How to Throw Fault Exceptions from Orchestrations Published as WCF Services

Two types of SOAP faults can be sent from an orchestration: typed and untyped SOAP faults. Typed SOAP faults are those in which an operation has a System.ServiceModel.FaultContractAttribute that specifies a custom SOAP fault type. Untyped SOAP faults are those that are not specified in the contract for an operation.

WCF adapters do not support processing typed fault contract exceptions for orchestrations published as WCF services. However, untyped SOAP faults can always be returned by orchestrations or pipelines. To return an untyped SOAP fault, you need to set the System.ServiceModel.ServiceBehaviorAttribute.IncludeExceptionDetailInFaults on the receive location, or in the config file, to permit WCF clients to obtain information about internal service operation exceptions.

The following code shows how to set the property in a config file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
    <system.serviceModel>
        <behaviors>
            <serviceBehaviors>
                <behavior name="ServiceBehaviorConfiguration">
                    <serviceDebug includeExceptionDetailInFaults="true" />
                </behavior>
            </serviceBehaviors>
        </behaviors>
</configuration>

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