BCS (2) Creating an External List from an ECT

Hi 🙂

In the previous blog post – https://sharepointsabrine.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/business-connectivity-services-bcs-creating-an-external-content-type-based-on-a-sql-2008-table-with-sharepoint-designer/ – we created the ECT. Now, we are going to utilize the ECT within the new feature of SharePoint 2010 known as an External List. After we’ve created and viewed our External List, we are going to use the data offline.

So lets Get Started 😉

There are 2 ways to create an external list either via SP designer or via the SP site:

1. Creating an  External List from SP Designer:

if you have done the first post the you already have you external content type Contacts if not the open SP designer and Click “External Content Types” in the Site Objects Navigation. and select your content type

On the ribbon, click the Create List and Formsbutton and  enter AWContacts in the List Name field, uncheck the Create InfoPath Form and click the OK button.

Wait till the list is created and then Close SharePoint Designer.

           2. Creating an External List from the site:

i will show you another way to create a external List? If you’re not interested you can skip this part ! no problem.

First of all open your site in the browser, then in click Site Actions => More options

then click on Filtered by List and choose external List and Finally Create:

now fill in the blanks 😉

and it’s done.

           3. Configuring the security settings:

Open the browser and navigate to the site collection. You’ll see the previously created list, click on it and you may get the error “Access denied by Business Data Connectivity”

so  we must configure the security settings on the new BCS application we just created:

a.       Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration

b.      In the Application Management section select Manage service applications

c.       Underneath the Name column click on the Business Data Connectivity Service hyperlink

d.      On the Service Application Information screen, expand the Contact application’s dropdown arrow and select Set Permissions

On the Set Object Permissions dialog box type All Authenticated Users into the first text box and click Add.

then check at least execute:

Try to open the list on the site collection and refresh if needed.

and Voila !!!!! 🙂

           4. Using the Data offline:

Launch SharePoint Workspace 2010. You may have to set up an account when you first start the application. (use your User information pulled from Active Directory)

after launching the SP Workspace return to the list in SharePoint and click the List tab on the ribbon.

Click the Sync to SharePoint Workspace button to open the list in the SharePoint Workspace. (this will take a while.)

When the process finishes, click the Open Workspace button to close the wizard.

and We’re Done !!

So, in this post i created an external content type, the associated forms and even sync’d the list with SharePoint Workspace 2010 for offline use.