Author Archives: Michael Gerety

Changing SharePoint Default ASP.NET compiler to use ASP.NET 3.5

Overview
While SharePoint 2010 supports .NET 3.5, it uses the .NET 2.0 compiler by default for ASP.NET pages.  If you write any UserControls or consume any DLLs in your hosted ASPX pages that utilizes .NET 3.5 features such as the var keyword, extension methods, and LINQ, you’ll get compilation error messages when attempting to access those [...]

Posted in .NET Framework, SharePoint, SharePoint 2010, SharePoint Foundation, SharePoint Server | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

What’s New in ASP.NET MVC 3 – Part 4 (screencast series 2.0)

I’ve posted the final installment of my What’s New in ASP.NET MVC3 screencast series (version 2.0)
Part 4 explores the following topics:

Extensibility
Scaffolding

This is a big one folks!
Note:  I recommend watching this video in HD Mode, full screen.
(video)
Screencast Download Link:
High Definition (.mp4) (85MB)

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What’s New in ASP.NET MVC 3 – Part 3 (Screencast Series 2.0)

I’ve posted the third installment of my What’s New in ASP.NET MVC3 screencast series (version 2.0)
Part 3 explores the following topics:

Entitiy Framework Integration
Controller Enhancements
JSON Binding

Note:  I recommend watching this video in HD Mode, full screen.
(video)
Screencast Download Link:
High Definition (.mp4) (85MB)

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

What’s New in ASP.NET MVC 3 – Part 2 (screencast series 2.0)

I’ve posted the second installment of my What’s New in ASP.NET MVC3 screencast series (version 2.0)
Part 2 explores the following topics:

Razor View Engine
Views
Validation

Note:  I recommend watching this video in HD Mode, full screen.
(video)
Screencast Download Link:
High Definition (.mp4) (85MB)

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What’s New in ASP.NET MVC3 – Part 1 (screencast series 2.0)

I’ve posted the first installment of my What’s New in ASP.NET MVC3 screencast series (version 2.0)
I created a version 2.0 of this series, as I had started it a while back and enough had changed since my initial screencasts that it warranted a fresh start.
Part 1 explores the following topics:

MVC Tooling in Visual Studio (specifically [...]

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Three .NET Best Practices to Keep in Mind

Practice #1: Catch Exceptions at the Highest Possible Level (Tier)
In general, exceptions should be bubbled up to the highest possible level to be caught and processed.  For example, in our project, a search goes through the following logical tiers:
UI -> Services -> Data/SharePoint/Refinement -> Web Services
There are quite a few instances where we’re catching exceptions [...]

Posted in .NET Framework, General | Tagged , | Leave a comment

SharePoint Server 2010 “Secret” Configuration Steps

Microsoft has drastically improved the installation and configuration experience for SharePoint Server 2010 when compared to MOSS 2007.  However, no matter how smooth the process, there’s always a few nasty little issues that many people come across without an obvious or easy-to-find solution.
David Dean at insource.com posted an excellent list of the most common remaining [...]

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Upgrading a SharePoint 2007 Content Database to SharePoint 2010

Before You Read
Microsoft supports various upgrade paths from WSS3.0/MOSS 2007 to SharePoint 2010.  This post will highlight the “attach and upgrade” approach. 
Upgrade Steps
Run the Pre-Upgrade Check on the SharePoint 2007 Server
Execute the following command from the command line on the SharePoint 2007 server hosting the database to be upgraded:
stsadm –o preupgradecheck
This will scan the [...]

Posted in SharePoint 2010, SharePoint Foundation, SharePoint Server | Tagged , | 8 Comments

“Access Denied” or locked features in SharePoint 2010 Central Administration after install on Windows 7 x64

I recently installed SharePoint 2010 on my client machine to investigate some of the BCS and Search features for a client project.  SharePoint 2010 now allows a standalone installation on Vista x64 SP1 or higher and Windows 7 x64, which is a major improvement over the remote development nightmare that existed with MOSS 2007.
For instructions [...]

Posted in Installation, SharePoint, Tips and Tricks | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Global Action Filters in ASP.NET MVC 3

Action Filters are a great way to handle cross-cutting concerns in ASP.NET MVC such as Logging, ExceptionHandling, etc.  In previous versions of MVC3, action filters have to be explicitly added to each controller. 
MVC3 adds the concept of Global Action Filters which allow you to apply action filters globally without the need for explicit declaration.  [...]

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