ASP.Net Forums 2
Just in case you missed it, ASP.Net Forums 2 is now in RC 2.
I will give a go for a small project, because of the moderation features included now. So now next step seems to be the Gold promised for July.
Thumbs up also for the new installer, clean and complete.
Explanations posted by Eric Duncan:
This should be the Final Beta before we go Gold (ETA late June/early July). Before downloading, please read the following release notes:
1.1 Support for non-DBO Database users / Shared WebHosting
We’re happy to announce the forums can now be installed, and run under a non-DBO user account. This should help with the shared hosting distribution of the forums.
1.1.1 Update databaseOwner
If you want to use a non-DBO account, you may need to update the /Web/web.config file manually to the username. Open the web.config file and change the property of databaseOwner in the SqlForumsProvider to the username to run the forums under. Note: this user must have the db_ddladmin Database Role associated with it to create the new DB objects.
1.1.2 Shared Webhosting
To distribute your files to your shared hosting account, simply FTP the /Web/ directory only. If you want to restrict it more, you can exclude all *.cs and *.resx files (/web/admin, /web/moderate/) as these are only needed for editing and recompiling the code locally on your machine.
You can run the InstallWizard, skip the “Setup Web Server” portion, and use the “Setup Database” screen to setup your MSSQL database remotely.
1.2 New Skin Layout
In this version, we have broken up the html into more skin modules, with heavy commenting. This should allow for easier skinning.
1.2.1 Can not use older Themes
With the skin and server control updates, older Themes will not work with this version. The good news is this is the final skinning model and will not change from now until release of 2.0 Gold! (except for the Admin and Moderation skins)
1.2.2 Banner / Site Branding Forums Server Control
We’ve added a Forums:Banner() Server Control (and skin) to help skinners brand their websites into the forums. This skin is where you would place your common menu text/system and header / column information.
1.3 Moderation!
This version has a preliminary version of the Moderation features. This includes moderation (Approval) of posts, as well as users awaiting approval. This also an overhaul of the moderation of postViews to allow for easier moderation of users and posts (Splitting, Merging, Deleting, Moving of posts).
1.4 Emails Re-Formatted
The Emails template has been updated (English only) for the a common look-n-feel. Especially in the subject line to allow for easier filter in end-user’s mailboxes.
1.5 Updating your current forums
Upgrading from previous version? We've got you covered. Once you unpackage the files, there are upgrade scripts located in the /data/SqlDataProvider/ directory. The two scripts are for the following users:
Alpha -> Beta2
Beta1 -> Beta2
If you were staying up-to-date with the SourceGearVault source, and/or the latest source code snapshot (CAB), this upgrade will be a little more involved.
1.5.1 Fix Languages
Some things to note during an upgrade are two major items that need to be updated in the user's profile, or the forums will fail (throw a site exception) for the user when they come back to visit the site.
First, you must update the database for the renamed English language default value. This even applies to databases that are currently running another language. To update the user’s languages, use the fixhash.exe tool located in the /Support Tools/ directory. The property name is "language", old value is "en-en", new value is "en-US". Note, don’t use Quotes in the command line string.
1.5.2 Fix Themes
This next entry does not apply to Alpha or Beta1 users, but only users that were running the latest code.
Second, update the user's Themes they may be using. To update the themes, use the fixhash.exe tool located in the /Support Tools/ directory. The property name is "Theme", old value is "ElectricMidnight", new value is "MidnightBlack". Note, don’t use Quotes in the command line string.
1.6 Import / Export Utility
Due to the database structure change, the Import/Export Utility to import your other forums into the RC2 version will be released at a later time, and is not included in this Beta 2.
1.7 Documentation
…is not up-to-date in this release.
And to round out this release, are some known issues. We currently have a bug tracking database up at:
http://forums.asp.net/Gemini (u/p: guest/guest)
Please perform a search here FIRST, before reporting a bug. If you have specific code information, we welcome developers to add entries to this database.
Known Issues
- User Welcome Screen not fully functional (new skins).
- Not all skins have been updated to the new version (just a couple)
- Windows 2003 Server does not have System.Web.ProcessInfo() enabled by default. This will cause an N/A to show up in the Admin Control panel for the time the service has been up. This is by design.
- Some moderation features are a little buggy. We’ve noted most of them in the Gemini to be completed.
Thank you everyone for your support! This is just the beginning. There is so much to come that extends off of the Forums coming soon. Stay tuned!