ASP 101 News

Visual Studio Item Templates

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

When you add a new page to your Web site, do you often find yourself cutting and pasting from another page to get started? If you're spending more time importing controls and setting up content regions for your master page than actually working on the new page, you might want to look into creating an "Item template" in Visual Studio.

Cut or Copy Entire Lines Instantly in Visual Studio

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

While this is really more of a Visual Studio tip than an ASP tip, it's a huge time saver that few people seem to know about.

Using the Response.RedirectLocation Property

Tue, 4 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

It appears that ASP.NET actually includes a Response.RedirectLocation property which you can set instead of using the AppendHeader method we originally used in our tip about permanent redirects. The end result is the same, but based on the feedback we've received it seems that many of our readers prefer the RedirectLocation method.

Improved Proper Case Sample Function

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

As often happens, one of our visitors has taken one of our scripts and improved upon it. Our original was designed to mimic VB's vbProperCase format. The problem is that they both fail miserably on things like "Peter O'Tool" or "Camilla Parker-Bowles". This new version handles both of those correctly.

Response.Redirect vs. "301 Moved Permanently"

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We've all used Response.Redirect at one time or another. It's the quick and easy way to get visitors pointed in the right direction if they somehow end up in the wrong place. But did you know that Response.Redirect sends an HTTP response status code of "302 Found" when you might really want to send "301 Moved Permanently"?

Microsoft Releases Silverlight 2

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Microsoft has shipped the release version of Silverlight 2. The runtime is currently available for Windows and Mac browsers.

Using HttpOnly Cookies in ASP.NET 1.x and Classic ASP

Tue, 7 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

I've gotten a number of email from users anxious to use HttpOnly cookies in their legacy Web projects. Rest assured, you can get the same HttpOnly functionality regardless of your server side tool of choice... it's just takes a little more work.

Help Stop Cross-Site Scripting Attacks with HttpOnly Cookies

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Did you know that there's a simple little change you can make in the way you handle cookies that can help prevent your users from falling victim to a cross-site scripting attack? Implementing HttpOnly cookies is quick, easy, and goes a long way towards making your application safer for everyone.

Classic ASP Ad Rotator Sample

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This sample illustrates the basics of how to use the Ad Rotator control. The control is easy to use, and just like its .NET counterpart, it can be useful even if you're not actually serving advertisements.

Jump To a File in Windows Explorer Directly From Visual Studio

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Did you know that recent versions of Visual Studio all come with the handy little feature of being able to jump directly to the folder that contains the file you're currently working on?

ASP.NET Ad Rotator Sample

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This sample illustrates the basics of how to use the ASP.NET Ad Rotator control. The control is quite simple and even if you're not actually serving advertisements it's a great way to rotate the display of other images as well.

Yet Another User-Contributed Version of the Calendar Sample

Tue, 2 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We must've done something right when we wrote this sample, because it's ten years later and users are still using it and even sending us their own customized versions. Quite a few changes in this version. If any of these features are something you think might be useful, download it and give it a whirl!

Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

After a healthy run in beta, Microsoft has finally released both Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 and .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1.

Case-Insensitive Usernames and Passwords

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Our login and password sample code has always been case-sensitive. While we don't really recommend it, if you must make your usernames and/or passwords case-insensitive, it's actually quite easy to do.

How To List The Tables In A Database

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

While developers are usually interested in accessing the data contained within a database's tables, occasionally you need to know something about the tables themselves. It's at these times when this quick ASP.NET tip might come in handy.

Form ViewState ASP.NET Sample Code

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This sample illustrates how ASP.NET handles the problem of maintaining a Web form's ViewState for you automatically. As such, the actual code involved is not that exciting, but the fact that it does all the work for you should excite you some.

Name Your Development Sites

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Do you ever get sick of trying to remember the IP address to the local development version of a site you're working on? Here's a little tip that might help.

Installing IIS on Windows Vista Home Premium

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

While you may expect to be able to install IIS 7.0 on Windows Vista Business and Vista Ultimate, you might be surprised to learn that you can also install IIS 7.0 on Windows Vista Home Premium.

Sending Email to Multiple Users with the Tell a Friend Sample

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Based on your requests, this week we explain how to modify our Tell a Friend sample so that it allows users to enter multiple, comma-separated email addresses.

Leaving Scripts and Styles Inline

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

When deciding if you should leave a Web page's JavaScript and styles inline or move them to a separate linked .js or .css file, there are a few different factors to consider.

Move Settings Out of the Web.config File

Tue, 1 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Did you know that you can move sections of your Web.config file into other files? Whether it's to keep things tidy or simply to make it easier to find the settings you change often, it's easy to do and yet few people even realize you can.

Use the Same Event Handler for Multiple Objects

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

As a developer, repetitive code is your enemy. It takes longer to write, leads to larger files, and is harder to maintain. Which brings me to the point of this tip. Did you know that you can tie the same event handler to multiple objects? It's easy to do, but most people never think to try it.

Checkbox to Database Sample

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This sample builds upon our original Checkbox sample by showing you how to display boolean data as a checkbox and then how to save the state of that checkbox back to a database.

How To Calculate Age

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Determining a person's age given their date of birth seems simple enough, but I get a lot of email from people who can't seem to get the code working as it should.