How to collect user profile details?

Question

I'm creating web part that will show user's links and sites. When I'm trying to get context from SPServiceContext information server throws me exception:

No User Profile Application available to service the request. Contact your farm administrator...

This is my code:

SPSecurity.RunWithElevatedPrivileges(delegate()
{
    using (SPSite site = new SPSite(SPContext.Current.Site.ID))
    {
        SPServiceContext context = SPServiceContext.GetContext(site);
        UserProfileManager mgr = new UserProfileManager(context);
        UserProfile userProfile = mgr.GetUserProfile(SPContext.Current.Web.CurrentUser.LoginName);
    }
}

I have checked that "User Profile Service Application" is started. What I'm missing? How to collect user profile details?

Regards

Answer 1

If UPS is configured and started please check the permissions on the UPS application. As you run with elevated privileges you are using the app pool account of the web app your are hosted on. This account should have permissions for the user profile service app.

Check out this blog post to see the process of configuring permissions (not administrator permissions):

http://blog.mastykarz.nl/granting-permissions-user-profile-service-application-powershell/

For a full reference of the user profile service check out this technet article:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee721050(v=office.14).aspx

Answer 2

The reason can be that User Profile Service is not associated with the Webapplication. This can be checked by going into CA-->Application Management-->WebApplications--> Select your web application. In the ribbon Select Service Connections. In Configure Service Applications popup ensure that User Profile Service Application is checked.

Answer 3

It sounds like you are on the right track and have done all the correct things. I remember Todd Klindt talking about the User Profile Service Instance saying that it was started even when it wasn't in one of his netcasts.

Check that the SharePoint Administration Service is running on the SharePoint machine running User Profile Service.

Try restarting the Service Instance on the machine that is running User Profile Service, you could use SharePoint Management Console and PowerShell to do this:-

`$serviceInstance = Get-spserviceinstance | ?{$_.TypeName -like "User Profile Service"};

Stop-SPServiceInstance -Identity $serviceInstance;

Start-SPServiceInstance -Identity $serviceInstance; `

Now see if you can now access the User Profile Service Application.

HTH

Cheers

Simon

Answer 4

If all you are doing is displaying profile information for the current user, then there is no need to elevate permissions here. The current user already has permissions to get their own data.

ProfileLoader loader = ProfileLoader.GetProfileLoader(SPServiceContext.Current);
UserProfileManager manager = loader.GetUserProfileManager();
UserProfile profile = manager.GetUserProfile(true);

The GetUserProfile(bool) method gets you the current user's profile to work with, if you pass true, it creates the profile if it doesn't exist.

In general, RunWithElevatedPriveleges and the UserProfileManager do not play well together. UserProfileManager does not support impersonation/elevation.

If you use the ProfileLoader, you will also take advantage of reusing the UserProfileManager that may have been gotten by other web controls already, and so can make your code more performant.

And BTW - the UserProfileSynchronization service would have nothing whatsoever to do with this. That only deals with AD import/export.