Workplace Automation

Tag: PNP

  • 3 of the most important SharePoint PowerShell Modules and Snappins

    In my role as an automation consultant, I encounter several challenges, where you have to think out of the box. Thinking out of the box also means, to reconsider the tools, which you are using. If you start with SharePoint/ M365 automation, you will notice that there are at least three SharePoint PowerShell modules and snappins, with which you can automate your SharePoint environment. All of the SharePoint PowerShell modules/ snappins have indeed a reason for existence. In this article, I will show you where the focus of each module is, so you can get an idea, when to use which module. You will also get a overview, how to use all of them and what pros and cons eacht SharePoint PowerShell module/ snappin has.

    Think out of the box when designing an automation solution

    PNP PowerShell

    The beginning of PNP PowerShell was a community project of several developers, which have developed many client side object model (CSOM) wrappers for SharePoint 2013, 2016 and 2019. In fact PNP stands for Patterns and Practices. The modules are known as SharePointPnPPowerShell20xx or SharePointPnPPowerShellOnline. About the turn of the year all consolidated to PNP.PowerShell. Also the main focus from “catchall” have changed to the cloud version of SharePoint.

    When to use PNP PowerShell

    PNP.PowerShell is developing to one of the overreaching modules in Microsoft 365 cosmos. I would recommend to try everything first with PNP.PowerShell before you try doing it with SharePointOnlinePowerShell, since the development of the module goes on and on and you can do way more things with PNP PowerShell, than with SharePointOnlinePowerShell in terms of business process automation.

    Topics covered by PNP PowerShell

    Currently PNP PowerShell covers following topics and services:

    • SharePoint Online
    • SharePoint Server (on premises)
    • M365 Groups
    • Power Automate
    • Azure AD
    • SharePoint Syntex
    • Microsoft Teams
    • Microsoft Planner

    Pros and Cons of PNP PowerShell

    ProsCons
    ✅ You can use it for on-premises and cloud services❌ Some cmdlets are not working as expected e.g. Set-PNPSite -SitecollectionAdmin
    ✅ You can use it on all servers/ clients, which have access to the tenant/ farm (online or on-premises)❌ With constant development, cmdlets might change, so you have to monitor the changes, when updating the module
    ✅ Constant development of module❌ You have to consent the access with the global admin role
    ✅ Supports many branches of M365 (SharePoint, Teams, Planner etc.)❌ Microsoft Support won’t support if there is a bug in the modules. You have to open a request in github
    ✅ You don’t have to make breaking changes to your scripts if you move from SharePoint Server to SharePoint Online
    ✅ You can change a wide range of content in SharePoint (Sites, Lists, Items)
    ✅ You don’t need SharePoint Admin permission to connect to a site

    How to make use of PNP PowerShell?

    If you want to make use of PNP PowerShell, check out this blog post, which describes every step of it in detail: Connect to SharePoint with PowerShell | SharePoint Online (workplace-automation.com/)

    What can I change with PNP PowerShell?

    In this section, I want to give you an overview of what you can change with PNP Powershell. Indeed there are more objects in SharePoint. I focus in the first place on objects, which I think are mostly changed with PowerShell for business process automation.

    ObjectChanging
    possible
    with
    PNP PowerShell?    		CmdletPrequisitesReference
    Tenant ✅ Set-PNPTenantSharePoint Admin RoleSet-PnPTenant (PnP.Powershell) | Microsoft Docs
    Hub Site ✅ Set-PNPHubSite Access to SiteSet-PnPHubSite (PnP.Powershell) | Microsoft Docs
    Site ✅ Set-PNPSiteAccess to Site Set-PnPSite (PnP.Powershell) | Microsoft Docs
    Sub Site ✅ Set-PNPWeb Access to Site and SubsiteSet-PnPWeb (PnP.Powershell) | Microsoft Docs
    List ✅ Set-PNPList Access to Site & ListSet-PnPList (PnP.Powershell) | Microsoft Docs
    Library ✅ Set-PNPSite Access to Site & Library Set-PnPList (PnP.Powershell) | Microsoft Docs
    Item ✅ Set-PNPListItemAccess to Site & List & ItemSet-PnPListItem (PnP.Powershell) | Microsoft Docs
    File ✅Set-PNPListItem Access to Site & Library & FileSet-PnPListItem (PnP.Powershell) | Microsoft Docs
    Page ✅Set-PNPage Access to Site & Library & Page Set-PnPPage (PnP.Powershell) | Microsoft Docs

    Who is maintaing PNP PowerShell?

    The module is maintained by the PNP Developer Community. At this stage I have to thank you guys for your hard and good work. It was really a game changer, when I didn’t had to use scripts on the SharePoint Server.

    Since it is all open source, you can also check the source code here: Microsoft 365 Community (github.com)

    You can find more about the community here: SharePoint Developer Community (SharePoint PnP) resources | Microsoft Docs

    What if I find a bug in PNP Powershell?

    Be sure to follow their rules, when you open an issue, so they can help you faster. In the first step check the discussions. You have to be patient, since it is a community developed module.

    If you find a bug, you have to open a github issue here: pnp/powershell: PnP PowerShell (github.com)

    SharePointOnlinePowerShell

    SharePointOnlinePowerShell is the official Module, which is published by Microsoft. In comparison to PNP Powershell, SharePointOnlinePowerShell focuses only on the administration of SharePoint Online.

    When to use SharePointOnlinePowerShell

    My strategy is to use SharePointOnlinePowerShell, when I experience a buggy behaviour by PNP.PowerShell. Altough it is the official SharePoint PowerShell module, you cannot change e.g. list items.

    Topics covered by SharePointOnlinePowerShell

    SharePointOnlinePowerShell is only focussing on SharePoint Online. You cannot connect to another service or to SharePoint Server (on premises).

    Pros and Cons of SharePointOnlinePowerShell

    ProsCons
    ✅ I have experienced more stability on this module – It tends to have less bugs❌ You can only administer SharePoint. Business process automation will be hard to cover with this module, because you cannot change webs, lists or items
    ✅ It is supported by Microsoft❌ You can use it only for SharePoint Online
    ✅ Constant development of module – I have not experienced any breaking changes❌ You have to have SharePoint admin role

    How to make use of SharePointOnlinePowerShell?

    I have described how to install and connect with this SharePoint PowerShell Module here: SharePointOnlinePowerShell: How to connect to SharePoint Online (workplace-automation.com/)

    What can I change with SharePointOnlinePowerShell ?

    In this section, I want to give you a overview of what you can change with PNP Powershell.

    ObjectChanging
    possible
    with
    SharePointOnlinePowerShell?    		CmdletPrequisitesReference
    Tenant✅Set-SPOTenantSharePoint Admin RoleSet-SPOTenant (SharePointOnlinePowerShell) | Microsoft Docs
    Hub Site✅Set-PNPHubSite SharePoint Admin RoleSet-SPOHubSite (SharePointOnlinePowerShell) | Microsoft Docs
    Site✅ Set-SPOSiteSharePoint Admin RoleSet-SPOSite (SharePointOnlinePowerShell) | Microsoft Docs
    Sub Site ❌
    List ❌
    Library ❌
    Item ❌
    File ❌
    Page ❌

    Who is maintaing SharePointOnlinePowerShell?

    The module is developed and maintained by Microsoft. You can find the source code is here: Microsoft 365 Community (github.com)

    What if I find a bug in SharePointOnlinePowerShell ?

    You can contact Microsoft Support or try to “Contact Owners” in PowerShellGallery: https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell

    SharePointOnlinePowerShell PowerShell Gallery

    Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell

    Microsoft.SharePoint PowerShell is the only type of cmdlets, which is not a SharePoint PowerShell Module, but a PSSnappin. Snapins are considered as the old way to add cmdlets and other resources. It’s focus is SharePoint Server.

    When to use Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell

    I recommend to use Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell in following situations:

    • You don’t plan to migrate the automation solution to SharePoint Online
    • You have access to the SharePoint Servers
    • You want to administer SharePoint Server

    Topics covered by Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell

    With Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell you can only connect to SharePoint Server (on premises). You can see all cmdlets here from the Microsoft reference: SharePointServer Module | Microsoft Docs

    Pros and Cons of Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell

    ProsCons
    ✅ Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell is a established PSSNappin, which tends to have very few bugs❌ You have to readapt the scripts, if you want to migrate to SharePoint Online
    ✅ It is supported by Microsoft❌ You can use it only for SharePoint Server
    ✅ You can change nearly everything with this SharePoint PowerShell Module on your SharePoint Server❌ You need SPShellAdmin rights to access SharePoint Server with this SharePoint PowerShell Module

    How to make use of Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell?

    1. Connect to SharePoint Server with a user, which is SPShellAdmin
    2. Start Windows PowerShell
    3. Type Add-PSSnapin Microsoft.SharePoint.Powershell
    4. You are connected!

    What can I change with Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell?

    If you work with this SharePoint PowerShell snappin, you will notice, that you have to use mostly the SpWeb classes to change everything below a SpWeb. Check out the Microsoft docs to see, which classes are below SPWeb: SPWeb Class (Microsoft.SharePoint) | Microsoft Docs. If you need help, don’t hesitate to contact me: Serkar@workplace-automation.com

    ObjectChanging
    possible
    with
    PNP PowerShell?    		CmdletPrequisitesReference
    Farm ✅ Set-SPFarmConfigSPShellAdminAcessSet-SPFarmConfig (SharePointServer) | Microsoft Docs
    Site ✅ Set-SPSite SPShellAdminAcess Set-SPSite (SharePointServer) | Microsoft Docs
    Sub Site ✅ Set-SPWeb SPShellAdminAcess Set-SPWeb (SharePointServer) | Microsoft Docs
    List ✅ No dedicated cmdlet. You have to call lists from web object
    (get-spweb "url").lists    		 SPShellAdminAcess
    Library ✅ No dedicated cmdlet. You have to call libraries from web object

    (get-spweb "url").lists     		SPShellAdminAcess
    Item ✅ No dedicated cmdlet. You have to call libraries from list object

    (get-spweb "url").lists.items    		 SPShellAdminAcess
    File ✅No dedicated cmdlet -You have to call the file from the item object

    (get-spweb "url").lists.items[0].file    		 SPShellAdminAcess
    Page ✅No dedicated cmdlet – You have to call it from the sitepages library. SPShellAdminAcess

    Who is maintaing Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell?

    The module is maintained by Microsoft.

    What if I find a bug in Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell?

    You can contact Microsoft Support and report the bug there.

    Conclusio

    As you saw each of the SharePoint PowerShell module / snappin got its pros and cons. PNP PowerShell is the number one choice, if you want to automate processes in Microsoft Cloud. Beside this SharePointOnlinePowerShell is the second tool recommended, If you only seek to administer SharePoint Online. As a final point Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell should be mentioned as a powerful tool if you want to administer SharePoint Server (on-premises). If I missed a point, I would appreciate, if you contact me: serkar@workplace-automation.com.

    Further Documentation

    This is the direct link to PNP documentation: http://aka.ms/m365pnp

    PNP provide code samples, which you can find here: PnP | Microsoft 365

    You can check out the PNP repro on github here. GitHub – pnp/powershell: PnP PowerShell

  • Dealing with existing SharePoint connections

    Dealing with existing SharePoint connections

    We all can Imagine the scenario. You create sites in sharepoint and now you want to edit multiple sites afterwards with PowerShell. In order to be safe, we have to check, wether an connection exists and if yes to disconnect the current connection to have a clean processing of the sites. In this article I want to show you how can achieve dealing with existing SharePoint connections. If you don’t know how to connect to SharePoint Online, check the article.

    Symptoms – How I tried it first

    Multiple paths as needles

    I tried to check the connection by a normal if query, but as you can see it throws everytime an error, so the script will be halted under normal circumstances. Changing the ErroActionPreference is something you could do for sure, but I would not recommend it, if you want to handle other upcomming potential errors of the API. So as you can see dealing with existing SharePoint connections in terms of checking, wether an connection exists, is not that easy.

    if ((Get-PnPConnection) )
{
    Write-Host "Connection found"
}
Get-PnPConnection : The current connection holds no SharePoint context. Please use one of the Connect-PnPOnline commands which uses the -Url argument to connect.
In Zeile:2 Zeichen:6
+ if ((Get-PnPConnection) )
+      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (:) [Get-PnPConnection], InvalidOperationException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.InvalidOperationException,PnP.PowerShell.Commands.Base.GetPnPConnection
PS H:>> 
if ((Get-PnPConnection) -ne $Null )
{
    Write-Host "Connection found"
}
Get-PnPConnection : The current connection holds no SharePoint context. Please use one of the Connect-PnPOnline commands which uses the -Url argument to connect.
In Zeile:2 Zeichen:6
+ if ((Get-PnPConnection) -ne $Null )
+      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (:) [Get-PnPConnection], InvalidOperationException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.InvalidOperationException,PnP.PowerShell.Commands.Base.GetPnPConnection
PS H:>> 
if ((Get-PnPConnection|out-null) -ne $Null )
{
    Write-Host "Connection found"
}
Get-PnPConnection : The current connection holds no SharePoint context. Please use one of the Connect-PnPOnline commands which uses the -Url argument to connect.
In Zeile:2 Zeichen:6
+ if ((Get-PnPConnection|out-null) -ne $Null )
+      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (:) [Get-PnPConnection], InvalidOperationException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.InvalidOperationException,PnP.PowerShell.Commands.Base.GetPnPConnection
PS H:>> 
if ((Get-PnPConnection -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) -ne $Null )
{
    Write-Host "Connection found"
}
Get-PnPConnection : The current connection holds no SharePoint context. Please use one of the Connect-PnPOnline commands which uses the -Url argument to connect.
In Zeile:2 Zeichen:6
+ if ((Get-PnPConnection -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) -ne $Null )
+      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (:) [Get-PnPConnection], InvalidOperationException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.InvalidOperationException,PnP.PowerShell.Commands.Base.GetPnPConnection

    Solutions

    sewing kit

    Try Catch Solution

    In order to handle this situation, you have to catchup the error.

    The snippet tries to check wether there is an connection and if there is one, it will proceed and disconnect it. After disconnecting it I have set the variable $connection to $null, so I can process it later on.

    try 
{
    Get-PnPConnection -ErrorAction Stop
    Disconnect-PnPOnline
    $Connection = $null
}
catch 
{
    $Connection = $null
}

    BONUS 1: Invoke-PNPConnection with Credential object (No MFA enforcement)

    A function which handles the whole procedure of cutting of the connection and reconnecting, makes the handling easier. In this case I have added an additional check of the contents of lists, because sometimes you do connect, but experience that the webserver is not ready yet – basically you get an 403 FORBIDDEN message in PowerShell.

    NOTE: This will only work If your user has no MFA enforcement. If you have MFA enabled, I have another function for you.

    Function Invoke-PNPConnection ($Url, $Cred)
{
    try 
    {
        Get-PnPConnection -ErrorAction Stop
        Disconnect-PnPOnline
        $Connection  = $null
    }
    catch
    {
        $Connection  = $null
    }
    $i = 1
    while ($null -eq $Connection -and $i -le 6 -and $null -eq $Lists)
    {
        Write-Verbose "Trying to connect to $Url for the $i time" 
        $Lists = $null
        Connect-PnPOnline -Url $Url -Credentials $Cred
        $Lists = Get-PnPList -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        $i++
        if ($i -ne 1 -and $null -eq $Lists)
        {
            Start-Sleep -Seconds 30
            Write-Verbose "Wait 30 Seconds"
        }
    }
    Write-Verbose "Connection to $Url established"
}

    You can call the function like this

    $Cred = get-credential
$Url = "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/Sales"
Invoke-PNPConnection -Url $Url -Cred $Cred

    Bonus 2: Invoke-PNPConnection interactively (MFA enforced)

    So if you use the scripts interactively (with MFA enforced users), you can make use of this function

    Function Invoke-PNPConnection ($Url)
{
    try 
    {
        Get-PnPConnection -ErrorAction Stop
        Disconnect-PnPOnline
        $Connection  = $null
    }
    catch
    {
        $Connection  = $null
    }
    $i = 1
    while ($null -eq $Connection -and $i -le 6 -and $null -eq $Lists)
    {
        Write-Verbose"Trying to connect to $Url for the $i time" 
        $Lists = $null
        Connect-PnPOnline -Url $Url -Interactive
        $Lists = Get-PnPList -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        $i++
        if ($i -ne 1 -and $null -eq $Lists)
        {
            Start-Sleep -Seconds 30
            Write-Verbose "Wait 30 Seconds"
        }
    }
    Write-Verbose "Connection to $Url established"
}

    Start the function like this

    $Url = "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/Sales"
Invoke-PNPConnection -Url $Url

    Conclusio

    There are ways to deal with the connections, you just have to think a bit OOTB 🙂

    patched teddy

    You might find intersting

    If you are not familiar with connecting to SharePoint, check out this Post: Connect to SharePoint Online with PowerShell

    Original article of PNP Connecting with PnP PowerShell | PnP PowerShell



    Images:
    Bild von Meine Reise geht hier leider zu Ende. Märchen beginnen mit auf Pixabay

    Bild von vargazs auf Pixabay

    Bild von Ina Hoekstra auf Pixabay

    Bild von saulhm auf Pixabay

  • Getting Fieldvalues of Items

    Getting Fieldvalues of Items

    Getting all values of all items

    If you want to retrieve all fieldvalues of an item, you can use following steps. I am getting the opportunities of the sales department

    Screenshot of SharePoint List with values of items
    • Connect to SharePoint Online with PNP. If you don’t know how to, check the post. I am connecting with the sales site

      Connect-PnPOnline -Url "https://devmodernworkplace.sharepoint.com/sites/Sales" -Interactive
    • After connecting, get the list.

      $Items =Get-PnPListItem -List "YourList"

      I am using the list opportunities:

      $Items =Get-PnPListItem -List "Opportunities"

      If you don’t know what the internal name of your list is, you can make use of the cmdlet

      $Items = Get-PNPListItem | Out-Gridview -Passthru
    out grid view with lists

    After getting the items, you can get all fieldvalues like this:
    $Items.Fieldvalues

    Screenshot of all values of items

    Filter items by specific value

    You can filter items like this. You have to use the key, which you get with $Items. FieldValues

    Filter by Where Object

    $Item = $Items | Where-Object {$_.Fieldvalues["KEY"] -eq "VALUE"}

    I filter for items with the title Opp 2

    $Item = $Items | Where-Object {$_.Fieldvalues["Title"] -eq "Opp 2"}

    Filter by -Query Parameter

    I have created a separate post for this. Check it out.

    Getting only specific amount of Items

    It might happen, that your list contains many items. In order to get only 1000 Items, make use of the parameter -PageSize

    Get-PnPListItem -List "Opportunities" -PageSize 1000

    Getting a specific value for specific item

    First get one single item, either by filtering, or by using the index

    You can use indexing with following method

    $Item= $Items[INDEX]

    For the first Item: $Item = $Items[0]

    For the second Item: $Item = $Items[1] etc,

    If you got a single item, you can get the fieldvalues like this:

    $item.FieldValues.KEY

    In my case I use the key “Product”

    $item.FieldValues.Product

    screenshot of specific value

    Or “Contact”

    screenshot of specific contact value

    Example script to get all fieldvalues for all items

    $Url = "https://devmodernworkplace.sharepoint.com/sites/Sales" 
$ListName = "Opportunities"

Connect-PnPOnline -Url $Url -Interactive
$Items = Get-PnPListItem -List $ListName

$Items.Fieldvalues

    Example script to get all fieldvalues for a specific item

    $Url = "https://devmodernworkplace.sharepoint.com/sites/Sales" 
$ListName = "Opportunities"

Connect-PnPOnline -Url $Url -Interactive
$Items = Get-PnPListItem -List $ListName

$Item =  $Items | Where-Object {$_.Fieldvalues["Title"] -eq "Opp 2"}

$item.FieldValues