Render a control (for an RSS feed) - rss

I am trying to find a way of rendering a control (part of a web page) so I can add it to an RSS feed (basically xmlns:content before anyone gasps).
var rendering = item.Visualization.GetRenderings(Context.Device, false)
.FirstOrDefault(it => it.RenderingID.ToString() == "{968B82C4-46D9-43F3-AD52-82AA2629156B}");
if (rendering!= null)
{
var sb = new System.Text.StringBuilder(); // needed?
var sw = new StringWriter(sb);
using (var wr = new HtmlTextWriter(sw))
rendering.GetControl().RenderControl(wr);
}
What I am finding is that sw is empty and I was expecting it to contain html (the control displays fine on the website). Any thoughts?

I don't think there is an easy way to achieve this. Sitecore runs different pipelines depending on whether this is XSL, WebForms or MVC component...
There was already a question on Stack asking same thing: How to get content of rendering programmatically? But as you can see, author abandoned the idea cause there was no way of getting this easily.

Related

Get all the nodes of webforms treeview by httpwebrequest

I want to get all the nodes of a websites which is created by asp.net webforms. The TreeView has at least 3 levels, and its initial expandDepth is 1.
Here's what the TreeView looks like: https://i.stack.imgur.com/2WaCq.png
and here's the code:
var rqst = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(#"http://localhost:9418/Index.aspx");
var rspn = (HttpWebResponse)rqst.GetResponse();
using (StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(rspn.GetResponseStream(),Encoding.UTF8))
Console.WriteLine(sr.ReadToEnd());
If I view the page source directly in the browser, I can see all the nodes.
You can get the code files here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!Al1hUSZtR4OjwU_kmegzF5gzFIKp

FileReference.upload non asynchronous?

I'm a bit of a flex noob, but I couldn't find this question asked anywhere, or a proper workaround. I'm quite used to GET/POST and web interactions, but I'm new to working in mxml's and such. See function below.
private function uploadFileSelect(event:Event):void
{
var uploadURL:String = Application.application.parameters.UploadURL;
var urlStr:String = ExternalInterface.call('window.location.href.toString');
var queryMap:Object = getQueryParams(urlStr);
var request:URLRequest = new URLRequest(uploadURL);
var urlVars:URLVariables = new URLVariables();
urlVars.appid = queryMap.appid;
urlVars.str = queryMap.str;
request.method = "POST";
request.data = urlVars;
uploadFileRef.upload(request);
}
Essentially, this works perfectly for what I need, with one exception. The final call to .upload is asynchronous, so I stay on the current page, but it calls the upload URL in the background. I want it to act like a form and actually navigate TO the upload URL with the POST data. I feel like this should be a simple solution, but I was kind of thrown the task of working on someone else's flash code and need a little advice.
Thanks in advance!
Because it is asynchronous, you cannot achieve redirect from the UI like you do in Html form. As a work around you can add listeners to the uploadFileRef
uploadURL = "someurl";
uploadFileRef.addEventListener(Event.complete, function(e:Event){
navigateToURL(new URLRequest(uploadURL),'_self')
});
navigate url will tke you to the target url. I do not know how you will get the uploadURL, i'm assuming it is the url at which you have uploaded the file to.

Creating Reports in ASP.Net with Entity Framework

We are looking to add Microsoft Reports - SSRS to one of our internal websites.
The database has all the reporting features installed.
The website is using Entity Framework 4 for all data.
I have been able to create a report using the old fashioned way of creating a DataSet (*.XSD) and this works well.
My question though, is it possible to utilise the existing Entity Framework in the site for the data required by the reports? Rather than having to re-invent the wheel and make a whole DataSet, along with relationships etc..
It's a website and not application, so this (http://weblogs.asp.net/rajbk/archive/2010/05/09/creating-an-asp-net-report-using-visual-studio-2010-part-1.aspx) doesn't seem to apply; I don't see the DataSource (in part 2 of the tutorial)
Update
As a side-note, we would like to steer clear of expensive third-party controls etc.
Also, another way to look at the issue might be to generate the *.XSD from the entity framework entity model; is this possible? It's not ideal though would get us up and running..
Below is a quick sample of how i set the report datasource in one of my .NET winForms applications.
public void getMyReportData()
{
using (myEntityDataModel v = new myEntityDataModel())
{
var reportQuery = (from r in v.myTable
select new
{
l.ID,
l.LeaveApplicationDate,
l.EmployeeNumber,
l.EmployeeName,
l.StartDate,
l.EndDate,
l.Supervisor,
l.Department,
l.Col1,
l.Col2,
.......,
.......,
l.Address
}).ToList();
reportViewer1.LocalReport.DataSources.Clear();
ReportDataSource datasource = new ReportDataSource("nameOfReportDataset", reportQuery);
reportViewer1.LocalReport.DataSources.Add(datasource);
Stream rpt = loadEmbededReportDefinition("Report1.rdlc");
reportViewer1.LocalReport.LoadReportDefinition(rpt);
reportViewer1.RefreshReport();
//Another way of setting the reportViewer report source
string exeFolder = Path.GetDirectoryName(Application.ExecutablePath);
string reportPath = Path.Combine(exeFolder, #"rdlcReports\Report1.rdlc");
reportViewer1.LocalReport.ReportPath = reportPath;
reportParameter p = new ReportParameter("DeptID", deptID.ToString());
reportViewer1.LocalReport.SetParameters(new[] { p });
}
}
public static Stream loadEmbededReportDefinition(string reportName)
{
Assembly _assembly = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
Stream _reportStream = _assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("ProjectNamespace.rdlcReportsFolder." + reportName);
return _reportStream;
}
My approach has always been to use RDLC files with object data sources and run them in 'local' mode. These data sources are ... my entities! This way, I'm using all of the same business logic, string formatting, culture awareness, etc. that I use for my web apps. There are a some quirks, but I've been able to live with them:
RDLC files don't like to live in web projects. We create a separate dummy winform project and add the RDLC files there.
I don't show reports in a viewer. I let the user download a PDF, Word, or Excel file and choose to save or open in the native viewer. This saves a bunch of headaches, but can put some folks off, depending on requirements. For mobile devices, it's pretty nice.
Since you are not using SSRS, you don't get the nice subscription feature. You are going to build that, if required. In many ways, though, I prefer this.
However, the benefits are really nice:
I'm using all of the same business logic goodness that I've already written for my views.
I have a custom ReportActionResult and DownloadReport controller method that allows me to essentially run any report via a single URL. This can be VERY handy. It sure makes a custom subscription component easier.
Report development seems to go pretty quick, now that I only need to adjust entity partial classes to tweak a little something here or there. Also - If I need to shape the data just a bit differently, I have LINQ.
We too use SSRS as "local" reports. We create Views in SQL server, then create that Object in our application along with the other EF Domain Models, and query that object using our DbContext. We use an ASPX page and use the code behind (Page_Load) to get the data passed to the report.
Here is an example of how we query it in the Page_Load Event:
var person = MyDbContext
.Query<ReportModel>()
.Where(x => x.PersonId == personId)
.Where(x => x.Year == year)
.Select(x =>
{
PersonId = x.PersonId,
Year = x.Year,
Name = x.Name
});
var datasource = new ReportDataSource("DataSet1", person.ToList());
if (!Page.IsPostBack)
{
myReport.Visible = true;
myReport.ProcessingMode = ProcessingMode.Local;
myReport.LocalReport.ReportPath = #"Areas\Person\Reports\PersonReport.rdlc";
}
myReport.LocalReport.DataSources.Clear();
myReport.LocalReport.DataSources.Add(datasource);
myReport.LocalReport.Refresh();
The trick is to create a report (.rdlc) with a blank data source connection string, a blank query block and a blank DataSetInfo (I had to modify the xml manually). They must exist in file and be blank as follows:
SomeReport.rdlc (viewing as xml)
...
<DataSources>
<DataSource Name="conx">
<ConnectionProperties>
<DataProvider />
<ConnectString />
</ConnectionProperties>
<rd:DataSourceID>19f59849-cdff-4f18-8611-3c2d78c44269</rd:DataSourceID>
</DataSource>
</DataSources>
...
<Query>
<DataSourceName>conx</DataSourceName>
<CommandText />
<rd:UseGenericDesigner>true</rd:UseGenericDesigner>
</Query>
<rd:DataSetInfo>
<rd:DataSetName>SomeDataSetName</rd:DataSetName>
</rd:DataSetInfo>
now in a page event, I use a SelectedIndexChanged on a DropDownList, bind the report datasource as follows:
protected void theDropDownList_SelectedIndexChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (theDropDownList.SelectedIndex == 0)
return;
var ds = DataTranslator.GetRosterReport(Int64.Parse(theDropDownList.SelectedValue));
_rvReport.LocalReport.ReportPath = "SomePathToThe\\Report.rdlc";
_rvReport.LocalReport.DataSources.Add(new ReportDataSource("SomeDataSetName", ds));
_rvReport.Visible = true;
_rvReport.LocalReport.Refresh();
}
You can use a WCF-Service as Datasource and so re-use your application data and logic for your report. This requires a SQL-server standard edition at least i believe. So no can do with the free SQL-express edition.
You can use LINQ with RDLC Report which is quite easy to use
LinqNewDataContext db = new LinqNewDataContext();
var query = from c in db.tbl_Temperatures
where c.Device_Id == "Tlog1"
select c;
var datasource = new ReportDataSource("DataSet1", query.ToList());
ReportViewer1.Visible = true;
ReportViewer1.ProcessingMode = ProcessingMode.Local;
ReportViewer1.LocalReport.ReportPath = #"Report6.rdlc";
ReportViewer1.LocalReport.DataSources.Clear();
ReportViewer1.LocalReport.DataSources.Add(datasource);
ReportViewer1.LocalReport.Refresh();

adding dynamic message at end of flash video

I am working on a Flash training video. I would like at the end of the video for a message to pop up with a dynamic confirmation code. I have the code for the confirmation code, but am having trouble creating something either at the end of the flash video or within the aspx page to trigger this message. Any thoughts or ideas of how to solve this would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You.
Depend on the purpose of the application, you can do either one. One thing to consider is does the user has to go through the flash video to obtain the code. If so, you need to organize the flow of the application in a way that the user can't cheat their way to obtain the code.
The ideal way is to have the flash called aspx page at the end of the movie to obtain the dynamic code. This can be done using URLLoader in ActionScript 3.0 or LoadVars in ActionScript 2.0.
URLLoader example
//this is the data
var data = "This is data";
//url of your aspx code
var request:URLRequest = new URLRequest("http://www.yourdomain.com/GenerateCode.aspx");
request.contentType = "text/xml";
request.data = data;
//use POST method
request.method = URLRequestMethod.POST;
var loader:URLLoader = new URLLoader();
try
{
//execute the request
loader.load(request);
}
catch (error:ArgumentError)
{
trace("There is an ArgumentError.");
}
LoadVars example:
//create LoadVars object
var lv_in:LoadVars = new LoadVars();
var lv_out:LoadVars = new LoadVars();
//set onLoad event
lv_in.onLoad = function(success:Boolean)
{
//if success, meaning data has received response from .net page, run this code
if (success)
{
//lv_in.status is use to get the posted data from .Net page
statusMsg.text = "Thank you!" + lv_in.status;
}
//if fail, run this code
else
{
statusMsg.text = "Error!";
}
}
//this is the data
lv_out.data = "This is data";
//begin invoke aspx page
lv_out.sendAndLoad("GenerateCode.aspx", lv_in, "POST");
There another easier way but not the best practice i should say. The easier way would be to direct user to aspx page that generate dynamic code after users finish the flash movie. The negative side is, the page can be accessed although users did not finish the flash movie.

Why am I losing my databinding when printing to an XpsDocument?

Update!
Binding works. The issue is that the XpsDocumentWriter doesn't properly write the first page of the first document of a FixedDocumentSequence. This seems to be an issue encountered by lots of people doing this sort of thing (i.e., five developers worldwide). The solution is slightly odd. I include it as an answer.
Okay, its a bit more subtle than the question suggests.
I've got a series of FixedPages, each has its DataContext set individually. Each FixedPage also has one or more controls that are bound to the context.
If I add these FixedPages to a single FixedDocument and write this single FixedDocument to an XpsDocument, my binds are de-referenced (so to speak) and the correct values are presented in the XpsDocument.
If I add these FixedPages to individual FixedDocuments (each FP gets added to a new FD), then these FixedDocuments are added to a FixedDocumentSequence, and this sequence is then written to the XpsDocument, my binds are NOT de-referenced and my FixedPages appear blank.
Debugging tells me that I'm not losing my bindings or my binding context, so that's not the cause of this failure.
Here's some sample code to illustrate what's going on:
// This works
FixedPage fp = CreateFixedPageWithBinding();
fp.DataContext = CreateDataContext();
// Add my databound fixed page to a new fixed document
var fd = new FixedDocument();
var pc = new PageContent();
((IAddChild)pc).AddChild(fp);
fd.Pages.Add(pageContent);
// Create an xps document and write my fixed document to it
var p = Package.Open("c:\\output.xps", FileMode.CreateNew);
var doc = new XpsDocument(p);
var writer = XpsDocument.CreateXpsDocumentWriter(doc);
wri2.Write(fd);
p.Flush();
p.Close();
// This does NOT work
FixedPage fp = CreateFixedPageWithBinding();
fp.DataContext = CreateDataContext();
// Add my databound fixed page to a new fixed document
var fd = new FixedDocument();
var pc = new PageContent();
((IAddChild)pc).AddChild(fp);
fd.Pages.Add(pageContent);
// Create a fixed document sequence and add the fixed document to it
FixedDocumentSequence fds = CreateFixedDocumentSequence();
var dr = new DocumentReference();
dr.BeginInit();
dr.SetDocument(fd);
dr.EndInit();
(fds as IAddChild).AddChild(dr);
// Create an xps document and write the fixed document sequence to it
var p = Package.Open("c:\\output.xps", FileMode.CreateNew);
var doc = new XpsDocument(p);
var writer = XpsDocument.CreateXpsDocumentWriter(doc);
wri2.Write(fds);
p.Flush();
p.Close();
You can see that the only difference between the two is that I'm adding the fixed document to a fixed document sequence, which then gets written.
Obviously, whatever magic happens that causes the databinding to be evaluated and the bound values be inserted isn't happening when my fixed documents aren't being Written to the Xps Document. I need to be able to write more than one fixed document, and the Write method can only be called once, thus requiring I add the FixedDocuments to a FixedDocumentSequence which I then write. But I also need my damn databinding to work as well!
Any help in this situation would be appreciated. I know its not exactly the most common part of the framework; I'm just hoping that someone here has some operational experience with this (I'm looking at you, lurking MS employee).
The cause of this bug is that the FixedPage's layout isn't being updated prior to writing. This causes the first FixedPage in the first FixedDocument in the FixedDocumentSequence to be written incorrectly. This affects NO OTHER PAGES IN THE RESULTING DOCUMENT, which made this bug/edge case harder to nail down.
The following WORKS (rewritten version of the non-working example):
FixedPage fp = CreateFixedPageWithBinding();
fp.DataContext = CreateDataContext();
var fd = new FixedDocument();
/* PAY ATTENTION HERE */
// set the page size on our fixed document
fd.DocumentPaginator.PageSize =
new System.Windows.Size()
{
Width = DotsPerInch * PageWidth,
Height = DotsPerInch * PageHeight
};
// Update the layout of our FixedPage
var size = fd.DocumentPaginator.PageSize;
page.Measure(size);
page.Arrange(new Rect(new Point(), size));
page.UpdateLayout();
/* STOP PAYING ATTENTION HERE */
var pc = new PageContent();
((IAddChild)pc).AddChild(fp);
fd.Pages.Add(pageContent);
// Create a fixed document sequence and add the fixed document to it
FixedDocumentSequence fds = CreateFixedDocumentSequence();
var dr = new DocumentReference();
dr.BeginInit();
dr.SetDocument(fd);
dr.EndInit();
(fds as IAddChild).AddChild(dr);
// Create an xps document and write the fixed document sequence to it
var p = Package.Open("c:\\output.xps", FileMode.CreateNew);
var doc = new XpsDocument(p);
var writer = XpsDocument.CreateXpsDocumentWriter(doc);
wri2.Write(fds);
p.Flush();
p.Close();
I found this issue while trying to use XpsDocumentWriter to write to a PrintQueue. The following code prints the first page correctly.
//Prints correctly
FixedDocumentSequence Documents = new FixedDocumentSequence();
//some code to add DocumentReferences to FixedDocumentSequence
PrintDialog printDialog = new PrintDialog
{
PrintQueue = LocalPrintServer.GetDefaultPrintQueue()
};
printDialog.PrintTicket = printDialog.PrintQueue.DefaultPrintTicket;
if (printDialog.ShowDialog() == true)
{
Documents.PrintTicket = printDialog.PrintTicket;
XpsDocumentWriter writer = PrintQueue.CreateXpsDocumentWriter(printDialog.PrintQueue);
writer.Write(Documents, printDialog.PrintTicket);
printerName = printDialog.PrintQueue.FullName;
}
If you remove the printDialog.ShowDialog() and just attempt to silent print to the default printer, the first page prints incorrectly. However, in my scenario, I didn't need to use a FixedDocumentSequence so I swapped it out for just a single FixedDocument and silent printing worked. I tried updating the layout on the FixedPage without success. Weird how the first page prints fine if I show the print dialog though.
One reason that you lose a binding is that you throw an exception somewhere - unfortunately, this exception is silently swallowed and your binding just "stops working". Turn on First-chance exceptions and see if anything gets hit.

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