How do I stop a subsite from inheriting the master page?

Question

I have a subsite that refuses to stop inheriting the master page from its parent.  I've checked the inheritance settings on both sites's master page settings, I'm not sure what else to even try.

Both sites are based on the Team Site template, and although the subsite did have the Publishing Feature activated at one point, it's been turned off now.  I suspect that may be the cause of the issue.

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Shawn Keene

Answer 1

Hi ,

I understand that your sub site refuses to stop inheriting the master page from its parent.

As far as I know ,when you activate Publishing feature for a site ,the Master Page setting will appear in Site Settings .Since the Publishing feature is turned off ,how can you set the master page for the sub site ? You can try to activate the publishing feature again and specify a master page for the sub site .

1. Open the site in browser .
2. Click Site Actions> Site Settings >Manage Site Features .
3. Activate the publishing feature .
4. Then return to Site Settings page and click Master Page under Look and Feel .
5. Choose a different master page for the sub site .

Thanks,

Entan Ming

TechNet Subscriber Support in forum

If you have any feedback on our support, please [e-mail].

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Entan Ming

TechNet Community Support

Answer 2

There is a "Master Page" setting under site settings with the publishing feature on or off.  Still, turning it on makes no difference -- the setting I pick in the Master page area makes no effect.

Anything else I can check?

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Shawn Keene

Answer 3

Hi,

Thank you for your post.

I'm trying to involve someone familiar with this topic to further look at this issue. There might be some time delay. Appreciate your patience.

Thanks,

Entan Ming

TechNet Subscriber Support in forum

If you have any feedback on our support, please [e-mail].

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Entan Ming

TechNet Community Support

Answer 4

Hello,

1. If you browse to http://SharePoint/SubSite/_Layouts/ChangeSiteMasterPage.aspx and choose a different master page, what is the behavior / error message?
2. Please let us know if the issue is specific to a particular site or if ALL subsites within a parent site depict same problem? (if you have only 1 subsite – please create another subsite to test – which can be deleted later)
3. If only issue with a specific subsite, can you try exporting the subsite -> delete the subsite -> import as a new subsite? Does the issue reproduces then?

 

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Regards,
Nishant Shah
Microsoft Online Community Support

Answer 5

When I choose it from the page, it appears to be successful.  If I navigate back to the page after saving it, I can see that my selection is preserved.  It just does not take effect.

It does affect all my existing subsites, but new ones I create are not affected.  When I went to the new site's "master page setting", it alerted me that the current master page was invalid and that I should select a new one.  After I did so, it worked great.

I'm going to try exporting the subsite in Designer and re-importing it.  However I'm in a production environment so I will import it at a new location before deleting the existing one.

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Shawn Keene