"The query cannot be completed because the number of lookup columns it contains exceeds the lookup column threshold enforced by the administrator" appears on SharePoint list/document library
kbt148439
PRODUCTIssue
"The query cannot be completed because the number of lookup columns it contains exceeds the lookup column threshold enforced by the administrator" appears when interacting with SharePoint list/document library. This exception can appear when a variety of methods are fired off in different scenarios.Symptoms
The exception is not thrown by K2 but occurs when methods interacting with a SharePoint list/library are fired.
This is a SharePoint exception and appears when the number of lookups in a list/library exceeds the allotted amount.
Resolution
The solution is to remove the lookups (or to raise the SharePoint threshold which is not recommended due to performance concerns).
'People/Group' columns as well as 'Workflow Status' columns are flagged as lookups in SharePoint.
Below is a .ps1 that can be used to identify all lookup columns in the eyes of SharePoint:
#Specify the sub site where the list exists and the list title
$webUrl = "Web App URL Here"
$listTitle = "list name here"
#Get all fields that count against the lookup threshold
$web = Get-SPWeb $webUrl $list = $web.Lists[$listTitle] $list.fields | Where {($_.TypeDisplayName -eq "Person or Group" -or $_.TypeDisplayName -eq "Workflow Status" -or ($_.TypeDisplayName -eq "Lookup" -and $_.CanBeDeleted -eq $true))} | ft Title, InternalName, TypeDisplayName