SharePoint Designer 2013 Error: "soap:ServerServer was unable to process request. --> Specified method is not supported" when editing home page

Question

We have a classic SharePoint site where the web parts were created using SharePoint Designer 2013. We need to modify the URL used in one of the web parts.

However, when I try to log in to SharePoint Designer and edit the home page, the following error appears:

Error: soap: ServerServer was unable to process request. --> Specified method is not supported.

Troubleshooting steps performed so far:

1. Installed the correct version of SharePoint Designer 2013.
2. Enabled the EnableADAL registry key.
3. Installed Service Pack 1 (SP1) for SharePoint Designer 2013.
4. Installed the August 2, 2016 update for SharePoint Designer 2013.
5. Installed the September 10, 2019 security update for Office 2013.
6. Installed both the July 11, 2017 update for Office 2013 (KB3172545) and the July 5, 2016 update for Office 2013 (KB3085565).
7. Custom scripts is allowed for the site.

Despite performing the above steps, the issue still persists.

Could anyone please advise on how to resolve this error?

Answer 1

Hi @Selvakumar K

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Based on the information you shared, I understand that you are working with a classic SharePoint site where some web parts were created using SharePoint Designer 2013, and you now need to modify the URL used inside one of those web parts. However, when attempting to open and edit the home page in SharePoint Designer, you receive the error:

soap:Server – Server was unable to process request. → Specified method is not supported.

Even after installing the correct version of SharePoint Designer 2013, enabling ADAL, applying SP1, and installing all the listed updates, the issue still persists.

After researching similar cases, this behavior can sometimes occur when SharePoint Designer sends a request that the SharePoint service no longer supports, especially for operations involving web parts or legacy data sources. Since you have already tried the typical troubleshooting steps, you may want to consider the following approaches:

1. Modify the Web Part through Export / Import (via browser)

If the goal is to change a URL inside a web part (often a Data View Web Part or similar component created with SharePoint Designer), you can try exporting the web part directly from the page through the browser. You can then open the .webpart file in a text editor and modify the relevant XML properties (such as URLs, data source references, parameters, etc.), and import the web part again. This method works with many classic web parts.

2. Edit the page source (ASPX) if the Web Part was embedded by SharePoint Designer

In some cases, especially with XSLT/Data View Web Parts created in SharePoint Designer, the configuration is embedded directly inside the ASPX page markup rather than the exported .webpart file. If that is the case, the URL change may need to be done by:

• Editing the ASPX page source, or
• Using PowerShell (for example with the PnP.PowerShell module) to update the page content.

I hope this information helps guide your next steps.

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Answer 2

The environment already has the correct SharePoint Designer 2013 version, ADAL registry key, and all required updates for modern authentication. At this point, the remaining SharePoint Designer–side actions from the documented guidance are to clear the local SharePoint Designer caches and then retry connecting and editing the page.

Follow these steps on the client machine where SharePoint Designer 2013 is installed:

1. Close SharePoint Designer 2013 completely.
2. Delete the SharePoint Designer cache folders:
   • Browse to %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Web Server Extensions\Cache and delete all files and folders inside.
   • Browse to %APPDATA%\Microsoft\SharePoint Designer\ProxyAssemblyCache and delete all files and folders inside.
   • Browse to %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WebsiteCache and delete all files and folders inside.
3. Start SharePoint Designer 2013 again and reconnect to the site.
4. Open the home page and attempt the edit again.

These cache folders can also be cleared using the explicit paths shown in the workflow troubleshooting article:

• C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WebsiteCache
• C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SharePoint Designer\ProxyAssemblyCache
• C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Web Server Extensions\Cache

After clearing the caches and with the required updates already installed, SharePoint Designer 2013 should use modern authentication correctly and avoid many of the connection and SOAP-related errors when opening or editing pages.

If the error still occurs after cache clearing, collect ULS logs on the SharePoint server while reproducing the issue to identify any server-side feature or configuration problems (such as duplicate features) that may be blocking certain operations.

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References:

• Authentication issues in SharePoint Designer 2013
• Workflow problems after you connect to a SharePoint Online or SharePoint Server 2013 site
• SharePoint Designer 2013 sign-in Issues in a cloud scenario
• Unable to create or edit SharePoint 2013 workflow in SharePoint Designer