Home - Thinking out aloud - Dave Hunter's SharePoint Blog

04/12/2008

SharePoint 2007 Post SP1 Issues - Event ID 5214

I've been recently building some SharePoint Virtual Machines, looking at the media I had available which was SharePoint 2007 RTM, I decided it was best to get a fresh copy of SharePoint 2007 with SP1. I planned to install the Infrastructure Update and instead of installing RTM, applying WSS SP1 and MOSS SP1 and Infrastructure for WSS and MOSS - 4 updates in total sounded daunting.

After installing MOSS SP1 I started to configure the services, during this I got the usual and scary "Cannot complete this action" error, especially as I've used MOSS SP1 before without any errors.

The errors in the event log are:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Event Type: Error

Event Source: Windows SharePoint Services 3

Event Category: Database

Event ID: 5214

Date: 04/12/2008

Time: 14:37:38

User: N/A

Computer: COMPUTER_NAME

Description:

Insufficient SQL database permissions for user 'MOSS DATABASE ACCESS ACCOUNT' in database 'SharePoint_AdminContent_c4cfffb3-2065-49e4-b705-33b11b07fcf9' on SQL Server instance 'COMPUTER_NAME'. Additional error information from SQL Server is included below.

EXECUTE permission denied on object 'proc_GetWebNavStruct', database 'SharePoint_AdminContent_c4cfffb3-2065-49e4-b705-33b11b07fcf9', schema 'dbo'.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Event Type: Error

Event Source: Windows SharePoint Services 3

Event Category: Database

Event ID: 5214

Date: 04/12/2008

Time: 14:37:38

User: N/A

Computer: COMPUTER_NAME

Description:

EXECUTE permission denied on object 'proc_GetWebNavAcls', database 'SharePoint_AdminContent_c4cfffb3-2065-49e4-b705-33b11b07fcf9', schema 'dbo'.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I haven't installed SharePoint for a while so questioned whether the permissions were correct. I have four accounts:

Account	Purpose	Privileges
Set up user	Person who installs and configures SharePoint	Member of the administrators group for each WFE
Database Access Account	Used as the main service account for MOSS and the Application pool user for CA.	Service account with SQL Roles (DB Creator and Security Admin) privileges and a member of local Administrators group
Server Farm Account	Used to run services and identity of application pools	Member of the administrators group
Default Content Access Account	Used to index content	None

The account the error message complains about is the database access account, but this has DB Creator and Security Administration. I reviewed the following information here "Event ID 5214 (Windows SharePoint Services health model)" - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc561019.aspx with no success.

After looking further I found this http://www.eggheadcafe.com/software/aspnet/33333060/execute-permission-was-de.aspx where it was confirmed as a known issue and that the August 2008 update resolves this. For more information please see http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/956056/

I choose to install the Infrastructure Update which rolls up these updates. For more information please see:

Please read the notes carefully, with any update you cannot un-install and with MOSS you need to install the WSS update first and then apply the MOSS version of the update.

Posted at 15:19 by Dave Hunter | Category: SharePoint - General | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

19/11/2008

History of SharePoint

Joining Dots have a great article about the history of SharePoint. You can read the article here. They also have a diagram explaining where SharePoint 2007 has come from and its features.

I've worked with Microsoft CMS just after Microsoft acquired nCompass, then onto MCMS 2002, SharePoint v2 technologies and through to MOSS. These products have changed over the years, technology and focus. You programmed against MCMS 2001 using ASP 3 / VBScript and Microsoft CMS 2002 in .NET.

SharePoint 2001 was more focused on Document Management. The markets changed and collaboration was the main focus. With MOSS it can feasibly target all markets (Document Management, Content Management, Collaboration, Records Management, Business Intelligence, Business Process and Enterprise Search). Get yourself a piece of the MOSS pie :)

Posted at 22:16 by Dave Hunter | Category: SharePoint - General | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

How to add the site title to a page layout or masterpage in SharePoint

I recently got asked how to add the site title to a page layout. Off the top of my head I said use the project property web control and specify the site title property.... which was close.

The project property web control looks like:

<SharePoint:ProjectProperty Property="Title" runat="server"/>

The Property attribute takes the following values:

Name	Description
BlogCategoryTitle	Category of the current post
BlogPostTitle	Title of the current post
Description	Description of the current site (SPWeb)
RecycleBinEnabled	Returns 1 (recycle bin enabled) or 0 (recycle bin disabled)
SiteOwnerName	User name of the owner for the current site collection
SiteUrl	Url of the current site collection (SPSite)
Title	Title of the current site (SPWeb)
Url	URL of the current site (SPWeb)

Example:

Title: <SharePoint:ProjectProperty Property="Title" runat="server"/> 
Description: <SharePoint:ProjectProperty Property="Description" runat="server"/> 
RecycleBinEnabled: <SharePoint:ProjectProperty Property="RecycleBinEnabled" runat="server"/> 
SiteOwnerName: <SharePoint:ProjectProperty Property="SiteOwnerName" runat="server"/> 
SiteUrl: <SharePoint:ProjectProperty Property="SiteUrl" runat="server"/> 
Url: <SharePoint:ProjectProperty Property="Url" runat="server"/>

Posted at 13:58 by Dave Hunter | Category: How to; SharePoint - Development | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

11/11/2008

How to check if a SPFile exists in a document library

Usually in SharePoint there are several ways to implement some functionality. With experience you learn which is the best method. This is true of retrieving a document from a document library. At first you think the files must be part of a collection so you look at how to access the SPFileCollection and from that access the document you are interested in.

Approach 1

Typically in .NET when access a collection and retrieve a single item either by name, guid or integer you check the item has been returned before using it. This returns an empty structure and you test if it isn't NULL. The following example tries this with retrieving a document (SPFile) from a document library.

SPWeb currentSite = SPContext.Current.Web;
SPDocumentLibrary docLib = (SPDocumentLibrary)currentSite.GetList(currentSite.Url + "/Documents"); 

if (docLib.RootFolder.Files[fileName] != null) 
{ 
  // do something 

}

This throws an Argument Exception

arg_ex

Approach 2

SharePoint has a "Exists" property of the SPFile, this returns a boolean flag to indicate if the file exists.

SPWeb currentSite = SPContext.Current.Web;
SPDocumentLibrary docLib = (SPDocumentLibrary)currentSite.GetList(currentSite.Url + "/Documents"); 

if (docLib.RootFolder.Files[fileName].Exists == true) 
{ 
  // do something 
}

Again this throws a Argument Exception

arg_ex

Approach 3

The correct way of checking if an item exists is using the GetFile method of the SPWeb. The example below illustrates this.

if (currentSite.GetFile(fileName).Exists == true)
{
  // do something
}

Summary

When retrieving a SPFile from a document library use the SPWeb.GetFile() method and test if it exists using SPFile.Exists.

Posted at 10:58 by Dave Hunter | Category: SharePoint - Development | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

03/11/2008

How to programmatically set the content type while creating a list item

If you create a new list item using the API without setting the content type id you will create a new item using the default content type. However if you want to create a new list item using a different content type you will need to set the Content Type ID field.

The example below creates a list item using a content type called "Log" in a list called "HistoryLog".

using (SPSite site = new SPSite("http://intranet/"))
{
  using (SPWeb rootWeb = site.OpenWeb())
  {
    SPList historyLog = rootWeb.GetListFromUrl("/lists/historylog/allitems.aspx");
    SPListItem item = historyLog.Items.Add();
    item["LogType"] = "Warning";
    item["LogMessage"] = "Message .....";

    // set the content type id
    item["Content Type ID"] = rootWeb.ContentTypes["Log"].Id;
    
    item.Update();
  }
}

Posted at 12:14 by Dave Hunter | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

31/10/2008

SharePoint Designer - stop that lag when loading

SharePoint Designer (SPD) by default loads the last site you were using when it opens. I know this is a "feature" and has it benefits when you are working on one site, but I find myself realising that its opening the last site and frantically clicking the stop button in hoping that it will stop loading swiftly.

stop

You can turn this feature off, select Tools > Application Options

You will be presented with the following

spd_options

De-select the first option and click OK.

Posted at 12:18 by Dave Hunter | Category: SharePoint - General; SharePoint Designer | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

29/10/2008

Timer will not run error because the administrative service is not enabled error

I booted up my server this afternoon and tried to deploy a SharePoint solution package. I ran a deployment script which called stsadm commands to install and deploy several wsp files. The install script looks something like:

SET stsadm ="%CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\12\BIN\STSADM.EXE"

%stsadm% -o addsolution -filename "MySolutionPackage.wsp"

%stsadm% -o execadmsvcjobs

%stsadm% -o deploysolution -name "MySolutionPackage.wsp" -allowgacdeployment -allcontenturls -immediate –force

%stsadm% -o execadmsvcjobs

Nothing special is happening here. After both the addsolution and deploysolution commands I get the following error:

The timer job for this operation has been created, but it will fail because the administrative service for this server is not enabled. If the timer job is scheduled to run at a later time, you can run the jobs all at once using stsadm.exe -o execadmsvcjobs. To avoid this problem in the future, enable the Windows SharePoint Services administrative service, or run your operation through the STSADM.exe command line utility.

I checked the services and found out that the Windows SharePoint Services Administration service wasn't running. After starting the service the errors weren't reproduced.

Please note: My install script included the command execadmsvcjobs which runs all jobs that are waiting to be run instead of waiting for the service to pick it up. If you deploy a solution via Central Administration you should run STSADM –O execadmsvcjobs or start the Windows SharePoint Services Administration service.

Just need to find out now why the service didn't start automatically .... TBC

Posted at 17:29 by Dave Hunter | Category: SharePoint - Administration | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

26/10/2008

Re-published my MOSS Content Types Viewer on CodePlex

I've re-published my Content Types Viewer on CodePlex. This release includes full source code (currently it's POC standard, I will update soon). http://www.codeplex.com/MOSS2K7CTypesViewer

For more information please see:

Using the Content Types Viewer http://www.davehunter.co.uk/Blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=16
Creating Content Types using the Content Types Viewer http://www.davehunter.co.uk/Blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=20

Andrew Connell has a great extension for generating site columns and content types which can be downloaded here http://www.andrewconnell.com/blog/articles/MossStsadmWcmCommands.aspx.

My tool was developed before this was available and was aimed to be a visual tool for reengineering existing content types.

Posted at 18:16 by Dave Hunter | Category: SharePoint - Development | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

25/10/2008

Visio Shapes for SharePoint

I was looking to expand my toolbox for designing SharePoint solutions, I've found the following Visio Shapes, enjoy!

Shapes for wireframes

Source	Description
TamTam - Ferry	Shapes for wireframing page level functionality. Download it here http://www.den-dopper.com/2008/10/14/visio-template-and-stencil-for-designing-sharepoint-moss-2007-portals-and-sites/
Nick Finck	This is a generic set of IA shapes but still relevant. Please see http://nickfinck.com/stencils/

Shapes for designing and planning SharePoint farms and their structure

Source	Description
Microsoft	Site hierarchy planning tool is part of Microsoft's planning worksheets for MOSS and WSS. For more info http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc288346.aspx
SmallSteps.co.nz	Similar to the above but includes lower level shapes for documents, tasks, calendars etc. Download it here http://www.smallsteps.co.nz/articles/VisioStencil.aspx
Maxime Bombardier	Site structure shapes for designing or documenting MOSS. For more information and to download please see http://blogs.msdn.com/maximeb/archive/2007/10/27/updated-visio-stencils-for-sharepoint-2007-site-structures-documentation-version-0-2.aspx

Posted at 19:30 by Dave Hunter | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

24/10/2008

SharePoint vNext – Rumours, Speculation and Confirmed Features

The table below lists the known facts about what we can expect in SharePoint vNext and their probability of happening or making the version.

Feature	Summary	Probability	Source(s)
64 bit only	SharePoint vNext will be a 64 bit version only.	CONFIRMED	TechNet
Silverlight	Silverlight 2.0 webparts or UI will be present.	MOST PROBABLY	Speculation
Super-Lists	SQL tables-like behaviour for SharePoint lists	PROBABLY	Bill Gates
Groove Integration	If the user has Groove client installed, more options will be displayed for data synchronization, in more seamless way.	PROBABLY	Ray Ozzie
Master Data Management	Master data source for keeping only one version of the truth. This data can be surfaced as SQL Server views or SharePoint data. In essence, a rebranded and somewhat expanded version of Stratature product +EDM, now known as Codename "Bulldog".	MOST PROBABLY	Wikipedia Microsoft MDM
XHTML-compliant output	SharePoint UI will produce clean XHTML-compliant output.	PROBABLY	Speculation
FAST search integration	FAST-based enterprise search as a Search replacement. Webparts that show FAST search results.	MAYBE	CMS Watch
ODF and PDF support	Custom filters won't be necessary to index and extract metadata from ODF and PDF files.	PROBABLY	Microsoft
CMIS support	Content Management Interoperability Services will allow SharePoint to communicate with other ECMs via web services.	MOST PROBABLY	Microsoft
Claims-based Authentication mechanism	Decouples the authentication mechanism from its implementation. It will enable SharePoint to use any interoperable authentication mechanism to authenticate the users.	MAYBE	Network World

Thanks to Edin for compiling this list http://edinkapic.blogspot.com/2008/10/sharepoint-v14-2009-feature-list.html.

We've known about the 64 bit feature for some time now and have been recommending 64 bit server deployments ever since (for both performance reasons and future proofing customers environments). Microsoft have released some more information about CMIS here http://blogs.msdn.com/ecm/archive/2008/09/09/announcing-the-content-management-interoperability-services-cmis-specification.aspx.

Posted at 17:36 by Dave Hunter | Category: SharePoint - General | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

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