Reapply customizations in the browser and Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007

Article
01/10/2017

Applies To: Office SharePoint Server 2007

This Office product will reach end of support on October 10, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see , Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

Topic Last Modified: 2016-11-14

After a gradual upgrade or database migration, before directing users to your upgraded site, you can compare the original version of your site with the upgraded version, fixing any issues you notice, and reapplying any customizations.

Checklists for reviewing your upgraded site

The following checklists will help you walk through your site and identify any issues you need to address.

Web Parts

Even if you have tested your Web Parts in Microsoft® ASP.NET 2.0, you may still find some issues with your Web Parts after the upgrade. For more information about testing your Web Parts, see Upgrade custom Web Part packages.

What to check	What to do if there is a problem
Do all of the Web Parts from your original site show up in your upgraded site?	If a Web Part zone exists in a customized (unghosted) page but not in the site definition, the Web Parts from that Web Part zone may have been moved into the bottom zone on the page during the upgrade. Either in Edit Mode for the page in the browser or in Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007, look for missing Web Parts in the bottom zone or other zones, or check to see if the Web Parts have been closed. For more information about working with Web Parts and Web Part zones in Office SharePoint Designer 2007, see Insert or delete a Web Part (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=76020&clcid=0x409) in the Office SharePoint Designer 2007 Help system.
Are there any broken Web Part pages?	If you have a problem with a Web Part, append “contents=1” at the end of the URL syntax (http://siteurl/?contents=1), and then press ENTER. This takes you to the Web Part Maintenance page where you can remove and repair the broken Web Part page.
Are the Web Parts displayed correctly (for example, are they showing up in the correct Web Part zone, in the correct location, and in the correct size)?	Either in Edit Mode for the page in the browser or in Office SharePoint Designer 2007, drag the Web Part into the correct zone, or modify the Web Part properties to correct any sizing or positioning problems. For more information about working with Web Parts and Web Part zones in Office SharePoint Designer 2007, see Insert or delete a Web Part (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=76020&clcid=0x409) in the Office SharePoint Designer 2007 Help system.
Are there any extra or missing Web Parts?	Open the page either in Edit Mode for the page in the browser or in Office SharePoint Designer 2007. If you see extra Web Parts on your page, look for closed or inactive Web Parts on the original version of the page. Were the closed or inactive Web Parts activated by the upgrade process? If so, you can modify the Web Part properties to close these Web Parts. If Web Parts are missing, look for errors in Office SharePoint Designer 2007 such as "Error Rendering Control" or "Missing Assembly." These errors indicate that the Web Part is not installed or configured correctly for the new environment and needs to be reinstalled or reconfigured. For more information about working with Web Parts and Web Part zones in Office SharePoint Designer 2007, see Insert or delete a Web Part (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=76020&clcid=0x409) in the Office SharePoint Designer 2007 Help system.
Do your pages use the Listings Web Part?	The Listings Web Part was available in Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003. If you had a Listings Web Part on your original page, it has been upgraded in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 to either a Summary Link Web Part or a Content Query Web Part. You may have to reconfigure the Web Part to display the data you want in the way that you want. For more information about configuring these Web Parts in Office SharePoint Server 2007, see: Use and configure a Summary Link Web Part or a Summary Link field control (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=76021&clcid=0x409) Add a group to a Summary Link Web Part or a Summary Link field control (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=76022&clcid=0x409)
Do the Web Parts work?	Open the page either in Edit Mode for the page in the browser or in Office SharePoint Designer 2007, and look for errors indicating that a component or service is missing. Be sure that any components or services that the Web Parts rely on exist in the upgraded site. Particularly for the database migration approach, you must make sure that you have installed all of the components or services you need for your Web Parts, and that you have configured them correctly (for example, the Web.config Safe Controls list).

Styles and appearance

Styles from a cascading style sheets file should still be applied after upgrade. However, you still need to verify that your pages look the way they should.

What to check	What to do if there is a problem
Do all of the images on your pages display correctly?	Verify that the links to the images are correct. When you upgrade to Office SharePoint Server 2007, all of the images used on your landing pages (such as Default.aspx) are moved into the PublishingImages library by the upgrade process. All links should have been fixed, but page-relative links might not have been updated.
Are the appropriate cascading style sheet colors and styles used in the appropriate places?	Verify that the links to the cascading style sheet file are correct. When you upgrade to Office SharePoint Server 2007, all of your landing pages (such as Default.aspx) are moved into the Pages library by the upgrade process. All links should have been fixed, but page-relative links might not have been updated. Note that if your site uses master pages, you can update the link on the master page rather than change each individual page.
Does the theme you applied to your site still look the same?	Your site's home page, or other pages on your site, may look different after the site is upgraded. For example, in Windows SharePoint Services 2.0, themes were collections of industry-standard cascading style sheets that controlled the fonts and formatting for a site. With Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Office SharePoint Designer 2007, each updated theme has been consolidated into one cascading style sheet, which also includes more styles and updated styles. After an upgrade, the site's style sheets from the Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 themes are brought over with the upgraded site, but the default theme is changed to the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 default theme. Because Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 themes do not have updated styles or classes for new styles, they must be updated in order to be successfully applied to Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 sites. Alternatively, if you don't want to update a theme, you can apply a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 theme that has the appearance you want.
Do you have any JavaScript controls that are not working?	Verify that the links to the controls are correct. When you upgrade to Office SharePoint Server 2007, all of your landing pages are moved into the Pages library by the upgrade process. All links should have been fixed, but page-relative links might not have been updated.

Areas (now subsites)

Areas and subareas undergo many conversions during upgrade; ultimately, they are converted into subsites within the portal site collection. The home pages for your areas and subareas have been moved into the Pages library for each subsite, and URLs for sites and subsites in Office SharePoint Server 2007 now follow the logical navigation structure. So, rather than seeing http://portal_name/c2/, you'll see http://portal_name/ or http://portal_name/sites/. For more information about how your upgraded portal sites work, see Work with Office SharePoint Server 2007.

What to check	What to do if there is a problem
Do all of your previous areas and subareas now show up as subsites in the upgraded site collection and appear in the correct order in navigation? Are there any extra subsites?	Look at the navigation on your site to confirm that the subsites appear as expected. To view your complete site hierarchy, use the Site Content and Structure page. On the Site Actions menu, click Manage Content and Structure; the subsites are shown at the top of the list on this page. From this page, you can move, create, or delete subsites in your site collection.
If an area in your original site was hidden from navigation, is the subsite still hidden in the upgraded site? Also, there are new standard subsites that are included in the site definition by default, such as the Documents, Reports, or Search subsites; do these now show up in your site navigation?	To hide subsites in your site's navigation, use the Navigation Settings page. On the Site Actions menu, click Site Settings, and then on the Site Settings page, under Look and Feel, click Navigation Settings. Under Navigation Editing and Sorting, click the subsite you want to hide, and then click Hide. If a previously hidden area is now showing up in the navigation, go to the Site Navigation Settings page and hide the subsite again.
Are the names of the subsites showing up correctly in navigation?	If you have manually changed the way a subarea's name is displayed in navigation (either through a Web Page editor compatible with Office SharePoint Server 2007, such as Microsoft Office FrontPage® 2003, or through the browser interface), but you have not changed the actual name of the subarea, then the subsite in the upgraded site might display the original name instead of the updated name, and you may need to reapply the change.

Do all of your previous areas and subareas now show up as subsites in the upgraded site collection and appear in the correct order in navigation? Are there any extra subsites?

Look at the navigation on your site to confirm that the subsites appear as expected. To view your complete site hierarchy, use the Site Content and Structure page. On the Site Actions menu, click Manage Content and Structure; the subsites are shown at the top of the list on this page. From this page, you can move, create, or delete subsites in your site collection.

If an area in your original site was hidden from navigation, is the subsite still hidden in the upgraded site?

Also, there are new standard subsites that are included in the site definition by default, such as the Documents, Reports, or Search subsites; do these now show up in your site navigation?

To hide subsites in your site's navigation, use the Navigation Settings page. On the Site Actions menu, click Site Settings, and then on the Site Settings page, under Look and Feel, click Navigation Settings. Under Navigation Editing and Sorting, click the subsite you want to hide, and then click Hide.

If a previously hidden area is now showing up in the navigation, go to the Site Navigation Settings page and hide the subsite again.

Are the names of the subsites showing up correctly in navigation?

If you have manually changed the way a subarea's name is displayed in navigation (either through a Web Page editor compatible with Office SharePoint Server 2007, such as Microsoft Office FrontPage® 2003, or through the browser interface), but you have not changed the actual name of the subarea, then the subsite in the upgraded site might display the original name instead of the updated name, and you may need to reapply the change.

Customized (unghosted) pages

A page that has been customized by using a Web Page editor compatible with Office SharePoint Server 2007, such as Office FrontPage 2003, is called an unghosted page because it is no longer simply a view of the default version of that page.

What to check	What to do if there is a problem
Are your customizations still in place?	Is it just one issue (perhaps something on the areas checklist), or is there a larger problem with the entire page? In Office SharePoint Designer 2007, compare your original page to your upgraded page to determine which issue may be causing any differences. For example, if you added a completely new page to your original site (for example, if you replaced Default.aspx with a different file rather than make changes to the existing Default.aspx file), the new page has no association with the site definition, and therefore it might not look like the other pages on the upgraded site—nor can it be reset to look like them. If you want your customized page to have the same look and feel as the other pages on your site, consider creating a brand-new page that is based on the site definition and then transferring your customizations to that new page.
Can you still get to the editing controls on the pages?	If you customized the editing controls (for example, the Site Settings link or the Edit Page link), check to see whether they still appear. If they don't appear, you can either: Copy and paste the controls from your original site. Use this option only if you need to retain the functionality of the old version. Open the original page in Office SharePoint Designer 2007 and, in Code view, search for the control. Copy the control and then, in the upgraded site, open the upgraded page (or the master page) and paste the control into the appropriate place. Replace them with the editing controls of the new version by resetting the page to the default version. This option is recommended for most cases, because it gives you the updated functionality. Use the Reattach to Page Layout command in Office SharePoint Designer 2007 to reset the page to the default version (also known as reghosting). After you have restored the default page, you can then reapply your customizations in the browser by applying a different master page or page layout, or by reapplying the customizations in Office SharePoint Designer 2007. For more information about resetting to the site definition, see Reset a customized page to the site definition (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=76026&clcid=0x409).
Are your customizations still appropriate in the new environment, or do you want to update to the new functionality or look?	When you perform a gradual upgrade, a customized (unghosted) page does not take on the new site definition (that is, the new functionality) by default. (However, there is an option to apply the new site definition during a gradual upgrade; for more information, see Upgrade sites (Office SharePoint Server).) If you want the new functionality and features, you must reset any customized pages to use the site definition. Resetting the page essentially discards the customizations and attaches your pages to the master page and page layout. Any customizations you want can then be transferred to the master pages and page layouts instead of being stored in individual pages. If you want to be able to use the new functionality with a customized page, consider using the Reattach to Page Layout command in Office SharePoint Designer 2007 to reset the page to the default version (reghosting). After you have restored the default page, you can then reapply your customizations in the browser by applying a different master page or page layout, or by reapplying the customizations in Office SharePoint Designer 2007. For more information about resetting to the site definition, see Reset a customized page to the site definition (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=76026&clcid=0x409).

Are your customizations still in place?

Is it just one issue (perhaps something on the areas checklist), or is there a larger problem with the entire page? In Office SharePoint Designer 2007, compare your original page to your upgraded page to determine which issue may be causing any differences.

For example, if you added a completely new page to your original site (for example, if you replaced Default.aspx with a different file rather than make changes to the existing Default.aspx file), the new page has no association with the site definition, and therefore it might not look like the other pages on the upgraded site—nor can it be reset to look like them. If you want your customized page to have the same look and feel as the other pages on your site, consider creating a brand-new page that is based on the site definition and then transferring your customizations to that new page.

Can you still get to the editing controls on the pages?

If you customized the editing controls (for example, the Site Settings link or the Edit Page link), check to see whether they still appear. If they don't appear, you can either:

Copy and paste the controls from your original site. Use this option only if you need to retain the functionality of the old version. Open the original page in Office SharePoint Designer 2007 and, in Code view, search for the control. Copy the control and then, in the upgraded site, open the upgraded page (or the master page) and paste the control into the appropriate place.
Replace them with the editing controls of the new version by resetting the page to the default version. This option is recommended for most cases, because it gives you the updated functionality. Use the Reattach to Page Layout command in Office SharePoint Designer 2007 to reset the page to the default version (also known as reghosting). After you have restored the default page, you can then reapply your customizations in the browser by applying a different master page or page layout, or by reapplying the customizations in Office SharePoint Designer 2007.
For more information about resetting to the site definition, see Reset a customized page to the site definition (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=76026&clcid=0x409).

Are your customizations still appropriate in the new environment, or do you want to update to the new functionality or look?

When you perform a gradual upgrade, a customized (unghosted) page does not take on the new site definition (that is, the new functionality) by default. (However, there is an option to apply the new site definition during a gradual upgrade; for more information, see Upgrade sites (Office SharePoint Server).)

If you want the new functionality and features, you must reset any customized pages to use the site definition. Resetting the page essentially discards the customizations and attaches your pages to the master page and page layout. Any customizations you want can then be transferred to the master pages and page layouts instead of being stored in individual pages.

If you want to be able to use the new functionality with a customized page, consider using the Reattach to Page Layout command in Office SharePoint Designer 2007 to reset the page to the default version (reghosting). After you have restored the default page, you can then reapply your customizations in the browser by applying a different master page or page layout, or by reapplying the customizations in Office SharePoint Designer 2007.

For more information about resetting to the site definition, see Reset a customized page to the site definition (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=76026&clcid=0x409).

Download this book

This topic is included in the following downloadable book for easier reading and printing:

Upgrading to Office SharePoint Server 2007

See the full list of available books at Downloadable content for Office SharePoint Server 2007.