If you haven't been under a rock for the last bunch of years and have heard of SharePoint, then you should know Microsoft has a free download available for Windows SharePoint Services 3 and MOSS. The download includes 40 templates to use in SharePoint. From employee management, to vacation requests to project management, they are there and all free. Click here to download from Microsoft's site.

To install these freebies, there are two different methods you must use. Half of the templates are .stp files, which can be uploaded directly to the Site Templates library in SharePoint (go to Site Actions > Site Settings). The other 20 are .wsp files, which are feature files and need to be installed on the server console directly.

Once you have the .wsp files on the server and you're at the console (or remote desktop), you need to run three commands to install the application base, then two sets of commands per wsp you want to install. This can be a lot of fun since that's 43 commands to enter. I've written a little batch script that will install all of the templates for you, and all you have to do is run it!

@Echo Off
@SET stsadm="c:-program files-common files-microsoft shared-web server extensions-12-bin-stsadm.exe"

Echo Installing ApplicationTemplateCore.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename ApplicationTemplateCore.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name ApplicationTemplateCore.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate
%stsadm% -o copyappbincontent

Echo Installing AbsenceVacationSchedule.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename AbsenceVacationSchedule.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name AbsenceVacationSchedule.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing BudgetingTrackingMultipleProjects.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename BudgetingTrackingMultipleProjects.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name BudgetingTrackingMultipleProjects.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing BugDatabase.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename BugDatabase.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name BugDatabase.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing CallCenter.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename CallCenter.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name CallCenter.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing ChangeRequest.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename ChangeRequest.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name ChangeRequest.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing ComplianceProcessSupport.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename ComplianceProcessSupport.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name ComplianceProcessSupport.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing ContactsManagement.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename ContactsManagement.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name ContactsManagement.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing DocumentLibraryReview.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename DocumentLibraryReview.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name DocumentLibraryReview.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing EventPlanning.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename EventPlanning.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name EventPlanning.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing ExpenseReimbursementApproval.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename ExpenseReimbursementApproval.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name ExpenseReimbursementApproval.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing HelpDesk.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename HelpDesk.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name HelpDesk.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing InventoryTracking.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename InventoryTracking.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name InventoryTracking.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing ITTeamWorkspace.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename ITTeamWorkspace.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name ITTeamWorkspace.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing JobRequisition.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename JobRequisition.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name JobRequisition.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing KnowledgeBase.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename KnowledgeBase.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name KnowledgeBase.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing LendingLibrary.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename LendingLibrary.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name LendingLibrary.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing PhysicalAssetTracking.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename PhysicalAssetTracking.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name PhysicalAssetTracking.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing ProjectTrackingWorkspace.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename ProjectTrackingWorkspace.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name ProjectTrackingWorkspace.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing RoomEquipmentReservations.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename RoomEquipmentReservations.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name RoomEquipmentReservations.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

Echo Installing SalesLeadPipeline.wsp
%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename SalesLeadPipeline.wsp
%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name SalesLeadPipeline.wsp -allowgacdeployment -immediate

iisreset



Open NotePad and copy the above into it. Save it as installWSP.bat in the directory with all of the WSP files in it and then run it on the server. If all goes as planned it should install them all.

Important Notes:
  • Modify the second line to the path of where the stsadm tool is located. The above is the default location. Change the dashes (-) to back slashes, which this blog editor cannot display.
  • This will restart your IIS services so warn users if they're in SharePoint or other web applications on the same server.
  • If an error occurs for whatever reason, you can comment out the @Echo (::@Echo) and put a 'pause' in there somewhere. This will show all input and responses as well as pause the screen so it remains open. You can keep running the script if some were already installed, it will error stating it already exists.

I hope this helps! If you're looking for further support on your SharePoint install or would like further customizations, please contact us for information on SharePoint administration and customizations.