I am happy to announce, after a dozen attempts, I have managed to upgrade Goondocks.com to Sitefinity 3.2. My advice to anyone attempting to upgrade from 3.1 is to go through this entire process on your local machine before you even attempt to do this in a live setting.  You will discover many controls have changed.  You will also discover the "ControlTemplate" changes you made for 3.1 may no longer be compatible with the updated 3.2 controls. Here are the steps involved in the Goondocks.com upgrade:  Backup ...

Like a lot of web programmers, I spent years using PHP to create web applications. One of the tools I frequently used in conjunction with PHP was phpMyAdmin . This helpful web-based tool allowed me to easily manage my MySQL databases via a web browser. After reading Scott Guthrie's "Binding UI using the ASP:LinqDataSource Control" article I became intrigued by the idea of building a phpMyAdmin-like inteface that could utlize any "LINQ to SQL Class". In theory this seemed simple, in practice it involved a lot reflection . I ...

I've often found it helpful to use ASP.NET's Page Trace to identify performance problems with my dynamic pages. However, database queries are frequently responsible for performance problems.  Because of this, I began displaying SQL via the Page Trace. This let me see the SQL being executed to render a page. It also let me see how much time the SQL was taking to execute. As I began toying with LINQ to SQL I found myself missing the ability to see the SQL being executed to render my pages. As it turns out, it's very easy to ...

I love the Sitefinity "Site Map".  I love how it makes the organization of my web site self-evident.  It is for this reason I wasn't terribly enthused with the "Images & Documents" module that was included with Sitefinity 3.2.  This module took resources out of the "Site Map" to be managed and organized elsewhere.  I also found it impossible to include a single link/reference to a file I was managing via the "Images & Documents" module.  Instead my options seemed to only be "Gallery" or "Download List". My desire to ...

I have been struggling off & on for weeks to upgrade this web site to Sitefinity 3.2.  If you're interested read about this journey here and here. Please understand, I'm a big fan of Sitefinity and Telerik.  But with regard to Sitefinity 3.2 it's fairly obvious little thought or testing was devoted to "upgrading", specifically with regard to Sitefinity modules.  Significant changes were introduced into the Blogs module, as well as other modules.  The net effect: upgrading to 3.2 caused my data to disappear.  Telerik later released raw SQL ...

"Learn to Blog effectively to build traffic and relationships in just 4 hours..." While browsing the Internet I stumbled upon a "blogging seminar" advertisement touting the preceding claim. Like most web programmers I have, at times in my career, worked for various Internet marketing consultants.  I have often found this to be a completely soul-sucking ordeal.  In my experience, many of these "cutting-edge consultants" hear about technology trends years after they emerge onto the scene.  They get a brief explanation from the "geek" they keep chained to a desk and ...

On the Sitefinity forums Erik asked how to display an expanded Site Map.  Sitefinity includes a "Site Treeview" control that comes close to accomplishing this.  However, this control starts in a "collapsed" state and I have not been able to find a way to easily coax it into an "expanded" state. The good news is that we can create a Site Map Sitefinity UserControl fairly easily using the RadTreeView.  The control described below simply binds the ASP.NET "SiteMapDataSource" to a RadTreeView control.  It then fully expands the RadTreeView.  Here is ...

If there is one thing blogging has taught me, it's that coming up with original content & ideas is hard work.  So I decided to do what everyone else is doing and simply use RSS feeds to artifically inflate the size of my web site.  In this way I can generate tons of content for my web site without having to do a lot of time-consuming "work". RSS is the wave of the future and I predict in 5 years the Internet will consist of roughly 100 unique pages.  These ...

Sitefinity has 2 "edit modes" (Overlay & Classic) that can be used to edit pages:   The "Overlay" edit mode grays-out areas of the page that cannot be altered; while the "Classic" edit mode displays the unmodified page.  "Classic" gives a better representation of what the page actually looks like, while "Overlay" makes it easier to see what parts of the page you can alter.  Both edit modes have advantages & disadvantages. However, the "Overlay" edit mode can sometimes be fickle due to the CSS magic being applied.  While using ...

I began using PHP in 1998 and used it heavily until 2004 when I discovered ASP.NET (C#). I still maintain a few PHP-based web sites, but I will admit the bulk of my recent web development has been with ASP.NET (C#). If you do the math I have been a PHP programmer longer than I've been an ASP.NET programmer. What the hell is a "NAMESPACE"? Coming from the PHP-world, ASP.NET was a challenge. ASP.NET is comprised of strongly-typed variables, true OOP, namespaces, event-driven execution, web controls, compilation, etc. I ...

Bruce Lee was classically trained in traditional martial arts.  He studied Wing Chung Gung Fu from Master Yip Man when he was a child.  Growing up he was a bit of a street brawler and was involved in several fights.  In college he studied philosophy, and in his adult life he became the super-star we know today.    In his quest to become the world's greatest martial artist Bruce Lee rejected traditional martial arts; he called it the "classical mess".   He found it made him rigid and ultimately hindered him from responding directly & effectively. ...

Recently there was a post made to "RealEstateWebMasters.com" by a REALTOR who was annoyed that other REALTORS were linking to and consequently "feeding" Trulia. What followed were responses by other REALTORS who supported this idea and questioned why consumers need Trulia.  Many implied Trulia was hurting consumers by providing inaccurate information.  Many others expressed their frustration that Trulia was ranking ahead of them in search engines. I don't work for Trulia.  I am not a real estate agent.  I am a web application developer with over 5 years of ...

I noticed today a press release describing an agreement between Yahoo!, Zillow, and Trulia regarding the adoption of a new data format standard for the distribution of real estate listings online.  Speaking as a web site application developer who has spent over 5 years in the real estate industry, let me just say "Hooray!!".   This press release is pretty benign looking, but to those in the real estate industry it should send chills down your neck.  For years Multiple Listing Services have fought over their little regions.  They were governed by boards which ...

Mongolian Restaurants always rate higher than other restaurants. I had a wonderful opportunity to dine at the Bourbon Steak at the Fairmont Princess Resort in Scottsdale, AZ . I was told this was a 5-star restaurant (see update below), although I honestly have no idea what that means. I read about the star rating system on Wikipedia and was unable to find any information about how you get a star. For the purposes of this article I am going to assume there are a limited number of "restaurant stars" ...

I think it's now fair to say, the RON PAUL R3VOLUTION isn't happening today, or anytime in the near future. I say this with no condescension or amusement.  I say this with a little sadness .  Truth tellers are rare and almost never popular in their time.  Ron Paul may not be "right" on every issue, but I think it's fair to say that he tried to tell the truth.  For that, at the very least, I think he, his campaign, and his supporters should be celebrated. His surge of ...

I had a project that required me to get a list of zip codes within a certain distance from a given zip code. Here is a web-based tool that does what I'm describing. I found a great post on how to do this using ColdFusion . I converted the SQL found on this page to work with MySQL and have posted it on this page. First, you are going to need to get a database that maps zip codes to longitude & latitude. I personally purchased this data for $5 from ...

Consider the following scenario: I use my Content Management System (CMS) to create a "Marketing" page. I then use the CMS to create an "Advertising Opportunities" page. I now want my "Marketing" page to link to my "Advertising Opportunities" page. This is really basic stuff, right?  Just alter the page, create a link in RadEditor, and type the URL.  Big freaking whoop! It is a big freaking whoop.  It's a big freaking whoop because this procedure doesn't scale.  As your web site becomes bigger & more complex the likelyhood that ...

Long-time readers of this blog might recall that I have been fairly vocal in my belief that Sitefinity should have a better solution for document & file management.  Long-time readers of this blog might also note that they do not, in fact, exist and swiftly disappear in a poof of self-unrealization. (Yes, a similar line exists in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  It was funny then and it's funny now!  Leave me alone.) For everyone else, you can read my insightful diatribes on this subject: Here, Here, and Here...

Slavo, over at the Sitefinity forums, made the mistake of asking me to express my opinion about the features I would like to see included in Sitefinity. This article includes my "Top 5 Most Wanted Sitefinity Features". First though, I have to admit that these items are subjective. Web sites are like snowflakes; each one is unique and you should always avoid the yellow ones. I fully acknowledge that what might be important to me & my projects, might not be true for everyone. Feel free to express you own ...

While working through my Sitefinity web site it became obvious that I wanted every page to start with "breadcrumbs", followed by the page's title. The "breadcrumbs" are easily accomplished by dragging Sitefinity's "Breadcrumb" Navigation control onto my templates.  By applying the "breadcrumb" control to my templates, rather than individual pages, it ensures that the control gets applied to ALL pages.  For page title, however, I was finding that I needed to use a "Generic Content" control on each individual page.  This was also forcing me to manually type the page's title (something ...

Let's talk about community for a moment. I recently got a mention over at the official Sitefinity blogs page.  I appreciated this not merely because I'm an ego maniac, but also because it shows Telerik stands ready to foster & support the budding Sitefinity community. When evaluating Sitefinity early on, there were five things that were largely responsible for getting me on-board: There was an online demo. There was a downloadable trial. There was a free "Community" version of their product. I didn't have to talk to anyone in ...

Posting code samples on web pages sucks.  Much of the nice formatting that makes code readable gets completely lost when you toss it into HTML.  What you end up with looks like modem line noise. To combat this, I wanted to create a Sitefinity control that would easily allow me to post nicely formatted code samples to my web pages.  This ended up becoming a fairly complex project.  To see full information & download details about this control, click here. Sorry I have to direct you to a new page.  ...

Telerik recently released Service Pack 1 for Sitefinity 3.1.  With it they beefed up their CmsManager.GetPages() method.  You can now return a set number of pages, as well as sort the pages by a given property. This allowed me to create a "What's New" control.  This control simply returns links to the last X number of pages that were updated.  (You can set the number of links that get returned.) I have made this control available within the GoonDocks Sitefinity Controls. It is free for anyone to ...

For this web site I'm running Sitefinity on a shared hosting platform; specifically I'm using DiscountASP.Net to host my web site. Each time you access Sitefinity for the first time it has to start-up.  As near as I can tell this involves sending a signal to a gerbil named Fred.  Fred is kept in a small cage at Telerik and when you access a Sitefinity web site it rings a small bell in his cage.  When Fred hears the bell he is supposed to press a big green button in his ...

I have now spent one month “developing with” and “living with” Sitefinity 3.1. Let me summarize Sitefinity: Sitefinity is a Ferrari without the radio, windshield wipers, antennae, windows, paint, and seat cushions. You get the impression that you’re sitting inside something great, but damn it’s uncomfortable. When Sitefinity works, it’s a marvel to behold! I love being able to drag & drop complex controls onto my pages and use friendly control designers to customize them. All of this is built upon an incredible CMS! Once everything is in place Sitefinity empowers anyone ...

UPDATE: I renamed this control to GoonDocks "Links" Control and have included it in the GoonDocks Sitefinity Controls.  Go there and download it.  This control will change your life. I created a simple Sitefinity control that allows you to select a page in your site map and the control will return links to the selected page's children pages. Sitefinity comes with several top-level navigation controls.  All of these controls start at the root of the web site and offer tabs, trees, or menus to drill-down from there. This "Child Links" ...

I have been playing around with a Content-Management-System (CMS) called Sitefinity by Telerik for the last few weeks. I have known about Telerik for many years. They create a suite of ASP.NET controls (RadControls) which I have used in several of my projects. My impression of their company and their products has always been extremely positive. Their software & service has always seemed inspired to me. My past relationship with CMS products has not been positive. I have evaluated dozens of them in the past. My impression of almost everything ...