Ozzie Rules Blogging

A Tour of Windows Presentation Foundation and Silverlight: focusing on getting started and using it

The WPF and Silverlight team is serious about getting you started using NET 4/ Visual Studio 2010 Beta2.  To help you with this effort Ted Hu and Mark Wilson-Thomas will be hosting an hour long tour of the designers for two of my favorite technologies the Windows Presentation Foundation(WPF) and  Silverlight - focusing exclusively on why would want to use these new designers and of course how to get started!

Hope to see you there!

Thursday 10/29/2009 10am PST

LiveMeeting:
https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/0000000379_103/join?id=76P755&role=attend&pw=p%2C%2Fzk2K%7CM
Conf call: 
Toll Free (US Only): 866-500-6738
Toll: 203-480-8000
Participant code: #198585

Work Item Query (WIQ) files not opening in Visual Studio 2010 Beta2

Just had one of my friends from the CLR Team(Ashwin Kamath) mention that his WIQ queries were opening in the XML editor in Beta2 of Visual Studio 2010.  (You can see he was looking at the bugs you folks have filed on Http://connect.microsoft.com ).

Unfortunately this is the second time i have seen something like this with Beta2 today…looks like we sent Beta2 out with a couple of the file extensions unmapped.  Luckily it is really easy to fix.

To (Re)associate WIQ Files to Visual Studio 2010 Beta2:

1.  Add your WIQ file to a Visual Studio 2010 project – doesn’t matter which/what type of project.

In this case i just created a new project (File>New Project > Windows Forms Application) and to add a WIQ you can either drag from Windows Explorer or Project>Add Existing Item

2. Right Click on the WIQ file in Solution Explorer and choose “Open With”.  You will see the default is the XML Editor…Sorry about that!

3. Choose the Work Item Query View, click the “Set as Default” button and choose okay.

Setting up Offline help/Docs in Visual Studio 2010 Beta2

If you were like me you were so excited to install Visual Studio 2010 Beta2 that you didn’t install the documentation initially…

Then when you went back to install the docs, the option in the setup dialog was disabled!

Well never fear you CAN install offline docs after the initial installation –and the default offline help even explains how.  

When you press F1 without the documentation installed you are presented with an HTML page containing the section below(i just added the screen shots):

Installing Offline Content from Media

The name of the file that HLM uses to install content is HelpContentSetup.msha. The MSHA file is an HTML file that identifies help content that can be installed locally.

Use the following instructions to find and install help content from media.

• Launch Help Library Manager from the "Help" menu in your software application. Click "Help" > "Manage Help settings".

• After HLM launches, click "Find content on media". 

• Navigate to the directory that contains the content setup file (HelpContentSetup.msha). (In the Beta2 ISO this is called: \ProductDocumentation

• Select the file and click "OK". The next window shows the content available on the media, and any content that is already installed.

• Select the content to install by clicking the "Add" action next to the content title. When you are finished selecting content to install, click the "Update" button at the bottom of the screen.

• HLM will install the content and report on its progress.

• Next time you press F1 in VS2010 you should get the new (and totally cool) help experience like the one below:

5 Top Visual Studio 2010 Beta2 Resources

As everybody probably already knows Visual Studio 2010 Beta2 has released; that being the case I thought I would pull together the top 5 resources for people getting started.

Inspiration from Doug Seven (not work related)

Our chief marketing dude Doug Seven inspired me with the building of a playhouse for his daughter…firmly believing  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery i decided to also build my daughter a playhouse.  Unfortunately for my daughter, Natasha, it was raining when i started so rather than building ours outside i decided to repurpose the empty space in our attic. Also unfortunately for Natasha her daddy is cheap -so instead of buying expensive building supplies like well wood i decided use the 1000+ lbs of scrap trim, siding and spare doors the previous owner had left above the garage. ( a different attic attached with a crawl space).   Fortunately for Natasha my wife didn’t want a stairwell anywhere visible inside the house so i took a page from the Narnia stories and built a stairwell into the back of a closest (see pictures).

Must admit for less than a $200 at home depot it turned out pretty cool!  (For instance the paint was $5 a can from the “oops” mixings)

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Office DevCon 09 Oct 31st Nov 1st Brisbane Australia

University of Queensland will continue a 3 year tradition by hosting the very successful Office Devcon 09. 

The speaker list looks like a who’s who of Australian MVPS.

Very Sorry I am going to miss it!…hopefully you won’t make the same mistake!

Office DevCon 2009

Abel Smith Lecture Theatre
Building 23, St. Lucia campus
Campbell Road
University of Queensland

31st October-1st November 2009

Email Address:

admin@officedevcon.com.au

Imaginet and Telerik Introduce Free Team Workload Management Tools

i just saw Imaginet built an entire suite of tools for Managing Team Foundation Server …all built on the Telerik WPF Rad Tools (They look amazing!).

Great work to Joel and the rest of the Imaginet team!

TFS Work Item Manager highlights:

• Work Item grid filtering, grouping, and aggregation
• Area and Iteration filtering using single and multi select modes
• Filter query results using a tree of areas or iterations
• Unique Task board view of work items independent from any process template
• Print work item cards for the board in your room
• Iteration schedule
• Paste clipboard contents into a work item
• "New Query by example” saves your query for other team members
• Search the title and description of query results as you type
• Built with RadControls for WPF

Explore TFS Work Item Manager features

TeamCompanion for Outlook Releases version 2.2 Oct6

I was talking to Adam Cogan Chief Architect for SSW over the weekend about productivity tools and he mentioned:

"We are very happy we found this tool from Ekobit. In fact we could not use TFS work items, if we did not have TeamCompanion for Outlook. It is the best add-in for TFS, let alone the best TFS add-in for Microsoft Outlook. It is the perfect solution, as it solves many problems, starting with the missing HTML feature (that even TFS 2010 did not solve). It beautifully integrates e-mail and Outlook with Team Foundation Server and that makes TeamCompanion the single best thing you can do to improve your project communication with developers and clients."

In the VSTS MVP circles the Ekobit Dev Lead Ognjen Bajic is known as the “Croatian Coding Machine” …and must admit he surpassed our expectations with this release!

Well done Ognjen!

If you haven’t used Team Companion before this is a great time.

TeamCompanion 2.2 comes with many features that enhance its usability and improve efficiency of work. It automates series of actions, thus saving time and making common tasks easier. With just one click you can create an email from a work item including all work item attachments, send the email and attach it back to the work item. Another example is the search for emails containing work item’s title or ID available directly from the work item form with just one click. Offline support improvements include background logic that continuously monitors if the client is online or offline and acts accordingly. These and other usability enhancements set new standards in integration between Microsoft Outlook and the Team Foundation Server.
TeamCompanion compatibility with Windows® 7 and with the forthcoming Team System 2010 version are the evidence of continuous improvements and commitment to stay the best team companion tool on the market!
Nothing changes in the update policy for existing customers: there is NO update fee.
For those of you who want to evaluate TeamCompanion, enjoy the trial period for 90 days!

http://www.ekobit.com/

MVP TV: Simplifying deployment with the Web Deployment Tool (MSDeploy)

The ONLY MSBuild MVP in the world, Sayed Ibrahim Hashimi, has volunteered to do an MVP TV Session on MSDeploy

Wednesday, October 14, 2009, 4:00PM - 5:00PM Pacific Time (UTC/GMT -7 hours)

https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/mvp/join?id=PR7D6Z&role=attend&pw=A5128ML0Y0D

MVP TV: Simplifying deployment with the Web Deployment Tool (MSDeploy)

Deploying ASP.NET Websites has always been a challenge and different teams have used different approaches to overcoming those challenges. Microsoft has offered some support for making deployment easier in the past. For instance they first introduced Web Deployment Projects for Visual Studio 2005, and also have a version for 2008. Web Deployment Projects do greatly simplify the process of calling the aspnet_compiler and aspnet_merge tool but even though their title states “Deployment” they had no support for physically deploying the site. Now Microsoft has introduced the Web Deployment Tool, also known as MSDeploy. MSDeploy will bridge the gap between taking a web site and physically deploying it to its destination. With MSDeploy you can easily and very effectively perform tasks such as pushing an ASP.NET site (Web site, Web Application Project, ASP.NET, etc) from one machine to several other machines. This is achieved by the target machines having the MSDeploy Remote Agent Service installed and running. You can sync two different Web Sites that are hosted in IIS, you can create a web package (simply a .zip file) and use that as your source, you can sync two different folders, and many other options. Another compelling feature of MSDeploy is that it will be integrated into Visual Studio 2010. From Visual Studio 2010 you can compile your ASP.NET Web Application Project and then create the Web Package which contains all your content files plus IIS settings. This one file will full describe your web.

About Sayed Ibrahim Hashimi:

Sayed Ibrahim Hashimi has a computer engineering degree from the University of Florida.

He is a Microsoft Visual C# MVP. He is the author of Inside the Microsoft Build Engine : Using MSBuild and Team Foundation Build (Microsoft Press 01/09), co-author of Deploying .NET Application: Learning MSBuild and Click Once (Apress 05/2006), and has written several publications for magazines such as the MSDN Magazine. He is a developer and independent consultant in Jacksonville, Florida. He is an expert in the financial, education, and collection industries.

TFS Beta2 Setup Chat Postponed until Oct 19th!

Just wanted to let people know the TFS Chat Originally scheduled for Oct 15th needed to be pushed out to Oct 19th…

If you missed it the first time the details below:

Get ready for Team Foundation Server 2010 Beta2: Chat with the TFS Setup and Admin Team

The Team Foundation Server Setup and Admin team would like to help get you ready for Team Foundation Server Beta2 with a live presentation via live meeting.

While the session will focus on getting Team Foundation Server 2010 (TFS) up and running Ed will also be touching on the features that now enable TFS to “scale down” to the smallest development efforts from both resource and administration point of view. This will session be a little different than my normal presentations in that we will also be running a parallel chat session for people to ask questions in real time. 

Note: there are only 50 connections on the phone bridge so if you have problems connecting via phone please use the computer audio provided by the live meeting link.

Presenter:  The TFS Setup Admin Team & Ed Holloway Senior Program Manager

Date: Thursday Oct/19/2009

Time:     9:00am-10:00am PST
LiveMeeting:
https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/0000000379_103/join?id=76P755&role=attend&pw=p%2C%2Fzk2K%7CM

Join the meeting.
Audio Information
Computer Audio
To use computer audio, you need speakers and microphone, or a headset.
Telephone conferencing
Use the information below to connect:
Toll-free: +1 (866) 500-6738
Toll: +1 (203) 480-8000
Participant code: 198585
First Time Users:
1. Download the Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007 client

2. check your system to make sure it is ready to use Microsoft Office Live Meeting.

Notice
Microsoft Office Live Meeting can be used to record meetings. By participating in this meeting, you agree that your communications may be monitored or recorded at any time during the meeting.

Agile Database Techniques using Visual Studio Team System Database Edition

Just found out that Richard might be back in Town Dec…If he does his training is not to be missed!

Agile Database Techniques

This course provides students with the knowledge and skills to properly manage the SQL Server database development lifecycle in an agile environment. The student will learn how to manage changes to the database structure, ensuring quality through T-SQL unit testing, and how to automate the building and deploying of SQL Server databases. Intended for developers and administrators already comfortable with the concepts of designing, programming, testing, and deploying SQL Server databases, this course focuses on using Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition to maximize productivity while minimizing mistakes.

Price: $1995.00 (USD)
Pricing may be different in locations outside the United States
Language(s): English
Length: 3 Days

Pre-requisites:

Before attending this course, the student should have experience developing and maintaining SQL Server 2000, 2005, or 2008 databases. It would also be beneficial if the student has worked in a team-based software development project and is familiar with their organization’s Software Development Life Cycle.

Signup to hear about for upcoming dates for the Agile Database Techniques

Agile Database Techniques Dates

Dec 2-4, 2009
Seattle, WA
Instructor: Richard Hundhausen

Visual Studio Team System Events (Both VSTS 2008 and 2010)

My good friends at Notion have put together a killer set of webcasts, roadshows and training courses…mention my name at any of Ed Blankenship’s training events and receive preferred seating!

(Guessing that means in one of the corners)

Chance to win a free HD Zune and free VSTS 2010 Training in a Northwest City near you!

Two of the best VSTS presenters in the world (Jeff Levinson and Steve Borg) are once again offering free VSTS classes…and bribing you with a chance to win an HDZune per each location

(Right now there is less than 50 people registered for Portland so a 1:50 chance of winning!)

Get ready for Team Foundation Server 2010 Beta2: Chat with the TFS Setup and Admin Team

The Team Foundation Server Setup and Admin team would like to help get you ready for Team Foundation Server Beta2 with a live presentation via live meeting.

While the session will focus on getting Team Foundation Server 2010 (TFS) up and running Ed will also be touching on the features that now enable TFS to “scale down” to the smallest development efforts from both resource and administration point of view. This will session be a little different than my normal presentations in that we will also be running a parallel chat session for people to ask questions in real time. 

Note: there are only 50 connections on the phone bridge so if you have problems connecting via phone please use the computer audio provided by the live meeting link.

Presenter:  The TFS Setup Admin Team & Ed Holloway Senior Program Manager

Date: Thursday Oct/15/2009

Time:     9:00am-10:00am PST
LiveMeeting:
https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/0000000379_103/join?id=76P755&role=attend&pw=p%2C%2Fzk2K%7CM

Join the meeting.
Audio Information
Computer Audio
To use computer audio, you need speakers and microphone, or a headset.
Telephone conferencing
Use the information below to connect:
Toll-free: +1 (866) 500-6738
Toll: +1 (203) 480-8000
Participant code: 198585
First Time Users:
1. Download the Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007 client

2. check your system to make sure it is ready to use Microsoft Office Live Meeting.

Notice
Microsoft Office Live Meeting can be used to record meetings. By participating in this meeting, you agree that your communications may be monitored or recorded at any time during the meeting.

Two new developer security tools (and videos on how to use them)

The Security team has been busy since i have last met with them….in addition to the SDL Integration white paper they have also released two new tools and videos on how to use them.

BinScope enables you to scan your code to verify you are setting important security protections such as: 

• Proper security compiler switches (such as /GS, /SafeSEH, /NXCOMPAT, and /DYNAMICBASE)
• Using .NET strong-named assemblies,
• Known good ATL headers
• Up-to-date compilers
• Not using dangerous constructs such as global function pointers.

For a Video of this tool in action please see:

http://edge.technet.com/Media/binscope-overview-and-demo/

MiniFuzz File Fuzzer is a simple file fuzzer that is designed to ease your introduction into fuzz testing by supplying file formats that your application would otherwise not expect.

For a Video of this tool in action please see:

· http://edge.technet.com/Media/minifuzz-overview-and-demo/