SharePoint File Versions - Download All With PowerShell Script

Recently a subscriber to a kalmstrom.com Solution asked us how to download all file versions from a SharePoint document library. Our Lead Developer, Jayant Rimza, sent the customer a PowerShell script and instructions on how to use it.

We decided to give the same assistance to all kalmstrom.com visitors by creating a Tips article from Jayant's instructions. Here he will tell you some more about SharePoint versioning, PowerShell and the script that downloads all versions:

SharePoint versioning
SharePoint can be set to store earlier versions of list items and documents. This is very useful when several people work on the same project or when information often is changed.

Versioning is available for all kinds of SharePoint lists and libraries, and there are several different options for how it should work, for example how many versions should be saved.

Microsoft can give much more information about SharePoint versioning:
Introduction
Versioning in document libraries

PowerShell script
PowerShell is a task automation framework from Microsoft that is very good to use with SharePoint. With a PowerShell script you can quickly download all file versions from a SharePoint document library, and I am sharing such a script in the Tips article about downloading file versions from SharePoint.

More info
I give the code with explanations in the article, and I recommend you to study them before you download the PowerShell script and change the site URL and the document library name in the code to your own details.

If you are new to PowerShell, I advise you to also study Microsoft's information on how to use PowerShell with SharePoint.

I hope you will find my Tips article useful! And while you are there, why not take a look at the other articles too? Under the PowerShell entry you can find articles about moving files into SharePoint that also might be interesting.

Jayant Rimza
Lead Developer
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions

Delhi Sights Shared By kalmstrom.com QA

kalmstrom.com QA Engineer Neha Gupta Kaushal continues her story about the journey she went on together with her husband.

Last week I told you about the Himalayan part of our journey and about our first meeting with snow. Those days were mostly play and fun, but the visit to the Indian capital gave other kinds of impressions.

Old Delhi has been inhabited for well over 2000 years, and through most of its history it has been a capital of various kingdoms and empires. The Parliament is situated in the newer part, New Delhi. This means that Delhi has many historic monuments, gardens, museums and galleries, and we tried to see as many of them as possible.

I admire all the historical places we saw, but here I want to show photos from two comparatively modern buildings: the imposing Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Museum and the beautiful Lotus temple. If you ever come to Delhi I also recommend that you visit the India Gate, the Red Fort, the Nehru Place and the Qutub Minar.

I am sure you have heard about Mahatma Gandhi, who led the Indian independence movement from 1915 to 1947, when India became a free country. His non-violent methods and his ideas about equality between all people, regardless of gender or religion, have inspired people all over the world.

The Lotus Temple is marvelous, and I can understand why it is one of the most visited buildings in the world. It is a House of Worship for the Baha'i religion, but it is open for people of all faiths. In India we have so many different landscapes, lifestyles, cultures and religions, and that makes me love India more and more when I visit different parts of the country.

After our amazing trip we both realized that our relationship had suffered too often in our fast-paced daily routine. Now, when we have spent quality time together and experienced many new things, we are feeling closer to each other and our relationship has become stronger.

The vacation was rejuvenating, and we returned stress free. Now I can focus on the new kalmstrom.com SharePoint Solution, SP Attach, with many good memories boosting me.

Neha Gupta Kaushal
QA Engineer
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions

Outlook Knowledge Base Gives The Answer

"How did we solve this problem last time?" Do you often ask yourself or your colleagues that question? In that case you need KBase! Today the kalmstrom.com knowledge base has been updated with refined handling of images and attachments that are published from the Outlook knowledge base to a website.

Time = money
If you have no straightforward way to document how tricky problems were solved, the team has to spend valuable time on trying to come up with the solution again. With a knowledge base you only have to "invent the wheel" once. Instead you can spend time on more valuable tasks, and if you have people waiting for an answer they will be grateful that you are quick.

Share KBase articles
The KBase articles are shared inside Outlook via SharePoint or via an Access or SQL Server database. You can also publish the articles to a website or to Excel or see them in SharePoint. This way all users can have the knowledge base at hand and if allowed also edit or update it.



Categories, types and custom fields
When you create a KBase article you can select its category and type from dropdowns, and if you need another dropdown, or a Yes/No box, you can create it without coding. Just write a name for it in the KBase settings, and it will be created for you.

From helpdesk ticket to KBase article
Most subscribers to Folder HelpDesk, the kalmstrom.com issue tracking solution for Outook, also use KBase. With Folder HelpDesk you don't even have to write or paste info into the article. Instead you can just click on a button before you close a case, and the helpdesk ticket will be converted into a KBase article.

As both KBase and Folder HelpDesk are integrated in Outlook, users appreciate that the process is streamlined, and that they have both solved and unsolved cases near at hand. However, other organizations subscribe to KBase alone, because this knowledge base is versatile and has a wide range of uses.

Download
I recommend current subscribers to upgrade your installations. The upgrade is free for all subscribers, whether you use KBase stand-alone or with Folder HelpDesk.

If you have not tried KBase yet you are welcome to download KBase the add-on and evaluate it for 30 days. The kalmstrom.com team is here to answer any questions you might have!

Peter Kalmstrom
CEO and Systems Designer
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions

Himalayan Adventure For kalmstrom.com QA

Today's guest blogger is kalmstrom.com QA Engineer Neha Gupta Kaushal. Neha has been testing our solutions since 2011 and is an important team member.

However, a while ago we had to manage without her, as she took a well earned vacation to go with her husband, Kapil, to the northern part of India. They experienced so many interesting things and have so many photos to show that I have allowed two blog posts for it, and this is the first one:

It is challenging to manage both a home and the professional life, and I felt that I desperately needed a break from our hectic schedule. That’s why Kapil and I planned a journey, and we choose to go to the Himalayan hill station Manali.

Manali is a small town in the foothills of the Himalayas in North India, situated 2050 m above sea level. It is a wonderful place with apple orchards, snow peaked mountains and beautiful rivers.

We also visited another town in the area, Kullu. It is situated in a valley formed by the Beas river. Above the valley rises mountains with pine and deodar.

Kullu is famous for its temples and for the Naggar castle, which was built in the year 1460 exclusively with timber and stone without the use of mortar. The castle is sprawling, but the image below shows one of the shrines with beautiful wood work.

When we had admired this marvelous old castle, we went rafting on the river. It was an amazing experience. I loved it and wanted to do it again and again.

Nearby Manali, in the Solang valley, the ground is covered with snow even this time of the year, and I can’t explain in words how much we enjoyed it.

Kapil and I had never before experienced snow, but now we could play with it and try winter activities. We built a snow pole, a heart and a snowman, glided down the slope on a tire, made angel wings in the snow with our arms, drove a snow mobile and tried skiing – which was not so easy as it looks on TV!

Kapil tried paragliding, and we both rode yaks. The first photo in this blog post, where I wear local ornaments and clothes, is also taken in the Solang valley.

My next blog post will be about New Delhi, the capital of India, which we also visited in this journey. Here we saw many famous places, like the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Museum and the Baha'i Lotus Temple.

Neha Gupta Kaushal
QA Engineer
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions

New Developer Boosts kalmstrom.com

I am happy to introduce one more developer in the kalmstrom.com team: Software Developer Rahul Somani. Rahul has been with us since January, and so far he has mostly been engaged in our new solution for resource booking: Calendar Browser for SharePoint.

The SharePoint version of Calendar Browser will work like the well-established Outlook version – book a resource by making an appointment in the calendar of the resource you wish to use – and it will have the Overview, the double booking protection and other features you can find in the more mature Outlook version. Here is Rahul’s story:

Propensity
Relishing school assignments on programming languages like LOGO, FoxPro etc. I developed a passive inclination to the field of technology and engineering. This became a full-blown interest as I grew up, and it led me to pursue my graduation course in the field of Computer Science.

At the same time, I became curious about the working of applications like TeamViewer, Google , trading terminal websites which work on real time data and even IT solutions used in the banking industry. I became certain that I wanted to pursue this curiosity as well.

My interest in the field has grown over time, and I get a sense of elation when my code runs successfully. This drives me to not give up even when I face challenging problems. My propensity for programming, along with a desire to learn the working of various applications and technologies, propels me to go that extra mile.

Nurturing Period
In my four-years of engineering studies, I acquired an overall perspective of this scientific discipline, with a particular interest in Object-Oriented Programming, Database Management. Computer Networks, Operating System and Data Structures were some of the other areas that captured my attention.

In college I built a prototype, "Virtual Stock Market Management System", for beginners to learn how to invest in the stock market by trading online among a group of users. This was developed using Java and mySQL. I also built a “Database Migration” application which helps in migrating databases from one technology to another, using Java, XML et al. I graduated with honors in Computer Science and Engineering from Medicaps Institute of Technology and Management, Indore.

Corporate Experience
My professional life began in Mysore, at Infosys, a well noted multinational corporation in South India. The center, which is known worldwide for its training program, adds to its value by incorporating folks from all over India and from different nationalities.

After my initial training, I was asked to join the production center, and there I worked with Microsoft technologies – ASP.NET, SQL server 2008 and others.

Apart from the developing skills, the rich environment helped me cultivate strong friendships with my diverse housemates. The values I had inculcated from my childhood at home and from school made it easy for me to blend in and build relationships with people and understand their different perspectives, beliefs and traditions.

Leisure Pursuit
Other than to be known for being a techie guy, I like to understand the nuances of the stock market. I do a bit of betting, as this activity brings out the thrill present within me. I have been following the Indian stock market for the last 5 years, and this has nurtured my analytic ability. During weekends or holidays I love to read books of genres such as science, mystery and biographies.

kalmstrom.com
Till date my experience with kalmstrom.com is exciting. Here I find a congenial work aura which has aided me not only to enrich my technical skills set but also to grow as a person. Every new day is filled with a challenging set of activities, something new or unique.

I would like to thank kalmstrom.com CEO Peter Kalmstrom and Lead Developer Jayant Rimza for trusting me and giving me challenging tasks. I hope I will match their expectations above par and deliver a robust solution for Calendar Browser for SharePoint.

Apart from the challenges issued by our mentor (Jayant), there is a synchronized power booster packet of frolic activities, presentations – learning something new at the end of week and moments of chuckles in the office (especially during the lunch hour).

All this makes me enjoy being part of the kalmstrom.com team, and I am looking forward to what the future will bring!
Rahul Somani
Software Developer
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions

Men Are On YouTube, Women Are On Pinterest

We are studying the statistics from the kalmstrom.com pages on social media with great interest. Most intriguing is of course how many people who see our updates, but there is a lot more information to be fetched. My mother Kate will tell you about a strange phenomenon we have found.

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
If you are not too young, I think you remember the book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus from the 1990th. It became very popular, but also criticized for describing the genders in stereotypes.

The author of the book, John Gray, claims that men and women are so fundamentally different that it seems they come from different planets. In most cases I would disagree, but I cannot explain the difference in audience between kalmstrom.com followers on YouTube and Pinterest.

In March 2015, 75% of all who watched our video demonstrations on Pinterest were women and only 25% were men, while 85% of the YouTube visitors were men and only 15% were women! And it is the same for earlier months, so this is not something temporary.

SharePoint demos
I am aware that Pinterest is more used by women and YouTube more by men, but the differences are not at all as sensational as the kalmstrom.com figures indicate. Even more astonishing is that we have the same content published on both platforms – so differences in content is not the explanation.

Most popular on Pinterest as well as on YouTube are our SharePoint tutorials, also found in the kalmstrom.com Tips section. The recently updated product demonstrations for  the workgroup and single versions of Kanban Task Manager and TimeCard have attracted many visitors in both media.

There is however one significant difference: Pinterest visitors show more interest in our videos with Swedish nature and music. Is that because they are women? I am not sure. I am a woman, and I like it, but I know many men who like nature and music too. I don't think this is a gender issue.

Please comment, if you have an explanation to the differences I have described - the same content, different visitor gender.  In any case this shows how important it is to be present on various social media, to reach as many as possible.
Kate Kalmström
CCO
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions

Experienced Mobile App Developer Expands kalmstrom.com Portfolio

Today I have the pleasure of introducing a new member of the kalmstrom.com team: Mobile App Developer Madhur Trivedi.

Madhur’s first task was to create a Search tool for the kalmstrom.com FAQ and Tips pages. I am sure many of you have used it already and found it much easier to find the article you needed.

Currently Madhur is developing a mobile app for the SharePoint version of TimeCard, our time tracking solution for SharePoint calendars. The TimeCard app is not finished yet, but Madhur and the rest of the team are doing steady progress and we hope to soon be able to release the app. In the meantime, read about Madhur Trivedi, who has had an interesting upbringing!

Professional front
When I had earned my Bachelor of Engineering in Computing in 2011, I joined Cisco Systems as a Software Engineer. My second professional relationship was with TTH Consulting in Ahmedabad, where I worked as an Application Developer. There I was part of a team which developed cross platform mobile applications for iOS and Android, and I also worked on Windows Phone native app development.

After that I joined MCS Solutions, Hyderabad, as a Mobile Developer. There my responsibility was to contribute with my skills to convert the company’s real estate and facility management products into mobile versions for the Android and iOS platforms.

I have now joined Kalmstrom Software as a Mobile App Developer. Along with JavaScript Developer Sharad Verma, I develop Mobile apps of the brand kalmstrom.com Business Solutions for the iOS, Android and Windows Phone platforms.

We develop the apps in the Cordova/Phonegap framework using the web technologies HTML5, JavaScript, CSS and also the AngularJS framework to develop these Single page applications.

Interests and hobbies 
In time of leisure I listen to soft music, and I like reading books on leadership, self development and mythology and biographies of great leaders. Some of my favorites are The Alchemist, Manuscript found in Accra, Biography of Swami Vivekananda, The monk who sold his Ferrari, Many lives many masters and Jaya, which is the core portion of the ancient Sanskrit epic Mahabharata.

Public speaking and presenting is another interest I have. I believe that I am a good presenter, and when I explain something people listen to it carefully and understand. I can instill knowledge in others through my words.

Family and personal life
My father is a senior branch manager in Bank of Baroda, and my mother is a housewife. I have two younger brothers who are studying.

Due to my father’s work I have lived in many states in India, like Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and my native state Madhya Pradesh. I did my Bachelor of Engineering in Haryana state and went to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh for work.

In a country as diverse as India I find that people everywhere are very similar even if they are different in culture and language. I received a lot of experience and learning by living at many places.

To stay fit, I use to jog daily in the morning. My integrity and honesty are my strengths. I try to work with full perfection. "I am the master of my fate and I am the captain of my soul".

Madhur Trivedi
Mobile App Developer
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions