DNNDev_Blog

MaxLength for TextArea in XMod Pro and XMod

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:34:00 GMT

With XMod Pro and XMod, you can limit the length of the text entered through a (< input > for XMod). However, you cannot limit the length of text in a < textarea >. The reason stems from the underlying TEXTAREA HTML tag that is ultimately rendered for the control which has no maxlength property unlike the HTML INPUT tag which does. Fortunately, both XMod Pro and XMod provide a way for you to implement a maximum length for the control.

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Opening A Compiled Help File

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:18:00 GMT

I still create compiled help files for most of DNNDev.com's modules, including XMod and XMod Pro. The primary reason for this is to provide a single-file solution that has a clickable table-of-contents and topics that can link to one another. However, security changes at Microsoft make compiled help files tricky to open for some people. Here's how to open them

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Blogging From My Desktop, Laptop and iPhone

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:49:00 GMT

With the recent upgrade of DNNDev.com to DNN 5, I've updated a number of modules – among them the DNN Blog module. I've been blogging very irregularly for a couple of years on the site. Previously I limited my missives to just product and site news and announcements mostly. The main reason for this is that the Blog module historically has not been quite up-to-snuff. It was OK for very basic blogging, but since my blogging involved a lot of source code, the module's editor caused more than a few frustrated episodes as it blew up my painstakingly formatted code snippets. Since I didn't have time to write my own module to overcome the limitations of the Blog module, I ended up only posting when it was required or when I had a LOT of time to properly craft my posts. All that (well, most of that) has changed with the recent upgrades.

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Blogging From My Desktop, Laptop and iPhone

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:49:00 GMT

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XMod 5.5.1 Released

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:40:00 GMT

A new maintenance patch has been released for XMod 5.5. Here's a look at what's changed…

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Shooting Blanks at the CAPTCHA Control

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:01:00 GMT

I've gotten a few questions lately about the behavior of the CAPTCHA control in XMod Pro forms running in DNN 5. It's been discovered that if you leave the input blank on the CAPTCHA control, you are allowed to submit the form. Could this be true? Well, yes-and-no.

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XMod to XMod Pro – Part IV: Deleting Records

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:21:00 GMT

Part 3 of the series covered modifying the form and template to enable adding and updating records. In part 4 we'll handle deleting records.

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XMod to XMod Pro – Part III: Adding and Editing

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:18:00 GMT

In part 2 of this series, I showed you how to convert your XMod GridView to a grid in XMod Pro. In part 3, I'll add the ability to add, edit, and delete records.

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Unauthorized Inline Editing in HTML Module?

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:00:00 GMT

I woke this morning to quite a scare. A kind and gentle user had informed me, complete with screenshots, that it was possible to edit the content of all the Text/HTML modules on my site via the inline editing capabilities of the module.

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XMod to XMod Pro – Part II: Converting the GridView

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:16:00 GMT

In part I of this series, I discussed how to convert your XMod data entry form to an XMod Pro form. In this part I'll take the GridView template that was used and convert it for use in XMod Pro.

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XMod to XMod Pro – Part I: Introduction and Converting the Form

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:00:00 GMT

As more and more people are adding XMod Pro to their development toolbox, the question often arises: "How do I convert my XMod form and template to XMod Pro?" I'll take a stab at answering that in this post.

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Using Javascript in XMod Pro

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:56:00 GMT

To make your solutions truly interactive, you’ll want to start using Javascript in your XMod Pro applications. Whether it’s using a third party library or custom functions you’ve written, XMod Pro makes it easy to include interactivity via Javascript.

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Changes At DNNDev.com

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:34:01 GMT

If you’ve visited the site lately, you’ve probably noticed a number of changes. We’re in the process of updating the site to better meet your needs. Here’s a breakdown of some of the changes we’ve already implemented.

DNN 5

We’ve finally been able to upgrade our site to the latest and greatest version of DotNetNuke. This is the foundation for all of the other changes we have been and will be making. The upgrade took quite a bit of preparation (we were upgrading from DNN 4.5). The process went smoothly but we have run into a number of troublesome hiccups. Most of these have now been resolved.

Upgraded Forums

Most you visit our forums on a regular basis, so I’m sure you’ve already noticed this change. Not only have we changed the color scheme to be more in keeping with the site style, but we’ve upgraded to the latest version of ActiveForums. We encountered some DNN 5-related problems but Will at ActiveModules was able to diagnose and remedy the issue.

With the new forums comes a host of new features. One of the main reasons we did the upgrade was to make it easier to find the needle in what has become a huge haystack of information accumulated over the years. The new forums provide a greatly enhanced searching facility. The forums also use tagging and make management and organization of forums easier. There is a new version slated for release soon and we’ll upgrade as soon as we can to take advantage of other features that will become available.

The forums can be found here.

Knowledge Base

Because products like XMod and XMod Pro are tools that are used to build solutions, there is a larger need for information about using those tools to meet varying scenarios. While we have provided comprehensive help files (some reaching over 400 pages in length) and the support forums, we felt we should provide an additional mechanism that would enable you more efficiently and quickly find the answers you’re looking for so you can get on with your day.

Thus, we’ve created a new initiative – the Knowledge Base (often abbreviated as KB). The KB aims to be the repository of answers to frequently asked questions, demonstrations of techniques, full blown tutorials, and sample forms, templates, and solutions.

The KB is Community Supported. DNNDev will be contributing many articles to the KB. In addition, XMod MVP’s and special contributors will also be adding content. But we can’t do it all. We need you to contribute as well. If you find yourself answering the same question for the umpteenth time on the forums, search for the answer in the KB and, if it’s not there, add your own article. If you have a demonstration of a technique or way of using XMod/XMod Pro, post that. If you see an article in the KB that could use some clarification or additional information, reply to the topic with the new info. From the simple to the advanced, we need it all.

The KB is moderated. Because we want to preserve the answer-rich quality of the KB, it will be moderated. Not all posts will be accepted and those that are may be edited for formatting, content, suitability, or anything else :) If you post to the KB, please make it content rich. While we like “thank you” and other positive feedback, we cannot post those replies as they would “gunk up the works” and detract from users’ ability to find information.

Additionally, we’ve setup an RSS feed for the Knowledge Base so you can stay up-to-date on the latest additions.

The Knowledge Base can be found here.

The RSS feed for the Knowledge Base is here.

Enhanced Blogging

We’ve upgraded to the latest version of the blog module which provides a nicer layout. More importantly, it enables us to hook the blog into the Metaweblog API so our posts can be made from tools such as Windows Live Writer. This will make it easier to create longer-form posts and posts with pictures and other formatting.

The Blog can be found here.

I hope you find the latest changes useful and valuable. We have more enhancement coming down the pike, so stay tuned.