Kevin McNeish [C# and .NET]

DevTeach Toronto, 2008 - A Great Conference!

2008-05-08T00:36:00Z

DevTeach ( www.devteach.com ) is one of the best deals in .NET conferences...it's a great small conference that gives you access to many of the regular .NET speakers but in a much smaller venue. Personally, I'm giving a pre-con called "WPF Meets the iPhone" which elaborates on my article in CoDe Magazine ( http://www.devx.com/codemag/Article/37589 ). In this pre-con you learn a lot about WPF in general as we do something fun--recreate the iPhone user interface in WPF. Kevin McNeish...(read more)

How to select a different WPF TabItem in Visual Studio 2008

2008-03-25T14:05:00Z

Sadly, Microsoft did not provide a TabControl designer for Visual Studio 2008. If you want to edit a TabItem, you can get around this limitation and select a TabItem other than the default by temporarily changing the TabControl's <<b>>SelectedIndex<</b>> property to the index of the TabItem you want to edit. Kevin McNeish INETA Speaker Microsoft .NET MVP President, Oak Leaf Enterprises, Inc. Chief Architect, MM .NET Application Framework http://www.oakleafsd.com/...(read more)

How to apply a WPF style to all elements of a particular type?

2008-01-07T06:24:00Z

Often, you need to apply the same style to elements of a particular type, such as Button, TextBox, MenuItem, and so on. To do this, specify a style that uses the TargetType attribute. The following example demonstrates specifying Font settings and a Background color for all Buttons on a form: <Window.Resources> <Style TargetType="{x:Type Button}"> <Setter Property="FontFamily" Value="Times New Roman" /> <Setter Property="FontSize" Value...(read more)

Fixing the Vista backup error "the system cannot find the specified file"

2007-11-02T15:59:00Z

I've been getting an error "when using the Vista Backup tools the last few days "the backup did not complete...the system cannot find the specified file". As it turns out this seems to be a Vista "issue". Apparently this is because a shadow copy created by Vista is conflicting with the backup process. Here's what I did to fix the problem: From Control Panel, select "System" In the System Protection tab, uncheck all drives listed under "Automatic Restore...(read more)

Downloading the VS 2005 Class Designer PowerToys

2007-08-23T22:38:00Z

I just heard that you can download the VS 2005 Class Designer PowerToys at this link: http://www.codeplex.com/modeling With the deminse of the GotDotNet web site, it's been difficult to find a place where it can be downloaded! Kevin McNeish Microsoft .NET MVP President, Oak Leaf Enterprises, Inc. Chief Architect, MM .NET Application Framework: http://www.oakleafsd.com...(read more)

DevTeach 2007, Vancouver - .NET 3.0/3.5 Training PreCon

2007-07-17T18:24:00Z

Just wanted to let everyone know about the .NET 3.0 pre-con I'll be giving at DevTeach 2007, Vancouver on November 26. I'll be giving an introductory session on all four .NET 3.0 technologies: Windows Workflow Windows Presentation Foundation Windows Communication Foundation Windows CardSpace If you want to get up the learning curve quickly and get a great all-day immersion in these new technologies I recommend heading to Vancouver for this pre-con ( www.devteach.com )! DevTeach conference...(read more)

Converting a String to a GUID

2007-05-26T02:50:00Z

To convert a string to a GUID, do the following: In C#: Guid MyGuid = new Guid(stringValue); And in VB .NET: Dim MyGuid As Guid = New Guid(stringValue) Best Regards, Kevin McNeish Microsoft .NET MVP President, Oak Leaf Enterprises, Inc . Chief Architect of the MM .NET Application Framework...(read more)

Fixing the Creation of Setup/Deployment Packages on Windows Vista (Fixing the dreaded "error code 2869")

2007-05-09T15:31:00Z

There are a few Visual Studio 2005 bugs that surface when building installation packages on a Windows Vista machine. If your installation package performs a custom action you will get the dreaded "error code 2869" error during installation Exceptions thrown during the install process are obscured I found answers to these problems in Aaron Stebner's Web Log and at Omar Shahine's Web Log -- thanks to these folks for posting their solutions! Some of the instructions were not as clear...(read more)

Property Code Snippet for Visual Studio 2005

2007-04-30T00:19:00Z

In contrast to the default Visual Studio format, I prefer to format my properties like this with the associated variable beneath the property declaration and a comment above it <s>: /// <summary> /// OrderID Property /// </summary> public int OrderID { get { return _orderID; } set { _orderID = value ; } } private int _orderID; My partner in crime Rick Strahl ( www.west-wind.com ) wrote a blog post about a snippet he created do something similar which gave me the idea to do it to...(read more)

Fixing "Rebuild" error when using the Object Test Bench

2007-04-29T04:07:00Z

Lots of folks don't know that Visual Studio 2005 has design-time expression evaluation that allows you to instantiate objects and execute their methods at design time--a very cool feature. You can do this by right-clicking an object in a class diagram and selecting Create Instance from the shortcut menu (you can also do the same from the Class View window). If you get an error telling you to rebuild the project when trying to instantiate an object in the Object Test Bench (and the error won't...(read more)

Visual Studio SDK 4.0 Updates the Microsoft DSL Tools Version 1.0

2007-03-25T05:28:00Z

If you were previously using the Microsoft DSL Tools version 1.0 released back in September 2006 in the Visual Studio 2005 SDK 3.0, then you should definitely install the Visual Studio SDK 4.0 that includes bug fixes for Domain Specific Language Tools Version 1.0. To see what's been changed, after installing the 4.0 SDK, check out the following Readme.htm file located in this directory by default: C:\Program Files\Visual Studio 2005 SDK\2007.02\VisualStudioIntegration\Tools\DSLTools\readme.htm Kevin...(read more)

New Microsoft Empower Program Link - Get MSDN Universal on the cheap--just $375!

2006-12-20T03:27:00Z

This is an update my previous blog post about the Microsoft Empower program. Here is the new link to the program:

https://empower-isv.one.microsoft.com/isv/programguide/Default.aspx

If you keep clicking the Next button, you'll get to the Benefits page which, among other things, lists the following benefit that you get for just $375:

Development and Testing Licenses
MSDN® Universal Subscription (Licenses included in MSDN are for development and testing only)	One (1) MSDN Universal license and four (4) user licenses. Up to five (5) partner staff members can use MSDN licenses for development and testing concurrently.

Basically, they require that you build an application that supports one of the following platforms:

-->

*Microsoft Software	**Software Tests
Microsoft® Windows® .NET Server 2003	Certified for Windows® .NET Server 2003 Designed for Windows® Server 2003
Microsoft® Windows® XP	Designed for Windows® XP Testing
Microsoft® Windows® 2000	Verified Compatible for Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Certified for Microsoft® Windows® 2000
Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000	Certified for SQL Server™ 2000
Microsoft® mobility platform (Microsoft® Windows® for Pocket PC, Microsoft® Windows® for Smartphone)	Designed for Windows® for PocketPC Designed for Windows® for Smartphone
Microsoft® Office	Microsoft® Platform Test for ISV Solutions - OS component, Office Component OR Designed for Windows® and Office Component
Microsoft® .NET Web services	Microsoft® Platform Test for ISV Solutions – OS component , Web service component OR Designed for Windows® and Web service component
Microsoft® .NET Framework	Microsoft® Platform Test for ISV Solutions – OS component, Managed Code component OR Designed for Windows® and Managed Code component
Microsoft® Business Solutions	Microsoft® Business Solutions Test for ISV Solutions-Great Plains; Microsoft® Business Solutions Test for ISV Solutions-Navision; Microsoft® Business Solutions Test for ISV Solutions-Axapta; Microsoft® Business Solutions Test for ISV Solutions-Solomon
Microsoft® Small Business Accounting	Microsoft® Small Business Accounting

Create Instance Failed in Object Test Bench - Culprit: Enable SQL Server Debugging

2006-12-17T06:23:00Z

I've had a number of developers ask me about encountering the "Create Instance Failed" error messsage when instantiating an object at design time in conjunction with the Object Test Bench.

I was able to consistently reproduce this error by turning on Enable SQL Server debugging. If you are experiencing this problem, you can try the following to see if it "fixes" the problem:

Right-click your project and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
Under Debug, uncheck Enable SQL Server debugging if it's selected

You may also get this error if you are working in a Web project. If you disable the Web site from being compiled you can get past this error.

Best Regards,

Kevin McNeish
Microsoft .NET MVP
President, Oak Leaf Enterprises, Inc.
Web: http://www.oakleafsd.com

SQL Server 2005 and SQL Express Error: SQL Server does not allow remote connections

2006-10-13T00:54:00Z

If you get the following error when connecting to SQL Server 2005 (including SQL Express):

An error has occurred while establishing a connection to the server. When connecting to SQL Server 2005, this failure may be caused by the fact that under the default settings SQL Server does not allow remote connections.

Then check out this MSDN article that describes how to use the SQL Server Surface Area Configuration Tool to allow remote connections:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3bEN-US%3b914277

Converting a String to an Enumerated Value

2006-09-13T20:39:00Z

You can convert a string to an enumerated value by using Enum.Parse(). For example, the following code converts the string "Int32" to the corresponding System.Data.DbType enum value:

Param.DbType = (DbType)Enum.Parse(typeof(DbType), "Int32", true);

This is a nice tip that will save you from writing some ugly code!

ASP.NET Visual Studio Component Tray - Where is it?

2005-12-07T05:45:00Z

Adding Non-Visual Components to a Web Form
In Visual Studio 2005 the Component Tray has changed. To add non-visual controls to the form, you must open the Component Designer surface of your Web page. To do this, right-click your Web Form in the Solution Explorer (or right click the Web Form in design mode) and select View Component Designer from the shortcut menu. This opens the Compnent Designer for your web page.

Adding Event Handlers to a Web Form
You also need to use the Component Designer to add event handlers (other than Load) for your web page. After you view the Component Designer for your web page, you can click the Events lightning bolt on the Properties Window to view web page events for which you can create handlers.

Note: In order to view the Component Designer, you must have chosen to place the code for your Web page in a separate file. You cannot access the Component Designer from Web pages that use inline code only

Purchasing Visual Studio 2005 (and most everything else) for $375!

2005-11-15T02:01:00Z

If you don't already have an MSDN subscription or if you need to renew soon, I HIGHLY recommend checking out the Microsoft Empower program:

https://partner.microsoft.com/global/40010429

This is the deal of the century. For just $375 (this is NOT a typo), you get: up to five operating system licenses as well as Microsoft Office (Premium or Developer Editions), licenses for Windows Server 2003, Exchange Server, SQL Server, Office SharePoint Portal Server, one MSDN Universal subscription with five user licenses which includes Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition, as well as technical support and 10 hours of ISV Advisory Service. In order to qualify for this program you must sign up as Microsoft's lowest Partner level (a real breeze) Again, check the above link for details and requirements.

VS 2005 Design-Time Expression Evaluation

2005-11-05T16:53:00Z

FYI, I have written an article for Universal Thread magazine on design-time expression evaluation in Visual Studio 2005:

http://www.utmag.com/wconnect/wc.dll?LevelExtreme~9,7,10,857

Design-time expression evaluation is a great new feature of VS 2005 that allows you to instantiate and test your application classes at design time by means of the new Object Browser and the enhanced Immediate Window. For those of you who come from the FoxPro world, this is very much like FoxPro's Command Window.

Uninstalling Visual Studio 2005 Betas

2005-11-01T23:40:00Z

With Visual Studio 2005 now available for download on the Microsoft web site, you probably have an older copy of VS 2005 on your machine you would like to completely uninstall so you can install the VS 2005 final release. Great news...Microsoft has created some tools for the job. I was IMing with Rick Strahl tonight and he told me about Andrew Stebner's web log which contains links to some VS 2005 uninstall tools:

http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2005/10/27/485987.aspx

Hopefully this will help you have a smooth transition to the new release!

DevTeach 2006 - Call for Speakers

2005-10-27T01:35:00Z

It's official...DevTeach 2006 is going to be held on May 8-12, 2006 in Montreal. This is one of the best .NET conferences to attend since its smaller venue allows you to have close contact with speakers and fellow attendees. Montreal is a beautiful city with lots of night life and great restaurants. If you have a few extra days I HIGHLY recommend taking a few hour train ride up to Quebec City--it's like going to Europe without going to Europe.

Markus Egger and I are .NET chairs for the conference again and we look forward to the best DevTeach yet. Check the DevTeach site (http://devteach.com) later this week for details. The call for sessions will be from November 1 to December 31. If you plan on submitting sessions I highly recommend:

Submit several (five or more) session abstracts. This will definitely increase your chances of being selected to speak. If you only submit two sessions and one of our returning popular speakers submits the same sessions...you get the idea!
Be specific and professional. A few sentences of generalization and buzz words isn't going to make an impression. The work you put into your submissions says a lot about the work you will put into your sessions
Submit sessions on technologies you actually have experience with. This provides the kind of in-depth coverage we're looking for. Warmed-over repeats of high-level sessions that can be seen for free on the Microsoft web site won't be well received

We hope to see you there!