Windows Server 2008 Client Issues
Posted by Steve Pietrek on January 26, 2009
As most SharePoint developers likely do, I run my SharePoint environments using virtualization software (VMWare Workstation). Last week I was preparing for a demo. I was going to cover Excel Services; therefore, I needed to publish a few Excel spreadsheets. When I brought up the Publish dialog and attempted to specify the document library which will hold my spreadsheets, I would receive errors that the website could not be found. What puzzled me was it worked fine in Windows Server 2003.
Below are a list of similar issues I ran into:
- Could not publish an Excel spreadsheet to Excel Services. Received a “Cannot find ‘http://webaddress’. Please check your spelling.” error.
- When attempting to view the list in Windows Explorer, I received the error: “Your client does not support opening this list with Windows Explorer”.
- When creating a new Word document by clicking the New button in a document library toolbar, after adding text, the document could only be saved to the local file system. If I selected the option to edit the document in Microsoft Word, after making changes, the document would be saved to the SharePoint document library.
- When attempting to open a document in Word by specifying a web folder, I would receive the error that it could not be found.
After some research, the issue seemed related to the WebClient service not being started. When I reviewed my services list, I did not even have the WebClient service installed. Reviewing the list of Windows Server 2008 features, I figured the problem was related to the Desktop Experience feature not being installed. After installing the feature, everything worked correctly.
The file ‘xxx’ is checked out or locked for editing by someone else « Steve Pietrek - Everything SharePoint and Office said
[...] reason I had the WebClient service enabled was issues I was seeing with Excel Services and not being able to publish from Excel. [...]
Rachna said
thanks a lot!!!! Installing the Desktop Experience feature fixed my issue!!
Saso said
Man, you saved my friend and me from a complete nervous breakdown!!!
After 5 days of banging our heads against the wall, I found your solution and everything started to work in 5 minutes…. I can’t even express my gratefulness… If you ever come to Slovenia, I’ll buy you a beer…hell, I’ll buy you a brewery man, hehehe! 