SharePoint 2013 Designer Workflow is not started and the initiator is Anonymous

Issue Description

Workflow created using SharePoint designer is not getting started and the initiator is Anonymous.

Recently I ran across an issue where a SharePoint Designer workflow associated with a list was showing the below symptoms. It was a simple list and a basic workflow sending an email. 
The status of the workflow showed :

Initiator : Anonymous and Internal Status : Not started

Screenshot below

How to fix this

1. Make sure that the below services are in Running state

Workflow Manager Backend

Service Bus Message Broker

Service Bus Gateway

Windows Fabric Host Service (FabricHostSvc)

2. Restart the WorkflowServiceBackend service

net stop WorkflowServiceBackend

net start WorkflowServiceBackend

Restore-SPSite : 0x80070003

Issue Description

I was trying to do a backup and restore operation between SharePoint farms and got the below error message:

Restore-SPSite : <nativehr>0x80070003</nativehr><nativestack></nativestack>

Resolution

            Make sure that the source and target SharePoint farms are in the same SharePoint build versions.

SharePoint 2013 Query Suggestions

Query suggestions are phrases that you want the search system to suggest to users as they start typing a query. For example, as you start to type "Chicago", they may be able to pick  a word that starts with "Chicago" from a list below the Search Box.

The Query Suggestion feature needs to be enabled at the Service Application level to be activated.Once this is done there are 2 ways to implement query suggestion.

1. Manually upload the query suggestion list into SharePoint.

2. The search system automatically creates suggestions for a query when users have clicked one or more of the results for that query at least six times.

Manually uploading the query suggestion

1. Browse to Central Administration -> Service Applications -> Search Service Application.

2. Go to Queries and Results -> Query Suggestions

3. Select Show Query Suggestions

4. In Always suggest phrases -> Import from text file

5. Browse to Central Administration -> Monitoring -> Review job definitions ->Prepare query suggestions -> Run Now

6. In this example, I start typing for the word �Chicago�, all words starting with Chicago is automatically picked up.

Implementing Thesaurus in SharePoint 2013

1. Create a thesaurus file

2. Deploy/Import the Thesaurus file

3. Check the results

1. Create a thesaurus file

- In the Keycolumn, enter the term (single or multiple words) that you want to trigger a synonym for when the term occurs in a query.

- In the Synonymcolumn, enter the synonym (single or multiple words) that you want to add to the query if the term specified in the Key column occurs in a query.

- In the optional Languagecolumn, enter the abbreviation for the language for which the synonym should apply.

Example of a thesaurus looks like this:

 Key,Synonym,Language

IE,Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer,IE

UN,United Nations,en

UN,Vereinte Nationen,de

2. Deploy/Import the Thesaurus file

Start the SharePoint 2013 Management Shell.

$searchApp = Get-SPEnterpriseSearchServiceApplication

Import-SPEnterpriseSearchThesaurus -SearchApplication $searchApp -Filename <Path>

<Path> specifies the full UNC path of the .csv file (the thesaurus) to be imported.Universal Naming Convention (UNC) is a way to identify a shared file in a computer without having to specify (or know) the storage device it is on. 

In Windows operating systems, the UNC name format is:

\\servername\sharename\path\filename

3. Check the results

When you search for "IE" you should get results with "IE" and "Internet Explorer"

SharePoint 2013 Thesaurus or Synonyms

SharePoint 2013 Thesaurus or Synonyms

The Thesaurus feature in SharePoint is associated with the SharePoint Search Service Application. In SharePoint Search if you want to include synonyms also in Search results for specific keywords, you need to import a thesaurus file into SharePoint.

In case you search for IE and you want the Search Results to include IE and Internet explorer, you need to have a thesaurus file uploaded with these entries into SharePoint

Thesaurus file is normally used to specify synonyms for a single word or multiple words that occur in queries. The query is expanded based on the entries in the thesaurus. You create and maintain the thesaurus file in a system external to SharePoint 2013 before you import it into SharePoint 2013 to make the synonyms available to the search system.

It should be a .csv file with the columns Key, Synonym and Language

- In the Keycolumn, enter the term (single or multiple words) that you want to trigger a synonym for when the term occurs in a query.

- In the Synonymcolumn, enter the synonym (single or multiple words) that you want to add to the query if the term specified in the Key column occurs in a query. Synonyms consisting of multiple words will be added as phrases to the query.

- In the optional Languagecolumn, enter the abbreviation for the language for which the synonym should apply.If you leave this column empty, the query is expanded with the synonym regardless of the query language.

Note : Make sure there are no leading or trailing spaces around the terms

Example of a thesaurus looks like this :

Key,Synonym,Language
IE,Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer,IE
UN,United Nations,en
Implementing Thesaurus in SharePoint 2013

PowerShell to get the details of Content Sources in the SharePoint Search Service Application

This example retrieves the default content source for the search service application.

$ssa = Get-SPEnterpriseSearchServiceApplication

Get-SPEnterpriseSearchCrawlContentSource -SearchApplication $ssa

Name                           Id    Type                CrawlState CrawlCompleted     

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

Local SharePoint sites     1     SharePoint           Idle                          

Content Source 1           17    SharePoint           Idle       2/2/2016 2:58:46 PM

Content Source 2            6     SharePoint           Idle       2/2/2016 1:57:00 PM

Content Source 3            12   SharePoint           Idle       2/2/2016 11:57:40 AM

Content Source 4            14   SharePoint           Idle       2/2/2016 11:58:14 AM

Content Source 5            15   SharePoint           Idle       2/2/2016 3:27:58 PM

Configure Workflow Manager on a server that is NOT part of the SharePoint 2013 farm

Note: For configuring Workflow Manager on a server that is NOT part of the SharePoint 2013 farm, you must install the Workflow Manager Client on each server in the SharePoint farm before you run the pairing cmdlet.

For downloading and installing the Workflow Manager Client go here

To configure Workflow Manager on a server that is NOT part of the SharePoint 2013 farm and on which communication takes place by using HTTP

1. Log on to each server in the SharePoint Server 2013 farm.

2. Install the Workflow Manager Client on each server in the SharePoint farm.

3. Open the SharePoint Management Shell as an administrator. This is accomplished by right-clicking the SharePoint 2013 Management Shell command and choosing Run as administrator.

4. Run the Register-SPWorkflowService cmdlet. The cmdlet should be run only once and can be run from any of the servers in the SharePoint farm.

Register-SPWorkflowService -SPSite "http://myserver/mysitecollection" -WorkflowHostUri "http://workflow.example.com:12291" -AllowOAuthHttp

To configure Workflow Manager on a server that is NOT part of the SharePoint 2013 farm and on which communication takes place by using HTTPS

1. Determine whether you need to install Workflow Manager certificates in SharePoint 2013.

2. Log on to each server in the SharePoint Server 2013 farm.

3. Install the Workflow Manager Client on each server in the SharePoint farm.

4. Open the SharePoint Management Shell as an administrator. This is accomplished by right-clicking the SharePoint 2013 Management Shell command and choosing Run as administrator.

5. Run the Register-SPWorkflowService cmdlet.

Register-SPWorkflowService -SPSite "https://myserver/mysitecollection" -WorkflowHostUri "https://workflow.example.com:12290"

Reference

Configure Workflow Manager on a server that is part of the SharePoint 2013 farm

To configure Workflow Manager on a server that is part of the SharePoint 2013 farm and on which communication takes place by using HTTP

1. Log on to the computer in the SharePoint Server 2013 farm where Workflow Manager was installed.

2. Open the SharePoint Management Shell as an administrator. This is accomplished by right-clicking the SharePoint 2013 Management Shell and choosing Run as administrator.

3. Run the Register-SPWorkflowService cmdlet.

Register-SPWorkflowService -SPSite "http://myserver/mysitecollection" -WorkflowHostUri "http://workflow.example.com:12291" -AllowOAuthHttp

4. Log on to each server in the SharePoint Server 2013 farm. Each server in the SharePoint Server 2013 farm must have the Workflow Manager Client installed.

5. Install the Workflow Manager Client on each server in the SharePoint farm.

To configure Workflow Manager on a server that is part of the SharePoint 2013 farm and on which communication takes place by using HTTPS

1. Determine if you need to install Workflow Manager certificates in SharePoint.

2. Log into the computer in the SharePoint Server 2013 farm where Workflow Manager was installed.

3. Open the SharePoint Management Shell as an administrator. This is accomplished by right-clicking the SharePoint 2013 Management Shell and choosing Run as administrator.

4. Run the Register-SPWorkflowService cmdlet.

Register-SPWorkflowService -SPSite "https://myserver/mysitecollection" -WorkflowHostUri "https://workflow.example.com:12290"

5. Log on to each server in the SharePoint Server 2013 farm. Each server in the SharePoint Server 2013 farm must have the Workflow Manager Client installed.

6. Install the Workflow Manager Client on each server in the SharePoint farm.

For downloading and installing the Workflow Manager Client go here

Reference

Install and configure workflow for SharePoint Server 2013

1. Install and configure SharePoint Server 2013

2. Install and configure Workflow Manager

3. Configure Workflow Manager to work with the SharePoint Server 2013 farm

The following two key factors needs to be considered before configuring Workflow Manager to work with SharePoint Server 2013.

1. Is Workflow Manager installed on a server that is part of the SharePoint farm?

2. Will communication between Workflow Manager and SharePoint Server 2013 use HTTP or HTTPS?

These factors translate into four scenarios. Each scenario configures a SharePoint Server 2013 farm to communicate and function with the Workflow Manager farm.

1: Workflow Manager is installed on a server that is part of the SharePoint 2013 farm. Communication takes place by using HTTP.

2: Workflow Manager is installed on a server that is part of the SharePoint 2013 farm. Communication takes place by using HTTPS.

3: Workflow Manager is installed on a server that is NOT part of the SharePoint 2013 farm. Communication takes place by using HTTP.

4: Workflow Manager is installed on a server that is NOT part of the SharePoint 2013 farm. Communication takes place by using HTTPS.

Reference

SharePoint 2013 Crawl job will not stop

When you are unable to stop a crawl (full or incremental) using the Central Administration UI, you can try one of the below steps

Approach 1 (Restart Search services)

1. Stop and start the SharePoint Server Search 15 service

2. Go to services.msc -> SharePoint Server Search 15 -> Restart

Run the PowerShell script on the SharePoint server

Approach 2 (Using net start command)

net stop OSearch15

net start OSearch15

Approach 3 (Using PowerShell command)

Stop-Service -name OSearch15

Start-Service -name OSearch15

Approach 4 (PowerShell script to stop the SharePoint Crawl Job)

Add-PSSnapin "Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell"

Get-SPEnterpriseSearchCrawlContentSource -SearchApplication "Search Service Application" | ForEach-Object {

     if ($_.CrawlStatus -ne "Idle")

     {

         Write-Host "Stopping currently running crawl for content source $($_.Name)..."

         $_.StopCrawl()

       

         do { Start-Sleep -Seconds 1 }

         while ($_.CrawlStatus -ne "Idle")

     }

}

Approach 5 (Perform an Index rest)

Browse to Central Administration -> Search Service Application -> Crawling-> Index Reset -> Reset Now

Note: Resetting the crawled content will erase the content index. After a reset, search results will not be available until crawls have been run.

How to change the URL for SharePoint Central Administration site

If you extend the Central Administration web application (using GUI or psconfig command) to run on multiple servers, and when you click on SharePoint Central Administration icon you're still redirected to the first SharePoint server where Central Administration is hosted.

The URL has to be changed via registry on all SharePoint servers to fix this.

To change the URL for SharePoint Central Administration URL:

1) Open Registry editor

2) Backup the registry before making changes

3) Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Web Server Extensions\14.0\WSS and change the value of CentralAdministrationURL to the new URL

Common Office Web Apps PowerShell commands

Get-SPWOPIBinding

The Get-SPWOPIBinding returns a list of bindings that were created by using New-SPWOPIBinding on the current SharePoint farm.

Get-SPWOPIBinding

Remove-SPWOPIBinding

The Remove-SPWOPIBinding removes all bindings on the current SharePoint farm.

Remove-SPWOPIBinding -All:$true

New-SPWOPIBinding

The New-SPWOPIBinding creates bindings for all the applications and file name extensions that the WOPI application supports on the current SharePoint farm

New-SPWOPIBinding -ServerName "Server.corp.Contoso.com"

Related Posts � 1, 2

Configuration Failed - Failed to connect to the configuration database: Error during decryption. Ensure the passphrase is correct.

Issue Description

1. I was trying to connect a SharePoint server to an existing farm after entering the farm passphrase.

The configuration wizard fails and gives me the below error message

Configuration Failed

Failed to connect to the configuration database: 

An exception of type System.ArgumentException was thrown. Additional exception information: Error during decryption. Ensure the passphrase is correct.

2. I tried putting in a garbage passphrase and it gave an error message: The passphrase you entered is incorrect. Please try again

3. But when I tried putting in the correct farm passphrase, it went past this stage and the configuration wizard failed.

Fix

1. Clear SharePoint Configuration Cache on all SharePoint servers

2. Run the configuration wizard on the new server

SharePoint 2016 : WSS Usage Application proxy in Stopped State

Issue Description

I was working on installing and configuring a SharePoint 2016 farm and I noticed that the Usage and Health Data Collection Proxy was in Stopped State

Fix

Get-SPServiceApplicationProxy

Copy the ID for the WSS Usage Application and use it in your PowerShell command

$UsageApp = Get-SPServiceApplicationProxy | Where {$_.ID -eq "14804966-1b85-4538-b25b-2a15269147a4"}

$UsageApp.Provision()

SharePoint 2013: The server was unable to save the form at this time. Please try again.

Error Description

When I am trying to save data on any list in the farm I got the below error

The server was unable to save the form at this time. Please try again.

Fix

An IISRESET fixed the issue.

Publish SharePoint Calendar to Microsoft Outlook

1. Browse to SharePoint site

2. Click on the SharePoint Calendar link on the left navigation

3. This brings up the calendar.

4. On the top of the page, select Calendar Tools -> Calendar. This will open the ribbon option for the calendar.

5. Click on Connect to Outlook.

6. This opens a pop up. Click Allow.

7. Click Allow

8. Click Yes

9. This will add the SharePoint Calendar in your Microsoft Outlook Calendar section

How to delete a corrupted SharePoint list using PowerShell

$web = get-spweb -Identity http://sp2010

$list = $web.lists["corrupted list name"]

$list.AllowDeletion = $true

$list.Update()

$list.Delete()

SharePoint Recycle Bin � First Stage and Second Stage

SharePoint Recycle Bin stores and keeps a track of the items deleted from the site. When an item is deleted in SharePoint, it is not completely deleted, it is actually stored in a Recycle Bin . The main idea of a Recycle Bin is to restore contents that are accidentally deleted or retrieve data that should not have been deleted. There are 2 stages to the Recycle Bin.

First Stage Recycle Bin

Whenever an item is deleted from the site it goes to the Recycle Bin (users� Recycle Bin) of the site and stays there till it is restored or it expires. By default the items are stored in the Recycle bin for 30 days. This setting is configured at the web application level from Central Administration. You can access a site's Recycle Bin by clicking on the Recycle Bin link on the left navigation (Quick Launch).

Normal user's Recycle Bin URL - /_layouts/recyclebin.aspx

If an item is deleted from the User�s Recycle Bin (First Stage Recycle Bin), it goes to the Site Collection Recycle Bin (Second Stage Recycle Bin).

Second Stage Recycle Bin

When an item is deleted from a site's Recycle Bin it goes to Site Collection Recycle Bin and stays there till it is restored or it expires. By default the items are stored in the Recycle bin for 30 days. If the item is deleted from here, it is deleted forever. To access the Site Collection Recycle Bin, browse to Site Settings -> Site Collection Administration -> Recycle Bin.

This Recycle Bin has two views: End User Recycle Bin Items view displays all the contents of all the recycle bins of all the sites under that particular site collection whereas Deleted From End User Recycle Bin view displays all the items which have been deleted from the sites recycle bins

Site Collection's Recycle Bin has two views :

End user Recycle Bin items URL - /_layouts/AdminRecycleBin.aspx

Deleted from end user Recycle Bin URL - /_layouts/AdminRecycleBin.aspx?View=2

Note:

- If an end user deletes and item, it will go to his Recycle Bin. Other users will not be able to see another users� recycle bin.

- When you disable the Recycle Bin feature, all the items existing in it will be removed permanently.

How to Implement Hold and eDiscovery in a SharePoint Site

Adding a Hold to a Record

1) Browse to the Site Settings

2) Manage Site Features -> Hold and eDiscovery -> Activate

3) This will display the Hold and eDiscovery section in Site settings now.

4) Browse to Holdslist and create a new item (Hold)

5) Now browse to a document library and select a document, right click and choose Compliance Details.

6) This will show the Hold status of the document. Choose Add/Remove from hold

7) Select Add to a hold and Save. Use the drop-down selection box to choose the relevant hold to apply to this record.  The �Comments� field is not required.

8) Now check the Compliance Details. This shows that the document is On hold.If you noticed, now the Delete option is not available( and will not be available as long as the Hold is in place)

Note:

a. This means this record cannot be deleted and will not be destroyed through its Information Management Policy until the new hold is removed.

b. Please note that SharePoint allows you to apply multiple holds to the same record.  If a record has multiple holds applied to it, SharePoint will not allow the record to be destroyed until all the holds are removed.

Removing a Hold from a Record

1) Browse to a document library and select a document, right click and choose Compliance Details

2) This will show the Hold status of the document (On hold). Choose Add/Remove from hold

3) Select Remove from a hold and Save. Use the drop-down selection box to choose the relevant hold to apply to this record.  The �Comments� field is not required.

4) Now you should be able to delete the record