Showing posts with label MOSS 2007. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MOSS 2007. Show all posts

08 October, 2012

Error: Spdesign.exe has been denied access to or there is no server on port 443 at .


Today one of my client reported with an issue while browseing some of the SharePoint sites using designer. Accessing sites using SharePoint gives the below error messages. 

Error: Spdesign.exe has been denied access to



Clicking Ok produces another error message as below.

Error: There is no server on port 443 at . You have selected the Connect using SSL Option. This connections problem may indicate that the server does not support Secure Socket Layer (SSL) communications, or that it uses SSL communications on a different port number.

 
I was clue less for the issue at the start since the sites were browseable using https//….. Protocol. So I started the troubleshooting based on the troubleshooting related to NIC card, VPN connection suspicion, SSL port disability (prompting for making calls server at 443 ports) from windows firewall. 

Tried to compare the SPD versions on the different machine where it was working not working and didn’t found any issue.

Tried to clear SPD Cache clearance by using the following steps:

1. Close SharePoint Designer.

2. Open My Computer.

3. Go to %System Drive%\Documents and Settings\%user%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\WebSiteCache. 

4. Delete all folders and files there.

5. Open the site using SPD and we still has the issue. 

On further checking for proxy used by SharePoint designer I noticed that actual issue was related to the wrong proxy usage with Designer.

The proxy was not configuring to make connection to the server using Secure Socket Layer at port 443. By changing the proxy settings in Designer we were able to access all of the sites using designer.

Steps to change Proxy using Designer. 

1. Open SharePoint Designer. 

2. Go to tools -> Application Options.

3.On General tab choose to click Proxy Settings. And change the proxy with is configured to use the SSL over http protocol. 

By changing the proxy for the client, we were able to open the sites from the SharePoint Designer. 

Note: This Proxy settings can also be configured via IE and you may be prompted to provide credentials to open the site for the first time in Designer. 

If you have any issue or query please do let me know, I would be more happy to help you answer.

Contributor Settings in SharePoint Designer


Issue:
Client was unable to open a site in SharePoint Designer after the activation of the SharePoint Designer on his site.

Reason:
He is not admin of that site or may not have proper permissions to make changes to site using SPD.

Notice:
- You may be able to open the site on your machine using SPD.
- While trying to open the site using SPD on the client machine you get message “Site is not allowed for editing using SPD”.
- You also notice that a small Icon at bottom right side of the SPD console with “Contribute Authentication”.
- It says the user who is trying to access the site is not a Site manager and has contribute rights to edit the site.

Resolution:
- Being Site Administrators, you can disable the use of contribute settings from the sites.
- To do that, open SPD console -> Sites -> contribute settings -> Under Advance tab -> Click Disable Contributor Settings.

Important: 
Contributor Settings is not a security feature. Contributor mode is a limited access mode for users who open and edit SharePoint sites in Office SharePoint Designer 2007. Contributor mode is designed to be used in an environment where site managers are confident of their users’ intentions. Contributor mode helps to guide users in a particular direction to carry out their tasks, and this guidance prevents accidental changes to the Web site.

13 September, 2012

Integration of InfoPath with SharePoint

InfoPath?
InfoPath is based on industry-standard Extensible Markup Language (XML). Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a condensed form of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) that enables developers to create customized tags that offer flexibility in organizing and presenting information. When you design a form, InfoPath creates a form template (.xsn) file, with an .xsn extension. When someone fills out a form in InfoPath, the data in that form is saved in XML format. This makes it easy for organizations to reuse the data elsewhere, perhaps in an existing process that relies on XML, such as an expense reporting process.

However, you don't need to understand XML in order to design or fill out an InfoPath form. The important point is that the form's XML format makes it easy to repurpose and share the data you collect.

In InfoPath, you can do two things:

Design forms:
You can design and publish interactive, user-friendly forms in design mode. In addition to inserting standard controls into a form, InfoPath lets you insert controls that offer users the flexibility to add, remove, or hide sections of a form. The forms you design can range from simple forms for collecting data to complex forms that are part of a larger business process. You don't need programming or scripting expertise to design an effective form. However, if you know how to write script, you can use Microsoft JScript or Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript)  in your forms by accessing the Microsoft Script Editor (MSE) from within design mode.

Fill out forms:
Users who have InfoPath installed on their computer can fill out forms using familiar, document-like features, such as the spelling checker and rich text formatting. Depending on the form's design, users may also be able to merge data from multiple forms into a single form, or export data to other programs. Users can also save forms to their computer, work on them offline, and then submit them to the corporate network when they are reconnected. This is especially useful for people who have intermittent or limited access to network resources, such as employees who travel frequently.

Why to Use InfoPath?
InfoPath forms can be straightforward, simple forms that are used by a few people in a small workgroup For example, a 10-person sales team can use InfoPath to fill out and share information in sales call forms. These forms can be published to and accessed from a common location on the company network, such as a form library located on a Microsoft Windows® SharePoint™ Services site. Alternatively, the sales call form can be designed so that data is submitted directly to an existing database of customer information.

InfoPath forms can also be more sophisticated forms that are integrated into the existing business processes of a large organization. For example, if a company uses Microsoft BizTalk Server to manage the process of expense claim reporting, developers in the company's IT department might design an InfoPath expense claim form that submits data to BizTalk, which then routes that data to the appropriate department for approval or processing.

The following lists are some of the most important benefits of using InfoPath:

Reusable data: The data stored in an InfoPath form doesn't have to remain locked in the form forever; it can be easily separated from the form and reformatted or reused in a variety of ways. This enables form designers to integrate form data into existing business processes.

Accurate data:   As a user fills out an InfoPath form, the data they enter can be checked for data validation errors. If your form is connected to a database or Web service, users won't be able to submit data until they fix these errors. This helps you ensure that the data you collect is accurate and error-free, and that it conforms to whatever standards you specify.

Offline support:  Unlike Web-based forms, InfoPath forms don't have to be filled out while a user is connected to a network. Users can fill out forms offline, and then submit them later, when they are reconnected.

Flexible controls: In addition to standard controls, such as text boxes and list boxes, InfoPath also includes a number of new controls, such as repeating tables and optional sections these types of controls let you create a flexible form that is designed to accommodate your users. For example, in an expense report form, you can use a repeating table to allow users to enter only as many expense items as necessary.

Tablet PC support:  InfoPath allows you to design forms for Tablet PC users. In particular, you can include special controls, called ink picture controls, in your form. Tablet PC users can then add handwritten words or drawings inside these controls.

SharePoint?
Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 connects people, teams, and knowledge across business processes. It unifies disparate information, facilitates easy collaboration on documents, projects, and other efforts, and presents specific applications and customized content based on a user’s functional group and organizational role. SharePoint Portal Server works with Microsoft Windows Explorer, Microsoft Office applications, and Web browsers to help you create, manage and share content throughout your organization.

Integration

Form Library
The InfoPath form library is the primary integration point between Windows SharePoint Services and InfoPath. An InfoPath form library is a special type of document library that can contain and promote any information from any XML file. All documents stored within it are based on a specified InfoPath form template.

The form library is the main distribution point for a specified InfoPath form template; it allows the form to be maintained, deployed, and shared for use by the members of an organization. The form library can display columns of information extracted from the forms. With these columns, the user can create custom views to organize the forms and their content, called property promotion.

The form library also makes the extracted information available for searching as part of the SharePoint site. A form designer can use InfoPath to publish a form template directly to the form library and to define custom views for the forms.

Scenario
You can use SharePoint Products and Technologies in combination with InfoPath to improve status reporting with a project team.

Members of a project team compose and submit project status reports on a weekly basis. The status report covers topics such as tasks, progress, issues, hours logged, and budget expended. The project manager reviews the status report submission for each team member and consolidates relevant information from all team members into a single report, which is then specified to the project sponsor.

Existing Process
Project teams use a generic status report document and store all status reports on a file share. The status report process typically operates as follows:
·         Team Member Creates a Status Report   The team member opens a local, possibly outdated, copy of the generic status report document. The team member types new information for the current reporting period.
·         Team Member Submits a Status Report   The team member posts the completed status report to a file share and sends an e-mail message to the project manager; alternately, the team member mails the status report to the project manager.
·         Project Manager Collects Individual Status Reports   The project manager checks both the file share and e-mail periodically, looking for new status reports.
·         Project Manager Browses Status Reports   The project manager must open a specific report to examine its contents, even if the project manager wants only a quick summary of the status report.
·         Project Manager Searches Status Reports   The file share is not included in an index by a search engine, so searches against the contents of the status reports are not possible.
·         Project Manager Creates the Consolidated Status Report   Once all reports are submitted, the project manager goes through a time-consuming, manual process to generate the consolidated status report for the project sponsor.
·         Project Manager Submits the Consolidated Status Report   The project manager posts the completed status report to a file share and sends an e-mail message to the project sponsor; alternately, the project manager mails the status report to the project sponsor.

05 June, 2012

Exception from HRESULT: 0x80040E07

If I do any customizations/change the look and feel of the template then I usually take the proper backup and archived the structure for future purpose. This time, I took the backup (save site as template method) of Knowledgebase template (one of best template from Fantastic 40) and Uploaded the ‘Knowledge base Template’ .STP to different site collection and I can view the same under ‘Custom Tab’

Tried creating a subsite by using the uploaded template and got the below mentioned error message:
Exception from HRESULT: 0x80040E07
Troubleshoot issues with Windows SharePoint Services.


I can see that site underneath view all site content

When I browsed the system pages then they are still working fine:

But when I browsed this: https://SharePoint2007Administrationsite/sites/amoltest/AdminKB/_layouts/changesitemasterpage.aspx

Then I can see it does not belongs to the approved master page (see the screenshot)

Changed the option back to “Inherit site master page from parent of this site” and site opens successfully without any error messages


Happy SharePoint J

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 J J

Thank you

15 July, 2011

The server block is not well formed

Recently we had resolves one good issue. Our team was transferring the documents from one library to another by means of explorer view/webfldr view. All of sudden when we switched the view from explorer to All documents, we received the following error message:

An error occurred during the processing of /Governance/KateDocuments/Forms/AllItems.aspx. The server block is not well formed.
Troubleshoot issues with windows SharePoint services.


Resolution:Issue has been resolved with the help of http://blog.brainlitter.com/archive/2010/11/09/fixing-%E2%80%93-the-server-block-is-not-well-formed.aspx

Sean Wallbridge has mentioned a very detailed description regarding the causes, root cause and perfct resolution which works in our issue too and issue has been resolved..
Three cheers to Sean for posting the valuable information with all of us, Thanks again..

If you have any issues/queries/questions regarding the above mentioned information then please let me know, Thanks