Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Video Demo: Implementing and Configuring FBA in SharePoint 2016 - Part 4 - Importing Users


PremierPoint Solutions Software Support Engineer and resident extranet guru, Mark Lewis, demonstrates the final phase in SharePoint 2016 Forms-based Authentication implementation: importing users:




Video Demo: Implementing and Configuring FBA in SharePoint 2016 - Part 3 - Editing the web.config file


PremierPoint Solutions Software Support Engineer and resident extranet guru, Mark Lewis, demonstrates the third phase in SharePoint 2016 Forms-based Authentication implementation: editing the web.config files:




Video Demo: Implementing and Configuring FBA in SharePoint 2016 - Part 2 - Create a SQL DB for FBA users


PremierPoint Solutions Software Support Engineer and resident extranet guru, Mark Lewis, demonstrates the second phase in SharePoint 2016 Forms-based Authentication implementation: creating a SQL database in which to store FBA users:




Video Demo: Implementing and Configuring FBA in SharePoint 2016 - Part 1 - Configuring the Web Application


PremierPoint Solutions Software Support Engineer and resident extranet guru, Mark Lewis, demonstrates the first phase in SharePoint 2016 Forms-based Authentication implementation: creating and configuring the web app:



Thursday, November 08, 2018

Create Nested Sub-site With ChangeBot (Relative URL)


We always recommend you create a site collection for every extranet site you create. There are many reasons why this is the preferred method, however, some of our customers have found that multiple levels of sub-sites are best for their environment. These customers still want to use ChangeBot to automatically create sites, add users, and other general maintenance items on these nested sub-sites but run into an issue with how to populate the URL. Do you allow your users to manually enter it and possible have a typo?

Below are the steps for setting up your ChangeBot Request Profile so that you can successfully build your Relative URL and provision a site at a subsite level. In the steps below, we have two variables that can be populated with a drop down box (Inputs.Subsite and Inputs.SiteTitle) and the key to making it work correctly is in Step 10... using $inputs.Subsite/$Inputs.SiteTitle to define our Subsite and sub-subsite title to form the URL.


Example Usage:





  1. Create an Input Property cooresponding to the subsite name
  2. Generate site collection property output through Create Site Collection Activity
  3. Create a new activity in the execution plan of your request profile
  4. Set the Activity Type to Create Site
  5. Click the function button next to the Site Collection box
  6. Click the Property Group drop down and select Execution Properties
  7. Click the Property drop down and select the Properties.[SiteCollectionProperty] that was previously defined

Wednesday, November 07, 2018

Redirection Receiver-Choose a Picture Dependant on Registration Response



Let’s say we wanted to add an image to a User’s profile to quickly identify them as a member of an external customers’ organization. Perhaps you work with multiple vendors and you want to add their logo to the user’s profile. Following the below steps will allow you to add a photo to an external user based on selecting an answer from a drop down list on the registration page.
The first step we need to do if you have not already, is to add the picture column to the Hidden user information list for the site collection in question. We are working in the root site collection, which we suggest all users have access to, so you only have to do this step on the root site collection. If however, you do not allow users access to the root site collection, then this step will need to be repeated on all site collections you want to view a users’ picture on.
Navigate to <sitecollectionurl>/_layouts/15/people.aspx?MembershipGroupId=0. now, you will see 2 new menus.



Thursday, November 01, 2018

ExCM Lost In Translation


In the 2003 movie Lost In Translation, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson’s characters, being the odd couple they were, found a way to communicate and translate their emotions and interest while stuck in a country and culture they knew nothing about. Just like in the movie, the merging of two individuals, cultures, languages or businesses can lead to communication issues and all around frustration.
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Tuesday, October 02, 2018

Using an Extranet Registration Receiver to Map External User Data in SharePoint




Registration Receiver

One of the first things that I do when I get something new is make it uniquely my own. When I got my new desk, I broke out the drill and installed a USB Hub. New car… seat covers and dice for my mirror. New house… paint every room in the house (ok, so that one was actually my wife’s choice) but I think there is something about customizing or personalizing that makes the experience feel special and unique in some way. Your SharePoint extranet powered by ExCM should be no different!

AD vs. HUIL

Most people who have worked with SharePoint for a while know that Active Directory is the default location that is used to pull user information from. What some do not know is that there is another list that can be populated by AD called the User Information List, or sometimes called the Hidden User Information List (HUIL). Typically this list is kept in Sync with Active Directory by the User Profile Service taking data from AD and adding it to the HUIL. In this article we will walk you though how to use this HUIL to store data about your external users. To access your HUIL, just browse out to;

For instance:


Thursday, September 27, 2018

“Default Time Zone” is the “Flux capacitor” of SharePoint!




“Back to the future” 1985

Back in the mid-80s we were all taken back in time with Doc and Marty McFly. We still idolize the DeLorean and remember that it was all possible because of the “Flux Capacitor.”

In SharePoint, things aren’t quite as exciting, but it is possible to accidentally create a little time travel within the SharePoint settings. Here is how it could happen.

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

ExCM Extranet On-Prem New Release


We’ve been working on some significant enhancements to Extranet Collaboration Manager (ExCM) Extranet On-Premises and have just issued a new release that is available today!

Here is list of enhancements and fixes in the new release (Release 4.0.3223.1 for ExCM 2016, Release 3.0.8023.1 for ExCM 2013 R2):
  • New “responsive” forms-based authentication (FBA) sign in page and extranet user registration page
  • Added ability to provide a SQL server name or alias in the Extranet Setup Wizard to support non-default SQL Server for the Extranet Directory database.
  • Enhanced the Extranet Directory Web Part to return up to 50 results of extranet sites that a logged-in user has permissions to access
  • Invitation emails now have the option to be sent from a Trusted Identity Provider (TIP) user account, such as ADFS or Azure AD, as well as from a Windows Active Directory user account
  • Fixed a problem where extranet user invitations initiated by ChangeBot could not be successfully registered

Here are a few screenshots that give a glimpse at some of the new features:

Responsive FBA Sign In page

ExCM Extranet OnPrem responsive Sign In page - iPhone

Monday, August 13, 2018

Recorded Webinar: ExCM Extranet Online, Overview & Demo


Introducing ExCM Online, the Azure-hosted counterpart to our award-winning on-premises Extranet Collaboration Manager platform.

Presented by Jeff Cate, Founder and CEO of PremierPoint Solutions:


Monday, July 30, 2018

ExCM Extranet Online Beta Available Now!


ExCM Extranet OnlineOur customers have been asking for quite a while when would have a SaaS version of Extranet Collaboration Manager (ExCM) available.  Good news for those that have been waiting – we’ve just launched the beta and are hoping to go into production by early Fall!

The on-premises version of ExCM has been in use around the world since 2007 and has been our most popular product here at PremierPoint Solutions.  Organizations have loved its combination of features that provide for a highly-secure, highly-private, and easy-to-use B2B extranet platform.  We’ve worked hard to bring all of these same features into a Software as a Service version that offers all of the benefits of the cloud.

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Microsoft KB4340558 (July 10, 2018) Breaks ExCM’s SharePoint 2013 FBA SignIn.aspx page


Customers of Extranet Collaboration Manager for SharePoint 2013 need to be aware that the July 10, 2018 patches discussed in Microsoft KB4340588 will cause ExCM’s forms-based authentication SignIn.aspx page to break.  The result will be that users experience a 403 Forbidden error message when attempting to sign in to an extranet site:

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Thursday, March 22, 2018

SharePoint On-Premises is Still Loved by Customers – Maybe to Microsoft’s Chagrin?


To me, at least, it is no secret that Microsoft has been trying very hard for several years to get as many SharePoint customers as possible to migrate off SharePoint on-premises and to SharePoint Online (a.k.a Office 365).

CUSTOMER-LOVE-300x251
Of course, I don’t have any hard numbers that show that this has been what Microsoft has been doing.  I just have my own impressions from their marketing pushes, product investments and anecdotes from people I know around the SharePoint world.

One anecdote came from a former colleague that works in IT on the SharePoint team for one of the major auto makers in the U.S.  He told me within the last year that every time the Microsoft team shows up at the company’s headquarters, that all the MS team wants to the talk about is SharePoint Online and when the company will migrate to it.

Wednesday, March 07, 2018

Restrict the People Picker - SharePoint Extranet Security


In today's webinar, we answer the question:

How can the SharePoint People Picker feature be restricted to enhance privacy in extranet scenarios?


Friday, February 09, 2018

Configuring Forms Based Authentication in SharePoint 2016


Configuring Forms Based Authentication in SharePoint 2016

In this article, I will give a step-by-step walk through of the process for configuring SharePoint 2016 Forms Based Authentication “out of the box” without an add-on such as Extranet Collaboration Manager (ExCM). Doing this will also allow us to highlight the limitations of a “basic” SharePoint FBA web application that can be overcome with a professional-grade add-on like ExCM.

Note: For configuring forms based authentication in SharePoint 2013 go here.

In the screenshots below, you can see the changes we need to make to begin configuring FBA:

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Wednesday, February 07, 2018

Password Policies SharePoint Extranet Security


In this short webinar we answer the question:



"How can we enforce password policies for external (non-AD) users?"





Wednesday, January 24, 2018