

I wanted to thank Tracy Sterling for submitting a very useful tip for modifying index locations through Central Administration, when you have farm SharePoint deployments and can alter search topology.

CA > Application Management > Manage service applications > Search Service Application > Search Application Topology (Modify) > Index Partition/Query Component (Edit Properties). Repeat for each query component within your farm.

Unfortunately, all the stand-alone deployments and foundation editions would still have to go through aforementioned stsadm command. Below is an illustration of Search Service Application and its missing modify option for a stand-alone installation of enterprise SP2010 server, running on my laptop.

This brief article talks about how to create minimalistic pages in SharePoint without deploying any server-side code, and with minimum effort by using only SharePoint Designer. By minimal web pages, here I mean master page and web pages that have only bare bones with essential web part zones, without any additional HTML markup for header, footer, left-navigation, or additional server-side controls (such as, site actions, search box, etc.).

Please note, even though this post is about SharePoint 2007 implementation, very similar technique is applicable to SharePoint 2010 as well, with changes to the content of the master page mostly.

1. Create a minimal masterpage with SharePoint Designer following this MSDN article: How to: Create a Minimal Master Page.

Basically, it all comes down to creating a file in SPD, which we are going to call msminimal.master, under your site’s http://site / _catalog / masterpage (Master Page Gallery). That msminimal.master must contain only essential empty zones, and no client-side markup or server-side controls.

My only changes to the master page from MSDN article would be adding Visible=”false” attribute to Site Actions and Welcome if you would like to hide them in your future web pages:

      <wssuc:Welcome id="explitLogout" runat="server" Visible="false" />
      <PublishingSiteAction:SiteActionMenu runat="server" Visible="false" /> 

2. While in SharePoint Designer, create a new web aspx page and reference your new master page changing MasterPageFile attribute from ~masterurl/default.master to _catalogs/masterpage/msminimal.master.

Here is an example of the simplest web page with just one web part zone:

<%@ Page language="C#" MasterPageFile="_catalogs/masterpage/msminimal.master" Inherits="Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.WebPartPage,Microsoft.SharePoint,Version=12.0.0.0,Culture=neutral,PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c" meta:progid="SharePoint.WebPartPage.Document" %>
<%@ Register Tagprefix="SharePoint" Namespace="Microsoft.SharePoint.WebControls" Assembly="Microsoft.SharePoint, Version=12.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c" %>
<%@ Register Tagprefix="WebPartPages" Namespace="Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages" Assembly="Microsoft.SharePoint, Version=12.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="Microsoft.SharePoint" %>

<asp:Content ContentPlaceHolderId="PlaceHolderMain" runat="server">
  <WebPartPages:WebPartZone runat="server" FrameType="TitleBarOnly" ID="MainZone">
    <ZoneTemplate>
    </ZoneTemplate>
  </WebPartPages:WebPartZone>
</asp:Content>

3. Now if you want to edit your new custom web page visually in a browser and add web parts, you would need to use one old non-documented trick. Since there is no familiar header or site actions menu, you need to type in your Internet Explorer the following URL, in order to switch between view and edit mode, and back :

javascript:MSOLayout_ToggleLayoutMode();
(Refer to my previous article on highly useful non-documented shortcuts http://artykul8.com/2011/03/useful-sharepoint-shortcuts/)

4. After adding all necessary content to your custom web page, it contains only content and no additional header, footer, etc. This sometimes comes extremely useful if you want to display some specific content in a Page Viewer Web Part on another SharePoint site, or in a frame in another non-SharePoint web application.

I put together a collection of white papers and diagrams from Microsoft site, which are related to SharePoint 2010 deployment and configuration. Some of them are extremely useful when it comes to planning a new SharePoint installation or preparing technical documentation. I organized SharePoint Server 2010 resources into three categories, trying to match MOF phases – plan, deliver, operate. All other resources are grouped under specific server they relate to, namely Foundation, Search, FAST, Project Server, etc.

Planning phase

Getting started with Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 (SharePtServGetStarted.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=91B175B1-01D0-48DD-9147-58B6E96C500B

Capacity planning for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 (SharePtServPlanCap.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=5F403AD5-0352-4C9B-841B-D73D4CB88F45

Planning guide for server farms and environments for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 (SharePtServPlanPlatfm.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=BBD414C5-00FE-4A65-8A35-D52C9AA84609

Topologies for SharePoint Server 2010 (Topologies_SharePointServer2010.vsd)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=FD686CBB-8401-4F25-B65E-3CE7AA7DBEAB

Extranet Topologies for SharePoint 2010 Products (OIT2010_Model_ExtranetTopologies.vsd)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=EB4BFF25-BABA-4112-B518-F2FC442D5467

Planning guide for sites and solutions for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Part 1 (SharePtServPlanSandS1.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=10104E47-7DFE-4AE5-A9EA-459E6AEBD34E

Planning guide for sites and solutions for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Part 2 (SharePtServPlanSandS2.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=11A9EACD-78C9-442E-AA5A-EE66D9CD5F77

SharePoint 2010 Virtualization Guidance and Recommendations (oit2010-whitepaper-virtualization-guidance.docx)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=7b50c3ec-abb6-4416-a454-c461bff22e78

SharePoint Server 2010 design samples: Corporate portal with classic authentication or with claims-based authentication
(SPS_2010_Design Sample_Corporate Portal_ClaimsAuth.vsd; SPS_2010_Design Sample_Corporate Portal_ClassicAuth.vsd)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=704C984D-2245-4A7D-8FF5-1E57C9A473A8

Delivery phase

Deployment guide for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 (SharePtServDeployment.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=A54C7191-EB05-489E-A7CA-6453ABA8877C

SharePoint 2010 Products Deployment (Deployment_SharePoint2010Products.vsd)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=7604212E-67A6-407D-AE5C-9BB9D6325E17

SharePoint 2010 Products: Virtualization Process (SharePoint2010_ServerVirtualization.vsd)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=87F00C5D-1F62-4D3F-AC92-B91EB70D317E

Hosting Environments for SharePoint 2010 Products (Hosting_SharePointProducts2010.vsd)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=326845D1-95DB-4E55-B65A-218509DEBE24

Services in SharePoint 2010 Products (SvsSingleFarm_SharePointProducts2010.vsd)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=B9CA7745-FFA4-43CA-A638-E1AD868187CE

Cross-farm Services in SharePoint 2010 Products (SvsCrossFarm_SharePointProducts2010.vsd)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=5141C91C-0922-44FC-AAF4-64C5156209EF

Configuring Kerberos Authentication for Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products (SP2010 Kerberos Guide.docx)
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=23176

Remote BLOB storage for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 (SharePtServBLOB.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=2002

Operational phase

Operations guide for servers and server farms for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 (SharePtServOperations.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=944519E8-E130-4E7A-8A8D-978B10AF77C1

Technical reference for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 (SharePtServTechRef.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=A3B9FA1B-0300-489E-8D67-F14DEB4C3A56

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Technical Library in Compiled Help format (SharePtServer2010.chm)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=3629425D-1505-456E-89E2-EDE95F75FFE5

Business continuity management for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 (SharePtServContinuity.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=9623

SP 2010 Foundation Resources

Getting started with Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 (SharePtFoundGetStart.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=2D789716-2293-4007-A485-E092CA5EDC60

Deployment guide for Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 (SharePointFoundDeplo.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=4CF799A5-5C53-4BE7-B8DD-43DC8C49A1D4

Planning guide for Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 (SharePointFoundPlan.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=206A9F99-C42D-42B2-9094-A3B2EF4FCD12

Operations guide for SharePoint Foundation 2010 (SharePointFoundOps.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=71434993-E26F-43BE-B1BC-1DCAE65D46B5

Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 Technical Library in Compiled Help format (SharePtFound2010.chm)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=C8CF1631-0F48-4A02-A18D-54B04EB7F0A7

Technical reference for Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 (SharePointFoundTecR.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=32AE8CBE-A657-481D-A1D6-46140495231A

Business continuity management for Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 (SharePtFoundContinuit.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=288C1D67-E980-477D-9EDD-F0865C3E533B

Search

Getting Started with Enterprise Search in SharePoint 2010 Products (Getting Started with Enterprise Search in SharePoint 2010 Products.docx)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=96663B95-E9F5-48C8-BEB9-A15AD119C499

Search Technologies for SharePoint 2010 Products (Search Model 1 of 4 – Search Technologies.vsd)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=D7C0091E-5766-496D-A5FE-94BEA52C4B15

Search Environment Planning for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 (Search Model 2 of 4 – Search Environment Planning.vsd)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=5655EACA-22DF-4089-BCD3-38A1F5318140

Search Architectures for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 (Search Model 3 of 4 – Search Architectures.vsd)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=22FFC029-2C08-457D-8311-CA457C6D160E

Design Search Architectures for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 (Search Model 4 of 4 – Farm-level design.vsd)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=5A3CA177-FB9A-4901-9797-0C384277DB7C

Microsoft Search Server 2010 Technical Library in Compiled Help format (SearchServer2010.chm)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=73B58B97-847A-4D86-892E-464826603D2B

FAST Search

Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint Enterprise Search Evaluation Guide (FASTSearchServer2010_SearchEvalGuide.docx)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=F1E3FB39-6959-4185-8B28-5315300B6E6B

FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint Capacity Planning (FASTSearchSharePoint2010CapacityPlanningDoc.docx)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=65B799E3-825C-4398-8CD7-3311D3297997

Deployment guide for FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint (FASTDeployment.doc)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=36411DA5-EA48-4AB5-8114-21ADB21259DE

Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint Technical Library in Compiled Help format (FASTSearch2010.chm)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=EAD44C66-7D02-4EDF-9E56-2F56C6F59F22

Virtualization

Virtualization Overview, Methods, and Models
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=884E2E2A-E4D5-43C5-AAAF-5C1E6D793D9C

IT Manager: Platform Solution Blueprint – Virtualization
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=1D7B4A0C-F21A-4E07-A779-F9F61A6D45D1

Here are a few of the most useful SharePoint shortcuts, which work in all versions of SharePoint 2007 and 2010 (even 2003).

Enter page web part maintenance mode

Append ?contents=1 to the URL of the page for which you want to enter maintenance mode, for example:
http://site/page.aspx?contents=1

Enter page edit mode

Including system pages, such as view or edit pages: NewForm.aspx, EditForm.aspx, AllItems.aspx, etc.
In Internet Explorer’s URL bar type:

javascript:MSOLayout_ToggleLayoutMode();
or
javascript:MSOTlPn_ShowToolPane(’2′);

For more details on ShowToolPane parameter, you can refer to this old MSDN article.

Heads up: There is one thing you must seriously consider before editing a system page. This lesson I learnt the hard way from exposing modified edit pages to end-users. When you modify a previously read-only system page, such as a view or edit form, through the shortcut explain above, you make it available for editing to anyone who has contribute rights on that library or list. Hence that page becomes vulnerable to accidental changes by non-power users, because previously hidden Edit Page menu will be visible to them in Site Actions menu.

Access administration pages

A few quick shortcuts that I find not only can save time, but also help bypass obscurity created by system administrators:

http://site/_layouts/savetmpl.aspx – Save site as a template
http://site/_layouts/create.aspx – Create (libraries, lists, pages, sites)
http://site/_layouts/settings.aspx – Site settings
http://site/_layouts/newsbweb.aspx – Create a new site or workspace
http://site/_layouts/sitemanager.aspx – Site content and structure browser