SharePoint Flex is made up of Lists, each with custom Web Parts that register data or perform a particular function on that data.
The philosophy behind SharePoint Flex is two-fold: modular and relational – modular in the choice of Lists and the Web Parts used that make up the final product, and relational in the internal relationships that have been programmed at the List and field levels.
Sub-Sites
The expression “it can be used to create a sub-site” means that when it is installed it becomes the subsite and then it is used as an application. There is no need to add any other Lists or Web parts unless there is some reason to integrate them with our Flex Application. Note: not all third party Web Parts and Lists will work out of the box with our application.
Configuration Rules
There is a level of configuration that can be done within Flex as long as the rules are followed, particularly as they refer to entries within our Settings File.
Relationships
Our relationship constructs and components mark a departure from how SharePoint processes list data out-of-the-box; as such, relationships are not native to SharePoint. We offer both a direct relationship (as in Parent/Child) and also a flexible multi-purpose dynamic relationship capabilities that are configurable by each client for their own purposes.
Columns
In this Guide, we use the term “Column” which is often interchangeably used with the term “Field”. Both terms represent SharePoint List Columns. Columns (fields) may be added and data copied down from list to list, viewed from other Lists. This aids in the transfer of data and in the significant usability of the system. Some mapping connections can also be carried out in Advanced Flex Settings list.
Items
An Item in SharePoint is also commonly recognized as a database record (ex: ABC Recycling is an item that appears in a list called Accounts). In Flex, items are related to each other in a variety of ways.
Another example of an item is a Contact person, such as Bill Smith who is related to an Account or a Task, Interaction, Calendar Item or Note. These are all considered Items in SharePoint Flex.
Parent/Child Items
A parent is an item that appears in a List which is at the top of the relationship hierarchy provided in a Flex Template, such as an Account. However there are some items that play both the parent role and the child role, such as Contacts and Opportunities because they have items that relate to them, such as Interactions, Tasks, Calendar Items and Notes.
Some records always play the “child” role, such as Interactions, Tasks, Calendar Items and Notes.
Look and Feel
Personalize the colors, logo, form design, list displays and more to match your corporate image and business processes.
For more advanced personalization requirements, the quickest/easiest way is to modify the master page. There are several guides on the Internet on how to do this with SharePoint sites.
Basically, adding custom .css files should be fine, but removing HTML elements should be viewed with caution as it could prevent the system from working correctly. This is applicable to both vanilla SharePoint and SharePoint Flex. For example, you don’t want to remove the “Site Actions” menu element nor would you want to remove our reference to CRMSideBar from the master page. Our rule is that if you don’t know what you are removing then you shouldn’t be doing it.