SharePoint Application Templates Installation

For those that are interested in using the application templates created by Microsoft for SharePoint Services, follow the directions in this article to quickly install them on your WSS 3.0 server.

To begin, download the application templates from Microsoft.com by clicking on the link below. The link also provides information about the application templates. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/sharepoint/bb407286.aspx

For the purpose of this article, I will be installing the complete package of 40 application templates.

1. Download and extract the SharePoint Application templates into a folder you’ll remember. You should notice the two different file types, .stp and .wsp. According to Microsoft the .stp files are “site admin templates” and require only the SharePoint interface to install, and the .wsp files are “server admin templates” and require access to the server to install.
2. Install the .wsp files first by following the steps below:
   1. The first .wsp file to install is the ApplicationTemplateCore.wsp file, as all other .wsp files require it. Following this file you may use the same commands to install the remainder of the .wsp files.
   2. The commands associated with installing the application templates rely on the executable, stsadm. The easiest method for installing the application templates is to ensure that the location of the executable, stsadm, is in the PATH environment variable.
   3. From a command prompt and location of the .wsp file, run the following: stsadm -o addsolution -filename ApplicationTemplateCore.wsp
   4. Next run: stsadm -o deploysolution -name ApplicationTemplateCore.wsp -allowgacdeployment
   5. Finally run: stsadm -o copyappbincontent
   6. The core application template should now be installed. Next we will install the remainder of the application templates, follow steps 2g and 2h repeatedly until all application templates have been installed.
   7. Similar to installing the core application template, run the following: stsadm -o addsolution -filename [template_name].wsp
   8. stsadm -o deploysolution -name [template_name].wsp -allowgacdeployment
3. Next we will install the .stp, “site admin templates”, using the Site Settings interface from within the SharePoint Services web site.
   1. In your SharePoint Services site web page, click on the Site Actions button on the top right of the screen, then on Site Settings.
   2. Under the Galleries section in Site Settings, click on the link for Site Templates.
   3. Upload all of the .stp files into this list.

Using the application templates in your SharePoint Services site is easy, you do so by creating a new Site and choose one of the templates. Additionally, you may activate or deactivate some application template features from the Site Settings page.