Essentials Suite Archives - Bamboo Solutions

What version of Telerik Components are deployed by Bamboo Products?

The Q1 (2017) Cumulative Update for Bamboo products, released in April 2017, updates the Telerik version used in all Bamboo component products that use Telerik:

Telerik Library

Version deployed for SP2013/SP2016

Version deployed for SP2010

Telerik.Web.UI

2016.3.1027.45

(previously, version 2012.3.1016.35 was deployed)

2016.3.1027.35

(previously, version 2011.2.915.35 was deployed)

Telerik.Web.UI.Skins

2016.3.1027.45

(previously, version 2012.3.1016.35 was deployed)

2016.3.1027.35

(previously, version 2011.2.915.35 was deployed)

IMPORTANT: The new Telerik assemblies are deployed from Bamboo.Framework.wsp. Some Bamboo component products may error if there are older and/or newer versions of Telerik assemblies in the SharePoint environment.

To fix errors caused by multiple Telerik versions deployed on your SharePoint farm, add an assembly redirect in your web.config file for each web application. See an example below and refer to How to Add a web.config Modification Using PowerShell for details.

<configuration>
...  
<runtime>
<assemblyBinding xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1">   
...
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity name="Telerik.Web.UI" publicKeyToken="121fae78165ba3d4" culture="neutral" /> 
<bindingRedirect oldVersion="2012.3.1016.35" newVersion="2016.3.1027.45" /> 
</dependentAssembly>   
</assemblyBinding>     
</runtime>
...
</configuration>

Best Practices for a successful install

Follow these guidelines to ensure a successful installation:

No.	Function
1.	Back up your system.
2.	Make sure that your system meets the requirements listed in the System_Requirements section.
3.	Installing PM Central, Community Central, Grants Management, or other applications may upgrade some Bamboo components previously installed in your SharePoint farm. For example, PM Central includes the Data Viewer Web Part (among other things) and installing PM Central may upgrade the Data Viewer Web Part that you may have previously installed. Before installing PM Central or another Bamboo application, make sure you understand the effect upgrading installed components will have on your existing solutions.
4.	Before installing, review information about where to run the Setup program in Location of Install Files and the Required Installation Permissions. This information is shown on the Installation/Setup program interface, but is also available from the links above.
5.	If you are upgrading an existing, installed product rather than installing it for the first time, read the information about Upgrading for the product you are interested in. The upgrade process is slightly different than installing for the first time.
6.	On all servers in the SharePoint farm where the solution will be deployed: Go to Start > Administrative Tools > Services and stop or restart the following services: Stop the World Wide Web Publishing Service on all servers. Do this step first because it prevents users from accessing sites during installation and files that may need to be updated from being locked. Note: If your SharePoint environment is configured for Claims Based Authentication or is running SharePoint 2013 or SharePoint 2016, you should NOT stop the World Wide Web Publishing Service if you wish to automatically activate product features during installation. Read SharePoint 2010 solution deployment when Claims Based Authentication is configured for more information. Restart the Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Timer service (called SharePoint Timer Service for SharePoint 2013 and 2016, SharePoint 2010 Timer service if you are using SharePoint 2010, or Windows SharePoint Services Timer service if you are using SharePoint 2007) on all servers. Do this step even if the service is currently running. It will ensure no files that may need updating are locked. Restart the Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Administration service (called SharePoint Administration in SharePoint 2013 and 2016, SharePoint 2010 Administration service if you are using SharePoint 2010, or Windows SharePoint Services Administration service if you are using SharePoint 2007) on all servers. Do this step even if the service is currently running. It will ensure no files that may need updating are locked.
7.	Review the Options for Installing.

Return to Installing for the first time

Overview of Suite or Pack Licensing

Overview of Licensing and and Product Activation

The bundled licensing in Suites and Packs allows multiple products to be licensed with a single key. This is a huge benefit over having to manage a license key for each product and each WFE server. Once the Suite or Pack is successfully licensed, each included product will show that it is running under the license for the Suite or Pack.

Take the Grants Management Solution Accelerator as an example. When installation is complete, the Grants Management Accelerator Pack appears in the Bamboo Web License Manager in the Suites and Packs area. If you click the plus sign next to the name, you will see all the products that are included in the pack.

If you click on the Pack name or select Status from the associated menu, you will see the status of the Pack license. In the screen shot below, we can see it was activated on each WFE server with a valid license key. The current status of the license is Active.

WLM-GMSApack status.jpg

The Alert Plus Web Part is included in the Grants Management Accelerator Pack. If you click on the product name listed in the Individual Products section of the Web License Manager, you will see the status of the individual product license. In the screen shot below, we can see it is running under the Grants Management Accelerator Pack Licensing.

The Grants Management Accelerator Pack includes eight web parts. Rather than having to license 8 products on two WFE servers in my farm individually (16 different license keys), I use the pack license and am able to save a lot of time.

Sometimes a Suite includes another suite or a pack. The Project Management Suite includes several packs, including the SharePoint Project Management Central Pack. If the PM Suite is licensed, the license status of the SharePoint Project Management Central Pack will show that it is running under the Project Management Suite Licensing.

WLM-PMCPack status.jpg

On Bamboo’s Web License Manager page, my Suite/Toolkit status is active, but the pack license is active or expired. Is this an issue?

Bundled licensing in Bamboo Suites and Toolkits allows multiple products to be licensed with a single key.

NOTE: A Suite or Library license key cannot be used to directly activate the license for any Individual Product, Toolkit or Pack.

To know what products are included in a Suite or Pack license, click the plus sign next to the Suite or Pack in the Suites and Packs area of the Bamboo Web License Manager. The included components will be listed. See the components included in the Project Management Suite below.
components in PM Suite.jpg

Once the Suite or Pack is licensed, each included product listed under Individual Products in Web License Manager will show that it is running under the Suite license. However, the Suite itself will report that it is Not Active. This is sometimes confusing, but it is not an issue.

PM Suite shows not active.jpg

The components of the Suite will be listed in the Individual Products section of the Bamboo Web License Manager. When you check their status, you will see that they are running under the Suite license. For example, see below that the Alert Plus Web Part is running under the license for the Project Management Suite

alert plus lic status.jpg

Overview of the new Bamboo product Logging

In April 2017, Bamboo released Bamboo.Logging v3.1.0.0 with the Q1 (2017) Cumulative Update of Bamboo component products.

In response to customer feedback the new logging version uses SharePoint ULS logs by default, instead of the the Bamboo logs. The main benefits of this change are:

Bamboo Log files will not fill the C: drive on WFE servers. Previously, Bamboo products reported errors to proprietary log files located in C:WindowsTempBambooSolutions on each web front end server in the farm as described in Error Log Files.
SharePoint administrators are very familiar with ULS logs and the ULS Log Viewer. When Bamboo products log to ULS, SharePoint administrators have one less set of logs to review.
ULS log files can be more easily managed for size and archived, a feature that was not previously available for Bamboo logs.

Bamboo component products installed or upgraded after April 2017 will have the new Bamboo Logging deployed as part of the Bamboo.Framework.wsp solution, which is common to Bamboo products and globally deployed to the SharePoint farm.

IMPORTANT:
1) If you have multiple Bamboo products installed on your farm, some Bamboo log files may remain in C:/Windows/Temp/BambooSolutions until you upgrade all of the Bamboo products.
2) Bamboo applications (e.g., PM Central, Workflow Conductor, In/Out Schedule Board) will not have the new Bamboo Logging until their respective CU’s are available in Q2 2017.

Please note the following for the new scripts:

The script installs all the WSPs found in the installation folder, in alpha order
The install/upgrade script deploys to all content web apps. If you would prefer to deploy to a single web app, you can modify the script or deploy via Central Administration.
Uses Upgrade instead of Install for existing components.

For additional information about how to use the updated processes:

Installing using the updated install process
Upgrading using the updated process
Uninstalling using the updated process

Location of Installation

IMPORTANT: As of April 2017, Bamboo has changed the installation process for Bamboo components. The Setup Program has been replaced by an updated process. Please see Overview of the Updated Installation Process for Bamboo components and Uninstalling using the updated process for details.

If you are installing a Bamboo product in a SharePoint farm environment, make sure to start the installation on the correct server. The required installation location is listed in the Setup/Installation program interface in the description for each component. See Overview of the Setup Program from more information.

Most Bamboo products are installed on a farm server running the Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Web Application service (or the Windows SharePoint Services Web Application if you are using SharePoint 2007), but some are installed on a farm server running the Central Administration service. Refer to SharePoint Central Administration -> System Settings -> Servers -> Manage servers on this farm for a list of farm servers running these services. If you are using SharePoint 2007, find the list of farm servers in Central Administration > Operations > Servers in Farm.

CA-Manage Servers on this farm.png
During the install process, the component will be automatically deployed to all Web front-end servers by the SharePoint Timer service via SharePoint Solution Deployment. There is no need to run the Setup/Installation program on more than one server in the farm.

Refer to Required Installation Permissions for information about the level of permission the installation account requires.

I am having trouble adding the product Web Part to a page

Verify that the associated product feature is active in the site collection by following the instructions for Activating a Bamboo Site Collection Feature. If you are wondering which Site Collection Feature to activate for your product, refer to.
If the product feature is active but you still have problems adding it to the site, deactivate it and then activate it again.
If the product feature is not available to the site collection, verify that the product was successfully deployed to the Web Application. Deployment status can be verified in SharePoint Central Administration > System Settings > Manage Farm Solutions. If you are using WSSv3/MOSS, its in SharePoint Central Administration > Operations > Solution Management.
If the product does not appear in the list of Farm Solutions in Central Administration, it hasn’t yet been installed on the farm.
If the product shows a status of “Error” in the Farm Solutions list in Central Administration, Retract and then Remove the solution before running the Installation/Setup Program again to reinstall it. Refer to How to run the Installation-Setup Program for more information.

How to activate a Bamboo Site Feature

NOTE: In order to activate a site feature, you need to have at least the Manage Hierarchy level of permission for the site.

Step	SharePoint 2007	SharePoint 2010/2013
1.	From a page on the site where you want to activate the feature, click Site Actions > Site Settings > Modify All Site Settings. In the Site Administration columnn of the Site Settings page, click Site features.	From a page on the site where you want to activate the feature, click Site Actions > Site Settings. In the Site Actions section of the Site Settings page, click Manage site features.
2.	Find the appropriate feature. If it hasn’t yet been activated, click the Activate button. The features available depend on the Bamboo products installed on your farm and deployed to your web application.

Step

SharePoint 2007

SharePoint 2010/2013

From a page on the site where you want to activate the feature, click Site Actions > Site Settings > Modify All Site Settings. In the Site Administration columnn of the Site Settings page, click Site features.
sp2007 site features.jpg

From a page on the site where you want to activate the feature, click Site Actions > Site Settings. In the Site Actions section of the Site Settings page, click Manage site features.
site settings - site actions2010.png

Find the appropriate feature. If it hasn’t yet been activated, click the Activate button.
sp2010 site features.jpg

The features available depend on the Bamboo products installed on your farm and deployed to your web application.

Getting Support for Your Bamboo Suite and Suite Products

If you have a question about your Bamboo Suite or the products included in the Suite, Bamboo has several online resources available to assist you:

Online Documentation: Information about individual Suite products is listed within the section for that product; click the name of the product listed below.
Knowledge Base: Our searchable Knowledge Base includes product release notes, helpful product information, and answers to frequently asked questions and problems.
Customer Support Website: The Bamboo Support Website includes links to our searchable Knowledge Base, Bamboo Nation community forums, support plan details, and more.

If you cannot find your answer in one of the online resources above, submit a support ticket in My Bamboo.

Essentials Suite Highlights

With over 20 components and tools, Essentials Suite gives you instant access to critical functionality missing from out-of-the-box SharePoint. With the power of Essentials Suite, you’re just a few clicks away from the instant data aggregation, visualization, and user/file management you’ll need to get real work done in SharePoint. We’ve designed Essentials Suite to meet the most urgent needs of real-world SharePoint users. With instant access to color-coded calendars, alert management, and a wide range of custom, purpose-driven list columns, site owners and end users alike will discover entirely new ways to take full advantage of your SharePoint infrastructure.

Essentials Suite Releases

NOTE: Release Notes will open in a new browser tab

WSSv3/MOSS	SharePoint 2010	SharePoint 2013
Release Notes	Release Notes	Release Notes
Microsoft ended mainstream support for SharePoint 2007 in October 2012. See Microsoft’s Lifecycle Support Policy. At that time, Bamboo stopped enhancements to our SharePoint 2007 product line, but continues to provide support and bug fixes to customers with active support contracts until October 2017. Previously purchased licenses will continue to function after October 2017, but support for these products will end, and no additional bug fixes will be provided beyond that time. Bamboo plans to cease selling new licenses and annual support contacts for its SharePoint 2007 products in October 2016 to ensure customers will be eligible to receive support for at least one year after purchase.	Microsoft plans to end mainstream support for SharePoint 2010 in October 2015. See Microsoft’s Lifecycle Support Policy. At that time, we will stop any enhancements for our SharePoint 2010 product line but will continue to provide support and bug fixes for our SharePoint 2010 products to customers with active support contracts until October 2020. Previously purchased licenses will continue to function after October 2020, but support for these products will end, and no additional bug fixes will be provided beyond that time. Bamboo plans to cease selling new licenses and annual support contacts for its SharePoint 2010 products in October 2019 to ensure customers will be eligible to receive support for at least one year after purchase.	Bamboo Solutions has also begun releasing Bamboo Apps to the SharePoint Store, for additional details, see the SharePoint Apps & Mobile products page where you can get the latest info about each of our Apps as they release to the Microsoft Store. A separate installation package and license key is required for SharePoint 2013 deployment. For additional details, review the following knowledge base articles: How to Migrate Your Bamboo Products to SharePoint 2013 How to Move Bamboo Product Licenses to SharePoint 2013

WSSv3/MOSS

SharePoint 2010

SharePoint 2013

Release Notes

Microsoft ended mainstream support for SharePoint 2007 in October 2012. See Microsoft’s Lifecycle Support Policy.
At that time, Bamboo stopped enhancements to our SharePoint 2007 product line, but continues to provide support and bug fixes to customers with active support contracts until October 2017. Previously purchased licenses will continue to function after October 2017, but support for these products will end, and no additional bug fixes will be provided beyond that time. Bamboo plans to cease selling new licenses and annual support contacts for its SharePoint 2007 products in October 2016 to ensure customers will be eligible to receive support for at least one year after purchase.

Microsoft plans to end mainstream support for SharePoint 2010 in October 2015. See Microsoft’s Lifecycle Support Policy. At that time, we will stop any enhancements for our SharePoint 2010 product line but will continue to provide support and bug fixes for our SharePoint 2010 products to customers with active support contracts until October 2020. Previously purchased licenses will continue to function after October 2020, but support for these products will end, and no additional bug fixes will be provided beyond that time. Bamboo plans to cease selling new licenses and annual support contacts for its SharePoint 2010 products in October 2019 to ensure customers will be eligible to receive support for at least one year after purchase.

Bamboo Solutions has also begun releasing Bamboo Apps to the SharePoint Store, for additional details, see the SharePoint Apps & Mobile products page where you can get the latest info about each of our Apps as they release to the Microsoft Store.

A separate installation package and license key is required for SharePoint 2013 deployment. For additional details, review the following knowledge base articles:

Understanding Bamboo Releases:

Bamboo offers Trial, Basic and Premium support.
- Free Trial support expires after 30 days.
- For more information about Basic and Premium support, please see the Support Plans page.
- There may be a fee to upgrade from a major version to another.

See Also:

Downloading and Installing the Suite License Package

The Suite License package for your version of SharePoint is available in My Bamboo. To download and extract your license package:

Log in to My Bamboo using the information provided when you purchased your Bamboo Suite.
Click Toolkits, Suites and Libraries.
In the Product Licenses section, click the order that corresponds to the Bamboo Suite you want to install. This will load the files related to that order.
In the License Packages and Related Files section, click the Download link for your Suite License package and save the file to a folder on your SharePoint server.
Navigate to the folder where you saved the license package and double-click the self-extracting .EXE file. The contents of the file will be extracted to the same folder as the .EXE file and the Setup program will start. You can also manually start the Setup program by double-clicking the Setup.bat file in the extracted folder.

Once you have downloaded and extracted the license package, install the Suite License. The Suite License provides the ability to activate all products included in your Bamboo Suite with a single license key. You can install the Suite License before installing any Suite products. Use the Setup program provided with the Suite License package to install the Suite License.

Where to run the installer for this component:

The Bamboo Suite License installer must be run on one front-end Web server in the SharePoint farm where the SharePoint 2007 Windows SharePoint Services Web Application, the SharePoint 2010 Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Web Application service, or the SharePoint 2013 Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Web Application service is running. Check SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration Topology and Services or SharePoint 2010 Central Administration System Settings for a list of servers running this service.

Required permissions for the installation user account:

Must be a member of the local server’s Administrators group.

Must be a member of the SharePoint Farm Administrators group.

Installation instructions:

Step	Action
1.	In the Setup program, select the Suite License item in the Setup Components list and click Install.
2.	Read the information in the first installation screen and click Next.
3.	A system check is performed to determine if your server is ready for installation. Once all checks are successful, click Next. If a system check fails, click Abort, fix any problems, and then restart the installation.
4.	Review and accept the End-User License Agreement and click Next.
5.	The Suite License is installed. When installation is finished, click Next.
6.	Setup displays an installation summary screen. Check that the solution was successfully deployed, and then click Close.

Once you have installed the Suite License, install the Bamboo Web License Manager.

De-Activating the Suite/Toolkit License

Each Suite License key is valid on a single SharePoint Web front-end server. If you want to move a Suite License from one server to another, you must deactivate the key on one server and activate it on another.

NOTE: If your SharePoint environment is installed on a virtual machine and you revert to a previous version of the VM, you do NOT have to reactivate a license that was activated offline as long as you revert to a version where the same installation of SharePoint is present. You can simply re-enter the activation key you received during the offline activation process. If you reinstall SharePoint on your VM (or if you lost the original activation key), you must deactivate and reactive the license key. If your original SharePoint instance is no longer available to deactivate the license, or if your server does not have Internet access, follow the instructions in Step 5 below for deactivating your license offline.

Step	Action	Result
1.	Open SharePoint Central Administration.	Make sure you have the proper access rights to log in.
2.	Depending on your platform, do the following:
SharePoint 2007:	Click the Operations link. In the Bamboo Solutions Corporation section, click Bamboo Web License Manager.
SharePoint 2010\|2013:	In the Bamboo Solutions section in Central Administration, click Manage My License Keys.
SharePoint 2013:	the Bamboo Solutions section in Central Administration, click Manage My License Keys.
3.	In the Bamboo Web License Manager page, expand the Suites and Packs item and click the link for the Suite you purchased.	Click the Status link to display the Activation page for the server you want to deactivate.
4.	You can deactivate your license online if your server has an Internet connection, or offline if it does not. Follow the instructions below for whichever applies to your server:
5.	To deactivate your license online:	In the Activation page, click the Deactivate button.
5.	To deactivate your license offline:	Log in to My Bamboo and click Manage License. Enter the License Key in the Deactivate Your License tool and click the magnifying glass icon to verify your license. After verifying your license, click the Deactivate button. If you do not have your original key, you can find it in My Bamboo. NOTE: Your Bamboo Suite license key was provided by your Bamboo Account Manager when you purchased the product. For your convenience, the license key is also available in My Bamboo. Log in to My Bamboo and click Toolkits, Suites and Libraries. The keys associated with your original Bamboo Suite order are listed in the Product Licenses section. Each key is valid for a single Web front-end server.

The Suite license has now been deactivated and can be activated on another server or SharePoint installation.

Complementary Products for Essentials Suite

You will find many of our products complement each other quite nicely saving you the time and trouble to write custom code. With Bamboo at the heart of your SharePoint investment, you gain access to a huge catalog of enhancements, components, and accessories that add the critical functionality your business requires.

The same components can be easily used in future applications and they all come from a single, trusted vendor, ensuring an easy purchase process and support you can count on. That’s the Bamboo Way!

Before you uninstall

IMPORTANT: Before you uninstall a Bamboo product, make sure that it is no longer in use on any site in your farm. If a web part resides on a page and you uninstall the web part, an error will be displayed for users that visit that page. The uninstall process does not update individual pages in your SharePoint portal.

Also, if you uninstall Workflow Conductor (WFC) and some workflows built with WFC are still active, those workflows will fail.

You have several choices for how to uninstall your Bamboo product:

Option	Comment
Use the Updated Uninstall Process for Bamboo components	Based on feedback from our customers, Bamboo introduced updated install/uninstall processes for component products (web parts). Instead of the Setup.exe Installation Application, we now supply two PowerShell scripts – one for Install/Upgrade and the other for Uninstall – to be used to install, upgrade, or uninstall the product. For more information, see Overview of the Updated Installation Process for Bamboo components.
Bamboo Installation Package	IMPORTANT: As of April 2017, Bamboo no longer includes the Installation/Setup program in product download packages. You can use the Bamboo product installation package that you used to install the product to uninstall. This is the preferred method, because it performs some automated system checks to help ensure the uninstall will be successful. It also steps you through each component, so its easier to make sure everything is uninstalled. See Using the Setup program to Uninstall for more information.
SharePoint Central Administration	Many Bamboo products are deployed as SharePoint solutions, so you can retract and remove them from Central Administration. See Uininstalling from SharePoint Central Administration for more information.
PowerShell	Some Bamboo products are packaged with a PowerShell script that you can use to uninstall. See Manually uninstall using PowerShell for more information.
stsadm	If you prefer, you can use stsadm commands to retract and delete Bamboo SharePoint solutions. See Manually uninstall using stsadm for more information.
Add/Remove Programs	Some Bamboo products include components that are installed using an EXE or MSI installer. See Uninstalling a Bamboo .msi or .exe for more information.

Depending on the uninstall method you choose, there may be a solution left behind after the install. This is intentional, as several Bamboo products use some of the same components. See What is left behind after uninstalling? for more information and steps for how to uninstall completely.

About the Installation Files

Options for Installing

image showing install files for Tree View web part When you extract the product EXE to a location on your SharePoint server, several folders are created that contain installation files and Setup program configuration files. The root level of the extracted file system includes the file Setup.bat, which launches the Setup program. The list below shows the installation files for the Tree View Web Part, as an example.

For manual installation, you will access the following folders that contain installation files:

Component.wsp: There may be several folders with names ending in .wsp, depending on your product. Each WSP folder contains the installation files for a specific SharePoint Solution. One or more SharePoint Solutions may be installed for each product component.
docs: Contains the Installation and Licensing Quick Start Guide.
misc: The MISC folder includes miscellaneous files, including PowerShell scripts for manually installing or uninstalling the product.
msi: If a MSI folder exists for your product, it could contain multiple files ending in .msi. Each is an installation executable. Some MSI installers in the msi installation folder have both a 32-bit and a 64-bit version. The 64-bit version will include .x64 in the file name. Run the version of the MSI that is appropriate for your operating system. Do not install both.
res: Contains files required by the Setup program but not necessarily needed during a manual install.