The SharePoint Smart 404 Project is a free project located on Codeplex that provides enhanced 404 support, Vanity Redirection, and custom exception logging and error pages to SharePoint (Both WSS and MOSS). The main goal of the project was to provide a simple to activate Feature and customizable user experience for “Page Not Founds” (404) and simplified vanity redirects. Although I had additional ideas for the project shortly after the launch, as is typically the case, both family and work scheduled forced me to set it a side for a while. The initial release of the project was functional but had some limitations and annoyances that this latest release will hopefully help out.
The latest version can be found at http://sharepointsmart404.codeplex.com/ .
For those of you who have already installed the project you may want to consider deactivating the feature and removing the solution. I unfortunately do not have an upgrade process from the previous version to the current but if requested I could probably provide you some manual steps if needed.
Some of the new\fixed features include:
1) WSS Support: The 404 page no longer has a MOSS search control by default on the page. A custom simple webpart that is part of the project now provides “Best Bets” search functionality.
2) FireFox: Firefox 404 redirects should now work properly
3) Exception Handling: Custom error pages and error logging is now supported.
4) Vanity Redirects: Vanity redirects no longer require absolute URLs.
5) General: The project now uses WSPBuilder and general quality and reliability updates have been made.
I’ve created a short introductory webcast showing an overview of the functionality provided by the Smart404 Feature and also a quick overview of the Visual Studio project and its moving parts.
Introduction to the SharePoint Smart 404 Feature Webcast
Before getting started, please note that I have not done extensive testing of the deployment of this release. I plan to spin up some VMs with different configuration to ensure that installation and deployment is smooth. Because of this I have labeled this release as a beta release. Over the next few weeks I hope to find some time for additional testing and fine tuning prior to the final 1.0 release. Saying that I’ve had no problems with the installation on my 2 development VMs and one of my production environments.
Some Sample Screenshots of the Smart 404 in action:
Custom 404 Page
Custom Error Page
Error Log
I want to thank everyone for their feedback and suggestions. Keep it coming. Feel free to drop a line in the discussion threads at the project site http://www.codeplex.com/sharepointsmart404 or drop a line on my blog.