Summary: When a client adds a service reference to a service, the generated classes are marked as partial , which lets the client add additional helper methods and local functionality to the classes. When a client generates a contract from a service...

In Visual Studio it’s easy to add (or discover) a service that uses an http binding. What about adding a reference for some other binding (e.g. a TCP binding) that uses the .NET Service Bus? It’s easy – just add a reference to the MEX endpoint. For...

Ever see “FaultException: authN failed: ‘…’ of PasswordCredential” when trying to call a method that uses Windows Azure and the Access Control Service? The issue is simply that the password is not correct. For example, here’s a snippet of a client...

FaultException: matched scope not found: applies-to-address is ‘…’ This can occur when trying to use a client that uses a service that uses the Access Control Service. The following snippet shows the code around the exception: ServiceClient proxy...

How to view Azure logs ( RoleManager .WriteToLog ) when running under the Development Fabric: Open the Development Fabric and get the deployment id. For example, if the deployment title reads "deployment(26)", the id is "26". To dump the...

I’ve been experimenting with writing programs for Windows Mobile. I write the code in Visual Studio and use it to run the program in a Windows Mobile device emulator. The app I’m working on needs an internet connection but it is not obvious...

Need to look at the strings in a MUI file? Here's an easy was to do it with Visual Studio: In the VC file.open dialog boxes there is an "open as" or "open with" drop down. Select "resources" or "resource editor". It's also trivial to write a custom...

Overview Windows has an entire API for text input and interaction. The Text Services Framework (TSF) is a COM framework and API that supports advanced text input and text processing. It is designed to offer advanced language and word processing features...

Having problems getting the Access Control Service UserNamePasswordCalculatorService sample to work due to certificate problems? The issue may be that InstallCerts.bat may not be installing the certificates correctly. See the following thread for how...

jk on the Run points to a video review of the Media Center gadgets for Windows SideShow: http://www.jkontherun.com/2008/11/windows-mobil-1.html Have feedback about the gadgets? Please get in touch and let us know.

VS2008 Tip: Automatically implement abstract interfaces 1) Write derived class public class DerivedClass : BaseClass { } 2) Right click on "BaseClass" and select "Implement Abstract Class" 3) Fill in your code

Is it possible to bind properties to a MarkupExtension that returns a Binding? Yes! The MarkupExtension just needs to return a BindingExpression by returning binding.ProvideValue(serviceProvider): [ MarkupExtensionReturnType ( typeof ( BindingExpression...

We've just relased the Windows Media Center gadgets for SideShow! There are four gadgets – TV, Music, Pictures + Videos, and Now Playing – that let you browse and control your Media Center PC from any SideShow remote control or device, or even a Windows...

Trying to hide your forms window? Here are a couple sample solutions: One cumbersome solution is to override WndProc, listen for any window position changing messages (which includes z-order), and then not pass any show window flag on. public class...

When I'm working with a new technology or concept, I find that an ultra simple, bare bones code sample or app is one of the most useful things to use for getting started. When it comes to understanding how to work with IPC channels (named pipes), the...

Trying to figure out how to debug a Media Center add-in? See details on how to do it at the Media Center Platform Team blog at http://blog.mediacentersandbox.com/DebuggingAddinAssembliesInWindowsMediaCenter.aspx and to get symbols see http://blog.mediacentersandbox...

I'm currently working on the Media Center gadget for Windows SideShow. We've just put up the beta at http://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=312 so be sure to create an account and download to try it today! Feedback is encouraged so please...

I was both surprised and sad to hear that Live Search Books and Live Search Academic projects are being canceled. It was a pleasure and honor to be a part of the team that delivered both sites. Here's the original announcement as posted on the Live...

Err.exe is a great command-line utility for looking up error codes. It works with multiple sources, so running "err 80040005" will show where the error code exists in windows headers and other commonly used places. I used it frequently to look up...

Congratulations to the Windows SideShow team on the release of the Windows SideShow Device SDK 1.4 ! Windows SideShow is a technology that lets users write small gadgets for external displays. The SDK includes a simulator so you can start working with...

I've been exploring using multiple desktops in Windows and found some great resources online: Chris Jackson discusses multiple desktops (as well as how it relates to the login screen and UAC prompts) at http://blogs.msdn.com/cjacks/archive/2006...

Sometimes it's useful to turn off animations to improve performance, battery life, or simply because the flashiness gets in the way and becomes annoying. The obvious but incorrect solution is to simply not run the animation because sometimes the animation...

Did you ever add some resource (some xml, bmp, mp3, etc) to your project yet were not able to load them? I ran into this problem when adding an xml file, which contained some settings that are included when the code is built. Using the following code...

I noticed the Live Search Academic website was released today and it looks great. New features include the new Live Search look and feel, citations, advanced search, as well as lots of "invisible" improvements. The simple functionality and clean look...

Ajax Design Patterns (by Michael Mahemoff, June 2006, 635 pages, published by O'Reilly) http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/ajaxdp/ Ajax Design Patterns gives an intro to Ajax and a tutorial, programming Ajax design patterns, and examples of new Ajax-enabled...