DBXL can only be installed on machines that are part of a domain
To install DBXL, your machine must be part of a domain. To verify, go to Start and right click My Computer and choose Properties. Select the Computer Name tab and click Change. Verify that your machine is part of a domain. Workgroups will not work. You may still choose to install DBXL on a non-domain machine but, as a result, parts of DBXL that deal with authentication (such as the AD service) will no longer work.
ASPNET must have permissions on the SQL database
When installing DBXL on a Windows XP Professional machine, ASPNET must have permissions on the SQL database in order to correctly configure and use the Qdabra sample forms.
Error message during installation when DBXL database contains a space
Installation of DBXL will fail when the database name entered contains a space. As a workaround, use a database that does not contain spaces in its name.
Page Not Found Error after installing DBXL
If attempting to access the DBXL Web Service ASMX pages after installing returns a Page Not Found error, and you have installed DBXL to a port other than 80, make sure that you have unblocked that port from the network’s firewall.
There is another situation in which this error may appear: when the website is configured to use multiple host names and IPs. The workaround is to temporarily remove all but the primary hostname and and IP, install DBXL and then restore the additional hostnames/IP addresses.
DBXL Installation Produces an HTTP Error 404
If you encounter an HTTP Error 404 during DBXL installation, please check that ASP.NET is enabled in the web service extensions of IIS manager. When setting up the server where DBXL is going to be installed, there is an option to allow ASP.NET applications under Windows Components Application Server. This needs to be installed in order for the software to install and run correctly.
DBXL Installation Produces an HTTP Error 405 on Windows XP Machine
Although this error could happen on any machine that is not correctly configured, the most likely situation is a Windows XP Pro machine that has just recently been configured to run the DBXL Web Service. The problem is caused when ASPNET has not been registered with IIS. This happens when .NET 2.0 is installed before IIS. To remedy this problem, run aspnet_regiis.exe -i found in C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\(Version)\.
The error message given during DBXL installation.
Install DBXL on the same site as SharePoint
If you have SharePoint installed, make sure to install Qdabra’s Database Accelerator on the same site that hosts the main SharePoint site (typically on port 80). It isn’t common for SharePoint sites to reside on ports other than 80 (except for the SharePoint Administration site and MySites).
Issues with Skype or other Applications which use ports 80 or 443
We have seen issues with DBXL installations where Skype or other applications, which use common communication ports, are installed and can conflict with Internet Information Server. Some applications may use ports 80 (http) or 443 (https) to communicate. If these are installed prior to IIS, then IIS does not have complete access to these ports. This can cause a 404 page when trying to access a hosted web page on the local server, and may also generate errors when starting a website.
To remedy, uninstall the application and verify that IIS is serving pages properly. Skype can be reinstalled if necessary and will choose a different port if IIS is already using the common ports.
SQL setup produces a red flag on environment check on IIS configuration
On IIS 7, users may find they are unable to install a web setup MSI on a Windows Vista machine without generating any useful error messages. The workaround is to:
1. Uninstall SQL
2. Go back to IIS setup, and add features as seen in screenshot below.
3. Reinstall SQL
4. Make sure there are no red flag on environment check.
Only the person that installed Qdabra DBXL can uninstall it
If you plan to use the Qdabra DBXL Web part to display files in your SharePoint Web pages, you will want to install the Qdabra DBXL Web Part. However, only the person that installed it can uninstall it. To allow anyone to uninstall, you will have to use a special command to run the installer:
1. Go to Start > Run.
2. Type cmd and press Enter.
3. Use the cd command (change directory) to navigate to the folder where you downloaded the Microsoft Installer (MSI) file for the Qdabra MyForms Web Part.
4. Type the following command and press enter: msiexec.exe /i "Qdabra MyForms Web Part.msi" allusers=1
DBXL will assume SSL port number when installing on a site with https
If you install DBXL on a website configured to use https but change the configuration to http later and reinstall, you will receive the error “Could not initialize the database.” When you configure the web site to use https it is storing the port number as 443. When you remove the server certificate from the default website and reconfigure it to use http, it is not removing the SSL port number from that default website. To prevent this problem, you will have to remove the port number manually:
1. Open Inetmgr.
2. Open the properties of the web site which was configured to use https.
3. Delete the SSL port number.
4. Click on the Apply and OK buttons.
Eventlog shows a SQL connection error using the Shared Memory Provider
During installation you might encounter an error that reads: The installation failed, and the rollback has been performed. --> Error initializing DBXL database. --> Cannot initialize database 'QdabraDBXL' on server '<servername>'. See eventlog for details. In Event Viewer, the details of this error read: Shared Memory Provider, error: 0 - No process is on the other end of the pipe.
The workaround requires disabling the shared memory protocol for SQL Server using the configuration tool. This should only be seen when SQL server and DBXL are on the same machine. Please check this on any installation failures where the SQL connection cannot be established during setup.
Installing v2.2 simultaneously with v2.1
If DBXL v2.1 is already installed, you must create a new directory and choose it to install DBXL v2.2. Make sure to also specify different names for the databases DBXL will create during installation.
Upgrading DBXL produces blank Form Versions in DAT
After successfully upgrading from an earlier version of DBXL, you might see a blank Form Version in the catalog view of DAT. To fill this cell with the appropriate value, click to Edit the docType, and then save it again. This will refresh to docType in DBXL and generate the necessary information to fill the column.
Using non-default values for permissions during install may prevent DAT installation
If, during install, you receive the error "Error publishing Admin Tool: Access Denied", publish DAT manually by logging in to the server and invoking the "PublishDATFormTemplate" Web method. This method is included in the DBXLAdmin web service, which can generally be found at http://servername/qdabrawebservice/DBXLAdmin.asmx.
Users must have Read permissions for the Document Type
The QueryDocuments web method requires Read permissions for the Document Type. If users have only Document Level Read permissions, the QueryDocuments web method will return Access Denied. This limitation will be addressed in a future version of Qdabra DBXL.
Changing document level permissions requires a reshred
If you add or change document level permissions for a configuration in DAT, the permissions will not be enforced for documents that were created previous to the permissions change. Reshredding documents is a required step to update existing documents.
L-Read DocType Level permissions aren't implemented
The L-Read checkbox seen in DAT's Permissions view is meant for future use. Please use L-Write if you wish you assign lock permission to a user.
Firefox is not supported
DBXL does not support opening and locking forms from Firefox. Please install Internet Explorer.
HTTPS: DAT will not open directly via HTTPS
After installing DBXL, the default web page should appear. If when clicking on the DAT link you do not see an Open button, please click Save and save the XSN to your desktop. You can then open DAT from your desktop by double clicking the saved file.
Do not include special characters in Document Type name
If the name of your DocType contains special characters (for example: !@#$%^&*) you may experience problems opening it. To workaround this limitation, please use a DocType name that does not include special characters.
Event Viewer Log Set To "Overwrite Events As Needed" and Maximum Log Size of 2048Kb
To preserve more error events in your event log, open eventvwr.exe (Start->Run->eventvwr.exe), right click on Qdabra and select Properties. Change the default settings as desired.
Solutions using 2007 OM will not work if opened directly from DAT
Because DAT is written using 2003 InfoPath OM, users will experience problems when publishing and opening forms created from 2007 OM unless they are marked as Full-Trust.
User encounters “Database not registered for use" error when calling QueryDB
Before you can begin using QueryDB, the database being queried needs to be added to the configuration/qdabra.dbxl/enumdb/databases node in web.config. The SQL server indicated during installation (where QdabraDBXL and QdabraSamples are located) is already configured, but any additional databases must be added individually, like this: <database alias="DB_Alias" name="SampleDB" server="default" />
SQL default database not set
After restarting SQL server service and/or IIS, you might encounter an error that reads "Shared Memory Provider, error: 0 - No process is on the other end of the pipe". Log into SQL Server under another admin login and check the properties under the usual login. If you find that the default database is not set, reset the default database and log back in under the usual account.
Changing the DBXL database connection string after installation
If you change the ConnectionString in the web.config to reference a different database after install, you must invoke the InitializeDatabase Web method of the DbxlAdmin.asmx page to create/update the database schema.
The InitializeDatabase Web method can be found in the DbxlAdmin Web Service (for example, http://localhost/QdabraWebService/DbxlAdmin.asmx?op=InitializeDatabase). Navigate to the Web method from the server and click on Invoke. You can also call the Web method by creating a blank InfoPath form and querying it, but you will have to have administrator privileges.
Shredding without a key returns error in database mapping
Mapping a form to a SQL database requires the existence of either a key column or an identity column. If the table does not have an identity column, and the user does not designate a column as the “key” column, DAT will return a validation error to the user. For more information on these scenarios, see the document called Shredding Without Key Returns Error in Database Mapping.
Mapping: DocIDs don't work if database column has Identity set to Yes
When you map the DBXL::DocID to a column in your database, make sure the column does not have Identity setting of "Yes". If so, SQL will try to automatically set the value and thus prevent the DBXL Web Service from setting it leading to an error. You should never map a value into an Identity column in the database, because the database takes care of populating this column.
DBXL does not support 'yes' and 'no' as boolean values
When shredding boolean values into a database, DBXL does not support 'yes' and 'no' as boolean values. When shredding into ‘bit’ types in the database, the DBXL mapping should be ‘Boolean’ and the XML being submitted should set the field to either ‘1’ or ‘true’ and ‘0’ or ‘false’.
Cannot delete documents when there is a mapping error
If a Document Type contains mapping errors, deleting a document in that Document Type will fail. Deleting the Document Type itself will also fail, because DAT attempts to delete all documents before deleting the Document Type. Please see the document called Can't delete when there are mapping errors for a workaround.
qForm requires .NET Framework 2.0 or later
If you encounter the following error when opening a DBXL document, your machine does not have .NET Framework 2.0 installed.
Form template: http://<servername>/QdabraWebService/Forms/<DocTypeName>/template.xsn
InfoPath cannot open the selected form because of an error in the form's code.
The format of the file 'Qdabra.Common.dll' is invalid.
This scenario is most common when using InfoPath 2003 SP2.
Deleting Documents within qForm
When a user deletes a document within a qForm-based solution, the full assignment history is not deleted. This might result in qForm displaying a user in the Assigned To list in the Search taskpane, even though that user does not have documents assigned to them. Please see the document called Deleting Documents and Flow for a qForm.
Searching for a DocID does not work for newly saved documents
DBXL stores DocIDs in the XML of your form, but not on the initial save of the document. The first time you save the document, DBXL doesn't know the DocID because the form has not been stored in SQL yet. In this case, the XML will just contain "" for DocID.
When opening a document, DBXL always populates the DocID field, as it is needed for internal purposes, and it’s stored in the Processing Instruction. Subsequent saves of the document will save the DocID and allow it to be searched via the regular text search.If you want to search for a document, don't type the DocID into the search string. Instead, use metadata search.
Schema Changes in QdCatalogBase cause an Error Message
Making schema changes, such as renaming a node, when designing the QdCatalogBase form causes InfoPath to issue an error. This happens because InfoPath detects the built-in code that comes with the form, but it does not have the source code to update the references. However, you can safely click Ignore on this error. If you would like to stop the error message from displaying, create a new blank InfoPath Form Template project in Visual Studio and specify to use the QdCatalogBase.xsn file for the template.
Web part doesn’t render after adding to SharePoint 2007 sub site page
If the Web part shows an error, it may be due to security trust settings on your SharePoint 2007 server. Go to the virtual directory on the server where SharePoint is installed and navigate to the bin directory where you will find Qdabra.Dbxl.Webparts.MyForms.dll. Open a cmd shell and run “gacutil –” on this dll to add it to the Global Assembly Cache so that SharePoint trusts it for sub sites.
Can't open forms when clicking on icon
If the form cannot be opened correctly from the SharePoint web part please make sure that the WebDAV extension is prohibited. You can do this by following the steps below
1. Go to the IIS Manager
2. Open the web service extension
3. Check if WebDav extension is prohibited
4. If it’s not prohibited, then prohibit it
Digitally Signing documents for use in DBXL
To track documents, DBXL inserts a processing instruction into the XML on submit, which includes a unique DocID. After initial insertion, the DocID is used to identify the document when it is resaved, deleted, or reshredded. As a result of this insertion, you cannot digitally sign a document before submitting it for the first time. To workaround this, please read the document called How to use Full Trust form templates in DBXL, which includes a tool that allows for a workaround.
QueryDB uses the credentials of the web service instead of those of the querying user
QueryDB currently only uses permissions that are defined on the SQL Server that it is querying. Because QueryDB web service acts as a liaison between the end user and the database, the database only receives requests from the web service. This means that any user accessing the web service has the same permissions as the user account (generally NETWORK SERVICE) that the web service is running as. Since most users have less permissions as the NETWORK SERVICE account, this is considered an Elevation of Privilege security hole. One way to reduce the risk is to create a new account for the web service to run as, and only allow that account access to query the DB. Qdabra will address this issue in a future release.
Using QueryDB with a dynamic SQL table
If your SQL table(s) have the potential to change (for instance, adding a new column), you should have QueryDB access a SQL view instead of directly accessing the table. This will allow the underlying table to change and small modifications to the view will prevent your InfoPath solution from breaking.
In addition, when building a query in Query Builder and using the query in GetColumnsXMLStrQuery, make sure to specify all of the columns you wish to retrieve. InfoPath attempts to derive the schema of the table; therefore, adding a column to the table will break the Data Connection in your form.
Active Directory query fails on Windows XP
If you install DBXL to Windows XP and you cannot query the Active Directory Web service (ADUserInfo.asmx) you will have to manually configure your machine’s ASPNET account. To verify that this is the problem, navigate to http://machine/QdabraWebService/ADUserInfo.asmx, click GetMyInfo and Invoke. If you don’t get XML you will need to follow the configuration steps detailed in this document.
Importing documents with their RefIDs intact
The ImportDocuments method allows the user to import documents with their RefID intact. To do this, a data connection to the service must be manually created, with the importExistingRefId parameter set to "true". The Document Type's "XPath to inject RefId to" field must be filled out with an appropriate XPath. Note that once the RefID XPath has been established, changing it will break previously submitted documents.
Cannot remove document types that contain resources
After using DbxlResource web service to create, configure and use a new xml resource, you will receive an error if you attempt to delete the Document Type Configuration for which you have created the Resource. Before deleting such a Document Type, you must first delete the resource itself using the DeleteResource operation in DbxlResource.
Removing clutter from the Qdabra Event Log
To help form developers debug their form mappings, DBXL logs informational messages to the Qdabra Event Log when a node is not found in the XML. If you form includes optional sections, a node missing from the XML is common scenario so these messages will create unnecessary clutter. To stop these messages from being logged, set the logShredWarnings value in the web.config to false.
MyForm Webparts does not work with IPFS
MyForm Webparts is provided for backward compatibility only, and the best practice for new solutions is to use dataviews, since IPFS cannot open documents that reside outside of a form library.
Uninstalling Qdabra's Query Builder InfoPath form tool
Qdabra's Query Builder InfoPath form tool needs to run with full trust so that it can execute shell commands. To install this full trust tool on your local computer, we use InfoPath’s built-in support for URN based solutions. When the form is installed, InfoPath adds entries to your Windows registry. Unfortunately, due to a bug in InfoPath installer, sometimes uninstalling doesn’t work and the registry entries are not cleaned up correctly. Please see this document for help.