• Enterprise Library 3.1: Enterpise Library Configuation Editor Problem
  

An application I was working on needed to run on with the Entiprise 3.1 Library.  When I tried to use the Enterprise Library Configuration editor (EntlibConfig.exe) on my app.config file, I was getting errors that it could not locate the specific libraries/.dll’s.  The problem was that my libraries in my code where strongly named (PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089) while the Enterprise Library Configuration Editory was looking for libraries with the PublicKeyToken set to null (PubliKeyToken=null).  The fix was to use the RIGHT Enterprise Library Configuration editor.  There are two of editors.  One resides in C:\EntLib3Src\App Blocks\bin and the other resided in  C:\Program Files\Microsoft Enterprise Library 3.1 - May 2007\Bin.  The former works with non-signed libraries while the latter works with signed libraries.  From the Visual Studio Development environment, I changed app.config editor to point to the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Enterprise Library 3.1 - May 2007\Bin editor.

For more information, check out this link from Tom Hollander on Avoiding Configuration pitfalls with incompatible copies of Enterprise Library.

• How do you debug a Unit Test in Visual Studio 2008?
  

1) Set a breakpoint in your test, and then from the Visual Studio menu: Test-->Debug-->Tests in Current Context.

2) Set a breakpoint in your test. Go to the Test Results window (from the Visual Studio menu: Test-->Windows-->Test Results).  From the toolbar in the Test Results window, click on Debug drop down icon and then select Debug Checked Tests.

3) Try entering System.Diagnostics.Debugger.Launch() and System.Diagnostics.Debugger.Break() into your Unit Test code and then run your Unit Test  You then will be prompted with a Visual Studio Just-In-Time Debugger dialog box.  Select the default selection.  You should then break into your Unit Test code.

• Here is a good link to the How Do I Video Series for Visual Basic.
  

• For the datagrid view control, if you want the NewRowNeeded event to fire, the VirtualMode property for the datagrid view control needs to be set to true.

• From Scott Mitchell's blog, I found out about a product called ELMAH that may come in handy down the road.  ELMAH (Error Logging Modules and Handlers) is an application-wide error logging facility that is completely pluggable. It can be dynamically added to a running ASP.NET web application, or even all ASP.NET web applications on a machine, without any need for re-compilation or re-deployment.

• Have you ever wanted to share a common file among project? Check out Sara Ford's tip number #365 that shows how to link a file. (I wonder how this works with Team Foundation Server Source Control?).  Tip number #364 is good too.  Visual Studio comes with an image library.
  
  
• FromScott Gu's blog, new ASP.Net Chart control.
  
  
• The table designer in Microsoft SQL 2005 I find is lacking because I cannot find a way to add properties to the columns displayed.  It only displays Column Name, Data Type, and Allow Nulls.  From Rich Strahl's Web log, comes a work around.  Use the Database Diagram Designer.   Right mouse click on the Database Diagrams folder and click New Database Diagram.  Next add your table.  Right mouse click on the table-->Table View-->Modify Custom...

I picked this up from Scott Michell's blog and thought I pass the word.  Scott Hanselman has a web page on his blog that provides a comprehensive list of developer tools.  He updates the list annually.  I think it is fantastic.  Here is the link Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List.

John

I picked this information up from a Dave Hayden blog post.

ZoomIt is a Screen Zoom and Annotation Tool for Technical Presentations created by Mark Russinovich and it is FREE!

Here is a brief description of the tool from the download page:

ZoomIt is screen zoom and annotation tool for technical presentations that include application demonstrations. ZoomIt runs unobtrusively in the tray and activates with customizable hotkeys to zoom in on an area of the screen, move around while zoomed, and draw on the zoomed image.

I downloaded the application and tried it out in my Visual Studio 2008 IDE.  It worked great and it is super easy to use.

John