EPM2010 – issue with Project Workspaces Links showing in Quick links

Ever come across this issue where all the SharePoint Project Workspaces start showing in the PWA quick links?

The resolution is simple.

1. Navigate to PWA > Server Settings > Quick Launch
2. un-check the option for ‘Show menu items from Microsoft SharePoint Foundation’. See fig below.
3. Save changes.
4. Close browser session and navigate to PWA.
5. Voila!! the links have one.

Hope this helps.

Migration Issue - Content Database is in compatibility range and upgrade is recommended?

Applies: SharePoint 2010, Project Server 2010

So you have migrated Project Server and Content DB from one environment to another. You attached the content DB (containing the PWA Site Collection) and then attach the four restored PS databases to the PWA instance. You might think that this would be sufficient and that all the restored databases would be successfully upgraded ok by the DB attach operations.

You might then subsequently run the SharePoint configuration wizard, to resolve any issues. Looking at the ‘Upgrade Status Check’ in Central Admin shows all is ok.

Not the case for one of the sites!! When the user started to use the system, strange things started to happen. Project Workspaces where not being created when publishing a project. Same issue occurred if you manually created a site using one of your site templates.

On close examination it turn out that the Project Server (PS) databases upgraded just fine but the content DBs did not. This was evident from ‘Database Review Status’ page within Central Admin.

To resolve this issue we needed to upgrade the affected content databases using the Power Shell command (Run as Administrator).

Upgrade-SPContentDatabase -Identity YourDatabaseName

Depending on your data/content/customisation, you may encounter some errors which you will need to review and resolve. The issues may relate to missing features that need to be enabled etc.

Finally, the ‘Database Review Status’ page within CA will indicate that all the databases are ok and do not require any update.

Hope this helps.

SharePoint CA – Error when deleting a web application

When trying to change the web app authentication from Windows(only) to claims based I encountered this error during the removal of the existing web app.

‘An object of type…… “Unprovisioning SharePoint – 80” already exists under the parent….”

I wanted to keep things neat and tidy and did not want to create yet another new web app with a new name etc.

After hunting around for a solution I came across a ‘hung’ timer job relating to this. Deleted this ‘culprit’ timer job definition and tried to remove the old/existing web app….and voila!! It worked!!

EPM2013 – My Favourite NEW Features/Enhancements (Updated)

First off, Project Centre and detail timeline view. Add Milestones/tasks across different projects to your timeline view. Get the holistic view of the key deliverables all in one place!! Halleluiah…..  

Secondly, the PWA project editing i.e. so much easier and smoother with auto calculation/scheduling i.e. you do not have to keep pressing the Calculate button.

Thirdly, having a single project server database. This has always been a concern of IT admins on sites. Granted that the single database contains all the necessary tables and will GROW. But, it will be easier to manage. More on this later….

Finally, ever wanted to set baseline on PWA projects? well, you will soon be able with the new version. See figure below.

Have fun, if like me you have your head stuck in the ‘bonnet’ to have a good look around the new toy!!

Project & SharePoint Server 2013 Preview – How does this affect you?

This week has been quite exciting with the preview release of Project Server and SharePoint 2013!!

A few key things to bear in mind for existing users of Microsoft Project Server & SharePoint 2007 and 2010. What should you be aware of and plan for?

Project Server & SharePoint 2007

The mainstream support of Project Server & SharePoint 2007 will end Oct 2012. see fig below. You should consider moving on to 2010 version.

Project Server & SharePoint 2010

When considering hardware refresh of your platform, consider upgrading to a platform that meets the minimum pre-requisites for Project Server & SharePoint 2013. See below. This will future-proof your environment when you are ready to move to 2013 version. 

Database Servers

• 64-bit edition of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1
• 64-bit edition of Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Standard, Enterprise, Data Centre, or Web Server

Web & Application Servers

• 64-bit edition of Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Standard, Enterprise, Data Centre, or Web Server

EPM/SP2010 Content Roll-up – Where is Content Query Webpart?

I had an enquiry from a user about rolling up content. The user could not locate the content Query webpart.

Resolution: In-order to access this webpart, you first need to enable the SharePoint Publishing Infrastructure feature at site collection level. See figures below.

Hope this helps.

User productivity: Achievable goal, or mission impossible?

Some interesting survey results;

EPM2010 – Creating Cross-Project Links without saving Master Project

I had a user request about the process for creating links across projects without saving master project. Here are the steps;

• Firstly, create your projects as normal. In my example figure below, I have two projects ‘001_P1’ and ‘001_P2’.
• Select the projects in PWA > Project Centre and choose to edit in Project Pro. Alternatively, you can open a blank project and insert the projects.
• This will open the selected projects in a new blank container project (i.e. master project). Follow best practices e.g. ensuring that the selected projects are in checked-in state prior to opening them in the blank container project.

.

• Create cross-project dependencies as you normally would in a standard project. Follow best practice for linking tasks and milestones.

• Once, this is done, close the project and select the ‘Discard Changes’ option. This is so that the blank container (master project) is not saved back to the server. See figure below.

• Next, you will be prompted to save changes to the other embedded/inserted projects. Choose Yes for individual project or Yes to All for multiple projects.

• To check/confirm the changes on individual projects, open the project in Project Pro. Notice the ghost task links (external project task links) in example figure below.

Now that the cross-project dependencies have been created, you may wish to publish the individual projects.

Hope this helps.