This eBook is designed to give SharePoint developers an introduction and overview of the features in Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2010. It begins with a brief introduction and a summary of what's new, followed by a more in-depth discussion of the most pertinent features of Designer 2010.
We can use SharePoint Designer to create end to end solutions on top of SharePoint using functionality such as the Data View web part, Workflow designer, manipulating web part zones, creating page layouts and use of the built-in reports; just to name a few. We truly believe in it and always mention to our customers that they should very seriously consider using SharePoint Designer in their environment and to take full advantage of their SharePoint investment.
Excerpt:
Welcome to the SharePoint Designer Essentials guide. The goal of this guide is to help you gain sufficient knowledge and understanding of SharePoint Designer and how to work with it.
Using SharePoint Designer , you can rapidly create SharePoint solutions in response to business needs. Compose no-code solutions that encompass a variety of common scenarios; from collaborative sites and web publishing to Line-Of-Business data integration, business intelligence solutions and human workflows, all leveraging the building blocks available in SharePoint in an easy to use environment.
The following are the list of major benefits of SharePoint Designer.
Rapidly Develop SharePoint Solutions without Code: Build composite SharePoint applications by configuring or designing components without having to write any code. The improved user interface, easy connectivity to external systems, improved views and forms, and enhanced workflow design capabilities allow us to respond more rapidly to our business needs.
Easily Connect with External Data: With SharePoint Designer, we can easily integrate external data into any SharePoint solution. Discover available data sources, create External Content Types that define the data operations you want to enable in SharePoint and have SharePoint Designer auto-generate SharePoint external lists and required forms.
Deploy Safe Customizations with Confidence: SharePoint Designer provides control over where and how developers use SharePoint Designer throughout all levels of your SharePoint deployment. Preserve a consistent brand and layout across a site collection or web application by controlling customization.