Sharepoint 2019 Subscription Edition - Error - The list item cannot be added because the field length is too long

Jimmy 0 Reputation points
2025-01-13T19:41:59.9+00:00

Hi,

When I try to use Export-SPWeb to export files from my SharePoint site that I created, and then import them to another site, I get the following error:

[List Item] [Document_Name.xlsx or docx] [Document_Name.xlsx or docx V1.0_Date] [GUID] [Error]

The list item cannot be added because the field length is too long. Shorten new entries or remove some fields from this list. [8863] [8863] error in SharePoint.

Additionally, there are error codes for other items, such as 8863, 8864, and 8762.

Do you have any idea how I can investigate the cause of this issue?

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  1. RaytheonXie_MSFT 38,646 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor
    2025-01-14T06:48:07.5266667+00:00

    Hi @Jimmy,

    When SharePoint constructs the list forms, all the fields available for the list item are retrieved from the database. Lists with a large number of Lookup columns might result in complex and potentially intensive SQL Server statements. SharePoint will verify the length of the full SQL Server statement and will display this error message when the maximum allowed length was exceeded:

    "The list item could not be displayed/added because the length of the fields was too long. Please shorten the new entries or remove some fields from this list."

    To address this issue please reduce the number of columns of the specific list.


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  2. Jimmy 0 Reputation points
    2025-01-14T22:29:28.4366667+00:00

    Many thanks for your answer. The main issue we’re facing at the moment is that on a specific page we created, name_sharepoint.local (Team Site), we added, I would say, way too many tags and columns. As a result, we were unable to perform any actions.

    What I did was delete one column, and now we can add items again. Under Quick Edit, everything works fine. However, if we add a new column, everything stops working again.

    I’m wondering which limit might have been reached and how I can check that. That’s my main concern, as I’d like to set up a new FileShare site on SharePoint and migrate all the documents to this new site.

    I wrote a few PowerShell scripts, but they don’t show anything outside the limits mentioned in the official documentation I’ve managed to find. However, I have no clue how to debug this issue further.

    Do you have more information or could you direct me on what to check or try?


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