CKS:Sandbox 1.0 is now live!

For those who haven't heard I started this project off a few weeks ago because I was frustrated with the complete and utter lack for any meaningful Sandbox Solution management in SharePoint 2010. Well, the fruits of my labours are now complete and the first major version of the CKS: Sandbox Tools Edition has now been launched!

If you want to download CKS:Sandbox, are looking for more information including install instructions, screenshots or documentation about how it works, then go visit our site: http://ckssandbox.codeplex.com/

What does CKS:Sandbox actually do?
Well, its main function is as a large library of Solution Validators. All of the source code is available (through CodePlex). The tool kit itself contains loads of goodies which are listed below:


CKS:Sandbox Version 1.0 includes the following functionality:

Validation Functionality
The highly configurable validation engine runs using SharePoint Solution Validators. This allows you to customise a set of rules that are checked each time someone tries to Activate a sandbox solution anywhere in the SharePoint Farm.

• Fully configurable Validation Rules allowing you to check Sandbox Solution Packages for:
  • Validate specific solutions using their unique Solution ID
  • Assembly Public Key Tokens to only allow specific SNK files to be used during development
  • Assembly names using wildcard matching.
  • You can validate the Type Namespaces for each type in the assembly, using wildcard matching, such as "Microsoft.SharePoint.*"
  • You can specify Blocked File Types by file extension (such as JS or XAML)
  • You can validate the content of each file in the solution using RegEx or Wildcard matching (such as blocking <script> tags)
• You can set the default Validation Behaviour allowing you to Allow All or Block All for the different Validation Rule types
• You can enable / disable Enforce Validation and choose whether to block solutions when a solution fails validation

Error Mesages and Emails

• You can enable / disable Email Notification and receive emails to a configurable email address when a solution fails validation
• Standard "CKS" error messages and pages are provided with the tool and displayed to end users if a solution is blocked during activation
  • You can use your own custom error messages by providing a URL to your own ASPX pages

Admin Tools

• The Manage Sandbox Solutions page allows you to view every single Sandbox Solution currently installed in your farm;
  • Grouped by Site Collection, showing the Name, URL and current Resource Point Quota
  • Provides a link to the Site Collection Solution Gallery where it is stored
  • Shows the Solution ID, Title and Description information
  • Shows the Activation status of each Solution, and how many Resource Points it has currently consumed.

Finally a quick thank you Wes Hackett, of the CKS:Dev team, for the CKS introduction!