Dascoblog

I am a .Net developer and Umbraco fan-boy.  This post is related to Umbraco but can be utilized by anyone needing to use C# to parse XML that is stored inside CDATA tags.

I recently downloaded the Multi-Node Tree Picker from FarmCode.org.  This was the winner at CodeGarden ‘10.

The tree picker is a datatype that allows a user to select multiple content or media nodes in a single doctype property.  The code works great on the front end, but the problem is with how the data is stored.

The selected nodes are stored in the database as CDATA inside the page content XML.  I feel this will be fixed in a future release; in the meantime we need a way to read this data.

Thanks to Sascha Wolter of the umbraco community, I was able to successfully parse the selected nodes via XSLT.  Sascha gave me the C# code, and I implemented the following XSLT.

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23 steps to success:  (be patient and follow exactly)

 1. Install umbraco 4.5 locally on sqlexpress
 2. Open SQL Management Studio 2008 RC2
 3. Add primary key to umbracoUserLogins table (contextID, userID)
 4. Right-click on umbraco database
 5. Select Tasks >> Extract Data-tier Application...
 6. Save and note location of .dacpac file
 7. Right-click on umbraco database
 8. Select Tasks >> Generate Scripts...
 9. Select only tables
10. Click Next then click Advanced
11. Find "Types of data to script" and select "Data Only"
12. Click Ok.. (Note .sql file save location)
13. Click Next.. Next
14. Connect to your SQL Azure database in Management Studio
15. Right-click server node
16. Select Tasks >> Deploy Data-tier Application..
17. Select previously saved .dacpac file
18. After deployment, select new database (CLICK IT)
19. Select from menu, File >> Open >> File...
20. Select previously saved .sql file
21. Make sure new database is selected in available database drop-down
22. Click 'Execute' to add data to new database
23. Edit your web.config to point to the SQL Azure database

Done!

I have just complete the first release of my File Manager package for the Umbraco CMS framework.

Tested on version 4.0.x... Currently NOT working on 4.5! (updates coming soon)

Allows for full folder/file management from within Umbraco!

Current Features:

1. Text editor with syntax highlighting from edit_area
2. Media player using flowplayer
3. Image viewer
4. File uploading using Uploadify
5. Folder creating and browsing
6. Archive browsing
7. Integrated Recycle bin (empty/restore)
8. Folder/File delete to Recycle bin!
9. Folder/File media import
10. User/Group permissions (via config file)
11. Section permission linking to folders, files, and extensions (via config file)
12. Custom user root path (via config or Users section[mssql only])
13. Umbraco trees integration (scripts, templates, media, python, xslt)
14. Fully configurable via fileManager.config (permissions, editors, etc..)

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A Unique Approach

I love content management or I wouldn’t be testing so many and writing reviews of them.  I have tested several recently and a few stand out due to their unique approach to editing and managing content.  I recently tested a new web content management system called PageLime and was pretty impressed with what I saw.

What Is It?

The biggest different PageLime has, when compared to other popular WCM/CMS, is the fact that it manages your website remotely.  PageLime connects to your web server via FTP and allows you to edit your content through it’s interface.  More...

WTF - What The Freelance?

I am a web developer (specializing in .NET) and am getting very frustrated with users perception on how much to pay  a developer to design and a develop there websites, whether it’s CMS base or fully custom website, users need a better understanding of what goes on behind the scenes.

I have accounts on several of the top freelance sites (i.e. Elance.com, Freelancer.com, Rent-A-Coder.com) and time and again I see projects listed for web developer or design at a ridiculously low price.  Users want a complete website with forums, blogging and content management but aren’t willing to pay more than $250.  This is outrageous!

I understand that there are lots of developers that will do this for them at this price, but what is the quality of the design and what kind of support are they getting.  I have even excepted projects at less than I was willing to charge in order to secure the bid.  I am not saying that I agree with it, but what other choice do I have if I am being underbid all the time because I charge more.

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Twammers – Twitter Spammers!

My name for twitter spammer is a twammer.  I might have to copyright that word!  (noted!)

I have been tweeting for a while now and have come up with a few key red flags to watch for that place a spot light on a twammer and they should be block and possible reported.

If you twitter as much as I do, you will most likely be following topics related to your interest, well twammers have the same interest and here is how to find them (in my experience)

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Pros

mojoPortal is an opensource content management web application developed using the .Net framework.  It does a fairly decent job of allowing non-technical users to create websites.  Pages are easily created and can include several content features.  It comes with 35 predefined skins and you are able to create your own if you familiar with CSS.  It can easily be extended by a .Net developer using standard users controls to add new features.  mojoPortal appears pretty solid as far as development but it does have it short-comings.

Cons

mojoPortal only allows for 3 panes of content (left, center and right), I am not sure if this can be changed, but from my research, it can not (someone let me know if this is wrong, a response from the developer would be nice)

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CMS Overload

Content management systems are flooding the internet today.  Everyone wants a piece of the pie.  There are so many, in fact, that I would take hundreds of articles to cover them all.  As many things in life, some are good and some are not so great.  Some are free and some you have to pay for.  Some are designed for the non-technical and others are designed for people with a load of technical and development experience.  There are as many varieties of content management systems as there are personalities in people.

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I have used the related links package by Tim Geyssens from Nibble.beand found it VERY useful, you should check it out.

I recently had a client that needed to combined all those related links onto one page.

This post is how I did it!  You might do it differently, but my method worked out great for the client.

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The Morning

Yesterday I made sure to get up at 4:30am in order to get ready for the “Get Motivated” seminar scheduled to go on in Denver at 8:00am.

I had gone to the seminar in Colorado Springs 2 years ago and somewhat enjoyed it; besides being given a sales pitch for what I would call a “get rich quick” product for a stock marketing program.

I was ready to go by 5:20am and waited for my ride to arrive to take me on the 1 hour trip to Denver.  If anyone knows me, they will understand that I do not like being a passenger on a road trip.  I became very nauseous and remained that way all the way to Denver.  Little did I know that this illness was a warning for the outcome of the day.

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