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NorthWind Sample
Questions and Answers about our "Soup to Nuts" NukeDK sample of the Northwind Database.
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ahock
Posts:8
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| 04/08/2006 10:37 PM |
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I don't see any documentation with the Nuked product I just purchased. Did someone forget to include it? I also have zero clue how to specify the database, though I know it can be done, since the Northwind database thread is mentioned in multiple threads (is that the documentation I'm missing? Where can I get it? Some folks asked in another thread 2 weeks ago to package that up...is the package in China, arriving by Camel? ;-)
I could really use documentation for ListX... Or a quick answer on where the database is specified... |
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kevinmschreiner
Posts:749
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| 04/10/2006 9:55 AM |
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You may have overlooked the in depth, and fully completed help documentation which is provided within not only ListX but Toolbar and Navigator as well. We don't provide our help in PDF format, because, quite simply, that isn't very useful when you are in need of "Quick" help within the use of the module. Instead, and more in-line with what DNN standards recommend. We utilize the "Online Help" - which is a link provided within the Action (Drop Down) menu of the module instance itself. Anytime you want to view the help - click the "Online Help" menu item. Or, you could view the README.HTML, or view the full help content directly via HELP.HTML and its seperate pages within the installed Modules directory. For instance - /DesktopModules/ListX/Help.html. We also have links throughout our site to the same help documentation we deliver within our products.
Or you can view them from our website here:
ListX - http://dnn.bi4ce.com/desktopmodules/ListX/Help.html
Toolbar - http://dnn.bi4ce.com/desktopmodules/Toolbar/Help.html
Navigator - http://dnn.bi4ce.com/desktopmodules/Navigator/Help.html |
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Kevin M Schreiner
Business Intelligence Force, Inc. (bi4ce)
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kevinmschreiner
Posts:749
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| 04/10/2006 9:58 AM |
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As for the Northwind package, we are currently deploying a revised version of the site with a complete Portal template for Northwind. These things take a little bit of time to put together, so for now - you can view, and fetch the seperate configurations on the site. You can also download the entire set of stored procedures we utilize for the sample directly from the site also.
http://dev.bi4ce.com/Northwind |
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Kevin M Schreiner
Business Intelligence Force, Inc. (bi4ce)
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ahock
Posts:8
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| 04/10/2006 12:28 PM |
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Almost every package I buy has documentation. If you decide to be 'special' and only provide online help, that's fine, if you let people know about it.
No, I didn't 'miss it'. I just couldn't find anything that told me how to point to the database... I hope you don't consider 'online help' to be the equivalent of a doc file. You can only see online help one button at a time....from a UI standpoint, I don't think I need to explain further, right? ;-)
No where did I see a specific answer to my question here though. Am I supposed to wade through the online help? Couldn't you have just answered my question also?
How do I point to a specific database using ListX. If you could just answer that question I'd appreciate it. Unfortunately, when there is noone here at all for 2 days, questions pile up. I know that I *asked* this question, but I don't see it answered anywhere. All I'm told in numerous places are 'look at our online documentation'. This *is* where one goes to ask questions, right? And you really do need to provide written documentation.
Let me know how much longer I will have to wait to get an answer.
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rboarman
Posts:2
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| 04/10/2006 2:44 PM |
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I have to second this opinion. I spent about a half hour pouring over your site and SnowCovered in a failed attempt to find some documentation. I would highly suggest you have a “getting started” page that lists the steps involved in getting a simple example up and running.
Another suggestion is to create a sub-folder called “help” inside your distribution zip file. This would make it easy to spot.
Rick
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kevinmschreiner
Posts:749
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| 04/11/2006 5:45 PM |
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Alright, I'm not sure if everybody is missing the boat here or what, but I'm a little confused as to the difficulty in locating the Help documentation provided within ListX and Toolbar. The 'special' behavior of providing online help is nothing special, rather, it is the "standard" that Dotnetnuke requires for all modules registered and approved by the core (Dotnetnuke Module Review, Effective Requirements 2.b - Includes Online Help). The PA is a Zip file, which contains the assorted files for these modules, these files act as the runtime and support material for the PA's themselves. Contained within each of these modules are files which are named README.HTML and HELP.HTML - the fact that I refer to the help as "Online Help" does not mean that the help is physically on this site, but rather, installed with the module in a universally available "Online" fashion for all users of the Target Site, regardless of who installed it. The purpose of this is completely because of the Host scenario and multi-user atmosphere. I assure you, that if you extract the PA zips, or navigate to the installed directory of the module - you will plainly see the Help and Readme files as well as all the support files to which they are linked.
I apalogize for the apparent difficulty in locating the files which contain the help. To resolve the "issue", all future releases of all of our modules will contained a bundled PDF file which will act as the help documentation. The 1.6.5 release help is currently available here:
http://dnn.bi4ce.com/desktopmodules/ListX/ListX.1.6.5.Documentation.pdf
In any case, I'm unclear on the tone and connotation of the prior posts, but will attempt to answer your question without any further ado:
How do I point to a specific database using ListX?
This depends entirely on which type of referencing you need for accessing the server. In most scenarios, the SQL Server which acts as the host of your DotNetNuke database is the same server that houses the Specific database. In this type of scenario, you would access the other database, by name, with your query, if you have permissions on both database. For Example, lets say you want to access the Northwind Database installed on the same server as DNN. You would simply set the Query to something like:
Select * from Northwind.dbo.Products
If, however, you are accessing a different server, or a different type of database which support OleDB, you can specify the full connection to the database within the "Connection" textbox of the Query options, and then specify the query however you desire.
Let me know if you hit any more snags!
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Kevin M Schreiner
Business Intelligence Force, Inc. (bi4ce)
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rboarman
Posts:2
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| 04/11/2006 5:49 PM |
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In my particular case I needed the help file BEFORE installing the component into DNN. I was having issues with the installation failing and was hoping for some installation instructions and/or troubleshooting information.
In addition, some people, myself included, like to look at the documentation prior to installation to familiarize myself with the product ahead of time.
Just my two cents worth.
Thanks,
Rick
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kevinmschreiner
Posts:749
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| 04/11/2006 9:18 PM |
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| Sure thing guys - thanks for the insight. It's pretty hard at times to determine the exact needs of our clients - especially in terms of modules that we use day in and day out for each of our projects. If you have any other areas you see within the help which need expansion, feel free to give us a holler. We are constantly adding new features and expanding the flexibility of the module for more "far reaching" solutions - so we can always use good feedback. |
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Kevin M Schreiner
Business Intelligence Force, Inc. (bi4ce)
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MMarkel
Posts:2
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| 10/28/2006 1:35 PM |
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The link was broke when I tried it...
http://dnn.bi4ce.com/desktopmodules/ListX/ListX.1.6.5.Documentation.pdf |
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MMarkel
Posts:2
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| 10/28/2006 1:57 PM |
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 I haven't bought the product yet, but one thing I am interested in prior to buying is assessing the documentation. In part, because I took note of your online tutorial where you used some tokens in the tags. While you may know the correct tokens to use in any given instance along with the correct syntax, it would only be available to new users within clear concise documentation. Providing the documentation online before buying provides a person like me an opportunity to assess the possible uses, and ease of use of the product. Although, the product seems to be wonderful, if the ease of use and reference tools are cumbersome, it may not be a viable option.
Also, in my opinion, the question about pointing to a specific database came up because in most programming scenarios we have to "connect" to a database. What your explanation implies, but is not specifically stated is that there is no need to "point" to a database because you can only query from the "local" database. This condition that is perfectly logical in a hosted environment, but is not if your DNN is a local intranet where you might like to "point"/connect to one or several databases not on the same machine as the DNN installation. |
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kevinmschreiner
Posts:749
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| 10/28/2006 2:22 PM |
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Sorry about the link, the latest version is 1.9.0, and the documentation link had changed. I have corrected the issue, and you can review the documentation. I haven't had a chance to find and change the links, so I duplicated the latest document to meet the same name structure (1.6.5). Additionally, the latest document can always be reached through:
http://dnn.bi4ce.com/Desktopmodules/ListX/Bi4ce.ListX.Documentation.pdf
We have spent a great deal of time documenting the product, but I can say we can always provide more. That is the main reason for the forums in the first place. Because the module is so versatile, 130 pages isn't always enough to cover every topic.
In any case - the question you ask is quite simple. ListX - by default, uses the connection information provided for the DNN data provider. It can execute and SQL statement - or script, and bind to the results. For those people who need to connect to different servers, or different database systems, we also provide the ability for each module to connect to ANY SQL or ODBC connection - this is an option in the interface which lets you provide the connecting parameters.
Thanks for the interest - is there anything else I can do to help? We also provide a full array of services both Asp.net and DNN based, as well as a training program for person desiring a better jump start, or visual assistant during their development or ListX learning process. |
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Kevin M Schreiner
Business Intelligence Force, Inc. (bi4ce)
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DavidWSnow
Posts:127
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| 12/10/2006 4:31 PM |
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I too am looking for better documentation. I bought the NukeDk package "assuming" that I would need the toolbar. So far it has been useless. The Northwind's demo was what sold me on ListX. However, it is not easilly moved to your DNN site as an example that you can play with. An entry several months back (4/10/06) promissed a Portal template to assist with the moving of the Northwinds demo to your local system. For the record, I have printted and read the 137 page manual.
The orders page alone has 3 ListX modules and 2 Toolbars I did move them to my system to see if I could figue out the right way to pass search selection variables from one page to another. Boy was I suprised at how it was done in Northwinds. For example variables without the right "]" such as flt_[TABID,System]OrderDate_2
Many users like me bought this product because we didn't want to have to develop a DNN module. We think that ListX has great capabilities, but the documentation is lacking. It lists the functions available to the user just like a dictionary list words. But just because you know all of the possible works, doesn't mean that you have the required knowledge to develop a good novel. In ListX's case we don't have enough examples. In fact, all of the working examples at Bi4Ce's site appear to have been provided by users. Thank you PaulDes!
The Northwind's example looks great, provides a lot of functionality, and if we could easily examin how it worked and maybe read a little commentary on why certain design choices were made it might be a great example. However, I suspect that the designer cheated and had to mess with the DNN page layout to get 3 listX and 2 toolbars on the page that close together.
If you want to do some useful simple examples that would be portable to any DNN site, try using ListX on the 'site log' and filtering and displaying records of page access. It is data that we all have and a better report that DNN provides would be useful.
It is costing each of purchasers of ListX many hours of unnecessary extra labor to learn this tool. A handle full of simple, portable examples would go a long way to speeding that process up. How about delivering on the 4/10/06 promise Kevin?
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DavidWSnow
Posts:127
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| 12/12/2006 3:16 PM |
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Speaking of documentation; where do I find documentation for the breadcrumb PA that came as part of NukeDk?
/dave |
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pmanda
Posts:267
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| 12/12/2006 4:54 PM |
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Dave,
You can find the documentation about the breadcrumb in the readme of breadcrumb zip.
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Praveena Manda
Software Engineer
Bi4ce,Inc |
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amoranthus
Posts:2
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| 09/26/2008 9:45 PM |
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All due respect and no personal offense intended, but I downloaded the 1.9.9.4 DKListX product only to discover it contained outdated and incomplete documentation.
In blogs you can find a few clear examples of how to use ListX, but they are few and far between. And most of the information a new user needs isn't there.
Finally, I found the online wiki, which seems to be a good source for nearly comprehensive information. But again, there's a lot of specifics that arent' covered.
I'm stuck with ListX in a rushed project.
It has been a week of frusration and annoyance trying to find what it does and doesn't do, and how.
The documentation with the download from snowcovered is more a detailed overview, folks.
And it is outdated in many ways.
The online examples are great if they can be modified to do what you need. Otherwise, they can be more confusing than helpful.
You guys really need a good technical writer and some user response testing.
Paul |
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amoranthus
Posts:2
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| 09/26/2008 9:47 PM |
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Sorry, David.
If it exists anywhere, I'd like to find it too.
There are functions in the other supporting modules that refer to the breadcrumbs, but without more documentation...
Paul |
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