How to Modify a SharePoint Template for Project Server
Remember, modifying the SharePoint template for Project Server only changes the starting point for new project sites. This does not change the setup for existing project sites. It is important to ensure your SharePoint template is as you want it before many project sites are created and used.
It's funny. I see questions related to customizing SharePoint on the Project Server newsgroups. Invariably someone suggests that the question should be posted to a SharePoint newsgroup instead. But when the question is posted to the SharePoint newsgroup, someone replies and says that the question belongs in the Project Server newsgroups.
The most common question I see involving SharePoint is how to modify the SharePoint template for Project Server. For example, adding a new field to the Issues in the template so that all projects have it to start. There are four major steps to accomplish this:
Create a New Site
- Browse to Project Web Access, and click on Admin > Manage Windows SharePoint Services > Manage SharePoint Sites.
- Click on the Site Administration Link.
- On the Site Settings page under the Administration section, click Manage Sites and Workspaces.
- Click the Create link at the top to create a new site
- Give the new site an appropriate title for the client's template. Supply the Web Site Address as well, and then click Create.
- In the Template Selection section, choose the Project Workspace, and click OK.
Customize the Template
- The next window that will appear is the template site.
- Customize this site as needed -- adding extra fields to Issues and Risks, applying a new color template to the site -- whatever it is you require.
Save and Export
- In the home page of the template site, click "Site Settings", then "Go to Site Administration".
- Click "Save site as a template"
- Give the file a name and supply a Template Title.
- On the next page, click on the "Site template gallery" link.
- In the Site Template Gallery, click the name of the site just created. Save this file to your machine.
Import onto the Server so it can be used as a Site Template
- Copy the exported template file to a location on the project server.
- Working directly on the server, open up a command prompt.
- Type:
cd c:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\60\BIN
and press <enter> - Then type in the command:
stsadm.exe -o addtemplate -filename <name of the file> -title <site template title> - If successful, you will receive a message stating that IIS needs to be restarted. Type:
iisreset - Browse to Project Web Access > Admin > Manage Windows SharePoint Services > Site Provisioning Settings.
- In the Site Template field, select the template that you just uploaded.
That should do it. Don't let the number of steps scare you. It is quite simple really. Just remember, changing the SharePoint template only impacts new project sites. Existing project sites are not modified.
