Invalid look-up value error message when trying to upload Visio or other files to SharePoint
Posted: May 26, 2015 Filed under: 2010, 2013, ECM, Metadata, SharePoint | Tags: Metadata, Upload Issues Leave a commentRan into an issue the other day. A user was getting an error message when he tried to upload some Visio diagrams.
The strange thing was some of the Visio diagrams uploaded to the SharePoint Online site without any issues.
After searching the internet for the error message I ran across Vaikun Rajanihanth’s post from 2012 Invalid lookup value. The author correctly identifies the issue as the file was down loaded from another SharePoint site before the user tried to upload it to the current SharePoint site. The file still maintained the metadata from the first SharePoint site which caused the conflict while uploading the file to its new SharePoint location. The author details how to resolve the issue for a Word file, but the solution could not be applied to the Visio diagram because “Check for Issues” does not appear in the Info or Backstage view of the Visio file.
To remove the prior SharePoint metadata from the Visio file take the following steps…
- Right click on the file name and select Properties from the drop-down menu.
- In the Properties widow, click the Custom tab.
- If there are no values in the Properties field, this is not the fix you need.
- If you do see values in the Properties field, you are on the right path.
- To remove the Properties, select the first Property and then click Remove.
- Repeat this process until all Properties are removed.
- Click OK.
- You may now upload the file to your new SharePoint location without any issues.
What the Heck Is Metadata?
Posted: December 13, 2012 Filed under: Metadata, What is... | Tags: Metadata 9 CommentsWhen people define metadata as “Data about data” I want to poke them in the eye. That definition doesn’t help anyone understand what metadata really is.
If you want to help your users understand what metadata is try this:
Show them a photo of my dog Stella…
Ask your users to describe the photo.
You’ll start hearing things like:
- Dog
- Black and White
- Little
- Cute
- Outside
- Autumn
- Boston Terrier
Your users just defined metadata for this picture.
So in a SharePoint Picture Library you could add the following columns:
|
Column Name |
Choices |
Column Notes |
|
Animal |
Cat |
|
|
Color |
Black White Orange Green Brown |
Use check boxes to allow multiple selections |
|
Location |
Indoors |
|
|
Season |
Winter |
So back to the original question, “What the heck is metadata?” Metadata is how you describe something.
Consider a contract. I might call it the Anderson Contract for a $350,000 house build. That’s 3 pieces of metadata right there; Anderson, $350,000, House Build.
Metadata is the description of an item.
Content Types 101: The Cartoon
Posted: December 11, 2012 Filed under: Metadata, SharePoint | Tags: Content Types 2 Comments
Content types in a nutshell:
- Plan your Content Types.
- Create Site Columns on the Parent Site if possible.
- Create a Parent Content Type that includes Site Columns all child Content Types will have in common for ease of updating.
- Create your SharePoint Content Types on the Parent Site so you can use them on sub-sites.
- Add Site Columns to your Content Types.
- Add your Content Types to your List or Library.
Want to see the deck including demos? Content Types 101: Easier Than the Theory of Relativity
Special thanks to Rae of Words of Rae: raerei.com/blog for this lovely cartoon.
Hey Tamara! 