Unable to display this webpart + navigation add link not working in SharePoint 2010

One of our users has opened a ticket that some default functionality is not working as expected. If somebody mentioned as ‘default functionality’ then it means out of box and no customizations at all. Furthermore, probed the user and gathered the details.

-Issue was farm wide i.e. across all web applications / all site collections

Problem description:

User was trying to add one of the existing list/libraries link by means of navigation,

here are the complete details to reproduce the issue:

-Open the site

-site actions

-site settings

-Look and Feel

-Navigation

- Select either global navigation or current navigation

-Add link

-Click on Browse

-Two panes will be reflected i.e. left pane and right pane

-if you select any entity from the left side then it has to show in the right side but you will get the following error in the right side.

Error Message:

Unable to display this Web Part. To troubleshoot the problem, open this Web page in a Microsoft SharePoint Foundation-compatible HTML editor such as Microsoft SharePoint Designer. If the problem persists, contact your Web server administrator.

Correlation ID: xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxx

Resolution:

We have opened a ticket with Microsoft and got to know this is known issue and happening because of recently installed windows update: KB2844286

As per the information conveyed from them- "Both the SharePoint and .NET product groups are aware of the issue and they are in the process of fixing the patch"

Removing windows update: KB2844286 is the only solution at this time.

Once you remove the update then please restart the server. Thank you.

If you have any queries/questions regarding the above mentioned information then please let me know, I would be more than happy to help you as well as resolves your issues.

If you have any other resolution apart from the above mentioned then request you to please share so that it would be beneficial for others as well.

Security token service is not available- SP2010

Security token plays an important role with respect to authentication purpose, if this stops functioning then you will start getting so many tickets regarding access as well as critical tickets which are dependent on the same as few other services are also dependent on this service i.e. security token.

Here is the Microsoft link which talks about in details on security token:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee806864(v=office.14).aspx

While doing the sanity check across all front ends, we have noticed the security token service exception in the event viewer logs with respect to one of the server.

Here are the details:

Error message: Security token service is not available.

Checked the IIS status and found all the application pools and websites were in stopped status.

Started all the SharePoint entities which were in stopped status.

Checked the rule again and it was not there in the HA (Health Analyzer) list anymore.

Issue resolved, we are good now. Thank you.

Few IMP points which are essential while troubleshooting this issue:

In our case, the security token service was working initially without any issues and the farm was already built properly. But in your case, if it’s a newly built farm then it might be a hotfix issue as per this Microsoft article:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2493524

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh564135(v=office.14).aspx

If you have any queries regarding the above mentioned information then please let me know, I would be more than happy to help you as well as resolves your issues.

Also-if you have a different resolution regarding the same issue then request you to share the same so that it would be useful to other as well. Thank you.

Expired sessions are not being deleted, Health Analyzer Error in SharePoint 2010

Today we are going to discuss one of the errors that we have noticed in SharePoint Health Analyzer. as per that exception, here is the reflected information.

Exact Exception: Expired sessions are not being deleted from the ASP.NET Session State database.

Mentioned explanation: If expired sessions are not deleted, the server that hosts the ASP.NET Session State database may run out of disk space and the SharePoint farm may cease to function.

Remedy reflected: Connect to the server that hosts the ASP.NET Session State database, start the SQL Server Agent service, and verify that a DeleteExpiredSessions job is registered for the database. If you are using SQL Server Express, the SQL Server Agent service is not available. For more information about this rule, http://technet.microsoft.com/library/ff805085.aspx

Troubleshooting done:

Checked the timer job status named ‘State Service Delete Expired Sessions’

How we have checked this:

-Open SharePoint 2010 central administration

-Monitoring

-Timer Jobs

-Review Job definitions

-Check the job ‘State Service Delete Expired Sessions’

-By default it runs on hourly basis, so we have executed ‘Run now’ but that didn’t result any output.

Checked the stored procedure named ‘DeleteExpiredSessions’ is exist or not.

How we have checked this:

-Login to the SQL SERVER BOX by using farm account

-expand the list of databases

-look out for Session State database

-Expand the same database

-expand programmability

-expand stored procedures and you will find that above mentioned stored procedure name in that list.

-if it’s not listed there then we need to create that stored procedure.

Once you find that stored procedure then simply right click on it and execute it.

After this, simply go to the central administration-health analyser- click on that warning and select ‘reanalyse now’ option. That’s it.

Issue Resolved.

If you have any inputs regarding the above mentioned information then please share so that it would be useful for the whole SharePoint community.

In case of any queries/questions then please let me know, I would be more than happy to help you as well as resolves your issues, Thank you.

Product applies to:

SharePoint Server 2010

SharePoint Foundation 2010

Reference: http://technet.microsoft.com/library/ff805085.aspx

The specified file is larger than the maximum supported file size, Error while trying to upload a file in SharePoint 2010 site

Here we go with one more error message along with step-by-step resolution for the whole SharePoint community.

Problem description:

One of my departmental colleague is trying to upload a file in SharePoint site and getting the following error message:

Error message:

Server Error in ‘/’ Application

The specified file is larger than the maximum supported file size.

Imp notes:-

The error message is self explanatory for those who are well versed with the SharePoint functionality, but it is quite understandable to get the confusion for those who have recently migrated to this new SharePoint version, started learning SharePoint recently and so many reason.

But nothing to worry, that’s why I am here to provide the detail instructions as how we can resolve this issue completely.

Little background on this:-

If you are facing this error message then let me clear that this limit is already defined somewhere and that’s why you are getting this exception.

In SharePoint 2010, we have a central console from where we can control all the things which is termed as ‘Central Administration’

So let’s explore this central administration to find out this defined limit.

-Open the SharePoint 2010 Central Administration

-Application management

-manage web applications

-select the correct web application

-Top side- On the web application Ribbon

-click the down arrow and select General settings button

-Go to ‘maximum upload size’ section

By default its 50MB

-Enter the appropriate value as per your requirements and select OK

Note: This setting will be applicable for the complete web application i.e. applicable for all the site collections which are a part of that web application.

If you have any queries/questions regarding the above mentioned information then please let me know, I would be more than happy to help you as well as resolves your issues, Thank you…

Cannot find history for workflow with instanceId. It may have been removed from the database + Nintex 2010

One more NINTEX issue, today I am going to discuss some more details with respect to one workflow issue which has been configured using NINTEX.

Problem Description:

The “xxxname of the workflowxxx” workflow has ended unexpectedly for ‘xxxname of the itemxxx’.

“name of the workflow” failed to start.

Click here to view the workflow status.

As soon as we click on “click here to view workflow status” then we get the following exception.

Error Message:

Cannot find history for workflow with instanceId a39c080f-1215-47eb-7f7a-6242e3882e5e. It may have been removed from the database.

Troubleshooting done:

-Checked the SharePoint logs

-Checked the event logs

-Checked the NINTEX REPORTS based on that specific site collection

-Tried opening the site in Mozilla Firefox to debug by means of FIRBUG

-Checked the workflow history exist or not for that specific list

Resolution:

From the error message, we have a instance id of the list on which we are trying to check the workflow history.

Here are some links that I have referred to get the instance id:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/heyscriptingguy/archive/2010/09/22/use-powershell-to-manage-lists-views-and-items-in-sharepoint.aspx

http://geekswithblogs.net/bjackett/archive/2010/07/12/powershell-script-to-find-instances-of-running-sharepoint-workflow.aspx

http://blogs.flexnetconsult.co.uk/colinbyrne/2008/02/26/PowerShellSharePointThreeWaysToDeleteAListItemIDCAMLStringMatching.aspx

But the strange thing was the item did not exist, how did I find out this? It’s very simple…

Let’s do some analysis on the error message again!!!

The “xxxname of the workflowxxx” workflow has ended unexpectedly for ‘xxxname of the itemxxx’.

“name of the workflow” failed to start.

Click here to view the workflow status.

-now try to click on name of the workflow item

-as soon as we clicked on that item then we got the following error message:

File not found.

Troubleshoot issues with Microsoft SharePoint Foundation.

Correlation ID: xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxx

Date and Time: xxxx-xxxxxx

From the above exception, it’s very clear that the item does not exist.

Issue resolved. We are good now…

If you have any queries/questions regarding the above mentioned information then please let me know, also if you have any additional resolution/valuable inputs apart from the mentioned above then please share so that it would be valuable for the complete community… Thank you.

Loading this assembly would produce a different grant set from other instances in SharePoint Designer 2010

Environment entities:

-Windows server 2008 R2

-SQL server 2008

-SharePoint Server 2010 with SP1

-Client: Windows 7 + IE7.0

Problem Description: In SharePoint designer 2010, whenever I use the “Start Approval Process” action on new or existing workflows and try to publish it, it’s throwing the following error.

Error Message#1: Loading this assembly would produce a different grant set from other instances. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131401)

Checked the SharePoint logs and found the following error:

Error Message#2: Errors were found when compiling the workflow. The workflow files were saved but cannot be run.

Right from the beginning Microsoft is playing a very important role in publishing knowledge base article which are very useful for the whole community.

Resolution: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2557533

As per this article, we can increase this default value to 7000 by using the following command:

$app = get-spwebapplication http://portal.sharepoint2010.com

$app.UserDefinedWorkflowMaximumComplexity = 7000

$app.Update ()

Again the best practices are saying we need to take every step by considering the farm performance as the maximum limit is 10000 and you cannot increase more than that so it’s better if we restructure our workflows with respect to reusability.

If you have any queries/questions regarding the above mentioned information then please let me know. If you have any additional resolution or valuable inputs which would be useful for the whole SharePoint community then please share…

Thank you.

Product Applies To:
-SharePoint Server 2010
-SharePoint Foundation 2010

Object reference not set to an instance of an object + Unable to display this webpart + Error while executing webpart in SharePoint 2010

Problem Description: XSLT list views do not work / TIMEOUT FOR XML TRANSFORMATIONS

Error Message#1: Unable to display this Web Part. To troubleshoot the problem, open this Web page in a Microsoft SharePoint Foundation-compatible HTML editor such as Microsoft SharePoint Designer. If the problem persists, contact your Web server administrator.

Error Message#2: Error while executing web part: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Debugging SP Logs:

0x1578 SharePoint Foundation         Web Parts                     89a1

High     Error while executing web part: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.     at System.Xml.Xsl.XslCompiledTransform.Load(MethodInfo executeMethod, Byte[] queryData, Type[] earlyBoundTypes)     at Microsoft.Xslt.STransform.GetCompiledTransform()     at Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.BaseXsltListWebPart.LoadXslCompiledTransform(WSSXmlUrlResolver someXmlResolver)     at Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.DataFormWebPart.GetXslCompiledTransform()     at Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.DataFormWebPart.PrepareAndPerformTransform(Boolean bDeferExecuteTransform)

Resolution:  After analysing the complete SharePoint environment, we realized that if this issue started recently so there must be some changes happened with respect to the updates. When we checked the updates then we found that there are some windows updates got installed recently but difficult to find out the culprit.

Here it comes the MICROSOFT as a LIFE SAVER and remove your headache by means of this issue. Millions Thanks to Microsoft once again!!!

Please refer the following Microsoft TechNet thread:

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/forums/windowsazure/ru-ru/871a0661-05d0-4f3a-b66d-2504552142bd/error-while-executing-web-part-systemnullreferenceexception-object-reference-not-set-to-an

ALSO- http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2872441

Overall conclusion is:

If you want to get rid of this issue then please refer the following steps:

-Uninstalled this update: Windows KB2844286

-Hide the update

-reboot the server

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you would like to share some updates from your side with respect to this issue (any new resolution, any new findings, new easy resolution apart from the above mentioned) then please share so that it would be useful for the whole community. 

The content databases in this cluster are full. You cannot add more web sites until you change the content database web site capacity settings or add more content databases

SharePoint capacity planning plays a very vital role with respect to any farm, whether it’s a small farm, medium farm or large farm. Today I am going to share some details and troubleshooting steps regarding one issue that I faced recently.

Problem Description: we have received the following error message while creating the site collection.

Error Message: The content databases in this cluster are full. You cannot add more web sites until you change the content database web site capacity settings or add more content databases.

Troubleshoot issues with Microsoft SharePoint Foundation.

Troubleshooting done: From the above error message, 2 points comes into the picture i.e. database size and number of site collections exist in a single database.

-Based on analysis, we found out that total site collections exist are 100 and size of the database was 67GB.

-checked the managed databases section in central administration with respect to that web application under which we are trying to create a site collection. We found out that somebody has changed the maximum site collection limit to 100 and that’s why we were facing that error message.

Resolution:

Please refer the following steps to get rid of this error message:

-Central administration

-Application management

-manage databases

-select the appropriate web application from the top

-change the maximum site collection limit to 15000 and warning set to 9000.

That’s it. After this we are able to create site collections without any issues.

If you have any queries/issues regarding the above mentioned information then please let me know. I would be more than happy to help you as well as resolves your issues, Thank you. 

Features deprecated in SharePoint 2013

Visual upgrade : 

The visual upgrade feature in SharePoint Server 2010 is not available in SharePoint 2013. For the upgrade from Office SharePoint Server 2007 to SharePoint Server 2010, you could choose to use the visual upgrade feature to give site collection owners and site owners the opportunity to preserve the previous user interface temporarily while still upgrading the infrastructure and databases, site collections, and features to the latest version. This allowed site collection owners and site owners to update customizations to work in the new user interface. Once the database and site collection upgrade was complete, the user had the option to upgrade the user interface on a more granular level of the website (SPWeb object).

Document Workspace site template

When you create a site in SharePoint 2013, the Document Workspace site template is not available.  The scenario of collaborating on a document is now provided by the Team Site site template. The Document Workspace site template was removed from SharePoint 2013 to simplify the list of templates that are available when a user creates a new site collection.

Personalization Site site template

 When you create a site in SharePoint 2013, the Personalization Site site template is not available.  The Personalization Site site template was not a widely used site template. The Personalization Site site template was removed from SharePoint 2013 to simplify the list of templates that are available when a user creates a new site collection.

Meeting Workspace site templates

When you create a site in SharePoint 2013, all five of the Meeting Workspace site templates are not available. This includes the Basic Meeting Workspace, Blank Meeting Workspace, Decision Meeting Workspace, Social Meeting Workspace, and Multipage Meeting Workspace. SharePoint 2013 and Office 2013 provide other features that support meetings and collaboration. For example, you can use Lync to conduct live meetings, OneNote to take notes during meetings, and a SharePoint team site or My Site to store shared meeting notes.

Group Work site template and Group Work solution:

When you create a site in SharePoint 2013, the Group Work site template is not available. This Group Work site template provides a groupware solution that teams can use to create, organize, and share information. The Group Work site template includes the Group Calendar, Circulation, Phone-Call Memo, document library, and other basic lists. The Group Work site template and the Group Work solution are discontinued and not available in SharePoint 2013.The Group Work site template was not a widely used site template. The Group Work site template was removed from SharePoint 2013 to simplify the list of templates that are available when a user creates a new site collection.

Visio Process Repository site template :

When you create a site in SharePoint 2013, the Visio Process Repository site template will continue to be available. However, the Visio Process Repository site template will be removed in the next major release of SharePoint.The Visio Process Repository site template is not a widely used site template. The Visio Process Repository site template was removed from SharePoint 2013 to simplify the list of templates that are available when a user creates a new site collection.

Unghosting and customizing CSS files

The following methods are included in SharePoint 2013, but will be removed from the next major release of SharePoint:

• Microsoft.SharePoint.SoapServer.Webs.CustomizeCss
  
• Microsoft.SharePoint.SoapServer.Webs.RevertCss

The Webs.CustomizeCss method applies style sheet customization to a particular file.
The Webs.RevertCss method reverts style sheet customization of a file to the default style sheet.
These two methods are stored in Webs.asmx.cs and are defined in Webswsdl.asps.

The methods are outdated and are no longer needed

Imaging Web service

The Imaging Web service provides functionality for creating and managing picture libraries. The Imaging Web service will be removed from the next major release of SharePoint. The Imaging Web service is included and supported in SharePoint 2013.The Imaging Web service is not widely used. The only client application for the Imaging Web service, Office Picture Manager, is no longer included with SharePoint 2013. The Imaging Web service is being removed to reduce security vulnerabilities and to simplify the number of ways to connect to SharePoint 2013.

Excel Services — Can't edit workbooks in the browser that have external data connections

Workbooks with external data connections that use Windows authentication cannot be refreshed in the browser. Instead, you are prompted to open the workbook in the Excel client program. Workbooks that have database or Windows credentials stored either in the Secure Store Service or in the connection string can still be edited in the browser. This change applies only when Excel Web App in Office Web Apps Server is used to view workbooks, not when Excel Services in SharePoint Server 2013 is used.

This is a design limitation in SharePoint 2013

Web Analytics in SharePoint Server 2010

Web Analytics in SharePoint Server 2010 has been discontinued and is not available in SharePoint 2013. Analytics processing for SharePoint 2013 is now a component of the Search service.A new analytics system was required for SharePoint 2013 that included improvements in scalability and performance, and that had an infrastructure that encompasses SharePoint Online. The Analytics Processing Component in SharePoint 2013 runs analytics jobs to analyze content in the search index and user actions that are performed on SharePoint sites

Organization Profiles

The Organization Profiles feature is deprecated in SharePoint Server 2013. Organization Profiles contain detailed information about an organization such as teams, divisions, and other information that describes the organization’s hierarchy. SharePoint features related to identities continue to evolve around the core concepts of users and groups, and SharePoint will not be investing further in OrgID.

Some Search features deprecated from Foundation 2010

The search capabilities of SharePoint Foundation 2013 have changed, and are now based on the same search implementation as SharePoint Server. This provides many improvements, but also means that the search configuration is very different.

and in Server 2010. 

 SharePoint 2013 uses the web-based interface to show the current status of the topology. You change the topology by using Windows PowerShell. SharePoint Server 2010 also included a web-based option for changing the topology

The thesaurus replacement mode is deprecated in SharePoint 2013.

Search Query web service 

In SharePoint Server 2010, the Search Query web service exposes the SharePoint Enterprise Search capabilities to client applications. This enables you to access search results from client and web applications outside the context of a SharePoint site.

Search RSS and search from Windows  

The search RSS feature is deprecated in SharePoint 2013. The functionality for performing enterprise searches from Windows 7 depends on search RSS and this element has also been deprecated in SharePoint 2013. The RSS link no longer appears on the results page. This link is replaced by the Search Alerts link.

 Custom word breaker dictionaries

 

The format of the custom word breaker dictionaries has changed in SharePoint 2013. In SharePoint 2013, you can only create one language-independent dictionary. In SharePoint Server 2010, you can create language-specific custom dictionaries (one dictionary for each language) to edit the word breaker behavior of enterprise search. The word breaker behavior for East Asian (CJK) languages has not changed in SharePoint 2013.

Configuration of stemming in the registry

The configuration of stemming in the registry is no longer supported in SharePoint 2013. Modifying stemming entries in the registry has no effect during search. In SharePoint Server 2010, you can turn stemming on or off, or you can replace it with a third-party stemmer by changing the registry. In SharePoint 2013, you cannot use a third-party stemmer.

SharePoint Search SQL syntax

In SharePoint Server 2010, you could construct complex search queries by using SQL syntax.

Shallow search refiners

SharePoint Server Search in Office 2010 supported shallow search refiners. FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint supports shallow refiners and deep refiners. InSharePoint 2013, only deep search refiners are supported.

FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint deprecated features

 FAST Search database connector

The FAST Search database connector is not supported in SharePoint 2013.

FAST Search Lotus Notes connector

  The FAST Search Lotus Notes connector is not supported in SharePoint 2013.

FAST Search web crawler

The FAST Search web crawler is not supported in SharePoint 2013.
The SharePoint 2013 crawler provides similar functionality to the FAST Search web crawler.

FAST Query Language (FQL) deprecated features

 The FQL features are aligned with the features of the SharePoint Keyword Query Language (KQL) syntax

URL Query syntax

In FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint, the URL-related managed properties (such as site, or path) are tokenized as a text string, and you can query any subpart of the URL. This includes STARTS-WITH, ENDS-WITH, PHRASE and proximity queries on URL properties. Special characters such as “/”, “_” and “-”are handled as word delimiters.
In SharePoint 2013, the entire URL is tokenized as one word. This includes special characters such as “/”, “_” and “-”. You can query these managed properties by:

• Searching for the full string for the site or path.
  
• Searching for the leading part of the site or path.
  
• Omitting the protocol part (http, https), and omitting the leading part of the domain address in the query expression, for the site managed property.
  

  Specific search scope filters

    In SharePoint 2013, search scopes are automatically converted to result sources.
  
  

  Anti-phrasing 

    The search anti-phrasing feature in FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint is not supported in SharePoint 2013. 
  
  Offensive content filtering
  
  The filtering of offensive content in search is deprecated in SharePoint 2013.
  
  

  Substring search

  The substring search feature was removed in SharePoint 2013.
  
  

  Person names and location extractions

  In SharePoint 2013, you cannot extract person names and locations from documents by using predefined extractors.
  
  Number of custom entity extractors
  
  In SharePoint 2013, the number of custom entity extractors that you can define is limited to 12.
  
  

  Supported document formats

  SharePoint 2013 no longer supports rarely used and older document formats that are supported in FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint by enabling the Advanced Filter Pack. Both the ULS logs and the crawl log indicate the items that were not crawled.
  In SharePoint 2013, the set of supported formats that are enabled by default is extended, and the quality of document parsing for these formats has improved.
  
  

  Content processing extensibility

  The FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint content processing extensibility feature has changed in SharePoint 2013. Content processing prepares an item from a content source for indexing and searching. The FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint content processing extensibility feature uses a sandbox where your custom code runs. 
  

  Custom XML item processing

  FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint includes a custom XML item processing feature as part of the content processing pipeline. Custom XML item processing is not supported in SharePoint 2013.
  
  Adding a test item to the index 
  
  DocPush is a test and diagnostic command-line tool that submits test documents to the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint index. A similar command-line tool is not available in SharePoint 2013 

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-in/library/ff607742.aspx#section2