Displaying and Filtering Lists in another SharePoint Site with SharePoint Designer 2007

By popular demand, I am dedicating this posting to the avid readers of the blog.

As mentioned in the title, we will be addressing how to display and filter ListItems contained in another SharePoint Site by using SharePoint Designer 2007.

This is a very easy way to maximize the use of a powerful tool such as SharePoint Designer 2007 is for SharePoint Technologies. Now, let's start customizing:

Connecting to another library

• Open SharePoint Designer 2007
  
• Click File -> Open Site
  
• Enter the URL of the SharePoint Site that we will customize
  
• Click the default.aspx Page
  
• Scroll down to the bottom of the TreeView
  
• Click the Connect to another library Link
  
• Click the Add Button
  
• Enter the Display Name for the Site
  
• Enter the URL of the SharePoint Site
  
• Click OK Button
  
• Click OK Button
  

Adding and Displaying the SharePoint List with the Data View Web Part

• Position the cursor where we desire the Data View Web Part to be displayed
  
• Click Insert -> SharePoint Controls –> Data View on the SharePoint Designer Top Menu
  
• Click the Data Source Library Tab located at the right corner of SharePoint Designer Toolbox
  
• Expand the Node corresponding to the recently created connection to another SharePoint Site
  
• Expand the Node named SharePoint Lists
  
• Hover over the desired SharePoint List to display
  
• Click the Show Data Link
  
• Select the SharePoint List Columns to display
  
• Drag and Drop them onto the Data View Web Part
  
• Click the Save Button on the SharePoint Designer 2007 Top Menu Toolbar
  
• A Message Box indicating that the current SharePoint Site will be customized is displayed
  
• Accept and Continue
  
• Refresh the Browser
  
• The SharePoint List is now displayed
  

Filtering the SharePoint List with the Data View Web Part

• Click the Data View Web Part
  
• Click the > Button
  
• Click the Filter Link
  
• A Filter Criteria Box is displayed
  
• Click the Click here to add a new clause Link
  
• Select from the Dropdown the Field Name to be used for filtering
  
• Select the desired value in the Comparison Dropdown
  
• Select the filtering value in the Value Dropdown
  
• Click OK Button
  

While this approach easily accomplishes the tasks of displaying and filtering a SharePoint List from another SharePoint Site, it can become an inconvenience for a SharePoint Administrator in a scenario in which multiple sites will require a specific filter for the SharePoint List.

Enjoy!