SharePointNext Blog

SharePoint 2013/2016/2019 - RSS Viewer WebPart Error

2019-07-25T10:20:00.002-07:00

When working with RSS web part in SharePoint, you get the following error:

"The requested RSS feed could not be displayed. Please verify the settings and url for this feed. If this problem persists, please contact your administrator."

The issue can be resolved by using the following commands:

#This command will set the disable intranet - calls value to false.
Add - PSSnapin Microsoft.sharepoint.powershell
$farm = Get - SPFarm
$farm.Properties.DisableIntranetCalls = $false
$farm.Properties.DisableIntranetCallsFromApps = $false
$farm.Update()

There is a code change in SharePoint 2013 & 2016, SharePoint uses a .NET call to get more information about the address and it failed because our network configuration doesn't allow the DNS resolution of an internet address as well as we are not using the host file entries.

System.Net.Dns.GetHostAddresses(System.String)  

Thus, if DisableIntranetCalls is set to true (default), then use .NET call given above to confirm the DNS. However, if DisableIntranetCalls is set to false, then SharePoint will not make this call and use other code to reach the site.

SharePoint Migration: Farm Checked Out Files Report

2018-09-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

During SharePoint migration, it is helpful to review checked out files that have never been published or files that were checked out but were never checked in by end users. If you are using a SharePoint migration tool for e.g.; Sharegate or Metalogix Content Matrix, these checked out files will not be migrated. The script generates a report of the checked out files on the sub-site level and will come handy to prepare for the migration. You can provide this report to site owners so that they can take action on it. :)

Add-PSSnapin microsoft.sharepoint.powershell -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

$date = Get-Date -f 'yyyyMMdd-hhmmss'
$curDirectory = (Get-Item -Path ".\").FullName

if( -Not (Test-Path -Path $curDirectory"\Output" ) )
{
New-Item -ItemType directory -Path $curDirectory"\Output"
}

$Output = $curDirectory + '\Output\FarmCheckedoutFilesReport_'+$date+".csv"

function GetCheckedOutItems($spWeb)
{
Write-Host "Scanning Site: $($spWeb.Url)"
foreach ($list in ($spWeb.Lists | ? {$_ -is [Microsoft.SharePoint.SPDocumentLibrary]})) {
Write-Host "Scanning List: $($list.RootFolder.ServerRelativeUrl)"
foreach ($item in $list.CheckedOutFiles) {

$itemURL = $spWeb.Site.MakeFullUrl("$($spWeb.ServerRelativeUrl.TrimEnd('/'))/$($item.Url)")
#Uncomment the following for debugging
#Write-Host $itemURL
#Write-Host "Author: $($item.File.ModifiedBy)"
#Write-Host "Author: $($item["Editor"].Split('#')[1])"
#Write-Host "Name: $($item.CheckedOutByName)"
#Write-Host "Email: $($item.CheckedOutByEmail)"
#Write-Host "Checked Out Date: $($item.TimeLastModified)"
#Read-Host


Add-Content $output -Value """$($spWeb.Url)"",""$($list.RootFolder.ServerRelativeUrl)"",""$itemURL"",""$($item.CheckedOutByName)"",""$($item.CheckedOutByEmail)"",$($item.Length/1000),""$($item.TimeLastModified.ToString())"","""","""",Never Checked In"

}
foreach ($item in $list.Items) {
if ($item.File.CheckOutStatus -ne "None") {
$itemURL = $spWeb.Site.MakeFullUrl("$($spWeb.ServerRelativeUrl.TrimEnd('/'))/$($item.Url)")
if (($list.CheckedOutFiles | where {$_.ListItemId -eq $item.ID}) -ne $null) { continue }
Add-Content $output -Value """$($spWeb.Url)"",""$($list.RootFolder.ServerRelativeUrl)"",""$itemURL"",""$($item.File.CheckedOutByUser.Name)"",""$($item.File.CheckedOutByUser.Email)"",$($item.File.Length/1000),""$($item.File.CheckedOutDate.ToString())"",""$($item["Author"].Split('#')[1])"",""$($item["Editor"].Split('#')[1])"",Checked Out"
#Uncomment the following for debugging
#Write-Host $itemURL
# Write-Host "Author: $($item["Author"].Split('#')[1])"
# Write-Host "Author: $($item["Editor"].Split('#')[1])"
#Write-Host "CheckedOutBy: $($item.File.CheckedOutByUser)"
#Write-Host "Name: $($item.File.CheckedOutByUser.Name)"
#Write-Host "Email: $($item.File.CheckedOutByUser.Email)"
#Write-Host "Checked Out Date: $($item.File.CheckedOutDate.ToString())"
#Read-Host

}
}
}

$spWeb.Dispose()
}

Add-Content $output -Value "SiteURL,DocumentLibrary,FileURL,CheckedOutBy,CheckedOutByUserEmail,FileSize,CheckedOutSince,Author,Editor,Check In Status"

$webApp = Get-SPWebApplication
foreach($webapps in $webapp)
{

foreach ($SiteCollection in $webApps.Sites)
{
if ($SiteCollection.ReadOnly -eq $false -and $SiteCollection.ReadLocked -eq $false -and $SiteCollection.WriteLocked -eq $false)
{
$weburl = $SiteCollection.OpenWeb()

foreach($web in $SiteCollection.AlLWebs)
{
  GetCheckedOutItems($Web)
$web.Dispose()
}
}
}
}

Write-Host "Processing completed. Please see the report at $($Output)."

SharePoint Server 2013 Series – Part 1 – Installation and Configuration

2017-08-09T07:05:00.000-07:00

Starting a workflow in a SharePoint List using PowerShell

2017-05-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

You can start workflow on your SharePoint list items using PowerShell with the following code:

Add-PSSnapin "Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell"
# URL of the Site
$web = Get-SPWeb -Identity <Your SharePoint SIte URL>

$wfmanager = $web.Site.WorkFlowManager

#List where you would like to start the workflow
$list = $web.Lists["YOUR_LIST_NAME"]

# Name of the Workflow
$assoc = $list.WorkflowAssociations |Where { $_.Name -eq "YOUR_WORKFLOW_NAME"}
Write-Host $assoc.AssociationData

$data = $assoc.AssociationData
$items = $list.Items

foreach($item in $items)
{
Write-Host "Processing " $item.ID

#Uncomment the following lines if you would like to start the workflow selectively. Alternatively, you can use a CAML query and rretrieve only selective items
#if ($item["Status"] -eq "Pending")
# {
$wf = $wfmanager.StartWorkFlow($list.GetItemById($item.ID),$assoc,$data,$true)
#}
}
#Dispose
$manager.Dispose()
$web.Dispose()

If you get the following error in PowerShell when running this script, it generallyindicates that your workflow name is not correct. You have to use your workflow name exactly as it appears in your view settings.

SharePoint 2013 – Exception calling “StartWorkflow” with “4” argument(s):

Intel Hardware Acceleration Manager (HAXM) Error in Visual Studio Installed on VMWare Machine when trying to Run the Android Emulator

2017-04-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

You may receive this error while setting up a virtualized development environment for Visual Studio Android development and trying to run the Android emulator. The error message will indicate in Android SDK Manager that HAXM is not compatible. The error is can be seen in the picture below:

In addition, when you try to download the HAXM software manually from the Intel site at https://software.intel.com/en-us/android/articles/intel-hardware-accelerated-execution-manager and run “installhaxm-android.exe”, you get a message that the Intel virtualization technology is not enabled. In some cases, this is due to Hyper-v Windows feature being enabled. You can try to disable it by going to Control Panel –> Programs –> Turn windows feature on or off and unchecking “Hyper-V” and try again.

If the emulator still doesn’t run, check and confirm that your host Virtualization technology is enabled in BIOS. If it is enabled, then update your VM settings after turning it off and editing the processor setting as indicated below:

Preferred Mode: “Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/WVI” (Automatic will not work)

Virtualize Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V RVI = Checked

Note: The options are disabled as my VM is running at the moment.

Hope it helps!

SharePoint Excel Services and Office Web Apps Server: The following connections failed to refresh

2017-01-11T08:55:00.000-08:00

When working with Excel services and external data when you also have Office Web Apps server installed in your farm, you may get the following error when trying to refresh your Excel file:

If you have setup Excel Service unattended service account in secure store and have setup access to your data sources properly and are still getting this error, it may because your Excel files are opening using Excel Web App which doesn’t support external data refresh. You can determine if Excel Web App or Excel Services is being used for opening the Excel files by looking at the URL: if it contains WopiFrame.aspx, it means the file is being opened using Excel Web application and if it has xlviewer.aspx, it means the file is being opened using Excel service application. From the Microsoft site:

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff431685.aspx

Differences between Excel Web App and Excel Services in SharePoint

Excel Web App and Excel Services in SharePoint have a lot in common, but they are not the same. Excel Services is available only in the Enterprise edition of SharePoint Server 2013. Excel Web App is available in SharePoint Server 2013 and SharePoint Foundation 2013. Both applications enable you to view workbooks in a browser window, and both enable you to interact with and explore data.

But there are certain differences between Excel Web App and Excel Services in SharePoint. For example, Excel Services supports external data connections, data models, and the ability to interact with items that use data models (such as PivotChart reports, PivotTable reports and timeline controls). Excel Services provides more business intelligence functionality than Excel Web App, but Excel Services does not enable users to create or edit workbooks in a browser window.

For details about the differences between the Excel Web App and Excel Services, see Overview of Excel Services in SharePoint Server 2013 and Comparing Excel Services in SharePoint to Excel Web App.

If your organization decides to use Excel Services instead of Excel Web App to view workbooks in the browser, you can use the Windows PowerShell New-SPWOPISuppressionSettings cmdlet to turn off Excel Web App for Excel workbooks. For more information, see New-SPWOPISuppressionSetting.

In order to change the default behavior so that Excel files are opened using Excel services, you will have to suppress Office Web Apps for view operations using the following command followed by IISRESET:

New-SPWOPISuppressionSetting –Extension “XLSX” -Action “view”

This should fix the external data refresh issue.

SharePoint Apps: Custom List Form – Ribbon buttons are greyed out

2017-01-04T07:59:00.002-08:00

When working with custom list forms using Visual Studio, by default, you will notice that the ribbon buttons are greyed out.

You can resolve this issue by adding the <SharePoint:FormToolbar> control under PlaceHolderMain placeholder.

<SharePoint:FormToolBar runat="server"/>

Visual Studio 2015 Crashes when using SharePoint workflow "Assign" Activity

2016-12-06T05:27:00.002-08:00

Visual Studio 2015 crashes when trying to use the assign activity in a SharePoint workflow.

In order to resolve this issue, you will need to assign the variables “To” and “Value” using the properties pane.

Visual Studio SharePoint Workflow - DynamicValue Variable Type is Missing

2016-12-05T07:48:00.000-08:00

When trying to add a DynamicValue variable type in a Visual Studio 2015 SharePoint workflow, you may notice that the type is missing.

This can happen if Microsoft.Activities namespace is not referenced in your project. Add the reference and you can access the DynamicValue variable type.

SharePoint 2013/2016 Workflows are Cancelled

2016-12-04T11:49:00.001-08:00

When working with SharePoint 2013/2016 workflows, the workflows are cancelled by the system with the following similar error message:

RequestorId: e88c6282-6a6a-710f-1045-5697183081a9. Details: System.ApplicationException: HTTP 401 {"error_description":"The server was unable to process the request due to an internal error. For more information about the error, either turn on IncludeExceptionDetailInFaults (either from ServiceBehaviorAttribute or from the <serviceDebug> configuration behavior) on the server in order to send the exception information back to the client, or turn on tracing as per the Microsoft .NET Framework SDK documentation and inspect the server trace logs."} {"x-ms-diagnostics":["3001000;reason=\"There has been an error authenticating the request.\";category=\"invalid_client\""],"SPRequestGuid":["b8975112-6d46-4c69-a66f-87031b27db53"],"request-id":["b8975112-6d46-4c69-a66f-87031b27db53"],"X-FRAME-OPTIONS":["SAMEORIGIN"],"SPRequestDuration":["46"],"SPIisLatency":["0"],"Server":["Microsoft-IIS\/8.5"],"WWW-Authenticate":["Bearer realm=\"03bd1a89-605f-4d25-baa7-5eb9f69897a3\",client_id=\"00000003-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000\",trusted_issuers=\"00000005-0000-0000-c000-000000000000@*,00000003-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000@03bd1a89-605f-4d25-baa7-5eb9f69897a3\"","NTLM"],"X-Powered-By":["ASP.NET"],"MicrosoftSharePointTeamServices":["15.0.0.4569"],"X-Content-Type-Options":["nosniff"],"X-MS-InvokeApp":["1; RequireReadOnly"],"Date":["Sat, 03 Dec 2016 22:04:48 GMT"]} at Microsoft.Activities.Hosting.Runtime.Subroutine.SubroutineChild.Execute(CodeActivityContext context) at System.Activities.CodeActivity.InternalExecute(ActivityInstance instance, ActivityExecutor executor, BookmarkManager bookmarkManager) at System.Activities.Runtime.ActivityExecutor.ExecuteActivityWorkItem.ExecuteBody(ActivityExecutor executor, BookmarkManager bookmarkManager, Location resultLocation)

Ensure about the following:

User profile and user profile synchronization services are started. Make sure that you have configured permissions for service accounts properly. For development machine, you can add thye service accounts to the domain administrator group.
Full profile synchronization is completed.

SharePoint Designer Crashes when Trying to use Visual Designer for Workflow

2016-12-03T13:38:00.001-08:00

When trying to use Visual Designer in SharePoint Designer for workflow development, SharePoint Designer crashes. Make sure that you have SharePoint Designer 2013 and Visio 2013 installed for SharePoint 2013 and SharePoint Designer 2016 and Visio 2016 installed when using SharePoint 2016.

Server-side activities have been updated. You need to restart SharePoint Designer to use the updated version of activities.

2016-12-03T13:18:00.001-08:00

When working with SharePoint Designer 2013/2016, you may get the following error:

“Server-side activities have been updated. You need to restart SharePoint Designer to use the updated version of activities.”

This issue can happen if Visual Studio and SharePoint Designer are installed on the same machine which is the case for development machines.

Try installing SharePoint Designer update from https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3114337.
Removing Visual Studio and installing it again should fix the issue.
Check if you have Workflow Manager Client installed and uninstall it and it should fix the issue.

Reinstall NUGET Packages in a Visual Studio Project

2016-11-29T04:41:00.001-08:00

Follow these steps:

Start Tools –> NUGET Package Manager –> Package Manager Console
Type the following command and hit enter

Update-Package –reinstall –project <PROJECT_NAME>

Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.InvalidClientQueryException.The expression "web/lists/getbytitle("ListTitle")/items" is not valid

2016-11-29T04:38:00.001-08:00

When working with SharePoint 2013/216 RESTful API, you may receive the following error:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>-<m:error xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/ado/2007/08/dataservices/metadata"> <m:code>-1, Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.InvalidClientQueryException</m:code> <m:message xml:lang="en-US">The expression "web/lists/getbytitle("Sales Leads")/items" is not valid.</m:message> -<m:innererror> <m:message>The expression "web/lists/getbytitle("Sales Leads")/items" is not valid.</m:message> <m:type>Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.InvalidClientQueryException</m:type> <m:stacktrace>at Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Rest.EdmExpressionParser.Expect(Tokens tokType) at Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Rest.EdmExpressionParser.ParseIdentifier(Boolean allowMethodCall, EdmParserNode& node) at Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Rest.EdmExpressionParser.ParsePath() at Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Rest.RestRequestProcessor.GetObjectFromPath(Boolean mainRequestPath, String path, String pathForErrorMessage) at Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Rest.RestRequestProcessor.Process() at Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Rest.RestRequestProcessor.ProcessRequest() at Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Rest.RestService.ProcessQuery(Stream inputStream, IList`1 pendingDisposableContainer)</m:stacktrace> </m:innererror></m:error>

Make sure that you use single quotes when passing parameters to the REST methods.

SharePoint 2013/SharePoint 2016 “Sorry, this site hasn’t been shared with you” Error Message for Host Named Site Collections

2016-10-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

If you are getting this error message for a host named site collection even after assigning appropriate permissions, do check that the SharePoint Web Application and host named site collection are pointing to the same IP address! You can quickly check if it is a DNS issue by adding the DNS aliases to the host file at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts, starting a command prompt and typing the command “ipconfig /flushdns”, closing all the browser window, and navigating to your site again.

SharePoint 2016 On-Premise Setup and Configuration – Part 2: Domain Controller Setup

2016-08-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

We will be setting up our domain controller using Windows Server 2012 R2 X64. I have created a VM template using VMWare Player and have made four copies. Instructions for setting up a VM using VMWare Player will be posted in future. For the domain controller, I have the following settings for the VM. I have two network adapters in every machine: one for private network setup for 10.1.X.X/255.255.255.0 subnet and the other for Internet access from the host machine. I have also configured the binding order so that the “LAN” NIC is first in the binding order. This is important!

Note: After making the copies, please make sure to change the SID by running the following command on every VM:

Select Start –> Run –> C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\Sysprep.exe
You will see the System Preparation Tool 3.14 window. Keeping the defaults, select “Generalize” and select “OK”. The system will be rebooted and you will be restarted with the default setup of Windows 2012 Server R2.

Domain Controller Setup

Follow these instructions to setup the domain controller:

Start Server Manager.
Select Manage –> Add Roles and Features. This will start the “Add Roles and Features Wizard”. Select “Next”.
Select “Role-based or feature-based installation in the next screen and select next. Select “CONTOSO-SP16-DC” from next screen and select “Next”.
Select “Active Directory Domain Services” and “DNS”" from the roles. You will be prompted to select the dependent features. Select “Next”.
In the next screen we will select the following features and select “Next”.
- .NET Framework 3.5 Features
- .NET Framework 4.5 Features with ASP.NET 4.5
Select “Next” in the “AD DS”, “DNS”, screens. Select “Install” on the “Confirmation” screen.
The installation will start.
Select “Close”. Additional configuration is required. Select “Notifications” from “Server Manager” and select “Promote this server to Domain Controller”.
In the “Deployment Configuration” screen, select “Add a new forest” and specify “contoso.com” in the “Root domain name” and select “Next. Specify a password in the next screen and select “Next.
In the “DNS Options’, select “Next”. You can ignore the warning since a default domain will be created with the new domain controller setup. Selecting “Next” will take you to the next screen showing the NetBIOS name of the server. Accept the default and select “Next”"
.
The next screen will show you the path of the AD DS databases log files, and SYSVOL folder. Accept default and select “Next” twice. Select “Install” in the “Prerequisite Check” screen. You can ignore the warnings. The system will restart during this process.
After the system is restarted, logon using the “Administrator” account. Review “Notifications” to see any pending tasks or warnings.
Select “Tools –> DNS” to make sure that the DNS zones are setup properly.
For simplicity, we will also disable “Windows Firewall” by going to Control Panel.

Service Account Setup

We will need the following service account for our setup.

User Name	Name	Description
CONTOSO\sp2016-setup
SharePoint Setup Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-farm		SharePoint Farm Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-admin		SharePoint Farm Admin Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-sql		SharePoint SQL Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-service		SharePoint Shared Service Application Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-search		SharePoint Search Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-crawl		SharePoint Crawl Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-owebapps		Office Web Apps Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-wfservice		SharePoint Workflow Service Application
CONTOSO\sp2016-c2wts		Claims to Windows Token Service
CONTOSO\sp2016-pfptsvc		PerformancePoint Service Application Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-excelsvc		Excel Services Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-visiosvc		Visio Services Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-ssrs		SQL Server Reporting Services Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-superuser		SharePoint Super User Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-superreader		SharePoint Super User Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-test1		Test Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-test2		Test Account
CONTOSO\sp2016-test3

Follow these steps to setup user accounts:

In Server Manager, select Tools –> Active Directory Users and Computers.
Right click on the domain and select New –> Organizational Unit. Specify “Service Accounts” in the next screen and select “OK”.

Open PowerShell and copy and paste the following commands to create these users:

New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-setup" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-setup" -DisplayName "sp2016-setup" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-farm" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-farm" -DisplayName "sp2016-farm" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-admin" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-admin" -DisplayName "sp2016-admin" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-sql" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-sql" -DisplayName "sp2016-sql" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-service" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-service" -DisplayName "sp2016-service" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-search" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-search" -DisplayName "sp2016-search" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-crawl" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-crawl" -DisplayName "sp2016-crawl" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-owebapps" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-owebapps" -DisplayName "sp2016-owebapps" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-workflow" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-workflow" -DisplayName "sp2016-workflow" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-c2wts" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-c2wts" -DisplayName "sp2016-c2wts" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-pfptsvc" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-pfptsvc" -DisplayName "sp2016-pfptsvc" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-excelsvc" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-excelsvc" -DisplayName "sp2016-excelsvc" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-visiosvc" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-visiosvc" -DisplayName "sp2016-visiosvc" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-ssrs" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-ssrs" -DisplayName "sp2016-ssrs" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-superuser" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-superuser" -DisplayName "sp2016-superuser" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-superreader" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-superreader" -DisplayName "sp2016-superreader" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-test1" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-test1" -DisplayName "sp2016-test1" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-test2" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-test2" -DisplayName "sp2016-test2" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true
New-ADUser -Name "sp2016-test3" -Path "OU=Service Accounts,DC=contoso,DC=com" -SamAccountName "sp2016-test3" -DisplayName "sp2016-test3" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "Password123" -AsPlainText -Force) -Enabled $true

In the next article, we will work on setting up SQL Server 2014. Stay tuned!

SharePoint 2016 On-Premise Setup and Configuration – Part 1: Architecture

2016-08-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

In this series of articles, we will be looking at on-premise setup of SharePoint 2016. Just so you know, with SharePoint 2016, there are four architecture models available:

SharePoint Online/SaaS: With this model, SharePoint services are provides through Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) Subscription model. SharePoint will always be up-to-date but you will be responsible for managing SharePoint online environment.
SharePoint Hybrid: This model combines the SharePoint Online Subscription with on-premises SharePoint solution. You can integrate the SharePoint Online services into your on-premise SharePoint offering, introduce SaaS architecture, and migrate on-premise sites and apps to SharePoint Online as needed.
SharePoint in Azure/IaaS: With this model, your on-premises SharePoint environment is extended into Microsoft Azure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) by deploying your SharePoint 2016 servers in the Microsoft Azure environment. This model is recommeded for high avialability/disaster recovery and dev/test environments.
SharePoint On-premises: With this model, your SharePoint environment is planned, deployed, maintained, and customized in your own data center.

In the following diagram, you can see the IT responsibilities matrix of the above four models.

SharePoint 2016 Environment

A general overview of SharePoint 2016 on-premise solution is presented in the following picture:

For this article series, we will make this architecture simple by setting up our SharePoint 2016 environment in a virtualized environment which will consist of the following:

Domain Controller – Windows Server 2012 R2 x64
Database Server - Windows Server 2012 R2 x64 and SQL Server 2014 Developer Edition w/SP1 x64
Search Server - Windows Server 2012 R2 x64/SharePoint 2016 w/Search Server Role
Application Server - Windows Server 2012 R2 x64/SharePoint 2016 w/Application Server Role
Distributed Cache: Windows Server 2012 R2 x64/SharePoint 2016 w/Distributed Cache Role
Frontend Servers: Windows Server 2012 R2 x64/SharePoint 2016 w/Frontend Server Role

Web performance and load testing SharePoint 2010 and 2013 applications

2015-09-24T07:11:00.000-07:00

This article talks about using Visual Studio for performance and load testing of SharePoint 2013 and SharePoint 2013 applications.

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj710162.aspx

First look at SharePoint Server 2016 IT Preview

2015-09-10T11:20:00.001-07:00

Microsoft Exams Free Second Shot for 2015

2015-01-06T08:58:00.001-08:00

From the Microsoft Learning site:

“Take any Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) exam between January 5, 2015, and May 31, 2015. If you don't pass, get a free retake!”

More information can be found at https://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/second-shot.aspx.

Good luck to test takers!

What’s new in SharePoint 2013? ----Download for free on Amazon 9/25/2014 - 9/26/2014!

2014-09-23T07:32:00.001-07:00

This is my first publication on Microsoft SharePoint 2013 which I originally wanted to publish a lot sooner! This book is intended for various Information Technology professionals including architects, administrators, support individuals, power users, content management specialists, compliance specialists, power users and end-users who work with the Microsoft SharePoint and are interested to learn about new and improved features in Microsoft SharePoint 2013. The book is available through Amazon and you can read it on Kindle or on Kindle App. Please go to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NTSTRQ8 to buy the kindle edition of this book.

SharePoint 2010 Designer Lists and Libraries View Returns an Empty View

2014-04-23T12:25:00.001-07:00

This can happen if you restore a site from a SharePoint farm where a feature dependent list was created and this feature is not installed in the farm where the site is being restored. Please note that sometimes solutions such as U2U CAML Query Builder can create lists during feature activation. Once you have identified and removed the orphaned list, this issue should resolve. If you don’t have access to SharePoint Management Shell, you can delete the orphaned list in SharePoint Designer by selecting All Files –> Lists.

SharePoint 2010 Sandboxed Event Receiver doesn’t Fire

2014-04-23T12:16:00.001-07:00

This can happen if feature activation is set to manual in the Visual Studio solution. Check the Site Collection Features or Site Features page by going to Site Settings and activate the feature if needed.

SharePoint Designer 2010 – You do not have permission to do this operation

2013-12-23T09:46:00.001-08:00

I came across the following error while trying to open a SharePoint 2010 site in SharePoint Designer 2010:

“You do not have permission to do this operation. Ask your web site administrator to change your permissions and then try again, or log in with a user account that has this permission. To log on with a different user account click OK”

After spending sometime, it turns out the anonymous authentication was disabled in IIS for some reason.

After enabling the anonymous authentication, I was able to open the site collection in SharePoint Designer 2010.

Finding All Alerts in a SharePoint Web Application

2013-06-27T07:50:00.000-07:00

I came across a script by Jess Collicott for finding alerts in a SharePoint 2010 site collection. I modified the script slightly so that it can find all alerts in a web application.

Add-PSSnapin microsoft.sharepoint.powershell $alertResultsCollection = @()$webapp = Get-SPWebApplication http://<URL of your web application>foreach ($site in $webapp.Sites){    Write-Host "Processing site " $site.URL     foreach($web in $site.AllWebs)    {        foreach($alert in $web.Alerts)        {                        $alertURL = $web.URL +"/"            $alertResult = New-Object PSObject            $alertResult | Add-Member -type NoteProperty -name "List URL" -value $alertURL            $alertResult | Add-Member -type NoteProperty -name "Alert Title" -value $alert.Title            $alertResult | Add-Member -type NoteProperty -name "Alert Type" -value $alert.AlertType            $alertResult | Add-Member -type NoteProperty -name "User ID" -value $alert.User            $alertResult | Add-Member -type NoteProperty -name "User Name" -value $alert.User.Name            $alertResultsCollection += $alertResult         }    }        } $webapp.Dispose()$alertResultsCollection | Export-CSV "C:\Alerts.csv" $alertResultsCollection = null

You can save this script with a PS1 file e.g.; GetSPUSerAlerts.PS1 and execute it by issuing the following command in command prompt:

PowerShell -file C:\GetSPUserAlerts.ps1