Microsoft SharePoint 2007 - Fixing a failed WSS v3 and/or MOSS 2007 SP1/Infrastructure Patch Upgrade

The Upgrade Process
I was upgrading an environment (MOSS version 12.0.0.4815) in the following manner:

1. Check all Timer jobs have run to completion in the existing environment
2. Check no errors with WSP
3. Install WSS v3 SP1 Patch (Skip Configuration wizard)
4. Install MOSS 2007 SP1 Patch (Skip Configuration wizard)
5. Install WSS v3 infrastructure Patch (Skip Configuration wizard)
6. Install MOSS 2007 infrastructure Patch
7. Following the prompts for the Configuration Wizard (PSconfigUI).

Okay, so far so good.

The Problems
In the middle of the configuration wizard, it seemed to have stayed on Step 5 for hours. Looking at the Event Viewer, errors with messages:

“Content index on Search could not be initialized. Error The content index is corrupt. 0xc0041800.Component: bd72df39-396a-472f-8a1a-db6c3241e922”



Checking Upgrade.log (in 12\Logs\), unveiled some Exception errors.

The Solution
So then I cancelled out of the setup (which took a while to cancel – actually it didn’t cancel until I ran the following command), and ran the following command to force the upgrade of the SharePoint environment:

psconfig -cmd upgrade -force



Checked the version numbers and the existing sites I had - That seemed to have fixed my issues


Alternative
Alternatively, the stsadm utility can be used (though I didn't have to use it):

stsadm -o upgrade -forceupgrade

For more details on this command:
Upgrade: Stsadm operation (Windows SharePoint Services)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc288073.aspx

Upgrade: Stsadm operation (Office SharePoint Server)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc263413.aspx



References
Command-line reference for the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard (Office SharePoint Server)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc263093.aspx

Install Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 by using the command line
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc752946.aspx

Microsoft SharePoint - Version numbers

It's been the Nth time I've had to checkup the version of SharePoint that is installed on a Farm - and I am now finally keeping this here for my own notes.

All these times I've been hitting back on a very nice post by Penny Coventry that contains a list of SharePoint Patches and respective version numbers:
http://www.mindsharpblogs.com/penny/articles/481.aspx

The easiest ways I use to check version numbers are:
1. In Central Admin, Site Actions > Site settings:



OR

2. In IIS, right click on the web application and select properties > 'HTTP Headers' tab, under Custom HTTP Headers section:

Microsoft SharePoint 2007 - SharePoint Lookup Field Relinker Utility

I've had a dig into my code stash, and found that I actually have a tool to help reassociate SharePoint lookup fields to lists. You'd only every really need to reassociate if the list referenced by the lookup field has an altered GUID. The GUID of a list would change if it has been deleted, or if you migrate a list from one environment to another.

I'm quiet flat out atm, so I'll post some more information in the next week or so with instructions on how to use this tool.

Background
This tool was used as part of a migration plan across servers using site backup and restore. The restored site ended up with lists that had lookups that did not associate with the appropriate columns. This is because the ID of the list in the new environment is different after a restore. Therefore the stored lookup field definition will no long be validly pointing to the correct ID of the list column that it was associated with - hence the need for this tool to reassociate such lookup fields with the relevant list columns that it references from.

Hopefully this little tool could help save alot of pain in migrating lookup fields in lists.

Some notes on the utility:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This tool was developed to reassociate or fix SharePoint lookup fields to lists in a site.

This tool is able to:
1. Relink lookup fields
2. Relink multiple lookup fields from an XML definition (Bulk tasks)
3. View Field Schema

This tool is useful in the following scenarios:
1. A list a lookup field is pointing to has been deleted and needs to be linked to a different field in a different list
2. A site backup is made and is restored in a different environment - The lookup fields will no longer link to
the field even thought the appropriate lists may be created. This tool will help relink the fields

Requirements for this tool to run:
1. Must login as Site Administrator - as the code will delete the lookup field and recreate it (Did not use RunWithElevatedPrivileges() for security purposes.)
2. Tool must be run on a WSS v3.0 or MOSS 2007 Server directly
3. Sorry, this tool has only been tested on an English environment - but theoretically should still work
with other localisations of SharePoint instances.

Where to download:
http://www.codeplex.com/SPLookupLinker

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 - Best Practices Resource Center for SharePoint Server 2007

What is the best way to do something in SharePoint?

Recently, the SharePoint Team Blog announced the SharePoint Best Practices Series (http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2008/08/29/announcing-the-sharepoint-best-practices-series.aspx).

The series includes a "Best Practices Resource Center for SharePoint Server 2007" site, which includes all guidelines about implementing Search, Publishing Portals, My Sites, Team Collaboration, SP Development, and more!
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/sharepointserver/bb736746.aspx

Microsoft SharePoint 2007 - WSS and MOSS VPCs

I just discovered Microsoft provides VPC's for SharePoint evaluation. If you are a little lazy and don't already have a VPC, these maybe a good starting point:

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 VHD (24 July 2007):
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=67f93dcb-ada8-4db5-a47b-df17e14b2c74&DisplayLang=en

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 Developer Evaluation VPC Image (3 July 2008):
http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/details.aspx?familyid=1BEEAC6F-2EA1-4769-9948-74A74BD604FA&displaylang=en

Microsoft SharePoint 2007 - SharePoint Branding Tool v1.7.0 (Custom tool for themes, masterpages, site logos...)

This is an update for this article.

I've been quiet busy recently but I was still able to squeeze some time into improving this tool. I can't think of anymore to improve on without over-doing it. That being said, feel free to send me a post on my blog for suggestions. I hope it will be a useful tool.

You can get the tool at codeplex

http://www.codeplex.com/BrandingTool.

Here is the readme:

SharePoint Branding Tool v1.7.0 Released

This tool can be used apply the following actions for multiple Site Collections, and Child Sites:

-modify Themes,
-modify MasterUrl (Master Page),
-modify CustomMasterUrl (System Master Page),
-modify SiteLogoUrl (Site Logo),
-modify SiteLogoDescription (Site Logo Alternative Text),
-modify AlternateCssUrl (Custom CSS Style Sheet)
-view various properties of sites and themes at a glance

Selection of sites can be filtered by the Site Template used.

In this version I have made the following enhancements from feedback:
-UI Improvement: Less intrusive messages
-UI Improvements: Status Strip for operation reporting, etc
-Different SharePoint language version support (Dynamic install path support - for Spanish support)
-Improved error message reporting
-Improved operation reporting
-Configuration file support


And here are some screen shots of the new app:






Remember the tool not only does the job using the SharePoint Object Model, but it also allows you to do it through the SharePoint UI:


You can get the tool at codeplex

http://www.codeplex.com/BrandingTool.

Microsoft SharePoint 2007 - Stsadm extensions

"The branding tool is out. What next? How about an stsadm tool for themes?"

After a search on google, it seems Gary Lapointe has beat me to it:
http://stsadm.blogspot.com/2008/01/apply-theme.html

He's created a very useful list of stsadm extended commands found here.
(http://stsadm.blogspot.com/2007/08/stsadm-commands_09.html)

The source code can be downloaded here:
http://www.thelapointes.com/blog/stsadm.zip

The installation file can be downloaded here:
http://www.thelapointes.com/blog/Lapointe.SharePoint.STSADM.Commands.wsp

Here's a listing of the additional commands:

1. createquotatemplate


2. editquotatemplate


3. setmastersitedirectory


4. setallowaccesstoonlinegallery


5. disableuserpermissionforwebapp


6. enableuserpermissionforwebapp


7. setselfservicesitecreation


8. connecttoportalsite


9. setsitegeneralsettings


10. setuserprofiledefaultaccessaccount


11. setuserprofileimportschedule


12. gen2003to2007profilepropertymap


13. migrate2003profilesto2007


14. setpictureurlnewpath


15. setsitenamingformat (use mysitesettings instead)


16. enuminstalledsitetemplates


17. enumavailablesitetemplates


18. addavailablesitetemplate


19. removeavailablesitetemplate


20. enumnavigation


21. addnavigationnode


22. setnavigationnodes


23. copynavigation


24. enumfeatures


25. copycontenttypes


26. enumavailablepagelayouts


27. fixpublishingpagespagelayouturl


28. repairsitecollectionimportedfromsubsite


29. convertsubsitetositecollection


30. setsitedirectoryscanviewurls


31. enumtimerjobdefinitions


32. exportlist


33. importlist


34. copylist


35. getlistschemaxml


36. enumunghostedfiles


37. reghostfile


38. deletelistfield


39. moveweb


40. managecontentdbsettings


41. addsiteadmin


42. deleteweb2


43. mysitesettings


44. upgrade2


45. enumpagewebparts


46. movewebpart


47. setwebpartstate


48. retargetcontentquerywebpart


49. replacefieldvalues


50. applyupgradeareaurlmappings


51. publishitems


52. setlocalsitedirectory


53. import2


54. setsearchcenter


55. replacewebpartcontent


56. enumeffectivebaseperms


57. createwebapp


58. deletewebapp


59. exportlistitem


60. importlistitem


61. copylistitem


62. deletelistitem


63. setnavigationsettings


64. enumprofileprivacypolicies


65. setprofileprivacypolicy


66. enumprofileproperties


67. editprofileproperty


68. exportlistfield


69. importlistfield


70. updatelistfield


71. deletelist


72. copylistsecurity


73. updatelistview


74. setsspacl


75. createsearchscope


76. updatesearchscope


77. addsearchrule


78. setauditsettings


79. setusageanalysis


80. adduser2


81. adduserpolicyforwebapp


82. addlistitem


83. exportlistitem2


84. movesite


85. applytheme


86. retargetgroupedlistingswebpart


87. sitewelcomepage


88. enumwelcomepages


89. createcontentdb


90. createsiteindb


91. exportcontenttypes


92. exportsitecolumns


93. importsitecolumns


94. setanonymousaccess

Microsoft SharePoint 2007 - SharePoint Branding Tool v1.6.0 (Custom tool for themes, masterpages, site logos...)

This is an update for this article.

I spent a few more hours trying to update the user interface and to make the tool a little easier to use.

Update 1: New options
The interface is more refined and has shortcuts to open the site directly from a context menu. New items in the "File" menu for easy access to SharePoint Theme files and folders.


Update 2: More Information at a glance
I've added an extra DataGrid View to show properties of the selected site or selected theme. This version also shows the theme preview.


Update 3: Easier to use interface
I've reduced the pop-ups and tried to bring is all together in the one window.


Enjoy!

You can get the latest (v1.6.3) SharePoint Branding Tool here:
http://www.codeplex.com/BrandingTool

Microsoft SharePoint 2007 - SharePoint Branding Tool v1.5.1 (Custom tool for themes, masterpages, site logos...)

I got a little bored and a little sick at home, so I started finishing off some code I worked on with my colleagues Andrey Shchurov and Alexandre Bacchin (I'm no geek though).

This is meant to be a tool that will aid the Web Designer or the SharePoint Developer in applying look and feel to their SharePoint sites. It also doubles up as a great tool to update multiple SharePoint sites manually (including MySites).

This is how the tool looks like. You can select from a list of web applications, select the sites to apply changes, and then apply your theme! (If you've got lots of sites, that's ok, you can filter them by the site template the site uses)


It's got other features as well to quickly update your MasterPage URL, and your Applications MasterPage URL(CustomMasterUrl) as well:


So this is before the Theme application:


This is after. It doesn't only apply it for the top level site, but also did it for one of the child sites (which is 2 level below the above site):


Need to change the site logo and description for multiple sites? No problem:

Boom! In just a few seconds just took a few seconds...

And the Master Page URL? How does it work? Here's a screen shot:

After the update of the property via the code:

Not to mention, it also logs what it does in a text file, so it's easy to revert in case of mistakes. It's developed with .NET 2.0 and uses the SharePoint 2007 API, so it'll work with WSSv3 and MOSS2007.

The code doesn't have good naming conventions, but we'll leave that to be a to-do. For now, I've tested it enough to prove it works with no problems. Any suggestions of feedback, please post it on the codeplex page.

A newer version is available. More information here:
http://sharepointsix.blogspot.com/2008/03/microsoft-sharepoint-2007-sharepoint_24.html

You can get the SharePoint Branding Tool here:
http://www.codeplex.com/BrandingTool