Just whipped this up real quick since I needed for something and thought I’d share. If you’re using a Microsoft based XSLT processor and have a need to generate random numbers for some purpose, here’s a quick xsl snippet to help you out. <? xml version="1.0" ?> < xsl : stylesheet version...

Has this ever happened to you? You find some code on the Net so you copy and paste it into a source file within Visual Studio and notice that all the formatting is somehow messed up. For example. some lines might be indented while others are not. To have Visual Studio fix it all up nice and tidy for...

Some people have asked if they could take a look at the source for the WebCam Vista Sidebar gadget. After a little bit of cleaning up, I'm posting it now for you to take a look at. Here are some things worth mentioning: 1. Uses the DirectShow.NET library 2. I found some source in VB.NET and used that...

*EDIT* Looks like the nhl.com scheduling page has changed thus breaking my importer. I'm working on a new version but no idea when it will be done. I've taken the link down. Ok, I redid the whole application (since I lost the source code) and added some new features as well. The previous application...

Ok, I finally worked out most of the bugs (I hope). I'll post the link and follow up with some tutorials and Sidebar Gadget development using .NET. Here's the file...using the new SkyDrive Beta to host the file!!!

I had quite the breakthrough today. First off, I totally rewrote major portions of the .NET Sidebar Gadget Creator. It is now a wizard (photos below) that leads you through the steps to create a Vista Sidebar that uses .NET. Here are some of the changes (then I'll explain my breakthrough): You...

Are you hosting the .NET runtime and trying to create another AppDomain? Notice that you need to call CreateDomainSetup and cast the IUnknown to IAppDomainSetup to set properties? Notice also that IAppDomainSetup isn't defined in mscoree.h? Add the following (stdafx.h or anywhere else): #import <mscorlib...

So you want to create a Vista Sidebar gadget and you want to use .NET to do so. While it is certainly possible, it does have a few hurtles to jump. 2 of the major hurdles include assembly registration and gadget uninstallation. Let me explain: First off, let me explain the typical setup of a gadget...

I found a screensaver that plays nicely with my Vista ScreenSaver Sidebar gadget. Just in time for the 4th of July! First, go get the ScreenSaver gadget and install it to your sidebar: http://gallery.live.com/liveItemDetail.aspx?li=e321409b-231a-4da0-905c-0580c732223e&bt=1&pl=1 Next, go...

Ok, I just ran a test with some new code that creates an .NETbased sidebar gadget and I was able to get the dll unloaded from the sidebar process so it can uninstall successfully! This is good news for all the people that can't seem to get around this issue (and there's a few of you). I'll get going...

It's a milestone. My ScreenSaver Vista Sidebar gadget has hit 20000 downloads. Some people have commented that it would be nice to double click it and have it launch the screensaver. The good news is, I have a version that does exactly that (can even lock your workstation should you choose). The bad...

You read right, I am leaving the WF team. I have been a WF Programmer Writer (documentation guy) for awhile now and it's been fun. WF is an awesome technology and I whole heartedly agree with the direction Microsoft is taking it. However, I'm done being a Programmer Writer. A transition date is still...

For some reason, I'm drawn to creating things that are just cool while not altogether useful (see my Animated Activity Designer post, though one could argue that it may in fact be useful). To that end, I decided to create a Vista Sidebar gadget that displays a screen saver of your choosing. Vista has...

Since a few people have asked, I updated the source for WFPad to work with the latest and greatest Windows Workflow Foundation. Click the link to download: WFPad.exe or the zip file: WFPad.zip Enjoy!

As I mentioned in my last post, I have uploaded the Animated Activity Designer for use in your own project. A common question I can anticipate being asked is "Why?". So, here's why I created it and my reason as to why you may want to use something like this. First off, the reason I wanted to try to...

Back by popular demand, I now release the Beta 2 version of WFPad. However, it's not a simple port but a new and improved version. In this version, you can open workflows contained in any .NET assemblies (if I recall, that feature didn't work so well in the previous version...though I may be mistaken...

I actually have a hobby that doesn't involve computers...at least that's what I thought. First off, I'm still categorized as an R/C beginner. My first plane was a quick RTF (ready to fly) plane. I then went on to e-bay and bought an electric helicopter but it was poorly designed and if I broke any parts...

When you create a new map in BizTalk Server 2004 through the Add New Item menu in Visual Studio .NET 2003, you are presented with a 3 pane window. On the left side is a link that says "Open Source Schema". Clicking on this link will open the Select Artifact dialog box containing any schemas found that...

I find that one of the best ways to learn something new is to not fire up a search engine and start reading what other people have done but to do it yourself. Someone asked me yesterday how you would go about calling a .NET assembly from client side JScript in Internet Explorer (handy if you're using...

Every once in awhile, I do something in .NET that just makes me love it even more. If you come from a C++ (and esp. an ATL/COM) background, you'll probably have those moments too. Here's one that came to me today (note that this project is just a daily exercise and is not an indication that I'm working...