Browsing SharePoint Connections Using Server Explorer
You can now browse local SharePoint connections in Server Explorer. By using this technique, you can navigate through the components of a SharePoint site on your system. SharePoint site components, such as list definitions and content types, appear in a node that's named SharePoint Connections in the tree view of Server Explorer. To display Server Explorer, on the menu bar, choose View, Server Explorer. In addition to displaying the SharePoint site components, you can remove items, view their properties, or refresh the tree view by using commands on the shortcut menu.
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Every component of a SharePoint site is represented by a node in the Server Explorer tree view under SharePoint Connections. For example, default SharePoint sites include a content type called Discussion, which represents a discussion type that displays in the Discussions page of the SharePoint site. The Discussion content type contains several fields. To view these fields in Server Explorer, expand the ContentTypes node, and then the Discussion node. Under it are several field nodes, such as Body, Discussion Subject, and Title.
Each node has a shortcut menu that you access by right-clicking the node or choosing it and then choosing the Shift+F10 keys. Node commands may include the following:
| Command Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Refresh | Updates the tree view to reflect any changes that may have occurred since the last time the node was displayed. |
| Delete | Removes the selected node from the tree view. Note: This command is enabled only on SharePoint connections listed under the SharePoint Connections node. |
| Properties | Displays the available properties for the selected node in the Properties window. The properties are all read-only, and not every node has properties associated with it. |
| Add Connection | Allows you to specify a SharePoint site that you want to browse. Available on the SharePoint Connections node and sub-site nodes. |
| View in Browser | Displays the selected list in the Web browser. This command is available on some lists under the Lists node which is contained in Lists and Libraries. |
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| How to: Add or Remove SharePoint Connections | Describes the steps that are required for adding a new SharePoint site to the SharePoint Connections node in Server Explorer. |