You can build and store custom .aspx pages and Web applications in the following directory, which supports the _layouts virtual directory:

Local_Drive:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\12\TEMPLATE\LAYOUTS

Pages in this directory are accessible from all Web sites in the Windows SharePoint Services deployment through a URL in the following form:

http://Server/[sites/][Site]/[SubSite]/[.../]_layouts/File_Name.aspx

For code that involves use of only the Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration namespace for working with global settings in a Windows SharePoint Services deployment, it is recommended that you create the Web application on the administrative port. Build and store .aspx pages and Web applications for the administrative port in the following directory:

Local_Drive:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\12\TEMPLATE\ADMIN

Pages in the \ADMIN directory are accessible through a URL in the following form:

http://Server:Port_#/_admin/File_Name.aspx

For information about how to create a Web application in Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 that runs in the context of Windows SharePoint Services, see Getting Started with Programmatically Customizing a SharePoint Web Site in Visual Studio.

Console applications can be created anywhere on the front-end Web server. For information about how to create a console application that runs in the context of Windows SharePoint Services, see How to: Create a Console Application.

Other Resources