All Things Microsoft AI

Listed below are some questions and answers from the last user group meeting. Q: I have alot of VBA experience and would like to learn VB.Net. What resources are available that can help with this? A: There are several sites available online to assist with this. For starters, check out the following links: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/beginner http://safari.oreilly.com http://www.bookpool.com http://www.nerdbooks.com Q: I created an application as a web site. Is there difference in deploying it between a web site application and a web project application? Is there any way to deploy it as a web site application? A: ASP.Net 2.0 "web sites" are different from the "web projects" you worked with in VS2003. Deploying a web site in VS2005 requires a different procedure (see http://www.odetocode.com/Articles/417.aspx for more information). If you want to build and deploy web applications in VS2005 the same way you d...

Listed below are follow-up questions from our last user group meeting on DotNetNuke. Q: What are the System Requirements for DNN? A: Win2003 server, IIS, ASP.Net 2.0 Q: Does DNN install as a "web-site" or does it take over IIS? A: DNN installs as a simple web site application. Installation in simple, and by Default it installs with SQL Server Express. Q: Can DNN sites be crawled by internet search engines? A: DNN sites can be crawled. The menu actually checks the HTTP user agent string to see if a spider is hitting the site and presents an alternative menu to make it easier for the spider to crawl the site. Q: Is everything stored in the DB, much like SharePoint? A: Most items are in the DB, much like SharePoint. Some organizations do DB migrations to move all content. There are some .JPG files or other resource files that are not stored in the DB directly. For the most part, everything is stored in the DB. Q: Can SharePoint or ASP.Net 2.0 web parts be incorporated into D...

In January I blogged an entry on creating strong passwords ( http://clevelanddotnet.blogspot.com/2007/01/strong-password.html ). As a follow-up, I found some data to help justify the need for a strong password. Listed below is a chart (courtesy of LastBit Corp) that details how well a password can withstand a "crack attack" from a hacker.

As a follow-up to our last user group meeting, listed below are some resources that can be used for creating and debugging web services. Fiddler This utility allows you to inspect all HTTP Traffic, set breakpoints, and "fiddle" with incoming or outgoing data. To learn more about Fiddler or to download it, go to http://www.fiddlertool.com/fiddler/version.asp . Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar Beta 3 The Microsoft Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar provides a variety of tools for quickly creating, understanding, and troubleshooting Web pages. This version is a preview release and behavior may change in the final release. To download the IE toolbar, go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e59c3964-672d-4511-bb3e-2d5e1db91038&displaylang=en XML Developer Center The Microsoft XML Developer Center offers resources on editing, validating, and using XML data. This includes utilities, articles, and blogs. To visit the Developer Center, go to http://msdn....

Q: I received the following error ("The file could not be uploaded into the Web Forms designer.") when I opened a VS project, but I don't remember making any changes to the form design or the HTML? A: Try to compile the project and see if there's an error in the code behind file (i.e. .CS or .VB file). If there are errors resolve them, and you should be able to view the file.

During our March meeting, we will have a drawing for a Zune , courtesy of Microsoft. To enter the drawing, simply attend the C#/VB.Net user group meetings. For each meeting you attend between now and the end of March, you will be entered into the drawing. In addition, your name will be entered into the drawing an additional time for each new person you bring to the meeting. To find out more about upcoming meetings, go to www.ClevelandDotNet.info .

Listed below is a summary of the .Net events scheduled for this month. Attend a few and increase your .Net knowledge! Feb 8th: SQL User Group - "Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Database Professionals" http://www.bennettadelson.com/technicalresources/sqlsig.aspx Feb 13th: .Net User Group - "Building ASP.NET AJAX Enabled Websites" http://www.bennettadelson.com/technicalresources/sig.aspx Feb 20th: Presentation - "Mobilize Your Business: Using Microsoft Solutions to Keep Your Business on the Move" http://www.berbee.com/public/events/MS_MobilizeYourBusinessCleveland.aspx Feb 27th: C#/VB.Net User Group - "XML Web Services" http://www.clevelanddotnet.info