"SharePoint designer encountered an error generating the task form" error caused by using IP address instead of machine name

Never use IP address instead of machine name while using SharePoint Designer. You can save yourself some time NOT trying to solve the problems caused by that…

I was playing with some SharePoint Designer workflows the other day and was getting “SharePoint designer encountered an error generating the task form” error all the time. And yes, the moment I changed IP to machine name, the problem was gone. And that is not the first error in my practice I had because of that issue.

Creating and customizing SharePoint 2007/MOSS Central Administration Application Pages

Some time ago I got a task create my own SharePoint Central Admin Page. I did start googling and going through different blogs but found almost nothing. Some tips here and there and that’s pretty much it. When I was finally done, I decided that I should structure all my experience whenever I get a chance. So, finally, half a year later I decided to start this blog with this article.

A brief introduction

SharePoint Central Admin Pages physically located inside \12\Admin folder. If you want to look through how some of the current Central Admin Application Pages function, you may use .NET Reflector on Microsoft.Sharepoint.ApplicationPages.Administration.dll and Microsoft.Office.Server.UI.dll. It is respectively located inside of \12\CONFIG\ADMINBIN folder and Assembly Cache.

Review out-of-the-box pages.

Lets review existing MOSS out-of-the-box Central Administration Application Pages:

Page	Inherits	Based
Operations
Operations.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.OperationsLandingPage	GlobalAdminPageBase
FarmServers.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.FarmServersPage	OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
Server.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.ServerPage	OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
GlobalEmailConfig.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.GlobalEmailConfigPage	OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
IncomingEmail.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.IncomingEmailPage	OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
FarmCredentialManagement.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.FarmCredentialManagementPage	OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
irmadmin.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.IrmGlobalSettings	OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
avadmin.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.AntiVirusConfigPage	OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
BlockedFileType.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.BlockedFileTypePage	OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
policyfeatures.aspx	Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement.InformationPolicy. ApplicationPages.PolicyFeatures (Microsoft.Office.Policy.AdminPages.dll)	GlobalAdminPageBase
managesso.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.SingleSignonAdministration.ManageSSOPage (Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.dll)	SSOAdminBase : OfficeServerPageBase
metrics.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.MetricsPage	OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
LogUsage.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.LogUsagePage	OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
policyRptConfig.aspx	Microsoft.Office.RecordsManagement.Reporting. ApplicationPages.PolicyRptConfig (Microsoft.Office.Policy.AdminPages.dll)	GlobalAdminPageBase
CMSMigration.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing.Internal.CodeBehind.ManageMigrationProfile (Microsoft.Sharepoint.Publishing.dll)	Microsoft.SharePoint.WebControls. UnsecuredLayoutsPageBase
SkuUpgrade.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.ServerAdmin.SkuUpgradePage(Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.dll)	CentralAdminPageBase
EnableFeatures.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.ServerAdmin.FeaturePushdownPage (Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.dll)	CentralAdminPageBase
Conversion.aspx	Microsoft.Office.Server.Internal.UI.ConversionPage	CentralAdminPageBase
ServiceRunningJobs.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.TimerJobsPage	OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
ServiceJobDefinitions.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.TimerJobsPage	OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
sitedirectorysettings.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.ServerAdmin.SiteDirectorySettings (Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.dll)	CentralAdminPageBase
linkscheckerjobsettings.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.SiteAdmin.LinksCheckerJobSettings (Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.dll)	CentralAdminPageBase
AlternateUrlCollections.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.AlternateUrlCollectionsPage	GlobalAdminPageBase
ManageFarmFeatures.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.ManageFarmFeaturesPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
QuiesceFarm.aspx	Microsoft.Office.Server.Internal.UI.QuiesceFarmPage	CentralAdminPageBase
Solutions.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.OperationsPage	GlobalAdminPageBase
backup.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.BackupPage	BackupAdminPageBase : OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
backuphistory.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.BackupHistoryPage	BackupAdminPageBase : OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
restorestep1.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.RestoreStep1Page	BackupAdminPageBase : OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
Restorestep3.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.RestoreStep3Page	BackupAdminPageBase : OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
backupstatus.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.BackupStatusPage	BackupAdminPageBase : OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
defaultcontentdb.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.DefaultContentDatabasePage	OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
DspSettings.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.DspSettings	OperationsPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
Deployment.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing.Internal.CodeBehind. DeployManagePathsAndJobsPage (Microsoft.Sharepoint.Publishing.dll)	BasePublishingPage : LayoutsPageBase : UnsecuredLayoutsPageBase
DeploymentSettings.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing.Internal.CodeBehind.DeploySettingsPage (Microsoft.Sharepoint.Publishing.dll)	BasePublishingPage : LayoutsPageBase : UnsecuredLayoutsPageBase
DeploymentStatus.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing.Internal. CodeBehind.DeploymentObjectStatusPage (Microsoft.Sharepoint.Publishing.dll)	BasePublishingPage : LayoutsPageBase : UnsecuredLayoutsPageBase
Application Management
applications.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.ApplicationsPage	GlobalAdminPageBase
extendvsoption.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.ExtendVsOptionPage	GlobalAdminPageBase
unextendvs.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.UnextendVirtualServerPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
deletewebapplication.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.DeleteWebApplicationPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
scprefix.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.SscPrefixPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
vsemail.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.VSEmailConfigPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
vsgeneralsettings.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.VirtualServerGeneralSettingsPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
cntdbadm.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.ContentDBManagmentPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
ManageWebAppFeatures.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.ManageWebAppFeaturesPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
WebApplications.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.ListWebApplicationsPage	SelectWebApplicationPage : SelectPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
managessp.aspx	Microsoft.Office.Server.Internal.UI.ManageSspPage	CentralAdminPageBase
manageinterfarmservices.aspx	Microsoft.Office.Server.Internal.UI.ManageInterFarmServicesPage	CentralAdminPageBase
checkfarmservices.aspx	Microsoft.Office.Server.Internal.UI.CheckFarmServicesPage	CentralAdminPageBase
SessionStateAdmin.aspx	Microsoft.Office.Server.Internal.UI.SessionStateAdminPage	CentralAdminPageBase
SPSecuritySettings.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.WebPartPageSettingsPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
configssc.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.ConfigSscPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
vsmask.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.VirtualServerMaskPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
policy.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.PolicyPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
AuthenticationProviders.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.GlobalAdminPageBase
managesearchservice.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.Search.Admin.Pages.ManageSearchService (Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.dll)	SearchCentralAdminPageBase : CentralAdminPageBase
workflowadmin.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.WorkflowAdminPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
createsite.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.CreateSitePage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
delsite.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.DeleteSitePage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
DeleteSiteConfig.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.DeleteSiteConfig	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
ManageQuotaTemplate.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.ManageQuotaTemplatePage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
SiteQuota.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.SiteQuotaPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
owners.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.OwnersPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
SiteCollections.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.ListSitesPage	SelectSitePage : SelectPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
OfficialFileAdmin.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.OfficialFileAdminPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
HtmlTransAdmin.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.HtmlTransAdminPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
DocTransAdmin.aspx	Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.DocTransAdminPage	ApplicationsManagementPage : GlobalAdminPageBase
ManageFormTemplates.aspx	Microsoft.Office.InfoPath.Server. ApplicationPages.ManageFormTemplatesPage (Microsoft.Office.InfoPath.Server.Pages.dll)	GridViewPageBase : AdminPageBase
ipfsConfig.aspx	Microsoft.Office.InfoPath.Server. ApplicationPages.FormServerConfigPage (Microsoft.Office.InfoPath.Server.dll)	AdminPageBase
UploadFormTemplate.aspx	Microsoft.Office.InfoPath.Server. ApplicationPages.UploadFormTemplatePage (Microsoft.Office.InfoPath.Server.dll)	AdminPageBase
ManageDataConnectionFiles.aspx	Microsoft.Office.InfoPath.Server. ApplicationPages.ManageDataConnectionFilesPage (Microsoft.Office.InfoPath.Server.Pages.dll)	GridViewPageBase : AdminPageBase
ManageFormsServiceProxy.aspx	Microsoft.Office.InfoPath.Server. ApplicationPages.ManageFormsServiceProxyPage (Microsoft.Office.InfoPath.Server.Pages.dll)	AdminPageBase
Shared Services Administration
managessp.aspx	Microsoft.Office.Server.Internal.UI.ManageSspPage	CentralAdminPageBase

Building minimal SharePoint Central Administration Application Page.

Typical Central Admin Application Page inherits from Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.GlobalAdminPageBase.
In order to be consistent with current pages we want to inherit the new:
• Operations Section page – from Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.OperationsPage;
• Application Management page – from Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.ApplicationsManagementPage;
Both OperationsPage and ApplicationsManagementPage classes overrides just one PageToRedirectOnCancel property from GlobalAdminPageBase.

Let’s build our first blank Central Admin Applications Management page:
Here is the code:

using System;
using System.Web;

namespace Sharepointalist.Samples.CentralAdmin
{
    public class ApplicationManagementSamplePage : Microsoft.SharePoint.ApplicationPages.ApplicationsManagementPage
    {

    }
}

Here is the web page:

<%@ Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeBehind="ApplicationManagementSamplePage.aspx.cs" Inherits="Sharepointalist.Samples.CentralAdmin.ApplicationManagementSamplePage, Sharepointalist.Samples.CentralAdmin, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=5f18faed9b7b4caf" MasterPageFile="~/_admin/admin.master"%>

<asp:Content ID="Content1" contentplaceholderid="PlaceHolderAdditionalPageHead" runat="server">
</asp:Content>

<asp:Content ID="Content2" contentplaceholderid="PlaceHolderPageTitle" runat="server">
</asp:Content>

<asp:Content ID="Content3" contentplaceholderid="PlaceHolderPageTitleInTitleArea" runat="server">
</asp:Content>

<asp:content ID="Content4" contentplaceholderid="PlaceHolderPageDescription" runat="server">
</asp:content>

<asp:content ID="Content5" contentplaceholderid="PlaceHolderMain" runat="server">
</asp:content>

Deployment.

The best way to deploy Central Administration Application Pages is to create a feature. This is described numerous times, so I am not going to get deep this. Just don't forget:

• Add breadcrumbs. Please check following Jan Tielens blog posts: Adding Breadcrumb Navigation to Application Pages in SharePoint Central Administration and Adding Breadcrumb Navigation to SharePoint Application Pages, the Easy Way
• Do not deploy your pages right into ADMIN folder. Create a subfolder.

In many cases we want to add a new link to our new page on the MOSS Central Administration Site. We can use Element Manifest file with CustomAction defined for that. Please refer to Custom Action Definitions and Default Custom Action Locations and IDs on MSDN for detailed info.
In short, we need to choose Location(Page) and select/create a Group for our link.
Possible Locations and Groups:

• Operations Page - Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.Operations.
  • Backup and Restore - BackupRestore;
  • Data Configuration - DataConfiguration;
  • Global Configuration - GlobalConfiguration;
  • Logging and Reporting - LoggingAndReporting;
  • Security Configuration - Security;
  • Topology and Services - Topology;
  • Upgrade and Migration - Upgrade;
  • Content Deployment - ContentDeployment;
• Application Management Page - Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.ApplicationManagement.
  • Application Security - ApplicationSecurity;
  • External Service Connections - ExternalService;
  • SharePoint Site Management - SiteManagement;
  • SharePoint Web Application Management - WebApplicationConfiguration;
  • Workflow Management - WorkflowManagement;
  • Search - SearchGroup;
  • InfoPath Forms Services - IPFSApplicationConfiguration;
  • Office SharePoint Server Shared Services - OfficeServerCoreServices;
• Application Created Page - Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.ApplicationCreated.
  • Links - Links;
• Shared Services Administration Page - Office.Server.ServiceProvider.Administration.
  • User Profiles and My Sites - UAP;
  • Search - Search;
  • Excel Services Settings - ExcelServer;
  • Audiences - AUD;
  • Office SharePoint Usage Reporting - PortalAnalytics;
  • Business Data Catalog - BDC;

Here is a sample Elements.xml

<Elements xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/">
  <CustomActionGroup
    Id="Sharepointalist.Samples.CentralAdmin.ApplicationManagementGroup"
    Location="Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.ApplicationManagement"
    Title="Sharepointalist"
    Sequence="10" />
  <CustomAction 
    Id="Sharepointalist.Samples.CentralAdmin.ApplicationManagementSamplePage"
    GroupId="Sharepointalist.Samples.CentralAdmin.ApplicationManagementGroup"
    Title="Application Management Sample Page"
    Sequence="1"
    Location="Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.ApplicationManagement">
    <UrlAction Url="/_admin/Sharepointalist/Samples/ApplicationManagementSamplePage.aspx"/>
  </CustomAction>
</Elements>

Here is a sample Feature.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<Feature  Id="90AC28E1-F64B-42bb-AB51-C65590ED5CD4"
          Title="Sharepointalist Sample Central Administration Feature"
          Description="Sample Central Administration Feature. Please visit my web page at http://www.sharepointalist.com/"
          Version="1.0.0.0"
          Creator="http://www.sharepointalist.com/"
          ActivateOnDefault="True"
          Scope="Farm"
          xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/"
          ReceiverAssembly="Sharepointalist.Samples.CentralAdmin, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=5f18faed9b7b4caf"
          ReceiverClass="Sharepointalist.Samples.CentralAdmin.FeatureHandler">
  <Properties>
    <Property Key="GloballyAvailable" Value="true" />
  </Properties>
  <ElementManifests>
    <ElementManifest Location="Elements.xml"/>
  </ElementManifests>
</Feature>

Summary

This is enough to create a blank page. You can download an archive with the source code and deployment package here.