This document provides instructions for creating a Reseller Explorer application using the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. The exercises cover: 1) Connecting to the AdventureWorksDW database, 2) Defining entities, methods and filters, 3) Defining an IDEnumerator, 4) Defining actions, 5) Defining associations, 6) Registering the database in the Business Data Catalog, and 7) Creating a SharePoint site with a Business Data List Web Part to display and search resellers without code. The application allows searching all resellers from the database and viewing details of a selected reseller.

1. Microsoft Virtual Labs
®
Getting Started with the Business
Data Catalog in Microsoft Office
SharePoint Server 2007

2. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Table of Contents
Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
......................................................................................................................................................... 1
Exercise 1 Connect to AdventureWorksDW Database..................................................................................................2
Exercise 2 Define Entities, Methods, and Filters ...........................................................................................................5
Exercise 3 Define an IDEnumerator ..............................................................................................................................6
Exercise 4 Define Actions .............................................................................................................................................7
Exercise 5 Define Associations .....................................................................................................................................8
Exercise 6 Register AdventureWorksDW in the Business Data Catalog ......................................................................9
Exercise 7 Create a Reseller Explorer application (with no code)............................................................................... 13
Exercise 8 Create a SharePoint list to track reseller feedback ..................................................................................... 17
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................... 20

3. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Getting Started with the Business Data
Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint
Server 2007
After completing this lab, you will be better able to:
Objectives Lab 1: Build and Register Metadata
The objective of this lab is to build the metadata file that will connect
SharePoint Server 2007 to the SQL Server 2005 AdventureWorksDW
database.
Note: A completed copy of the metadata file can be found in
C:HOLBDCReference.
Lab 2: Accessing the Business Data Catalog
The objective of this lab is to register the AdventureWorksDW metadata
file with SharePoint Server 2007.
The Business Data Catalog is a new business integration feature in Microsoft
Scenario Office SharePoint Server 2007. It is a core service, and it enables Microsoft
Office SharePoint Server 2007 servers to interact with business applications and
display business data on the portal without any custom development. The
Business Data Catalog bridges the gap between the portal and your business
applications and enables you to bring in key data from various business
applications to SharePoint sites, lists, search, and user profiles.
The Business Data Catalog is essentially a catalog of business applications that
are of interest to SharePoint Server 2007 users. It provides out-of-the-box
support for displaying data from databases and any business application that
provides Web services for retrieving data from the application. For example,
using the Business Data Catalog, you can display data from your SAP or Siebel
application using web services.
The Business Data Catalog is the key infrastructural component around which
most of the other business data features of SharePoint Server 2007 are built.
Metadata authors with a skill set equivalent to that of an SQL developer describe
the application programming interface (API) of business applications by using
the Business Data Catalog XML metadata model. Administrators can register
business applications in the catalog, after which the data in the business
application is immediately available to you on your portal site through several
other SharePoint Server 2007 business data features. Following is a brief
discussion of these business data features.
Estimated Time to 90 Minutes
Complete This Lab
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Computer used in this Lab
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4. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Exercise 1
Connect to AdventureWorksDW Database
Scenario
A LobSystem object is a source of business data, business logic, or both. SAP R/3 IDES, Siebel 7.5, and Microsoft
SQL Server 2005 databases are examples of LobSystem objects.
The LobSystem object is the top-level container for metadata that describes a particular business application. In
XML terms, it is the root node that contains all other metadata objects.
In this exercise, you will configure the connection to the AdventureWorksDW database as a LobSystem object.
Tasks Detailed Steps
Note: Login using the following credentials:
Complete the following
task on: Username: administrator
Password: pass@word1
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1. Create the base XML Note: Notice that this creates connection information for the AdventureWorksDW
for the LobSystem database.
object. a. Wait for the Warmup Script to complete and the popup window to close.
b. Open Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 from the desktop shortcut
c. Select File | New | File.
d. Select XML File and click Open
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5. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Tasks Detailed Steps
e. Select File | Save XMLFile1.xml As… (make sure XMLFile1.xml is the active
tab)
f. Save the file to C:HOLBDCBDCAWDW.xml
g. Use Ctrl-A to select all the default text
h. Right-click in the window and choose Insert Snippet…
i. From the selection box, choose BDC > LOB XML
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6. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Tasks Detailed Steps
j. Select File | Save BDCAWDW.xml
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7. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Exercise 2
Define Entities, Methods, and Filters
Scenario
A LOB application registered in the Business Data Catalog defines the entities, the methods that can be executed on
the entities and filters to enable end user filtering. An entity is a business object, such as Customer or Product, in an
LOB application. Methods are the operations related to an entity and filters help limit the entity instances returned
from the method.
In Business Data Catalog, an entity belongs to a single LOB system and must have a unique name. Entities contain
identifiers, methods, filters and actions.
Tasks Detailed Steps
Note: Here you define seven entities – Product, SupportCase, Contact,
Complete the following
SupportPerson, ProductSubCategory, ProductCategory, and Reseller. These entities
task on:
represent the high-level business objects in the AdventureWorksDW database.
For the remainder of the lab we’ll be primarily focused on the Reseller entity. This
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entity has a “ResellerFinder” method to get a list of resellers which includes Wildcard
1. Define Entities and ExactMatch filters to enable end-user filtering on the Key and Name fields.
a. Highlight the line <!-- BDC Entities here -->
b. Right-click and choose Insert Snippet…
c. Choose BDC > Entities
d. Select File | Save BDCAWDW.xml
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8. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Exercise 3
Define an IDEnumerator
Scenario
To enable business data search, you need to define a SpecificFinder and a special type of MethodInstance called
IDEnumerator in your metadata.
Since you have already defined a SpecificFinder for the Reseller entity in Exercise 2, you will define an
IDEnumerator method now. An IDEnumerator method is a simple method that returns the list of IDs (unique keys)
for an entity that should be searchable. This enables indexing of the entities for the IDs the IDEnumerator method
returns.
Entities have zero or one IDEnumerator. The definition for an IDEnumerator is exactly like a Finder method,
except that it has zero filters and returns only the ID field or the ID and LastModifiedDate fields.
Tasks Detailed Steps
Note: If you require incremental crawl, then you must also make sure the
Complete the following
LastModifiedDate property is one of the return fields in the SpecificFinder for the
task on:
entity from the LOB application.
Note: This example uses a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 database which supports
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streaming of data. For Web services and other non-streaming backends, you should
1. Define an use the LastIdSeen filter in your IDEnumerator as shown below to improve
IDEnumerator to performance. For example:
index and search for SELECT TOP 100 Id FROM Customers WHERE Id>=@LastIdSeen ORDER BY Id
resellers in the
a. Scroll to the bottom of the BDCAWDW.xml file
AdventureWorksDW
b. Highlight the line <!--BDC ResellerIDEnumerator Here -->
database.
c. Right-click and choose Insert Snippet…
d. Choose BDC > ResellerIDEnumerator
e. Select File | Save BDCAWDW.xml
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9. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Exercise 4
Define Actions
Scenario
Entities can have actions in the Business Data Catalog. Actions bridge the gap between SharePoint Server 2007 and
a native application user interface by providing a link back to the backend data source. You can use Business Data
Actions to build applications with write-back scenarios, such as a Customer Profile view that allows a user to update
profile information directly in SAP. Actions are implemented as links, so you can also use actions to perform simple
actions such as send e-mail or open a customer’s home page.
Actions travel everywhere with an entity. That is, once you define an action for an entity, the action will show up
everywhere you display that entity - be it in a Business Data Web Part or in a Business Data column.
Tasks Detailed Steps
Note: You now add an action to the Reseller entity called 'Search product on Portal'.
Complete the following
As the name implies, this action will open up a browser and search for the product
task on:
name using Search Center in our SharePoint Server 2007 portal.
a. Highlight the line <!--BDC Reseller Actions Here -->
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b. Right-click and choose Insert Snippet…
1. Add an action to the
c. Choose BDC > Reseller Actions
Reseller entity
d. Select File | Save BDCAWDW.xml.
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10. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Exercise 5
Define Associations
Scenario
Entities can have associations in the Business Data Catalog. Associations allow Business Data Catalog entities to
have a hierarchical relationship, by defining the parent-child relationship and the method used to query for this
relationship.
Tasks Detailed Steps
a. Highlight the line <!--BDC Associations Here -->
Complete the following
task on: b. Right-click and choose Insert Snippet…
c. Choose BDC > Associations
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1. Add a pair of
associations which
refine the
relationship between
the Product,
ProductCategory,
and
ProductSubCategory
entities
d. Select File | Save BDCAWDW.xml
e. Close Visual Studio 2005.
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11. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Exercise 6
Register AdventureWorksDW in the Business Data Catalog
Scenario
In this exercise, you will register the AdventureWorksDW database in SharePoint Server 2007’s Business Data
Catalog using the metadata file created in the previous exercises.
Once you register AdventureWorksDW, you can use its data throughout the portal – in lists, web parts, search, and
user profiles. You’ll explore some of these features in later exercises.
In addition, each entity defined in a Business Data Catalog Application can be permissioned separately.
Tasks Detailed Steps
a. Open SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration from the Start Menu ->
Complete the following 2
Administrative Tools.
tasks on:
b. Navigate to the Application Management page.
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1. Create a Business
Data Catalog
Application
c. In the Office SharePoint Server Shared Services section of the Application
Management page, click Create or configure this farm’s shared services.
d. Select SharedServices1 (Default) to access the Shared Service Provider (SSP).
e. In the Business Data Catalog section, click Add Application to open the Add
Application page.
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12. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Tasks Detailed Steps
f. In the Add Application page, browse to “C:HOLBDCBDCAWDW.xml”, and
click Import.
g. Wait for the import to complete – this may take several minutes. You will see
progress screens which load every few seconds.
h. Once the import is complete, you will receive a status page. Ignore any warnings
that may appear and click OK
i. The details page for the new Application will be displayed.
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13. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Tasks Detailed Steps
a. Scroll down the page and you will see a list of the defined entities for this
2. Set permissions on
the created entities. application
b. For each entity, we’ll need to add user access, as the default is no access for
anyone other than the administrator. Hover over Contact and choose Manage
Permissions from the dropdown menu
c. On the Manage Permissions page, choose Add Users/Groups
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14. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Tasks Detailed Steps
d. On the Add Users/Groups page, use the following values:
Users/Groups: NT AUTHORITYauthenticated users
•
Choose Permissions: View Items, Selectable in Clients
•
e. Click Save
f. Use the site breadcrumb to return to the Application page
g. Repeat the permission setting steps for the rest of the defined entities
h. Congratulations, you’ve registered AdventureWorksDW, exposed its data to
SharePoint Server 2007, and allowed user access.
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15. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Exercise 7
Create a Reseller Explorer application (with no code)
Scenario
In this exercise, you’ll use the Business Data Web Parts to create an AdventureWorksDW Reseller Explorer
application with no code. The application will allow you to search all resellers. By clicking on a reseller name,
you’ll be able to view more details on the reseller profile page.
Tasks Detailed Steps
a. Click on the home menu button in Internet Explorer to return to the portal
Complete the following 2
homepage
tasks on:
b. Click Create Site in the Site Actions menu at the top right
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1. Create the
SharePoint site
where you’ll build
Reseller Explorer
c. Use the following values
Title: Reseller Explorer
•
URL name: resellerexplorer
•
Template Selection: Blank Site
•
d. Click Create
2. Add a Business Data Note: The Business Data List Web Part displays a list of entity instances from a
List Web Part business application registered in the Business Data Catalog. For example, you can
use a Business Data List Web Part to display the resellers from the
AdventureWorksDW database.
This shows how you can add a Business Data List Web Part to display a list of
resellers from the AdventureWorksDW database with no code.
a. Click Edit Page in the Site Actions menu. This puts the page in edit mode and
shows controls for adding, removing, and repositioning page elements.
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16. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Tasks Detailed Steps
b. Click Add a Web Part in the Left zone.
c. The “Add Web Parts - Web Page” dialog is displayed. Check Business Data
List and click Add.
d. A Business Data List Web Part has been added. Click Open the tool pane inside
the Business Data List Web part.
e. Click the Browse icon which looks like an open book
f. Double-click on Reseller from the popup window
g. Expand the Appearance section.
h. Replace Business Data List in the Title field with Resellers from
AdventureWorksDW
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17. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Tasks Detailed Steps
i. Click OK at the bottom of the tool pane.
j. You have now created a Business Data List Web Part that displays resellers from
the AdventureWorksDW database.
k. Click on Retrieve Data
l. Click on the Name of the first item in the list
m. You are taken to the Reseller Details page. This page is created automatically for
each Business Data Catalog entity
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18. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Tasks Detailed Steps
n. Click the browser back button to return to the Reseller Explorer page
o. Hover over the first name entry and examine the items in the drop down list
p. Notice there are two items, corresponding to the available Actions for the entity.
The default View Profile which takes you to the details page, and the custom
Search product on Portal which we included in our metadata definition.
Business Data Catalog search is covered in more depth as part of the Search Center
lab.
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19. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Exercise 8
Create a SharePoint list to track reseller feedback
Scenario
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services V3 allows you to create custom field types. Microsoft Office SharePoint
Server 2007 uses this feature to provide a new field type called Business Data that is available to all lists in
SharePoint Server 2007. The Business Data field type enables users to add data from business applications
registered in the Business Data Catalog to lists.
This topic shows how you can add a Reseller column to a SharePoint list.
Tasks Detailed Steps
a. Click Create in the Site Actions menu at the top right. The Create Page page
Complete the following
appears.
task on:
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1. Create the Reseller
Feedback list
b. Click Custom List in the Custom Lists section. The New page appears.
c. Type Reseller Feedback in the Name field and click Create. The Reseller
Feedback list appears.
d. Click Settings on the list toolbar and select Create Column. The New Column
page appears.
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20. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Tasks Detailed Steps
e. Use the following values:
Column name: Reseller
•
The type of information in this column is: Business data
•
Type: Reseller (BDCAWDW)
•
Add a column to show each of these additional fields: Number
•
f. Click OK. You return to the list, which now contains the Reseller and the related
Reseller: Number columns
g. Click New on the list toolbar and select New Item. The New Item page appears.
h. Use the following values:
Title: Can’t withstand rainy Seattle winter
•
Reseller: Volume Bike Sellers chosen in one of these ways:
•
• Type Bike in the Reseller field and click the Check Names icon.
bike is underlined in red and a message is displayed: No exact match
was found. Click bike and choose the reseller.
• Click the Browse icon, choose Name in the search dropdown, type
bike in the search box, and click the magnifying glass button. Select
the reseller from the search results box.
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21. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Tasks Detailed Steps
i. Click OK. The new list item appears with the reseller name and number. The
reseller name item also includes the drop down menu of all the available Business
Data Catalog actions for the reseller entity.
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22. Getting Started with the Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Conclusion
In this lab you learned about some of the available options in the new Business Data Catalog in Microsoft Office
SharePoint Server 2007. You walked through the process of creating a new metadata definition, deploying the
application, using the provided Business Data Catalog Web Parts, and including Business Data in SharePoint lists.
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