WebLog of Ken Cox

Visual Studio 2008 Command Window and 'The first 100' Items

2008-07-18T18:14:51Z

Here I am debugging JavaScript in an ASP.NET 3.5 site using Visual Studio 2008. In the Command Window, I type: ? grid to see the properties of a JavaScript object. So far so good until the Command window reports: < More... (The first 100 of 429 items were displayed.) > Back in the DOS days, I would have hit the spacebar to see the next 100 and so on. How do I do it in this window? Well, I haven't found a way in the Command window (which, to me is a bug/annoyance). The workaround is to open...(read more)

My Book Excerpts at the Beginner Developer Learning Centre

2008-07-14T14:36:00Z

Hey folks, Microsoft has licensed four chapters of my book, ASP.NET 3.5 For Dummies ! You can browse the chapters at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/beginner/cc409659.aspx in the Microsoft Visual Studio Express Editions Beginner Developer Learning Centre. Yup, MS has some of the best chapters and makes them available to you for free. You need the XPS viewer to read them. Chapter 5: Handling User Input and Events In this Chapter we cover gathering data and pushing buttons, using drop-down lists and...(read more)

Soma, Scottgu, and I Are on the Same Page!

2008-06-23T01:51:00Z

Ah yes, S. Somasegar, Scott Guthrie and Ken Cox. What an influential trio! It's kind of a geeky rat pack. We definitely run in the same circles... the MSDN Home page where my MVP profile is part of the current random display cycle. Just in case I disappear before you get there, here's a screenshot: Thanks to my old MVP colleague (and current MSFT blue badge) Carl Prothman for the heads-up!...(read more)

Set a Validator's Display to 'None' for the ValidatorCalloutExtender

2008-06-11T20:56:00Z

If you look at Figure 15-1 in ASP.NET 3.5 For Dummies , you'll notice that there's an almost-hidden question mark (?) behind the AJAX Control Kit's ValidatorCallout control. The arrow in the picture points to the mistake (bug) in the book. At the time I took the screenshot , I couldn't figure out how to get rid of the underlying validator's error message text. I left the question mark with the intention of getting back to it but I never did. I figured out the problem by the time I shipped the book...(read more)

Annoying Teasing About the Virtual Earth ASP.NET Server Control

2008-06-05T14:15:00Z

Many of us were quite excited to hear (and see) that Microsoft has a Virtual Earth ASP.NET control that allows " ASP.NET developers to easily drag and drop a VE map onto the canvas and then interact with it, 0 JavaScript ". Windows Live Platform MVP John OBrien has been working with the control and demonstrated it at a recent event . Once something valuable becomes public knowledge, developers naturally want to get their hands on it. Unfortunately, instead of code, we're getting tease. Here's what...(read more)

Need an iPod-like Menu for ASP.NET Pages

2008-05-30T16:03:00Z

Do any of the ASP.NET component vendors have a treeview or menu control that emulates the look and feel of the iPod menu? Has anyone out there built one? I have a client who would like to save space by letting users drill down deep to their data without the need for an ever-widening treeview. The picture below (linked to Apple's site ) shows the idea... except that each screen replaces the one before - there's no cascading....(read more)

Do Carousel Controls Make You Feel Queasy?

2008-05-28T16:31:16Z

I'm sure I'm not the only one whose inner ear acts up when dealing with certain visuals. I can't look out the side window from a moving vehicle. I can't watch (or play) most video games because the screen movement makes me nauseated. Unfortunately, I felt the same effect while doing a review of Infragistics NetAdvantage for WPF 2007 Vol. 2 for Visual Studio Magazine . The innovative carousel control - especially popular in WPF and Silverlight - brings on motion (simulation) sickness. This is a shame...(read more)

My Energize IT Dynamic Data Talk Resources

2008-05-26T22:25:00Z

Hey folks, I had a blast at Energize IT in Toronto on the weekend. I also found a great way to lighten my bookshelves. My donation of a couple dozen free .NET books caused a minor feeding frenzy in one of the Ask the Experts areas! As promised, here are links to the resources you need to try ASP.NET Dynamic Data as I showed in my Grok Talk: Download and install Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 beta 1. Get it here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/products/cc533447.asp x (Don't use this beta...(read more)

Found! ASP.NET Dynamic Data Documentation

2008-05-21T04:08:00Z

Just to save others from having to drill down a million levels to locate the Dynamic Data online documentation, here's a convenient starting point, Using ASP.NET Dynamic Data . ( http://vs2008sp1docs.msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/ms336422.aspx ) I'm digging into Dynamic Data for a short demo at Energize IT in Toronto on Saturday. BTW, you can download some .NET 3.5 SP1 beta 1 assembly and sample refreshes at http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/dynamicdata/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=993 and http...(read more)

Come Say 'Hello' at Energize IT 2008 in Toronto!

2008-05-16T17:55:00Z

Hey folks, Along with a number of other MVPs, regional directors, and community leaders, I've signed up to help out in the Ask the Experts area of Energize IT 2008 in Toronto on Saturday, May 24, 2008. It's a free event (including lunch) sponsored by Microsoft Canada and held at the Toronto Congress Centre near the airport. There are lots of sessions for developers, IT types, designers and technology wannabees of all sorts. I gather it's almost sold out, so register now . Bring your ASP.NET 3.5 and...(read more)

Not Genuine! Is This a Cruel Joke?

2008-05-08T21:57:00Z

A couple of weeks ago a pre-ctp for some forthcoming software messed up a bunch of settings on my main machine. I took the incident as an occasion to add a new hard drive and do a fresh install of the OS. Despite misgivings, I went with Windows Vista Ultimate. After all, I'd seen lots of demos at the MVP Summit with VS 2008 working in Vista. Bad choice... You see, I've spent the day fighting to add the PDF plug-in to Office 2007 Ultimate so I can create an electronic invoice from an Excel file. Although...(read more)

Honorary Canadian MVP

2008-04-18T01:19:00Z

At the MVP Summit, Canadian MVPs carried valuable hockey pucks. It was an unannounced, "viral" contest where attendees who collected a full set of pucks won a genuine, Canadian Olympic Team hockey jersey. At lunch at the closing day Japanese MVP Takako Sakurai was still hunting for one last puck. Unfortunately, the winning pucks - and the contest jerseys - were all gone. I couldn't stand to see her go back to Japan without the Canadian jersey she tried so hard to win, so I peeled off mine (you can...(read more)

Who Makes the Fastest ASP.NET Datagrid?

2008-04-04T17:34:24Z

If you visit the sites of the major ASP.NET component vendors, you'll discover many claims about the richness, flexibility, ease-of-use, attractive design, and so on. However, when it comes to a datagrid and large datasets, eye-candy isn't enough. Web developers want to know about the speed and efficiency of the control. Will it bog down under big loads? Some vendors make bold claims about their grids. Specifically, Developer Express says "when exploiting the new capabilities of...(read more)

Compliments for ASP.NET 3.5 For Dummies

2008-03-25T16:37:02Z

I'm still trying to get www.asp.net to include ASP.NET 3.5 For Dummies in their Starter Books section. Not sure what's going on there. They list other Dummies books, so it can't be an anti-Dummies thing. In the meantime, here are a couple of kind reader comments that made my day! "I just read your book cover to cover. It was one of the best written books I have ever read. The amount of work you put into it must have been massive. I loved it!" --MW "The book is very well written &...(read more)

Request for a Better FindControl Method in ASP.NET

2008-03-19T22:10:00Z

<rant> I'm spending hours trying to get a reference to a FileUpload control that's inside an InsertTemplate which is inside a Panel which is inside a Listview which is inside a Panel in an ASP.NET ContentPlaceHolder. It's crazy to have to figure out all these naming containers (and parents, grandchildren, cousins, and in-laws) manually when ASP.NET creates the control structure and knows perfectly well where things are and what they're called. Therefore, it would be nice to have a better FindControl...(read more)