Excel Services is not currently able to load workbooks
If you find that Excel Services is not able to load workbooks in your SharePoint site then this may be due to insufficient permissions. You may also see the following error in your logs: System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: Cannot open database “SP2013_Content_Portal” required…
Backup a service application using PowerShell
If you are making changes to a service application and need to take a backup beforehand this can be done quickly using the Backup-SPFarm cmdlet. Here is an example of how to backup the Managed Metadata service application and proxy:…
Prevent site collection administrators from upgrading site collections
If you are upgrading from SharePoint 2010 to SharePoint 2013, and you need to prevent site collection administrators from upgrading site collections, then you can disable Self Service Upgrades using the Get-SPSite cmdlet: $portal = Get-SPSite “http://portal.lab.local” $portal.AllowSelfServiceUpgrade = False…
Ensure a purchased app is available in all site collections
I have purchased an app and need to make sure it s available in all site collections within a web application. Firstly I import the app package using the Import-SPAppPackage cmdlet: $spapp = Import-SPAppPackage -Path C:\MyApp.spapp -Site http://portal.lab.local -Source Marketplace Then…
SharePoint 2013 – Configure the Secure Store and create a Target Application
I am configuring a Secure Store and creating a Target Application to store credentials for an external SQL database using SQL authentication. This is done in a few simple steps using Central Administration: Register a managed account to run the…
SharePoint 2013 – Request an upgrade evaluation site collection
If you have a site collection that is in SharePoint 2010 mode you can create a temporary upgrade evaluation site collection using the Request-SPUpgradeEvaluationSite cmdlet. Here is an example of how this would look: Request-SPUpgradeEvaluationSite -Identity http://portal.lab.local/sites/sp2010site By default the…
SharePoint 2013 – prevent users from purchasing or installing apps from the SharePoint store
If you have created an app catalog, but don’t want users to be able to purchase or install apps from the SharePoint Store, this can be configured in a few simple steps: Log in to Central Administration as a farm…
Microsoft recommendations on scaling out Search components
I’m currently preparing to take the 70-332 exam (Advanced Solutions of Microsoft® SharePoint® Server 2013) and suspect there may be questions relating to Search Service capacity planning. These are the Microsoft recommendations for scaling out the Search Service components that…
Only allow sites to be created with SharePoint 2013 compatibility level
If you have a requirement to only allow sites within a web application to be created with a compatibility level of SharePoint 2013 then you can configure this using only a few PowerShell commands: $wa = Get-SPWebApplication http://portal.webbworld.local $wa.CompatibilityRange =…
Identify customisations to be installed when upgrading from SharePoint 2010 to SharePoint 2013
If you are planning to upgrade a SharePoint 2010 farm to a SharePoint 2013 farm you may need to identify the customisations that must be installed on the new farm. You can do this using stsadm.exe: stsadm.exe -o enumallwebs -includewebparts…