DotNetKicks.com : Stories kicked by sotirisf

Finding a tab's parent by level in DNN

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:02:02 GMT

This is a simple but useful user defined function I have implemented in order to recursively find a tab's parent on a specific level. Syntax is as follows:

Thickbox and Google Maps API - avoiding random thickbox initialization

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:01:15 GMT

Thickbox is a very nice JQuery-based Javascript plugin that allows you to present images and other stuff (even whole pages!) in your page in a popup manner but without leaving the current page or opening a new one. Essentially, it's considered an evolution of the Lightbox script which only works with images.

Adding Javascript to the BODY tag in DNN

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:00:23 GMT

When working with .ascx skin files, you will sometimes need to add some Javascript to the BODY tag, such as something that runs when the OnLoad event triggers.

Creating pages based on templates - eventually!

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:59:19 GMT

All my attempts to use custom templates when creating new DNN pages for my portals were frustrating. Even though I exported the template from a page using the Export feature, the new template would not show up at all in the combo box when creating a new page, although it existed in the file system. Even the default template wouldn't show up!

Solving the Search Results problem when using the free MMLinks localiz

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:12:30 GMT

With the free MMLinks DotNetNuke module, you can replace your standard Text/HTML modules with fully localizable ones, localizing both the title and the Text/HTML part. With one slight defect: Since DotNetNuke's search indexer doesn't know anything about the localized titles, it insists on presenting the default, non-localized module title in the Search Results page (that would be "MMLinks" if you leave it intact).

Integrating the Lightbox JS 2.03.3 image overlay script with DNN

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:07:58 GMT

According to its creators, "Lightbox is a simple, unobtrusive script used to overlay images on the current page. It's a snap to setup and works on all modern browsers." And it really does what they say. So, why not use it with DNN? The fact that it can also work with groups of pictures providing basic back/forward navigation functionality makes it ideal as a lightweight picture gallery. Of course, it can be used with single pictures too, eliminating popup windows in order to see a picture, complete with (optional) caption, at a larger size.

Dynamically adding controls to ASPX pages (web forms) and assigning ev

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 13:00:13 GMT

Although I've seen a lot of articles describing how to dynamically add controls to a Web Form, few mention even a little hint to how you can make event handlers actually WORK with dynamically-added controls. This article may seem (and probably is) a beginner-level one, but I think it's essential to cover this issue.

Ten CSS tricks you may not know | evolt.org

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:16:03 GMT

Much better! Just a couple of words of warning: This CSS shorthand version will only work if you're specifying both the font-size and the font-family. Also, if you don't specify the font-weight, font-style, or font-varient then these values will automatically default to a

Using the ListX module to create a DotNetNuke master-detail interface

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 17:12:00 GMT

The title may seem complex at first, but in fact what I would like to demonstrate is the exciting functionality of the ListX module with which not only can you issue custom queries (for tables inside your own DotNetNuke database or for any other source) and display results as a grid or repeater-like style, but you can also easily create detail pages - AJAX-enabled - which can reflect your choice in the "master" part without even having to reload the current web page.

Getting locked out of DNN's login page

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:41:53 GMT

One common accident while developing DNN portals is to change DNN's default login page through the Site Settings page. This is ok, as long as the new page you set contains a user login module. But if the new page does not, you usually get "locked out" of DNN, not being able to login since there is no way to get to the login page again.

Testing the ISearchable interface

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:40:33 GMT

When you create a DotNetNuke custom module you often have to implement the ISearchable interface which allows you to integrate your module's data in DotNetNuke's Search indexer so that they are available when a user performs a search on your portal.

In your face LINQ

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:31:01 GMT

Okay, I admit it, the title is an attention getter ;) But checkout our improved DynamicQuery syntax. I was writing some unit tests and just had to post this. Writing Queries like this with intellisense is so intuitive ... And it will work on SQL, SQL CE, MySQL, PostgreSQL, VistaDB, Oracle and Access ...

Adding nodes to ASP.NET sitemap files at runtime

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:46:01 GMT

Adding dynamic nodes to existing ASP.NET sitemap files at runtime by deriving from StaticSiteMapProvider.

.NET Format String Quick Reference/Cheat Sheet

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 19:31:01 GMT

All standard and custom DateTime and number format strings (for use with String.Format(), .ToString(), etc) in one handy document.

Video Series: SQL Server 2005 Express Edition for Beginners

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 19:31:01 GMT

This video series is designed specifically for SQL Server beginners-individuals who are interested in learning the basics of how to create, manage, and connect to SQL Server Express databases. Whether you're just a beginner or somewhat familiar with databases, these video lessons will help you get better acquainted with SQL Server 2005 Express.

Creating a simple, reusable Windows Service (template code) - Part II

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 10:31:02 GMT

In part I, we examined how we can extend the Service Control methods by adding methods for all states of the Windows service in addition to the two methods provided by the designer. As you may remember, each of those methods called our own private Service Control method. Our private Service Control methods are implemented below:

Creating a simple, reusable Windows Service (template code) - Part I

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 12:01:02 GMT

In this article, we'll see a way to create a simple Windows Service that can be reusable in that it can be used as the basis for any repeated operation that we would like to transform to a Windows Service.In other words, we can create our own assembly and then have the Windows Service call its entry point repeatedly over a period of time. By extending the code provided, you can even have multiple threads running at the same time.

Debugging ... With a fishbone

Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:15:40 GMT

Sounds familiar? The customer reports a problem that can't be reproduced. No errors were logged and no error messages generated. No-one can go to the customer's site for at least a day. All we have to work with are the symptoms reported by the customer and the source code. How do we find the bug with so little information ?

http://www.dotnetzone.gr/cs/blogs/pkefal/archive/2006/12/15/22322.aspx

Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:12:36 GMT

Today, i downloaded and tried to install Visual Studio Service Pack 1 (SP1) RTM but it refused to work properly on my PC. I was always getting an error that the file is not matching the version i have etc, so i tried to figure out what is wrong with my Visual Studio installation.

Using a trigger to perform mass-update-safe, specific-field calculatio

Sat, 30 Dec 2006 07:13:47 GMT

You've got a table which contains some information and you want to perform calculations based on this information and store them in the same table or in another table. The calculations must always be up-to-date. The calculations are performed via a complex User Defined Function which accepts the other fields' values as parameters. The table has got thousands of rows and thus you do not want to use a view because it'll degrade the overall performance. For the same reason, you do not want to use a calculated field.

Conditional WHERE clauses in T-SQL using comparison operators

Sat, 30 Dec 2006 07:09:27 GMT

Ever had a query where you wished you could be able to specify the operator (equal, not equal, greater than, etc.) for each column contained in your WHERE clause, without having to use ugly string concatenations and the infamous EXEC keyword? Here we'll see an example of how this can be achieved with the use of a plain SQL query together with some CASE statements.

Value Types vs Primitive Types

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 16:31:02 GMT

Questions of the day 1. Is there any difference between Primitive Types & Value Types ? 2. Are all Value Types primitive types and vise versa ? 3. Is there any difference between string & System.String ?