Resetting Sitefinity Project Name

sitefinity | 2022-10-20

How to Change the Project Name

Error: "Invalid root node configured for pages."

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Intro

If you're trying to reset or change your Sitefinity project's name (for example, from "name" to "SitefinityWebApp"), you might encounter the error: "Invalid root node configured for pages."

This guide will walk you through the steps to successfully change the project name and fix any issues that arise during the process.

✅ Steps to Execute Script:

Pre-requisite: Create a backup of the site database before proceeding with the following steps

Change the name in the App_Data/Sitefinity/Configuration folder:

Modify the file ProjectConfig.config to the new desired project name (in this example, "SitefinityWebApp").
Ensure there is no duplicate ProjectConfig.config in the database:

Execute the following SQL query to check for duplicates:
```
select * from sf_xml_config_items
where path = 'ProjectConfig.config'
```
If there is another copy of ProjectConfig.config in the sf_xml_config_items table, and it contains the projectName property, make sure to apply the changes there as well.
Find the current project name saved in the database:

Run the following query to retrieve the actual project name that needs to be changed:
```
select app_name from sf_schema_vrsns
```
The result of the query will show what is the current project name that must be changed. Note, the name will be followed by ' / '. The project name follows the naming convention "any name" there is a slash at the end.

Automate the process of changing the project name:

Use the following SQL script to change the project name in all database tables:

SET NOCOUNT ON

DECLARE @stringToFind VARCHAR(100)
DECLARE @stringToReplace VARCHAR(100)
DECLARE @schema sysname
DECLARE @table sysname
DECLARE @count INT
DECLARE @sqlCommand VARCHAR(8000)
DECLARE @where VARCHAR(8000)
DECLARE @columnName sysname
DECLARE @object_id INT
                      
SET @stringToFind = 'cwp-sf-base'
SET @stringToReplace = 'SitefinityWebApp'
                        
DECLARE TAB_CURSOR CURSOR  FOR
SELECT   B.NAME      AS SCHEMANAME,
        A.NAME      AS TABLENAME,
        A.OBJECT_ID
FROM     sys.objects A
        INNER JOIN sys.schemas B
          ON A.SCHEMA_ID = B.SCHEMA_ID
WHERE    TYPE = 'U'
ORDER BY 1
          
OPEN TAB_CURSOR

FETCH NEXT FROM TAB_CURSOR
INTO @schema,
    @table,
    @object_id
      
WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0
  BEGIN
    DECLARE COL_CURSOR CURSOR FOR
    SELECT A.NAME
    FROM   sys.columns A
          INNER JOIN sys.types B
            ON A.SYSTEM_TYPE_ID = B.SYSTEM_TYPE_ID
    WHERE  OBJECT_ID = @object_id
          AND IS_COMPUTED = 0
          AND B.NAME IN ('char','nchar','nvarchar','varchar','text','ntext')

    OPEN COL_CURSOR
      
    FETCH NEXT FROM COL_CURSOR
    INTO @columnName
      
    WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0
      BEGIN
        SET @sqlCommand = 'UPDATE ' + @schema + '.' + @table + ' SET [' + @columnName
                          + '] = REPLACE(convert(nvarchar(max),[' + @columnName + ']),'''
                          + @stringToFind + ''',''' + @stringToReplace + ''')'
          
        SET @where = ' WHERE [' + @columnName + '] LIKE ''%' + @stringToFind + '%'''
          
        EXEC( @sqlCommand + @where)
          
        SET @count = @@ROWCOUNT
          
        IF @count > 0
          BEGIN
            PRINT @sqlCommand + @where
            PRINT 'Updated: ' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(10),@count)
            PRINT '----------------------------------------------------'
          END
          
        FETCH NEXT FROM COL_CURSOR
        INTO @columnName
      END
      
    CLOSE COL_CURSOR
    DEALLOCATE COL_CURSOR
      
    FETCH NEXT FROM TAB_CURSOR
    INTO @schema,
        @table,
        @object_id
  END
    
CLOSE TAB_CURSOR
DEALLOCATE TAB_CURSOR

Restart the sitefinity

After running the script, restart your Sitefinity site to apply the changes.
Test Sitefinity Modules:

Ensure that all modules on the site open and function properly. Changing the project name can impact Sitefinity modules.
Verify Modules in the Sitefinity Backend:

Open all backend screens in Sitefinity to check for any errors. If no errors are shown, the process is completed successfully.

📚 References

Sitefinity - How to rename app name