Coded-Codes101

SQL Joins

2011-09-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

Inner joins (aka equijoins)
Basic joining (no need to specifically put in the "INNER JOIN" term). Example:
SELECT lastname, firstname, tag
FROM drivers, vehicles
WHERE drivers.location = vehicles.location

Left join
Returns all rows from the left table (table1) even if there are no matches in the right table (table2). Example:
SELECT *
FROM table1 LEFT JOIN table2 ON table1.column1 = table2.column2

Right join
Returns all rows from the right table (table2) even if there are no matches in the right table (table1). Example:
SELECT *
FROM table1 LEFT JOIN table2 ON table1.column1 = table2.column2

JDBC: Building the connection URL

2011-09-16T02:50:00.000-07:00

This is on of the uber-random instances in which I am dealing with Java, JDBC, Websphere etc.

We needed to change the Java application to point to a new database.
After much effort we realised that the db connection string is located in an obscure file located here:
WEB-INF/classes/edujini.conf

The line(s) to change were:
database.connection.url=jdbc\:sqlserver\://<ip address>\:1433;databaseName\=<dbname>;user\=<username>;password\=
and
database.connection.password=<encrypted password string>

Looks simple enough, but not when you didn't know about the existence of the 2nd line and spent the whole day figuring out why there wasn't a need to pass in a password in the 1st line.
After realising that there is this 2nd line, there is another complexity in trying to figure out that the password was actually encrypted. (The system was commissioned very very long ago and no one remembered the password in the dev environment).

Thankfully poor encryption algo saved the day. After some random guessing, we managed to break the password and everything came to light.

Now back to the problem at hand. If I simply replace the sqlserver value with the database instance name, it doesn't work. After some poking around again, I realised that you would need to put in this value instead:
<ip address of server>\\instance name

Not fun at all.

Jquery Static Functions

2011-08-18T01:47:00.000-07:00

var user = {};  // Declare my namespace

user.warn = function(msg) {

    alert(msg);

}

JQuery Animation Effects Resources

2011-08-18T01:29:00.000-07:00

1. Collapsible drag-and-drop panels
http://webdeveloperplus.com/jQuery/collpasible-drag-drop-panels/

2. http://www.noupe.com/jquery/50-amazing-jquery-examples-part1.html
Includes Star Rating, Form Validation, Carousel, Tabs, Pager

3. Blink, Wiggle, Bob
http://labs.wondergroup.com/demos/mini-ui/index.html

4. Drag-and-drop
http://jqueryui.com/demos/draggable/

5. Quicksand (rearrange icons)
http://razorjack.net/quicksand/

6. Auto-completer for textbox
http://www.nodstrum.com/2007/09/19/autocompleter/

7. Flip wall
http://demo.tutorialzine.com/2010/03/sponsor-wall-flip-jquery-css/demo.php

JQuery AJAX error function jqXHR.responseText is a string

2011-07-18T02:56:00.000-07:00

The jqXHR.responseText is a string although it looks like JSON.

E.g. "{"Message":"domain\\a_fkf has no access","StackTrace":" at CustomAppTaskListRetriever.GetNumTasks(String userID) in C:\\Documents and Settings\\Visual Studio 2008\\Projects\\Retriever.cs:line 45\r\n at MyWorkbox.WorkboxService.GetNumTasks(String appID) in C:\\Documents and Settings\\Visual Studio 2008\\Projects\\WorkboxService.asmx.cs:line 32","ExceptionType":"System.Exception"}"

Here's how you can "parse" it. Not very elegant, but that's the best I can find:

TaskList.prototype.GetTaskItems = function() {
var t = this;
%$.ajax({ 
..., 
success: function(data) {...},
error: function(jqXHR, textStatus, errorThrown) {
eval("var responseJSON = " + jqXHR.responseText + ";");
alert(responseJSON.Message);
}
});
}

How can I pass a parameter to a setTimeout() callback?

2011-07-18T01:16:00.000-07:00

I am getting "t is not defined" error when trying to execute the following code:

TaskList.prototype.GetTaskItems = function() {
var t = this;
%$.ajax({ 
..., 
success: function(data) {...},
error: function() {
setTimeout("t.GetTaskItems()", 30000);
}
});
}

Not too sure why it doesn't work, but here's a workaround:

setTimeout(function() {
t.GetTaskItems();
, 30000);

Sorting Array with JQuery

2011-07-15T02:38:00.001-07:00


var mylist = $('ul');
var listitems = mylist.children('li').get();
listitems.sort(function(a, b) {
   var compA = $(a).text().toUpperCase();
   var compB = $(b).text().toUpperCase();
   return (compA < compB) ? -1 : (compA > compB) ? 1 : 0;
})
$.each(listitems, function(idx, itm) { mylist.append(itm); });

http://www.onemoretake.com/2009/02/25/sorting-elements-with-jquery/

Change the style of the scrollbar

2011-07-12T21:05:00.001-07:00

http://www.stockvault.net/tutorials/css-scrollbar-colors

BODY {
SCROLLBAR-FACE-COLOR: #000000;
SCROLLBAR-HIGHLIGHT-COLOR: #000000;
SCROLLBAR-SHADOW-COLOR: #000000;
SCROLLBAR-3DLIGHT-COLOR: #000000;
SCROLLBAR-ARROW-COLOR: #000000;
SCROLLBAR-TRACK-COLOR: #000000;
SCROLLBAR-DARKSHADOW-COLOR: #000000;
}

HIde Horizontal Scrollbar

2011-07-12T21:03:00.001-07:00

To make a div scrollable, use overflow:auto in the css.
To hide a scrollbar, use overflow-x:hidden

div does not render when asp:Panel Visible=false

2011-07-05T18:08:00.000-07:00

When you set the visibility of a control to false, it will not be added to the Page Tree thus it will not be rendered. However, you can use Javascript to set the visibility to false, in this way, you can access to this container on the client side.

divPanel1.Style["display"] = "none";

Referenced from: http://forums.asp.net/t/1302512.aspx/1

Pass external data into $.ajax success function

2011-07-05T02:40:00.000-07:00

TaskList.prototype.GetNumTasks = function(userID) {
var apple = this.AppID;
$.ajax({
type: "POST",
contentType: "application/json; charset=utf=8",
data: "{username:'" + escape(userID) + "', wsUrl:'" + this.WSUrl + "', appType:'" + this.AppType + "'}",
url: WorkboxServiceURL + "/GetNumTasks",
dataType: "json",
success: function(data) {
alert(data.d);
alert(apple);
},
error: function() {
alert("error");
}
});
}

How to create Excel file in C#

2011-07-05T01:37:00.000-07:00

Note: You need to add the Microsoft Excel 12.0 Object Library to your project.

using Excel = Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel;

Excel.Application xlApp ;
Excel.Workbook xlWorkBook ;
Excel.Worksheet xlWorkSheet ;
object misValue = System.Reflection.Missing.Value;

xlApp = new Excel.ApplicationClass();
xlWorkBook = xlApp.Workbooks.Add(misValue);

xlWorkSheet = (Excel.Worksheet)xlWorkBook.Worksheets.get_Item(1);
xlWorkSheet.Cells[1, 1] = "http://csharp.net-informations.com";

xlWorkBook.SaveAs("csharp-Excel.xls", Excel.XlFileFormat.xlWorkbookNormal, misValue, misValue, misValue, misValue, Excel.XlSaveAsAccessMode.xlExclusive, misValue, misValue, misValue, misValue, misValue);
xlWorkBook.Close(true, misValue, misValue);
xlApp.Quit();

releaseObject(xlWorkSheet);
releaseObject(xlWorkBook);
releaseObject(xlApp);

private void releaseObject(object obj)
{

System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.ReleaseComObject(obj);
obj = null;
GC.Collect();

}

Abstract vs Interface

2011-07-04T23:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/cs/abstractsvsinterfaces.aspx
This is a very clear article on the difference between an abstract class and an interface. The article also provides examples of implementations for both.

Comparisons at a glance:

Feature	Interface	Abstract class
Multiple inheritance	A class may inherit several interfaces.	A class may inherit only one abstract class.
Default implementation	An interface cannot provide any code, just the signature.	An abstract class can provide complete, default code and/or just the details that have to be overridden.
Access Modfiers	An interface cannot have access modifiers for the subs, functions, properties etc everything is assumed as public	An abstract class can contain access modifiers for the subs, functions, properties
Homogeneity	If various implementations only share method signatures then it is better to use Interfaces.	If various implementations are of the same kind and use common behaviour or status then abstract class is better to use.
Speed	Requires more time to find the actual method in the corresponding classes.	Fast
Adding functionality (Versioning)	If we add a new method to an Interface then we have to track down all the implementations of the interface and define implementation for the new method.	If we add a new method to an abstract class then we have the option of providing default implementation and therefore all the existing code might work properly.
Fields and Constants	No fields can be defined in interfaces	An abstract class can have fields and constrants defined

OOP in Javascript

2011-07-04T01:24:00.000-07:00

function TaskList(title, wsurl, appType) {

var TaskList = this;
this.Title = title;
this.WSUrl = wsurl;
this.AppType = appType;

}

TaskList.prototype.GetTasks = function() {

alert("Get Tasks!");

}

$(document).ready(function() {

var t = new TaskList("HR Leave System", "http://test.asmx", "Custom Application");
t.GetTasks();

};

Create JSON object in C#

2011-07-03T20:03:00.000-07:00

JavascriptSerializer is an inbuilt class available from C# 3.5

JavaScriptSerializer serializer = new JavaScriptSerializer()
return serializer.Serialize(YOURLIST);

Get Current User in Javascript (using Code behind)

2011-06-29T21:03:00.001-07:00

Code behind:

protected string username;
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
username = System.Web.HttpContext.Current.User.Identity.Name;
username = username.Replace("\\", "\\\\"); // not a very elegant hack
}

Points to note:
- variable "username" must be at least protected
- need to hack the username because javascript will strip the "\"

Javascript:

var userID = "<%=username %>";

Points to note:
- must put the <%= … %> in quotes

Consuming ASP.NET web services using jQuery

2011-06-27T23:00:00.001-07:00

It seems that ASP.NET AJAX is rather heavy-handed and carries hefty performance penalties as compared to the simpler and more straightforward jQuery.
JSON Serialized Web Service
[WebService(Namespace = "http://tempuri.org/")]
[WebServiceBinding(ConformsTo = WsiProfiles.BasicProfile1_1)]
System.Web.Script.Services.ScriptService]
public class dummyWebservice : System.Web.Services.WebService
{
[WebMethod()]public string HelloToYou(string name){return "Hello " + name;}
[WebMethod()]public string sayHello(){return "hello ";}
}

Remember to include [System.Web.Script.Services.ScriptService] so that the service is made available to Javascript clients.

JQuery .ajax command
$.ajax({
type: "POST",
contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
url: "WebService.asmx/WebMethodName",
data: "{}",
dataType: "json"
});
You need to specify the contentType's value as application/json; charset=utf-8 and the dataType as json
to make a JQuery AJAX call.Remember to pass in data: "{}"

If you need to pass in certain params, use
data: "{username:'" + escape(userID) + "'}"
-- Need to escape() the userID so that the backslash (\) is not stripped when passed to AJAX

JQuery: Set selected dropdownvalue by text

2011-05-12T01:17:00.000-07:00

$("#IDofDDList option:contains(" + theText + ")").attr('selected', 'selected');

Get querystring using Jquery

2011-03-24T01:53:00.000-07:00

You need the jquery query plugin (jquery.query.js)
Code:

$(document).ready(function(){
  $.query = $.query.load(location.href.toLowerCase());
  ResTypeId = $.query.get('resourcetypeid');
  ResId = $.query.get('resourceid');
});

The function $.query.get('..') returns empty string if the querystring param does not exist.

SharePoint's DateTimeControl.DateChanged Event BUG

2011-03-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

Ok. So you want something to happen (e.g. update another DateTimeControl) when you change the value in the DateTimeControl.You realise that the DateTimeControl.DateChanged event could do the trick.

But NO...
Bugs I have identified:
1) The DateChanged Event does not get fired when you change the time
2) This snippet of code within the DateChangedEvent does not seem to work:
dtEnd.SelectedDate = dtStart.SelectedDate

* Bug 1 is known and so far here's the only workaround that I know (compliments to myself):
Insert a Jquery hack to "catch" the time change event:

$(document).ready(function() {
   //Hour drop down list
   $("#ctl00_PlaceHolderMain_dtStart_dtStartDateHours").change(function() {
   var idx = $("#ctl00_PlaceHolderMain_dtStart_dtStartDateHours option").index($("option:selected"));
   if (idx < 24) idx++;
   $("#ctl00_PlaceHolderMain_dtEnd_dtEndDateHours option:eq(" + idx + ")").attr("selected", "selected");
});

//Minute drop down list
   $("#ctl00_PlaceHolderMain_dtStart_dtStartDateMinutes").change(function() {
   var idx2 = $("#ctl00_PlaceHolderMain_dtStart_dtStartDateMinutes option").index($("option:selected"));
   $("#ctl00_PlaceHolderMain_dtEnd_dtEndDateMinutes option:eq(" + idx2 + ")").attr("selected", "selected");
   });
});
The change event for the minute drop down list doesn't seem to work as yet. It is returning idx2 as -1. Will continue exploring on this.

A/N: Still not sure why it's not working, but here's another workaround:
$("#ctl00_PlaceHolderMain_dtEnd_dtEndDateMinutes").val($("#ctl00_PlaceHolderMain_dtStart_dtStartDateMinutes option:selected").val());
I realise that I don't need to get the index of the selected option as I can just replicate the values in the end date drop down.

* Bug 2 is less well-known, can't seem to find any solutions on google. Here's my current workaround (compliments to myself as well):
Add a "OnValueChangeClientScript" property to the DateTimeControl which calls "javascript:updateDates();".

function updateDates() {
$("#ctl00_PlaceHolderMain_dtEnd_dtEndDate").val($("#ctl00_PlaceHolderMain_dtStart_dtStartDate").val());
}

Unable to Start Debugging. The Silverlight managed debugging package isn't installed

2011-02-15T02:03:00.001-08:00

If you installed latest version of Silverlight (Silverlight 4), it may break the your current silverlight development environment. After in the Silverlight 4 installation, if you try to debug any Silverlight 3 project, you will get a message from Visual Studio 2008, saying “Unable to start debugging. The Silverlight managed debugging package isn’t installed.”

To fix this error, install the Silverlight Developer Run time. You can get it from here : http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=188039

SPServices & CAML Query Options

2011-01-20T02:04:00.000-08:00

This is a strange behaviour when using JQuery's SPServices on a list with multi-valued person/group field.

Operation: "GetListItems"
CAMLViewFields: "<ViewFields><FieldRef Name='Title' /><FieldRef Name='ID' /></ViewFields>"
CAMLQuery: "<Query></Query>"

E.g. If the list has this item: [ID=1, Title=My First Item, PersonsResponsible=Test User A; Test User B, Status=Pending], then the output of the method call would have 2 rows:
- Row 1: [ID=1, Title=My First Item, PersonsResponsible=Test User A]
- Row 2: [ID=1, Title=My First Item, PersonsResponsible=Test User B]
* Status field does not appear because not part of the ViewFields. However, PersonsResponsible appear because it is a mandatory column.

I'm not too sure why 2 rows of result are returned (could it be a bug?) but to solve this problem, you simply have to add
CAMLQueryOptions: "<QueryOptions><IncludeMandatoryColumns>FALSE</IncludeMandatoryColumns></QueryOptions>"

This way, the method call correctly returns 1 row [ID=1, Title=My First Item]

How to get sharepoint list items with an absolute url?

2011-01-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

string ListUrl = "http://localhost/subsite/Lists/ResourceBooking/AllItems.aspx";

using (SPSite mySite = new SPSite(ListUrl))
   {
   using (SPWeb myWeb = mySite.OpenWeb())
   {
   SPList myList = myWeb.GetList(ListUrl);
   foreach (SPListItem item in myList.Items)
   {
   }
   }
   }

GridView Row Highlighting on Mouseover

2011-01-10T17:22:00.000-08:00

spgv.RowCreated += new GridViewRowEventHandler(spgv_RowCreated);

void spgv_RowCreated(object sender, GridViewRowEventArgs e)
   {
   // only apply changes if its DataRow
   if (e.Row.RowType == DataControlRowType.DataRow)
   {
   // when mouse is over the row, save original color to new attribute, and change it to highlight yellow color
   e.Row.Attributes.Add("onmouseover",
   "this.originalstyle=this.style.backgroundColor;this.style.backgroundColor='#EEEEEE';this.style.cursor='pointer'");

   // when mouse leaves the row, change the bg color to its original value
   e.Row.Attributes.Add("onmouseout",
   "this.style.backgroundColor=this.originalstyle;this.style.cursor='default'");

   // on click row, go to item detail
   e.Row.Attributes.Add("onclick", "javascript:location.href='" + ((DataRowView)e.Row.DataItem).Row.ItemArray.GetValue(6) + "'");
   }
   }

CSS Cursor Property

2011-01-10T17:20:00.000-08:00

Definition and Usage

The cursor property specifies the type of cursor to be displayed when pointing on an element.

Default value:	auto
Inherited:	yes
Version:	CSS2
JavaScript syntax:	object.style.cursor="crosshair"

Property Values

Value	Description
URL	A comma separated of URLs to custom cursors. Note: Always specify a generic cursor at the end of the list, in case none of the URL-defined cursors can be used
auto	Default. The browser sets a cursor
crosshair	The cursor render as a crosshair
default	The default cursor
e-resize	The cursor indicates that an edge of a box is to be moved right (east)
help	The cursor indicates that help is available
move	The cursor indicates something that should be moved
n-resize	The cursor indicates that an edge of a box is to be moved up (north)
ne-resize	The cursor indicates that an edge of a box is to be moved up and right (north/east)
nw-resize	The cursor indicates that an edge of a box is to be moved up and left (north/west)
pointer	The cursor render as a pointer
progress	The cursor indicates that the program is busy (in progress)
s-resize	The cursor indicates that an edge of a box is to be moved down (south)
se-resize	The cursor indicates that an edge of a box is to be moved down and right (south/east)
sw-resize	The cursor indicates that an edge of a box is to be moved down and left (south/west)
text	The cursor indicates text
w-resize	The cursor indicates that an edge of a box is to be moved left (west)
wait	The cursor indicates that the program is busy
inherit	Specifies that the value of the cursor property should be inherited from the parent element

Referenced from: http://www.w3schools.com/CSS/pr_class_cursor.asp

CAML Query Lookup

2011-01-02T20:03:00.000-08:00

<Query>
  <Where>
   <Eq>
   <FieldRef Name='Fruit' />
   <Value Type='Lookup'>15</Value>
   </Eq>
  </Where>
</Query>

Doesn't Work, but this works:

<Query>
  <Where>
   <Eq>
   <FieldRef Name='Fruit' />
   <Value Type='Lookup'>Grapes</Value>
   </Eq>
  </Where>
</Query>

Correct query:

<Query>

<Where>

<Eq>

</Eq>

</Where>

</Query>

Create GUID (guidgen.exe)

2010-12-28T02:33:00.000-08:00

To run guidgen.exe from the Visu

On the Tools menu, click Create GUID. The Create GUID tool appears with a GUID in the Result box.
Select the format you want for the GUID.
Click Copy.
The GUID is copied to the Clipboard so that you can paste it into your source code.
If you want to generate another GUID, click New GUID.

The location fo STSADM in WSS 3.0

2010-12-27T23:41:00.001-08:00

C:\Program Files\common files\microsoft shared\web server extensions\12\bin

How to save xls to pipe delimiter file without code

2010-12-22T02:40:00.000-08:00

1) Save your worksheet to .csv
2) Open the .csv file in notepad
3) Use Find-And-Replace in notepad to replace all , to |

Important note: You should replace the commas in your real content to some other symbol (suggestion:#,~) first so that you don't replace them with | in step 3. You then might want to run a step 4 (find-and-replace in notepad to replace all # to ,)

PropertyData that is returned when you call MOSS' UserProfileService

2010-12-16T00:25:00.000-08:00

Code:

MOSSUserProfile.UserProfileService ups = new MOSSUserProfile.UserProfileService();
ups.Credentials = CredentialCache.DefaultNetworkCredentials;
MOSSUserProfile.PropertyData[] props = ups.GetUserProfileByName(K2.ProcessInstance.Originator.Name);

string str = "";
int counter = -1;
foreach (MOSSUserProfile.PropertyData p in props)
{
   counter++;

   str += "(" + counter + ")" + p.Name + ": ";
   if (p.Values != null && p.Values.Length > 0) str += p.Values[0].Value.ToString() + ";";
   else str += ";";
}

Output:

(0)UserProfile_GUID: 22e44299-1d1b-4a30-967e-3b041d717a1f;

(1)AccountName: WORLD\a_fkf;

(2)FirstName: a_fkf;

(3)LastName: ;

(4)PreferredName: a_fkf;

(5)WorkPhone: ;

(6)Office: ;

(7)Department: ;

(8)Title: ;

(9)Manager: ;

(10)AboutMe: ;

(11)PersonalSpace: ;

(12)PictureURL: ;

(13)UserName: a_fkf;

(14)QuickLinks: ;

(15)WebSite: ;

(16)PublicSiteRedirect: http://mdevsp_fkf:81/personal/a_fkf/;

(17)SPS-Dotted-line: ;

(18)SPS-Peers: ;

(19)SPS-Responsibility: ;

(20)SPS-Skills: ;

(21)SPS-PastProjects: ;

(22)SPS-Interests: ;

(23)SPS-School: ;

(24)SPS-SipAddress: ;

(25)SPS-Birthday: ;

(26)SPS-MySiteUpgrade: ;

(27)SPS-ProxyAddresses: ;

(28)SPS-HireDate: ;

(29)SPS-ResourceAccountName: ;

(30)SPS-MasterAccountName: ;

(31)Assistant: ;

(32)WorkEmail: a_fkf@world.com;

(33)Fax: ;

SharePoint Web Services

2010-12-15T02:38:00.000-08:00

WSS Web Services	Web Reference
Administration Service	http:///_vti_adm/admin.asmx
Alerts Service	http:///_vti_bin/alerts.asmx
Document Workspace Service	http:///_vti_bin/dws.asmx
Forms Service	http:///_vti_bin/forms.asmx
Imaging Service	http:///_vti_bin/imaging.asmx
List Data Retrieval Service	http:///_vti_bin/dspsts.asmx
Lists Service	http:///_vti_bin/lists.asmx
Meetings Service	http:///_vti_bin/meetings.asmx
Permissions Service	http:///_vti_bin/permissions.asmx
Site Data Service	http:///_vti_bin/sitedata.asmx
Site Service	http:///_vti_bin/sites.asmx
Users and Groups Service	http:///_vti_bin/usergroup.asmx
Versions Service	http:///_vti_bin/versions.asmx
Views Service	http:///_vti_bin/views.asmx
Web Part Pages Service	http:///_vti_bin/webpartpages.asmx
Webs Service	http:///_vti_bin/webs.asmx

Area Service	http:///_vti_bin/areaservice.asmx
Query Service	http:///_vti_bin/search.asmx
User Profile Service	http:///_vti_bin/userprofileservice.asmx
SPS Crawl Service	http:///_vti_bin/spscrawl.asmx
Outlook Adapter Service	http:///_vti_bin/outlookadapter.asmx

My New Toy: K2 Blackpearl

2010-12-13T22:42:00.000-08:00

My company recently purchased K2 Blackpearl and I've been tasked to spear-head this project. We intend to use Blackpearl to host and support most of our enterprise workflows.

The challenge:
- We have to support multiple domains in our environment, with a OWFT configuration.
- We do not wish to install K2 components in our SharePoint environment (after a terrible experience with Blackpoint)
- We have complex form requirements (to be fair, this almost has nothing to do with Blackpearl)

First impressions:
I understand that Blackpearl prides itself from providing simplicity to business users in the creation and deployment of workflows. Thankfully, Blackpearl exposes its API and allows you to manage the code of each activity/event, which I thoroughly find comfort in. (A/N: I'm a hard-core developer and I don't really like drag-and-drops).

Javascript to close IE6, IE7, IE8 and Firefox without confirmation box

2010-10-10T01:14:00.000-07:00

if ((userBrowser.browser == "Explorer" && (userBrowser.version == "8" || userBrowser.version == "7"))) {
        window.open('', '_self', '');
        window.close();
    } else if ((userBrowser.browser == "Explorer" && userBrowser.version == "6")) {
        window.opener = null;
        window.close();
    } else {
        window.opener = '';
        window.close(); // attempt to close window first, show user warning message if fails
        alert("To avoid data corruption/loss. Please close this window immedietly.");
    }

Use Jquery to change onclick event dynamically

2010-10-04T20:24:00.001-07:00

$('#foo').onclick = "" doesn't seem to work

Query:

$('#foo').click(function() { alert('foo'); });

Or if you don't want it to follow the link href:

$('#foo').click(function() { alert('foo'); return false; });

CSS Reference Chart for SharePoint 2007

2010-09-16T01:06:00.000-07:00

http://www.heathersolomon.com/content/sp07cssreference.htm

CSS Reference Chart for SharePoint 2007 (Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services v3)

Color Scheme

2010-09-15T17:58:00.001-07:00

http://colorschemedesigner.com/

Provides page examples accompanying the color schemes as well!

SharePoint Dispose Checker Tool

2010-08-27T03:27:00.000-07:00

(http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/SPDisposeCheck)

Resource Page Description
SPDisposeCheck is a tool to help you to check your assemblies that use the SharePoint API so that you can build better code. It provides assistance in correctly disposing of certain SharePoint objects to help you follow published best practice. This tool may not show all memory leaks in your code. Further investigation is advised if you continue to experience issues.

SPDisposeCheck.exe takes the path to a managed .DLL or .EXE or the path to a directory containing many managed assemblies. It will recursively search for and analyze each managed module attempting to detect coding patterns based on the MDSN article.

Please review the MSDN article on using Deploy in SharePoint applications here

The SPDisposeCheck tool can be downloaded here.

Roger Lamb maintains a blog for the SPDisposeCheck team here.

Silverlight: Control line height of textblock

2010-08-20T00:37:00.000-07:00

From Microsoft (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.controls.textblock.lineheight(VS.95).aspx)

TextBlock.LineHeight Property

Type: System.Double
The height of each line in pixels. A value of 0 indicates that the line height is determined automatically from the current font characteristics. The default is 0.
Changing this value does not change the height of the associated text. Instead, it changes the height of the line that contains the text. To change the size of the text, use the FontSize property.
The layout of lines in a TextBlock is affected by this property and by the LineStackingStrategy property. This property affects layout only when theLineStackingStrategy property is set to BlockLineHeight.

Silverlight: Define image source as external website

2010-08-20T00:32:00.000-07:00

public class UserPhotoConverter : IValueConverter
{
     public UserPhotoConverter() { }

     #region IValueConverter Members
     public object Convert(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
     {
          if (value == null) return "";

          MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream((byte[])value);
          BitmapImage img = new BitmapImage();
          img.SetSource(stream);
          return img;
     }

     public object ConvertBack(object value, Type targetType, object parameter, System.Globalization.CultureInfo culture)
     {
          throw new NotImplementedException();
     }

     #endregion
}

Silverlight: Download image to byte[]

2010-08-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

public delegate void DownloadPhotoCompleted(byte[] imageBytes);
public event DownloadPhotoCompleted DownloadPhotoCompletedEvent;

void worker_DoWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e)
{
      WebClient wc = new WebClient();
      wc.OpenReadCompleted += new OpenReadCompletedEventHandler(wc_OpenReadCompleted);
      wc.OpenReadAsync(uri);
}

void wc_OpenReadCompleted(object sender, OpenReadCompletedEventArgs e)
{
      int length = (int)e.Result.Length;
      BinaryReader br = new BinaryReader(e.Result);
      byte[] buffer = new byte[length];
      using (br)
      {
            for (int i = 0; i < length; i++)
            {
                  buffer[i] = br.ReadByte();
            }
      }

      if (DownloadPhotoCompletedEvent != null)
            DownloadPhotoCompletedEvent(buffer);
}

Note that the external site needs to have a crossdomain.xml or clientaccesspolicy.xml defined to allow access by your application. If not you will encounter a System.SecurityException.

SharePoint: Check Item Level Permission

2010-08-18T20:36:00.001-07:00

Use

listItem.DoesUserHavePermissions(perms)

This method will return true or false.

Avoid

list.CheckPermissions(perms)

This method throws an Unauthorised Access Exception if current user does not have permissions, which will override the try-catch and causes an auto-redirection to an Access Denied Page.

Display Silverlight in SharePoint Content Editor Webpart

2010-08-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

Referenced from: http://sharethelearning.blogspot.com/2008/11/silverlight-in-content-editor-web-part.html

The steps:

Created a web part page document library
Uploaded xap into the library
Create a new web part page in the library
Added a content editor web part to the page.
Added an object tag pointing to the XAP file in the source code of the content editor web part

And, voila.... nothing displayed! Played with adding the Silverlight.js file to the library, and various other techniques. Finally found the key was the interaction of the object tag width and height with the rendered dimensions of the web part.

Solved by either:

Setting a fixed height and width in the web part appearance properties, and giving the object tag a height and width of 100%, OR
Setting an absolute height and width for the object tag and leaving the web part with non-fixed height and width

Parse a string to boolean in Javascript

2010-08-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

Just do a:

var myBool = eval (yourString);

Examples:

alert (eval ("true") == true); // TRUE
alert (eval ("true") == false); // FALSE
alert (eval ("1") == true); // TRUE
alert (eval ("1") == false); // FALSE
alert (eval ("false") == true); // FALSE;
alert (eval ("false") == false); // TRUE
alert (eval ("0") == true); // FALSE
alert (eval ("0") == false); // TRUE
alert (eval ("") == undefined); // TRUE
alert (eval () == undefined); // TRUE

Windows Service Vs. Scheduled Task

2010-08-04T18:13:00.001-07:00

Windows Service

Interval specific, i.e. you can create a timer that runs every 4 hours etc
Runs all the time.
You can set up listener events to push actions
No GUI. Any interaction will be carried out via EventLogs, counters and such.
Runs in own security context, i.e. does not need to care which user logs in etc.
More reliable?

Scheduled Task

You can specify exact timing, e.g. 8pm every Wednesday.
There is a console to display output messages.
You can run the application based on logged in user.

aspnet_merge.exe

2010-08-04T02:20:00.000-07:00

I installed the VS2008 Web Deployment Projects on my machine and when I try to run msbuild (for K2 Workflow deployment) I am getting this error:

System.Exception: The forms could not be published successfully to the server. Please review logger details for more information. Logger Error: C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\WebDeployment\v9.0\Microsoft.WebDeployment.targets(575,9,The specified task executable location "bin\aspnet_merge.exe" is invalid.)

It seems that aspnet_merge.exe is not packaged together with VS2008. One solution is to install the Windows 2008 SDK.

Alternatively, can try to extract the exe file from another machine with Visual Studio installed and place it in this folder: C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.1

You might also need to set the environment variable for FrameworkSDKDir:

SET FrameworkSDKDir="C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.1"

References:

http://www.weask.us/entry/visual-studio-2008-web-deployment-projects-error-finding-aspnet-merge-exe

http://forums.asp.net/t/1228077.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa479568.aspx

Attaching Event Receivers to Content Types

2010-08-03T03:05:00.001-07:00

When you define a content type with a feature, you create 2 XML files as shown below:

Feature.xml – Use this XML file to define the metadata for the new feature. The ElementManifests element points to the location of the 2^nd XML file storing all of the detailed information on the feature itself.
Elements.xml – Use this file to define the assembly that encapsulates the event handler, the class itself, and also a sequence number that specifies the order.

Elements xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/">
<ContentType ID="0x0100c07095261b4f48408d60ad8654b69d68" Name="DevelopingCT" Group="Development" Description="Developing Content Type" Version="0">
<FieldRefs>
<FieldRef ID="{0c177b88-bf35-4692-8456-cc14aaabecc0}" Name="DevelopingCTField" />
</FieldRefs>
<XmlDocuments>
<XmlDocument NamespaceURI="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/events">
<spe:Receivers xmlns:spe="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/events">
<Receiver>
<Name>ItemAdded</Name>
<Type>ItemAdded</Type>
<SequenceNumber>1</SequenceNumber>
<Assembly>AssemblyName, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=TokenNumber</Assembly>
<Class>Namespace.ClassName</Class>
<Data>
</Data>
<Filter>
</Filter>
</Receiver>
<Receiver>
<Name>ItemAdding</Name>
<Type>ItemAdding</Type>
<SequenceNumber>2</SequenceNumber>
<Assembly>AssemblyName, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=TokenNumber</Assembly>
<Class>Namespace.ClassName</Class>
<Data>
</Data>
<Filter>
</Filter>
</Receiver>
</spe:Receivers>
</XmlDocument>
</XmlDocuments>
</ContentType>
</Elements>

Note: Event receivers in content types are defined in a different section of the elements file. The Receiver XmlDocument resides in the http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/events namespace.

References:

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/sharepointdevelopment/thread/fecdfc46-3223-4b9d-b218-29bf475b9cd6

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/561835/how-do-you-bound-an-event-receiver-to-a-specific-custom-content-type

http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/Section/Programming-Event-Handling-in-Windows-SharePoint-Services.id-306329.html

http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/d/4/bd45c0a8-74bc-4e3a-9735-a715b902f89c/03-EventHandlers.docx

Fixing Overlaying Layers with Dropdown

2010-07-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

Note: This problem only appears in IE 6 and below.

When an absolutely positioned layer (div) is overlaid with a dropdown or some ActiveX component, the Z-index style sheet property does not work and the layer shows under such objects.

Reference: http://www.codeproject.com/KB/HTML/dropdown_div.aspx

Alexander Kleshchevnikov offers 3 great methods in his writeup to solve this problem. I've only tried out Method 2 and it works.

Div Positioning using CSS

2010-07-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

Resources:

http://www.barelyfitz.com/screencast/html-training/css/positioning/

http://www.wickham43.supanet.com/tutorial/divboxes.html

Unfortunately I'm still quite bad at it.

Prevent Postback for ASP Elements

2010-07-22T02:53:00.001-07:00

<asp:LinkButton
Text="Import contacts"
ID="lnkBtnImport"
runat="server"
OnClientClick="PopupContacts();return false;"
AutoPostBack="false"
/>

If postback is not required, might want to consider using HTML Elements instead.

Opacity in CSS

2010-07-21T03:54:00.000-07:00

http://www.quirksmode.org/css/opacity.html

A/N: This still doesn't work when I'm in a SharePoint LayoutsPageBase page (With application.master)

IE compatibility note

If you want opacity to work in all IE versions, the order should be:

.opaque {  -ms-filter:"progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(Opacity=50)"; // first!  filter: alpha(opacity=50);     // second! }

If you don’t use this order, IE8-as-IE7 doesn’t apply the opacity, although IE8 and a pure IE7 do.

Writing Content to ContentPlaceHolder in Code

2010-07-20T20:42:00.001-07:00

Add this code to the OnLoad function of the page cs file.

ContentPlaceHolder cph = Master.FindControl("PlaceHolderPageTitleInTitleArea") as ContentPlaceHolder;

if (cph != null)

{

Label lbl = new Label();

lbl.Text = "Hello world";

cph.Controls.Add(lbl);

}

Build CAML Query using Boolean Field

2010-07-19T04:43:00.000-07:00

If the field is of type "Yes/No", you may query it with a 1/0 value instead of boolean, for example:

<Eq><FieldRef Name='Headline'/><Value Type='Integer'>0</Value></Eq>

or

<Eq><FieldRef Name='Headline'/><Value Type='Integer'>1</Value></Eq>

Additional note:

When adding a new Yes/No field to a existing list, we have three values in the list:

True,
False
Null

So we need to use the <IsNull> or <IsNotNull> element in the query, for
example:

<IsNull>
<FieldRef Name="Headline"></FieldRef>
</IsNull>

Convert & to & in .NET

2010-07-19T02:47:00.000-07:00

HttpUtility.HtmlDecode(string)

This will help you to decode the entire string as compared to using string.Replace.

Karine Bosch’s Blog On SharePoint

2010-07-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

http://karinebosch.wordpress.com/sharepoint-controls/inputformsectionascx-control/

SPGridView & SPDataSource resources

2010-07-07T02:18:00.000-07:00

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/powlo/archive/2007/02/25/displaying-custom-data-through-sharepoint-lists-using-spgridview-and-spmenufield.aspx

http://blogs.sharepointace.com/post/SPGridView-Using-a-custom-TemplateField-to-add-a-Checkbox-Column.aspx

http://sharethispoint.com/archive/2006/09/05/UsingtheSharePointv3DataGridControlSPGridView.aspx