The Error Message

"This operation cannot be completed. The term store may be unavailable."

Initially I thought it was a connection error, so I waited a few hours and tried again. Alas I was rewarded with the same error message.

After some detective work I discovered, that the error was in fact my fault. The issue occurs when you create duplicate labels in the Term Store Management Tool.

Cause #1: Duplicate Default and Other Labels

When you add an Other Label that is the same as your Default Label you will get the error message.

Example: If your Default Label is "Logos" and you also add "Logos" in the Other Labels field, this error will occur.

Cause #2: Duplicate Other Labels

You will also get this error message if you add an Other Label that is already set as an Other Label.

Example: If you already have "Logos" in your Other Labels list and try to add "Logos" again, this error will occur.

The Solution

Check that you haven't entered the same term twice.

  1. Review your Default Label to see what term is already set
  2. Check your Other Labels list for any duplicates of the Default Label
  3. Ensure no Other Labels are duplicated within the Other Labels list itself
  4. Remove any duplicate entries and try your operation again

Update November 2015

Good news! This issue has now been resolved in Office 365. However, it may still appear in an on-premise SharePoint installation.

Hopefully, this will save you some time and perhaps Microsoft will continue to update their error messages to be more descriptive in future releases.

Need Help with SharePoint Term Store Management?

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