Fix Broken SharePoint Lists
Published by Jacob Martin on April 22, 2015
If you have ever played with SharePoint lists forms (NewForm.aspx, EditForm.aspx) in SharePoint Designer, then you must have encounter with broken links and other related errors that have delivered your lists or forms useless.
This has become one of the hottest topics, in various forums, community and discussion we have found user facing similar types of issue. So, if you are among the one facing the same issue then this blog is really going to help you. Here you will learn about what are the causes and solution to fix the issue.
Causes
SharePoint function on a GUID system instead of file name system. Hence, simply replacing the broken file with a backup file will not fix the issue because SharePoint will search for a file with accurate GUID and not just the accurate file name.
Solution
Fortunately, there is an easy way to fix this, but it will take your time and a bit of digging. If you are reading this blog then it is clear that you must be familiar with SharePoint Designer and the file structure of the list. The only way to break a form is possible within Designer. So, follow the below steps to fix the issue and the things which you need to fix your forms is:
List GUID for the forms – There are two ways you can search out this:
- Sort the list in your browser and copy the GUID between? View= {and} or
- Copy it from other unbroken list forms.
The proper XML info for the form which is below:
*** NewForm.aspx ***
TITLE HERE
g_[Form GUID]
{[LIST GUID]}
New
8
*** EditForm.aspx ***
TITLE HERE
g_[Form GUID]
{[LIST GUID]}
Edit
6
*** DispForm.aspx ***
TITLE HERE
g_[Form GUID]
{[LIST GUID]}
Display
4
For example you get this XML code down to the critical parts. However there is many more that you’ll see when you try to edit the ListFormWebPart, but these are the appropriate ones as per the topic right now.
| NewForm.aspx | ControlMode = New FormType = 8 |
| EditForm.aspx | ControlMode = Edit FormType = 6 |
| DispForm.aspx | ControlMode = Display FormType = 4 |
Well, now you have all the required things to fix this issue, here how to do it:
- Open any form that is Not Broken, with the broken form page that is already opened in SharePoint. This can be any form from the list if it works, however it is easier if this form comes from the same list as the one which you want to fix.
- In the source code in Designer, search for and the g_[Form GUID].
- Finally, save the file and refresh the list in your browser. The broken links should now be fixed.
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Tools we recommend
If you are unable to fix the broken SharePoint lists by following the above methods then it is recommended that you must use SharePoint File Repair Tool. It is particularly designed to fix the corruption, errors or damage done to the SharePoint server. With this tool you can easily fix and restore your SharePoint database files. You can download the free trial version now to check it out.
how to Fix Broken SharePoint Lists
- Firstly launch the SharePoint Recovery Tool you would find an interface. This interface screen displays two options to recover SharePoint data: ‘Complete Repair’ and ‘Document Recovery’ Select as per your requirement.
- If you choose ‘Complete Repair’, the screen will show the options for selecting and searching SQL Server (.MDF) files. Click on ‘Select File’ to select a SharePoint database for repair. If you do not know the actual path of the database which you want to repair, click on the ‘Search File’ to locate the MDF file in a specific drive. After selecting the desired file initiate the scanning process
- After finishing the scan, the software would generate a tree of all SharePoint database tables and will display it in the left pane. You can select the table in the tree and can have the entire preview in the right pane. Then Click on ‘Repair’ to begin repairing for the selected database.
- After clicking on ‘Repair’, this dialog box will appear. Specify the SQL Server name or Instance name and the desired destination path. Click on the ‘Browse’ option to choose the destination path. And select ‘OK’ button.
- Once this process gets completed, you would find a dialog box that displays this message ‘Recovered file saved at the desired location. This shows that Recovery Process has successfully completed’. And select ‘OK’ button.
- You would find another dialog box that asks whether you want to attach the repaired database to the web application. If you click on ‘Yes’ button, the above dialog box will be displayed. In the web application URL type, the name of the corrupt database and SQL Server Instance name. Then Select ‘OK’ button and proceed. When the process gets finished, you would be able to access the repaired database by opening the web application.
