Working With Site Columns On SharePoint Using PnP PowerShell

In this post, you will learn, how we can create, retrieve and delete the site columns on SharePoint sites, using PnP PowerShell. Also you will see how to add site column to a site content type. The Client Side Object Model is used internally for these operations. The update operation is not available for the site columns.

Prerequisite:

You need to have PowerShell 3.0 available on a Windows machine. You need to install or import PnP PowerShell packages. You can download the installers or view more documentation on the official site. The installers are available here. Online version installer is preferred for on premise or office 365 operations. You can also install all three installers for testing (SharePoint 2013, 2016, online).

The following operations will be compatible with SharePoint 2013 on premise and Office 365 versions.

Connect To Site:

Connect to the site, using the snippet, given below. The PnP PowerShell code, given below, helps in getting the current context of the site, using the Client Side Object Model (CSOM).

1. $siteurl = "https://abc.sharepoint.com"  
2. Connect-SPOnline -Url $siteurl  
3. $ctx = Get-SPOContext  

Once connected, you can carry out any of the operations mentioned below, based on the requirement.

Create Site Column:

The columns can be created on the site collections by setting the context, using the site URL. PnP CSOM PowerShell can be used to complete the operation.

Add-SPOField command is used to create the site columns on SharePoint sites. The required parameters to create the new site column are display name, internal name, group and type. The column can be made as mandatory using required parameter. The new values can be passed as the parameters. In my example, I have created new site column called "PnPTextColumn" which is text type.

1. Add-SPOField -DisplayName "PnPTextColumn" -InternalName "PnPTextColumn" -Group "PnPGroup" -Type Text -Required  

The below code snippet shows creating new column with choice type. Similarly other field types can be created.

1. Add-SPOField -DisplayName "PnPColorColumn" -InternalName "PnPColorColumn" -Group "PnPGroup" -Type Choice -Choices @("red","blue","green")  

 As of now only few properties can be supported for creating site columns.

The below image shows creating new site column using PowerShell.



The below image shows the site column created. The page can be accessed from http://siteurl/_layouts/15/mngfield.aspx.

Retrieve Site Columns:

The site columns can be retrieved using PnP commands. Get-SPOField command is used to get all the site columns available on the SharePoint site collection. The identity parameter is used to retrieve specific site columns. The properties like title, internal name, default value, description, is required can be accessed.

The below code snippet shows getting all the site columns from the site.

1. Get-SPOField  

 The below code snippet shows getting a site column using column name.

1. $field = Get-SPOField -Identity "PnPTextColumn"  
2. Write-Host "Title " $field.Title  
3. Write-Host "Internal Name" $field.InternalName  
4. Write-Host "Default value " $field.DefaultValue  
5. Write-Host "Description " $field.Description  
6. Write-Host "Is Required" $field.Required  

The below image shows the get operation for birthday field or column.

Add Site Column To Content Type:

The site columns can be added to site content types. The column and content type should exist before adding. Add - SPOFieldToContentType command is used in adding the fields as site columns to content types. The below code snippet shows adding text column to a content type using names.

1. Add-SPOFieldToContentType -Field "PnPTextColumn" -ContentType "PnPContentType"  

The below code snippet shows adding field to content type using identities.

1. $colorColumn = Get-SPOField -Identity "PnPColorColumn"  
2. $pnpCT = Get-SPOContentType -Identity "PnPContentType"  
3. Add-SPOFieldToContentType -Field $colorColumn -ContentType $pnpCT 

Delete Site Column:

The site column can be deleted from SharePoint site or sub site, using PnP PowerShell. Remove-SPOField is used to delete the columns (fields). The field name is passed for deleting the column. The name or ID can be passed with the command, using the identity parameter. The force attribute is used to delete the field without any confirmation prompts.

1. Remove-SPOField -Identity "PnPTextColumn" -Force  

Working With SharePoint Web Scoped Features Using PnP PowerShell

In this post, you will learn, how we can retrieve, activate or deactivate Web scoped features on SharePoint site or sub sites, using PnP PowerShell. The Client Side Object Model is used internally for these operations.

Prerequisite:

You need to have PowerShell 3.0 available on a Windows machine. You need to install or import PnP PowerShell packages. You can download the installers or view more documentation on the official site. The installers are available here. Online version installer is preferred for On Premise or Office 365 operations. You can also install all the three installers for testing (SharePoint 2013, 2016, online).

The following operations will be compatible with SharePoint 2013 On Premise and Office 365 versions.

Connect To Site:

Connect to the site, using the snippet, given below. PnP PowerShell code, given below, helps in getting the current context of the site, using the Client Side Object Model (CSOM).

1. #Get Current Context Site (Root or subsite)  
2. $siteurl = "https://abc.sharepoint.com/subsite"  
3. Connect-SPOnline -Url $siteurl  
4. $ctx = Get-SPOContext  

Since, we are working with the features with Web Scope, the site URL can be the site collection or sub sites available. Once connected, you can carry out any of the operations mentioned below, based on the requirement.

Retrieve Web Scope Features:

The Web scoped features active on the site or sub sites are retrieved in the operation, given below. Get-SPOFeature command is used to get all the features from the site. Since, we are retrieving the Web scoped features, the scope parameter is not required in this operation.

Each and every feature information is retrieved, using for each loop. The display name and definition Id are retrieved from the features. The code snippet given below helps retrieving all the Web scoped features from the site or sub site, specified in the context.

1. function RetrieveFeatures(){  
2.     # Get Web Scoped features  
3.     $features = Get-SPOFeature -Scope Web  
4.     Write-Host "Total active features count " $features.Count  
5.     foreach($feature in $features){  
6.         Write-Host "Feature Name : " $feature.DisplayName  
7.         Write-Host "Feature ID   : " $feature.DefinitionId  
8.     }  
9.       
10. }  
11. RetrieveFeatures #Get all web scoped features from site   

The feature can be retrieved, using the identity. The identity can be the feature name or Id. The scope parameter is optional. Though, Web is passed as a scope. The following code snippet retrieves the feature, using the feature Id.

1. function RetrieveFeature(){  
2.     $features = Get-SPOFeature -Scope Web  
3.     # Check whether FollowingContent feature is active  
4.     $feature = Get-SPOFeature -Identity a7a2793e-67cd-4dc1-9fd0-43f61581207a -Scope Web  
5.     if($feature.DisplayName -ne $null){  
6.         Write-Host $feature.DisplayName " feature is active"          
7.     }  
8.     else{  
9.         Write-Host "Couldn't find info about feature id. Feature is not active"  
10.     }  
11. }  
12. RetrieveFeature #Get web scoped feature from site using feature id   

Enable Web Scope Feature:

The feature can be activated, using PnP PowerShell script. Enable-SPOFeature command is used to activate the features. Along with the command, the necessary parameter is the identity. The identity is the feature Id. The scope is an optional parameter.

The code snippet, given below, helps in activating the feature at the Web scope.

1. function EnableFeature(){  
2.     # Active Mobile View web feature  
3.     Enable-SPOFeature -Identity d95c97f3-e528-4da2-ae9f-32b3535fbb59 -Scope Web  
4.   
5.     $feature = Get-SPOFeature -Identity d95c97f3-e528-4da2-ae9f-32b3535fbb59 -Scope Web
6.     if($feature.DisplayName -ne $null){  
7.         Write-Host $feature.DisplayName " feature is activated"  
8.     }  
9.     else{  
10.         Write-Host "Feature is not activated"  
11.     }  
12. }  
13. EnableFeature # Activates Mobile View web feature using feature id   

The image, given below, shows the operation.

The image, given below, shows the activated feature. The URL is required to access the Web scope feature.




Disable Web Scope Feature:

The feature can be deactivated, using PnP PowerShell script. Disable-SPOFeature command is used to deactivate the features. Along with the command, the necessary parameter is the identity. The identity is the feature Id. The scope is an optional parameter.

The code snippet, given below, helps in deactivating the feature at the Web scope.

1. function DisableWebFeature(){  
2.       
3.     Disable-SPOFeature -Identity d95c97f3-e528-4da2-ae9f-32b3535fbb59 -Scope Web  
4.       
5.     $feature = Get-SPOFeature -Identity d95c97f3-e528-4da2-ae9f-32b3535fbb59 -Scope Web
6.     if($feature.DisplayName -eq $null){  
7.         Write-Host $feature.DisplayName " feature is deactivated"  
8.     }  
9.     else{  
10.         Write-Host "Feature is still active"  
11.     }  
12. }  
13. DisableWebFeature # Deactivates Mobile View web feature using feature id  

Note: The operations will be compatible for SharePoint 2013/2016 On Premise / SharePoint online sites.

Create, Retrieve, Update Or Delete Sites On SharePoint Using PnP PowerShell

In this post, you will learn, how we can create, retrieve, update and delete SharePoint sites, using PnP PowerShell. The Client Side Object Model is used internally for these operations.

Prerequisite:

You need to have PowerShell 3.0, available on Windows machine. You need to install or import PnP PowerShell packages. You can download the installers or cmdlets from the official site.

The following operations will be compatible for SharePoint 2013 / 2016 on-premise or Office 365 versions.

Connect To Site:

Connect to the site, using the snippet, given below. The below PnP PowerShell code helps in getting the current context of the site, using the client side object model (CSOM).

1. $siteurl = "https://abc.sharepoint.com"  
2. Connect-SPOnline -Url $siteurl  
3. $ctx = Get-SPOContext   

Once connected, you can carry out any of the operations, mentioned below, based on the requirement.

Create Sub Site:

From the existing site collection, the sub sites can be created. The same can be accomplished, using PnP CSOM PowerShell.

New-SPOWeb command is used to create sub sites on SharePoint sites. The necessary parameters to create the site are Title, URL and template. Other parameters, that can be passed to create site are description, break inheritance etc.

There are two ways to create a site. When the command New-SPOWeb is entered on the PowerShell, you will be prompted for the parameters. The site will be created.

Other way of creating the site is to pass the parameters along with the command. The following command helps in creating a sub site.

1. New-SPOWeb -Title "PnPSite1" -Description "PnPDescription1" -Url "PnPSite1" -Template "STS#0"    

Retrieve Site or Sub Site:

From the site collection, the sub site properties can be retrieved. The same can be accomplished, using PnP CSOM PowerShell.

Get-SPOWeb is used to retrieve the sub site properties. Along with the command, the sub site name or the URL is passed to retrieve the information. When the command is just passed without any parameters, the current site properties will be retrieved.

The basic properties which can be retrieved using the command are title, GUID, URL.

The following PowerShell code snippet helps to retrieve the site properties:

1. $siteurl = "https://abc.sharepoint.com"  
2. Connect-SPOnline -Url $siteurl  
3. $ctx = Get-SPOContext  
4. #Get Current Context Site (Root)  
5. function RetrieveSite(){  
6.     $web = Get-SPOWeb  
7.     Write-Host "Title : " $web.Title  
8.     Write-Host "Description : " $web.Description  
9.     Write-Host "URL : " $web.Url  
10. }  
11. #Get Sub Site  
12. function RetrieveSubSite(){  
13.     $web = Get-SPOWeb "PnPSite1"  
14.     Write-Host "Title : " $web.Title  
15.     Write-Host "Description : " $web.Description  
16.     Write-Host "URL : " $web.Url  
17. }  
18. RetrieveSite #Get Current Context Site (Root)  
19. RetrieveSubSite #Get Sub Site   

Update Site:

From the site collection, the sub site properties can be updated. The same can be accomplished, using PnP CSOM PowerShell.

To change the site properties, retrieve the corresponding site, using title or URL. The parameters are not required, if you are trying to change the current context site (root) properties.

Update the site with the necessary parameters, using Set-SPOWeb.

The parameters that can be changed are title, site logo URL.

The following PowerShell snippet helps to update the site or sub site properties.

1. $siteurl = "https://abc.sharepoint.com"  
2. Connect-SPOnline -Url $siteurl  
3. $ctx = Get-SPOContext  
4. #Update Current Site  
5. function UpdateSite(){  
6.     $web = Get-SPOWeb  
7.     Set-SPOWeb -Web $web -Title "Title Update"  
8. }  
9. #Update Sub Site  
10. function UpdateSubSite(){  
11.     $web = Get-SPOWeb "/PnPSite1"  
12.     Set-SPOWeb -Web $web -Title "PnPSite1 Update"  
13. }  
14.  
15. # Call above Functions  
16. UpdateSite #Update Current Site  
17. UpdateSubSite #Update Sub Site  

Delete Site:

From the site collection, the sub sites can be deleted. The same can be accomplished, using PnP CSOM PowerShell.

The parameter that needs to passed is an identity. By using Remove-SPOWeb command, the site or sub site can be deleted.

The following PowerShell snippet helps to delete the site from the site collection.

1. $siteurl = "https://abc.sharepoint.com"  
2. Connect-SPOnline -Url $siteurl  
3. $ctx = Get-SPOContext  
4. # Delete site  
5. function DeleteSubSite(){  
6.     Remove-SPOWeb -Identity "PnPSite1" -Force      
7. }