IT Jack of All Trades

Running large complex workflow randomly fails

2011-12-05T15:10:00.000+13:00

This problem might be caused by the large number of Types that are created during workflow compilation, for workflows with many local workflow variables. It is more common for workflows with multiple Approval Process actions, as each preconfigured Approval Process Action comes with a large set of local variables, for the different configurable property of the Approval Process.

RESOLUTION:

By installing a CU that includes the February 2011 CU or service Pack 1 which is the ideal solution, SharePoint administrators are able to prevent compilation of workflows whose compilation would affect the performance of the farm. The default value of the property "UserDefinedWorkflowMaximumComplexity" is 7000, but can be changed based on the needs and profile of the SharePoint farm. Try setting this property to a higher value using PowerShell:

$app = get-spwebapplication "[web app url]"
$app.UserDefinedWorkflowMaximumComplexity = 8000
$app.Update()

SPContext.Current.Web.Groups.GetByID() returns Unable to evaluate expression because the code is optimized or a native frame is on top of the call stack.

2011-12-05T15:03:00.000+13:00

If you get this error, this is probably a permission problem and should return Access Denied. Try running the code
under SPSecurity.RunWithElevatedPrivileges.

Also check the group's property as by default it is set to be read by members only. Set it to everyone and you'll be sorted.

JQuery to Open Links in a New Window

2011-10-11T14:43:00.000+13:00

The code below is very useful when displaying a SharePoint page using a minimalistic masterpage in an IFrame of CRM 2011 dashboards. So instead of the page opening inside the IFrame of CRM 2011, it will open a new page. Add code in the script tag:

$(document).ready(function() {
$('a').attr('target', '_blank')
});

Increasing Debug Time in Sharepoint 2010

2011-10-11T10:10:00.001+13:00

If you’re developing for SharePoint 2010 the Application Pool has a setting called Ping Maximum Response Time with a default value of 90 seconds. In effect, this means that debugging your Web Part, Page, etc. in SharePoint 2010 will only work for 90 seconds and then you get this:

"The web server process that was being debugged has been terminated by Internet Information Services(IIS). This can be avoided by configuring Application Pool ping settings in IIS. See help for further details."

The error is really self explanatory and very helpful. To resolve this:

- Click on Start->run->inetmgr

- Locate your application pool and select Advanced Settings on the menu on the right

- Modify the value of Ping Maximum Response Time (Seconds)

You can also increase the value for future Application Pools via Set Application Pool Defaults by selecting the root node of Application Pools in IIS.

Accessing Workflow Status in a List

2011-10-11T09:53:00.001+13:00

I have a CAML Query below that queries a list where the workflow for an item is not cancelled. There's an extra column in the list called Recruitment Workflow which is of type WorkflowStatus. This column is somehow automatically added by SharePoint. I tried to query using CAML using the query below:
Note That I'm using the Internal Name for Recruitment Workflow Column in this query.
<Query>
       <Where>
                  <Neq>
                          <FieldRef Name="Recruitm" />
                          <Value Type="WorkflowStatus">Canceled</Value>
                 </Neq>
         </Where>
</Query>

Weird thing is I'm not getting any results.
I also tried to query everything to test my insanity and query and test if the column exsist:

foreach (SPListItem item in recruitmentrequests)

{

item[“Recruitment Workflow”] = …

….

}

It fails on the underlined code and I got the error

item["Recruitment Workflow"]' threw an exception of type 'System.ArgumentException'

base {System.SystemException}: {"Value does not fall within the expected range."}

Message: "Value does not fall within the expected range."

ParamName: null

I also replaced the code with item[“Recruitm”] =

and I still got the error above. I also tried item["Recruitment_x0020_ Workflow"];

and it generates an error saying that column does not exist.

I also checked via code if that column exists using item.Fields["Recruitment Workflow"] and it can retrieve it.

So this is really puzzling me. The column is there but I cannot query it to get its value using CAML or .NET code.

It looks like accessing a workflow status is a special case and cannot be accessed via SPListItem["WorkflowStatusColumnName"]. You can access it using the snippet below:

using System;
using Microsoft.SharePoint;
using Microsoft.SharePoint.Workflow;
// This is Console Application //
SPSite site = new SPSite("http://sharepoint-site/");
SPWeb web = site.OpenWeb();
foreach (SPList list in web.Lists)
{
    foreach (SPListItem item in list.Items)
    {
        foreach (SPWorkflow workflow in item.Workflows)
        {
            try
            {
                Console.WriteLine("item url : " + item.Url);
                Console.WriteLine("workflow name : " + list.WorkflowAssociations[workflow.AssociationId].Name);
                Console.WriteLine("workflow status : " + item[list.WorkflowAssociations[workflow.AssociationId].Name]);
                Console.WriteLine();
            }
            catch (ArgumentException)
            {
                //ArgumentException is throwed if the workflow is not exist in the list column.
                Console.WriteLine("Workflow name : {0} is already not exist in List title : {1}.",
                    list.WorkflowAssociations[workflow.AssociationId].Name, list.Title);
            }
        }
    }
}

.NET Reflector Alternative

2011-06-29T07:53:00.000+12:00

Since Redgate charges for a tool which was free for years, an alternative was born:

http://wiki.sharpdevelop.net/ILSpy.ashx

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2011-06-23T19:42:00.002+12:00

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Enabling Wifi in Dell XPS 15 running Windows Server 2008

2011-06-06T18:48:00.000+12:00

If you got a Dell XPS 15 and you installed Windows Server 2008 because you want to use your beast to do some VM or development and you later found out that you cannot surf the web using your wifi here is the solution to solve this issue:

1.) Install the the drivers for Windows 7 for your card. You can download this from the Dell website

2.) In your computer, press windows key + R

3.) Enter appwiz.cpl

4.) Click on Add Windows Feature

5.) Enable Wireless Lan Service

6.) The icon for the wireless will still be grayed out but if you click it you will see your router

7.) Connect as normal

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2010-09-28T09:01:00.001+13:00

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Remap user permissions to objects in the database

2010-09-21T10:27:00.000+12:00

There's a time where you need to restore a prod database over a test database. Then all permissions in the stored procedures were gone. To fix this execute the following command:

EXEC sp_change_users_login 'Auto_Fix', ''

This will remap the database users login to the right objects.

**This must be done to all database user

Serious ASP.NET exploit

2010-09-21T08:51:00.001+12:00

A serious ASP.NET exploit has been discovered. It can be used to decrypt viewstate, remotely log in as any user and potentially gain control over a server.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yghiC_U2RaM

The exploit works by firing thousands of requests at a website, examining the returned error messages for information and eventually collecting enough information to derive the server's encryption key. Any ASP.NET website that doesn't return a static error page can be hacked using this method.

http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2010/09/18/important-asp-net-security-vulnerability.aspx

Free Defensive Database Programming E-Book from Red Gate

2010-06-18T17:15:00.000+12:00

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2010-06-09T11:24:00.000+12:00

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You receive error 401.1 when you browse a Web site that uses Integrated Authentication and is hosted on IIS 5.1 or a later version

2010-04-20T12:21:00.001+12:00

When developing an ASP.NET application on a machine that's running IIS 5.1 or a later version, you may receive an error message that resembles the following:

HTTP 401.1 - Unauthorized: Logon Failed

You may also receive an error message that resembles the following when you try to debug a Microsoft ASP.NET project in Microsoft Visual Studio 2003:

Error while trying to run project: Unable to start debugging on the web server. You do not have permissions to debug the server.
Verify that you are a member of the 'Debugger Users' group on the server.

This issue occurs if you install Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1 and above). Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP1 and above include a loopback check security feature that is designed to help prevent reflection attacks on your computer. Therefore, authentication fails if the FQDN or the custom host header that you use does not match the local computer name.

There are two methods to work around this issue, use one of the following methods, as appropriate for your situation.

Method 1: Disable the loopback check

The first method is to disable the loopback check by setting the DisableLoopbackCheck registry key.

To set the DisableLoopbackCheck registry key, follow these steps:

Set the DisableStrictNameChecking registry entry to 1. For more information about how to do this, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

281308

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/281308/ ) Connecting to SMB share on a Windows 2000-based computer or a Windows Server 2003-based computer may not work with an alias name

Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
In Registry Editor, locate and then click the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa

Right-click Lsa, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
Type DisableLoopbackCheck, and then press ENTER.
Right-click DisableLoopbackCheck, and then click Modify.
In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
Quit Registry Editor, and then restart your computer.

Method 2: Specify host names

To specify the host names that are mapped to the loopback address and can connect to Web sites on your computer, follow these steps:

Set the DisableStrictNameChecking registry entry to 1. For more information about how to do this, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

281308

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/281308/ ) Connecting to SMB share on a Windows 2000-based computer or a Windows Server 2003-based computer may not work with an alias name

Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
In Registry Editor, locate and then click the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\MSV1_0

Right-click MSV1_0, point to New, and then click Multi-String Value.
Type BackConnectionHostNames, and then press ENTER.
Right-click BackConnectionHostNames, and then click Modify.
In the Value data box, type the host name or the host names for the sites that are on the local computer, and then click OK.
Quit Registry Editor, and then restart the IISAdmin service.

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2010-04-13T09:41:00.001+12:00

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2010-03-13T19:47:00.000+13:00

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2010-03-09T19:32:00.001+13:00

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Unable to start debugging on the web server. Access is denied

2010-03-03T08:30:00.000+13:00

If you get this error while debugging asp.net applications in VS.NET try the following:

1.) Make sure that the your account is in the debuggers user group
2.) Go to the .NET command prompt, type aspnet_regiis -ir

Issues when upgrading Hyper-V server installed in Windows Server 2008 Standard to Enterprise Edition

2010-02-26T21:18:00.000+13:00

Currently, we just purchased another 32GB for our hyper-v server. I was wondering why on earth I can't fire more VMs and hyper-v is complaining that I have insufficient memory despite I got 64 GB and the entore system is only utilizing 31GB. Good thing that my colleage point out that hyper-v is installed in a standard edition of Windows Server 2008. So the solution is to upgrade the OS to enterprise edition. Sound easy, think again. Below are some things that you should consider before upgrading:

Firstly, any Saved State VM’s will be incompatible with the upgrade. To resolve this, please ensure that all VM’s are shut down (NOT Saved or Paused)
Secondly, Some snapshots may be incompatible after the upgrade. To resolve this, please review any snapshots you have on VM’s and if possible remove these.

If you would like to read more about the upgrade processes , you may refer to the following KB article:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957256

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2010-02-26T19:19:00.000+13:00

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CloudCamps Coming

2010-02-26T19:08:00.000+13:00

Intergen is sponsoring the upcoming CloudCamp events in Auckland and Wellington. With the release of Windows Azure, and the ever-evolving Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), the cloud is going to play an active role in the Microsoft ecosystem in the years to come, not to mention what the other major players are doing.

Visual Studio 2010 Extensibility Walkthrough

2010-02-25T20:05:00.000+13:00

Downloading and managing extensions has never been easier. The ability to find and download your favorite extension is now integrated into common dialogs like the New Project Dialog. Configuring, managing and uninstalling extensions is much easier through the new Extension Manager. You can get full access to the large ecosystem of extensions using Visual Studio as well as an online experience using the Visual Studio Gallery.

General Walkthroughs

Editor Walkthroughs

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Visual Studio 2010 Parallel Computing Walkthrough

2010-02-25T20:03:00.000+13:00

The Parallel Extensions to the .NET Framework 4 and the Concurrency Runtime for Visual C++ 2010 enable developers to leverage parallel computing. By using these frameworks, developers can write parallel applications that will scale efficiently as the numbers of cores and processors increase. By avoiding the complexities of thread-focused programming models, the new parallel libraries simplify the production of parallel code and enable developers to more easily take advantage of parallel hardware. Visual Studio 2010 RC also provides new debugging and profiling tools to help developers understand and verify the behavior of their parallel applications.

Walkthroughs

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Library

Concurrency Runtime

Core Coding Experience in Managed Languages Walkthrough

2010-02-24T20:44:00.000+13:00

Visual Studio 2010 is an exciting release in managed languages and tools. Visual C# and Visual Basic languages continue to evolve towards feature parity, strive to simplify programming and deployment with the Microsoft Office APIs, and allow easy interop to dynamic languages. Visual F# is a new programming language which combines functional, object-oriented and explorative programming to provide a succinct, expressive and scalable language for .NET. In the tools space, Visual Studio 2010 offers greater support for Test-Driven Development, where tests are written before product code as an iterative approach to software design.

Walkthroughs

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'How Do I' Videos for the Visual Studio 2010 IDE

Silverlight and WPF Data Binding in Visual Studio 2010 Walkthrough

2010-02-24T20:43:00.000+13:00

Visual Studio 2010 now offers Drag and Drop data binding for WPF applications. After you add a data source to your project, you can generate data-bound Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) controls by dragging items from the Data Sources window to the WPF Designer.

Walkthroughs

How to...