In a previous post (SSIS File with Header, Detail, Trailer), I wrote a Script Component to take a file containing a Header row, Detail rows, and Trailer row and insert this into a target SQL Server table. All of the data in the sample file, ‘pizza.txt’ contained values for every column. But what if one of the fields had no value (eg PriceSmall is empty). We want to write NULL in the destination table column since the column accepts null. We... read more

You come across all sorts of data when working with SSIS. If you can get data from a relational source or a simple data file format your work is greatly simplified. But sometimes you get file extracts from legacy or proprietary systems you don’t have much control over. One such format is the Header-Detail-Trailer type of file. Here I have a Pizza store’s daily sales extract (pizza.txt), a pipe delimited file with a header,... read more

Sometimes when you perform a new install of SQL Server Reporting Services locally on your machine, you get excited and enter the URL in your browser: http://localhost/Reports only to find your hopes and dreams of becoming a Reporting Services megastar shattered with an error message: User 'domain\username' does not have required permissions. Verify that sufficient permissions have been granted and Windows User Account Control (UAC)... read more

  I was looking for a low cost tablet device that enabled me to read books, PDF documents and view technical videos downloaded from Channel 9 whilst commuting to work. Initially I looked at the iPad2 but some of the work areas I consult in don’t have much in the way of security. So wanted something ‘no frills’ that if lost or damaged wouldn't hurt to replace. So I came across the ZTE V9 7” Android 2.1 tablet distributed by telco Optus... read more

I outlined in a previous post, WebMatrix for Drupal, how easy it is to use the Microsoft Web Platform Installer to setup web sites such as Drupal, using WebMatrix to edit and run sites using the IIS Express web server. The same can be said for mojoPortal. In fact once you have WebMatrix setup, you don’t even need to use the Web Platform Installer if you know you have the required prerequisites, you just download a copy of mojoPortal, open it... read more

I’ve blogged in the past about setting up mojoPortal with IIS, but nothing could be simpler than using WebMatrix instead. Because it uses a lightweight web server, IIS Express, that can run ASP.Net and PHP, you can download a multitude of open-source web applications for evaluation and web development without the fuss of configuring or installing IIS (use Home Editions of Windows for web development). In this post I’ll use the Web Platform... read more

I bid farewell to my last remaining Vista based PC the other day. A lot has been said about users experience with Windows Vista. I am happy to leave it behind and move on to Windows 7 with SP1. This post is about Windows Easy Transfer, a useful tool when you’d like a fresh install of Windows, rather than an upgrade over the top of Vista. Unless you maintain your Windows installation with software that keeps it in tune (eg TuneUp... read more

In SQL Server Analysis Services, you can automatically create a Date Dimension without having an underlying data store (table) of dates. The other day one of our applications could not process measures for certain transactions for year 2011. The date dimension ended at 2010. To extend the date dimension further (remember there is no underlying source table), open SQL Server Management Studio, connect to Analysis Services and right... read more

Several brands of laptop come with built in Biometric devices, such as fingerprint readers. A lot of people have reported problems with their fingerprint readers no longer working after upgrading their laptops from Vista to Windows 7. I had the same problem with my Dell Studio 1737 and tried several suggested solutions from various blogs but I gave up when none of them worked. After months without it I decided to check to see if any new... read more

In a previous post, I outlined the steps needed to take your mojoPortal SQL Server Database, back it up, and restore it on to your hosting providers database. In this post, I’ll outline how to configure the web site. My hosting provider (at time of writing) is Arvixe. They had a good hosting deal for SQL Server and ASP.Net content management systems of which mojoPortal is one. As mentioned, any hosting provider will supply you with a URL... read more