I recently built a Virtual PC (VPC) image based on the MOSS 2007 RTM bits, with the intentions of using it for demos, training, and perhaps some light development work. However, I'm having a problem with the MOSS 2007 / Office 2007 integration; the desktop apps have issues connecting to the server, Document Information Panels (DIPs) won't open, and even the "Edit in Datasheet" function in MOSS lists doesn't work completely. I'm not sure if all of these issues are related, but it seems awfully fishy...
Here is what I've installed inside the virtual machine, in roughly this order:
- Windows Server 2003 R2
- IE7
- IIS
- .Net 3.0
- DNS
- AD
- POP3
- SQL 2005 w/ SP1
- MOSS 2007 Enterprise
- Office 2007
- SharePoint Designer 2007
- Project Pro 2007 (not server)
Now, I realize that the Office apps are not usually installed on the server, so this situation is (hopefully) not representative of a production environment. But is this causing my issues? Perhaps the order of installation has an effect?
Here are some actual screenshots...
When inside of a document library, and I select New > Document (Contract, in this case)...
...the appropriate Office app launches and downloads the document template from MOSS, but a message is displayed stating the "Document Information Panel was unable to load":
When attempting to save the new file back to the MOSS document library...
...an error message states that the file cannot be saved because there is no connection to the server:
However, when I decide to edit an existing document with MS Word...
...the file opens in MS Word and there is no DIP error message...
...and I'm able to edit the document and save it back to the document library without problem.
I have a suspicion that the issues are related to Office 2007, because when I try similar actions with MS Project 2007 files (MS Project, although considered to be part of the Office suite, does not share the new features that have been designed into the other Office 2007 apps), the same issues are not present.
For example, when I attempt to create a new project file from the New > Document menu...
...the new file is created in MS Project 2007 without error (MS Project 2007 does not have the DIP, as the other Office 2007 apps do), and when saving the new file...
...the new file is successfully saved back to the MOSS document library. Interesting, to say the least.
Now let's take a look at MOSS list datasheet views. If we visit a list, then switch to the datasheet view...
...we see that this occurs without errors, although there was only 1 item in the list, but three similar items appear in the datasheet view:
This seems very odd to me, but let's press onward...
If I select Actions > Refresh Data...
...I'm told that MOSS was "Unable to refresh the list":
If I click the "Retry" button, the following error message is thrown in my face:
I've checked my browser (IE7) twice, and everything ActiveX-related is enabled. The "datasheet component compatible with Windows SharePoint Services" message makes me scratch my head, though.
Moving on, let's turn on the task pane in the datasheet view, then select "Query list with Excel"...
...Excel 2007 launches, and we get a "Data connections have been blocked" alert...
...and if I click the "Enable" button, the following "Cannot connect to the server" error message is displayed:
I've dug through the Office 2007 menus looking for security-related settings, I've installed Office web components, and I've considered running out to the Home Depot to buy the biggest sledgehammer they sell.
Any suggestions or insights from the peanut gallery are always welcome. If I find anything on this end, I'll be sure to share. I'm also planning to rebuild the entire VPC image, in case I've done things out of order or missed any critical steps.
Happy SharePointing!