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Configure SharePoint 2013 to use Office Web Apps

Office Web Apps

Updated: March 12, 2013

Summary : Explains how to configure SharePoint 2013 to use Office Web Apps.

Applies to:  SharePoint Foundation 2013 | Office Web Apps | SharePoint Server 2013 

Audience : IT Professionals

To configure SharePoint 2013 to use Office Web Apps Server, you must run one or more Windows PowerShell cmdlets from SharePoint 2013. After you run the necessary cmdlets, users can open Office files from SharePoint 2013 document libraries in a browser.

Important Important:

This article is part of the Content roadmap for Office Web Apps. Use the roadmap as a starting point for articles, downloads, and videos that help you deploy and manage Office Web Apps.

Are you looking for help with Office Web Apps on your desktop or mobile device? You can find this information by searching for "Office Web Apps" on Office.com.

In this article:

Prepare to configure SharePoint 2013 to use Office Web Apps Server

This article is a continuation of the deployment procedures that are described in Deploy Office Web Apps Server. In that article, you performed steps on the server that runs Office Web Apps Server. In this article, you’ll perform steps on a server that runs SharePoint 2013. If you haven’t set up SharePoint 2013 yet, see Install SharePoint 2013 for installation guidance.

Certain conditions must be met before you can successfully configure SharePoint 2013 to use Office Web Apps Server. Review the following requirements before you continue.

  • Verify that all SharePoint 2013 web applications use claims-based authentication. Office Web Apps rendering and editing will not work on SharePoint 2013 web applications that use classic mode authentication. Learn more in SharePoint authentication requirements for Office Web Apps.

  • To enable users to edit (not just read) Office documents in a web browser, verify that you have the necessary editing licenses and that you have enabled editing on the Office Web Apps Server farm. You can learn more about licensing requirements in Licensing Office Web Apps for editing Office files.

  • If you log into SharePoint 2013 by using the System Account, you will be unable to test the connection between SharePoint 2013 and Office Web Apps Server. You will have to log on by using a different account to test the connection.

  • Low memory conditions can cause Office document previews to fail in Office Web Apps. Verify that the server or servers that run Office Web Apps Server have sufficient memory by reviewing the Hardware requirements—web servers, application servers, and single server installations for SharePoint 2013, which are the same requirements that Office Web Apps Server uses.

Configure SharePoint 2013 to use Office Web Apps Server in a test environment that uses HTTP

Before you start the following procedures, make sure that you have set up Office Web Apps Server by using the steps in Deploy a single-server Office Web Apps Server farm in a test environment . Specifically, you must have configured the Office Web Apps Server farm to use an internal URL and HTTP.

Watch the Video demo: Configuring Office Web Apps for SharePoint 2013. This video shows how to set up Office Web Apps Server and configure SharePoint 2013 to use Office Web Apps Server in a test environment.

Step 1: Open the SharePoint 2013 Management Shell

Choose the procedure that corresponds to your server operating system.

To open an elevated SharePoint 2013 Management Shell in Windows Server 2008 R2

  1. On the Start menu, select All Programs .

  2. Select Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Products .

  3. Choose (right-click) SharePoint 2013 Management Shell to display the short-cut menu.

  4. From the short-cut menu, choose Run as administrator .

To open an elevated SharePoint 2013 Management Shell in Windows Server 2012

  1. Swipe in from the edge of the screen to show the charms and then choose Search to see all the applications that are installed on the computer.

  2. Choose (right-click) SharePoint 2013 Management Shell to display the app bar.

  3. In the app bar, select Run as administrator .

Step 2: Create the binding between SharePoint 2013 and Office Web Apps Server

Run the following command, where <WacServerName> is the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the URL that you set for the internal URL. This is the point of entry for Office Web Apps Server traffic. For this test environment, you must specify the –AllowHTTP parameter to allow SharePoint 2013 to receive discovery information from the Office Web Apps Server farm by using HTTP. If you forget to specify –AllowHTTP, SharePoint 2013 will try to use HTTPS to communicate with the Office Web Apps Server farm and this command will fail.

Copy 
New-SPWOPIBinding -ServerName <WacServerName> -AllowHTTP

After you run this command, you should see a list of bindings displayed at the Windows PowerShell command prompt.

Need help? See New-SPWOPIBinding.

Step 3: View the WOPI zones for the SharePoint bindings

Office Web Apps Server uses the concept of zones to determine which URL (internal or external) and which protocol (HTTP or HTTPS) to use when it communicates with the host, which in this case isSharePoint 2013. By default, SharePoint Server 2013 uses the internal-https zone. Verify that this is the current zone by running the following command:

Copy 
Get-SPWOPIZone

After you run this command, you should see the WOPI zone displayed. It should be internal-https .

Need help? See Get-SPWOPIZone.

Step 4: Change the WOPI zone to internal-http

If the result from Step 3 was internal-https , run the following command to change the zone to internal-http . You must make this change because the zone of SharePoint 2013 must match the zone of the Office Web Apps Server farm.

Copy 
Set-SPWOPIZone –zone “internal-http”

Verify that the new zone is internal-http by running the following command:

Copy 
Get-SPWOPIZone

Need help? See Set-SPWOPIZone and Get-SPWOPIZone.

Step 5: Change the AllowOAuthOverHttp setting in SharePoint 2013 to True

To use Office Web Apps withSharePoint 2013 over HTTP in a test environment, you must set AllowOAuthOverHttp to True . Otherwise Office Web Apps will not work. You can check the current status by running the following example:

Copy 
(Get-SPSecurityTokenServiceConfig).AllowOAuthOverHttp

If this command returns False , run the following commands to set this to True .

Copy 
$config = (Get-SPSecurityTokenServiceConfig)
Copy 
$config.AllowOAuthOverHttp = $true
Copy 
$config.Update()

Run the following command again to verify that the AllowOAuthOverHttp setting is now set to True .

Copy 
(Get-SPSecurityTokenServiceConfig).AllowOAuthOverHttp

Need help? See Get-SPSecurityTokenServiceConfig.

Step 6: Verify that Office Web Apps is working

In SharePoint 2013, make sure that you are not logged in as System Account. (Whenever the currently logged on user name appears as sharepoint\system , that user can’t edit or view the documents by using Office Web Apps.) Go to a SharePoint 2013 document library that contains Office documents and view a Word, PowerPoint, Excel, or OneNote file. The document should open in a browser that displays the file by using Office Web Apps.

If this step fails, see Troubleshoot errors in Office Web Apps when it is used with SharePoint 2013.

Configure SharePoint 2013 to use Office Web Apps Server by using HTTPS

Before you start the following procedures, make sure that you have set up Office Web Apps Server by following the steps in Deploy a single-server Office Web Apps Server farm that uses HTTPS or Deploy a multi-server, load-balanced Office Web Apps Server farm that uses HTTPS .

Step 1: Open the SharePoint 2013 Management Shell

Choose the procedure that corresponds to your server operating system.

To open an elevated SharePoint 2013 Management Shell in Windows Server 2008 R2

  1. On the Start menu, choose All Programs .

  2. Choose Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Products .

  3. Choose (right-click) SharePoint 2013 Management Shell to display the shortcut menu.

  4. In the shortcut menu, choose Run as administrator .

To open an elevated SharePoint 2013 Management Shell in Windows Server 2012

  1. Swipe in from the edge of the screen to show the charms and then choose Search to see all the applications that are installed on the computer.

  2. Choose (right-click) SharePoint 2013 Management Shell to display the app bar.

  3. In the app bar, choose Run as administrator .

Step 2: Create the binding between SharePoint 2013 and Office Web Apps Server

Run the following command, where <WacServerName> is the FQDN of the URL that you set for the internal URL. This is the point of entry for Office Web Apps Server traffic.

Copy 
New-SPWOPIBinding -ServerName <WacServerName>

Need help? See New-SPWOPIBinding.

Step 3: View the WOPI zone of SharePoint 2013

Office Web Apps Server uses the concept of zones to determine which URL (internal or external) and which protocol (HTTP or HTTPS) to use when it communicates with the host, which in this case is SharePoint 2013. By default, SharePoint Server 2013 uses the internal-https zone. Verify that this is the current zone by running the following command:

Copy 
Get-SPWOPIZone

After you run this command, you should see the WOPI zone displayed. Take note of the WOPI zone that is displayed.

Need help? See Get-SPWOPIZone.

Step 4: Change the WOPI zone if it is necessary

Depending on your environment, you might have to change the WOPI zone. If you have a SharePoint farm that's internal and external, specify external. If you have a SharePoint farm that's internal only, specify internal.

If the results from Step 3 show internal-https and the SharePoint farm is internal only, you can skip this step. If you have a SharePoint farm that’s internal and external, you must run the following command to change the zone to external-https .

Copy 
Set-SPWOPIZone –zone “external-https”

Need help? See Set-SPWOPIZone.

Step 5: Verify that Office Web Apps is working

In SharePoint 2013, make sure that you are not logged in as System Account. (Whenever the currently logged on user name appears as sharepoint\system , that user can’t edit or view the documents by using Office Web Apps.) Go to a SharePoint 2013 document library that contains Office documents and view a Word, PowerPoint, Excel, or OneNote file. The document should open in a browser that displays the file by using Office Web Apps.

If this step fails, see Troubleshoot errors in Office Web Apps when it is used with SharePoint 2013.

Troubleshoot errors in Office Web Apps when it is used with SharePoint 2013

If Office Web Apps isn’t working correctly when it is used together with SharePoint 2013, locate the symptom below and expand the heading to find troubleshooting steps. If you are using System Center Operations Manager to monitor Office Web Apps Server, also see System Center Operations Manager knowledge articles for Office Web Apps Server.

Problem: When you select the "new document" link in a SharePoint library, you are prompted to upload a document instead of having the option to create a new Office document. Choosing (single-clicking) an Office document opens the file in the client application. Previews of Office documents are not displayed.

Here are some troubleshooting options to try.

Verify that claims-based authentication is used by the SharePoint web application that is used to create the new document

Only web applications that use claims-based authentication can open files in Office Web Apps. To determine the authentication provider for a web application, follow these steps:

  1. In SharePoint 2013 Central Administration, select Manage web applications .

  2. Select the web application that you want to check, and then select Authentication Providers on the ribbon.

The authentication provider must be displayed as Claims Based Authentication for Office Web Apps to work correctly with the web application. To resolve this issue, you can either delete the web application and re-create it using claims-based authentication, or you can change the authentication method of the web application. You can find more information in SharePoint authentication requirements for Office Web Apps.

Make sure that the WOPI zones match on the SharePoint 2013 and the Office Web Apps Server farm.

To do this, run the following command on the SharePoint Server:

Copy 
Get-SPWopiZone

The result will be one of the following: internal-https, internal-http, external-https, external-http.

Next, run the following command on the SharePoint Server:

Copy 
Get-SPWOPIBinding

In the output, look for WopiZone: zone . If the results from Get-SPWopiZone do not match the zone that is returned by Get-SPWOPIBinding, you must run the Set-SPWOPIZone -Zone cmdlet on the SharePoint Server to change the WOPI zone to match the result from Get-SPWOPIBinding. For help with using these cmdlets, see Get-SPWOPIBinding, Set-SPWOPIBinding, and Get-SPWOPIZone.

Problem: You see the error "Sorry, something went wrong" when you try to view an Office document in Office Web Apps.

Make sure that you are not logged in as System Account. Whenever the currently logged on user name appears as sharepoint\system , that user can’t edit or view the document. Log in as a different user and try to access Office Web Apps again.

Problem: You see the error "Sorry, there was a problem and we can't open this document" when you try to view an Office document in Office Web Apps.

If you set up Office Web Apps in a test environment that uses HTTP, make sure that you set the AllowOAuthOverHttp setting to True as described in Step 5: Change the AllowOAuthOverHttp setting in SharePoint 2013 to True.

At some point, did you add domains to the Allow List by using the New-OfficeWebAppsHost cmdlet? If so, make sure that you are accessing Office Web Apps from a host domain that is in the Allow List. To view the host domains in the Allow List, on the Office Web Apps Server open the Windows PowerShell prompt as an administrator and run the Get-OfficeWebAppsHost cmdlet. If you have to add a domain to the Allow List, use the New-OfficeWebAppsHost cmdlet.

Problem: You see the error "Sorry, Word Web App can't open this document because the service is busy. Please try again later" when you try to view an Office document in Office Web Apps.

Did you install Office Web Apps Server on a domain controller? Office Web Apps Server cannot run on a domain controller. Office Web Apps Server must be installed on a separate server that is part of a domain. For more information, see Software, hardware, and configuration requirements for Office Web Apps Server.

Problem: You see the error "File Not Found. The URL of the original file is not valid or the document is not publicly accessible. Verify the URL is correct, then contact the document owner"when you try to view an Office document in Office Web Apps by using a user generated URL.

Are you trying to open a document that has a file size that is larger than 10 megabytes from a user generated URL? Make sure the document doesn’t exceed 10 megabytes.

Problem: Previews of Office documents don't appear in SharePoint 2013. Instead, they show the error "This content cannot be displayed in a frame."

Low memory conditions can cause problems with Office document previews. View Hardware requirements—web servers, application servers, and single server installations to see the memory requirements for SharePoint 2013, which are the same requirements that Office Web Apps Server uses.

Problem: You see the error “A data connection is set to always use connection file and {0:ExcelWebApp} does not support external connection files. The following connection failed to refresh: Data connections .”

This happens because Office Web Apps Server doesn’t support the Office Data Connection (ODC) file that stores the data connection information. To fix this problem, follow these steps:

  1. Open the workbook in an Excel client application.

  2. Choose the Data tab and then choose Connections .

  3. Select the data connections listed in the message, and then choose Properties .

  4. Choose the Definition tab.

  5. Clear the Always use connection file check box for check box.”

  6. Re-upload the workbook to the SharePoint document library.

To enable people to interact with workbooks that contain a Data Model or Power View views in a browser window, configure Excel Services in SharePoint Server to display workbooks. This requires a SharePoint administrator to run the New-SPWOPISupressionSetting cmdlet on the server where SharePoint Server is installed. For more information, see New-SPWOPISuppressionSetting and Administer Excel Services in SharePoint Server 2013.

Disconnect SharePoint 2013 from Office Web Apps Server

If, for any reason, you want to disconnect SharePoint 2013 from Office Web Apps Server, use the following command example:

Copy 
Remove-SPWOPIBinding –All:$true

Need help? See Remove-SPWOPIBinding.

Change History

Date Description

March 12, 2013

Added a reference to a video that shows how to set up Office Web Apps Server and configure SharePoint 2013 to use Office Web Apps Server in a test environment.

March 05, 2013

Added information about ODC files not being supported on Office Web Apps Server and provided a fix for the problem..

July 16, 2012

Initial publication
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