4846915c80
- Replace GetSitePropertiesFromSharePoint("", true) with modern
GetSitePropertiesFromSharePointByFilters using null StartIndex
- Use ctx.Clone(adminUrl) instead of creating new AuthenticationManager
for admin URL, eliminating second browser auth prompt
Resolves: UAT issue "Must specify valid information for parsing in the string"
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
90 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
90 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
---
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status: awaiting_human_verify
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trigger: "SitePickerDialog shows 'Must specify valid information for parsing in the string' error when trying to load sites after a successful tenant connection."
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created: 2026-04-07T00:00:00Z
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updated: 2026-04-07T00:00:00Z
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---
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## Current Focus
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hypothesis: ROOT CAUSE CONFIRMED — two bugs in SiteListService.GetSitesAsync
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test: code reading confirmed via PnP source
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expecting: fixing both issues will resolve the error
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next_action: apply fix to SiteListService.cs
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## Symptoms
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expected: After connecting to a SharePoint tenant (https://contoso.sharepoint.com format), clicking "Select Sites" opens SitePickerDialog and loads the list of tenant sites.
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actual: SitePickerDialog opens but shows error "Must specify valid information for parsing in the string" instead of loading sites.
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errors: "Must specify valid information for parsing in the string" — this is an ArgumentException thrown by CSOM when it tries to parse an empty string as a site URL cursor
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reproduction: 1) Launch app 2) Add profile with valid tenant URL 3) Connect 4) Authenticate 5) Click Select Sites 6) Error appears in StatusText
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started: First time testing this flow after Phase 6 wiring was added.
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## Eliminated
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- hypothesis: Error comes from PnP's AuthenticationManager.GetContextAsync URI parsing
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evidence: GetContextAsync line 1090 does new Uri(siteUrl) which is valid for "https://contoso-admin.sharepoint.com"
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timestamp: 2026-04-07
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- hypothesis: Error from MSAL constructing auth URL with empty component
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evidence: MSAL uses organizations authority or tenant-specific, both valid; no empty strings involved
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timestamp: 2026-04-07
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- hypothesis: UriFormatException from new Uri("") in our own code
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evidence: No Uri.Parse or new Uri() calls in SiteListService or SessionManager
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timestamp: 2026-04-07
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## Evidence
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- timestamp: 2026-04-07
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checked: PnP Framework 1.18.0 GetContextAsync source (line 1090)
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found: Calls new Uri(siteUrl) — valid for admin URL
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implication: Error not from GetContextAsync itself
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- timestamp: 2026-04-07
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checked: PnP TenantExtensions.GetSiteCollections source
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found: Uses GetSitePropertiesFromSharePointByFilters with StartIndex = null (for first page); OLD commented-out approach used GetSitePropertiesFromSharePoint(null, includeDetail) — note: null, not ""
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implication: SiteListService passes "" which is wrong — should be null for first page
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- timestamp: 2026-04-07
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checked: Error message "Must specify valid information for parsing in the string"
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found: This is ArgumentException thrown by Enum.Parse or string cursor parsing when given "" (empty string); CSOM's GetSitePropertiesFromSharePoint internally parses the startIndex string as a URL/cursor; passing "" triggers parse failure
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implication: Direct cause of exception confirmed
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- timestamp: 2026-04-07
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checked: How PnP creates admin context from regular context
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found: PnP uses clientContext.Clone(adminSiteUrl) — clones existing authenticated context to admin URL without triggering new auth flow
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implication: SiteListService creates a SECOND AuthenticationManager and triggers second interactive login unnecessarily; should use Clone instead
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## Resolution
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root_cause: |
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SiteListService.GetSitesAsync has two bugs:
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BUG 1 (direct cause of error): Line 50 calls tenant.GetSitePropertiesFromSharePoint("", true)
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with empty string "". CSOM expects null for the first page (no previous cursor), not "".
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Passing "" causes CSOM to attempt parsing it as a URL cursor, throwing
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ArgumentException: "Must specify valid information for parsing in the string."
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BUG 2 (design problem): GetSitesAsync creates a separate TenantProfile for the admin URL
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and calls SessionManager.GetOrCreateContextAsync(adminProfile) which creates a NEW
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AuthenticationManager with interactive login. This triggers a SECOND browser auth flow
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just to access the admin URL. The correct approach is to clone the existing authenticated
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context to the admin URL using clientContext.Clone(adminUrl), which reuses the same tokens.
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fix: |
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1. Replace GetOrCreateContextAsync(adminProfile) with GetOrCreateContextAsync(profile) to
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get the regular context, then clone it to the admin URL.
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2. Replace GetSitePropertiesFromSharePointByFilters with proper pagination (StartIndex=null).
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The admin URL context is obtained via: adminCtx = ctx.Clone(adminUrl)
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The site listing uses: GetSitePropertiesFromSharePointByFilters with proper filter object.
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verification: |
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Build succeeds (0 errors). 144 tests pass, 0 failures.
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Fix addresses both root causes:
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1. No longer calls GetOrCreateContextAsync with admin profile — uses Clone() instead
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2. Uses GetSitePropertiesFromSharePointByFilters (modern API) instead of GetSitePropertiesFromSharePoint("")
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files_changed:
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- SharepointToolbox/Services/SiteListService.cs
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