Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor

Download details: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor: "This tool helps Database developers and administrators analyze SQL Server 7.0 and SQL Server 2000 database servers in preparation for upgrading to SQL Server 2005."

download it here

TechEd05 Sharepoint Sessions

Patrick pointed out this nice list of sharepoint sessions in TechEd05 for the guys like me who didn’t get the chance to attend it,

 

Great Effort Ian, and Thank you patrick for the hint

 

 

SPSReport: A Utility to Gather Information for Use in Troubleshooting

Via [ Patrick Tisseghem ]

 

Ryan has a posting on a tool used within Microsoft PSS. SPSReport, which is very similar to PSS MPSReports for other products/technologies, collects a ton of information from the SharePoint Portal Server machine on which it is run;  that information includes:  event logs, metabase/IIS settings, hotfix lists, MD5 sums of relevant directories, important registry entries, etc., etc., etc.  The download contains a readme file that contains all of the various reports that it creates. This looks like a nifty tool that can be very helpful in a lot of situations.

 

 

Microsoft Response Management through Partner (RMtP)

"The Response Management through Partner (RMtP) system provides Gold Certified and Certified Partners swift assistance in resolving customer and partner issues. Through a Web-based tool, you can submit issues that will routed to a network of subject matter experts who will work to provide resolutions. "

 

How it works:

Once you submit an issue, Microsoft’s Response Management Team will respond within one business day with a brief update and will work to resolve the issue. A final response or status update will be provided within the next three business days. Although not all issues are resolvable, we are able to address most to the satisfaction of our customers and partners.

The tool can also be used to provide feedback that requires no response. These comments will be immediately directed to the appropriate contact at Microsoft to help improve future programs, policies, and products.

Start using it here

IBF 1.5 WebCasts

Via [ Pattrick Tisseghem ]

IBF is still alive-and-kicking for those of you who have doubts. I am sure that Microsoft will release pretty soon more information on the path IBF will take in the future. Starting in August, 4 Webcasts will be available:

• Information Bridge Framework (Part 1 of 4): Business Logic and Architecture Overview (Level 200) – Monday, August 15, 2005
  This is the first in a four-part series of webcasts highlighting key concepts for developing Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework (IBF) solutions. This webcast provides an overview of both the business logic and the architecture of the IBF. Using the IBF, you can develop powerful solutions that connect Microsoft Office System programs to line-of-business systems in an intuitive, cost-effective way. These solutions enable information workers to view, retrieve, and act on critical line-of-business information from within familiar, widely used Office applications.
• Information Bridge Framework (Part 2 of 4): Guidelines for Building Web Services (Level 200) – Tuesday, August 16, 2005
  In the previous webcast we gave an overview of the business logic and architecture in Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework (IBF). This webcast is part two of our series on developing solutions for the IBF. We show you how to construct your Web services so that they are accessible through the IBF to Microsoft Office System based applications across your enterprise.  Join us for part three where we discuss how to understand and manipulate the metadata, which is essential for any core solution using the IBF.
• Information Bridge Framework (Part 3 of 4): Metadata (Level 200) – Wednesday, August 17, 2005
  how to understand and manipulate the metadata that is essential for any core solution using the IBF. Learn how IBF metadata allows you to define service operations, business entities, and user interface elements. The discussion includes demonstrations that take you through the steps necessary to implement a typical action pipeline, define user interface operations, define transformations, and build menus.
• Information Bridge Framework (Part 4 of 4): User Interface Development and Smart Tags (Level 200) – Thursday, August 18, 2005
  This final webcast in our series on developing for the Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework (IBF) shows you how to design the user interface elements of an IBF-enabled solution. Learn how to use the Information Bridge task pane and implement custom smart tag recognizers.

Consuming a web service from Excel 2003

Via [ Eli Robillard ]

 

 

It’s possible to consume web services from Excel 2003, but few of the sources seem to cover the topic from end-to-end. This post is intended as a companion to an O’Reilly article on the topic and includes a few elements I found necessary to get it all working.

Here’s the web method we’re going to consume:

[WebMethod (Description="Retrieve the production volume for a given year and region. Returns a single integer.")]
public System.Xml.XmlDocument GetVolume(int year, string region)
{
    System.Xml.XmlDocument xd = new System.Xml.XmlDocument();
    xd.LoadXml("<root><volume>" + MyNamespace.GetVolume().ToString() + "</volume></root>");
    return xd;
}

The MyNamespace.GetVolume method returns a single value which I then pad with a descriptive tag (volume) and a root tag (root). Without the root tag I kept seeing a "root element is missing" error from the VB, and figured it meant my resultset was empty, not that it was looking for an actual element named "root." Note to people who write error messages for a living: concise is nice unless you write error messages for a living. Just two more characters and this could have read "<root> element is missing."

This is the code-behind for the button-click event from the Excel spreadsheet:

Public Sub GetVolume()

Dim objVolumeCalc As clsws_VolumeCalc
Set objVolumeCalc = New clsws_VolumeCalc
Dim lngVolume As Long
Dim objRange As Excel.Range

Application.ActiveSheet.Range("A2").Activate
Do
    If Application.ActiveCell.Value = "" Then
        Exit Do
    Else
        lngVolume = 0
        lngVolume = objVolumeCalc.wsm_GetVolume(Application.ActiveCell.Value, "CAN").Item(0).Text

        Set objRange = Application.ActiveCell.Offset(ColumnOffset:=1)
        objRange.Value = lngVolume
        objRange.Activate
        Set objRange = Application.ActiveCell.Offset(RowOffset:=1, ColumnOffset:=-1)
        objRange.Activate
    End If
Loop

End Sub

The companion article shows how to install and use the Office 2003 Web Services Toolkit to create the web service reference. This creates a proxy class in your VB code-behind to make the web service calls. The next frustrating error I received was "argument not optional." At that time my WS call looked like this:

lngVolume = objVolumeCalc.wsm_GetVolume(Application.ActiveCell.Value, "CAN")

The question being, "which argument is missing?" It was apparently the argument for the item specifier I hadn’t yet added:

        lngVolume = objVolumeCalc.wsm_GetVolume(Application.ActiveCell.Value, "CAN").Item(0).Text

Happily, the string is auto-basically converted to a long, and getting this line right was the final trick to getting the spreadsheet working. What does the rest do? Well, it uses the values from cell A2 on down to populate the cells from cell B2 on down with the results of the web service calls. This code came from an article that is now otherwise outdated.

 The end-result is a form with a button that looks something like this:

New Sharepoint French Book

Erol has published his new french sharepoint book titled "Microsoft Sharepoint Portal Server 2003 et WSS au

quotidien" , if you are a French reader then have a good time reading it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New version of SMove

Via [ Mart Muller ]

 

Ian mentioned me about a new (minor) version of SMove. Major new feature is drag and drop Copy of Lists and Document Libraries, across sites, including properties and versions.

"SMove is a SharePoint Utility that takes the pain out of common SharePoint administration and development tasks."

Click here for more info, or a trial version.

Building ASP.NET 2.0 Web Parts

Via [ Patrick Tisseghem ]

 

Peter Himschoot, our RD here in Belgium, has made his demo he did during the ASP.NET 2.0 Web Parts session available online. Together with it, you can download the detailed demo script.

And if you want to watch a video presentation demonstrating the creation of Web Parts, click here.

Browster Internet Explorer PlugIn

Came across a very neat IE plugin today from Browster , if you ever suffered from using any search engine to search for a subject the open many resulted link in a new window to view it to end up with so many IE windows, then try this little nice tool.