Navigation cache problems in SharePoint, using the right SiteMapDataSource | José Quinto

Introduction

When we are using Publishing Sites in SharePoint 2013, we probably will use Navigation feature. That allows us to change Global and Current Navigation items.

I had some weird problem with Global Navigation and changes. I mean, doing changes in Navigation page, like not displaying sites, or pages, will not be reflecting in the Global Navigation in the master page.

The first thing is to review the SiteMapDataSource and SharePoint:AspMenu items. These are intended to get the Data and Represent the data using HTML.

What we have is a copy of seattle.master :

<SharePoint:DelegateControl runat="server" ControlId="TopNavigationDataSource1" Id="topNavigationDelegate">
    <Template_Controls>
        <asp:SiteMapDataSource 
            ShowStartingNode="False"
            SiteMapProvider="SPNavigationProvider"
            id="topSiteMap2"
            runat="server"
            StartingNodeUrl="sid:1002" 
        />
    </Template_Controls>
</SharePoint:DelegateControl>

<SharePoint:AspMenu 
    ID="SecondLevelMenu"
    Runat="server"
    CssClass="schindlerSecondLevelMenu"
    EnableViewState="true"
    DataSourceID="GlobalNavDataSource"
    AccessKey="<%$Resources:wss,navigation_accesskey%>"
    UseSimpleRendering="true"
    UseSeparateCss="false"
    Orientation="Horizontal"
    StaticDisplayLevels="2"
    AdjustForShowStartingNode="true"
    MaximumDynamicDisplayLevels="2"
    SkipLinkText=""
/>

SiteMapProvider for Publishing Sites problem with cache

But all this code seems to be ok working in a Team Site scenario. But, let’s think about changing the SiteMapProvider.

There is a list of SiteMapProviders here: https://ktskumar.wordpress.com/2008/04/14/sharepoint-navigation-providers-part-1/

And a list of Publishing SiteMapProviders here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ecm/archive/2007/02/10/moss-navigation-deep-dive-part-1.aspx

We can see that we have special SiteMapProviders used for Publishing sites, so we changed the SiteMapProvider:

<SharePoint:DelegateControl runat="server" ControlId="TopNavigationDataSource1" Id="topNavigationDelegate">
    <Template_Controls>
        <asp:SiteMapDataSource ShowStartingNode="False"
                                SiteMapProvider="CombinedNavSiteMapProvider"
                                id="topSiteMap2"
                                runat="server"
                                StartingNodeUrl="sid:1002" />
    </Template_Controls>
</SharePoint:DelegateControl>

Bad luck, it didn’t work :(

But this didn’t work because asp:SiteMapDataSource is not intended for Publishing Sites, so we need to use PortalSiteMapDataSource

Solution

So the resolution for cache problems in Navigation using Publishing Sites is:

How to include PortalSiteMapDataSource in our Master Page:

1. Register Publishing Navigation controls

   <%@ Register Tagprefix="PublishingNavigation" Namespace="Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing.Navigation" Assembly="Microsoft.SharePoint.Publishing, Version=15.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c" %>

2. Add the control in the master page:

   <PublishingNavigation:PortalSiteMapDataSource ID="GlobalNavDataSource"
       Runat="server"
       SiteMapProvider="CombinedNavSiteMapProvider"
       ShowStartingNode="false"
       StartFromCurrentNode="true"
       StartingNodeOffset="0"
       TrimNonCurrentTypes="Heading"
       TreatStartingNodeAsCurrent="true" />

3. Change asp:Menu DataSourceID

   <SharePoint:AspMenu 
       ID="SecondLevelMenu"
       Runat="server"
       CssClass="schindlerSecondLevelMenu"
       EnableViewState="true"
       DataSourceID="GlobalNavDataSource"
       AccessKey="<%$Resources:wss,navigation_accesskey%>"
       UseSimpleRendering="true"
       UseSeparateCss="false"
       Orientation="Horizontal"
       StaticDisplayLevels="2"
       AdjustForShowStartingNode="true"
       MaximumDynamicDisplayLevels="2"
       SkipLinkText=""
   />

Note: Take care about the SiteMapProvider used in the SiteMapDataSource. Sometimes is better to use CurrentNavSiteMapProvider or GlobalNavSiteMapProvider instead CombinedNavSiteMapProvider

Using this approach, all inconsistencies between Navigation and master page, like cache, items are solved.

Read more…

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/aa660698(v=office.12).aspx.aspx)