Troubleshooting SharePoint: Holmes & the Missing Message

The Unseen Errors of SharePoint Online

An enlightening blog post penned by Ellen van Aken delved into one of those unusual and frustrating issues that could sometimes emerge while using SharePoint Online. Dubbing it 'SharePoint Holmes and the Missing Message,' she narrated a real-life sleuthing experience that encircled a peculiar problem — a News post that simply wouldn't open, despite being visible on the SharePoint site.

The mystery began when a user reported having trouble opening an interesting News post. Even after refreshing the webpage, closing, and reopening SharePoint, and even logging in and out, the News post remained unclickable. Intriguingly, the News post was clearly visible and appeared to have been recently posted on the SharePoint site.

The blogger then proceeded to describe her subsequent investigations that followed. She first confirmed that it wasn't a permissions issue. By doing so, she logged in as an admin and found that the site was accessible to all employees. The issue was that a News post on the site's homepage was posing a problem.

When clicked, it showed an error message referencing a URL on a ‘Communicationsite.' This was in contrast to the site's URL which stated 'Intranet.' A subsequent error notification led the author to hypothesize that the News post may have been created using the 'News Link' feature on SharePoint.

This feature, as the author detailed, allows users to share News from one SharePoint site to another via a convenient URL in a popup. The visiting SharePoint site then adds a thumbnail, title, and description, which may be edited if needed.

The unique case that Ellen described culminated when she found that the original News post from the ‘Communicationsite' had been accidentally deleted. The deletion led to the mentioned error on the 'Intranet' site. The problem was resolved when the deleted post was restored on the 'Communicationsite,' which subsequently allowed access to the News post in the 'Intranet' site.

The author emphasized the importance of a thorough life cycle management approach with guidelines to prevent the unauthorized deletion of an essential News post. She suggested readers might find it useful to implement rules like keeping posts for at least one year unless earlier removal is mandated. She also acknowledged the limitations of such measures, as News Publishers cannot easily track if their News posts are being shared on other sites.

In conclusion, while SharePoint Online can sometimes exhibit peculiar error behaviors, understanding the underlying processes can help users to troubleshoot effectively. Ellen's blog underlined a useful tip - before deleting a post, the authors can check if the News has been shared on other sites and caution the external publishers if needed. Methods like copying the title and inputting it in the MS365 search box or using less common keywords from the title can be beneficial in this context.

General Look at SharePoint Online

Sharing and collaborating on articles, documents, and projects within an organization become exponentially efficient and easy with SharePoint Online. With its expansive and versatile features, SharePoint elevates operational efficiency by offering comprehensive content management cross-platform capabilities, seamlessly integrating with the entire Microsoft 365 suite. In particular, the News post feature, which allows articles to be drafted, reviewed, and posted with valuable insights just like Ellen's aforementioned blog, showcases its superior technological integration. Navigating occasional errors or issues smoothly, per her account, only requires a bit of understanding and familiarity with the platform's functionalities.

Read the full article SharePoint Holmes and the Missing Message

Learn about SharePoint Holmes and the Missing Message

Our hero, SharePoint Holmes, takes center stage in an intriguing case of a missing message. This will be an illustrative story that showcases the functionality of SharePoint and how it can troubleshoot unexpected issues and restore the normal workflow seamlessly.

Upon receiving a report about an inaccessible news post on a SharePoint Online site, Holmes was intrigued. The user who reported the problem was unable to access the News post despite trying common troubleshooting actions such as refreshing the page, closing, and reopening SharePoint, and even logging out and back in.

Holmes begins investigating the situation. He checks the permissions of the user in question and confirms that the site is accessible to all employees. Then examines the site's homepage where the problematic post is located.

The detective discovers an inconsistency between the site named “Intranet” and an error message pointing to a "Communicationsite". Despite having access to the site, our hero experiences the same error—indicating a deeper issue.

Suspicions confirmed, it seems like the News post might have been shared using the “News Link” option. This feature allows users to share news from one site to another without creating a new post. When clicked on, the URL leads to the original site of creation. However, there's a twist.

Holmes deduces from the image absence that the original News post might have been deleted. A subsequent check of the Communicationsite's Site Pages Library and the Recycle Bin further supports this hypothesis. The detective makes contact with the person who deleted the News post, leading to the discovery it was an accidental deletion.

Fortunately, the mystery is swiftly resolved—the user restores the deleted post, and access to the News post on the Intranet site is regained. However, not all stories end this easily. Sometimes posts need to be deleted for being outdated or potentially harmful. In such cases, applying a Life Cycle Management framework for News posts could be beneficial.

Preventing such issues entirely might be impossible, as News Publishers can't easily track where their News items are being shared. Nonetheless, they can minimize potential damage. A valuable tip is to remember: If a News post needs to be deleted, checking for shared links and warning those Publishers can ensure minimal interruption to site accessibility.

Wrapped up, this case offers insight into one of the many functionalities of SharePoint - one that affects day-to-day operations of an organization. Having a SharePoint expert like Holmes within any establishment will provide an indispensable advantage in ensuring SharePoint operations running smoothly.

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