No Excuses!!!

Excel AutoFilter status bar displays "Filter Mode" instead of Filtered Count

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:46:00 +0000

I work with quite a few spreadsheets and couldn't figure out why autofiltered data would not consistently show filtered count, instead showing "Filter Mode".

Lo & Behold there's a knowledgebase article for this issue (2 actually).

For Excel 5.0, 95, 97
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q189479/

For Excel 97, 2000, 2002, 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/213886

Soooo the problem has existed for a really long time, with no Real solution.

Workaround (from 2nd kb article) is as follows:

To temporarily work around this problem, prevent the formulas from calculating when you run a filter. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. In the Options dialog box, click the Calculation tab.
3. On the Calculation tab, click Manual under Calculation.
4. Filter the list to see the filter results in the status bar.

To restore calculation, on the Tools menu, click Options. Click the Calculation tab, and then click Automatic under Calculation.

:/

Tech Support Self Service Email

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:12:00 +0000

I originally sent as an email, ergo, last line.

Check out xkcd.com for more simply brillant, math/tech based hilarity.

In the unlikely even you do not find this Helpful AND/OR Hilarious
(which means you fail at computers & humor), please see form below....

Addendum: Notice how you only see my name on this email? It's called BCC. Use It! ;p

Can I post again yet?

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:57:00 +0000

Just wondering

Jazz w/ a GeneraL Problem

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:25:00 +0000

Jazz with a General problem @ Yahoo! Video

Diablo III

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:38:00 +0000

Yeah, I'm a bit late on this. I've been busy >p

Damned if you Do Damned if you Don't

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:49:00 +0000

Wasting hours on a non-problem is frustrating to say the least.
Such is the case of not knowing about the CancelSelectOnNullParameter property of the ASP.NET 2.0 SqlDataSource control.

There was a time when if I wanted use a language / IDE I'd study a couple manuals cover to cover and Then dive in. While this was time and energy consuming, there was nothing like understanding your tools in their entirety to really solve problems in the most efficient manner. Well, I've gotten older and have a lot less time. My current method of solution discovery is trial and error. While frustrating & rewarding, it saves time in that I'm focused on the areas I believe I need to be in. I've used the SqlDataSource, GridView, FormView and most recently Telerik RadGrid Many times and never ran into a situation where the CancelSelectOnNullParameter was relevant. Now 2+ hours after I should have been on to the next section of the project I'm finally able to adequately test the BASICS of Data Access. I swear I thought I was losing it when the data grid wasn't showing up on a tested and working SqlDataSource. Why does the test work differently than the actual implementation?!?! No more bitching, but a HUGE thanks to ecbruck from the ASP.NET forums.

I'd post a thank you there, but they have the Most RETARDED (that is a medical and technical term not to be confused with salnder again the mentally challenged) non-passport login system! I forgot my password. Send me a link to a page to reset it, except I'm Denied Access to the reset page. WTF!!?!!? Ok. Now, no more bitching... for now.

So, in summary:

If your Gridview, RadGrid, DataReader, etc is not returning data when you KNOW it should be and its DataSource is a SqlDataSource (or AccessDataSource) and there are parameters with no value (null) being passed to it, it's probably because the CancelSelectOnNullParameter property is set to True (the default). Set to false and let the data flow again. I'm so frustrated right now.

I LOVE O'Reilly Safari Video

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:53:00 +0000

Another year and I Still Love my virtual bookshelf. In addition to adding publishers,
they've added Video! Currently over 600 hours.

It's gotten to the point where It's not about available content, but managing the available content. With over 300 books in my favorites (at this point I think of them as marked for perusal) it's getting a bit more difficult to even open existing favs before a whole new set is coming down the pipe. Mmmmm, Information Overload (*Homeresque Gargle...*)

Project Management (21)

Executive Skills Development (7)

Personal Development (7)

Digital Photography (10)

">More >

Markup Languages (21)

Operating Systems (18)

Software Engineering (18)

Architecture and Design (1)

Software Engineering (2)

">More >

Computer Science (6)

Coding (3)

Information Theory (1)

Certification (4)

Microsoft (4)

Desktop Applications (4)

Human-Computer Interaction (4)

Interface Design (4)

Usability (2)

Artificial Intelligence (3)

Cognition (2)

Machine Learning (1)

IT Management (3)

Network Management (1)

Multimedia (3)

After Effects (1)

Animation (1)

Desktop Publishing (2)

Fonts (1)

Print Production (1)

Enterprise Computing (2)

System Administration (1)

Hardware (2)

Networking (1)

Upgrading and Repairing (1)

I still can't help but recommend this service (can't just call it a site) to anyone that consumes technical books and has an internet connection. For those that prefer real books for the type and layout, there's now an option on many title for reading in print fidelity.

I'm still not a fan of the token system. I use them because I have them, but have no real interest in creating a collection of random chapters. However, this feature is completely obscured by the overall awesomeness of the service.

"BCMLogon.dll"

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:36:00 +0000

"A recently installed program has disabled the Welcome screen and Fast User Switching. To restore these features, you must uninstall the program. The following file name might help you identify the program that made the change: C:\WINDOWS\system32\BCMLogon.dll"

First Step: Google "BCMLogon.dll"
Found this site:

Strangely enough, it was a comment below it that gave me an idea of how to resolve this issue. The mention of wireless networking reminded me of this dialog:

Unchecking "Authenticate prior to Windows domain logon" removed the BCMLogog.dll issue and brings you one step closer to without opening the registry. Hopw this is helpful.

MGS4

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 03:03:00 +0000

Still waiting...

iDea: Broadcast Tags for Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 18:18:00 +0000

(Very) Rough idea: Set up small devices that broadcast location/event/time/etc info that cameras can pick up and record. The goal behind this is to automatically group pictures taken by anyone providing a broader perspective in space and time.

Broadcast Devices should be simple and provide Exact coordinates, time, and space for broadcaster provided description. Receivers should handle most of the heavy lifting and be included in image capturing devices.

Potential issues: Shows like CES would be difficult because there are so many objects in close proximity. Additional manual (and probably cumbersome) intervention would be required for accurate tagging.

Potential solution: Increased receiver processing power could allow for instructions to take in variables of location (mm level), direction and distance of subject(s) and tag individual items in a shot. (Holy Shit, That would be awesome).

Metal Gear Saga 20th Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:29:00 +0000

I found this on Kotaku:

Steampunk Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 02:25:00 +0000

Found via Gizmodo.

'DropDownList' has a SelectedValue which is invalid because it does not exist in the list of items. Parameter name: value

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 23:04:00 +0000

Exception Details: System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException: 'DropDownList' has a SelectedValue which is invalid because it does not exist in the list of items.
Parameter name: value

I've got a dropdownlist whose SelectedValue is bound to a sqldatasource whose dataset is dependent on the selected index of another dropdownlist. By the time the SelectedValue is bound, the other dropdownlist should already have the appropriate selectedIndex bound. I know this is just a matter of timing, but it's pretty frustrating none the less. To see that feedback was given and summarily ignored is downright infuriating.

Response provided from feedback:
"Thank you for submitting this suggestion. From the brief description you've provided, it's difficult to determine what's actionable here. If this is really a suggestion, can you provide a more detailed description of the scenario and what you would like to see improved? If you're experiencing a problem with the product, can you resubmit it as a 'code defect' and provide repro steps along with any example code that would enable us to repro the problem. You also mention that Microsoft is aware of the problem - is there a KB article or exisiting bug that you can reference? All of this will help us to determine what needs to be done."

Wow. That is one of the Laziest responses I've ever seen. And don't think the lack of an individuals name went unnoticed. Lazy AND Cowardly.

I felt a little better after reading this, and resolved myself to a codebehind solution (for the time being).

Addendum:
No problem should be posted without a usable solution. What's the point in finding this if it doesn't help or at least point you in the right direction.

I'm currently working with Telerik Controls which I like a lot, but they're based on existing MS components so their combobox, for example, inherits the same behavior. Here is an example from their documentation which should cover a wide range of issues similar to this one.

SQL Server GRANT EXECUTE TO [Role] During Stored Procedure Creation

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:56:00 +0000

Why is it so troublesome to find the simple things?

For some time now I've wanted to automatically grant execute permissions to a specific database role during the creation of my stored procedures (for a given app). No, I don't want to grant permissions to a set of existing procedures. I grew accustomed to doing this when I created Oracle Stored Procs a few years ago and tried several times with similar syntax to no avail.
Well I'm about to create a sh*tload of pros and the extra time (and frustration) it takes to add and grant execute on each sp through the management studio was enough to get me to look for the solution again.

I already create enough procedures to warrant the creation of a temp txt file to hold a new proc template:

SET ANSI_NULLS ON
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
-- ==============================================================
-- Author: Brian H Donoho
-- Create date:
-- Description:
-- ==============================================================

CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[usp_]

AS

BEGIN

END

Looking here, the syntax is pretty much what I'd tried using at the bottom of the CREATE PROCEDURE.

Of course it was one tiny little thing coming between me and my goal. A couple of well placed GOs.

This Works:

SET ANSI_NULLS ON
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
-- ==============================================================
-- Author: Brian H Donoho
-- Create date:
-- Description:
-- ==============================================================

CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[usp_]

AS

BEGIN

END
GO

GRANT EXECUTE ON [dbo].[usp_] TO [Role]
GO

Buyers Remorse Trumped by Stubbornness

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 20:17:00 +0000

Portal Song Lyrics <-<- Reading = SPOILER ->->

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 01:58:00 +0000

This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.
Aperture Science
We do what we must, because we can.
For the good of all of us, except the ones who are dead.
But there's no sense crying over every mistake.
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.
And the Science gets done.
And you make a neat gun.
For the people who are still alive.

I'm not even angry.
I'm being so sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart
And killed me.
And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
As they burned it hurt because I was so happy for you!
Now these points of data make a beautiful line.
And we're out of beta.
We're releasing on time.
So I'm GLaD. I got burned.
Think of all the things we learned
for the people who are still alive.

Go ahead and leave me.
I think I prefer to stay inside.
Maybe you'll find someone else to help you.
Maybe Black Mesa
THAT WAS A JOKE.
HA HA. FAT CHANCE.
Anyway, this cake is great.
It's so delicious and moist.
Look at me still talking
when there's Science to do.
When I look out there, it makes me GLaD I'm not you.
I've experiments to run.
There is research to be done.
On the people who are still alive.
And believe me I am still alive.
I'm doing Science and I'm still alive.
I feel FANTASTIC and I'm still alive.
While you're dying I'll be still alive.
And when you're dead I will be still alive.
STILL ALIVE
Still Alive...

Dism: Buying Love

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:36:00 +0000

You can't buy love, but you can rent attention.

Dism: Obvious

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:28:00 +0000

One person's obvious is another person's revelation.

TravBuddy

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 08:18:00 +0000

I haven't seen nearly enough of the world...

Dead Fantasy 1 = O_O

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 05:06:00 +0000

The choreography and action in this movie make me giggly and misty eyed at the same time.

Upgrading ASP.NET Control Toolkit from Previous Version

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:39:00 +0000

Once again sharing, what may be to many, the obvious. Upgrading from a previous version of the ASP.NET control Toolkit?

Instructions here: http://asp.net/AJAX/AjaxControlToolkit/Samples/Walkthrough/Setup.aspx

It's only a link Right on the sample page. Second link in the Walkthroughs section.

Why can't I get over how unnecessarily convoluted this all seems. (Not the toolkit, MS current web dev strategy).

Mmmmm Psychonauts

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:12:00 +0000

(one) Story of my Life

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 01:30:00 +0000

Finding/Manipulating a child control of a FormView in C#

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:18:00 +0000

It's distressing that it took me over a week to get this working.

The problem: In a C# web application, I want to set the visible property of a FormView's edit button based on value of a bound data field (actually I used eval for the label I would use to hold the value).

Here's the short answer: Finding ASP.NET Child Controls....the Simple Way
The key for me was not only in the post itself, but also in an answer to a comment that suggested using the Trace functionality to discern the control tree. Once I found the control I did my evaluation and manipulation in the Page_Load.

  protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e) {
    Label EA = this.FindControl("ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder$FormView$EntryAge") as Label;
    LinkButton EB = this.FindControl("ctl00$ContentPlaceHolder$FormView$EditButton") as LinkButton;
    if (EA != null && EB != null) {
      if (Convert.ToInt32(EA.Text) < visible =" true; } else { EB.Visible = false; }
    }
  }

I use Firefox and keep a tab trail so that my searches are cumulative and I can maybe shave some time off a similar issue later. This round of R&D started with this search
2.0 DataBinding "ASP NET " -"visual basic".
(It is a stubborn, personal resentment towards the reimagining of the Visual Basic language that has driven my focus on C#.)

Working with Data in ASP.NET 2.0

Accessing and Updating Data in ASP.NET 2.0: Accessing Database Data

Accessing and Updating Data in ASP.NET 2.0: Programmatically Accessing Data using the Data Source Controls

Programmatically access data source control C#

DevASP.Net Data Source Controls in ASP.NET 2.0 Article, Samples ...

Customizing DataBinded Output in Templates

Custom html Databind formview eval C# if +"eval("

Adding and Responding to Buttons to a GridView

C# formview control manipulation +advanced

formview "(eval(" visible lang:c# (Google Code Search)
Also did a Krugle code search, but the url doesn't change :/

http://forums.asp.net/p/985573/1269322.aspx (Google Code Search Result)
c# toggle form view item template visible (Microsoft Live Search - A clear sign of desperation...)

Finding controls inside ItemTemplates inside a FormView inside a LoginView
Getting Closer...

Google Code Search Refresher
I REALLY need to brush up on my regex

ASP.NET ItemTemplates, EVAL() and embedding dynamic values into controls

Finding ASP.NET Child Controls....the Simple Way GOLD!!!

This entire process strikes me as unnecessarily convoluted. It doesn't get much more basic than the evaluation and manipulation of an object in your application, but this exercise was anything but. By this point in previous Microsoft IDE's I'd given up on they're design time controls and done everything by hand. What's different now? I have less time and higher expectations. Sucks, but it's the reality. However, my goal in this post is not to bitch about over-architected and still lacking platforms, but to hopefully save someone the time I spent hunting down what should have been a simple solution.

SQL Server 2005 Compatibility level and CROSS APPLY

noreply@blogger.com (Donoho) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 22:41:00 +0000

As usual, it took me WAY too long to find/figure this out so I'm sharing a Summary.

The requirement: A User Defined Function that returns one row, but multiple columns. Sounds like something between a scalar and a table valued function, eh?

My first and best hit came from here... except it didn't work X@

Here's a generalized version of my code.

FUNCTION:

CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[udf_MyUserDefinedFunction] (
@Param1 int
, @Param2 int
)
RETURNS @Params Table (
Column1 int
, Column2 int
, Column3 int
)
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE @Column1 int
DECLARE @Column2 int
DECLARE @Column3 int

SET @Column1 = (SELECT SUM(SomeIntColumn) FROM tblNumbers1 WHERE SomeColumn = @Param1 AND SomeOtherColumn = @Param2)

SET @Column2 = (SELECT
IntColumn1
+ IntColumn3
+ IntColumn4
- IntColumn9
FROM tblNumbers2 WHERE SomeColumn = @Param1 AND SomeOtherColumn = @Param2)

SET @Column3 = (@Column1/@Column3)

INSERT INTO
@Params
VALUES (
@Column1
, @Columns2
, @Column3
)

RETURN
END

-- Created Successfully --

QUERY:

SELECT
x.Column1
, x.Column2
, y.Column1
, y.Column2
, y.Column3
FROM
dbo.SomeTableOrView AS x
CROSS APPLY
dbo.udf_MyUserDefinedFunction(73, x.Column2) AS y

Messages:
.Net SqlClient Data Provider: Msg 102, Level 15, State 1, Line
Incorrect Syntax near 'x'.

The Problem? The server I'm running this code on was upgraded from SQL Server 2000 to 2005. The Compatibility level (Database Properties > Options) was set to SQL Server 2000 (80).

After hours of searching for functional examples of CROSS APPLY (which looked a lot like my code) I looked for info on the error message. This was one of the least helpful error messages I've encountered. I got hits on creating endpoints / web services but eventually stumbled on this.

PS For some reason, the second link is not working in Firefox, but has no problem in IE. WTF?
Well, you already know the answer, I just want to give proper credit.