Installing and Using the SharePoint 2010 SDK Download
The Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Software Development Kit (SDK) is available online and as a download. The download includes IntelliSense files and many additional code samples.
Applies to: Office 365 | SharePoint Online | SharePoint Server 2010
Download the SharePoint 2010 Reference: Software Development Kit.
Watch the video Using the SharePoint 2010 SDK Help.
The SDK includes documentation and code samples for Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 and for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, which builds upon the SharePoint Foundation 2010 infrastructure. This topic contains instructions about how to install and use the SharePoint 2010 SDK download.
Installing the SharePoint 2010 SDK Download
If you have installed previous versions of the SharePoint 2010 SDK on your computer, you must uninstall those versions before installing the newest version.
To uninstall a previous version of the SharePoint 2010 SDK (Windows 7)
From the Start menu, click Control Panel, and then click Programs and Features.
Find the last version of the Microsoft SharePoint 2010 SDK under the list of currently installed programs. Click this version.
Click Uninstall from the menu directly above the list of currently installed programs.
By default, the SharePoint 2010 SDK installer installs documentation and samples for both SharePoint Foundation 2010 and SharePoint Server 2010. If you are developing only with SharePoint Foundation 2010, you may want to choose the setup option that installs only documentation and samples for SharePoint Foundation 2010.
To install only the SharePoint Foundation 2010 SDK documentation
In the setup program, select SharePoint 2010 Help and Samples, and then, in the drop-down list, select Entire feature will be unavailable.
Select SharePoint Foundation 2010 Help and Samples. In the drop-down list, select Will be installed on the local hard drive.
Using the SharePoint 2010 SDK
The following sections describe important features of the SharePoint 2010 SDK and how to use them. You can also watch the video: Using the SharePoint 2010 SDK Help.
Accessing the SharePoint 2010 SDK from the Start Menu
If you are running Windows 7, You can access the Welcome Guide for the SharePoint 2010 SDK, which lists all of the code samples and provides quick links to important sections and topics, by clicking Start > All Programs > Microsoft SDKs > SharePoint 2010 SDK > Welcome Guide. If you have chosen to install only the samples and documentation for SharePoint Foundation 2010, click Start > All Programs > Microsoft SDKs > SharePoint Foundation 2010 SDK > Welcome Guide. From the Start menu, there are also direct links to the documentation for both SharePoint Foundation 2010 and SharePoint Server 2010.
Working with the SharePoint 2010 SDK Code Samples
All code samples are in ZIP directories that must be extracted.
To extract the SharePoint 2010 SDK code sample ZIP directories
Go to the Welcome Guide and identify the feature area of the code sample that you want to extract. Each area (for example, Business Connectivity Services (BCS) Samples and User Profiles and Social Data Samples), may contain more than one sample.
Double-click the ZIP directory that you want.
At the top of the window that opens, click Extract all files to extract files from the highlighted .zip file.
Choose a destination folder on your computer.
Tip
You might want to create a directory for all SharePoint 2010 SDK samples. When uninstalling a previous version of the SharePoint 2010 SDK, the installer removes the original ZIP directories that contain the code samples. You may see leftover files, however, if you extract your samples to the Program Files directory. Additionally, you may encounter warnings or UAC prompts when you save the code sample ZIP directories to the Program Files directory. It is a best practice to install the code samples to the My Documents directory.
Click Extract.
Available Languages for the SharePoint 2010 SDK
Currently the SharePoint 2010 SDK is available only in U.S. English. We are planning to make the SharePoint 2010 SDK available in additional languages, including Japanese, Simplified Chinese, French, Spanish, Russian, and Brazilian Portuguese.
Accessing the SharePoint 2010 SDK Documentation from Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Contextual Help
The downloadable version of the SharePoint 2010 SDK is a compiled HTML Help (CHM) file (SP2010SDK.chm). This file is not accessible through the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 context-sensitive Help system. If you want to be able to press the F1 button while writing and viewing your code in Visual Studio 2010, then you must use the online help option.
To use online help to access the SharePoint 2010 SDK documentation in Visual Studio 2010
In Visual Studio 2010, click Help, and then click Manage Help Settings.
Click Choose online or local help.
Click I want to use online help.
Click OK.
After you set this preference, you can press F1 anywhere in your code and see context-sensitive help delivered directly from MSDN. This is the best way to see the most recently updated documentation.
See Also
Concepts
Welcome to the Microsoft SharePoint 2010 SDK
Other Resources
Welcome to the SharePoint Foundation 2010 SDK Documentation
Video: Using the SharePoint 2010 SDK Help
What's New in SharePoint Server 2010
What's New in SharePoint Foundation 2010