SPUserUtil and SPSiteManager download location
More than a few folks have pinged me with the following quesitons, so I thought I'd repost on the subject to help clarify a few of these.
Question:
Where exactly do I download SPUserUtil and SPSiteManager
Answer:
These tools became part of a larger tool package call the SharePoint Utility Suite. It's location is on the SharePoint Products and Technologies Web Component Directory site at this URL: https://www.microsoft.com/sharepoint/downloads/components/detail.asp?a1=724.
When I finished up SPUserUtil 2.0, I had started to build quite an arsenal of other tools (Not all of them are included in the package :)) and had the bright idea to package all the sample source and code I used, along with fellow developers of Microsoft SharePoint solutions within Microsoft. I thought it was a great way to package up some of the tools we've all found that make it easier for us to do our job and help our customers.
Question:
Why do you force us to actually build the tools themselves, why don't you just provide binaries?
Answer:
The primary reason is that these tools are provided AS-IS with absolutely no warranty whatsoever. You can't just call into Support and get someone from Product Support to help you fix any problems you encounter with the tools.
I of course get lots of great feedback, feature requests, and help requests, and I am always eager to help, but it's not my primary role at the company, and I implement changes and fixes to them when I can (Expect an announcement from me soon about how I'm going to be able to put more effort in adding functionality, etc. ).
I can also tell you that Product Support recommends SPUserUtil and SPSiteManager 99% of the time, when they find that a customer needs these exact solutions.
Forcing you to make the slightest change in the build scripts so that they'll compile forces you to read the documentation and see that they are indeed provided as is. So, it's use at your own risk, and besides the source is there, so you can see exactly what it's doing. It also provides a good set of reference code that other developers might find useful.
Question:
When will we see any updates to these tools and the other tools in the Utility Suite?
Answer:
Most of my development on these tools is during my own personal time. It's been a hectic few months for me, but I'm getting back into full swing on personal development at home.
There are actually a few key changes I've made in SPUserUtil and SPSiteManager based on usability feedback, etc. So expect a Release 3 of the Utility Suite with these changes in the next couple of weeks or so. These changes are definately not the end for them. I'm planning and spec'ing out the next wave of this toolset as we speak :)
There are also a couple of improvements to SPSiteBuilder (Which was pretty much thrown together one day so that I could build out a series of large site collections for testing some performance issues). I've had a couple of cool changes sent my way from a fellow MS SharePoint developer that I need to integrate. I also want to provide a better doc more on the lines with what I have for SPSiteManager and SPUserUtil.
Question:
Can I send in feature requests to you? Will you respond?
Answer:
If you've ever contacted me via my blog site before, you know that I'm quick to respond. Mind you it might be a day or two :) But I'm always open to this level of interaction with SharePoint folks outside of Microsoft. Please send me your ideas! I'll try to get them in!
- Keith Richie