Yes, this was a common requirement in SharePoint 2007 and there wasn’t an easy and supportable approach to achieve that. Now in SharePoint 2010, it’s as easy as calling a method, specifying the page that you want to replace (for instance: Signout, error, access denied, ..) ,the URL of your new custom page and that’s it!

The following feature receiver replaces the default SignOut page with a custom one on activation and resets the SignOut page to the default one on deactivation.

You can also replace other pages like AccessDenied.aspx, Confirmation.aspx, Error.aspx, Login.aspx, ReqAcc.aspx, SignOut.aspx or WebDeleted.aspx by specifying a member of SPWebApplication.SPCustomPage enum.

Interesting, eh ?

As you might know, in SharePoint 2010, you can add status messages in the OOB status bar that renders just below the ribbon and the top navigation menu. There are lots of useful blog posts and tutorials showing how you can achieve that in javascript using SharePoint 2010 UI Framework. However, there is almost no tutorials or enough documentation about SPPageStatusSetter class which enables you to add status messages and achieve the same level of control from the server side using the powerful .NET server side languages.

Here is how you can do that using C# , the code is self-explanatory.

And here is the result:

Also note that SPPageStatusSetter class is in Microsoft.SharePoint.WebControls namespace which means that it’s not available in SandBoxed solutions.

SharePoint 2010 ships with a brand new framework for delivering compelling user experiences for custom applications created using the SharePoint platform. Waldek Mastykarz [SharePoint MVP] has done a great job highlighting some of the benefits of the UI framework and how developers can make use of it in custom applications.

Showing persistent messages using the SharePoint 2010 Status bar: SharePoint 2010 UI tip #1
Showing transient messages using the SharePoint 2010 Notification Area – SharePoint 2010 UI tip #2

I’ll be posting more about the new UI framework shortly, stay tuned!

Many folks asked me about Sandboxed solutions and whether they are good or bad. IMHO, they are neither good nor bad, but at least they are the only option for hosting scenarios . Besides, they make more sense for me than creating custom CAS policies.

In any case, to fully understand SharePoint Sandboxed solution, check the following resources (It will be more beneficial for you if you read them in the order specified):

1. SharePoint 2010 Sandbox solutions, the definitive guide by Sahil Malik
2. SharePoint 2010 Sandbox solutions are bad by Doug Ware
3. Sandbox solutions are pretty damn good by Sahil Malik (Make sure to read the comments)
4. A Reply to Sahil Malik’s Defense of the Sandbox Architecture by Doug Ware
5. You can deploy WebParts as Sandboxed solutions but … by Sahil Malik