| Frequently Asked Questions about SharePoint™ Team Services (brought to you by Mike Walsh, Helsinki, Finland). |
 |
|  Q : 1. - What is the best way to install STS? (1) |
|
II.1 What is the best way to install STS ?
STS is available in three forms. There is a separate STS CDROM; STS is included with FrontPage 2002 and STS is included with all Office XP versions that include FrontPage which will probably mean the Developer Edition; the version of Office XP Professional that is included with an MSDN subscription and possibly your company's Microsoft subscription copy.
The best way seems to be to install SPTS from the Office XP (as above) CDROM. The Service Pack 1 for Office XP includes at least one vital amendment to STS (a working Migration). There is no Service Pack for the stand-alone version.
It is possible to install STS from the Office XP CDROM without the need to install Office XP or FrontPage.
(Note: Some people have had problems when Service Pack 1 is run on a machine with only STS)
(I have however with success installed a standard Office SP1 over a Finnish language STS where no Office apps have been installed.The only problem was that the pop-up saying it was complete/Press OK was almost entirely under a similar pop-up showing that the update was only half-way through. Watch out for this !)
Note: You still need - for licensing reasons - to assign one of the above products solely to the server even if you only install STS and not FP or Office XP. See below.
Note: KnowledgeBase Q312543 lists the STS bits amended by the Office XP SP1. |
| http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q312543 |
|
| Q : 10. - What do I do if there is no version for my language? (1) |
|
Try to persuade your users that the English version is easy to use. Alternatively try by hand to convert part of the texts within the template files. I wouldn't recommend this though I suspect that at best you would get a mixed-language site.
You will also lose most if not all of your changes when Microsoft brings out a Service Pack or new release. |
|
|
| Q : 11.1 - How do I transfer an existing STS site to another server? (1) |
|
You should use the Migration Tool that comes with the Office XP SP1.
For migration to work correctly you will need to have installed Ofice XP Service Pack 1 on the server you will be publishing to AND the Office XP Service Pack 1 on the workstation you are using as a client to your existing STS server. You DO NOT need to install the Office XP server Pack 1 on your present server (though this might be a good idea anyway).
Open any STS Web in FrontPage 2002. Select "Publish web" from the file menu and publish it to your destination server".
Microsoft have now (June 2002) come up with an Assistance Center article on Publishing a Web at:
http://office.microsoft.com/assistance/2002/articles/fpCopyLists.aspx
In most cases this is the method that will be most suitable to you. It does however seem that people who have made many changes to the original templates may need to consider the manual method of migration instead.
Consider the following warning about using "Publish Web" that Dustin Miller made in the newsgroup.
"It is VERY important to note that when migrating using Publish you'll lose some important data.
All lists become custom lists with generic icons. You'll have to go into the database to fix this. If you've created any custom templates and linked them to your ONET.XML, the existing lists are moved but the additional templates used to create them are not.
If you're using your own code to interact with the database, be aware that ALL the list types (except doclibs and discussions) will revert to sp_servertemplate=100 (custom list). Because of these shortcomings, if you've changed ANYTHING in the root XML files, I recommend Microsoft's manual migration approach."
This manual migration approach is at
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/TechNet/prodtechnol/sharepnt/deploy/spmigrat.asp |
| http://office.microsoft.com/assistance/2002/articles/fpCopyLists.aspx |
|
| Q : 11.2 - How do I transfer my STS MSDE database from one location to another? (1) |
|
The following complicated method was carried out successfully by one newsgroup member.
"Basically the process is:
1. Stop SQL server
2. Reinstall MSDE to point to the new drive location.
3. Verify/modify registry for SQL data file locations.
4. Copy old DB files to new location.
5. Start SQL server
6. Use SQL admin utility to connect to the master db
(since MSDE does not come with one, I found a freebie called SQLExecMS; see link below)
7. Create new DB for each site and point to new file location.
8. Use MSDE import/export utility to copy SQL data and objects from
old db to new db.
9. Use SPTS admin page to change DB name to new DB created in step 7.
10. Detach old DB from master db using the SQL admin utility.
11. Repeat steps 7-10 as needed for each site.
I successfully moved 5 sites using this process. Be sure to only COPY
the original DB files as mentioned in step 4. It may be necessary to attach to them at some later time if some data is corrupted or not available by other means."
(FAQ writer) I have not tried this myself
-----------
Another alternative approach mentioned in the newsgroup was as follows
1. Follow the technote
(http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/prodtechnol/sharepnt/deploy/upgrdmigrate/spmigrat.asp)
until you get to the section "Migrating Data Stored in the SQL Server Databases". Skip the first two sections on backing up and restoring the SQL database. The backup step is being completed nightly on our server to "c:\mssql7\backup\nightly_backup.bak" and is being captured to tape. Copy the most recent backup file to the destination server. Don't attempt to restore yet.
2. Complete the steps in the section "Assigning the Database". Rename the database to match the server's database such as "server_LM_W3SVC_1_Collab"
3. Restart web services or reboot the server.
4. Open SharePoint's Administration web page and do a Restore pointing
to the BAK file from the server.
5. Complete the last section in the technote "Upgrading the Site".
6. Open SharePoint on the new server!!
(FAQ writer) I have not tried this either.
|
| http://www.geocities.com/laplassoft/ |
|
| Q : 11.3 - How do I move my database from MSDE to SQL Server ? (1) |
|
This answer assumes that you have already installed SQL Server on another server.
a) Go to the server with SQL Server and open Enterprise Manager
b) Navigate to the server with MSDE (or add a server registration for that)
c) Navigate to the MSDE database folder and select the Sharepoint database
d) Select this and do "Backup DB"
e) Select the SQL Server DB folder; right-click on it. Restore the DB.
Then you need to tell the Sharepoint site where the Database now is.
f) Got to the Sharepoint site and change Database Connection by accessing the "Microsoft SharePoint Administrator" in Administrative Tools and selecting "Administration" for the site and then "Change database connection"
---------------
Another correspondent said that the DB restore within Enterprise Manager didn't work for him and he had to write a RESTORE DATABASE WITH MOVE query to get the job done.
This (exactly) is what he said he used.
RESTORE DATABASE ws03930_LM_W3SCV_1_Collab
FROM DISK = 'F:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL\BACKUP\appcompat'
WITH
MOVE 'WS03930_LM_W3SCV_1_Collab' TO 'F:\Program
Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL\Data\appcompat.mdf',
MOVE 'WS03930_LM_W3SCV_1_Collab_log' TO 'F:\Program
Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL\Data\appcompat.ldf'
This script was used by someone else with success.
|
|
|
| Q : 12.1 - How do I get my site to Index .pdf files ? (1) |
|
Adobe provide a file called IFilter50.exe. The present location for this is http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=1276
(Further information on the IFilter interface can be found in part 4 of the "Index Server SDK TechNet Documentation". This section is called "Using Custom Filters with Indexing Service")
STS is not specified on this web page, but the program does work with STS.
The best way to use this seems to be to install it and go away for the weekend after which with luck you will be able to find .pdf files from your STS site.
Remember to Stop Indexing Service before you add the filter and to Start Indexing Services again afterwards ! Read too the Read me file that comes with the Adobe filter before you install it !
Note: It might be necessary to install and re-install this product several times as it doesn't seem to always work first time around.
Note: If the above link to get IFilter no longer works, go to Google; use Advanced Search; Search Word IFilter and restrict your search to www.adobe.com. The link you need should be one of the first few.
|
| http://www.aspheute.com/artikel/20010914.htm |
|
| Q : 12.2 - How do I get my site to Index Visio files ? (1) |
|
You don't. We all have to wait until Microsoft provides a filter. (see II.12)
Note: MS has a 4.2002 KnowledgeBase paper saying that a limited filter
is provided when Visio 2002 or Office XP are installed on a Sharepoint *PortalServer* site.
We are investigating if this filter is also available to STS.
Stop Press: Microsoft made available in Jan 2003 an IFilter for Visio to TechNet customers. I have not yet tested this in STS.
|
| http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q320922 |
|
| Q : 12.3 - How do I get my site to Index Microsoft Project Files ? (1) |
|
| You don't. This is another strange omission. We all have to wait until Microsoft provides a filter. (see II.12.1) |
|
|
| Q : 12.4 - How do I get my site to index .mht files ? (1) |
|
As before there is no read-made filter.
It has been reported that you can use the Mime filter for this but I cannot confirm this because my attempts to locate and install such a filter have not met with success. (It's a complicated process)
A workaround is to specify "Index files with unknown extensions" in Indexing Services (under Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Computer Management). This will (wait the usual several hours) mean that .mht files are included in the indexing process and appropriate documents found, but will also mean that files with other extensions (where there is very probably data that it will not be possible to index) will also be included in the index.
Use this workaround only therefore if you have mainly only the supported file types and .mht files. |
|
|
| Q : 13. - Do you know of good sources for information on searching STS sites ? (1) |
|
Microsoft have a short article "Searching SharePoint Team Web Sites and FrontPage-based Web Sites" and a very detailed 'Index Server SDK TechNet Documentation".
The best article I have seen on this is the German-language "Arbeiten mit Index Server Catalogs" (Working with Index server Catalogs) that you can find at http://www.aspheute.com/artikel/20000524.htm. |
| http://www.aspheute.com/artikel/20000524.htm |
|
| Q : 14. - Is it possible to have different home pages for each user ? (1) |
|
1. It's not basic (and I no longer think it's worth the effort).
2. Microsoft say it's impossible.
3. The fix requires hand-coding and for people to leave the home page alone.
4. Here's how.
a. Create a default.htm with all the possible Doc Libraries; Announcements etc. etc. in the middle and all the possible Links groups
on the right.
You can do this doing the standard UI for amending the homepage.
b. Copy default.htm and rename it PersLink1.htm
c. Amend PersLink1.htm so that instead of the generated middle and right
column xml code (and bots) you have only the xml code (no bots) for the few doc libraries / links etc. that you want. This code you copy from
default.htm so that you get the right (long) codes for each Library/Link.
You have to use the things you had in the middle column in the middle column of your new .htm and similar for the right column otherwise the code doesn't work.
d. Repeat for PersLink2.htm; PersLink3.htm
Restrictions
Regenerating the default.htm page using the UI will probably change all the codes so you'll need to amend them in all PersLinkx.htm files. I.e. don't
regenerate this page using the UI !!
Any document links you add later with Quick Launch will not appear
automatically in the Quick Launch section for PersLink2, PersLink3 etc. For some reason I can't understand they do occur in PerLink1.htm (as well as in default.htm) on my machine.
These document libraries can be added in the same way to both the Quick Launch section and the middle or right sections for your individual pages using the code method above.
Note: Although possible this needs manual work. My present site has subwebs (with different-looking default pages) for each small group of users, but with all users able to access all parts of the site. (Add hard links forward and back to all default.htm pages above the Quick Launch section) This seems to provide the necessary different home pages without the manual work and restrictions above.
|
|
|
| Q : 15.1 - Can I install STS on a server running SharePoint Portal Server (SPS) ? (1) |
|
Yes if you have SPS SP1 installed.
However it has been reported that there are known problems with document discussions if both are installed on the same server.
Also since SPS SP1, SPS has the ability to index STS sites.
So given these two factors the recommendation would be not to
have these two products installed on the same server - even if it is theoretically possible. |
|
|
| Q : 15.2 - Can I install SharePoint Portal Server on a server running STS ? (1) |
|
This is still unclear. If it still (after STS SP1) still refuses to install; uninstall STS; install SPS and then re-install STS.
See however the comments in the previous section as to the wisdom (Not !) of having these two products on the same server. |
|
|
| Q : 16. - I want to access STS via ISA. Are there any special issues involved ? (1) |
|
Assuming that your STS site is working correctly when accessing it directly, then there is one known possible problem with accessing the site via ISA.
In order for the site to be rendered correctly you need to check a box on the Web Publishing rule Properties page. This tells ISA to forward the original header of the Web page. If you don't do this the web page will be available in its "naked" state - i.e. unprocessed.
|
|
|
| Q : 17. - I have a production site that uses Default Site and I want to create a new STS site on the same machine that stores its files in a different location and which uses a different database. How do I do this ? (1) |
|
The first step is to amend IIS but there are (usually) a few pre-requisites.
a. Acquire a free TCP-IP address and have it assigned to your STS server in addition to the existing one.
b. Open 'Network and Dial-Up Connections'; right-click the local area connection; click 'Properties'. On the General Tab select 'Internet
Protocol(TCP/IP)' and then 'Properties'; Click 'Advanced' and 'Add' the new TCP-IP address and mask.
Through using a. and b. you will be able later to access your site via Port 80. The alternative (which probably your firewall people won't like) is to use the existing TCP-IP address and specify a new port.
Then Open the Internet Services Manager and by right-clicking on 'default site' followed by New / Site create a new site and site location for your new TCP-IP number (or old TCP-IP number plus different port). Naturally it's good to have already created a directory where you want the site's data to go ...
The final step is to create an STS site in your new web site location. This is surprisingly easy.
c. Open SharePoint Administrator
You'll find a list of sites containing probably your existing SPTS site marked 'Administrator' and the new site marked 'Extend'. Click Extend; specify the name and password you use to access the already installed SQL Server system and wait.
You'll find you have a ready-made STS basic site that is accessed via the new TCP-IP address (or TCP-IP + port). You'll also find a new database when you go to databases within SQL Server / Enterprise Manager.
Tip: "Internet Information Services Administration" (New Riders $29.95) is a book I found very useful in improving my IIS knowledge.
|
|
|
| Q : 18.1 - How do I improve the performance of my STS site ? (1) |
|
Microsoft have a white paper on this at
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/prodtechnol/sharepnt/maintain/stsperf.asp
(URL changed by MS by May 2002 )
(one line) |
| http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/prodtechnol/sharepnt/maintain/optimize/stsperf.asp |
|
| Q : 18.2 - Which give better performance - SubWebs or Virtual Servers ? (1) |
|
MS say in the performance paper (see II.20.1) that STS performs better when the sites are spread over Virtual Servers rather than SubWebs.
See II.17 for details of how to create a Virtual Server. |
|
|
| Q : 19. - I don't want my users to see the Folder View. How can I remove this View ? (1) |
|
Background: Many administrators feel that users should not be allowed to access the folder created within a document library as this just confuses them (and is pointless). However in the default version of STS a visible Folder View is created that is listed along with all the views a user *should* be using. The following amendment removes this
View from sight.
a. Go to Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\50\Templates\1033\Layouts\Doclib\SCHEMA.XML.
b. Make a copy of SCHEMA.XML and rename the copy.
c. In line 466 if using XML Spy otherwise the line after <View Base ViewID="3" .. include Hidden="TRUE" after ReadOnly="TRUE" and before Modify Version etc.
d. Save.
e. Test by creating a new document library and seeing that Folder View is no longer listed.
------------
Another solution is to remove the WebFldr.htm file from the document library.
This solution works for existing document libraries too.
(No guarantees, but the word has it that this solution is safe)
------------
I suggest a combination of the two solutions as the best way to solve this problem.
|
|
|
| Q : 2. - What are the main parts of STS? (1) |
|
STS consists of three main sets of files.
a) template files
b) web site files
c) database files
|
|
|
| Q : 20.1 - Can I use the same STS site both stand-alone and as a part of Project Server ? (1) |
|
The MS STS Integration Architecture and Extensibility paper at
www.msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnproj2002/html/shptarch.asp?frame=true
which, despite the title, is a paper on Project Server, says very clearly that using the same site, both in its usual STS form and as part of Project Server, is not recommended.
The key phrase is that "if STS is already installed with another program ... MS Project Server Setup automatically configures STS *exclusively* (my stress) for MS Project Server." It goes on "It is recommended that you dedicate a physical server with STS to MS Project Server". |
|
|
| Q : 20.2 - Do I need separate servers for Project Server and STS ? (1) |
|
The paper refered to in II.20.1 includes three categories of deployment.
10-20 people - use the same server for Project Server; STS and MSDE
100 people - One server each for Project Server; STS; SQL Server
500 people (many projects) - One or more Project Server servers; several STS servers; one SQL Server server.
|
|
|
| Q : 21. - Can I bulk add the same list of users to several subwebs ? (1) |
|
(This workaround worked for me.)
Suppose you have to add the same named 50 users to several subwebs.
Add all the users to the top-level even if you have anonymous access allowed there.
Create the sub webs (level 2) with unique permissions.
Go into the Administrator and amend the site permissions for SubWeb 1 to "same permissions as the parent".
Go into the Administrator and amend the site permissions for SubWeb 1 to "unique permissions".
Remove if necessary anonymous browsing.
Repeat for SubWebs 2,3,4 etc.
If things work as it did for me all your 50 named users will now be listed for each of the subwebs.
A much quicker procedure than adding each user to each subweb individually.
(You can now add users that are only allowed permission to access SubWeb2 (and so on).) |
|
|
| Q : 3. - Where is STS installed by default? (1) |
|
Template files are always installed on the same drive as the operating system (typically C:\ Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web
Server Extensions\50\Templates).
Web Site Files are by default installed on the same drive as the operating system (typically C:\Inetpub\wwwroot).
Database files for a default installation (see II.4) are installed in C:\MSSQL7. |
| http://www.collutions.com/Lists/FAQ/DispForm.htm?ID=16 |
|
| Q : 4. - What are my database alternatives? (1) |
|
You can choose between three alternatives.
a) MSDE is default and is a cut-down version of SQL Server
b) SQL Server version 7
c) SQL Server 2000
|
|
|
| Q : 5.1 - How do I select the database to be used? (1) |
|
If you already have a database system (i.e. SQL Server 7 or 2000) installed, an STS installation will use that.
If you don't have a database system already installed, SPTS will install by default MSDE.
If you don't want to use MSDE, you can either first install SQL Server 7 or 2000 before installing STS, OR you can install STS using the /nd parameter (no database) i.e. setupse.exe /nd and then later install SQL Server 7 or 2000.
|
|
|
| Q : 5.2 - Should the database be local or remote ? (1) |
|
Note that for best performance (see II.18.1) Microsoft
recommend that the database should be on a different
server. In which case of course they would go for SQL Server.
You can have several SPTS servers supported by a single
back-end database server.
In the real world, we have budget constraints and don't at
least immediately have the prospect of thousands of SPTS
sites requiring several SPTS servers.
However the point remains that if you want the best
performance a separate database server is the way to go. |
|
|
| Q : 5.3 - How can I make the database as fast as possible ? (1) |
|
i) Make it remote - see above.
ii) In the case of SQL Server on the same server as STS,
MS make two recommendations.
a) Make sure that OLEDB is set to use Named Pipes to
connect to SQL Server (default is to use TCP/IP sockets)
b) Set SQL Server to use a fixed amount of memory (with a
"good rule of thumb" being to have up to "one half of your
available memory".
Quotes because I'm unsure what they mean by "available" -
total or total after the OS has grabbed some ??
Please note that these recommendations are only for SQL
Server *on the same server* as SPTS.
|
|
|
| Q : 6. - Why shouldn't I simply use the default MSDE ? (1) |
|
Microsoft have (in this newsgroup) stated that you should use MSDE for up to ca. 5 users. This comes from the MS STS Performance paper (II.18.1) which states that "MSDE is throttled for about five concurrent users".
Brian Moran said in a recent SQL Server newsletter that "A query governer limits database performance when MSDE executes more than 5 batches concurrently, database size is limited to 2GB and the engine lacks GUI administration tools" (so you have to use SQL Server tools (or similar) which is probably against the licensing rules for them).
MS also says in the Performance paper that MSDE is "fine for small workgroups" which seems to be in conflict with the previous 5 limit. The answer is that the 5 figure is concurrent users and the small workgroup presumably consists of more users that do not all access the site at the same time.
If you are going to be serious about using STS company-wide you should probably be looking at SQL Server.
For a new installation I would go for SQL Server 2000 simply because it is newer and will be supported by Microsoft for longer.
|
|
|
| Q : 7. - How do I install STS into different locations than the default? (1) |
|
It doesn't seem to be possible to install the templates into anything but the default drive (usually C:) in the standard folders.
If you want to install the web site into anything but the default drive (usually C:), you should before installing STS create a default (empty) Web site on the drive you want (using IIS Administrator). Then when you install STS it will use the existing default location for its home page
and all the document libraries will be stored in folders below that.
In order to have the database files stored in a location other than C:\MSSQL7, you should - before installing STS - install either SQL Server 7 or SQL Server 2000 into a drive and folder of your choice. STS will then use that database and that location for its files. |
|
|
| Q : 8. - How do I create a non-English language version of the site? (1) |
|
Install STS from a non-English language version of the Office XP CDROM.
Note: There might be problems later, for instance service packs may arrive later or not at all. |
|
|
| Q : 9. - What non-English languages are available in this way? (1) |
|
| The Microsoft Office site has the details of different language versions. There is a Finnish language version of Office XP (Finland has a population of ca 5 Million) so therefore most Western European languages (and derivitives such as Brazilian Portuguese) are covered. |
|
|
|
|
|
|