Resolve InfoPath Web Form Issue on Public Websites
Introduction
This TechNet wiki article shows you how to resolve an InfoPath 2013 web form error on public websites. The steps provided here do not involve any custom coding or power shell.
Description
So you have a public facing website setup on a SharePoint 2013 on-premises environment. You have a web application setup with SharePoint standard, enterprise and publishing features turned on both on the site collection features and manage features. You then created a custom list with various columns. For this list you built a custom web form using InfoPath Designer 2013. You have now created a page and added the InfoPath form web part and embedded the form there. Now when you access the page anonymously and you get the following error. This article shows you how to resolve that issue.
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Setup of the Web Based Form
The steps provided here are under the assumption that you have a public facing website where the Allow Anonymous Security Configuration is set to Yes. Below is a screenshot
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Confirm that you have turned on the Enterprise, Standard and public features both on the Site Collection and Manage Site features. Below are the screenshots
Site Collection Features
https://qrhxlw.dm2303.livefilestore.com/y2pUZQpthhwtTwEUZXTuOenwWwNOYPiuxQQ1GpPYKBS3jxyG7L3gX4wA8ESV5mPTAPSipMc7__A1eK5lnn1Elj7b0hBlNhWRn1Sn1WwzA6p5O8/Capture3.PNG?psid=1
Manage Site Features
https://qrhxlw.dm2302.livefilestore.com/y2pUEzbVtwxnQ1bgfiCvARg7uE9C37Sf4zUExVkv4H3v3TG5U-20cUpK_bci2RaSZ33jsKQFskJ5Fx3aWo0NJeQu_Dp1mPlag538gPCvhxR1B8/Capture4.PNG?psid=1
The following steps are to confirm that Anonymous Users have access to view the site and also have the Add Items permissions to the custom list that you have built. Make sure that all of these settings are met.
Go to Site Settings>Site permissions click on Anonymous Access and confirm that Anonymous users can access Entire Web Site. Below is a screenshot
https://qrhxlw.dm2303.livefilestore.com/y2pVklY_bHjKfF0GJQHPXMSrEljVfpRu0KIj7dnFM-dY5rDLK8R4vwJldHFO59Qyh5D-fH8JFn5djVMKkJD35vS3yudfW4dKC4UKk7lkDJ_P6Y/Capture5.PNG?psid=1
In your list, go to Settings and click on Permissions for this List. Below is a screenshot
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If you do not see the Anonymous Access option on the top ribbon then click on Stop Inheriting Permissions.
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Now you will see more options in the ribbon, click on Anonymous Access as shown below. You should also see a 'This list has unique permissions' statement there.
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Click on the Anonymous Access, you will see a dialogue box called Anonymous Access open. Confirm that Anonymous Users can 'Add Items'. Below is a screenshot
https://qrhxlw.dm2303.livefilestore.com/y2pmupSQTjAcmzTZU20VjkemvS-4uPihAffYzpbUS-3rP23kytgj15b52c3Sch-i4qn0L0_EkwjVKm0_Ev4CEfrswf6TgAWDdjWLjtKhUL2Z0s/Capture9.PNG?psid=1
You can create any InfoPath web based form that you'd like and add it to a page as an 'InfoPath Form Web Part'. Below is a screenshot of what my page looks like when I am logged in. The page is stored in a Pages library where Anonymous Users have View Items permissions levels.
https://qrhxlw.dm2301.livefilestore.com/y2plcFPHdNFrRSdVg-losqCBKaO4-usdTDlTFOwXbBdBdDE5oPvPvM-Pn1fXT1FGEksZMwC5XIBavFGfcQUw8fkAgRSRjePf8wfW91itp-X04c/Capture10.PNG?psid=1
However, this is what my page looks like when I have accessed it anonymously. Take a look at the screenshots below.
https://qrhxlw.dm2304.livefilestore.com/y2peyaw5zS-EoqGRJKYrYKyx2fbtt0QTdfDHMnVls3ZeEz0plKB5048dzxNw0_-4YdZtj1odWS6aQGfr66EErmJbFTotWKqwrogWl7-_S5QLFA/Capture11a.PNG?psid=1
Below is a screenshot of the same error but with more details.
https://qrhxlw.dm2302.livefilestore.com/y2pDAY_8OB66uJJzLphlMN-yqQKXcCVGdcdl6q4f9qunBqfrPyKU6wqhpZZUY7LPYTo3Uw8vfdH9kaZz6MP59rTEYBhbwOVG1NAIzPM05aAa4I/Capture11b.PNG?psid=1
Now that you see the error I'd like to point out that no changes have been made to the Master Page design. If you noticed, I am using the default out-of-box template.
Steps to Resolve the Issue
Below are the steps to resolve the issue. This is not a onetime fix for the entire site but needs to be done for each and every list which is attached to an InfoPath web form on a public website.
- Go to Site Settings > Site Collection Features and deactivate the Limited-access user permission lockdown mode as shown below. WE WILL BE REACTIVATING THIS FEATURE AGAIN. IT IS NOT A RECOMMENDED PRACTICE TO HAVE THIS FEATURE DEACTIVATED FOR A PUBLIC FACING WEBSITE.
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You will get a warning message as shown below. Click on the 'Deactivate this feature' link
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Go to the list that you have created, click on List Settings and click on 'Permissions for this List'
Take note of the permissions that you have currently setup.
On the ribbon, click on 'Delete unique permissions'. Below is a screenshot
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- As a test, go back to that page where you have the InfoPath web based form available. MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT LOGGED INTO THE SITE. I recommend you close the browser (which includes all the windows and tabs) and then access the site. This time you should see the form without any errors as shown below
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Now go back into the list that you have created, click on List Settings and click on 'Permissions for this List'.
As you have done before, stop inheriting permissions to this list and apply the permissions of your choice.
Click on Anonymous Access and give anonymous users the permission to add items.
As a test, go back to that page where you have the InfoPath web based form available. MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT LOGGED INTO THE SITE. I recommend you close the browser (which includes all the windows and tabs) and then access the site. This time you should see the form without any errors. Fill the form and submit it. You should not receive any errors. Log into the site, go to the list and confirm that you see the item you just submitted anonymously.
Go to Site Settings > Site Collection Features and Activate the Limited-access user permission lockdown.
As a test, go back to that page where you have the InfoPath web based form available. MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT LOGGED INTO THE SITE. I recommend you close the browser (which includes all the windows and tabs) and then access the site. This time you should see the form without any errors. Fill the form and submit it. You should not receive any errors.
Finally, to make sure that the 'Limited-access user permission lockdown' feature is active, trying accessing the following link and confirm that an authentication window shows up. The link is http://YourURL/_layouts/settings.aspx
**The above steps need to be followed for each and every new list that has been created. **
Video
Below is a video which walks you through the process. I have built this video to show you two things, one is to show you an existing InfoPath web form which works when accessed anonymously, however, it doesn't do the same for a new list and its custom InfoPath form. Second is to walk you through the process to fix the issue.
(Click Here for a high resolution video)
Conclusion
As I have stated before, this is not a onetime fix i.e. the steps I have provided need to be followed each and every time a new list is created for which a custom InfoPath web form is built. These deactivation and activation of the features do not affect the functionality of the existing lists and their web forms. When testing the forms, I recommend closing all the browser tabs and windows.