Asp.net , Sharepoint and Workflow

The maximum message size quota Problem in wcf

2012-10-02T16:09:00.000-07:00

If you are working on wcf rest service and getting below error:

The maximum string content length quota (8192) has been exceeded while reading XML data. This quota may be increased by changing the MaxStringContentLength property on the XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas object used when creating the XML reader.

Then there are two solutions.

1. Check your webconfig/Appconfig and Edit system.serviceModel section or check the below code:

please copy the below code and replace "♣" with '<' or '>'sign.

=================================================================

♣system.serviceModel♣

♣services♣

♣service behaviorConfiguration="TestServiceBehavior" name="TestWcfService.TestService"♣

♣endpoint address="" binding="webHttpBinding" contract="TestWcfService.ITestService" behaviorConfiguration="WebBehavior" bindingConfiguration="StreamedRequestWebBinding"♣

♣identity♣

♣dns value="localhost"/♣

♣/identity♣

♣/endpoint♣

♣endpoint address="mex" binding="mexHttpBinding" contract="IMetadataExchange"/♣

♣/service♣

♣/services♣

♣bindings♣

♣webHttpBinding♣

♣binding name="StreamedRequestWebBinding" bypassProxyOnLocal="true" useDefaultWebProxy="false" maxReceivedMessageSize="2147483647"

maxBufferSize="2147483647" maxBufferPoolSize="2147483647" transferMode="StreamedRequest"♣

♣readerQuotas maxStringContentLength = "2147483647" /♣

♣/binding♣

♣/webHttpBinding♣

♣/bindings♣

♣client♣

♣endpoint name="Default" address="http://localhost:2461//TestService.svc" binding="webHttpBinding" bindingConfiguration="StreamedRequestWebBinding"

contract="ServiceReference.IYourService" /♣

♣/client♣

♣behaviors♣

♣serviceBehaviors♣

♣behavior name="TestServiceBehavior"♣

♣serviceMetadata httpGetEnabled="true"/♣

♣dataContractSerializer maxItemsInObjectGraph="2147483647"/♣

♣serviceDebug includeExceptionDetailInFaults="true"/♣

♣/behavior♣

♣/serviceBehaviors♣

♣endpointBehaviors♣

♣behavior name="WebBehavior"♣

♣webHttp/♣

♣/behavior♣

♣/endpointBehaviors♣

♣/behaviors♣

♣/system.serviceModel♣

2. If the problem is still there then 2nd way is by coding and the coding part is :

WebHttpBinding binding = new WebHttpBinding(WebHttpSecurityMode.None);

binding.MaxBufferSize = Int32.MaxValue;

binding.MaxBufferPoolSize = Int32.MaxValue;

binding.MaxReceivedMessageSize = Int32.MaxValue;

XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas readerQuotas = new XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas();

readerQuotas.MaxStringContentLength = int.Parse("2147483647");

readerQuotas.MaxArrayLength = int.Parse("2147483647");

binding.ReaderQuotas = readerQuotas;

using (WebChannelFactory<ITestService> cf = new WebChannelFactory<ITestService>(binding,new Uri(Convert.ToString(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["ServiceUrl"]))))

{

ITestService channel = cf.CreateChannel();

String result = channel.YOURMETHOD();

Response.Write(result);

}

Handle Session Timeout with JQUERY

2012-05-31T11:07:00.001-07:00

Use below code copy and paste for testing: This code keep your session alive if you click on OK button when message pop show. but if you don't click on this button it by default redirect to again same page. So you didn't get session timeout issue again. I had get junk character when session timeout. I did everything e.g webconfig setting to increase the session timeout and request timeout etc but didn't get any success but now everything is working fine. In the below code i highlighted the main code.

Step1: Put these script and css in the Title Tag

Step2: This is script. Write this code in script tag

var idleTime = 3000; //60000; //1800000; // number of miliseconds until the user is considered idle

var initialSessionTimeoutMessage = 'Your session will expire in seconds.

Click on OK to continue your session.';

var sessionTimeoutCountdownId = 'sessionTimeoutCountdown';

var redirectAfter = 20; // number of seconds to wait before redirecting the user

var redirectTo = window.location; // URL to relocate the user to once they have timed out

// here window.location is used because it set the current url

var keepAliveURL = 'keepAlive.php'; // URL to call to keep the session alive

var expiredMessage = 'Your session has expired. You are being logged out for security reasons.'; // message to show user when the countdown reaches 0

var running = false; // var to check if the countdown is running

var timer; // reference to the setInterval timer so it can be stopped

$(document).ready(function () {

// create the warning window and set autoOpen to false

var sessionTimeoutWarningDialog = $("#sessionTimeoutWarning");

$(sessionTimeoutWarningDialog).html(initialSessionTimeoutMessage);

$(sessionTimeoutWarningDialog).dialog({

title: 'Session Expiration Warning',

autoOpen: false, // set this to false so we can manually open it

closeOnEscape: false,

draggable: false,

width: 460,

minHeight: 50,

modal: true,

beforeclose: function () { // bind to beforeclose so if the user clicks on the "X" or escape to close the dialog, it will work too

// stop the timer

clearInterval(timer);

// stop countdown

running = false;

// ajax call to keep the server-side session alive

$.ajax({

url: keepAliveURL,

async: false

});

buttons: {

OK: function () {

// close dialog

$(this).dialog('close');

}

resizable: false,

open: function () {

// scrollbar fix for IE

$('body').css('overflow', 'hidden');

close: function () {

// reset overflow

$('body').css('overflow', 'auto');

}

}); // end of dialog

// start the idle timer

$.idleTimer(idleTime);

// bind to idleTimer's idle.idleTimer event

$(document).bind("idle.idleTimer", function () {

// if the user is idle and a countdown isn't already running

if ($.data(document, 'idleTimer') === 'idle' && !running) {

var counter = redirectAfter;

running = true;

// intialisze timer

$('#' + sessionTimeoutCountdownId).html(redirectAfter);

// open dialog

$(sessionTimeoutWarningDialog).dialog('open');

// create a timer that runs every second

timer = setInterval(function () {

counter -= 1;

// if the counter is 0, redirect the user

if (counter === 0) {

$(sessionTimeoutWarningDialog).html(expiredMessage);

$(sessionTimeoutWarningDialog).dialog('disable');

window.location = redirectTo;

} else {

$('#' + sessionTimeoutCountdownId).html(counter);

};

}, 1000);

};

});

Step3:Put this in before closing the body tag:

div id="sessionTimeoutWarning" style="display: none">

Dynamic Tree View in asp.net

2012-05-02T15:57:00.002-07:00

I have created a function to bind treeview control with database in asp.net. It is upto three label. To use this code first copy it and paste it on your page and then call this method Bind_Tree() on page load event. Also create a database for this. I have created three table (tbl_MainCategory,tbl_SubCategory,tbl_Accessory ) in the database and bind three view upto three label with these three tables.

---------------------------------------------------------

SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection();

SqlDataAdapter adp = new SqlDataAdapter();

DataSet ds = new DataSet();

string PageName = "default.aspx?{0}={1}";

void Bind_Tree()

{

con = new SqlConnection(ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["cn"].ConnectionString);

if (con.State == ConnectionState.Closed)

{

con.Open(); }
Sdr.Close();
}
Module_Sdr.Close();
Module_Sdr.Close();

level3_Sdr.Close();

}

TreeView1.Nodes.Add(root);
}
TreeView1.CollapseAll();
con.Close();
}

}

TreeView1.Nodes.Add(root);
}
TreeView1.CollapseAll();
con.Close();
}
}
TreeView1.Nodes.Add(root);
}
TreeView1.CollapseAll();
con.Close();
}
TreeView1.Nodes.Add(root);
}
TreeView1.CollapseAll();
con.Close();
}

SqlCommand SqlCmd = new SqlCommand("Select * from tbl_MainCategory", con);

SqlDataReader Sdr = SqlCmd.ExecuteReader();

SqlCmd.Dispose();

string[,] ParentNode = new string[100, 2];

int count = 0;

while (Sdr.Read())

{

ParentNode[count, 0] = Sdr.GetValue(Sdr.GetOrdinal("Id")).ToString();

ParentNode[count++, 1] = Sdr.GetValue(Sdr.GetOrdinal("Category")).ToString();

}

for (int loop = 0; loop < count; loop++)

{

TreeNode root = new TreeNode();

root.Text = ParentNode[loop, 1];

root.Target = "_blank";

root.NavigateUrl = string.Format(PageName, "Main Category", ParentNode[loop, 0]);

SqlCommand Module_SqlCmd = new SqlCommand("Select * from tbl_SubCategory where MainCategory =" + ParentNode[loop, 0], con);

SqlDataReader Module_Sdr = Module_SqlCmd.ExecuteReader();

int count1=0;

string[,] childNode = new string[100, 2];

while (Module_Sdr.Read())

{

childNode[count1, 0] = Module_Sdr.GetValue(Module_Sdr.GetOrdinal("Id")).ToString();

childNode[count1++, 1] = Module_Sdr.GetValue(Module_Sdr.GetOrdinal("Category")).ToString();

for (int i = 0; i < count1; i++)

{

TreeNode child = new TreeNode();

child.Text = childNode[i, 1];

child.Target = "_blank";

child.NavigateUrl = string.Format(PageName, "Category", childNode[i, 0]);

root.ChildNodes.Add(child);

SqlCommand level3_SqlCmd = new SqlCommand("Select * from tbl_Accessory where Category =" + childNode[i, 0], con);

SqlDataReader level3_Sdr = level3_SqlCmd.ExecuteReader();

while (level3_Sdr.Read())

{

TreeNode subChild = new TreeNode();

subChild.Text = level3_Sdr.GetValue(level3_Sdr.GetOrdinal("Accessory")).ToString();

subChild.Target = "_blank";

subChild.NavigateUrl = string.Format(PageName, "SubCategory", level3_Sdr.GetValue(level3_Sdr.GetOrdinal("Id")).ToString());

child.ChildNodes.Add(subChild);

}

Asp.Net Interview Questions

2012-04-18T12:49:00.001-07:00

1.In which event are the controls fully loaded?

Page load event guarantees that all controls are fully loaded. Controls are also accessed in Page_Init events but you will see that view state is not fully loaded during this event

2.What is the difference between a default skin and a named skin?

The default skin is applied to all the Web server controls in a Web form, which are of similar type, and it does not provide a Skin ID attribute. The named skin provides a Skin ID attribute and users have to set the Skin ID property to apply it.

3.Which two new properties are added in ASP.NET 4.0 Page class?

The two new properties added in the Page class are MetaKeyword and MetaDescription.

4.What is the difference between authentication and authorization?

Authentication verifies the identity of a user and authorization is a process where you can check whether or not the identity has access rights to the system. In other words, you can say that authentication is a procedure of getting some credentials from the users and verify the user's identity against those credentials. Authorization is a procedure of granting access of particular resources to an authenticated user. You should note that authentication always takes place before authorization.

5.Which ASP.NET objects encapsulate the state of the client and the browser?

The Session object encapsulates the state of the client and browser.

6.Differentiate globalization and localization.

The globalization is a technique to identify the specific part of a Web application that is different for different languages and make separate that portion from the core of the Web application. The localization is a procedure of configuring a Web application to be supported for a specific language or locale
.

7.Which method has been introduced in ASP.NET 4.0 to redirect a page permanently?

The RedirectPermanent() method added in ASP.NET 4.0 to redirect a page permanently. The following code snippet is an example of the RedirectPermanent() method:
RedirectPermanent("test.aspx");

8.What is the difference between the Response.Write() and Response.Output.Write() methods?

The Response.Write() method allows you to write the normal output; whereas, the Response.Output.Write() method allows you to write the formatted output.

9.What does the Orientation property do in a Menu control?

Orientation property of the Menu control sets the horizontal or vertical display of a menu on a Web page. By default, the orientation is vertical.

10.What is the default timeout for a Cookie?

The default time duration for a Cookie is 30 minutes.

11.What are HTTP handlers in ASP.NET?

HTTP handlers, as the name suggests, are used to handle user requests for Web application resources. They are the backbone of the request-response model of Web applications. There is a specific event handler to handle the request for each user request type and send back the corresponding response object.

Each user requests to the IIS Web server flows through the HTTP pipeline, which refers to a series of components (HTTP modules and HTTP handlers) to process the request. HTTP modules act as filters to process the request as it passes through the HTTP pipeline. The request, after passing through the HTTP modules, is assigned to an HTTP handler that determines the response of the server to the user request. The response then passes through the HTTP modules once again and is then sent back to the user.

You can define HTTP handlers in the element of a configuration file. The element tag is used to add new handlers and the element tag is used to remove existing handlers. To create an HTTP handler, you need to define a class that implements the IHttpHandler interface.

12.What is the use of PlaceHolder control? Can we see it at runtime?

The PlaceHolder control acts as a container for those controls that are dynamically generated at runtime. We cannot see it at runtime because it does not produce any visible output. It used only as a container.

13.What is the difference between page-level caching and fragment caching?

In the page-level caching, an entire Web page is cached; whereas, in the fragment caching, a part of the Web page, such as a user control added to the Web page, is cached.

14.Describe the complete lifecycle of a Web page.

When we execute a Web page, it passes from the following stages, which are collectively known as Web page lifecycle:

Page request - During this stage, ASP.NET makes sure the page either parsed or compiled and a cached version of the page can be sent in response
Start - During this stage sets the Request and Response page properties and the page check the page request is either a postback or a new request
Page Initialization - During this stage, the page initialize and the control's Unique Id property are set
Load - During this stage, if the request is postback, the control properties are loaded without loading the view state and control state otherwise loads the view state
Validation - During this stage, the controls are validated
Postback event handling - During this stage, if the request is a postback, handles the event
Rendering - During this stage, the page invokes the Render method to each control for return the output
Unload - During this stage, when the page is completely rendered and sent to the client, the page is unloaded.

15.What is State Management? How many ways are there to maintain a state in .NET?

State management is used to store information requests. The state management is used to trace the information or data that affect the state of the applications.

There are two ways to maintain a state in .NET, Client-Based state management and Server-Based state management.

The following techniques can be used to implement the Client-Based state management:

View State
Hidden Fields
Cookies
Query Strings
Control State

The following techniques can be used to implement Server-Based state management:

Application State
Session State
Profile Properties

16.What is a round trip?

The trip of a Web page from the client to the server and then back to the client is known as a round trip.

17.What is Role-based security?

In the Role-based security, you can assign a role to every user and grant the privilege according to that role. A role is a group of principal that restricts a user's privileges. Therefore, all the organization and applications use role-based security model to determine whether a user has enough privileges to perform a requested task.

18.Where is the ViewState information stored?

The ViewState information is stored in the HTML hidden fields.

19.Explain the AdRotator Control.

The AdRotator is an ASP.NET control that is used to provide advertisements to Web pages. The AdRotator control associates with one or many advertisements, which randomly displays one by one at a time when the Web page is refreshed. The AdRotator control advertisements are associated with links; therefore, when you click on an advertisement, it redirects you to other pages.

The AdRotator control is associated with a data source, which is normally an xml file or a database table. A data source contains all the information, such as advertisement graphics reference, link, and alternate text. Therefore, when you use the AdRotator control, you should first create a data source and then associate it with the AdRotator control.

Can we validate a DropDownList by RequiredFieldValidator?

Yes, we can validate a DropDownList by RequiredFieldValidator. To perform this validation, we have to set the InitialValue property of RequiredFieldValidator control.

20.What are the modes of storing ASP.NET session?

-InProc
-StateServer
-SQLServer

21.What is partial classess in .net?

When there is a need to keep the business logic separate from the User Interface or when there is some class which is big enough to have multiple number of developers implement the methods in it, the class can be separated and written in different files as partial class.

The keyword partial must appear in each class.

Authorize.net in asp.net

2012-04-10T13:11:00.002-07:00

Below is the code to implement authorize.net with asp.net. But for this first please create a account on www.authorize.net. After that they provide you the LoginID and Transaction key which are used in the below code. Also for testing : set your account in test mode.
Below is the function for Authorize.net payment with credit card.

//if you have to use “https://test.authorize.net/gateway/transact.dll

//” for testing then uncomment the x_test_request and if use "https://secure.authorize.net/gateway/transact.dll" then no need to use x_test_request variable.

private void MakePaymentWithAuthorizeDotNet()

{

String post_url = Convert.ToString(“https://secure.authorize.net/gateway/transact.dll”);

Dictionary<string, string> post_values = new Dictionary<string, string>();

#region Replace Parameters

//the API Login ID and Transaction Key must be replaced with valid values

//if we have to use “https://test.authorize.net/gateway/transact.dll

//” then uncomment the x_test_request.

// post_values.Add("x_test_request", "TRUE".ToString());

post_values.Add("x_login","Auth_loginID");

post_values.Add("x_tran_key", "Auth_trankey");

post_values.Add("x_delim_data", "TRUE");

post_values.Add("x_delim_char", "|");

post_values.Add("x_relay_response", "TRUE");

post_values.Add("x_type", "AUTH_CAPTURE");

post_values.Add("x_method", "CC");

post_values.Add("x_card_num”,”Credit Card Number”);

post_values.Add("x_exp_date",“MMYY”);

post_values.Add("x_card_code", “CVVID code”);

post_values.Add("x_Email", “Email ID”);

post_values.Add("x_amount", "Price Amount"]));

post_values.Add("x_description", "Shopping Cart");

post_values.Add("x_ship_to_first_name", txtName.Text.Trim());

post_values.Add("x_ship_to_address", txtShippingAddress.Text.Trim());

if (txtPhoneNumber.Text != string.Empty)

{

post_values.Add("x_phone", txtPhoneNumber.Text.Trim());

}

post_values.Add("x_first_name", ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["firstname"]);

post_values.Add("x_last_name", ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["lastname"]);

post_values.Add("x_address", ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["address"]);

post_values.Add("x_state", ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["state"]);

post_values.Add("x_city", ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["city"]);

post_values.Add("x_zip", ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["zipcode"]);

#endregion

String post_string = "";

foreach (KeyValuePair<string, string> post_value in post_values)

{

post_string += post_value.Key + "=" + HttpUtility.UrlEncode(post_value.Value) + "&";

}

post_string = post_string.TrimEnd('&');

HttpWebRequest objRequest = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(post_url);

objRequest.Method = "POST";

objRequest.ContentLength = post_string.Length;

objRequest.ContentType = "application/x-www-form-urlencoded";

// post data is sent as a stream

StreamWriter myWriter = null;

myWriter = new StreamWriter(objRequest.GetRequestStream());

myWriter.Write(post_string);

myWriter.Close();

String post_response;

HttpWebResponse objResponse = (HttpWebResponse)objRequest.GetResponse();

using (StreamReader responseStream = new StreamReader(objResponse.GetResponseStream()))

{

post_response = responseStream.ReadToEnd();

responseStream.Close();

}

Array response_array = post_response.Split('|');

string chk = response_array.GetValue(5).ToString();

if (chk == null || chk == string.Empty)

{

Session["chk"] = null;

}

else

{

Session["chk"] = chk;

}

ViewState["status"] = response_array.GetValue(5).ToString();

string trid = response_array.GetValue(6).ToString();

string response_code = Convert.ToString(response_array.GetValue(0));

if (response_code == "1")

{

if (trid != "0")

{

ViewState["TransID"] = response_array.GetValue(6).ToString();

}

else

{

ViewState["TransID"] = null;

}

ViewState["CreditType"] = response_array.GetValue(51).ToString();

ViewState["CreditCrd"] = response_array.GetValue(50).ToString();

}

Webservice to get distance from Latitude and Longitude

2011-10-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

Sample Application for Web Service

Write this code on WebService Page

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Services;

[WebService(Namespace = "http://tempuri.org/")]
[WebServiceBinding(ConformsTo = WsiProfiles.BasicProfile1_1)]
// To allow this Web Service to be called from script, using ASP.NET AJAX, uncomment the following line.
// [System.Web.Script.Services.ScriptService]

public class Service : System.Web.Services.WebService
{
    public Service () {

    }
    [WebMethod]
    public double distanceFrom(double lat1, double lng1, double lat2, double lng2)
    {
        double dist;
        dist= distance(lat1, lng1, lat2, lng2);
        return dist;
    }
    private double distance(double lat1, double lon1, double lat2, double lon2)
    {
        double theta = lon1 - lon2;
        double dist = Math.Sin(deg2rad(lat1)) * Math.Sin(deg2rad(lat2)) + Math.Cos(deg2rad(lat1)) * Math.Cos(deg2rad(lat2)) * Math.Cos(deg2rad(theta));
        dist = Math.Acos(dist);
        dist = rad2deg(dist);
        dist = dist * 60 * 1.1515;
        //For Kilometer
       // dist = dist * 1.609344;
       //For S Miles
       //   dist = dist * 0.8684;
        dist = Math.Round(dist, 2);
        return (dist);
    }
    private double deg2rad(double deg)
    {
        return (deg * Math.PI / 180.0);
    }
    private double rad2deg(double rad)
    {
        return (rad / Math.PI * 180.0);
    }
}

After This Add Web Reference in your site and write code on your aspx.cs page.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using ServiceReference1;

public partial class Test : System.Web.UI.Page
{
    protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {

    }
    protected void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {

        ServiceReference1.ServiceSoapClient sp=new ServiceSoapClient();
        double lat1=Convert.ToDouble(TextBox1.Text);
        double lat2 = Convert.ToDouble(TextBox3.Text); ;
        double lon1=Convert.ToDouble(TextBox2.Text);
        double lon2 = Convert.ToDouble(TextBox4.Text); ;
        double str = sp.distanceFrom(lat1,lon1,lat2,lon2);
        TextBox5.Text = str.ToString()+' '+"Miles";
    }
}

Enable SSL in asp.net

2011-09-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

Please Create this function to enable SSL on your site with some page but make sure the SSL certificate is already installed
on your site or server and then call this function on page load event.

Private void EnableSSL()
{
String CurrentUrl = Request.Url.ToString();

        //Get absolute path
        String sPath = System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Request.Url.AbsolutePath;
        System.IO.FileInfo Finfo = new System.IO.FileInfo(sPath);
        string page= Finfo.Name;
        if (page== "abc.aspx" || page== "cde.aspx" )
        {
            String NewUrl = "";

            if (!Request.IsSecureConnection)
            {
                NewUrl = "https" + CurrentUrl.Substring(4);
                Response.Redirect(NewUrl);
            }
        }
        else
        {
            if (CurrentUrl.IndexOf("https") >= 0)
            {
                Response.Redirect(CurrentUrl.Replace("https", "http"));
            }
        }
    }

LINQ To Entity and Convert class Methods Problems

2011-09-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

While i was working with linq to sql or entity framework i have getting error at runtime like:

1. LINQ to Entities does not recognize the method 'Int32 ToInt32(System.Object)' method, and this method cannot be translated into a store expression

2. LINQ to Entities does not recognize the method 'System.String get_Item(System.String)' method, and this method cannot be translated into a store expression.

and my code is:

                var lst = (from p in context.Products
                           where p.CategoryID==Convert.ToInt32(this.Request.QueryString["Category"])
                           select p).ToList();

Than i have found that:

Reason: First value of type "object" is returned and then it is typecasted to int. This is, again, not permitted as a temporary anonymous object needs to be created for resolving translation of Data Type.

Solution of this:

int id = Convert.ToInt32(this.Request.QueryString["Category"]);
                var lst = (from p in context.Products
                           where p.CategoryID==id
                           select p).ToList();

Change gridview row color on mouseover and mouseout in asp.net

2011-08-21T00:32:00.000-07:00

protected void GridView1_RowDataBound(object sender, GridViewRowEventArgs e)
    {

        if (e.Row.RowType == DataControlRowType.DataRow)
        {
            e.Row.Attributes.Add("onmouseover", "this.style.backgroundColor='Silver'");
            // This will be the back ground color of the GridView Control
            e.Row.Attributes.Add("onmouseout", "this.style.backgroundColor='White'");
        }
    }

Retreive data from Excel Sheet in asp.net

2011-08-20T11:41:00.001-07:00

/// This mehtod retrieves the excel sheet names from

/// an excel workbook.

private String[] GetExcelSheetNames(string excelFile)
{
OleDbConnection objConn = null;
System.Data.DataTable dt = null;

try
{
    // Connection String. Change the excel file to the file you

    // will search.

    String connString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;" +
        "Data Source=" + excelFile + ";Extended Properties=Excel 8.0;";
    // Create connection object by using the preceding connection string.

    objConn = new OleDbConnection(connString);
    // Open connection with the database.

    objConn.Open();
    // Get the data table containg the schema guid.

    dt = objConn.GetOleDbSchemaTable(OleDbSchemaGuid.Tables, null);

    if(dt == null)
    {
      return null;
    }

    String[] excelSheets = new String[dt.Rows.Count];
    int i = 0;

    // Add the sheet name to the string array.

    foreach(DataRow row in dt.Rows)
    {
      excelSheets[i] = row["TABLE_NAME"].ToString();
      i++;
    }

    // Loop through all of the sheets if you want too...

    for(int j=0; j < excelSheets.Length; j++)
    {
      // Query each excel sheet.

    }

    return excelSheets;
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
    return null;
}
finally
{
    // Clean up.

    if(objConn != null)
    {
      objConn.Close();
      objConn.Dispose();
    }
    if(dt != null)
    {
      dt.Dispose();
    }
}

Sql Function To Split the commas Value and insert them into table.

2011-08-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[ListToTable] (
/*
FUNCTION ListToTable
Usage: select entry from listtotable('abc,def,ghi') order by entry desc
PURPOSE: Takes a comma-delimited list as a parameter and returns the values of that list into a table variable.
*/
@mylist varchar(8000)
)
RETURNS @ListTable TABLE (
seqid int not null,
entry varchar(255) not null)

AS

BEGIN
      DECLARE
              @this varchar(255),
              @rest varchar(8000),
              @pos int,
              @seqid int

      SET @this = ' '
      SET @seqid = 1
      SET @rest = @mylist
      SET @pos = PATINDEX('%,%', @rest)
      WHILE (@pos > 0)
      BEGIN
              set @this=substring(@rest,1,@pos-1)
              set @rest=substring(@rest,@pos+1,len(@rest)-@pos)
              INSERT INTO @ListTable (seqid,entry) VALUES (@seqid,@this)
              SET @pos= PATINDEX('%,%', @rest)
              SET @seqid=@seqid+1
      END
      set @this=@rest
      INSERT INTO @ListTable (seqid,entry) VALUES (@seqid,@this)
      RETURN
END

Some Important Example or Regular expression in asp.net

2011-08-20T11:18:00.000-07:00

Remove last two zero inside gridview if

Price=56.0000:

'<%#Eval("Price").ToString().Remove(Eval("Price").ToString().Length - 2, 2) %>'

Regular Expressions for Amount:

^\$?\d+(\.(\d{2}))?$
To evaluate an amount with or without a dollar sign where the cents are optional.

^([0-9]*|\d*\.\d{1}?\d*)$
Accept only (0-9) integer and one decimal point(decimal point is also optional).After decimal point it accepts at least one numeric .This will be usefull in money related fields or decimal fields.

Regular Expression for multiline Textbox:

ErrorMessage="Address should be less than 130 characters" ValidationExpression="[\s\S]{0,130}"
ValidationGroup="submit">.

compare validate for today date:

Type="Date" runat="server" ValidationGroup="submit" ErrorMessage="Start date must be greater than today date."
SetFocusOnError="True">.

On page load

c1.ValueToCompare = DateTime.Now.ToString("MM/dd/yyyy");

Asp.net MVC, Html.DropDownList Selected Value for EDIT

2011-06-10T03:10:00.000-07:00

In Controller:

ViewData["MyDropDown"] = new SelectList(CatModel.getAllCategory(), "Value", "Text",selectedValue:prModel.DisplayProductByid(prd).CategoryID);

In View:

<%: Html.DropDownList("MyDropDownID", ViewData["MyDropDown"] as SelectList)%>

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have got same problem and the solution is above:
I just changed the Name of the drop down and handled the assignment in the controller.
The reason behind this problem is that asp.net MVC first looks for a match between the name of the drop down and a property on the model. If there’s a match, the selected value of the SelectList is overridden. Changing the name of the drop down is all it takes to remedy the issue.

Send Multiple attachment in Mail

2011-03-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

public static void SendAttachmentMail(string MailBody, string EmailTo, string MailFrom, string Subject, string[] listpdf)
    {
        try
        {
            MailMessage sendMail = new MailMessage();
            SmtpClient smtp = new SmtpClient();
            NetworkCredential SmtpUser = new NetworkCredential();
            sendMail.To.Add(EmailTo);
            sendMail.From = new MailAddress(MailFrom);
            sendMail.Subject = Subject;
            sendMail.Body = MailBody;
            sendMail.IsBodyHtml = true;

            int cnt = listpdf.Count();
            for (int l = 0; l < cnt; l++)
            {
                Attachment at_l = new Attachment(listpdf[l]);
                sendMail.Attachments.Add(at_l);
            }
            smtp.EnableSsl = true;
            smtp.Send(sendMail);
            sendMail.To.Clear();
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            HttpContext.Current.Response.Write(ex.Message.ToString());
            HttpContext.Current.Response.End();
        }
    }

Create Barcode Image with asp.net

2011-02-06T20:59:00.000-08:00

To create and save barcode image in database with asp.net :

private Bitmap createbarcode(string data)
    {
        Bitmap barcode = new Bitmap(1, 1);
        PrivateFontCollection pfc = new PrivateFontCollection();
        string pth = Server.MapPath("../Fonts/idautomationhc39m.ttf");
        pfc.AddFontFile(pth);
        FontFamily ff = pfc.Families[0];
        FontFamily family = new FontFamily("IDAutomationHC39M", pfc);
        System.Drawing.Font threeofnine = new System.Drawing.Font(family, 12, FontStyle.Regular, GraphicsUnit.Point);
        Graphics graphic = Graphics.FromImage(barcode);
        SizeF datasize = graphic.MeasureString(data, threeofnine);
        barcode = new Bitmap(barcode, datasize.ToSize());
        graphic = Graphics.FromImage(barcode);
        graphic.Clear(System.Drawing.Color.White);
        graphic.TextRenderingHint = System.Drawing.Text.TextRenderingHint.SingleBitPerPixel;
        graphic.DrawString(data, threeofnine, new SolidBrush(System.Drawing.Color.Black), 0, 0);
        graphic.Flush();
        threeofnine.Dispose();
        graphic.Dispose();
        return barcode;
    }
    private void GenerateAndGetBarCode()
    {
        data = GenerateRandomCode();
        Bitmap barCode = createbarcode("*" + data + "*");
        imgPath = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["site_url"] + "/Barcode/" + data + ".Gif";
        String filepath = Server.MapPath("../BarCode/") + data + ".Gif";
        barCode.Save( filepath, ImageFormat.Gif);
    }

Create Thumbnail in asp.net

2010-10-28T01:20:00.000-07:00

System.Drawing.Image img = System.Drawing.Image.FromStream(FileUpload.InputStream);
System.Drawing.Image thumbnailImage = img.GetThumbnailImage(25, 30, new System.Drawing.Image.GetThumbnailImageAbort(ThumbnailCallback), IntPtr.Zero);
img.save(stringPath);

select all checkbox in asp.net

2010-10-28T01:08:00.000-07:00

Place this text in your source File :

{
          // HeaderTemplate in tag <> //

// asp:CheckBox ID="chkAll" runat="server" in tag <>//

// HeaderTemplate in tag <>//



}
In Code File

protected void grdmember_RowDataBound(object sender, GridViewRowEventArgs e)
    {
        if (e.Row.RowType == DataControlRowType.Header)
        {
            //adding an attribute for onclick event on the check box in the header
            //and passing the ClientID of the Select All checkbox
            ((CheckBox)e.Row.FindControl("chkAll")).Attributes.Add("onclick", "javascript:SelectAll('" + ((CheckBox)e.Row.FindControl("chkAll")).ClientID + "')");
        }
    }

How to Download File from asp.net

2010-10-23T01:32:00.001-07:00

string st, doctitle;
doctitle = e.CommandArgument.ToString();
st = Server.MapPath("../documents") + "//" + doctitle;
FileInfo f = new FileInfo(st);
if (f.Exists == true)
{
Response.Clear();
Response.AddHeader("content-disposition", "attachment;filename=" + f.Name);
Response.AddHeader("content.length", f.Length.ToString());
Response.ContentType = "application/octet-stream";
Response.WriteFile(f.FullName);
Response.End();
}

Difference between Synchronous and Asynchronous Events in Sharepoint

2010-05-14T07:14:00.001-07:00

1) Synchronous Event Handlers will work before the event is completed while Asynchronous will fire after the event is completed.
2) Synchronous are mostly used to stop the event from completion in order to validate few things. It means you can cancel the event using Synchronous while it is not possible to cancel the event from Asynchronous .
3) Synchronous methods has their method names ending with -ing while Asynchronous method names will end with -ed. e.g. ItemAdding, ItemUpdating are Synchronous while ItemAdded, ItemUpdated are Asynchronous methods.
4) Synchronous can be used to Add/Modify the values of list fields while using Asynchronous its not possible as it fires after the completion of event.

TO Uninstall MOSS Manually

2010-02-04T23:22:00.000-08:00

If you get the problem regarding uninstallation in your Sharepoint office server or if uninstall window gets disappear on click unistall option, then try the following steps. These steps help me.

Step 1:
Disable and Stop the following services in Start>Administrative Tools>Services
-Microsoft Single Sign-on Service
-Office SharePoint Server Search
-Windows SharePoint Services Administration
-Windows SharePoint Services Search
-Windows SharePoint Services Timer
-Windows SharePoint Services Tracing
-Windows SharePoint Services VSS Writer

Step2:

Delete the following registry hives in Start>Run>Regedit.exe

a) HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office Server\12.0
b) HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Web Server Extensions\12.0
For 32bit:

c) HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\OSERVER

For 64bit:

c) HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\OSERVER

Step3:

Delete the following folders

a) C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Servers\12

b) C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\12
c) C:\Program Files\CommonFiles\Microsoft Shared\SERVER12 (if u find this folder then delete it)
After performing above steps u find Moss uninstall from your machine

Step4.

Restart the server and start Moss installation again.
After an installation, if u get error to run Sharepoint Product and technologies configuration wizard then you can uninstall Moss from control panel or by running setup file, now it will completely remove Moss.

Sharepoint and Workflow Interview Questions

2010-01-27T22:12:00.000-08:00

• What is SharePoint?
Portal Collaboration Software.

• What is the difference between SharePoint Portal Server and Windows SharePoint Services?
SharePoint Portal Server is the global portal offering features like global navigation and searching. Windows SharePoint Services is more content management based with document libraries and lists. You apply information to certain areas within your portal from Windows SharePoint Services or directly to portal areas.

• What is a web part zone?
Web part zones are what your web parts reside in and help categorize your web parts when designing a page.

• How is security managed in SharePoint?
Security can be handled at the machine, domain, or sharepoint level.

• How are web parts developed?
Web parts are developed in Visual Studio .Net. VS.Net offers many web part and page templates and can also be downloaded from the Microsoft site.

• What is a SharePoint farm?
Multiple machines running services for SharePoint. Otherwise known as Topology.

• What is a site definition?
It’s a methods for providing prepackaged site and list content.

• What is a template?
A template is a pre-defined set of functions or settings that can be used over time. There are many templates within SharePoint, Site Templates, Document Templates, Document Library and List Templates.

• How do you install web parts?
Web Parts should be distributed as a .CAB (cabinet) file using the MSI Installer.

• What is the difference between a site and a web?
The pages in a Web site generally cover one or more topics and are interconnected through hyperlinks. Most Web sites have a home page as their starting point. While a Web is simply a blank site with SharePoint functionality built in; meaning you have to create the site from the ground up.

• What are the differences between web part page gallery, site gallery, virtual server gallery and online gallery?
Web Part Page Gallery is the default gallery that comes installed with SharePoint. Site Gallery is specific to one site. Virtual Server gallery is specific to that virtual server and online gallery are downloadable web parts from Microsoft.

• What is the GAC?
Global Assembly Cache folder on the server hosting SharePoint. You place your assemblies there for web parts and services.

• What is a DWP?
The file extension of a web part. (Description of web parts)

• What is CAML?

Stands for Collaborative Application Markup Language and is an XML-based language that is used in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services to define sites and lists, including, for example, fields, views, or forms, but CAML is also used to define tables in the Windows SharePoint Services database during site provisioning.

• What is a document library?
A document library is where you upload your core documents. They consist of a row and column view with links to the documents. When the document is updated so is the link on your site. You can also track metadata on your documents. Metadata would consist of document properties.

• What is a meeting workspace?
A meeting workspace is a place to store information, attendees, and tasks related to a specific meeting.

• What is a document workspace?
Document workspaces consist of information surrounding a single or multiple documents.

• What is a web part?
Web parts consist of xml queries to full SharePoint lists or document libraries. You can also develop your own web parts and web part pages.

• What is the difference between a document library and a form library?
Document libraries consist of your core documents. An example would be a word document, excel, PowerPoint, Visio, pdf, etc… Form libraries consist of XML forms.

• What are themes?
Themes provide a quick a easy way to change the appearance of your SharePoint site

.
• What is presence?
Allows users to see if other users are online and can send them instant messages.

• Can web parts be connected? If so, how?
Web Parts can be connected by modifying the Shared Part and providing the connection with the correct fields to share.

• What is a personal view and what is a shared view?
Personal views are specific to a user while Shared View is common across all users.

• What is an STP file?
The file extension that applies to site templates.

• What is an FWP file?
The file extension that applies to SharePoint sites that have been backed up.

• How does SharePoint support MS Outlook integration?
Via Web Parts available at the Microsoft Web Component Directory. Oh yeah and Active X Controls.

• How can you extend lists in SharePoint?
If you mean extend by adding columns of data and have specific data types for each column the answer is yes. You can also use Data Views in FrontPage 2003 to pull in XML data from other sites, lists or document libraries to make the information more presentable for users.

• Explain the document versioning in SharePoint document libraries
When versioning is enabled every time the document is edited from the SharePoint site it creates a new version. You can restore or delete old versions of documents. Version numbers are incremented by the system itself.

• Where are web part resources contained?
The SharePoint file system, SQL, and the GAC folder. They are also referenced in the web.config folder.

• What are the different installation methods for deploying web parts? and what are the pros/cons?
The best way is via a CAB file using the MSI Installer.

• What is a ghosted/unghosted page?
Page that is created from a template oppsed to being created from scratch.

• How is site data stored?
Site data is stored in your content database that either resides in SQL Server 2000 or MSDE.

• Where is metadata for a web stored?
In the content databases stored in SQL.

• What is an audience and describe the use?
Audiences are a pre-defined set of users that you can apply information to. You can apply information to their personal sites as well for Dailey information or job tasks.

• What are the trust levels and what is the default trust associated with SharePoint?
SSL and the basic IIS security. SharePoint comes with Integrated Windows Authentication turned on.

• What are the two logging mechanisms for usage statistics?
By default creates log files in the \%windir%\system32\LogFiles\STS directory on the front-end Web server, although an alternate location can be specified. The STS directory contains a folder for each virtual server on the Web server, each named with a GUID that identifies the respective virtual server. Each virtual server folder contains subfolders for each day, which in turn contain the daily usage log for each virtual server. In addition to containing information per virtual server, the Windows SharePoint Services logs are also useful because they associate users with page hits and with time stamps. what functionality does owssup.dll provide for client side activities?

• What is STSAdm and what can it be used for?
STSADMIN is a tool that can do many things from a command prompt like manage users, create new sites and add files to the file system.

• Can WSS search subsites?
Not without the new CorasWorks Search Web Part.

• Can you register alerts for users?
Not unless you are logged in as that user.

• Are PDFs searchable?
Out of the box only the metadata collected in the upload form is search able. Unless you download and install the Adobe iFilter.

• Describe a large deployment
Many front-end webserver with a SQL cluster with the possibility of multiple international locations.

• How can you synchronize custom Active Directory attributes to SharePoint?
Via the Profile Importer.

• If it is anticipated that our organization would need to store 1 terrabyte of documents, what is the recommended configuration and storage requirement?
Multiple front-end web servers with content databases across the server farm. The amount of web-servers can depend on how many users you have and what the typical size of a document is.

• Explain how you would deploy SharePoint on an extranet
Usually servers that are accessible from external sources are housed in DMZ’s. Depending on the requirements and the workflow for publishing content you could go with Multiple Servers hosting the same information. One server would reside inside with the SQL Cluster while the external server resides in the DMZ simply calling data. Security would be handled by the same or different active directory domain clusters as well increasing security.

• What is the BKM for maximum number of virtual servers configured for SharePoint on a single box?
I believe its 15.

• what are the migration strategies for moving sites around?
You could use the SharePoint Portal Server backup and restore tool as well as the STSADMIN and GUI STSAMIN tools. We have migrated databased from the SQL Level and have simply reconnected the front end.

What is SharePoint?

Share point helps team members to connect and exchange information in a collaborative manner. It helps to centralize enterprise information for efficient functioning. For instance below is how a normal organization works. Files and documents scattered in individual PC and data is transported according to custom protocols. The communication protocol for sending these data is also person dependent. Some body would use a email , some body would share a drive etc etc.

Share point unites all the documents in to one centralize place and unifies the data transport mechanism. In one words a central enterprise information portal.

What is WSS and MOSS?

Microsoft has divided share point products in two parts. One is called as WSS (Windows SharePoint services) and the other is MOSS (Microsoft Office SharePoint server). WSS is the platform on which MOSS is built. The WSS part is licensed through Windows 2003 server and it does not cost. MOSS is separate product by itself and it needs licensing and it has a good amount of cost ? . WSS is good for small team and small projects. MOSS has extra functionalities in other words value added services. So the choice between WSS and MOSS will depend on budget of the project and the VAS provided by MOSS.

How does WSS actually work?

WSS does not work in an isolated fashion. It needs help of two more products IIS (Internet Information Server) and SQL Server.

How does WSS work with IIS?

In order to understand how WSS works with IIS we need first understand the concept of “HttpHandlers and HttpModules”. If you are not aware of it you can refresh about the same at
http://www.dotnetfunda.com/articles/article188.aspx

Using the HttpHandlers and HttpModules request is first passed through the Share Point runtime and then passed to the ASP.NET runtime (aspnet_isapi.dll).

If you open the web.config file of a WSS enabled IIS web application you can see the application run time handlers and modules.

....
...

We have highlighted the application runtime module.

...
...

What is site and site collection?

Share point is all about enterprise data. When we talk about enterprise data it looks some as shown in the figure below. In other words grouping and sub groupings of data.SharePoint extends the IIS web application structure to accommodate the above defined data structure using site and site collections. We will see in the later section how to create site collections.

What is the main advantage of using site collections?

As said previously SharePoint is all about data and data should properly authenticated / authorized to proper users. By defining the structure in site and site collection we can now define roles and responsibilities according to data. For instance in the above figure we will assign all HR user to payroll, recruitment and assessment site. These users will not be assigned to account site collection. Same holds true for accounts user.

So when you design your hierarchy of site and site collection you need to keep in mind the enterprise hierarchy structure and design the same accordingly.

What is the use of SQL Server in share point?

SQL Server is used to store content and configuration information. We have two types of databases one is the content database and the other is the configuration database. We had said previously that content is according to every site. So every site has his own content database. For instance if we have a payroll site and recruitment site they have their own content database. Configuration database is for the entire site as they are used in web farms, site configuration and lot of other things which are generic and common across all the sites.

What is the concept of virtual path provider?

Any project has two parts one is the standard and common part and the other is the customized version. In ASP.NET we have two types of pages for any project one is common ASPX pages and the other is customized ASPX pages. Common pages are stored on file directories while customized versions of pages are stored in content database.

So in other words we need an abstract mechanism by which we can render pages from SQL Server content database and also from the virtual directories. This is achieved by using the virtual provider provided by SharePoint. So for all customized pages virtual provider reads from the content database and passes the same to the ASP.NET runtimes. For all common pages it goes to the directory, parses it and the passes the same across to the ASP.NET runtime.

Virtual provider is an abstraction which loads the page from the content or the file system depending on whether it’s customized or common pages and passes the same to the ASP.NET runtime.

What is the concept of ghosting and unghosting in SharePoint?

In SharePoint most of the site pages derive from templates. The custom pages only store the difference between them. The template is loaded in memory and applied to the custom pages on fly. In other words the template is stored in a cache. This definitely brings in performance and flexibility. Flexibility is in terms that when we change the template page it’s applied to all custom pages. These pages are loaded from the file system. So pages which are loaded from the file system are termed as ghosted pages.

If the page data is loaded from the content database it’s termed as unghosted pages.

As a note let me clarify the concept of document and content table as we are already trying to understand the concept of ghosting and unghosting. As we know that SharePoint stores all pages in the database. Looking from a 50,000 feet it has two tables one is the document table which has the entry of page and the other is the content which has the source code of the ASPX page.

So when a page is requested it first checks in the document table and then goes to the content table to load the page. If it does not find data of the page it goes to the file directory to load the page. This loading is done by ASP.NET runtime himself. But if there is data present in the content table then it’s loaded by the ‘safe mode’ parser.

What is the concept of safemodeparser in ASP.NET?

As said the previous section there are two tables one is the document and the other content. If the page is stored in the content database it’s loaded by the SafeModeParser which is page parser provided by SharePoint. If there is no data found in the content it’s loaded from the file directory by simple ASP.NET runtime.

What is the concept of Site pages and Application pages?

Site pages are customized pages and are saved in to content database. So when you use the SharePoint designer to make custom changes it saves the changes in to content database. If you want to make generic pages in a site collection which will be used by every one, like for instance the ‘Settings.aspx’ page then you need to use application pages.

In other words Site pages are nothing but customized pages stored in content, while application pages are generic pages which will be used by all the sites in a site collection.

• What are the types of input forms that can be created for a workflow ?
You can create four different types of input forms including
1. An association form
2. An initiation form
3. A modification form
4. A task edit form.

Note that these forms are optional when you create a workflow template.

• What are ways to create input forms for workflow ?
Two
1. You can create your forms by using custom application pages, which are standard .aspx pages deployed to run out of the _layouts directory. ( disadv: lot of code required when compared to Infopath approach)
2. Using Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 (disadv: picks up a dependenct on MOSS, i.e. it cannot run in a standalone WSS environment)

• What is the difference between method activity and event activity in WorkFlow ?
A method activity is one that performs an action, such as creating or updating a task. An event activity is one that runs in response to an action occurring.

• What are content types?
A content type is a flexible and reusable WSS type definition (or we can a template) that defines the columns and behavior for an item in a list or a document in a document library. For example, you can create a content type for a leave approval document with a unique set of columns, an event handler, and its own document template and attach it with a document library/libraries.
• Can a content type have receivers associated with it?
Yes, a content type can have an event receiver associated with it, either inheriting from the SPListEventReciever base class for list level events, or inheriting from the SPItemEventReciever base class. Whenever the content type is instantiated, it will be subject to the event receivers that are associated with it.

• What two files are typically (this is kept generally) included when developing a content type, and what is the purpose of each?
There is generally the main content type file that holds things like the content type ID, name, group, description, and version. There is also the ContentType.Fields file which contains the fields to include in the content type that has the ID, Type, Name, DisplayName, StaticName, Hidden, Required, and Sealed elements. They are related by the FieldRefs element in the main content type file.

• What is an ancestral type and what does it have to do with content types?
An ancestral type is the base type that the content type is deriving from, such as Document (0x0101). The ancestral type will define the metadata fields that are included with the custom content type.

• Can a list definition be derived from a custom content type?
Yes, a list definition can derive from a content type which can be seen in the schema.XML of the list definition in the element.

• When creating a list definition, how can you create an instance of the list?
You can create a new instance of a list by creating an instance.XML file

• What is a Field Control?
Field controls are simple ASP.NET 2.0 server controls that provide the basic field functionality of SharePoint. They provide basic general functionality such as displaying or editing list data as it appears on SharePoint list pages.

• What base class do custom Field Controls inherit from?
This varies. Generally, custom field controls inherit from the Microsoft.SharePoint.WebControls.BaseFieldControl namespace, but you can inherit from the default field controls.

• Can multiple SharePoint installs point to the same DB?
Multiple SharePoint installs can use the same database server. Not literally the same database on that server. That server must be SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server 2005. It cannot be Oracle or another vendor.

• How to create links to the mapped network drives?
Creating links to mapped drives in WSS v3 or MOSS 2007 can be done via
the new content type for .lnk files.

• While creating a Web part, which is the ideal location to Initialize my new controls?
Override the CreateChildControls method to include your new controls. You can control the exact rendering of your controls by calling the .Render method in the web parts Render method.

• What are the two base classes a WebPart you are going to use within SharePoint 2007 can inherit from?
There are two base classes that a WebPart which is going to be consumed by SharePoint can inherit from, either the
SharePoint WebPart Base class
or the
ASP.NET 2.0 WebPart base class.
When inheriting from the SharePoint WebPart Base class your derived WebPart class will inherit from Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.WebPart. When inheriting from the ASP.NET 2.0 WebPart base class your derived WebPart class will inherit from System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebPart. It is considered good practice to use the ASP.NET WebPart base class since the old base class is meant for backwards compatibility with previous version of SharePoint, however there are four exception when it is better to leverage functionality from the SharePoint WebPart base class:
Cross page connections
Connections between Web Parts that are outside of a Web Part zone
Client-side connections (Web Part Page Services Component)
Data caching infrastructure

• What are the differences between the two base classes and what are the inherit benefits of using one over another?
The difference is the Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.WebPart base class is meant for backward compatibility with previous versions of SharePoint. The benefit of using the SharePoint WebPart base class is it supported:
Cross page connections
Connections between Web Parts that are outside of a Web Part zone
Client-side connections (Web Part Page Services Component)
Data caching infrastructure
ASP.NET 2.0 WebParts are generally considered better to use because SharePoint is built upon the ASP.NET 2.0 web architecture. Inheriting from the ASP.NET 2.0 base class offers you features that inherit to ASP.NET 2.0, such as embedding resources as opposed to use ClassResources for deployment of said types.

• What is the WebPartManager sealed class? What is its purpose?
The WebPartManager sealed class is responsible for managing everything occurring on a WebPart page, such as the WebParts (controls), events, and misc. functionality that will occur in WebPartZones. For example, the WebPartManager is responsible for the functionality that is provided when you are working with moving a WebPart from WebPartZone to WebPartZone. It is known as the “the central class of the Web Part Control Set.”

• What does AllowUnsafeUpdates do ?
If your code modifies Windows SharePoint Services data in some way, you may need to allow unsafe updates on the Web site, without requiring a security validation. You can do by setting the AllowUnsafeUpdates property.

• What does RunWithElevatedPrivileges do?
There are certain object model calls model that require site-administration privileges. To bypass access-denied error, we use RunWithElevatedPrivileges property when request is initiated by a nonprivileged user. We can successfully make calls into the object model by calling the RunWithElevatedPrivileges method provided by the SPSecurity class.
• What does SPWeb.EnsureUser method do?
Checks whether the specified login name belongs to a valid user of the Web site, and if the login name does not already exist, adds it to the Web site.
e.g SPUser usr = myWeb.EnsureUser("hitenders");

• What is a SPSite and SPWeb object, and what is the difference between each of the objects?
The SPSite object represents a collection of sites (site collection [a top level site and all its subsites]). The SPWeb object represents an instance SharePoint Web, and SPWeb object contains things like the actual content. A SPSite object contains the various subsites and the information regarding them.

• What does a SPWebApplication object represent?
The SPWebApplication objects represents a SharePoint Web Application, which essentially is an IIS virtual server. Using the class you can instigate high level operations, such as getting all the features of an entire Web Application instance, or doing high level creation operations like creating new Web Applications through code.

• Would you use SPWebApplication to get information like the SMTP address of the SharePoint site?
Yes, since this is a Web Application level setting. You would iterate through each SPWebApplication in the SPWebApplication collection, and then use the appropriate property calls (OutboundMailServiceInstance) in order to return settings regarding the mail service such as the SMTP address.

• How do you return SharePoint List items using SharePoint web services?
In order to retrieve list items from a SharePoint list through Web Services, you should use the lists.asmx web service by establishing a web reference in Visual Studio. The lists.asmx exposes the GetListItems method, which will allow the return of the full content of the list in an XML node. It will take parameters like the GUID of the name of the list you are querying against, the GUID of the view you are going to query, etc.
Side Question: I got asked how I built queries with the lists.asmx web service. In order to build queries with this service, one of the parameters that the GetListItems method exposes is the option to build a CAML query. There are other ways to do this as well, but that was how I answered it.

• When retrieving List items using SharePoint Web Services, how do you specify explicit credentials to be passed to access the list items?
In order to specify explicit credentials with a Web Service, you generally instantiate the web service, and then using the credentials properties of the Web Service object you use the System.Net.NetworkCredential class to specify the username, password, and domain that you wish to pass when making the web service call and operations.

• What is CAML, and why would you use it?
CAML stands for Collaborative Application Markup Language. CAML is an XML based language which provides data constructs that build up the SharePoint fields, view, and is used for table definition during site provisioning. CAML is responsible for rending data and the resulting HTML that is output to the user in SharePoint. CAML can be used for a variety of circumstances, overall is used to query, build and customize SharePoint based sites. A general use would be building a CAML query in a SharePoint WebPart in order to retrieve values from a SharePoint list.

• What is impersonation, and when would you use impersonation?
Impersonation can basically provide the functionality of executing something in the context of a different identity, for example assigning an account to users with anonymous access. You would use impersonation in order to access resources on behalf of the user with a different account, that normally, that wouldn’t be able to access or execute something.

• What are WebPart properties, and what are some of the attributes you see when declaring WebPart properties in code?
WebPart properties are just like ASP.NET control properties, they are used to interact with and specify attributes that should be applied to a WebPart by a user. Some of the attributes you see with ASP.NET 2.0 properties are WebDescription, WebDisplayName, Category, Personalizable, and WebBrowsable. Although most of these properties come from the System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts class, ones like Category come out of System.ComponentModel namespace.

• Why are properties important in WebPart development, and how have you exploited them in past development projects? What must each custom property have?
Properties are important because WebParts allow levels of personalization for each user. WebPart properties make it possible for a user to interact, adjust, and increase overall experience value with the programmatic assets that you develop without having the need to use an external editor or right any code. A very simple example of exploiting a property would be something like allowing the user to change the text on the WebPart design interface so that they can display whatever string of text they desire.
Each custom property that you have must have the appropriate get and set accessor methods.

• What are ClassResources? How do you reference and deploy resources with an ASP.NET 2.0 WebPart?
ClassResources are used when inheriting from the SharePoint.WebPart.WebPartPages.WebPart base class, and are defined in the SharePoint solution file as things that should be stored in the wpresources directory on the server. It is a helpful directory to use in order to deploy custom images. In ASP.NET 2.0, typically things such as images are referenced by embedding them as resources within an assembly. The good part about ClassResources is they can help to eliminate recompiles to change small interface adjustments or alterations to external JavaScript files.

• What is a SharePoint Solution File? How does it differ from WebPart .cab files in legacy development? What does it contain?
A SharePoint solution file is essentially a .cabinet file with all a developers ustom componets suffixed with a .wsp extension that aids in deployment. The big difference with SharePoint solution files is is that a solution:
allows deployment to all WFE’s in a farm
is highly manageable from the interface allowing deployment, retraction, and versioning
Can package all types of assets like site definitions, feature definitions (and associated components), Webparts, etc.
Can provide Code Access Security provisioning to avoid GAC deployments
And much more..

• What is a .ddf file and what does it have to do with SharePoint Solution creation?
A .ddf file is a data directive file and is used when building the SharePoint solution bundle specifying the source files and their destination locations. The important thing for someone to understand is that the .ddf file will be passed as a parameter to the MAKECAB utility to orchestrate construction of the SharePoint solution file.

• What file does a SharePoint solution package use to orchestrate (describe) its packaged contents?
The solution Manifest.XML file.

• What deployment mechanism can you use to instigate Code Access Security attributes for your WebParts?
SharePoint solution files can add in order to handle code access security deployment issues. This is done in the element in the SharePoint solution manifest.XML, which makes it easier to get assemblies the appropriate permissions in order to operate in the bin directory of the web application.

• What are event receivers?
Event receivers are classes that inherit from the SpItemEventReciever or SPListEventReciever base class (both of which derive out of the abstract base class SPEventRecieverBase), and provide the option of responding to events as they occur within SharePoint, such as adding an item or deleting an item.

• When would you use an event receiver?
Since event receivers respond to events, you could use a receiver for something as simple as canceling an action, such as deleting a document library by using the Cancel property. This would essentially prevent users from deleting any documents if you wanted to maintain retention of stored data.

• What base class do event receivers inherit from?
Event receivers either inherit from the SPListEventReciever base class or the SPItemEventReciever base class, both which derive from the abstract base class SPEventReceiverBase.

• If I wanted to not allow people to delete documents from a document library, how would I go about it?
You would on the ItemDeleting event set: properties.Cancel= true.

• What is the difference between an asynchronous and synchronous event receivers?
An asynchronous event occurs after an action has taken place, and a synchronous event occurs before an action has take place. For example, an asynchronous event is ItemAdded, and its sister synchronous event is ItemAdding

8. What are ways to create input forms for workflow ?

Two different approaches can be used to develop custom input forms for a WSS workflow template.

You can create your forms by using custom application pages, which are standard .aspx pages deployed to run out of the _layouts directory. ( disadv: lot of code required when compared to Infopath approach)

using Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 (disadv: picks up a dependenct on MOSS, i.e. it cannot run in a standalone WSS environment)

9. What is the difference between method activity and event activity in WF ?

A method activity is one that performs an action, such as creating or updating a task. An event activity is one that runs in response to an action occurring.

10. What does SPWeb.EnsureUser method do?

Checks whether the specified login name belongs to a valid user of the Web site, and if the login name does not already exist, adds it to the Web site. e.g SPUser usr = myWeb.EnsureUser("mmangaldas");

11. While creating a Webpart, which is the ideal location to Initialize my new controls ?

Override the CreateChildControls method to include your new controls. To make sure that the new controls are initialized.. call 'EnsureChildControls' in the webparts Render method. You can control the exact Rendering of your controls by calling the .Render method in the webparts Render method.

12. How to query from multiple lists ?

Use SPSiteDataQuery to fetch data from multiple lists.

13.How Does SharePoint work?

The browser sends a DAV packet to IIS asking to perform a document check in. PKMDASL.DLL, an ISAPI DLL, parses the packet and sees that it has the proprietary INVOKE command. Because of the existence of this command, the packet is passed off to msdmserv.exe, who in turn processes the packet and uses EXOLEDB to access the WSS, perform the operation and send the results back to the user in the form of XML.

14. What is the difference between Syncronous & Asyncronous events?

Syncronous calls ending with 'ing' E.g. ItemDeleting Event Handler code execute BEFORE action is committed WSS waits for code to return Option to cancel and return error code
Asyncronous calls ending with 'ed' E.g. ItemDeleted Event Handler code executes AFTER action is committed WSS does not wait for code to return Executed in its own Worker thread.

15. What is ServerUpdate() ?

Any changes in the list, i.e. new addition or modification of an item.. the operation is complete by calling the Update method.But if a List is set to maintain versions .. and you are editing an item, but don't want to save it as a new version, then use the SystemUpdate method instead and pass in 'false' as the parameter.

16. What is query.ViewAttributes OR How can you force SPQuery to return results from all the folders of the list?

If you use SPQuery on any SPlist .. it will bring back results from the current folder only. If you want to get results from all the folders in the list.. then you need to specify the scope of the query by the use of ViewAttributes..
e.g. query.ViewAttributes = "Scope=\"Recursive\"";

- What are the types of authentication available for Sharepoint 2010 ?

Claims
Windows
Forms-based authentication

Ref : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262350(office.14).aspx

- What is claims based authentication ?

Claims is a new authentication method that SharePoint 2010 can utilize. This allows a single authentication store for multiple types of authentication (Windows NTLM, SQL FBA, LDAP, etc) which allows all of these types of authentication to access SharePoint under a single URL.

Claims creates a SAML token based on the sign-in, that contains the user’s identity.

Ref: http://blogs.technet.com/ritaylor/archive/2009/06/03/claims-based-authentication-an-overview.aspx

- How do we use the claims identity outside of SharePoint?

LOB systems
External partner services
Separate SharePoint farms

- What is LINQ to Sharepoint ?

LINQ is a feature of the programming languages C# 3.0 and Visual Basic .NET
LINQ adds, to each of the languages, a SQL-like syntax and vocabulary for querying data sources.
LINQ to Sharepoint allows developers to use SQL-like syntax to query Lists and Libraries in Sharepoint.
LINQ to Sharepoint internally converts the LINQ query to a CAML query to fetch records
Advantage : Strongly typed access to the entities of the list.
Disadvantage : If the new columns are added or its datatype changed, the datacontext class used by LINQ is no longer valid and may break the code

- Name the tool used to create DataContent classes for use in LINQ queries?

SPMetal.exe

- What are the advantages and disadvantages of LINQ to Sharepoint ?

Advantages:

Intellisense
Strongly typed access to the entities of the list
Faster development
Simplify complex queries

Disadvantages:

If the new columns are added or its datatype changed, the datacontext class used by LINQ is no longer valid and may break the code
Extra layer to the actual CAML query

In Sharepoint 2010, at what levels can a workflow be activated ? ( Alt Q: What is the additional scope a workflow be activated in Sharepoint 2010 ) ?
Can a workflow created in Sharepoint Designer be edited in Visual Studio ?

- Can MS Visio be used to create a Sharepoint workflow ?

MS Visio cannot be used to create the Sharepoint workflow itself, but can be used for workflow visualization. What this means is that, the flow diagram designed in Visio can be imported in Sharepoint Designer where all the functionality can be added and deployed to Sharepoint.
Note:
To use Visio 2010 for workflow visualization, you must be running the Enterprise version of SharePoint Server 2010 and Visio 2010 Premium.

- Whats new in Shared Service Provider (SSP ) in Sharepoint 2010 ? ( Alt Q: What is "Service Application" ? )

“Service Application” or “Service App” is a concept in Sharepoint 2010, where SSP Services are split out into separate services.
What is replaced :

Profiles, Audiences = People Service App
Search = Search Service App
Excel = Excel Service App

Whats new :

Project Server = Project Server App
Visio Services = Visio Service App

Advantages :

Web applications can be configured to only use a subset of the deployed services.
You can deploy multiple instances of the same service in a farm by giving the new service instances unique names.
You can share services across multiple web applications in a farm.

Create Association Form with People Picker

2010-01-25T01:16:00.000-08:00

Step1:
Open The Infopath Form Template and create new with enable browser compatible check box checked.
Step2: Create the DataSource:
a> Add group named Service Approval with right click on my fields.
b> Now with right click on Service Approval Add the repeating group named Person.
3> With right click on Person Add three fields named DisplayName, AccountId, AccountType like below screen shot.

Step3: Add the another group named DepositApproval in myfields.
Step4: with right Click on Person in ServiceApproval click on Reference. after clicking this new window open like:

Select the DepositApproval group and click OK. The repeating group People copied to the DepositApproval group.

Step5: Drag and Drop ServiceApproval group and click on ContactSelector.

Step6: Repeate step4 for DepositApproval.

Step7: For Association Form Add the Submit button on Form and create a Context.xml file. To create this file open the notepad ,write given text and save it as xml format.

Step8: Add a Primary Data Connection:
On the infopath form select the Tools->DataConnection->Add->CreateNew Connection->Submit Data->Select To the Hosting environment->Next-> Finish.

Step9: Add a secondary data source XML file.
On the infopath form select the Tools->DataConnection->Add->CreateNew Connection->Receive Data->XML Document->Resource File->Add->Select the Context.xml File-> Click Ok-> Next-> Finish.

Step10: Add Datasource on Button. Double Click on the Submit button->Rules->Add->Add Action-> Select the Submit Using Data connecction and click ok. and again click on Add Action->Select Close The Form and Press OK.-> ok and Apply.

Step11: Security Setting is very important step for infopath form.
click on the Tools->Form Option-> Security and Trust-> select Domain-> OK.

Step12: Now on the Infopath menu : click File and then click on save as datasource.and also after that publich the form on Network Location->Next -> select the location-> Next-> delete the selected text->Next->OK->Publish-> Close.

Step13: Add the Published Form in the project.

Step14: open the command prompt and go to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\SDK\v3.5\Bin location where xsd.exe file exist. if there is no file than plz download the xsd.exe from internet.

write the following commands:
xsd /c /l:CS.
This Command create the myschema.cs file in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\SDK\v3.5\Bin location.

Step15: Add this myschema.cs file in the project and rename it same as the infoapth form.

Step16: Go to the Published infoapth form and in the file manu click on Properties. Copy the propertyID of the infopath form.

Step17: In the Project open the workflow.xml file and paste the id in tag as:

Step18: open the feature.xml file from the project and add the infopath form name in tag and add the form folder name (if all infopath form are in the Form Folder) in Properties tag like:

Step19: Build the Project, deploy it and than test.

Sharepoint Links and problem solution

2010-01-19T01:04:00.000-08:00

Best Links for sharepoint tutorials:

http://www.fastsharepoint.com/

http://sharepointhosting.com/video_tutorials.html

Sharepoint Video Tutorials:

http://www.sharepointhostingprovider.com/sharepoint-tutorials/

Infopath form and Workflows

2010-01-18T21:35:00.000-08:00

Workflow Examples with video and also downloading tutorials:
http://rshelton.com/archive/2007/10/05/free-workshop-sharepoint-document-workflow-for-developers---part-1.aspx

Send Email with Infopath Form :

http://www.bizsupportonline.net/browserforms/send-email-infopath-browser-form-sharepoint.htm

Simple SharePoint Workflow with InfoPath Task Form Example :
I’ll be using the following tools here:

InfoPath 2007
Visual Studio 2008 (with VSeWSS 1.3 installed)

My aim is to describe the following theory:

Publishing the form in InfoPath
How to reference the form in your workflow
Sending data to the form
Receiving data from the form

for more details click on this link:
http://sharepointgear.wordpress.com/2009/03/22/simple-sharepoint-workflow-with-infopath-task-form/

The best blog link for study the infopath form is:
http://blogs.msdn.com/infopath/archive/2007/02/26/passing-data-into-a-form-input-parameters.aspx

MVC Basics Links

2010-01-18T21:29:00.001-08:00

http://www.asp.net/(S(pdfrohu0ajmwt445fanvj2r3))/learn/mvc/tutorial-01-cs.aspx

http://www.asp.net/mvc/