Unable to load workflow actions from the server. Please contact your server administrator

When you try to open the workflows in the SharePoint Designer, you receive the below error:

Symptoms: You can access the workflow from the SharePoint UI. Other workflows in different web applications are editable.

Cause: Cannot be same in all the scenarios but should be specific to the features

Capture a fiddler trace while opening the SharePoint designer and you should see a 505 error with the below error tag:

<errorstring xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/">Failed to find the XML file at location
     '14\Template\Features\custom solution\feature.xml'</errorstring><errorcode
     xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/">0x80131600</errorcode></detail></soap:Fault></soap:Body></soap:Envelope>

This is due to the feature which is not available at '14\Template\Features'. If you have a custom solution whose web parts are placed in a web site and the solution files are missing or the solution is retracted, you see this error.

Solution:  Remove the web parts that the solution adds to a site collection using PowerShell/code or deploy the solution back to the farm to get the feature.xml.

Comments

• Anonymous
  January 01, 2003
  you are right.. there are many reasons on why you get this error (IIS verbs, feature, dependencies etc) could be an issue too..
  
• Anonymous
  January 01, 2003
  This error can be misleading. I see a lot of responses around the net with this as the solution but in my case this didn't resolve anything. In fact I have yet to get to the bottom of this but I can tell you that a server reboot got me going again.
  
  I'm thinking there is a universal issue that caused everything to stop working. Also another indication of the symtoms I had were people weren't able to get to linked files that were uploaded and no one could upload any files.
  
  Just an FYI for anyone who doesn't find this as the resolution.
  
• Anonymous
  October 19, 2018
  HI ,We are getting the error "Unable to load workflow actions from the server.Please contact your serveradministrator"on Microsoft sharepoint Designer 2010.We have tried restoring the site collections again ,but then also we are having same issue. Thanks
• Anonymous
  October 23, 2018
  Hi,Can anyone please provide me a solution to my below issue that i am facing.I am not able to create any workflows and hence everthing is pending. "HI , We are getting the error "Unable to load workflow actions from the server.Please contact your serveradministrator"on Microsoft sharepoint Designer 2010. We have tried restoring the site collections again ,but then also we are having same issue."
  • Anonymous
    October 28, 2018
    Solved : Check ULS Logs with “Missing feature” and copy the name. Go to “C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\Web Server Extensions\16\TEMPLATE\FEATURES” in 16 hives of new servers. Check the folder name of feature is available or not. Go to Old server C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\Web Server Extensions\15\TEMPLATE\FEATURES go to that 15 hive features folder and copy whole folders with feature name example: Report Server, PowerPivot etc and paste it on New server Location C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\Web Server Extensions\16\TEMPLATE\” Reset the IIS and try to open SharePoint designer and workflow. This worked for me.