Upon using one of the 40 application templates provided by Microsoft, you may be wondering where the site content types are, with which these templates are build. The site content types belong to the site content type group _Hidden: hence they are not visible on the site content types page.

This can be annoying in following scenarios:

• If you want to create a new site content type which has as parent content type one of those hidden site content types, you can't.


• If you want to limit the data displayed in a Content Query Web Part on a certain page in your sites, you cannot filter on the Content Type for those hidden site content types.

To move the site content types included in the 40 application templates out of the _Hidden site content type group, follow these steps:

1. Go to the directory %Program Files%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\TEMPLATE\FEATURES\TSATypes


2. Open the CTypes.xml file with an editor.


3. Search for the Site Content Type that you would like to make visible in the GUI. I'll give the example with the Service Request Site Content Type of the Helpdesk Application Template.


4. In the Content Type tag, replace the value for the site content type group (which is set to _Hidden) with the value $Resources:core,List_Content_Types;
   


5. Execute following script (it deactivates and reactivates the tsatypes feature and executes an iisreset:
   

   echo off
   @set PATH=C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN;%PATH%
   @if "%1"=="" (goto invalidParameters)
   stsadm -o deactivatefeature -filename "tsatypes\feature.xml" -url %1
   stsadm -o activatefeature -filename "tsatypes\feature.xml" -url %1
   iisreset
   @goto endOfBatch
   :invalidParameters
   

   @echo Please call with the correct parameters.
   @echo The correct syntax of this command is:
   @echo tsatypes [siteurl]
   

   :endOfBatch

Go to Site Actions -> Site Settings -> Site content types: the Service Request Site Content Type is visible on the page in the group List Content Types. Hence it can be used as parent content type for new site content types.

In the Content Query Web Part, the Service Request Site Content Type can be chosen to filter on: choose List Content Types in the dropdown box Show items of this content type group and choose the Service Request Site Content Type in the dropdown box Show items of this content type.