Okay, so I've been playing around with writing a Notes C-API program in Visual Studio Express, and I ran into a problem. I compiled up SoapLog and people downloaded and tested it, and for some people it ran just fine but for others (notably Bruce) it would give a generic "Error loading DSAPI filter" and wouldn't work.

Naturally, it worked just fine for me.

After much investigation, I found out that it was a runtime DLL dependency issue. It appears that by default non-.NET applications compiled in Visual C++ 2005 require MSVCR80.DLL. This file should be in the directory (get this):
C:WINDOWSWinSxSx86_Microsoft.VC80.CRT_1fc8b3b9a1e18e3b_8.0.50727.42_x-ww_0de06acd

On most Windows XP and Windows 2003 installations the file seems to be there. However, it's not there by default on Windows 2000. If the program that you've compiled is an EXE, you'll get an obvious error that you're missing a dependent file and you can figure out how to fix it. If it's a DLL like mine, you may get a very generic error that is difficult to troubleshoot (or it may just fail silently).

One option is to have the users download the Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable Package (only a 2.6 MB download) and install it. That will give them MSVCR80.DLL, MSVCM80.DLL, and MCVCP80.DLL and your VC++ apps should run happily.

Another option is to compile the program with the /MT option instead of the /MD option, which will make the compiled program much bigger (74.5 KB versus 14.5 KB for me) but will remove the dependency. Compiling with /MD on Visual Studio 6 wasn't a problem because it would make your program rely on MSVCRT.DLL and MSVCP60.DLL, which virtually every Windows machine in the world already has these days. VS2005 changed this dependency to MSVCR80.DLL, which isn't quite as ubiquitous.

A third possibility is to create an installer package for your application that automatically installs the redistributable files if they're not there.

In my case it was easiest just to compile with /MT and be done with it. From a percentage standpoint, the final program is much bigger (~400% bigger), but in real terms it's still only a 75KB file.

So if SoapLog didn't work for you before, please download the 1.0.2 version and try again!

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While looking for some cut and paste utilities for Visual Studios I found this great MSDN Magazine Article. Ten Essential ToolsVisual Studio Add-Ins Every Developer Should Download NowJames Avery TestDriven.NETGhostDocSmart PasterCodeKeepPInvoke.NETVSWindowManager PowerToyWSContractFirstVSMouseBindingsCopySourceAsHTMLCache VisualizerWrapping It Up Get the article at the link below: Ten Essential Tools: Visual Studio Add-Ins Every Developer Should Download Now -- MSDN Magazine, December 2005. Read More... Share this post: Email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit!...(read more)

It’s great that NotePad is there on any machine that you step up to, but doing as many demos as I do I often want to do a “View Source” to show folks what’s going on in the code. I also like to be able to change the editor depending on what I’m working on. If I’m working with types I want to “view source” in TopStyle, if it’s HTML then maybe NVU or HTML-Kit, JavaScript…. I’m still trying out JavaScript editors. But, it’s a pain in the neck to have to hack the registry for each time I want to make that change. Here is a cool utility that I found to make it easy. Get it HERE : View Source Editor, the easy way to change the editor in Internet Explorer Read More... Share this post: Email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit!...(read more)

Getting your database deployed : The Database Publishing Wizard enables the deployment of SQL Server 2005 databases into a hosted environment on either a SQL Server 2000 or 2005 server. It generates a SQL script file which can be used to recreate the database in shared hosting environments where the only connectivity to a server is through a web-based control panel with a scripting window. Get it HERE : SQL Server Hosting Toolkit Read More... Share this post: Email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit!...(read more)

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AJAX Control Toolkit Migration Guide This document briefly outlines the steps required to migrate an "Atlas" Control Toolkit extender to an AJAX Control Toolkit extender. Note this guide isNOT forusers consuming Toolkit components, but for users creating custom Toolkit components only.For component users, see the walkthrough on the Toolkit Website. Also note, I've referenced examples (as file:line) in the codebase if you're looking for a given step in practice. Get the code for these examples here. Server Components Migrating server-side components is relatively straightforward. It mostly involves moving the contents of your MyProperties class into your MyExtender and decorating things with some new attributes. 1. Change the MyExtender class...(read more)

... Interesting article. But if it is true that real collaboration can /not/ happen from separate cubicles, then the idea of remote, online collaboration is an

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Well I missed the boat on getting in front of ScottGu and pretty much everyone else out there but I was working very late with about 10 other folks to get this release out the door. It is super exciting and Scott's blog postsays it all. Key thing, GO download the betaand let us know what you think. By far I'm most proud of Robert McLaw's commentary-- that was our goal and he really hit the nail on the head! Even Mary Joe Foley beat me to the punch it seems :) Read More... Share this post: Email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit!...(read more)

John Says… “I’ve decided to stage a friendly takeover of Microsoft. As of January, 2007 my new work address will be Building 42 at Microsoft. I’ll be working in the CLR team to help bring the love of dynamic languages out to the statically typed heathens :)” Check his post out at: http://www.iunknown.com/articles/2006/10/20/dynamic-languages-microsoft-and-me Read More... Share this post: Email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit!...(read more)

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SearchDomino.com contributor Andy Pedisich explains how the AutoSave feature works in Lotus Notes/Domino 7 for recovering documents from a Lotus Notes database after a nasty "red screen of death" crash occurs -- and warns of a big caveat you need to be aware of before you can use it.

Get comparative info here ! http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/preview/resourcecenter.mspx Read More... Share this post: Email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit!...(read more)

It's a great pleasure to announce the beta 1 of ASP.NET AJAX. It is a major release of the product formerly known as Prince Atlas. There are too many changes to enumerate here (we basically remodeled the house), but the idea is to provide a rock-solid core and continue to innovate with the value-add CTPs. I'll blog in the next few weeks on some of the new features, and the first one will be the compat layer, which has been completely redesigned based on your feedback.We're already hard at work on the next release. I'll keep you posted.http://ajax.asp.net is the new url for Atlas/ASP.NET AJAX Share this post: Email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! Read More... Share this post: Email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit...(read more)

MS AJAX developers need to be able to tell their users when the browser is waiting for a response from a network call. Usually the text message is accompanied an animated .GIF like this one. Here is a cool web site that lets you just choose your color scheme and pick one of the 10 different types of .GIFs that are available. Check is out here: http://www.ajaxload.info/ Read More... Share this post: Email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit!...(read more)

Are you using a MS AJAX timer control to auto refresh content on your page but want to reset the timer when a user action forces a refresh. In your server side code you can reset the timer by adding two lines like this: Protected Sub ButtonResetTimer_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) TimerControl1.Enabled = False TimerControl1.Enabled = False End Sub Read More... Share this post: Email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit!...(read more)

When you are using an MS Ajax popup that is not displayed by default, are you seeing yor popup FLASH for a second when the page loads ? Try this. Define CSS classes for the item to be poped up. Make sure the default CSS class has a visibility:hidden attribute. Like this....... Then, use classes like this. Default: The "FLASH" goes away. Read More... Share this post: Email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit!...(read more)

Port80 Software, a Microsoft partner, has released a new survey showing that the Microsoft Internet Information Services 6 Web server has overtaken the Apache open-source Web server among Fortune 1000 Web sites. In the survey released on Oct. 11, Port80 Software said IIS 6 more than doubled its market share over the last year, to 27 percent. However, IIS 5 remains the most popular Web server among Fortune 1000 users, according to the survey. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2029153,00.asp Read More... Share this post: Email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit!...(read more)

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