Tangible Thoughts

MOSS–Weird Ajax Issue

Tariq — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 02:20:00 GMT

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Tariq/archive/2011/04/25/145026.aspx

Thought I should bring this to attention since it’s a weird issue and the solution isn’t obvious when googling.

The issue is - In MOSS an Ajax-Partial postback, causes the page to loose its page title. Like shown below

So whats the fix?

Appaprently additional spaces between the <title> and the <asp:ContentPlaceHolder> cause this issue.

The solution is to remove the spaces.

<title id=”onetidTitle”><asp:ContentPlaceHolder id=”PlaceHolderPageTitle” runat=”server”/></title>

Original Source: http://www.directsharepoint.com/2011/04/page-title-disappears-after-ajax-post.html

Minimal Master Page Ajax Issue

Tariq — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:36:43 GMT

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Tariq/archive/2011/04/08/144768.aspx

Hi All, just wanted to point out a teensy weensy but maybe very useful tip. It might be outdated information if you are using SharePoint 2010, but if you are using SharePoint 2007 then you might find this useful.

I am sure all of you working with SharePoint has come across Heather Solomon through her blog, it being a really wonderful resource for skinning SharePoint. Heather also has provided a ton of help to the SharePoint community by sharing the minimal masterpages for WSS and MOSS.

What I wanted to point out is that if you are suffering from AJAX controls not working propperly on the above mentioned master pages you might want to change

<WebPartPages:SPWebPartManager runat="server"/>
<form runat="server" onsubmit="return _spFormOnSubmitWrapper();">

<WebPartPages:SPWebPartManager runat="server"/>

Gmail Motion–It really works–You just need a Kinect and some Custom Software

Tariq — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 16:04:17 GMT

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Tariq/archive/2011/04/03/144673.aspx

Some of you have probably already seen Google’s April 1st announcement of their technology to use “Motion Sensing” to control Gmail.

I betcha Google probably didn’t think of Kinect when making that spoof or perhaps they did which is why it sound plausible in a remote way.

Anyways the FAST crew have brought responded to the spoof with demoing their Software doing just that. i.e. having motion control for Gmail using a Kinect and custom software of theirs.

Actually this seems very feasible if you could get an intermediary software layer to function as a keyboard by recognizing Kinect Gestures, controlling Gmail is a matter of mapping keyboard shortcuts to gestures. At least that is how I think this works.

Link - http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/28/free-kinect-keyboard-emulator-lets-you-wow-while-afk-video/

jQuery Primer for SharePoint

Tariq — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:45:16 GMT

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Tariq/archive/2011/03/31/144615.aspx

fyi - http://sharepointmagazine.net/articles/a-jquery-primer-for-sharepoint-selectors-attributes-and-traversing-oh-my

On SharePoint, Hide the ‘Sign-in As A Different User’ option through JQuery

Tariq — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:43:43 GMT

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Tariq/archive/2011/03/31/144614.aspx

A simple script you can add to your master page or content editor etc. to hide the “Sign in As a Different User” option that is available in the Personal Actions Menu.

<script src="/jQuery/jquery-1.4.1.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

<script type="text/JavaScript">

jQuery(document).ready(function($) {

var objects = document.getElementsByTagName("ie:menuitem");

for (var i = 0; i < objects.length; i++) {

itm = objects[i];

if (('#' + itm.id).indexOf("LoginAsDifferentUser") != -1) {

$('#' + itm.id).remove();

}

}

})

</script>

This is a modification of the original script found here

SQLSessionState, SharePoint & Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Tariq — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 07:43:26 GMT

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Tariq/archive/2010/09/16/141839.aspx

All right I admit, that's a very abstract title for a blog post, and its not eye catchy or snazzy as something like “What to do when you get a “Object reference not set to an instance of an object. exception on a SharePoint farm that uses SQLSessionState. “

But hey its supposed to grab your attention if you are having this problem.

Ok so the error is

Server Error in '/' Application.
Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.

Exception Details: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Source Error:

An unhandled exception was generated during the execution of the current web request. Information regarding the origin and location of the exception can be identified using the exception stack trace below.

Stack Trace:

[NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.]
   Microsoft.Office.Server.Administration.SqlSessionStateResolver.System.Web.IPartitionResolver.ResolvePartition(Object key) +76
   System.Web.PartitionManager.GetPartition(IPartitionResolver partitionResolver, String id) +244
   System.Web.SessionState.SqlSessionStateStore.GetConnection(String id, Boolean& usePooling) +52
   System.Web.SessionState.SqlSessionStateStore.SetAndReleaseItemExclusive(HttpContext context, String id, SessionStateStoreData item, Object lockId, Boolean newItem) +178
   System.Web.SessionState.SessionStateModule.OnReleaseState(Object source, EventArgs eventArgs) +355
   System.Web.SyncEventExecutionStep.System.Web.HttpApplication.IExecutionStep.Execute() +92
   System.Web.HttpApplication.ExecuteStep(IExecutionStep step, Boolean& completedSynchronously) +64

What I would like to highlight is amongst the various other technical issues as to why this might happen, one of them could be as simple as accessing SharePoint through a URL that resolves to the WFE but SharePoint is unaware of it.

Ok so what that means is, supposed you setup your SharePoint site to be http://MySharePointSite but you accessed it as http://MySharePointSite.domain.com then this could be the reason for the above error.

The solution is to get SharePoint to know about the access method you are using,

i.e. add an alternate access mapping.

Crossposted from tariqayad.com

I am not using Windows 7, but I like it

Tariq — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:04:10 GMT

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Tariq/archive/2009/12/17/137022.aspx

I am not using Windows 7 (at least not yet), but I am using Windows 2008 R2, which has the Windows 7 shell. I've been using it a couple of days and I like it a lot, I find the new win7 ui-shell very usefull, very productive. There are things I like a lot in it that makes my life easier. Specially 1. Improvements to Windows Explorer, Favorites and Libraries 2. Jump Lists 3. The new taskbar 4. How the Show desktop button is non intrusive, but readily accesible 5. the new tray area with app icons hidden. I think microsoft has a winner here with Win7/UI-Shell

Crossposted from tariqayad.com

Whats wrong with this code?

Tariq — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:30:57 GMT

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Tariq/archive/2009/10/15/135480.aspx

[code]

/// <summary>
/// Gets or sets the site URL.
/// </summary>
/// <value>The site URL.</value>
[WebBrowsable(true),
WebDescription("Url of the site to process reports on"),
WebDisplayName("Site Url"),
Personalizable(PersonalizationScope.Shared)]
public string SiteUrl
{
    get
    {
        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(siteUrl))
        {
            return SPContext.Current.Web.Url;
        }
        return siteUrl;
    }
    set
    {
        siteUrl = value;
    }
}

[/code]

The above code snippet looks like a reasonable WebPart Propperty. In-fact you will find nothing weird with it untill you provision this webpart through a feature.

What happens is the reference to the SPContext…. in the property messes up the WebPart Order on the page and moves the webpart to Order 1 (i.e. first webpart on the zone), no matter what other preference you would have set in your feature.

Interesting eh? Something to keep in mind for future

Crossposted from tariqayad.com

Looking for a Media Server

Tariq — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:45:17 GMT

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Tariq/archive/2009/09/07/134531.aspx

I have been looking for a software for a specific purpose but havent found it yet, so was wondering if anyone out there knew of something that serves this purpose.

Let me explain.
I want to have a Centralised Media Repository at home, like a server which other devices (laptops, pda etc) can connect to and listen to mp3s etc off the server (possibly by streaming). Users connecting to the server should be able to search media, browse media by album, artist etc.

Does anyone know of any software that suits this purpose?

Shell extention for wsp files

Tariq — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:00:49 GMT

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Tariq/archive/2009/08/21/134231.aspx

This is old news but still its a great tip http://www.harbar.net/archive/2007/04/25/Rightclick-a-.WSP-to-Add-Solution.aspx How to get an "Add Solution" option as a shell extention in windows explorer

Crossposted from tariqayad.com

Office Communicator Mobile

Tariq — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:18:44 GMT

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Tariq/archive/2009/08/04/133893.aspx

There is a new version of Office Communicator Mobile available.

But one feature that I really want is still missing, i.e. for COMO (Communicator Mobile) to run of the storage card. Microsoft Guys please can you add this? The main memory on the phones are not huge you know, typically about 100 MB or less, which gets consumed by every other app for some reason or other wanting to dump some files into the /Windows.

Technet points to the folowing

"Can I install Communicator Mobile (2007 release) on my device’s storage card?

No. Installing Communicator Mobile (2007 release) on a storage card is not supported because a device does not necessarily immediately detect a storage card when the device starts. As a result, Communicator Mobile’s auto-start feature cannot function as intended. Installing Communicator Mobile to a storage card is also not supported because when a device’s battery is low, the operating system stops running programs that are installed on the device’s storage card."

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb963948.aspx

But what if I don't want communicator on my today screen or for it to auto start, then can I please still install it on my Storage card.

Crossposted from tariqayad.com

Windows Mobile Development

Tariq — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:55:49 GMT

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Tariq/archive/2009/08/03/133870.aspx

Over the last few months there has been quite a bit of news regarding Windows Mobile that has focused on 'pumping-up' the platform to compete with everything else out there (including the iphone)

for instance

But what has me stumped is the cost of breaking into development, the IDE Visual Studio Standard Edition still requires some hard thinking before investing for the hobby developer (which as you would notice accounts for quite a percentage of the Apps on the Apps Store)

Which brings me to the following question "What has Microsoft to lose by making a Visual Studio Express: Mobile Development Edition?". If they do make an express version for Windows Mobile development, wont there be a ROI if the apps developed make their way to the MarketPlace.

Also in my opinion the Windows OS got its leg up against all of its competitor because of the number of applications available for it.

Crossposted from tariqayad.com

Find the NetBios Name of a domain in AD

Tariq — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:16:50 GMT

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Tariq/archive/2009/07/30/133813.aspx

Its been quite a bit of struggle for me to find an accurate way of finding the netbios name of a domain from AD using System.DirectoryServices.

In case you are in the same jam here how you do it.

Connect to AD using the following ldap url:
LDAP://CN=Partitions,CN=Configuration,DC=<DomainName>,DC=<local|com>
When querying AD using the Directory Searcher object uses the following filter:
netbiosname=*

This should give you a record from AD containing the netbios name of the domain as the CN

Explanation

AD stores the the netbios name in the Partitions naming container which is stored inside the configuration naming container.

A more detailed explanation and more samples can be found in the Active Directory Cookbook or its online version

Code sample:

 // Method call
 string netBiosName = GetNetBiosName( LDAP://CN=Partitions,CN=Configuration,DC=<DomainName>,DC=<local|com>,  "<userName"", "<password>");
 // Method call
  
 // Method Definition
 private string GetNetBiosName(
    string ldapUrl, 
    string userName, 
    string password)
{
    string netbiosName = string.Empty;
    DirectoryEntry dirEntry = new DirectoryEntry(ldapUrl,
            userName, password);  
    DirectorySearcher searcher = new DirectorySearcher(dirEntry);
    searcher.Filter = "netbiosname=*";
    searcher.PropertiesToLoad.Add("cn");  
    SearchResultCollection results = searcher.FindAll();
    if (results.Count > 0)
    {
        ResultPropertyValueCollection rpvc = results[0].Properties["CN"];
        netbiosName = rpvc[0].ToString();
    }
    return netbiosName;
}

Crossposted from tariqayad.com

The Page Hunt Game for Bing

Tariq — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:11:05 GMT

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Tariq/archive/2009/07/29/133779.aspx

From neowin.net I came across this game.

http://pagehunt.msrlivelabs.com/PlayPageHunt.aspx

Its not exactly a great timer waster but its good for a good 5 minutes before you get bored.

What I still don't get is, Bing should take into account any suggestion we may make for returning the page result, instead of saying "no thats not it".

Crossposted from tariqayad.com

Windows Mobile App: ZoomSMS

Tariq — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:28:27 GMT

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Tariq/archive/2009/07/15/133523.aspx

Here is a cool app for Windows Mobile. It gives you 2 neat icons on your today screen to indicate missed calls or text messages. Clicking on the icons shows you a popup with text message, or missed call phone number.

You can get it from here.

Crossposted from tariqayad.com