Batch File Run as administrator Changes current or default directory to c:\windows\system32 using %CD%

In Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8 with UAC turned on, and you run the batch file with %CD% to get current directory, it actually points to C:\windows\system32. To solve this, set the following code at the beginning of your batch file.

@setlocal enableextensions
@cd /d "%~dp0"

It will change the directory or file path back to your current folder/path.

Run Hyper V Virtual Image or Virtual Machine using Oracle VirtualBox in Windows 7

When you have created a virtual image or virtual machine in Hyper-V using Windows Server 2008 R2, and you want to run it in your laptop which runs Windows 7 or Windows Vista, Oracle VirtualBox is your solution. You won't be able to run Hyper-V image in Windows Virtual PC. It will give you some weird errors and you won't be able to turn it on. Hyper-V virtual image or virtual machine will not/ won't run on Windows 7's Windows Virtual PC.

I found this good article which explains step by step on installing, configuring and booting up Hyper-V image in Oracle VirtualBox. It saved my life.

My Hyper-V VM image finally booted up nicely in VirtualBox in my Windows 7 machine.

Sharepoint : Default Maximum File Upload Size Limit Allowed

By default, Sharepoint allows a maximum file size of 50MB that can be uploaded into any document libraries, list attachment and etc. The default file upload size can be changed at Central Administration > Application Management > Web Application General Settings > Maximum Upload Size. By doing this, users will be able to upload a larger file size into Sharepoint.

After changing the maximum file size, you may want to consider increasing the IIS Connection Time Out setting. By default, the IIS connection time-out setting is 120 seconds.

Sharepoint 2010: Asset Library Supported Video Format or File Type

In Sharepoint 2010, Asset Library is a new feature that allows you to upload Video, Audio and Images. It is exciting that Sharepoint finally has a built in Silverlight video player. Unfortunately, it only supports a very limited list of file format or file type, particularly WMA format and some unknown formats. A list of the supported format can be viewed here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc189080%28VS.95%29.aspx

To solve this problem, a third party solution can be used such as Bamboo's Sharepoint Video Library.

Another solution for better streaming capability is to use a 3rd party FLV player.

Sharepoint 2010: Document Sets - Adding or Displaying More Custom Properties or Column to the Welcome Page of the Document Set

By default, Sharepoint does not display any custom column/fields OOTB on the Welcome Page of a Document Set. Adding or displaying more custom properties or columns is not an easy process. However, it is often needed. It involves creating Site Column, Content Type and etc. Fortunately, I found a good article describing this process step by step : http://community.bamboosolutions.com/blogs/sharepoint-2010/archive/2010/10/15/sharepoint-2010-cookbook-customize-document-set-content-type.aspx

This is the result of adding more columns on the Welcome Page.

FAST Phonetic Searching for Names is Not Working or Return No Result

According to Microsoft documentation, Phonetic Search is one of the main functionalities in Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint. Users can search for a person in the organization by name without knowing the exact spelling of the name. For example, the search query "John Steal" could yield "John Steele" in the search results. However, there is a weird/funny/unexplainable scenario here. When I was using Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) to do phonetic searching, there is always no results returned. When I changed to Mozilla Firefox, IE7 or Chrome, it just works! This is a very special case where a functionality of a Microsoft Product does not work on Internet Explorer. I could not find any solutions to this. So if you want the Phonetic Search to work, just use another browser.

Take a look at the illustration below:

When the search is being done in Firefox:

Sharepoint and Lotus Notes Integration

There are many enterprise clients looking for Lotus Notes integration with Sharepoint, such as viewing Sharepoint Calendar in Lotus Notes Client, or Viewing Lotus Notes Calendar in Sharepoint. However, based on my research, there is only web part available to view Sharepoint Calendar from Lotus Notes Client, but not the other way round. One major provider for this integration is Main Soft. For those who want to view Lotus Notes email or calendar from Sharepoint, too bad and sorry, but there is none.

The only integration with Lotus Notes is to browse the Sharepoint Calendar from Lotus Notus Client. I wish there is some solutions to this requirement.