Of Ones and Zeros

Blog has been updated!

Posted on 06. May, 2009 by bryan.

This blog was in desperate need of an update, aesthetically and infrastructure related. If memory serves, coming into yesterday Of Ones and Zeros was running on WordPress 2.3, and hadn’t received any TLC so to speak in the past 18 months. Initially I was planning to move this blog over to the excellent Sitefinity platform by telerik, but I had a last moment change of heart and elected to stay with WordPress.

So a couple interesting bits with the update:

• Upgraded to WordPress 2.7.1
• Hosting has been moved to Providicom
• UI has been completely updated (thanks to WooThemes for their excellent premium WordPress themes)
• My latest tweet is incorporated into the banner of the blog, and you can click the bird icon to follow me on Twitter
• Using the excellent SyntaxHighlighter javascript by Alex Gorbatchev to make code segments on the blog readable
• Incorporated latest delicious books into the sidebar
• Support for Gravatar and threaded comments

I hope you enjoy the update and please let me know if you have additional ideas for Of Ones and Zeros.

Thanks for reading.

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SharePoint SP2 is RTW

Posted on 28. Apr, 2009 by bryan.

SharePoint SP2 is Release to World (RTW) as of today.  Some of the highlights from the SharePoint team blog:

Benefits

Customers can be benefited from the following enhancements with Service Pack 2.

• Performance and Availability Improvements

Service Pack 2 includes many fixes and enhancements designed to improve performance, availability, and stability in your server farms, including:

• New Timer job automatically rebuilds content database index to improve database performance.
• When a content database is marked as read-only, the user interface will be modified so users cannot perform tasks that require writing to the database.
• Performance enhancement across nearly all the components.
• Improved Interoperability

Service Pack 2 continues to improve SharePoint interoperability with other products and platforms.

• Broader support of browsers
  Internet Explorer 8 is added into Level 1 browser support.
  FireFox 2.0/3.0 is added into Level 2 browser support.
• Provide improved client integration user experience with Form Based Authentication. Now the client application can store user credentials instead of asking for them every time. For more technical details please refer to the updated articles on TechNet.
  Configure forms-based authentication (Office SharePoint Server
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262201.aspx
  Configure forms-based authentication (Windows SharePoint Services)
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc288043.aspx
• Getting Ready for SharePoint Server 2010

A new preupgradecheck operation is added to stsadm tool. It can be used to scan your server farm to establish whether it is ready for upgrade to SharePoint Products and Technologies "14". It identifies issues that could present obstacles to the upgrade process. It checks for several SharePoint Products and Technologies "14" system requirements, including the presence of Microsoft® Windows Server® 2008 and a 64-bit hardware, and provides feedback and best practice recommendations for your current environment, together with information on how to resolve any issues that the tool discovers. 

I am particularly excited about the early release of the preupgradecheck tool.  This will allow IT departments to begin planning 2010 deployment rollout well in advance, and identify any significant hurdles.  Of course, “performance enhancement across nearly all the components” is also a welcomed improvement!

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Error when deleting list columns in SharePoint

Posted on 28. Apr, 2009 by bryan.

Received the following error when trying to delete a list column: 

“Unable to validate data.”

Thanks to Angela Chng for the solution:

Did you customize your application master pages and get this error while trying to delete list columns?

Unable to validate data. at System.Web.Configuration.MachineKeySection.GetDecodedData(Byte[] buf, Byte[] modifier, Int32 start, Int32 length, Int32& dataLength)  
at System.Web.UI.ObjectStateFormatter.Deserialize(String inputString) 

Ok that probably means you have a search box in the template which is messing things up, just remove it or hide it, and that will do the trick!

Removed the search box from the application.master and the issue was resolved!

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Setting up Sitefinity to forward old Urls to new Urls

Posted on 27. Apr, 2009 by bryan.

My colleague Adam Duggan pointed me to an incredible useful post on the Sitefinity support forums: http://www.sitefinity.com/support/forums/support-forum-thread/b1043S-bhamhe.aspx.  I mistakenly believed that Sitefinity would support redirecting .ASP files to the new .ASPX counterparts as long as IIS had the .ASP extension associated with the aspnet_isapi.dll runtime.  WRONG!  As indicated in the forum posting by Randy, the following steps are required:

Step 1: Configure IIS
What happens if you request a non-existent HTM,ASP page?
By default you will get a canned “white page”. When you install the .NET Framework is maps certain file extensions to the ASP.NET ISAPI, aspnet_isapi.dll. Neither HTML nor HTM files are mapped to it (because they are not ASP.NET pages). However, you can configure IIS to treat them as ASP.NET pages and serve our custom error pages.
Run the IIS Manager
Select a web application
Right click and go to Properties
On the Virtual Directory tab click Configuration
In the Extension column find .aspx, double click and copy the full path to aspnet_isapi.dll. It should be something like C:WINDOWSMicrosoft.NETFrameworkv2.0.50727aspnet_isapi.dll
Click Add and paste the path in the Executable box
In the Extension box type .html
Make sure Check that file exists is NOT checked
Dismiss all dialogs
Step 2: Modify Web.Config

Add as many types as you want into the httphnadler section of your web.config.

<httpHandlers>
<add path="*.htm" verb="*" type="System.Web.Script.Services.ScriptHandlerFactory, System.Web.Extensions, Version=3.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35" validate="false"/>
<add path="*.html" verb="*" type="System.Web.Script.Services.ScriptHandlerFactory, System.Web.Extensions, Version=3.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35" validate="false"/>
<add path="*.asp" verb="*" type="System.Web.Script.Services.ScriptHandlerFactory, System.Web.Extensions, Version=3.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35" validate="false"/>
</httpHandlers>

Step 3:  Set Default Page Properties

• Open Sitefinity Admin
• Open the Contact.aspx file.
• Click Properties
• Expand More Options
• Add another URL (~/Contact.htm)
• Check the “Redriect to Default URL” box
• Save Changes.

Step 4: Write code using Telerik API

Add this bit of code to your global.asax

void Application_Error(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Exception lastException = this.Server.GetLastError();
if (lastException is HttpException)
{
HttpException httpException = (HttpException)lastException;
if (httpException.GetHttpCode() == 404)
{
// get the name of the requested page - just the /thisPage.htm or /DIR/thisPage.asp etc
string pageName = string.Concat("~", Request.Url.AbsolutePath.ToString());
// create a new instance of CmsManager
Telerik.Cms.CmsManager cmsManager = new Telerik.Cms.CmsManager();
// let’s get the page by passing one of it’s additional url’s
Telerik.Cms.IPage myPage = cmsManager.GetPageByAdditionalUrl(pageName);
// we can cast myPage as ICmsPage and redirect to the Default URL
if (myPage != null)
{
Response.Redirect(((Telerik.Cms.ICmsPage)myPage).DefaultUrl.Url);
this.Server.ClearError();
}
}
}
}

Now if you come to the site with contact.htm and it doesn’t exist, you will be redirected to contact.aspx.

I hope this helps

A huge thank-you to Randy for not only figuring this out, but posting the results!

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SharePoint Designer available as a free download

Posted on 03. Apr, 2009 by bryan.

Microsoft has released SharePoint Designer as a free download (http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2009/04/02/sharepoint-designer-available-as-a-free-download.aspx)!  My friend and colleague Jeff Becraft discusses this news, and provides sage advice to proceed with caution (Becraft’s Blog: The rumors are true! SharePoint Designer is now a FREE DOWNLOAD!). 

From my vantage point as an architect and developer of SharePoint solutions, it is important to note where it is appropriate to use SharePoint Designer (SPD) and where it is more appropriate to develop SharePoint solution packages (WSP) using Visual Studio.  I frequently use SPD for what I would consider “power user” tasks, such as creating one-off workflows.  I also use SPD to create Data View Web Parts, although I will typically export the web part from WPD and move it into a Visual Studio project for deployment and version control.

In short, this is a great win for SharePoint users, be mindful as an organization and/or development team around some of the following:  how will I version the work I’m doing in SPD?  how will I perform code promotion (development, integration, staging, production)?  is this solution generic and can I deploy it to other sites or site collections?

Happy customizing!

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Office Picture Manager won’t open after clicking “Upload Multiple” in Picture Library

Posted on 19. Mar, 2009 by bryan.

There’s a title for you!  In any event, a client ha an issue where after clicking "Upload Multiple" in a SharePoint Picture Library, the Microsoft Office Picture Manager would not load.  After digging through the page source, it was determined that SharePoint uses the "OISCTRL.OISClientLauncher" class from the "OISCTRL.dll" to power the Upload Multiple functionality in Picture Libraries.  I wrote the following script to test the functionality of this component on the client machine:

   1:  Set o = CreateObject("OISCTRL.OISClientLauncher")

   2:  o.LaunchOIS "ois.exe /upload ""http://sharepointpicturelibraryurl.com"""

The result was "Unspecified error".  A further review of the SharePoint javascript indicated that it first looks for "OISCTRL.OISClientLauncher" but if it doesn’t find it, it will fall back to good ‘ole "STSUPLD.DLL" which powers the standard upload multiple functionality.  For now, we have worked around the issue by unregistering "OISCTRL.dll" which is in the C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOFFICE12 directory:

regsvr32 /u OISCTRL.dll

If anyone has an actual fix for OISCTRL.dll not being able to launch the ois.exe process, let me know!

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Subversion “Shelving”

Posted on 07. Jan, 2009 by bryan.

I had one of those moments yesterday where you get 60% of the way through fixing a problem a certain way, and then discover that there was a simpler, more elegant solution that would require 10% of the effort.  Problem being, I had just written a lot of code that I didn’t necessarily want to lose forever, incase it may be useful somewhere down the road.

From my days working with Team Foundation Server I remembered the "Shelving" concept.  Unfortunately, I was using Subversion, not Team Foundation Server.  But isn’t a shelf really just a branch?  So I figured I could do a poor-mans shelf with Subversion, and I was right.  Worked great.

I was going to write up my steps to do so but decided I would do a quick Google sanity check before expending the effort.  Glad I did, cause Mark Phippard did a much better job then I would have done.  Kudos Mark, thanks for the excellent amount of detail.

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Late to the ball-game: Change to licensing for MOSS Internet + Intra/Extranet

Posted on 17. Dec, 2008 by bryan.

I was preparing a response to an RFP today for SharePoint that required Forms Services to be used for both anonymous Internet sites AND authenticated-user Intranet scenarios.  When I first reviewed this requirement I thought, "Oh snap!  MOSS licensing doesn’t permit mixing Internet and Intranet, this will need to be two farms!".  I was dead certain of this.  So certain, that I wanted to go straight to the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 frequently asked questions page and quote it in the response.  This is when things took a turn.  My world was flipped upside down.  Dogs and cats, living together.  Mass hysteria.  The following is what I found:

Can I mix SharePoint editions in the same farm?

For Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server for Internet Sites, the use of a server determines its licensing requirements, not its location in one farm or another. Consequently, you can mix Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server for Internet Sites within the same farm–so long as the use cases are licensed appropriately. However, because Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet Sites licenses the functionality of the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server Enterprise CAL, you will need to ensure that your users only access functionality they are licensed for based on their CALs.

Microsoft Office Forms Server and Microsoft Office Forms Server for Internet Sites cannot be mixed with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server for Internet Sites.

Additionally, as an accommodation for various possible deployment scenarios, customers wishing to consolidate their SharePoint needs under a single deployment may acquire licenses for both Office SharePoint Sever and Office SharePoint Server for Internet Sites, assign those licenses to the same servers, and use the same running instances of the software simultaneously under both licenses. However, customers must acquire CALs as required under the Office SharePoint Server use rights for users and devices accessing content in any manner not permitted under the Office SharePoint Server for Internet sites use rights.

WHAT?!?!?!  How could this be????  I distinctly remember it stating that you could NOT mix Internet Sites with Enterprise or Standard.  It was a cardinal rule!  Break it at your own peril!  Could I have been mistaken?  (Here’s a hint, I’m never wrong.  Ask my wife )  I was distraught.  I felt like I had been hoodwinked.  So I did a quick search to see if the licensing terms had changed.  For the sake of my sanity, thankfully I found this blog post regarding the change to the MOSS licensing.  In it, Tom Rizzo states the following:

I’m happy to say that beginning Sept 1^st, we made a change that makes running MOSS Server Licenses and MOSSFIS legal in the same farm. So, let the deploying begin! One thing to realize is that this does not reduce the number of licenses you need to buy. So, if you’re running MOSS Server licenses and MOSSFIS on the same farm, you still need to buy both licenses as well as the correct number of client access licenses (CALs) for your internal users.

Sweet vindication!  Well.  Sort of.  I am writing this blog posting December 17th, 2008.  Tom Rizzo wrote HIS blog post September 23rd, 2007.  Apparently I got this news roughly 15 months late.  Ouch. 

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Christmas came early! Pandora for Windows Mobile and Vista

Posted on 17. Dec, 2008 by bryan.

First, I saw the announcement of Pandora on Windows Mobile.  Very cool.

Then, I was listening to Pandora while working, like I pretty much always do, and over in the "ads" section of the screen there were 2 links.  One for the Windows Mobile download, and one for a Vista Gadget.  There have been some 3rd party gadgets in the past that I really weren’t too thrilled with, but this little guy is great:

Unfortunately, I can’t find the darn link again to include in this post!  If I see it pop up again, I’ll update this post to include the link.  Otherwise, just hit refresh a bunch of times and its bound to show up at some point!

Ho, ho, ho!  Merry Christmas!

UPDATE (12/17/2008 9:07PM ET): Ah hah!  Finally have the link for the official Vista Gadget!  Enjoy!

Also, tonight was the first opportunity that I had to test streaming Pandora through my Q9H to my Microsoft SYNC equipped Ford Explorer (using Bluetooth Stereo Headset support on the stereo).  I was very impressed with the stability of the signal.  I drove for about 40 minutes from Annapolis, MD to Centreville, MD with no drops or stutter (3G the whole way).  The audio quality is not great, it’s slightly worse than Sirius Satellite Radio.  Not sure how often I will end up using it, but its definitely cool to have the ability.

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Google Maps Street View – On Windows Mobile!

Posted on 11. Dec, 2008 by bryan.

So a few months ago I scrapped my Blackberry 8700 and got a Motorola Q Global (one of the cool slate gray ones):

All in all I am pretty happy with the phone.  I love the form factor, its very slim so it fits well in your pocket, and its wide so my chubby digits can get an e-mail out with a minimum of type-os. 

In any event, the intent of this post is not to provide a review of my new phone, but rather to talk about one of my favorite new blogs:  msmobiles.com.  Admittedly, not the most attractive web site on the planet, but they do a fantastic job at providing info on the latest developments in the world of Windows Mobile. 

One of their postings today has gotten me excited:  Windows Mobile catches up with iPhone and Android: Street View released by Google !  They have screen shots of the Google Maps update including the Street View functionality.

I haven’t downloaded the update yet, but within about the next 15 minutes I intend to.

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