DotNetNuke version 3.1.1 has been released.  I am installing it right now (well a clean install on my local box anyway) and I will let you know what I think. It is packed with many bug fixes and some cool new stuff as well.

They are supposed to release a new forums module today too. I will test it out, the beta was really nice. I wish they would work on a eCommerce module that comes default with DNN. This is the one thing that DNN is really missing.

Anyway, I will let you know what I think.

Doc

Well we finally have an "OFFICIAL" date for the Southern California Code Camp. We will be having a 2 Day event hosted at Cal State Fullerton the 21st and 22nd of Jan 2006. We already have some fantastic speakers lined up as well as some cool door prizes. Go to the Code Camp Site and register for more information. We will post updates on that site regularly.

See you all there!!!

Doc

I know, I know this is another semi-worthless post but I just had to put this up here. I am usually one to hop onto the front end of new gadgets. Anything that would help out my general geekyness! New phones, headsets, batman utility belts, you get the picture. Well for some reason I was resisting the desktop search programs (Google or MSN). I mean, I could not live through my day without using Google to find something I need for one of my projects, so I don't know why I was resisting it.

Anyway, I was talking to Woody at the Indigo event the other night and we started talking about the desktop search. He uses the MSN one and was talking about all the cool features. But what really caught my ear was the fact that in addition to all of your normal files, it will also search your email!. Now this is not a "Review" post, this is just a "what was I thinking" post. I know, y'all have been using one of these for months now so this is no big deal to you, but MAN what the heck was I waiting for!!!  With a couple of clicks of my keyboard, I can have everything I need brought up before my eyes!!!

If by some really odd chance you have not downloaded one of these, you must do this now.

Doc

I have been using Skype for quite a while. For those of you who have been sitting in a darkened room for a while, Skype is a FREE internet phone system. Yes, I said FREE!!  I use it to call my Publisher in the UK as well as others I know across the US.

It has cool stuff like Skype IN and Skype OUT that lets you use it like a real phone too. (But that costs of course)

Anyway, I went to their site (haven't been there in a while) and I noticed that they have some new cool stuff (Plug-ins and things). Included in this is the ability to show my status right on the website (Upper left hand corner). When I change my status, it will change on the site. So if you see me online, feel free to send an IM or Skype Call (Although I don't usually have a headset plugged in)

Anyway, Cool Stuff. Check it out.

Doc

Hey, Check this out from the Channel 9 Guys.

Show Off .  It's pretty cool. Basically, you put together a cool 5 minute video of some tip, trick, time-saver, gadget, really anything geeky and they will show it at the PDC. That is really cool. I am looking forward to seeing what they pick to show.

Doc

I went to the Indigo User Group Tour tonight. It was a great presentation and I look forward to the options that Indigo gives the .Net developer although I will wait until it gets a little closer to realease date before getting too excited. For now I will continue to use my old Remoting/Webservices skills.

Mike Vincent, Me, Dave Foderick at Indigo UG Tour Event.

I recently received this question from one of the users of a messageboard that I answer questions for:

>>Hi,

>>I'm trying to open up a form and set it's top and left property
to be the same as one of my panels on my form. However,
it's not working out the way i >>planned. I even tried adding
up the top of form1 and the top of the panel but that didn't
work either. Any help on this would be appreciative.

His original code is below.

Private Sub lbl_LinkClicked( ByVal sender As System. Object , _
ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.LinkLabelLinkClickedEventArgs) _
Handles lbl.LinkClicked

Dim frmForm As New Form2
With Form2
    .Show()
    .Width = Me .Panel1.Width
    .Height = Me .Panel1.Height
    .Top = Me .Top + Me .Panel1.Top
    .Left = Me .Left + Me .Panel1.Left

End With

End Sub

At first glance of the code it looks like this should work.
He makes the form's width the same as the panel, then
makes it the same height as well. Now it is time to place
it on top of where the panel is located. He then sets the
Top of the form equal to the Top of the current form plus
the top of the panel on the form. This should place it right
on top of the panel right? Well no, actually he forgot to take
into account the forms menubar and side border.

So this should work for him right. Well yes it does but who
wants to hard code that kind of detail. What if the size of
the menubar or border changes?

Dim frmForm As New Form2
        With frmForm
           .Show()
           .Width = Me .Panel1.Width
           .Height = Me .Panel1.Height
           .Top = Me .Top + Me .Panel1.Top + 30
           .Left = Me .Left + Me .Panel1.Left + 4 

        End With

To get the exact size you can use the
System.Windows.Forms.SystemInformation Namespace.
You can use the FrameBorderSize.Width and the
CaptionHeight (Menubar) to accomplish this. Make sure that
you add the CaptionHeight and FrameBorderWidth together for
the Top calculation because the border goes around the whole form.

Dim frmForm As New Form2
        With frmForm
           .Show()
           .Width = Me .Panel1.Width
           .Height = Me .Panel1.Height
            Dim intBorder As Integer
           intBorder = System.Windows.Forms. _
           SystemInformation.FrameBorderSize.Width
            Dim intMenuHeight As Integer
            intMenuHeight = System.Windows.Forms. _
            SystemInformation.CaptionHeight

           .Top = Me.Top +  _
                  Me.Panel1.Top + _
                  intBorder + _
                  intMenuHeight
           .Left = Me.Left + _
                   Me.Panel1.Left + _
                  intBorder

        End With

So this got me to thinking. What else can the SystemInformation
Namespace do for me? Well quite a bit actually.
below I have detailed out some of the information you
can get using this namespace.

What is the computer name?
SystemInformation.ComputerName

Is a connection to a network present?
Network : SystemInformation.Network

What is the users Domain Name
SystemInformation.UserDomainName

What is the UserName?
SystemInformation.UserName

What was the boot mode (Normal, Safe Mode etc...)
SystemInformation.BootMode.ToString

Adjusting the disply for multiple monitors.
SystemInformation.MonitorCount.ToString
SystemInformation.MonitorsSameDisplayFormat.ToString
SystemInformation.ArrangeDirection.ToString
SystemInformation.PrimaryMonitorSize.ToString

Questions about the mouse.
MousePresent : SystemInformation.MousePresent.ToString
MouseButtonsSwapped : SystemInformation.MouseButtonsSwapped.ToString
MouseButtons: SystemInformation.MouseButtons.ToString

There are other items in there as well. Check out the help
files to see all the things this namespace can give you.

Happy Programming,

DotNetDoc

I just checked the PDC website and it looks like it is SOLD OUT.  Glad I got my ticket early. I can't wait to go. It is great that it is in my backyard this year. No hotel or plane travel !!!!. There are a lot of events surrounding the PDC so it should be a fun week.

Doc

After my nights pondering how I wanted to work DotNetDoc, I have decided that most of the content of this site will be posted using this blog. I will post tips, tricks, articles etc.. through my blog. For right now, I am just using an IFrame to show the dasBlog from http://www.dotnetdoc.com but will keep an eye on Sperio.net to see when he has the DNN module for dasBlog completed.

I will start by blogging PDC 2005 stuff and move on from there. If you have any questions let me know.

DotNetDoc - Daniel Egan

Be sure to visit all the options under "Configuration" in the Admin Menu Bar above. There are 16 themes to choose from, and you can also create your own.