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Taking Back the Web
My friend Dave Lane linked me to a very interesting article titled, Taking Back the Web, on News.Com describing how the new technologies are moving the Internet back to its social roots.
I couldn't agree more. From a solution developer standpoint, I think the next couple of years will be both exciting and facinating. We're finally getting tools into the general marketplace that allow mere mortals to do cool and amazing stuff. What used to take an army of web developer types ( or at least someone who knew HTML and FTP ) can now be done by anyone who can type and, hopefully, string together words into more or less coherent sentences.
If you need more proof, check out Michael Arrington's latest entry on TechCrunch, Web 2.0 Companies I Couldn’t Live Without, which lists the products that Michael says's he "would not choose to live without on the web."
Power to the people!
Misc
(No Ratings Yet)1,615 views
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DotNetNuke Benefactor Program Announced
For those of you familiar with DotNetNuke, you will be interested to learn they have implemented a benefactor program to help support the DotNetNuke development effort and provide additional access and value to the benefactor. Here's a summary:
Benefactor Program Goals
The DotNetNuke Benefactor Program was created with the intent to preserve the delicate balance between the needs of the open source community, the serious business ecosystem it has fostered, and the on-going management of the project. The Benefactor Program provides the ability for community members to gain access to a premium set of layered benefit packages; with each level designed to satisfy the needs of a specific stakeholder group. In order to appreciate each of the Benefactor Program levels being offered, it is first necessary to understand the specific requirements of each group.
Development (No Ratings Yet)1,311 views Loading ... -
Web Site solutions that run on .Net
I have invested quite a number of hours in the past few months in finding a solution that will allow me to quickly create a web site/portal using .NET technology. It turns out, I'm not the only one who has had this requirement. Ian Morrish has documented his findings in the following article:
Web Site solutions that run on .Net
Personally and professionally, I'd prefer to run the site on Windows Sharepoint Services (WSS) because it allows me to focus on the solution and not worry so much about the delivery platform. Unfortunately, I have run into a few major roadblocks that prevent me from using WSS. And like Ian, it looks like DotNetNuke will be the platform of choice for my projects for the time being.
Hopefully, when Sharepoint v3.0 is released, we'll have a much more rubust development environment which will allow us to implement some of those hair-brained ideas that we have floating around in our heads. .NET 2.0 has some really cool features and v3.0 will give us access to many of them.
The only thing that really sucks is if I go the DotNetNuke route, I will now have two different portal technologies to support. If Sharepoint v3.0 is actually the product that it appears to be, I'll probably end up porting my projects over. Yet another investment in time and effort, but maybe something that will pay off in the long term.
Development (No Ratings Yet)2,196 views Loading ... -
Showing Detailed Error Messages in MSCRM 3.0
So, how do you like those descriptive CRM error messages?
An error has occurred. Contact your system administrator
Did you know there was a way around it? Well, there is.
If you dig into the \Program Files\Microsoft CRM\CRMWeb\web.config file, you'll find the following key:
"DevErrors" value="On"
Here is the description, from the web.config file:
Show Developer Errors
If a server-side error occurs, this setting determines whether or not Debug error messages are rendered to the user. Debug error message are not recommended for production environments, but may be useful in attempting to debug a problem you are having with MSCRM.
Recommended Setting: "Off"
Values: "On" or "Off"When turned On, you will get a very nice error message dialog that provides you all sorts of information about the error, the system state, etc.
Just remember this is a system-wide setting and it will affect all users. While the web.config description indicates this setting should not be turned on in a production environment, I think it may help both users and administrators track down the occasional issue.
Dynamics CRM (No Ratings Yet)1,436 views Loading ... -
Clarifying your Sharepoint terminology
Todd Bleeker has written an excellent article to help clarify the various Sharepoint terminologies: Would a SharePoint "Site" by any Other Name Smell as Sweet – Absolutely!
This is a must-read for anyone who delves into the innards of Sharepoint.
Misc (No Ratings Yet)2,104 views Loading ... -
New Sharepoint Quick Launch Web Part
Bob Mixon is working on a new Quick Launch web part that looks pretty slick. It's currently in the beta test stage so keep an eye out for the final release.
Misc (No Ratings Yet)1,671 views Loading ... -
To BBQ or not to BBQ
So I'm in the original Sunny Bryan's on Inwood the other day and when the lady took my order she asked me for my initial. 'M', I replied. She looks at her pad and back up and me and said, "I already have an 'M', give me different one." I became momentarily confused and distressed when I realized that the possibility of me eating that day rested on the fact that I had to have a different initial than this other, so-called 'M', impostor. Which I didn't.
So, I decided to simply fess up to the fact and let nature take its course. I replied, "Ma'am, they're all M's."
Luckily, she this wasn't her first rodeo and she immediately remedied the problem by assigning me the name: 'MM' – and all was right with the world.
The End.
Copyright (c) 2005 by Mitch Milam
Meanderings (No Ratings Yet)2,205 views Loading ... -
Only in Coppell, Texas
So I'm driving through the streets of Coppell, Texas the other day when I passed by the pasture off Denton Tap Road where the guy has his cows. Cows, you say? In Coppell, Texas? Of course, I say. Black Angus cows. ( for you city folk, those are the BLACK ones. ) That Agriculture exception keeps you from paying those unpleasantly-high Coppell, Texas taxes and for some reason, folks find it more interesting to grow cows than crops on ground that turns into concrete in the summer.
Anyway, as I'm on my way home, I pass by the pasture and notice the herd of cows clustered around the guy's old John Deere tractor. Well, that's just kinda strange, I think to myself. Cows don't usually cluster unless there is a birth, a death, or some food to be had – much less around a machine. But clustered, they were so I just wrote it off to a passing fancy.
A couple of hours later, I again passed by the pasture and there was not a cow to be seen. There also wasn't no right-front wheel on the tractor neither.
Now that just ain't right.
What the world are a bunch of cows going to do with a tractor wheel, I kept thinking to myself. Heck, I don't even know what I would do with a tractor wheel.
Well, the wheel and the cows showed back up the next day so I guess it's just another unsolved mystery. I didn't see news reports involving cows and/or the police; and fire department didn't seem too bent out of shape, so I guess nothing unpleasant happened. Or if it did, the witness' have yet to come forward ( or be found ).
But what really worries me is the simple fact that Black Angus cows aren't usually that crafty. Herefords, on the other hand, are a whole nother story….
Copyright (c) 2005 by Mitch Milam
Meanderings (No Ratings Yet)2,486 views Loading ... -
Hiding a tab on a data entry form in CRM 3.0
I ran into an issue recently where I need to remove certain fields from a CRM data entry form. The problem is the field is "locked." That means it can't be removed. Here is one solution to removing unwanted and locked fields from a data entry form:
Step 1: Prepare the environment
- Add a new Tab to the form. Make sure it is the last tab on the form.
- Move the fields you do not want to this tab.
Step 2: Determine the internal ID of the tab.
- Load the form that you want to edit in the UI (as if you were going to create a new quote).
- Press the CTRL + N keys on your keyboard.
- Click the View menu, then click Source. This will allow you to view the actual id of the tab we wish to hide.
- Search for the tab name within the source.
Example: if your tab to hide was administration then search for Administration. Administration in this instance the tab ID is "tab2Tab".
Note 1:
As a general rule, here are the first three tabs on a CRM 3.0 Form:
tab0Tab = General Tab
tab1Tab = Details Tab
tab2Tab = Administration TabNote 2:
JavaScript is case-sensitive so you must enter the ID names exactly as you see them in this article, or in the file within Notepad.
Step 3: Hiding the Tab
- Now log into CRM and press the Settings button.
- Click the Customization link in the left hand navigation bar.
- Click custom entities in the right hand pane.
- Double click your entity to launch the editing page.
- In the editing page click the Forms and views link.
- In the right hand pane double click "Form" to launch the form editor.
- In the form editor click the "Form Properties" link.
- In the form properties double click the "OnLoad" event.
- In the onload event editor enable the event by checking the check box.
- In the onload event editor put in the following code using your tabId:
tab2Tab.style.visibility = 'hidden'; - Press the OK button to accept the changes.
- Press the OK button to accept the form property changes.
- Press the Save & Close button to accept the form editor changes.
- In the entity editor click the Actions Menu and press the publish link to publish the changes.
- Close all your web browsers and reload Microsoft CRM Version 3.0.
- Now open up the form in the application and notice that the tab is no longer visible to the user.
Dynamics CRM
(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)10,618 views Loading ...
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