About SharePoint 2010 Variations

The variations feature in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 makes content available to specific audiences on different sites by copying content from a source variation site to each target variation site. When users visit the root site, they are redirected to the appropriate variation site, based on the language setting of their Web browser. If necessary, the content can be customized on the target variation site. 

For example, content on a target variation site can be translated into other languages before it is published. 

Variations can be used only on SharePoint Server 2010 sites that are created with one of the Publishing site templates, or on sites for which the SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure feature has been enabled.

Uses and benefits of variations

Many organizations have a global reach. However, even in domestic markets, organizations must reach a diverse customer base that might speak many different languages or that might need to have specific information that is based on regional differences, on various mobile devices, or on corporate branding. These types of organizations need Web sites that deliver tailored content to suit different cultures, different markets, and different geographic regions. Producing and maintaining variations of a site can be difficult and time-consuming. By using variations as part of a SharePoint Server 2010 solution, site architects and site administrators can simplify the process of producing and maintaining these sites. The variations feature automates the creation of sites and pages, which eliminates having to manually create a site and all associated pages for each instance of a needed variation.

Scenarios for using variations

You can use variations to create different versions of similar content for users in many scenarios. The following table describes possible scenarios in which you might use variations.

Scenario	Description
Multiple languages	You can use variations to create sites and content for specific languages. In this scenario, the majority of the content is authored in the language of the source variation site and copied to some or all of the target variation sites for translation into different languages. For example, the content might be authored in English and be copied to target variations sites for translation into German, French and Spanish.
devices	You can customize the logic of the VariationRoot.aspx page to direct users to pages that are designed to work with different types of devices. For example, you might have target variation sites with pages designed for display on devices that have different screen sizes or screen resolutions.
Multiple locations  or brands	You can use variations to create content for specific locations or brands. For example, a rental car company might have target variation sites for all the cities in which they have branch offices. Most of the company information is the same across branches, so variations are used for those pages, while other content, such as special offers or promotions, is created on the target variation sites for which it is needed.

Elements of variations

The variations feature consists of the following elements:

• Variation root site   The variation root site provides the URL for all source and target variation sites and contains the landing page that redirects users to the correct variation site. This is not the same as the root site of a site collection, although you can specify the root site of a site collection to also be the root site of the variations hierarchy.
• Variation labels   A variation label is an identifier that names a new variation site. Variations of a site are defined by creating variation labels, one for each planned variation.
  Note: SharePoint Server 2010 supports up to 50 variation labels.
• Variation sites   The variation sites are the sites that are created based on the defined variation labels. There are two types of variation sites:
  
  
• Source variation site   The source variation site is the site where shared content is authored and published, and it is the site from which copies of the shared content are sent to the target variation sites. There can be only one source variation site in a single site collection. After a source variation site has been selected, it cannot be changed.
  
  
• Target variation sites   The target variation sites receive most of their content from the source variation site. Although new content can be created on a target variation site, that content is not shared with other sites and is unique to the site on which it was created.
• Variations hierarchy   The variations hierarchy is the entire set of sites in all variation labels.
• Variation pages   Variation pages are the publishing pages that are stored in the Pages library of the source variation site and the target variation sites. These pages and any dependent resources such as images and documents are the only content that is copied from the source variation site to the target variation sites.

see Create a variations site.

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About me: 
Vishnu Vadla, Dallas, TX.
SharePoint Consultant.
Specialized on Microsoft Technologies 
(SharePoint, ASP.NET, SQL Server Technologies)
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