PM Central Customization Best Practices

Edited to add: We have updated PM Central's customization best practices. Get the latest information in this blog post.

Many of our customers have told us how much they like the custom site templates provided in PM Central. Of those customers, some have asked if it's possible to modify the custom PM Central sites to add some additional touches to fit their organization’s standard. The short answer is, "yes, absolutely," but we have prepared the following PM Central Customization documentation to provide a comprehensive guide to the do's and don'ts of customizing PM Central.

PM Central was built using standard SharePoint Site Definitions in harmony with a number of Bamboo Web Parts.  As an application that sits on the standard SharePoint platform, PM Central allows customers to further extend the look and feel of their sites as well as add functionality to the application. This document describes some of the best practices to ensure the operational integrity of the application while ensuring that future upgrades remain feasible.

What’s possible?

In general, you can modify the site following the recommended guidelines on how to customize any SharePoint site.  Just about all modifications using the standard browser interface are acceptable.  The following actions are some examples of what it is safe to do:

1. Add new Web Parts to the pages.



2. Add additional columns and views to existing Lists; add new Lists (e.g., project tasks list, status reports, custom list, etc.) and Document Libraries (Wiki, Collaboration, translation, Shared Documents folders, etc.).



3. Change the look and feel of themes and graphics.



4. Add new navigation tabs on Top level and Project sites.



5. Create new pages from Web Part page in SP.



6. Modify the Master Page and CSS files (NOTE: Be very careful not to change or delete the required SharePoint elements on these pages).

Can I save PM Central sites as Site Templates and then use it to create new sites?

Yes, you can save the project site as a site template but you need to be aware of some future implications if you customize the site using SharePoint Designer, which we will now describe.

Any new site that is created based on a Site Template that was derived from the original PM Central site will need to access the required Site Definitions.  So if you create a site in the same Web application where PM Central is installed, you should not have any problem.  If you create a new site in a different farm or Web application, however, then you must install PM Central on that farm.

Also, if you use SharePoint Designer to further customize the site, it will be disconnected from the Site Definition.  SharePoint will store the site in a database instead of using the template in hive 12 when the site is rendered.  (See our SharePoint Branding for the KB Accelerator article for further information).  When this happens, future upgrades to PM Central Site Definition will no longer be reflected in your site (note that while it is possible to revert a site  to its original state, you will lose any customization in the process).

Can I upgrade an existing site when future releases of PM Central become available?

Yes.  Our installation will upgrade the Site Definition and Web Parts when a new release becomes available.  For sites that are created based on the old Site Definition, we will provide a feature that will perform the upgrade.  Please note, however, that the upgrade program will be based on our base template, and could fail if you make non-approved changes to the site. It's important for you to read the next section and be aware of any unsupported modifications made to the site.

Dont's

Here is the list of items that you should NOT change from the base application.

1. Be aware of the harmful effect of using SharePoint Designer to edit the site directly.  This action will disconnect the site from the Site Definition and will thus cause future upgrades to fail.



2. Do not change the Site Definition in hive 12.



3. If you export the Site to a Site Template and then create new site based on the exported template, be aware that this will also break the association with the Site Definition and may cause future upgrades to fail.



4. Do not modify the following column names in these lists.  The columns are using aggregate data and perform business logic, and any changes will result in unpredictable behavior:

• Master Pages.  Do not delete the JavaScript code in bottom of master page.



• CSS Files.  Do not change the supplied CSS file name.  The templates will no longer work if the CSS file names are changed.  You can modify the CSS tags, but it will change the look of the site.



• Project Health List.  Modifications will break the List Rollup Web Part.

• Tasks List.  Modifying these columns will break the Data-Viewer and List Rollup Web Parts at the top site.

• Issues List.  Modifying these columns will break the Data-Viewer Web Part at the top site.

• Risks List.  Modifying these columns will break the Data-Viewer Web Part at the top site.

•  Pics Picture Library.  You should not delete or rename images in this Picture library

At the Top Site

At the Project Site

• Top Site Navigators List.  Do not change URL column.



• Project Site Navigators List.  Do not change URL column in Items.



• Configuration Check List List.  Do not delete pre-built Items in List. The Config Check List Web Part will show erroneous data if default items are deleted.



• Alert + Configuration List.  Do not delete items or edit data Items in the following  columns:

• PMCentralPages Document Library.  Do not rename the supplied .aspx pages in this library. Modifying this list will affect the navigation tabs and create unpredictable behavior for the Bamboo Chart Plus Web Part and Bamboo Data-Viewer Web Part.



• Discussion.aspx page in the Project Site.  Do not delete JavaScript code in bottom this page which will break the functionalities of Link to Item.



• Help.aspx at the Top Site.  Do not delete JavaScript code in bottom of Help page of Top Site.

Recommended best practices for PM Central customization

1. Always backup your existing sites before making modifications.



2. Keep a detailed log of your changes.