Load control template file /_controltemplates/TaxonomyPicker.ascx failed

If you get "Load control template file /_controltemplates/TaxonomyPicker.ascx failed: Could not load type 'Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.WebControls.TaxonomyPicker' from assembly…" error in your event logs on SharePoint 2010 server, then it's most likely caused by "corrupted" code in TaxonomyPicker.ascx file. To fix the problem:

  • Go to <drive>:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\TEMPLATE\CONTROLTEMPLATES
  • Backup TaxonomyPicker.ascx before making any changes to it, then open TaxonomyPicker.ascx file to edit
  • Find the following line: <%@ Control className="TaxonomyPickerControl" Language="C#" Inherits="Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.WebControls.TaxonomyPicker&#44;Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal, Version=14.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c" %>
  • Replace '&#44;' with ',', so the line looks like this
    <%@ Control className="TaxonomyPickerControl" Language="C#" Inherits="Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.WebControls.TaxonomyPicker,Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal, Version=14.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c" %>
    instead of
    <%@ Control className="TaxonomyPickerControl" Language="C#" Inherits="Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.WebControls.TaxonomyPicker,Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal,Version=14.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c" %>