Error 18003 and 26000 when publishing a Project to create associated SharePoint Workspace/Site

Recently a user encountered the following error when publishing a project. The project was created using a custom EPT with custom SharePoint Site Template.

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The errors returned from the queue are as follows:
Error ID: 18003
Error ID: 26000

Detailed error below - send it to the administrator for more detailed troubleshooting.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?>
<errinfo>
<general>
<class name="Web is not a child of the default site collection">
<error id="18003" name="WSSWebIsNotUnderDefaultCollection"

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

Steps taken to Test (replicate) Issue;

1) Test the project creation using default and custom EPT and publish from PWA.

2) Check/Validate Message Queues i.e. no issue with the Project Server Queue service and that the jobs are they draining/being processed as expected.

3) Test the custom EPT with default Microsoft Site Template.

4) Test the creation of SharePoint site manually via PWA site collection > Site Settings > Sites and Workspaces using both the default Project Site Template and Custom Site Template.

What I Encountered – My Findings

The site creation failed with project creation and manual process. Issue with both default and custom templates. Creating the site manually gave the following error message. See fig below. It was related to a missing Site Collection  feature.

Next, use Powershell to get the name of the feature it is referencing:

Get-SPFeature -Identity <GUID>

This feature should be enabled or disabled on both the site collections.

In my case it was OpenInClient. This was found to deactivated. The issue was resolved by activating this feature at PWA Site Collection level.

List of all the Features and Associated Correlation ID

Refer to: <I will add to the following post>

Lessons learned

1. Keep a note of all configuration changes and review impact i.e. feature enabled and disabled.
2. If features are modified at PWA Site Collection level, reset your site template and associate with the appropriate EPTs. 

Hope this helps.

Overwriting Existing Enterprise Project Schedule/Plan with Externally Provided Plan

So you are using Microsoft Project Server and you have a need to regularly show updated external project schedule in your portfolio of Enterprise Projects. How can we do this whilst maintaining continued use of Project related artefacts such as documents, workflow, risks, issues etc?

You can do this by importing the external project schedule/plan and saving this with the SAME name as the existing Enterprise Project. Doing this retains the internal project GUID and, hence, maintains its links to Workflow, SharePoint Workspace and other artefacts.

Here are the general steps;

1. Make a note of the EXACT name of the Enterprise Project Plan to be replaced. You can do this either from Project Centre or Project Pro > File Open dialog box.
2. Using Project Professional, open the external project schedule/plan provided by your external contractor or consultant.
3. Review and modify plan if necessary.
4. File > Save As > Choose SAVE option in the ‘Save to Project Server’ dialog box.
5. You will then be prompted the option to overwrite existing project in the server. Choose OK. See example figure below.

Hope this Helps. Enjoy project….ing!!

Web UI to Build Windows PowerShell Commands for SharePoint

How cool is this!! Web UI for building any Windows PowerShell command you may need!

Simple and easy to use! And, no need to keep file away a big list of commands only to loose it and spend time searching for it. Give it a try….

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/TechNet/en-us/Office/media/WindowsPowerShell/WindowsPowerShellCommandBuilder.html 

Applies: SharePoint 2010/2013 and online services

Enjoy SharePoint…ing!!

SharePoint – Portal Short URL resolution / Redirect to fully Qualified URL

I came across a user requirement to ensure that the short URL for a portal was resolved to a fully qualified domain URL. For example when users access http://portal they are automatically redirected to the fully qualified URL http://portal.contoso.com .

By default, what happens is when you enter a short URL, say http://portal/IT the browser shows the short URL rather than a fully qualified URL http://portal.contoso.com/IT

You really want the best of both worlds!! Allowing the user to type in whatever they want but resolving this automatically in the background. I find that the users want to simply type in the short URL as it is easier and quicker.

In my case, the business had a specific requirement to ensure consistency when sending links to documents, manage corporate branding and compatibility for bespoke application built on SharePoint.

Steps to take to implement this solution;

1	First, create a new website on the Web Server within IIS
	Add the Host Name i.e. the short URL part. See example image above.
2	Next, Select the HTTP Redirect option for the newly created website.
3	Select the option to Redirect and enter the fully qualified URL here. See example figure below.

That’s it. you may need to restart this new website.

Now test the navigation thoroughly.

SharePoint/Project Server 2013 Product Preparation Tool Error “The tool was unable to install Application Server Role, Web Server (IIS) Role”

While running the SP2013 Preparation tool I came across this issue..“The tool was unable to install Application Server Role”

Web Server role was already enabled on the server by the infrastructure team. What transpired was that the .NetFramework 3.5 was not installed by default and could not be installed by when enabling this through the ‘Add Roles and Feature Wizard’.

To resolve this issue, install .NetFramework 3.5 from the wizard but this time I chose to install from the installation media.

 

Now, complete the prerequisites using SharePoint Preparation Tool.

Voilà!!

Hope this helps.

SharePoint – Dynamically Hide Left Navigation (Re-usable Approach)

Applies: SharePoint ; Project Server

So you have deployed SharePoint and want to customise the look & feel and provide your own navigation from the Intranet/Portal Home Page/PMO Site or Project Workspace. But, you just cant seem to get rid of the left navigation. 

The easiest way to do this is to hide this navigation on page load, dynamically. Below are the steps to take;

1. First, download zipped files containing text files (SP2010 OR SP2013)  that have script to hide the navigation.
2. Extract the required file and upload to Site Collection library. any discreet library location is fine.
3. Right click on this file and copy shortcut.
4. Navigate to page where you want to hide the left navigation and select Page > Edit 
5. Insert Content Editor Webpart (under the Media Category of Webparts). See figure below.
6. Edit this Webpart and insert the Shortcut copied during step (3) above.
7. Set the Chrome State > Chrome Type to None
8. Click Apply and OK for the webpart.
9. Finally, click Save & Close on the Page Ribbon Tab

Note: to restore the left navigation, simply put the page in edit mode and delete the content editor webpart.

Hope this helps. Happy customisation and enjoy SharePoint…ing!!

Free ebook: Introducing Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview Release

Another free ebook offering from Microsoft Press. Introducing Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview Release (ISBN 9780735682931), by Mitch Tulloch with the Windows Server Team, introduces new features and capabilities, with scenario-based advice on how the platform can meet the needs of your business. Get the high-level overview you need to begin preparing your deployment now. This book is based on the Preview release and will be updated to cover Windows Server 2012 R2 RTM.

Download the PDF version of this title here (108 pages, 5 MB). UPDATE: The EPUB format is here and the MOBI format is here.

 

Watch for the lengthier RTM edition of this ebook later this year!

If you prefer a hard copy of the book, you can order it here from our official distributor, O’Reilly Media, for $9.99.

What is Microsoft Project Online – in Plain English!!

For those interested in Microsoft Project online, here is a video that explains the concept plain English!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&client=mv-google&hl=en-GB&v=L9nvDhL9vWQ&nomobile=1

Please contact me (PJ@projectsolution.co.uk) if you want to learn more.

Enjoy projecting…….

Word2013 – How to resolve the problem "Word experienced an error trying to open the file" when opening a Word 2007/2010 file

Having rolled out office 2013, I thought it was plain sailing until I received some documents from a customer and could not open them. I kept getting this error message.

Some research led me to this excellent MS article.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2749199 

Worked a treat for me. In my case, I added the root location where I keep my documents as Trusted location.

Hope this helps.

Project Centre – Error: This Web Part requires at least Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0

Applies: Project Server 2010

I recently upgraded my IE to version 10 for Win7. Since then, I was not able to access my project centre. I kept getting this error message.

After racking my brains for a while, I tried setting the compatibility mode for this PWA site. Note: You can do this via IE Tools.

This worked a treat!! I was able to access by project centre again.

There you have it. Hope this made your day!!

Update for Microsoft Project Server 2013 (KB2768001)

Applies: Project Server 2013; SharePoint Server 2013

Due to a change in the package configuration introduced after SharePoint 2013 RTM the March Public update is a mandatory requirement in order to install subsequent SharePoint Updates.

EPM2010 – Error ‘Project Web App cannot connect to Project Sever’ (After Upgrade)

I recently came across this error message after upgrading from 2003 > 2007 > 2010.

Note: SP/PS2010 version is at June 2012 CU (v6123) patch level.

Resolution;

1. Ensure Project Server Service is running. Check within SP Central Admin.
2. Run the SharePoint configuration wizard to ensure all the DBs in the farm are upgraded correctly and are at the same version/patch level.
3. Re-boot the server(s)

Voila!! Your system will up and running.

Office 2013 Quick Start Guides

If you’re new to Office 2013, you can download free Quick Start Guides from Microsoft. These printable guides contain useful tips, shortcuts, and screenshots to help you find your way around.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/office-2013-quick-start-guides-HA103673669.aspx

EPM2010 – User with ‘Manage Cube Building Service’ Permission does not have access to ‘OLAP Database Management’ within Server Settings

If a user (say sub administrator) needs to be provided access to ‘OLAP Database Management’ within Server Settings, you will need to ensure that a dependent global permission ‘Manage Site Services’ is enabled as well.

Note: This dependency is not mentioned in the technical documentation.

Hope this helps.

Create SharePoint sites by using cross-site publishing in SharePoint Server 2013

Find resources for learning how to use cross-site publishing to make published content available to users in SharePoint Server 2013.

What is cross-site publishing: Cross-site publishing is a new publishing method that lets you create and maintain content in one or more authoring site collections and publish this content in one or more publishing site collections by using Search Web Parts. Cross-site publishing complements the already existing publishing method, author-in-place, where you use a single site collection to author content and make it available to readers of your site.

Why would I use this scenario: You should use cross-site publishing when you want to store and maintain content in one or more authoring site collections and display this content in one or more publishing site collections. Using cross-site publishing provides the following benefits:

• Separates content authoring from branding and rendering.
• Can be used across site collections, web applications, and also across farms.
• Allows for a mix of authored pages and list content.

Learn more>>>