Why you should use tools like SPCAF when developing for the SharePoint framework

Just want to say that I’m not affiliated with Rencore in any way, and I write this review on my own merit – not being asked or forced to do so :-)

Being an Office Server and Services MVP I know most of the guys at Rencore, and have for a long time. As I’ve been part of the SharePoint Framework preview program at Microsoft, the guys at Rencore asked me if I wanted to test out a beta version of SPCAF for the SharePoint Framework. As I’ve just completed a SPFx web part for an Ignite showcase I figured I’d give it a shot.

I first had some issues with the SPCAF license they gave me, but that got fixed fairly quick. These guys know how to provide stellar support for sure.

So what happened when I ran gulp spcaf in my project?

4 critical errors, 6 errors and 1 warning

The critical ones were related to custom web part properties which I had forgotten to add to the web part manifest, and one which was in the manifest, but I wasn’t using. The warning was due to I had specified both to use a font based icon and an image based icon for the web part – left overs from testing (and a bug filed). All easily fixed as it pointed me to the file needed fixing.

The 6 errors were related to dependencies for Office UI Fabric components I had forgot to list in the external list. I did have the main component listed which was done automatically when I added the package, but the specific components I had not thought about (Button, List, Spinner etc). I knew the file for this was config.json in the config folder, but would be nice if the report stated so as well. Rencore, you fix? :-)

So, all in all.. config errors, none real critical, but nice to have fixed for sure. And I’ll definitely continue to use SPCAF for future SPFx projects. It takes over where the linting of TypeScript ends. I give it two thumbs up!

“Meet the bttn–the simplest internet user interface in the world”

[Update 2015-03-11 with comments from bt.tn]

..and I will do a re-test with a newer version of the hardware in the near future. So, when reading the original post, keep in mind that the bttn I had might not have been what you see today.

[Update end]

….and at €69.00, perhaps one of the worst deals you can make(?). Luckily for me I borrowed it from a colleague, so his loss.



Basically what you have is a plastic fantastic big red button which hooks up to a WiFi network. When you hit the button it sends a signal over to bt.tn where you can configure the click to call some other service. For example a REST end-point.

The button is powered by 4xAA batteries and can easily be moved around.

Theoretically, this sounds pretty good. In practice not so much. Why? Read on!