More Embedded Resource fun

If you're new to embedded resources please read this entry first: http://springboardpillow.blogspot.com/2009/01/embedded-resources-and-having-fun-with.html

Now we'll use the same image, from my previous blog entry, from within the project we created earlier. For this we will need a...

Custom Web Control

To make this, either use the default ServerControl1.cs, or right click the control project and select: Add -> New Item -> Web -> ASP.NET Server Control. By default this should give us:

WebCustomControl1.cs

To get in the habit, first...

Compile the Control Project

Select: Build -> Rebuild [project name]

This will recompile the custom web control project, including the new (empty) control and place it's DLL into the web project. This is because we previously referenced the control project from the web project. Now, we are going to...

Add a reference to the Embedded Resource to the Custom Control

In the new custom control, find the RenderContents(...) method and replace it's content with:

output.Write(
"<img src='"+
Page.ClientScript.GetWebResourceUrl(typeof(EmbeddedCtrls.ServerControl1),"EmbeddedCtrls.cartman.jpg")+
"' />"
);

You should be able to see that this is essentially just manually writing out the same code as was in the previous web page, however this time we are inside the custom control and so the reference to it can essentially be 'this.GetType()'.

Now, rebuild the custom control project as before (Build -> Rebuild [project name]) and the updated DLL will be copied to the web project. All we need to do is...

Drop the Custom Control onto a Web Page

So, create a new ASPX in the web project and open it's design view. If the custom web control project compiled correctly, you should have a new toolbox group called '[project name] Components'.

Grab the custom control from within the toolbox group and drop it onto the designer. Save everything and run the page.

You should now have the same output as in the previous blog entry!

Easy, eh?

Two things to Note are...

That dropping the custom control on your web page add a Register directive to the top (just as any ASP.NET toolbox control does)

And that you will have a <span> tag surrounding your <img> tag. To remove this, simply override RenderBeginTag and RenderEndTag, like so:

public override void RenderBeginTag(HtmlTextWriter writer)
{
// removed one line of default code!
}
public override void RenderEndTag(HtmlTextWriter writer)
{
// removed one line of default code!
}

Listing the Known Embedded Resource

If you want to place a stop point in your code and list the embedded resource files that are available to you, paste the following line just before your stop point:

object a = GetType().Assembly.GetManifestResourceNames();

Upon stopping here, the 'a' object will be a list of embedded resources.

As Before...

The entire demo solution can be found here.

Resources:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/910442
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/aspnet/MyWebResourceProj.aspx
http://aspnet.4guysfromrolla.com/articles/080906-1.aspx
http://aspalliance.com/726
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/yhzc935f.aspx

Embedded Resources and having fun with them

Ok, so, having gotten back from 2 months round the world and almost 3 months not coding at all, I'm feeling rusty. Opening Visual Studio came as quite a shock, simply because "All Those Buttons Can't Possibly Do What I Remember!!!"

Anyway, back in the saddle (I hope) and getting some new code under my belt: This time in the form of...

Embedded Resources

What are those? Well, when you drop, say, a GridView control or something, anything from the toolbox onto your page and it already has, lets say, stylesheets, images, javascript etc, that you think would be better provided as separate files... they probably are. How? Well, when building the code as separate files the non-C# files are placed into an...

ASP.NET Server Control project

This project then needs to be referenced by the web project, so that it's DLL is placed in the website's \bin directory, thus placing any (correctly compiling) custom web controls [because that's what this project type is for] into the toolbox (when ASPX/ASCX 's are in design mode.)

So, lets...

Create a Custom Web Control with images and stylesheets in a DLL

So, open Visual Studio and create a new solution (File -> New -> Project -> Visual C#|Basic -> ASP.NET Web Application) This will give us a website as well.

Now, to this solution, add an ASP.NET Server Control project (File -> Add -> New Project -> Visual C#|Basic -> Web -> ASP.NET Server Control) This gives us a project we can create custom web controls in. This is also the project where the embedded files will be placed.

Ok, so the quickstart to adding and using an embedded resource is...

Add an Embedded Resource and call GetWebResourceUrl

First we need something to use. So lets add an image to the control project - not the web project!

In order to make the image embedded select it in the solution explorer and in the properties panel change it's Build Action to Embedded Resource.

Now make the image usable by expanding the control project's Properties item (in the solution explorer) and edit the AssemblyInfo.cs. Add the following lines to the using declarations at the top:

using System.Web.UI;

And the following to them bottom:

[assembly: WebResource("EmbeddedCtrls.cartman.jpg","image/jpg")]

Where the format is:

[assembly: WebResource("[assembly name].[directory names].[filename]","[filetype]")]

For an image called "cartman.jpg" stored in the root directory of the control project.

Bear in mind that the first part is the assembly name (select the project in solution explorer and click properties) and not the namespace. Also, that rather than being a typical absolute path, the path separators are '.' and not '/'.

We now have a project with an image which can be referenced as an embedded resource, both by code within the control project and any project which references it's DLL's, eg: the web project we created at the start.

Important: One major stumbling block I found was that if the above line of code, in the AssemblyInfo.cs, does not get recognised by Visual Studio, it means something has gone when creating the project. Just delete it and create a new "ASP.NET Control Project". It should appear as so:

[assembly: WebResource("EmbeddedCtrls.cartman.jpg","image/gif")]

Or something close to that, assuming you haven't adjusted your editor styling.

Now, to actually use this image somewhere, we need to...

Add a reference to the Control Project and Compile It.

So, in the web project, right click the References and add the control project as a reference. Then, select the control project in the solution explorer and click Build -> Build [project name]

This will compile the control project and copy it's DLL into the web project's \bin directory. Nearly there. Finally, we need to use it by...

Adding a reference in a web page

Either add an ASPX or open the default one. Paste the following line into the <div></div> statement in the HTML of the page:

<img src='<%= Page.ClientScript.GetWebResourceUrl(typeof(EmbeddedCtrls.ServerControl1),"EmbeddedCtrls.cartman.jpg") %>' />

And run the web page. If everything goes to plan, you should have a page with a single img tag which displays your embedded image.

If WebResource.axd is not found, check the highlighting of the assembly: webresource statement as described above. Also, check that the image file Build Action is set to Embedded Resource, in the properties panel. If the image simply fails to appear, just go through and check that you are providing the correct file name, assembly name, etc.

If you get a web resource exception, it's because you are not registering the embedded resources correctly. If you get a webresource.axd?d=... URL but it shows nothing, it's because the image file is not being referenced in your code properly. The GetWebResourceUrl call and the AssemblyInfo.cs entries must match.

Failing the above, ensure that each time you change the contents of the control project that you rebuild the project and refresh the web page. Simply recompiling the web project will not do it (unless you've configured your solution especially - this is not the default in VS.)

Wasn't that fun? You can download the complete solution here. That is also the same download for the next blog entry, where I will deal with referencing the image from within the control project.

Resources:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/910442
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/aspnet/MyWebResourceProj.aspx
http://aspnet.4guysfromrolla.com/articles/080906-1.aspx
http://aspalliance.com/726
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/yhzc935f.aspx

Getting MVC setup

This is all about getting MVC Preview 5 running: http://www.codeplex.com/aspnet/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=16775

ASP.NET Project page: http://www.asp.net/mvc/

Had a bit of trouble getting MVC setup. A nasty little bugger going by the name of "Cannot load assembly ..." etc. You know the score.

One post on forums.asp.net sorted it all out:

http://forums.asp.net/p/1314519/2596828.aspx

I short, do the following:

Go to: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Microsoft\Microsoft Visual Studio 2008\Visual Studio Tools

Run: Visual Studio 2008 Command Prompt

Go to: C:\Program Files\Microsoft ASP.NET\ASP.NET MVC CodePlex Preview 5\Assemblies

Type:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft ASP.NET\ASP.NET MVC CodePlex Preview 5\Assemblies>gacutil -if System.Web.Routing.dll

And:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft ASP.NET\ASP.NET MVC CodePlex Preview 5\Assemblies>gacutil -if System.Web.Abstractions.dll

That should install the DLL's into the GAC (Global Assembly Cache) and cause .NET 3.5 to find them suitably.

Release Mode missing

I recently realised, after a long time of not caring, that there are two ways to create a web project, with only one allowing Release Mode compilation.

Release Mode allowed: File -> New -> Project -> Visual C# -> Web -> ASP.NET Web Application

Only Debug Mode allowed: File -> New -> Website

Of course, from the command line, both of these options are available, as the options taken when creating any project are simply preset instructions for the compiler switches.

However, I feel it's important to note that only in Release Mode can the source of the website be compiled into a single DLL.

Reference: http://forums.asp.net/p/1053679/1532732.aspx#1532732

Getting ASP.NET Authentication in SQL Working

Firstly, you could go here, which helped me: http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2005/08/25/423703.aspx

Otherwise, just go to: C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727

Run the aspnet_regsql.exe and following through the Next button.

If you want to setup a connection to your local machine running sql express, be sure to enter <machinename>\<sqlserver> for example: MATTSMACHINE\SQLEXPRESS

Everything should now be setup.

The next bit is optional, but I like to go to: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc467894.aspx

Get the latest build of the Microsoft Enterprise Library. The setup is fairly simple, just install and follow the instructions for setting up the web.config and connection strings for allowing the data access layer. This will provide easy to use connection pooling and everything you need for single command SQL execution on your db.

The important entries in your web.config file should be:

<configSections>
<section name="dataConfiguration"...
...
</configSections>
<connectionStrings>
<add name="chopDatabaseConnection" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient"...
...
<dataConfiguration defaultDatabase="chopDatabaseConnection"/>

And you're away!

You might also want to read this:

• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/yh26yfzy.aspx

Slapdash - Putting feeds on your page the easy way

I wanted to read RSS into a DataSet but found that when loading the XML from, for example, a community server feed I would often get a 'column already exists'. This was because the feed used namespaces which causes elements to be declared like this: <slash:comment>

There are two solutions to this. First, write an XSLT to parse out the stuff I don't want. Second, run over the raw XML myself and filter it. I wanted to go with the second, because writing XSLT for every customised RSS, ATOM, etc feed that my front end developers might want to use didn't appeal - I just wanted to be able to load the RSS into a DataSet. However, then I found some code which seemed to work: http://www.aspcode.net/Updated-RSS-reader-class-dealing-with-already-belongs-error.aspx

The one problem I had was that the code did not seem to know when an element like <enclosure/> did not have a closing tag following it. I have fixed this code and present it below. I have used it to load the header information and each item entry in the RSS feed into a couple of repeaters, for quick databinding, so that I can provide a simple data layout for my front end designer to work with. He can then style this anyway he likes and I can even wrap the items table in a DataView to sort and filter it by any combination of fields in the feed. Of course, because this uses a DataSet, I could even merge other feeds into it.

Many thanks to, er, admin(?), for writing the original - you really have helped me a lot!...

    protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
   {
       DataSet set = new DataSet();
       XmlTextReader xmlRdr = new XmlTextReader("http://stuff.tv/blogs/cool/rss.aspx");
       XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
       doc.Load(xmlRdr);

       set = GetRSSDataSet("http://stuff.tv/blogs/cool/rss.aspx");

       headerRepeater.DataSource = set.Tables[1];
       itemsRepeater.DataSource = set.Tables[2];

       DataBind();
   }

   public DataSet GetRSSDataSet(string m_strAdress)
   {
       DataSet m_ds = new DataSet();

       System.Xml.XmlTextReader oXml = new System.Xml.XmlTextReader(m_strAdress);
       oXml.WhitespaceHandling = System.Xml.WhitespaceHandling.None;
       System.Text.StringBuilder oBuilder = new StringBuilder();

       bool fContinue = oXml.Read();
       while (fContinue)
       {
           string sName = oXml.Name.Replace(":", "_");
           bool isClosed = oXml.IsEmptyElement;
           if (oXml.NodeType == System.Xml.XmlNodeType.Element)
           {
               //Add the element...
               oBuilder.Append("<" + sName);
               if (oXml.HasAttributes)
               {
                   while (oXml.MoveToNextAttribute())
                   {
                       sName = oXml.Name.Replace(":", "_");
                       oBuilder.AppendFormat(" " + sName + "=\"" + oXml.Value + "\"");
                   }
               }
               if (isClosed)
                   oBuilder.Append("/");
               oBuilder.Append(">");
           }
           else if (oXml.NodeType == System.Xml.XmlNodeType.Text)
           {
               oBuilder.Append(System.Web.HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(oXml.Value));
           }
           else if (oXml.NodeType == System.Xml.XmlNodeType.EndElement)
           {
               oBuilder.Append("</" + sName + ">");
           }

           fContinue = oXml.Read();
       }
       oXml.Close();

       string sXmlResult = oBuilder.ToString();


       m_ds = new DataSet();
       System.IO.StringReader oStringReader = new System.IO.StringReader(sXmlResult);
       try
       {
           m_ds.ReadXml(oStringReader, System.Data.XmlReadMode.Auto);
       }
       catch (Exception ex)
       {
           m_ds = null;
       }
       if (oStringReader != null)
           oStringReader.Close();
       if (oXml != null)
           oXml.Close();
       return m_ds.Tables.Count == 0 ? null : m_ds;
   }

 [EDIT: 2008-06-20] I have a .NET3.5 new and improved version of this, which allows multiple feeds and optional sorting - I'll post this later.

[EDIT: 2009-02-19] Sorry for not having posted the replacement of this code.  I will, when I find it.  A lot has happened since the original posting.  

How to Auto-Create Stored Procedures

Use this script. I make no guarantees on it's solidity, but it has been useful. It will try to execute the CREATE PROCEDURE commands it executes, so comment those out if you want to run them manually.

set ANSI_NULLS ON
set QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
-- Author: Matthew Webster
-- Create date: 2007-03-20
-- Description: Automatically creates stored procedures for insert, update and delete functions
ALTER PROCEDURE [dbo].[Cms_CreateAuto_Procs]
@author nvarchar(250),
@tableName varchar(8000)
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON;

--declare @tableName nvarchar(50)
--set @tableName = 'editorialtypegroup'
--declare @author nvarchar(50)
--set @author = 'Matthew Webster'

declare @insert varchar(8000)
declare @update varchar(8000)
declare @delete varchar(8000)

declare @key varchar(8000)
declare @fields varchar(8000)
declare @arguments varchar(8000)
declare @variables varchar(8000)
declare @assignments varchar(8000)

set @key=''
set @fields=''
set @arguments=''
set @variables=''
set @assignments=''

select @key=@key+ ', '+column_name
from information_schema.columns
where table_name=@tableName and (COLUMNPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID(@tableName), column_name, 'isidentity') = 1) AND (column_default IS NULL)

select @fields=@fields+ ', '+column_name
from information_schema.columns
where table_name=@tableName and (COLUMNPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID(@tableName), column_name, 'isidentity') = 0) --AND (column_default IS NULL)

select @arguments=@arguments+ ', @'+column_name+' '+data_type+'(' + cast(character_maximum_length as varchar(10)) +')' + case is_nullable when 'no' then ' ' when 'yes' then '=null' end
from information_schema.columns
where table_name=@tableName and (COLUMNPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID(@tableName), column_name, 'isidentity') = 0) and character_maximum_length<>null AND (column_default IS NULL)and data_type<>'text'

select @arguments=@arguments+ ', @'+column_name+' '+data_type
from information_schema.columns
where table_name=@tableName and (COLUMNPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID(@tableName), column_name, 'isidentity') = 0) -- and (character_maximum_length=null or data_type='text' ) AND (column_default IS NULL)

select @variables=@variables+ ', @'+column_name
from information_schema.columns
where table_name=@tableName and (COLUMNPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID(@tableName), column_name, 'isidentity') = 0) --AND (column_default IS NULL)

select @assignments=@assignments+ ', '+column_name+' = @'+column_name
from information_schema.columns
where table_name=@tableName and (COLUMNPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID(@tableName), column_name, 'isidentity') = 0) --AND (column_default IS NULL)

set @key=SUBSTRING(@key,3,len(@key))
set @fields=SUBSTRING(@fields,3,len(@fields))
set @arguments=SUBSTRING(@arguments,3,len(@arguments))
set @variables=SUBSTRING(@variables,3,len(@variables))
set @assignments=SUBSTRING(@assignments,3,len(@assignments))

/*--
select @tableName
select @key
select @fields
select @arguments
select @variables
select @assignments
*/
declare @insertProc varchar(8000)
set @insertProc = '
CREATE PROCEDURE Cms_Auto_Insert'+@tableName+'
'+@arguments+'
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON;
insert into '+@tableName+' ('+@fields+') values ('+@variables+')
END
;
'

declare @updateProc varchar(8000)
set @updateProc = '
CREATE PROCEDURE Cms_Auto_Update'+@tableName+'
@'+@key+' int, '+@arguments+'
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON;
update '+@tableName+'
set '+@assignments+'
where '+@key+' = @'+@key+'
END
;
'

declare @deleteProc varchar(8000)
set @deleteProc = '
CREATE PROCEDURE Cms_Auto_Delete'+@tableName+'
@'+@key+' int
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON;
delete from '+@tableName+' where '+@key+' = @'+@key+'
END
;
'

exec (@insertProc)
exec (@updateProc)
exec (@deleteProc)

END

How to Stack Trace SQL

Just use SQL Profiler - if it's installed! Open the profiler, connect to a database, File->New. Remember to check the boxes for text query and hit run. Let your code do it's bit, then hit stop. But be quick about it, because there's probably a lot of other stuff going on and (like C# debugging) this could all come jumping out you in a very short space of time.....

Useful MSDN Blog Links and Immutable Classes

The standard feed provided in the Visual Studio 2005 Start Page provides some very useful links. One of them is this:

http://blogs.msdn.com/lucabol/archive/2007/12/28/creating-an-immutable-value-object-in-c-part-iv-a-class-with-a-special-value.aspx

a blog tutorial on creating immutable classes and the clever things to do with them.

I'm hoping to build a large list of really useful links featured on that feed, here.

Yes, yet another list.

MicroSoft Visual Source Safe

This is just a little post to lament the problems provide (as features) by VSS.  Fortunately, this guy has posted them already: http://www.highprogrammer.com/alan/windev/sourcesafe.html

Happy coding...

SubSonic and some DAL stuff

So I've been using CodeSmith with NetTiers for over a year now and loving almost every minute. However, there is now a very large problem which seems to have settled in and won't go away, like an elephant in the corner at a party. Except that everyone is talking about how to get rid of it, but no-one's managing to shift the thing. This problem is that Deep-Loading and Deep-Saving cannot be guaranteed in any version. (My personal issue with this is that if a nightly release does appear with a fix, any number of other critical bugs arise to replace it.) So, what we have is a DAL (Data Access Layer) generator which used to be wonderful and cuddly, but is now more of a problem than the number it solves.

So, what am I doing about it? Helping to solve the code issues? Submitting a new series of DAL templates using a radical and effective new code schema? Or ignoring the problem entirely?

That's right, I'm leaving my rather large application using the last, most reasonable generated DAL layer as it is, until I find another DAL generator I can use. Obviously, this is because there's a lot of people with much more experience solving their own code bugs without me trying to hack their templates apart. While I feel a little guilty about jumping ship, I will quite happily throw my support behind them if this quite annoying bug gets solved - something which used to be a huge selling point, IMHO.

Anyhow, this situation has opened a number of avenues. Among them is a little thing called SubSonic, with the catchy slogan "All Your Database Are Belong To Us!" Nice.

I'm only just starting with this one, so I've no useful (or other) information to pass on, so I'll start with some links and hopefully, soon, there'll be plenty of musing from my addled brain...

http://geekswithblogs.net/dlussier/archive/2007/12/30/118069.aspx
http://geekswithblogs.net/scottkuhl/archive/2006/11/17/97470.aspx
http://subsonicproject.com/view/for-web-sites---using-the-buildprovider.aspx
http://www.codeplex.com/subsonictools
http://blog.benhall.me.uk/2007/10/setting-up-subsonic.html
http://www.scribd.com/doc/94319/SubSonic?query2=%27SubSonic.Generated.+does+not+contain+a+definition+for

ReOrderList replacement and other AJAX.NET Fun

Having gotten fairly annoyed with the flaky-ness of the AJAX.NET ReOrderList control (among others) I've decided to take a look at building my own. Having had a look at a really great tutorial on javascript drag and drop code:
http://www.webreference.com/programming/javascript/mk/column2/
I've built a couple of custom controls; DragItem and DragContainer. These are part of an in-dev solution I'm building to provide myself (and anyone bothered enough to read on) with lightweight AJAX controls. Mostly because I want to understand the intricacies of this black magic, but partly because I believe the javascript libraries provided by the AJAX Toolkit to be too heavy for inidividual control use.

To justify myself here: I love the Ajax Control Toolkit and think MS are doing a brilliant job, especially when there are kits like:
http://www.telerik.com/
out there. But, and this is big, the dynamically provided javascript libraries which the API requires each browser page to download (assuming the ScriptManager control is placed) are too big. I want a small piece of script, perhaps placed within the page, rather than a seperate file, to perform efficient, fast actions, not replace most of the js API in the browser and watch/handle a million things I'm probably not even aware are going on. Not that I mind those features being there when they're needed!

Anyway, here's a list which might be useful to some:
http://ajaxpatterns.org/DotNet_Ajax_Frameworks

And here's the solution download for my own .NET AJAX controls:
http://home.freeuk.com/eudoxus/JsWebSite.rar

UnbindablePanel

To download the example solution click here: http://home.freeuk.com/eudoxus/JsWebSite.rar

[EDIT 03/11/2007] This link has been changed to include the code provided in my most recent Ajax-oriented post: ReOrderList replacement and other AJAX.NET Fun

I've been trying to get a Repeater to bind it's DataSource to contained controls for differing content. What I mean, there, is that if the DataSource has objects of different type I want to render a different data binding within the ItemTemplate depending on the type of data in the current DataItem. [Skip the next two paragraphs to get to the interesting bit.]

Having failed to try this by forcing Panel, PlaceHolder, MultiView/View and Wizard/StepTemplate from binding in anything other than a straightforward way (I hate it when future me can't follow younger me code!) I decided to try my latest trick...

Ok, I can't believe I didn't realise this before (or perhaps a more obvious solution - which, no, I still haven't discovered), but inheritting Panel and adding or overriding to get the functionality you want is just about the best way to make accessible, functional custom controls! They have data containers, can be bound, are supported by VS GUI and everyone understands them.

So, the situation is thus; I have bound a Repeater to a DataSource which provides an enumeration of objects which have different properties. This could be a random collection of DateTime, String and DataRow objects, or anything. Don't ask why, I just want to do it.

My solution is, essentially, to make a Panel which will not bind it's child controls if told not to. To decide whether it should or not, we simply check the class type, an identity or type field, property or namespace, etc.

So, first we inherit the Panel control:

public class UnbindablePanel : Panel

Then we have to provide a property which will determine whether or not the child controls found within the Panel will be databound:

private bool _allowChildBinding = true;
public virtual bool AllowChildBinding
{
get
{
return _allowChildBinding;
}
set
{
_allowChildBinding = value;
}
}

And finally, override the DataBindChildren() method to avoid the databinding if needed:

protected override void DataBindChildren()
{
if (AllowChildBinding)
{
base.DataBindChildren();
}
}

There is a little extra; in order to ensure the Panel is not visible at all, you might want to include a property/method combo to ensure the visibility matches the databound true/false value. This would stop any non-databound controls from being seen, but as such, is not absolutely necessary and is not the driving force behind this class.

To download the example solution click here: http://home.freeuk.com/eudoxus/JsWebSite1.rar

Very Useful Utils

Trucking about ye olde net recently, I've found (and been pointed at) some very useful utilities.  Here are the blogged lists I've seen;

Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tools for Windows
Essential Developer Productivity Tools
Austin Harris - some HTML tools

 

And here's my list;

Beyond Compare - File Content and Directory Structure Comparison Tool
FlyAKite - Make Windows look like MacOS
MobyDock - MacOS style icon bar
Microsoft Power Toys - Toys from MS for Windows
Task Tips - Not downloads per se, but useful none-the-less
30 Pieces of Essential Software
Remote Desktop Tricks - Again, not a download, but useful
Install multiple versions of IE
Forgot Admin password?
Some windows and filing utils
Microsoft's own Windows Internal Tools
A better Task Switcher
TopDesk - New ways to switch windows
Zoom effects for opening icons and folders
Visual Task Tips - Thumbnails for your TaskBar icons
Free tools - including pixel ruler and currency converter
 

If anyone has any more, please comment...

Finally got Microsoft Bluetooth Generic and ActiveSync working again!

My story so far to repairing bluetooth and activesync when they absolutely refuse to play ball...

Prologue:
(1) Disabled Microsoft ActiveSync to stop my mobile synchronising every time I wanted to charge it.
(2) Updated all software via Windows Update, including Bluetooth drivers.

Synopsis:
(1) ActiveSync refused to work again, even with repeated un-installs and re-installs.
(2) My ePox BT-DG03 Bluetooth USB Dongle stopped working because the latest Microsoft Bluetooth drivers are now called ABE Bluetooth Controller and don't work with it (these replaced the previous Windows XP SP2 bluetooth drivers "Generic Bluetooth Radio" and "Microsoft Bluetooth Enumerator".)

Today:
(1) Took a complete, clean copy of my C:\Windows\Inf, C:\Windows\System32 and all sub-folders onto my iPod and brought them in.
(2) Uninstalled ActiveSync and all associated Bluetooth drivers (Add/Remove Programs and Device Manager.)
(3) Connected Device via USB cable; Machine should recognise Generic RNDIS device and ask for drivers, etc.
(4) PLugged-in bluetooth dongle; Machine should again recognise bluetooth device and ask for drivers, etc.

The Secret:
When drivers are asked for;
(1) Un-install all the existing device drivers to avoid conflicts.
(2) From device manager, perform Update Drivers.
(3) Select "Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)."
(4) Select "Don't search. I will choose the driver to install."
(5) Click "Have disc".
(6) Browse to your backed-up copy of C:\Windows\Inf and select the file "drvindex.inf".
(7) From then on it should find the correct devices and all you have to do is show it where to find the right files.

I had to do this 2 or 3 times before the driver installs stuck, but now it's fairly happy and I can just plug the dongle and mobile phone in and no more reinstalls need to take place.

The key files I found are:
Bluetooth Device;
(1) rfcomm.sys (system32\drivers)
(2) wshBth.dll (system32)
(3) irftp.exe (system32)
(4) irmon.dll (system32)
Standard Modem over Bluetooth link;
(1) bthmodem.sys (system32\drivers)

Be warned, there are more files the auto-installer will ask for, but if/when I need to do this again, I'll try and note them all down.

Epilogue:
(1) I've had one instance where the bluetooth dongle needed to be reinstalled, but with care and forethought, the right drivers can be picked - this is down to selecting Show All Devices (when the option is presented) and always selecting \Inf\drvindex.inf, to give the auto-install the best chance of finding the right driver.

iTunes Remote Control

Well, after a lot of help from the http://www.32feet.net/ forums, not forgetting Mr. Peter Foot himself, and late night messing, I've finally got a working version of my iTunes remote control (kinda) finished.
Ok, for those interested enough, there's a log window, which shouldn't dump out too much; volume controls work, but there's a bug in that once a volume or position value gets changed, messages start getting thrown back and forth- Once I've re-worked the request and response formats I'll be fixing the synchronisation issues. The format issue will also allow the playlist window to function by feeding from partial list messages.
There is also an iPod look-a-like dialog, which will in time provide full control. This will be waiting until after the other functions/bugs have been sorted out.
You can download the current version here: http://home.freeuk.com/eudoxus/BtChat.2007-07-07.001.rar
Again, thanks to everyone on the 32feet.net forums who helped!
Matt.

Bluetooth iTunes Remote for Windows Mobile 5.0

Yep, I've been developing (and having problems with) a .NET/C# iTunes remote control for Windows Mobile 5.0. For my own reference, here's the download: http://home.freeuk.com/eudoxus/BtChat.iTunesRemote.2007-07-05.001.rar

[EDIT] This has no changed to: http://home.freeuk.com/eudoxus/BtChat.2007-07-07.001.rar
Please see post for update: http://springboardpillow.blogspot.com/2007/07/itunes-remote-control.html

In theory, I've got the whole thing working:

Queued message sending (from the client) to avoid blocking the BT device
Threaded timer updates of the display
Error log dialog
Back/Next/Play/Pause/Volume/Time controls
Track/Artist/Album display

The problem I'm facing right now is that bluetooth has completely failed on my work machine and I'm finding that the only drivers which work are the Generic Bluetooth Radio and Microsoft Bluetooth Enumerator - which should be one driver and are ONLY available via Windows Update - and of course have now been replaced by a broken driver called ABE.

To add to the fun threading seems to lock up when I kick off my own thread on the device side of the application, as if the two threads used for monitoring in-coming messages are the only threads I'm allowed to run. I'm not sure, but I think it might be the BtListener thread which is causing problems, however the forums say otherwise.

Infinities Loop Auto Complete Extender

I've been reading with interest, for a while now, that http://weblogs.asp.net/infinitiesloop/ has a rather nice textbox auto-complete extender. Lots of people have had lots to say on the matter, so I'll be short: I've had trouble getting the code provided to build and run, even with the assistance of the links provided on the blog entries.

The most useful entries (to date) appear to be:

http://weblogs.asp.net/infinitiesloop/archive/2006/11/15/ASP.NET-Ajax-Beta_3A00_-AutoCompleteBehavior-without-a-Web-Service.aspx
http://lvildosola.blogspot.com/2007/01/how-to-get-smartautocompleteextender.html

Having downloaded the files I played around and got it all nicely working. I really have to hand it to I.L. because having state information available where the http://ajax.asp.net/ajaxtoolkit/ forces you to use a webservice (and thus lose all context of the user's session, etc) if invaluable.

My personal use for the context is to specify a locale for the searching of brands where users in different locales would get different results. I think the most obvious would be the searching of a user's personal history of textual terms.

Anyway, I've got the solution and all the .dll files required, in a .rar here:
http://home.freeuk.com/eudoxus/MattsSmartAutoCompleteRTM.rar

Links 'n' Tech

I love finding new technology; the cooler it is the more I love it...

http://windowsclient.net/Acropolis/
http://maps.google.com/help/maps/streetview/
http://labs.live.com/photosynth/
http://www.microsoft.com/surface
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4217348.html

And here's some generally useful links...

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/19980029.htm

And some blogs and stuff...

http://simonedwards.blogspot.com/
http://d5.allthingsd.com/20070530/steve-jobs-and-bill-gates-together-part-1-of-7/

Loader Lock exception in windows applications

Blatantly ripped from: http://www.thezbuffer.com/articles/304.aspx

Error Message:

LoaderLock was detected
Message: DLL '.......\Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.dll' is attempting
managed execution inside OS Loader lock. Do not attempt to run
managed code inside a DllMain or image initialization function since
doing so can cause the application to hang.A Loader lock is one of the Managed Debugging Assistants (MDAs) that were added to VS2005 to help find hard to debug runtime issues. There is code in all Managed DirectX 1.1 assemblies that causes this MDA to fire. Microsoft have confirmed they are aware of the problem. However I do not expect to see a fix for MDX 1.1 since current efforts are focused on MDX2.0/XNA Framework, it ONLY affects code run under the debugger (i.e. it won't happen when users run your EXE) and there is a trivial workaround. I'm not sure of exact reproduction steps - it appears to fire on some projects and not on others.

To work around the problem you have several choices:

Go back to using VS2003 and .Net 1.1
Use MDX 2.0. Note that MDX 2.0 will never actually ship as it is being transformed into the XNA framework.
Disable the loader lock MDA. Debug/Exceptions (ctrl-D, E), Open the Managed Debugging Assistants tree node and uncheck Loader Lock. This setting is per solution so it will only affect this solution.
Versions affected:All .Net 1.1 Managed DirectX assemblies when used with Visual Studio 2005 and .Net 2.0.

My apologies, but I will get around to writing my own piece on this particular exception and it's foibles myself when I've got time!