Layer2 Cloud Connector for SharePoint & Office 365 - Version History

 

The Cloud Connector for Microsoft SharePoint 2010 and Office 365 takes your local line-of-business data and documents to your cloud-based or any other hosted SharePoint - easy to connect, secure, always up-to-date, and bi-directional, if required. More information and download here.

 

Newer versions

 

Please find the current Layer2 Cloud Connector Release Notes News Feed here for subscription.

 

 

Version 5.0.21.5 (outdated)

 

Fixes:

 

  • When creating folders in SharePoint libraries, an error occurred stating that the property "CheckOutType" has not been loaded. "The property or field 'CheckOutType' has not been initialized..."

Changes:

 

  • Optimized error handling and reporting for unexpected Windows Service termination.

 

Version 5.0.21.3

 

Fixes:

 

  • When accessing SharePoint libraries with versioning enabled and no enforced checkout, one upload has created four different new versions. This could lead to unexpected quota exceedance and issues with workflows and notifications. Now two new versions are created, one for the file upload and one for the metadata updates. Due to limitations with CSOM it is still not possible to create one new version only.
  • In some cases while updating data on SharePoint a NullReferenceException was triggered.
  • The settings of the FILENAME filter of the File System Provider included filtering of directory names. Now directory names are no longer filtered.
  • The Odata Provider created an error when a value could not bee parsed. This has been replaced with a warning and using of the default value.
  • Creating appointments on Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 could result in an error about the StartTimeZone-field not being loaded.

Changes: 

 

  • Pro Edition now allows Enterprise Edition features starting with January 2015. Customers with Pro Edition and valid Software Assurance have a free upgrade option.
  • If SharePoint returns a "Request too big" error, the current server objects will be loaded and updated one by one automatically.

 

Version 5.0.21.0

 

Fixes:

  • Minor memory leaks fixed. 
  • The log view in the Connection Manager is now refreshing during a synchronization run. 
  • Shareware restrictions have been adjusted. 
  • Logging to the Windows Eventlog or to email will no longer create multiple entries for a single error. 

 

Changes:

  • The setup files are now signed to avoid warnings.

 

Version 5.0.19.5

 

New:

  • The default log configuration now contains examples to use Windows Event Log instead of file log and send email alerts in case of issues.

Fixes:

  • Layer2 Data Provider for Exchange: When reading appointments in some cases the Exchange Web Service would return the error "The recurrence pattern’s FirstDayOfWeek property must be specified".

Changes:

  • When Exchange returns with a ErrorInternalServerTransientError, the Layer2 Exchange Data Provider will automatically retry to load the remaining items.

 

Version 5.0.19.3

 

Fixes:

  • The "Email" connection-string parameter for mailbox-impersonation has not been recognized. Now fixed. 
    • Changes:

     

    • It is no longer possible to have two different versions of the Cloud Connector installed side-by-side. If setup encounters another edition of the Cloud Connector, it will automatically be uninstalled prior to the installation.
    • When executing the Cloud Connector setup for .NET 4.5 on a System which does not support running the Microsoft Management Console in CLR 4, the setup will show an error message stating that the .NET 3.5 edition of the Cloud Connector needs to be installed. This is applicable for Windows 7 / Windows-Server 2008 RC2 or older.
    • The SharePoint fields fAllDayEvent and fRecurrence are no longer marked as unsupported fields. That means the fields can be used e.g. for SharePoint to SharePoint or SQL to SharePoint connections. Exchange to SharePoint is still not supported.

     

    Version 5.0

     

    • Layer2 Data Provider for Microsoft Exchange added to connect and sync Microsoft Exchange 2007 / 2010 / 2013 on-premises or Exchange Online contacts, tasks, calendar events, notes, email with SharePoint and almost any other data sources.
    • The default distribution requires the current version of .NET Framework. A version for .NET 3.5 is additionally provided for compatibility reasons. Please select the right folder during installation.
    • Updgrade from V4 to V5 requires a new license file. It's free for all customers with current Software Assurance (SA). Please contact [email protected] to request the license change before installation. You can simply use installer to upgrade. All data and settings are kept.

Version 4.8.0.2

 

  • Issues with the calculated field CCConnectionName and CCEntityName and specific providers like OData fixed.

 

Version 4.8.0.1

 

New:

  • Additional authentication method supported for Office 365 federated via RM Unify. Please use "Authentication=RMUnify" in connection string. RM Education Ltd. is one of the leading suppliers of ICT to UK education. More about RM Unify see here.

Change:

  • Advanced system logging in case of service crashes to improve error diagnostics.

Fix:

  • Error message regarding file path exceeding max Uri length now shows the full path used for these calculations.
  • Number and Decimal conversions with DBNull values should now work as expected.

 

Version 4.7.2.3

 

New:

  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM authentication worked for Dynamics CRM Online only when using "company.crm4.dynamics.com" URL´s (EMEA). Now also implemented for "company.crm.dynamics.com" (North America) and "company.crm5.dynamics.com" (APAC).

 

Version 4.7.2

 

New:

  • During update now an estimation of the remaining synchronization time is shown.


Fixes:

  • Authentication-caching could in some cases lead to invalid cached cookies.
  • If a value was synchronized to SharePoint which was identical to the default value of the target SharePoint-field, it has not been written, which resulted in unexpected empty fields.
  • If an error occured during the schema-creation of a table, a subsequent error was triggered complaining about a duplicate field.
  • Fields with SharePoint-FieldTypeKind "Invalid" will now be included in the result and no longer lead to a "Field-type not supported" error

 

Version 4.6.10.1

 

New:

  • ADFS is now fully supported for Microsoft Dynamics CRM (on-premises and cloud-based).
  • The connection name and data entity name are now populated as additional fields CCConnectionName and CCDataEntityName automatically for all providers. The new features provides better management of data aggregations and multiple connections to the same list.

Change:

  • Files that do not match the naming requirements of the target system will no longer be treated as an error. Instead of an error a warning will be logged and the files will be skipped. That will make it a lot more easy to start syncing file shares and home drives with SharePoint.
  • Advanced character support for document names was added as currently supported for SharePoint 2013. (e.g. & Char). Was for SharePoint 2010 only before.
  • Error messages have been optimized for better understanding.
  • The SharePoint system fields Modified and Created will no longer be included in the auto-mapping. Mapping this fields can be helpful to keep file system metadata for SharePoint. But writing to those kind of system fields requires specific rights and can cause sync issues in some cases. As a best practice approach please make use of any additional date / time fields on the SharePoint side, e.g. FSModified, FSCreated and map manually.

Fixes:

  • Exchange sample connection had ExchangeID as the primary key which did not work in all cases. Now removed. Please leave blank in any case.
  • During synchronization of file system with SharePoint in some cases a "Null reference exception" error did come up. Fixed now.
  • The precondition checks of the SharePoint-Provider will now allow all the characters which are allowed on SharePoint Online (Some of the SharePoint file naming restrictions have been relaxed opposed to on-premise SharePoint).
  • In some cases after a CloudConnector upgrade, the providers have not been registered properly anymore. Fixed now.
  • On Windows Server 2008 R2 systems the providers have not been registered properly. Fixed now.
  • Bi-directional file synchronizations needed two runs to be in-sync in some cases. Fixed now.

 

 

Version 4.6.5.2.2

 

Fix:

  • In case of ADFS is used for the OData provider (e.g. to connect to MS CRM) there was an issue "Is not an absolute URL" that ends with error. Now fixed.

 

Version 4.6.5.1

 

New:

  • Microsoft OneDrive For Business is now fully supported, including the default library.
  • Basic support for SharePoint Managed Metadata Fields (read / write). The field content must fit to be applied as metadata. More advanced support will come soon.
  • Microsoft Exchange Provider (BETA) now included.
  • Advanced protection against unexpected recurring updates added: If a target system formats the data before saving it, this will now be detected and no further updates will be performed to re-format.

Fixes: 

  • If an internal field name was truncated by SharePoint, a warning that the CloudConnector creates led to an index-error. Now fixed.
  • Disabled operations now managed properly without instructing entities to perform disabled operations and without unexpected error messages.
  • When reading empty fields through the Odata-Provider, an Exception about DBNull could come up. Now fixed.
  • An error in metabase version migration could in some cases lead to an "Invalid cast"-exception. Now fixed.
  • File paths exceeding 128 characters could lead to an "Invalid argument parameters.FileLeaf" SharePoint exception. Now fixed.
  • Object reference issue on creating new items under specific conditions in 4.6.5 fixed in 4.6.5.1

Changes:

  • Performance optimations for file synchronizations. Folders now are cached. Sync performance improved.

 

Version 4.5.12.9

 

New:

  • ADFS authentication will now also work for SharePoint on-premise with the new authentication type ADFSOnPremise.

Fixes:

  • When synchronizing directories with the field [size] mapped, an error "arithmetic overflow" came up if a directories size exceeded 2 GB. Fixed now.
  • When synchronizing files bigger than the SharePoint-limit, in some cases could a "Stream is not searchable"-error be thrown. Fixed now.
  • When running multiple SharePoint-to-SharePoint connections at the same time in some cases the connections aborted with an error "operation has timed out". Fixed now.
  • Empty fields in an OData source item filled with the value of the previous record. Fixed now.

 

 

Version 4.5.12.5

 

New:

  • SAP connectivity via NetWeaver / OData without any additional tools fully supported. 
    Please find the sample connection included.
  • Black Compass Visualizer is fully supported for syncing and charting external data.
  • Authentication against Dynamics CRM Online is now supported with Office365 or Live-ID accounts. Cookies no longer required.
  • Custom field types are now fully supported. Please note that the value (e.g. XML or binary) must exactly fit.
  • File synchronization with SharePoint target folder: It is now possible to define a SharePoint library folder path as the root folder for the synchronization. Please make use of the full folder path in the URL parameter of connection string or alternatively use the List=myList; View=MyView; Folder=\MyFolder1\MyFolder2 notation. Please note that all items in an upper folder of a connected library are out of scope (remain untouched during sync). Sync to folders is not provided by SkyDrivePro or OneDrive for Business.
  • SharePoint content types can now be synchronized by name.
  • Synchronization of SharePoint document sets is now supported. 

Changes:

  • Performance optimizations.

Fixes:

  • Performing numerous succeeding authentications against SharePoint-Online could result in connection timeouts, probably due to server-restrictions. Fixed now.
  • During synchronization an occasional error message came up, stating an invalid row-state and a note about the BeginEdit()-Method. Fixed now.
  • After loading data from an OData source, occasionally an error occurred that stated an "Invalid GUID". Fixed now.
  • The XML-Provider did not allow the Xpath of the columns to go up beyond the parent node. Added now.
  • The XML-Provider did not allow filter expressions in the column XPath. Added now.
  • Folder synchronization is now working for empty folders and folder-removal onn the file system and on SharePoint lists or libraries. Empty folders are removed if required during sync.
  • XML Sample Connection did not validate anymore. Fixed now.
  • OData Sample Connection did not validate anymore. Fixed now.
  • Windows Live users could not be resolved by ID, if used in a person-field. Fixed now.
  • If a person-field was mapped during synchronization of a SharePoint document set, some of the document sets have been synchronized as regular folders. Fixed now.

 

Version 4.4.8.5


New:

  • SharePoint multi-value fields supported, such as multi-choice, multi-user and multi-value lookup. Please note that the values (tokens) must exactly fit.
  • SharePoint enterprise metadata and keyword fields supported (single value only - multivalue will come with next release). Please note that the values (tokens) must exactly fit.
  • Sample connection for accessing Excel as a data source via OLEDB included.
  • Server names required to generate a license can be encrypted.

Fixes:

  • If the default browser was Google Chrome, the Microsoft MMC sometimes crashed when one of the provider-specific support links was clicked in CC Connection Manager.
  • In some cases the modified date in SharePoint lists and document libraries has not been set to the current date in case of an update.
  • Synchronization of SharePoint picture libraries resulted in a read-only error.
  • Views have not been recognized properly when using SharePoint calendar lists. 

 

Version 4.4.8

 

New:

  • It is now possible to install / upload a license file directly using the Connection Manager (root node).
  • There is a new option to start the Connection Manager on the last page of the installation wizard.
  • Initial file synchronizations will now work with files on both sides and files with the same name will be linked automatically.
  • The File System Data Provider now returns the file name and extension in separate readonly fields.
  • The File System Data Provider now supports metadata synchronization with SharePoint lists (without the files itself) additonal to the SharePoint library sync support.

Changes:

  • The log now shows why updates will be performed with log level set to Info
  • The log contains the version number of the Cloud Connector.
  • The scheduling of the background service will no longer depend on the last run, so execution time will not be affected by service restarts or manual runs.
  • Connection Wizzard temporarily removed, because it causes several errors on creating a connection. Functionality replaced with the possibility to create an empty connection or copy sample connection.
  • The product information in the root node of the connection manager is now markable.

Fixes:

  • The SharePoint Columns Editor, Author, Created Date and Modfied Date can now be written to SharePoint as long as the user is Site Collection Administrator. Otherwise these fields will be managed as read-only. Several issues with recurring updates related to the modified date have been fixed with this release.
  • When the 32-bit version was installed on a 64-bit system, the background service was still running as a 64-bit process, which made 32-bit providers inaccessible. Fixed now.
  • In some views of the Connection Manager scroll bars did not appear when needed or in some cases appeared unnecessarily. Fixed now.
  • Creating files with the same name on both sides of a file synchronization connection led to a primary key error. It is now managed by the conflict resolution.
  • The locally cached service-metadata of the Odata-Provider was leading to an error after updates. Fixed now.
  • After opening the mapping screen, occasionally there was a "Object reference not set to an instance of an object" error, which disappeared after reloading. Fixed now. 
  • The installation of version 4.4.5 was not updating  the existing installation and installed the new version side by side. Fixed now.
  • There have been several issues with the summary information in the live log window. The info was not corresponding to the expected results. Fixed now.
  • Synchronisation from file system to SharePoint list (not library) was not working proper in some specific cases. Fields given by the file system were not synchronized to the SharePoint list
  • Mapping of the field file extension of the file system provider caused unexpected log entries
  • The duplication of an existing connection adds additional to the duplicated connection an empty connection.
  • Entiries, which has been cleared in the source were not synchronized correctly.
  • There have been several issues with unknown elements  in the OData-Provider. Fixed now.

 

Version 4.3.19

 

New: 

  • Provider-specific help links when creating connection strings. More provider-specific help will be added soon.
  • Auto-reconnect in case of network issues. Was not managed before.
  • Auto adjust batch size in case of large data amounts. Caused connection issues in some cases before.

Fixes:

  • While loading data from SharePoint, an occasional IndexOutOfBounds error was coming up. Fixed now.
  • After a successful synchronization, in certain cases there was a Null Reference Exception. Fixed now.

 

Version 4.3.17

 

New:

  • The maximum count of consecutive errors allowed in one sync is now configurable on connection level in the user interface.

Fixes:

 
  • Title field was mandatory for SharePoint, which could lead to errors when synchronizing specific content types like page libraries. Now title is no longer mandatory.
  • SharePoint Page libraries have not been recognized as libraries and were treated as lists before. No synced as libraries.
  • SharePoint filtered views led to an index error.
  • A string to datetime mapping across systems with different locales, led to conversion errors.
  • A SharePoint view returning no items caused an index error.

 

Version 4.3.15

 

Changes:

 
  • Optimized performance while reading or writing to/from SharePoint which includes connection string and mapping verifications, preview and synchronization.
  • Connections will not be validated on Conection Manager startup anymore.
  • Data Entities can no longer have the same name.

Fix: 

  • Issue with more than 5000 changes at once fixed.
  • Saving a data entity configuration with an empty connection string led to an error.
  • Opening the preview for a SQL query that has a column of data type Timestamp crashed the connection-manager.
  • When the synchronization run was aborted due to more than 10 errors, in some cases these errors did not appear in the log.
  • When the MMC was closed during running synchronization, in some cases errors being logged ("Class view has shut down").
  • Count of updates was not included in the summary in some circumstances with unidirectional synchronizations.
  • After a synchronization run which added new items to a SharePoint list there was sometimes an "Object reference" error after the synchronization completed successfully.
  • In some cases the created date was not written in SharePoint document libraries.
  • Occasionally there was an error "DataTable already belongs to another DataSet" coming up during synchronizations.


     

    Version 4.3.11

      

    Changes:

     

    • The Office 365 ADFS Authentication has been adjusted due to the changes that have been made in the Identity Service by Microsoft with the ongoing maintenance IS2992.

     

     

    Version 4.3.10

     

    Fixes:

     
    • The synchronization of SharePoint Document Libraries containing required fields, led to an error stating that the required field could not be empty even if the source field was actually filled. This is fixed now.
    • When synchronizing SharePoint Document Libraries with versioning enabled, the version was increased by two on each file update instead of one. This is fixed with the current release.
    • On initial synchronizations with SharePoint Document Libraries, the modified date has not been set and therefore it contained the current date, which was updated on the next synchronization run. Now the modified date is managed as expected with initial synchronization.

     

     

    Version 4.3.8

     

    New Features:

    • The Layer2 RSS Data Provider now supports easy aggregation of multiple feeds (list of URLs separated by comma directly in connection string, e.g. URL=http://myFeed1, http://myfeed2, ... )
    • The SharePoint Form Based Authentication (FBA) is now available as an authentication method for the providers SharePoint, RSS, XML and Odata by specifying 'SharePoint_FBA' as the authentication-method in the connection string.
    • When authenticating on Office 365 using claims-based authentication there is a warning coming up, if the URL does not contain "sharepoint.com" and the Realm parameter is not specified explicitly in connection string.

    Changes:

    • If the execution of a connection fails, it will not be scheduled for the next service run (one minute), but according to the configured synchronization interval.
    • The Cookie Manager does not show an expiry date for session cookies anymore. Instead they will be denoted as session cookies with the creation date information. Also a cookie refresh will now always explicitly refresh the cookie and therefore prompt for credentials.
    • Live log optimization: The live log displays more detailed information in a more intuitive manner.
    • System logs will no longer contain connection specific log-messages. All connection specific logs go to the connection log now.
    • The current implementation of the abort-function is unstable and can result in various error conditions. (e.g. "No row for role right") The button is removed temporarily and will be re-implemented in one of the next releases.
    • Any errors occurring on record-level when writing changes to SharePoint, FileSystem or OData will be logged and skipped up to a maximum of 10 consecutive errors.
    • Improvement of the live log output, now including the number of warnings and errors.
    • The number of history items on disk and in memory is now limited to 10. Existing histories will be truncated accordingly. That highly improves memory usage.
    • Uploading files and folders to SharePoint with invalid characters will now result in a meaningful error message.
    • Uploading files and folders to SharePoint with blocked file types will now result in a meaningful error message.
    • Uploading files and folders to SharePoint which exceeds the maximum file size will now result in a meaningful error message.
    • Uploading files and folders to SharePoint which are checked out by someone else will now result in a meaningful error message.
    • Uploading files and folders to SharePoint without permission will now result in a meaningful error message.
    • Creating files and folders on the file system with invalid characters will now result in a meaningful error message.
    • Overwriting files and folders on the file system while the target file is read-only will now result in a meaningful error message.
    • Overwriting files and folders on the file-system while the target-file is locked by another application will now result in a meaningful error message.
    • Overwriting files and folders on the file-system without permissions on the target-file will now result in a meaningful error message.
    • Improved post-processing of the metabase. In case of errors while committing the changes to the data entities, the metabase will be adjusted accordingly to keep it consistent.

    Fixes:

    • Verifying a SharePoint data entity caused a full load of the SharePoint-list which made the verify function useless for large lists.
    • The counts of operations in the live log have been inaccurate in some cases.
    • Errors often appeared twice in the logs.
    • If an error occurs during synchronization of a record, the error is added to the log and the record  will be skipped. After more than 10 consecutive errors, synchronization will be aborted with an error.
    • Deleting all items in a SharePoint list with the connection manager open, could lead to a "Index out of range" error on the next run.
    • An empty file was allowed to be uploaded to SharePoint, which led to odd behavior during synchronization.
    • In some cases the an error message "The request needs to be buffered" or similar appeared when uploading a new file to a SharePoint-document library.
    • Some of the Event Log messages of the background synchronization service couldn´t be written.
    • In some configurations there could be an error while running the background synchronization, complaining about invalid date-formats in the connection file.
    • If the synchronization was aborted by an unskippable error, the operation counts in the summary have been inaccurate.
    • An occasional  "File is used by another process" was coming up in the Layer2 File System Provider.
    • A file URI containing a TCP/IP port was mistakenly recognized as invalid SharePoint file naming.
    • In some cases new SharePoint documents have not been recognized before restarting the connection manager.
    • When uploading large files, in some cases an Out-Of-Memory Exception was thrown.
     

     

    Version 4.3.1

     

    New features:

    • SharePoint Form Based Authentication is now available as an authentication method for the providers SharePoint, RSS, XML and Odata by specifying 'SharePoint_FBA' as the authentication-method in the connection string, e.g. Authentication=SharePoint_FBA.

    Changes:

    • The number of history items on disk and in memory is now limited to 10. Existing histories will be truncated accordingly.
    • If the execution of a connection fails, it will not be scheduled for the next service run (1 minute later), but according to the configured synchronization interval.
    • The Cookie Manager does not show an expiry date for session cookies anymore. Instead they will be denoted as session cookies with the creation date information. Also a cookie-refresh will now always explicitly refresh the cookie and therefore prompt for credentials.
     

     

    Version 4.2.4

     

    Fixes:

    • Issues with licensing via Microsoft SharePoint App Store are fixed.

     

     

     

    Version 4.2.3

     

    New features:

    • No more 25 connections limit for the Professional Edition. Now an unlimited number of connections is allowed. See FAQs for more information.
    • Separate installation packages are provided for 32-bit and 64-bit to give more flexibility on 64-bit machines to use the 32-bit installtion with 32-bit legacy providers / drivers.
    • Layer2 Data Provider for XML/RSS and OData can now use Windows, WindowsIntegrated, Office365, Cookie, ADFS, ADFSIntegrated authentication methods as Layer2 Provider for SharePoint (CSOM)does.

    Fixes and Changes:

    • Oracle: Issue with transaction isolation level fixed.
    • Connection Manager: Connections are no longer verified during Connection Manager start.
    • Connection Manager: Synchronization Toolbox scoll issue fixed.
    • File System Provider: Hidden files and protected operating system files are excluded from synchronization. You can re-add with connection string option, if required.
    • OData Provider: Did not work as expected when using HTTP ports. Fixed.
    • CSOM Provider: Parsing of full Url to the SharePoint list in connection string did not work with SP2013. Fixed.
    • NLog configuration did not support different log targets. Fixed now. SQL and Windows Event Log can be used to log and create custom follow-up actions like send email etc.
    • Soap Server Exceptions when using default libraries like "Shared Documents" - Error Handling improved / issues fixed.
    • Issues with MySite synchronization fixed.
    • Missing synchronization information in the infobox for syncs that are completed too fast. Fixed.
    • Log file now provides more clear info about synchronization in 'Info' severity level.
    • Mapped primary key leads invalid synchronization in some cases. Fixed.
    • Connection string verification message changed.
    • File System Provider: "The process cannot access file because it is being used by another process". Fixed for some cases.

     

    Version 4.1.1

     

    New:

    • Microsoft SharePoint 2013 RTM compatibility.
    • Microsoft SharePoint 2013 App Store licensing support enabled.
    • Personal Edition license type added (one connection only).
    • License information is added to Connection Manager on Run Toolbox.
    • OData provider authentication methods extended with Office365.
    • About information & logo added for Connection Manager.

    Fix:

    • Rss Data Provider did not work with Facebook feeds. Issue fixed.
    • Connections that are deleted while service is running were still executed. Issue fixed.
    • Filemaker(32 bit version) ODBC read data "No cursor open for statement" issue fixed. Please note that this is originally a known Filemaker issue. It could not be fixed for 64-bit. Writing to Filemaker still does not work.
    • Metabase issues with File System Data Provider fixed.
    • File System Data Provider did not update the content of the file in some cases. Issue fixed.
    • Issues with license changes while the service is running fixed.
    • Connection manager UI did not refresh license information after reload command. Issue fixed.
    • Sometimes files under subfolders copied to the root folder during subsequent synchronizations from File System to SharePoint library. Issue fixed.

    Changes:

    • Connection Manager MMC user actions are reordered.
    • Sample Connections folder is added to the data directory.
    • A shortcut to this new folder added to the Windows program menu.

     

    Version 4.0.7

    Fix:

    • Issues with File System Provider while write-back changes made in SharePoint back to file system fixed.

     

     

    Version 4.0.6

    Please note that V4 is a major release that requires a valid Software Assurance to upgrade. Please request renewed license key files before update. Contact  [email protected] in case of any questions.

    New:

    • Microsoft Windows 8 compatible.
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2012 compatible.
    • Microsoft SQL Server 2012 compatible.
    • Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Preview and Office 365 Preview compatible.

    • Calendar synchronization support for Layer2 SharePoint Provider added.

    • ADFS authentication support for Office365 with username/password or using integrated windows authentication added to Layer2 SharePoint Provider.

    • New option 'Disable Operations' introduced for disabling selected operations like insert, update or delete for the current data entity. This new option can now be used in data aggregation scenarios, e.g. syncing XML based news feed, twitter feeds etc. - without deleting old entries.

    Fixes: 

    • Order of log files was not correct in GUI. Issue fixed.
    • Entity names are not updated on mapping screen after renaming of entity. Issue fixed.
    • Odata select statement is not visible. Issue fixed.
    • Connection string verification does not work as expected for the providers without select statement. Issue fixed.
      • Mapping screen is not auto updated after connection data changed. Issue fixed.
      • File System Provider network share access problem fixed.
      • Sharepoint Provider had a limitation of the synchronization execution duration of about 10 hours. Synchronizations longer than 10 hours are aborted with "Remote server returned 403 forbidden." Issue fixed.
      • Sometimes log entries in GUI differs from the log file. Issue fixed.
      • Add mapping button is lost after switching between auto mapping and manual mapping. Issue fixed. 

    Changes:

    • Sharepoint user fields are excluded from auto mappings, but can be mapped manually if required.
    • A Cookie Manager shortcut added directly to the Connection Manager.
    • Cookie Manager link removed from programs menu shortcuts.
    • For uni-directional connections conflict resolution and winning entity parameters are removed in mapping screen.
    • Visual improvements made on mapping screen and with logging.
    • Preview window appearance improved

Version 3.5.2

New:

  • SharePoint 2013 Preview release fully supported now.

Fixes:

  • Issue with starting the Windows service for background update in UI fixed now.
  • Uninstallation issue fixed. Service entry removed from registry correctly now.

 

Version 3.5.1

 

Fixes:

  • In some specific cases a "404 NOT FOUND" error was coming up when synchronizing documents SharePoint to SharePoint - FIXED
  • In some cases a "Could not cast to DBNull" error was coming up when synchronizing Documents SharePoint to SharePoint  - FIXED
  • In some cases an "Object reference" error was coming up when synchronizing Documents SharePoint to SharePoint - FIXED

Known Issues:

  • While synchronizing any data source with SharePoint 2013 lists works great with this version, there is a known issue with synchronizing documents or files with SharePoint 2013 / Office 365 Preview libraries to be fixed with next version.

 

Version 3.4

 

New Features:

  • XML Provider with XPath support included to connect to and query any file- or web-based XML data (readonly). See samples here.
  • Sharepoint Provider now can mix the list types for document library and default list.
  • A new parameter for recursive read option created for File System Provider. Usage is FileGetMode(Aliases are FileReadMode, DirectoryReadMode) = Flat or Recursive. The parameter is optional and default value is ‘Recursive’.
  • Command line synchronization execution option added per connection:
    Layer2.Data.Synchronization.Service.exe –execute MyConnection
  • GUI initial connection load performance improved.
  • For uni-directional connection multiple mappings of one source field to many target fields are supported now.
  • Support for Windows XP SP3 and Windows Server 2003 SP2 added.

Fixes:

  • GUI cannot open log files for the connection, starting with (Number) - combination issue fixed.
  • Comma character is not working as a multiple primary key separator issue fixed.
  • Sharepoint provider unlimited length text fields are not recognized as guid compatible issue fixed.
  • Synchronization of files bigger than 6 MB lead timeout on SharePoint Online servers and breaks the synchronization sometimes. Issue fixed.
  • Synchronization of a file with invalid characters could lead '414 Uri request too long'  error on sharepoint servers. Issue fixed.
  • Files names containing apostrophe character could lead 'Missing operand after …' error. Issue fixed
  • File System Provider throws "The given path's format is not supported." Issue fixed.
  • Log window filter setting is not persistent, reset after synchronization. Issue fixed.
  • You get an empty Yes, No dialog box when you set the log filter on logs view. Issue fixed.
  • Reload configuration files does not get the file system changes as expected, deleted connections still listed, newly created connections are not completely listed, order of connections is not sorted. Issues fixed.

Changes:

  • Auto mapping mixed with manual mapping is no longer supported. When If auto mapping is enabled, all manual mappings are removed and replaced with auto mappings by field names.

 

Version 3.3

 

New Features:

  • Picture library synchronization support added.
  • Integrated windows authentication support added for sharepoint provider.
  • GUI preview data window: Copy data, column names functionality added.

Fixes:

  • Synchronization in service mode breaks, if there are any connections with invalid data entity definition (e.g. the sample files). Issue fixed.
  • GUI stability improved
  • OData Provider query was limited to a specific number of items, depending on WCF data service setting. By default, ADO.NET Data Services limits the amount of data that a query returns. This issue is fixed now.
  • SharePoint 'Choice' field values were carried as String[] to the target, if "allow multiple selections" is enabled. Issue fixed now.
  • Synchronization performance improved

 

Version 3.2.1

Fixes:

  • "Missing operand after 'XXXX' operator" error occurs during synchronization, if a primary key of a data entity contains white spaces. Issue fixed.


Version 3.2 

 

New Features:

  • A new file system provider is included now to sync local file system with SharePoint 2010 document libraries, on-premise and SharePoint Online / Office 365.
  • A new RSS Provider now is included in product. It allows to aggregate RSS newsfeeds in native SharePoint lists or any other data entity (e.g. SQL). See sample connection file and FAQs for connection strings and options.
  • A new API folder is provided with sample source code to help users to develop their own ADO providers for Cloud Connector.
  • Auto mapped fields are now displayed in GUI to have more information about default field mapping.
  • GUI synchronization messages can now be copied, to send to support.
  • Additional FilenameFilter connection string parameter for the file system provider allows to filter files by using search patterns like "*.pdf"
  • The file system provider offers an additional column FilePathCopy which holds the file's path to map to some data destination column for additional information about data item source.

Fixes:

  • While writing against OData sources with protocol version 2.0 using Layer2.Odata.Provider, you have got "Request version '1.0' is not supported for the request payload. The only supported version is '2.0'. " This issue was fixed.
  • Sometimes wrong execution time displayed in log entry. This issue was fixed.
  • Delete/Update conflicts are now better detected and solved according to the configured conflict resolution on the connection level.

Known issues:

  • Large files will not sync with Office 365 or SharePoint Online.  That will be fixed in further releases.
  • The OData provider gets first page of data only from Microsoft CRM. That will be fixed in further releases.
  • Multiple document versions can be generated during a single synchronisation (SharePoint on premise, SharePoint online) to fetch metadata. 

 

Version 3.1.3

 

Fixes:

  • While saving global configuration changes 'Could not load file or assembly 'SmartAssembly.Attributes, Version=4.1.0.0. An exception was thrown and changes were not saved. This issue is fixed.
  • An error occurred while executing connection 'XXX': Expecting 1 value(s) for the key being indexed, but received 0 value(s). An Exception was thrown while executing unidirectional connection when primary key of source entity is used in mapping. This issue is fixed.
  • If no mappings are provided, empty list items are created. This issue is fixed. Empty mappings are not allowed in connections anymore.
  • In GUI synchronization status messages about amount of changes not always were correct. This issue is fixed.
  • Synchronization progress bar oscillates. This issue is fixed.
  • When the firstDate connection attribute could not be parsed (mostly different locale issues), a format exception was thrown and the Cloud Connector MMC snap-in was not loaded. This issue is fixed. Connections with wrong datetime format added to the invalid connections list now. You can correct the connection file manually (e.g. remove attribute).
  • Automatically mapped columns were not considered by the conflict resolution, e.g. winner / looser. This issue is fixed.
  • Long log messages were truncated in GUI. This issue is fixed.

 

Version 3.1.2

 

Fixes:

  • Initial synchronization with mapped key issue. Cannot find column 'xxx' issue fixed. 
  • Backward compatibility of metabase files after version upgrade implemented.

Changes:

  • Removed auto mapping for editor related meta data columns, e.g. created, created by etc.
  • The "Overwrite destination" feature was extended to work with auto generated primary keys.

 

>

Version 3.1.1

 

New features:

  • A new parameter ‘Overwrite destination’ is added on connection level for unidirectional connections. If true it allows deletes and updates in the destination list of an unidirectional connection on initial synchronization. Default is false.
  • Both reading and writing complex types are supported in OData provider now. This can be used e.g. with Microsoft CRM Online connections. See sample files and FAQs for more details how to manage.
  • All sample connections start with the connection title and file name "Sample..." now.
  • Small interface improvements in Connection Manager

Fixes:

  • Initial synchronization issues in some certain cases are fixed.
  • SharePoint document library synchronization is stable now.

 

Version 3.1

 

 

New features:

  • Document library synchronization feature added. See new sample connection file for more details.
    Please note:

    - The primary key needs to be set for both data entities to the column name “FilePath”.
    - There must be two field mappings for the columns FilePath and FileContent.
    - This is an issue of version 3.1 and will be automatically set in future versions.
  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM support using Odata feature added. See new sample connection file for more details.
  • Sample connection files added to the setup for document library synchronization, and CRM Odata
  • Encryption option for select statement, connection string, primary key, replication key added.
  • Save configuration command added to the Global setting screen(log level and service start mode
  • A new optional 'Scope' parameter added to the Layer2.SharePoint.Provider connection string. 

    For scope value 'Recursive': it reads recursively all items in a SharePoint list with folders. 
    Please note that no folders returned. All items are placed in a flat list.
    For scope value 'RecursiveAll': it reads  recursively all items in a SharePoint list including folders.
    Please note that folders are returned as items. All items are placed in a flat list.
  • Form-based Authentication (FBA) now supported for SharePoint servers using Cookie Manager. Please use in connection string: Authentication=IECookie.
  • Further usability and performance improvements

Bug fixes:

  • Black window issue using the connection wizard with windows 7 theme activated is fixed.
  • 32 bit compatibility improved.
  • SharePoint client libraries merging issue (on GUI side) fixed.
  • On merged version Cookie Manager does not show cookie's URL and expire date bug fixed.
  • High memory consumption during synchronization on 'Trace' log level issue fixed.
  • Mapped primary key issue fixed

Next Steps planned:

  • Document library and file system replication.
  • Dedicated providers for Microsoft Exchange and other web services
  • If you have any detailed requirements, please send to [email protected]. 
    We will help you as soon as possible to meet your requirements.

Known issues:

  • Calendar type of list is not supported because of CSOM issue with End Date. As a workaround custom lists can be used with calendar view to sync date / time-based information.
  • There is a SharePoint limit for lookup fields using the default view allitems.aspx. As a workaround create your own view and connect, that works great.
  • Attachments are not synced with lists.
  • Folders are not fully supported with SharePoint lists. See above for scope option to workaround.
  • Managed Metadata is not supported at this time.
  • SharePoint metadata like created, last modified, user information is modified during sync.
  • SharePoint lookups are not "translated" between different systems.
  • SharePoint user or group fields are not "translated" between different systems.

 

Version 3.0

  • Connection Manager comes with GUI now as Microsoft Management Console snapp-in. You can continue to edit the XML-based connection files, if required. We advise to use the new UI.
  • Support for Open Data protocol, e.g. to more flexible access SAP, Dynamics CRM etc.

 

Version 2.3 - 2011-10-10

 

  • Primary keys can be case sensitive now.
  • In some configurations bi-directional connection was forced instead of unidirectional. This is fixed in the current release.
  • SQL Azure is fully supported now.

 

Version 2.0 - 2011-09-06

 

  • Bi-directional replication is supported now (if supported by data source). Please simply remove the data entity type (source/destination) or set to "bidirectional" to activate this feature.
    Please note: Bi-directional is the default connection type starting with this release.
  • See manual for conflict resolution options, e.g. on field level.
  • Mapping of primary keys is no longer needed. But both data entities must continue to have primary keys.

 

Version 1.2 - 2011-08-15​

 

  • An issue with workflow fields in destination list was fixed.
  • There is an unfixed issue with lists using lots of fields, especially a large number of calculated fields. It may cause "Server Error 400" in some cases. Please adjust batch size in this case down to some items only, to give SharePoint time to recover. By default is: BatchWriteItems=5000

 

Version 1.1 - 2011-07-15

 

  • Authentication issues with alias domains are fixed with this version. You could not authenticate with V1.0, if using alias domains (not ???.sharepoint.com). Now you can add an additional Realm option to connection string in this case that contains the original domain for authentication:
    Realm=https://myOriginalDomain.sharepoint.com
    That fixes the authentication issue.

 

Version 1.0 - First production release

 

  • A Windows Service is provided to operate your background updates automatically without any restrictions. Please note: When changes are made to the configuration files, the service has to be restarted. Alternatively you can force the connection service to run as application in foreground for better testing.
  • Office 365 Cookie Manager is installed with "Complete Installation" option only. It os not required to establish a connection to Office 365. Please use Authentication="Office365" with user name and password instead of cookie based login. 
  • All field mapping is done by field names via XML. The SharePoint INTERNAL column names are used for mapping (not column titles). See log mapping check in log files for more information. In case of database connections, please use aliases in the SQL query or view (e.g. select myField as myAlias from myTable) to use the auto-mapping feature - or map columns manually.
  • A "primary key" is required on both sides, data source and destination, e.g. a customer ID or SharePoint item ID. It can be a combination of multiple fields / columns (e.g. contact full name and company). In most cases (including SharePoint) it will be detected automatically.
  • Primary keys must be mapped. Example: A primary key "ID" in a SharePoint data source list can be mapped to a column "SourceID" (integer) in the SharePoint destination list in the connection settings file.

  • You have to use the so called invariant name to declare a provider in the configuration file as data entity property (see your machine.config for installed providers). Typically the follwing providers are used:
    Layer2.SharePoint.Provider ... comes with the Cloud Connector to connect to SharePoint 2010 via CSOM (Client Side Object Model)
    System.Data.Odbc ... the .NET Framework Data Provider for Odbc used to connect via ODBC
    System.Data.OleDb ... the .NET Famework Data Provider for OleDb used to conenct via OLEDB
    System.Data.OracleClient ... the .NET Framework Data Provider for Oracle used to connect to Oracle database
    System.Data.SqlClient ... the .NET Famework Data Provider for SqlServer used to connect to Microsoft SQL Server

  • Calendar lists are not supported yet because of an currently unsolved Microsoft CSOM issue.

  • User / Group columns that cannot be resolved at the destination system can cause circular updates. Please exclude those fields from auto-mapping.
  • Be careful using lookups in data destination. Item IDs in source list and destination list can be different. SharePoint has no API to create new items with a defined item ID.
  • There is an unsolved authentication issue with URLs that use an alias instead of the original namespace. That is fixed in V1.1.

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