DotNetNuke Blog Aggregator

Well, I haven’t posted for a while on this blog – but I have got some good news.  I am about to go into beta with my new DotNetNuke blog aggregator site.  It accepts both Atom and RSS blogs, so if you own a DotNetNuke related blog then please register and add your blog.  I will then review your blog and approve it if it is of sufficient quality.  To have a look and register your blog please visit DNNSecrets.co.uk.

It is in beta at the moment, so you can expect some changes over the coming weeks.  And I would really appreciate your feedback as well.  The reason why I put this blog aggregator together was to raise money for charity by using the same system on my BlogRelief.com website.  BlogRelief.com promotes blogs for a small donation – i.e. to promote your blog for 12 months it will cost the blogger just £30.00 which goes straight to charity.  The bloggers benefit because they get more traffic, and the charities benefit because they receive the Bloggers money donations.  BlogRelief.com is a not-for-profit personal venture of mine, and I hope it will be accepting registrations in the next few weeks. 

I really appreciate the hard work done by the DotNetNuke core team – I think it is a fantastic full featured web framework that allows me to put these solutions together in just a few days rather than weeks or months.  Of course it helps that I am my own customer ,  but even so – the platform is so powerful and the community is thriving.  I just hope that I can make BlogRelief.com work – if anyone wants a version for their country then please let me know – it would be great to take BlogRelief.com global.

Top 10 DotNetNuke Posts For August

Here are some of the top posts I have read so far this month, August 2008 – not in any particular order:

• Is DotNetNuke vulnerable to sql injection?
• DotNetNuke: Data Access Layer
• Managing Pages in the DotNetNuke Admin Menu
• Exposing a Development Installation of DotNetNuke
• Integrating jQuery and jQuery Cycle plugin into DotNetNuke
• DotNetNuke: Its Issues
• DotNetNuke 4.9.0 Release Dogfood
• How to Create a DNN Installable Module from an OWS Configuration
• DotNetNuke: Hot or Not
• Locating Historical DotNetNuke Releases

Did I miss yours – if so please tell us about your DotNetNuke article/blog post.

Join My Blogroll

Do you blog about DotNetNuke – leave a comment with your url and I will add it to my blogroll

Tell Us What You Are Doing With DotNetNuke?

I am really interested to find out what you are doing with DotNetNuke:

• Are you putting together a new website?
• Developing a new module?  If so which language are you using?
• Looking for information on DotNetNuke?
• Designing new Skins?
• Writing about DotNetNuke (and other web frameworks perhaps, such as Drupal, Joomla etc.)?
• Investigating DotNetNuke 5.0 Beta (Cambrian)

So please tell us what you are doing with DotNetNuke by leaving a comment.

Install Instructions DotNetNuke (DNN) 5 Beta 6 – Cambrian

Installing DotNetNuke (DNN) 5.0 Beta 6 (Cambrian)

This blog has now moved to http://www.dnnsecrets.co.uk

I have been playing with DotNetNuke 5.0 Beta 6 (Cambrian). My development system is Windows XP running IIS 5.1.

Here are some simple steps to get a DNN 5.0 Beta 6 instance up and running:

Step 1: Download it from DotNetNuke.com – you can find it at the bottom of the DotNetNuke Downloads page.

Step 2: Create a folder such as “c:\dotnetnuke\DNN5beta6” and unzip the files from DotNetNuke_05.00.00_Install_BETA6.zip

Step 3: Right click on the DNNBeta6 folder in File Explorer and assign “ASPNET” with modify rights.

Step 4: Open IIS and create a new Virtual Directory

Step 4a: Give the virtual directory a name, i.e. DNN5Beta6

Step 4b: Select the root folder for the site: “c:\dotnetnuke\DNN5beta6”

Step 4c: Add Execute permissions

Step 4d: The virtual directory has now been configured.

Step 5: Finish Configuration in IIS – un-tick “Integrated Windows Authentication” and tick “Anonymous Access“

Step 5a: Ensure that the following “Virtual Directory” screen looks like this:

Step 5b: Add “default.aspx” in the “Documents” screen

Step 6: Now we are ready to configure DotNetNuke 5 Beta 6.  To do this go to “http://localhost/dnn5beta6” and you should see this screen:

Step 6a: Click next test the file permissions.  Click Next.

Step 6b: If your settings are configured properly you should see “Your site passed the permissions check“. Click Next.

Step 6c: Database settings screen – leave as default if you are using SQL Server Express. Click “Test Database Connection”.

Step 6d: The database connection test should result in a message: “Connection Success“.  Click Next.

Step 6e: The database should install itself by running.  This should result in the message: “Installation of Database Complete“

Step 6f: Enter your host account details.  Click Next.

Step 6g: Enter your admin account details.  Click Next.

Step 6h: You should see a “Congratulations” message.  Click “Finished (Goto Site)“.

Step 7: Start playing with the beta 6 version – have fun!

 

DotNetNuke Can Help Start-Up Internet Entrepreneurs

This blog has now moved to http://www.dnnsecrets.co.uk

Over the last few months I have met various Start-Up Internet Entrepreneurs who are hoping to create the next Facebook.  Most of them talked about needing approximately £15,000+ to implement a beta version of their website – and interestingly, they have all been told that they need a bespoke solution.  Pinning their hopes that their beta version will secure enough interest and generate enough money (or funding) to continue with the project until it is eventually profit making and successful.

My thoughts on their chance of success are:

1. The more documentation the entrepreneur creates (in their own time) the better.  Most often documentation is not taken seriously enough, and only when the entrepreneur sits down to document the features, revenue models, competitor analysis, marketing plans, forecasting, technology types etc. can they truly visualise what it is they are trying to create and why (and hopefully to some extent how).
2. They need to find a development team that can demonstrate that they share a excellent (not just good or great) understanding of the entrepreneurs vision – especially if the entrepreneur isn’t very technical.  Requirements need to be elicited until entrepreneur and “lead developer” share a common understanding – only then can the solution, plan and associated costs be worked out with any degree of accuracy – software gets expensive when requirements are not understood properly or missed all together.
3. Putting money into the initial development is only the start of it.  You often need much more to take it to market, unless you have customers already queuing up at your door.
4. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY – Their initial implementation needs to be as good as possible as it might well mean make or break – So my advice is: “Do some research and realise that something like DotNetNuke might be just the ticket to underpin the beta version”.

DotNetNuke isn’t the only platform that should be considered, there are other contenders out there – but for me it is at the top for most situations.

1. 80% out of the box – with lots of free components and 100’s of commercial components
2. Bespoke features can be implemented using VB.NET, C#, SQL  or  by using products such as XMod or ListX
3. Progress can be quick – a site up and running in an afternoon – more time can be spent on the important issues.
4. Active developer community – so you are not necessarily tied into a single software house for support and maintenance

If you are embarking on a new entrepreneurial internet/intranet/extranet based project then have a look at how DotNetNuke can help you achieve your goals.

Display A Google Calendar On Your DotNetNuke (DNN) Website

This blog has now moved to http://www.dnnsecrets.co.uk

Google offers an excellent calendar – see http://www.google.com/calendar.  It is possible to share your Google Calendar with the rest of the world by ticking the “Share all information on this calendar with everyone” option in the “Share this calendar” configuration section.  When you select this option Google asks:

Are you sure you want to share this calendar with everyone?
Public calendars appear in Google Calendar searches.

Well, the idea is to share the calendar on our DotNetNuke website, so it is also great that people can find it via Google Calendar searches also.

The last part of the Google Calendar configuration is to select the “Calendar Details” tab and configure your calendar options by clicking the “Customise the colour, size and other options” link.

Once you have completed the look and feel of your calendar, the final thing to do in the Google Calendar settings is to click the green “Calendar Address HTML” button to get the URL of your shared Google Calendar.

Adding your Google Calendar to your website is now nice and simple:

1. Create an IFrame module
2. Paste in the URL of your Google Calendar
3. Set the width, height, and other IFrame properties in the Module settings

The result – you have a great (free) read-only calendar on your DotNetNuke website:

It would also be nice to allow visitors/members of your website to suggest new events – this could easily be done using XMod or ListX or maybe a simple custom module written in VB.Net.

10 Reasons To Use DotNetNuke For Your Business Website

Only 10 reasons I hear you say!  Well, here are my top ten, please feel free and add your comments why you think businesses should choose DotNetNuke for their Business Website.

Here is my list:

1. Business owners feel empowered.  This is what I like the most – business owners quickly understand that they have been given a world class (5 star) website in terms of technology and capability and they really want to make the most of it.  With some simple training and guidance businesses quickly learn how to administrate their website – it is great when a customer phones up and tells you they have just created a new page, added x, y, z modules in order to support a new business service they are about to start offering to their customers.  No longer do they need to manage this though their web design agency.  It is so much more than traditional content management.
2. With some of the truly exceptional commercial skins and containers and grabbing a few images from iStockPhoto, businesses can expect to have their own amazing looking website.  No longer do they have to put up with a website that looks like it was designed by an amateur.  Even better, when their brand changes, they can easily re-brand their website with a new skin and set of containers.
3. Content Management – ok this is only the tip of the ice-burg of what DotNetNuke has to offer, but it is still a very important feature.  I am writing this blog using Windows Live Writer.  And now thanks to digMeta (MetaWeblog for DNN) I can do the same with my DotNetNuke websites.  I haven’t tried MetaWeblog for DNN yet, but I will be in the next few weeks.
4. Easy to apply various Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) techniques.  There are certain modules which help with your SEO such as “SEO Module for ASP.NET 2.0“.  Just out of interest, one of my favourite SEO tools is IBP 9.  Modules also exist that allow you to monitor what your visitors do on your website which is of great benefit as the more you understand your Customer the more likely you will be able to make a sale.
5. Web 2.0 features – using DotNetNuke, businesses can expect to offer much more than just a simple online brochure.  Web 2.0 is all about building highly interactive, community based websites – giving businesses the opportunity to interact with their customers in new and exciting ways.  I especially like Live Content :: Web 2.0 – I think Mandeeps has done a wonderful job with this module.  I have also written my own Web 2.0 Community based module which I will be talking more about in later blogs.
6. Security – Using the built in Role Based Security, businesses can easily control exactly what their Users (Customers) can access – at the page and module level.  Customers can even subscribe to different roles giving them access to premium (possibly chargeable) content – “Subscription Tools” from Ventrian provides free/paid subscription capabilities.
7. Internationalisation – This is very important to any business that has customers from more than one country.  DotNetNuke has built in features to internationalise the website with ease.
8. Affordable – DotNetNuke websites are without doubt fantastic value for money.  My advice is to hire a professional to build your website and also provide support and maintenance (i.e. perform Version upgrades etc.).   But just as important is for the business to seek training in order to facilitate their own administration, page creation and content management. 
9. Flexible, simple, feature rich and future proof! – A business can be safe in the fact that they are investing in a world class, proven product.  And there is much more to come in the future.
10. A wonderfully vibrant DotNetNuke Community – this tells you a lot about the technology and how strong it is.  With discussions starting about Cambrian, the next major version of DotNetNuke, the future is looking good and the community will grow and grow.  This means that if a business uses “Company X” to develop their solution they can move over to “Company Y” with minimum fuss if they become dissatisfied with “Company X” in any way.  In my experience it is more difficult (and more expensive) to move support and maintenance to a new company if a complete bespoke solution has been implemented.

What benefits have I missed?  I know there are lots more!

Please send me an email – dnnsecrets@gmail.com if you are interested in receiving my DNN Secrets Newsletter.

Create a HelloWorld DotNetNuke Module In 6 Easy Steps

This blog is no longer being updated because I have moved it from WordPress over to my own DotNetNuke site, so please head over to http://www.dnnsecrets.co.uk where I also aggregate some of the best DotNetNuke blogs available.

What do you need to do to create a “HelloWorld” DotNetNuke (DNN) module?

1) Set up your development environment

2) Under DesktopModules create a folder called HelloWorld

3) Create a HelloWorld.dnn file, containing:

<dotnetnuke version=”3.0″ type=”Module”>
<folders>
<folder>
<name>DNNSecrets.HelloWorld</name>
<friendlyname>HelloWorld</friendlyname>
<foldername>DNNSecrets.HelloWorld</foldername>
<modulename>DNNSecrets.HelloWorld</modulename>
<description>A HelloWorld module</description>
<version>01.00.00</version>
<modules>
<module>
<friendlyname>HelloWorld</friendlyname>
<cachetime>60</cachetime>
<controls>
<control>
<src>DesktopModules/HelloWorld/ViewHelloWorld.ascx</src>
<type>View</type>
<helpurl></helpurl>
</control>
</controls>
</module>
</modules>
<files>
<file>
<name>ViewHelloWorld.ascx</name>
</file>
<file>
<name>ViewHelloWorld.ascx.vb</name>
</file>
</files>
</folder>
</folders>
</dotnetnuke>

Keeping things to the bare minimum, we only reference the ViewHelloWorld.ascx and its code behind file ViewHelloWorld.acsx.vb.

4) Create a ViewHelloWorld.ascx file containing:

<%@ Control language=”vb” Inherits=”DNNSecrets.Modules.HelloWorld.ViewHelloWorld” CodeFile=”ViewHelloWorld.ascx.vb” AutoEventWireup=”false” Explicit=”True” %>
HelloWorld

and also the ViewHelloWorld.ascx.vb

Imports DotNetNuke
Imports System.Web.UI
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Reflection

Namespace DNNSecrets.Modules.HelloWorld
Partial Class ViewHelloWorld
Inherits Entities.Modules.PortalModuleBase

Private Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
End Sub

End Class
End Namespace

5) So now you should have a folder structure looking like this:

And the files should contain the content as described in steps 3 to 5 above.

6) Finally we can now install the module – to do this simply load up your DNN web site, login as host and go to the “Module Definitions” page.  At the bottom of the page click the “Import Module Definition” link and then select the HelloWorld.dnn file from the Manifest Drop Down List and click “Import Manifest”.

That’s it!  You have now created your first “HelloWorld” DotNetNuke Module!

[Edit] – Thanks Michael, the Resx file has been removed from this tutorial – so now it is “Create A HelloWorld Module In 6 Easy Steps”.

Newsletters in DotNetNuke (DNN) using Aweber

Aweber is one of the best Unlimited Autoresponders, Follow Ups, Newsletters systems on the web, so naturally I wanted to integrate Aweber with my DotNetNuke website.

So I signed up to Aweber and created my subscription form.  The subscription form was a simple bit of HTML consisting of a Form, some hidden fields, a few input text boxes and a submit button.  I added it into an HTML/Text module on my front page only to find it did not work!

The reason for it not working is because each DotNetNuke page already has a form.  And the form has an enctype of “multipart/form-data“.  The usual trick here (also can be used to get PayPal buttons to work on a DotNetNuke website) is to remove the form tags and add an onClick event consisting of something like:

<input type=”button” onClick=”this.form.action=’http://www.aweber.com/scripts/addlead.pl’; this.form.submit();” value=”submit” />

However, this did not work with Aweber – and I was redirected to a page explaining that the email address supplied was invalid.  I assumed that Aweber wasn’t actually receiving this data with my adapted bit of html code.

The solution – which seems to work well is to change the form encoding to the default “application/x-www-form-urlencoded” so it now looks like

<input type=”button” onClick=”this.form.encoding=’application/x-www-form-urlencoded’; this.form.action=’http://www.aweber.com/scripts/addlead.pl’;this.form.submit();this.form.encoding=’multipart/form-data’” value=”submit” />

I know there are opt-in newsletter modules available for DotNetNuke, but if you want a single Newsletter/autoresponder/Follow Ups system used on a variety of different websites (DNN and other) then Aweber is one of the best.