The Honey House Buzz - Adobe

CF "Just Like Visual Basic"

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:42:00 -0600

Wow, what a day. A local company needed some input on just what coldfusion was. When I asked what they thought it was, the reply was

Someone said it is just like Visual Basic

My comment was that it was more mature than that. Much so... Visual Basic on steriods with a rocket pack, and anti-gravity boots, super tool belt, and a cool red cape, maybe. Bottom line, I am thrilled that we will not be the only CF shop in town :).

HHWD Hiring ColdFusion Developers - Updated

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 08:59:00 -0600

WOW! What a year! Due to our expanding backlog of work, Honey House Web Designs is expanding our workforce. Update: We are looking for experienced CF coders, as well as subcontractors and Internet IT professionals. If you are a Coldfusion developer who is proficient in

CF 8 or 9,
CFC beans and Data Objects,
CSS based designs,
Java
Server Management

If you are proficient in Flash/Flex, CFEclipse, FusionDebug, these are added bonus. Candidates should live in the South East, (no relocation offered). Some telecommuting may be possible within a 150 mile radius in the beginning, but you must be an organized self-starter who can work without tons of oversight. Please send your resume and project sample links to hhd - at - honeyhousedesigns.com (you know the schpeal).

Quick & Dirty -- Opening Editable Illustrator Vector Images in Fireworks

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:57:00 -0600

I have created a Vector image in Illustrator that I want to open in FW CS3. FW CS3 doesn't integrate well with AI files, and EPS files usually import as bitmap. To open a vector Illustrator file in Fireworks CS3, to this: 1) In Illustrator, save as .eps, then choose a legacy Illustrator 8 version. 2) In Fireworks, import that newly saved .eps file and you should import all the paths and and shape along with it. There may be some fine tuning involved, but at least you are not recreating the image

Adobe Stock Photo Crashing Your Bridge?

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:30:00 -0600

Adobe discontinued the Stock Photo program back in March 2008. However, I never bothered to uninstall it from Bridge as I never used the Stock Photo program, and I only open Bridge when doing layout design (maybe once every 1-2 weeks). Sure, my Bridge is fat and bloated, but since I didn't use it daily, I didn't care. Until this morning. In Bridge, accidentally clicking on Adobe Stock Photos crashed Bridge. Reopening wanted to open back to my last location (aka Stock Photos) and crash-o again. It took a few tries before Bridge finally got the message and opened back to viewing my computer. So, I uninstalled Stock Photos ( KB w/ more info ) All is good, my Bridge lost a few pounds of processing weight, and the software now loads within a second as opposed to the usual 5-10. Good job.

CS3 Fails to Install -- Tips to Try

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 18:59:00 -0600

Arrrgh. DW CS3 started crashing today when I wanted to update a .cfm file. Every time I would click to add a photo... crash. Reinstalling CS3 takes forever, but I was disappointed when I kept getting 'Failed to Install' errors. Geesh. I have encountered this before, but it has been a while. Googling found a wealth of possiblilities to try, but here are a few notes that I made that may be of help to someone. (These are XP-ish tips, since that is what I use). 1) If reinstalling doesn't work (usually the shared components WILL install, just not the program), it won't work regardless of whether you perform the reinstall from the DVD or from the Add/Remove Programs.
2) Uninstalling doesn't usually work either. Failed components error again.
3) Adobe's CS3clean should not be considered except as a last resort as it is going to roto-rooter your settings and registry. However... it does have a 'Preview' option that lets you see what it WILL do if you would like to see the depth of it's cleaning. I put this one asside for the time being.
4)Adobe has install logs for all products. These are in the [Program files]\Common Files\Adobe\Installer folder. The DWCS3 log was 6M compressed. When I opened it in an rtf editor, it was over 10,000 pages... yikes.
I did finally get the reinstall/repair to work, but I had to do some digging and some house keeping to do it. Here are a few Tips to remember to try when reinstalling:
1) Turn off all spyware, and Virus Protector, including Spybot's TeaTimer if you are using it. Allow the install to just install without these interferences. Also turn off any unnecessary processes (Google Toolbar, iTunes, Wacom Drivers if not using) just to make your system as lean as possible.
2) Close the installer and Clean out the installer directory. This directory can become filled with files and logs from both installs and Adobe Updater updates.
3) There is a documented bug with Flash Player that appears to conflict with the CS3 installer. You can uninstall the Flash Player (not the Flash software or Flash video) either via your Add/Remove Programs or using Adobe's Flash Player Removal Tool.
Also using Microsoft's installer cleanup (Here) can be run to ensure that your DWCS3 (if that is your 'failed' install like mine -- you can check for which ever software fails), and Flash player have been cleaned up. If these are listed in the utility, then 'removing' them tidies up what MS installer sees.
4) Run the Windows CheckDisk to ensure that the disk isn't having issues or isn't too fragmented. Also check that you have enough memory.
Reboot, and then try to perform the install again, from the install DVD or hard drive instead of through Add/Remove Programs. This worked for me. particularly after I cleaned out the installer folder and uninstalled Flash player. Now my file opens fine and my settings have all been reinstated after reinstalling the software.

Quick & Dirty Right SideBar ... or Not,

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:49:00 -0600

If you have a site that you some pages to have a sidebar and some NOT without having to create 2 similar templates (if you are using DW Template feature), you can easily set a variable in the file to turn the side bar on or off. This method creates a floating right sidebar if the variable is set, but it can be adjusted for a left sidebar as well. There are two quick and dirty methods of doing this. The first involves a dynamic div creation by setting up the Div id to be evaluated at run time using 2 CSS ids, one for content width accommodating the sidebar and one without:



Put Content Stuff Here

 
Put Your SideBar Stuff Here

The second is a more basic method that simply shows or hides the sidebar div based on the setting of the variable:




:


 banner here 
   nav here 
     Wraps Content and Sidebar 
    
        
Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:59:00 -0600
Today, Charlie Arehart hosted a meeting of the Adobe Online ColdFusion User's group. The CFUG usually meets weekly on Thursday at noon and/or 6pm and has a wide variety of topics.

I don't make it all of them due to other commitments, but I was excited to hear of today's topic: "ColdFusion Free Clinic". It was an open opportunity for members to toss out issues or problems and get feedback from other members. What an excellent way to learn about obstacles that others are facing and get information and alternative ideas to tackle these issues.

And... what a great way to be distracted by all the resource websites and get a glimpse of the vast capabilities of Coldfusion. TERRIFIC, and I hope that the CFUG has this at least once per quarter.

Thanks too, to other folks that attended, including Ray Camden, CF Jedi and Coder Extraordinaire, and Josh Adams, Adobe.



Quick & Dirty: Carrying Form Variables on Multi=page Forms
Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:15:00 -0600
Since HTML is a 'stateless' environment (meaning that once you go to a new page, the information on the old page isn't saved on its own merit), multi-page forms can be a pain.

You could make either a LOOONNNGGG form that bogs down the user and risks potential session timeouts. Or use a multi-page form, taking care to manage the variables from page to page.

In Coldfusion, this is very easy. And you don't have to even keep up with all the variable names from page to page.

You can either keep up with the values on previous form pages by re-establishing them in the current page form,  or you san save them as session variables.

To re-establish them as form variables on your second (and subsequent form pages), add the following to your code after your  tag. (I used the generic HTML form tag here, but CFFORM should work as well)



  



This will recreate the form variables as hidden fields in your form.

To save them as session variables, do the similar loop:


    


(Note, Assumption is you are working in CF7/8. If using earlier versions, remember to place a scope lock around your loop)

Or... You could do both to make absolutely sure you have the data for your user:


    
    



Of course, remember to add your data validation per page, so that the user doesn't get all the way to the end of the form to find an error on page 1 :).


Quick & Dirty Tricks -- Using CFDUMP inside CFC -- Viewing All Methods, Pt. 2
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:24:00 -0600
In the second part of CFDump Q&D tricks, you can view the entire methods and settings for a CFC, just like you would see in the 'Live Data View' from inside Dreamweaver.

Placing

in a CFC outside a function, but inside the  tags starts the setup and produces a runtime dump that looks like this:



Clicking on the linked 'component' in that dump will open up the Live data View (note, you'll need administrator privileges to view the methods).



And, in keeping with Adobe's color coding, CFC Dumps are red :).


CF8 Debugger -- Finally -- More Newbie Discoveries
Wed, 19 Dec 2007 09:05:00 -0600
Whew.... what a week. The hardest part of riding a bicycle is getting started... or going up hill. This is how I felt w/ Eclipse (of which I am a complete newbie).

Final thoughts on getting CF8 debugger to actually debug in my RDS enviroment:

1) Turn on CF8 bebugging, and get the RDS working -- listening to debug (see other related entries)

2) Set up the Eclipse project correctly -- in my case, since I am accessing my files via RDS to another computer, I created the project 'workspace' to point to that inetpub\wwwroot\ diretory of my project. I use a drive mapping  ("Y:\") for the  networked c:\inetpub\wwwroot\ directory so I don't have to type c:\inet...yada all the time.



Here is the good stuff that finally gets me there. RDS was listening, files pointing to the server files, but no debugging. Here what to check.

In the Resource perspective, right click on the project folder and do the following:

3) Select 'Edit URL', make sure it points to your application area, NOT the root of your directory. In my case, for the project "Bubbas BBQ", stored at c:\inetpub\wwwroot\bubba on my IIS server, the URL is 'http://127.0.0.2/bubba/' -- (127.0.0.2 is location of my CF8 server. I also have it named 'winme' since I am too lazy to type Ip numbers...)  remember that last '/' at the end of the URL

4) Right click again on the project folder and select 'Set CF Mapping', again making the mapping 'http://127.0.0.2/bubba/' -- or whatever the root of your debugging application is.


One more right click of project folder and selecting properties will let you check all your settings:








5) IMPORTANTClick on the Debug perspective and Edit the Server to find your mappings. You'll want to ADD a mapping that links 
where your files are to what the local file structure is (no mapping or IPs here.) This is the absolute path of the computer where the files are stored.




With all of these settings inplace, you are now ready to begin debugging your code. Opening a file by double clicking on it in the project folder, or creating a new one, and entering break points.... 

I love it when it all comes together :)


CF8 Debugger Setup -- More Newbie Tidbits
Mon, 17 Dec 2007 14:40:00 -0600
I have beaten my head over the last few days... even to the point of looking up Charlie Arehart's suicide hotline (i.e. tech support for those who are so stuck they want to boot the whole sche-bang).

The issue? While I can see my CF8 Debugger mapping to my eclipse and my RDS dataview is loverly... I cannot for the life of me get a project to map and debug a file. 

The real problem? I am tripping up mentally on just what an 'Eclipse Project' is. Since Eclipse wants a 'project workspace', I set one up. I tried importing files from my local webserver.... nada... 
But let me digress a moment.  [More]


CF DeBugger / Eclipse Thoughts from an Eclipse Newbie
Fri, 07 Dec 2007 18:36:00 -0600
Ok, so I sat through Charlie Arehart's excellent CFUG presentation lat night on the new CF8 debugger and Fusion Debug and decided it was time to get off my duff and get going on working with a step debugger. I cannot even count the number of times I have downloaded the FusionDebug trial, only to get too busy to install and work with it. 

While not a CF newbie, (I have worked with it since v4 and been using RDS since v5), I am a complete Eclipse dummy. But, spurred on by Charlie... I ventured forth. Here are some thoughts on what I encountered. Maybe they'll hep the next newbie.  After spending most of the day plowing through tutorials, blogs, and livedocs, I finally got the d@#n set up complete.  Here are the obstacles I had to jump over to get it going....  [More]


Beware maintaining Customer Balance Information in Coldfusion's Traditional Sessions
Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:54:00 -0600
If you are working with logged in users, Coldfusion has an excellent method of maintaining client information in session variables.  Typically, However, beware of session independence between different types of browsers when using traditional ColdFusion session variables (CFID & CFSESSION). When a session variable is updated in one browser, it is not automatically in other browsers. While not a big deal if the variable doesn't change much, such as the user's email or name, or even ID number. 

On the other hand, if the variable  contains information that would be business critical or updated frequently, such as account balances, or time logged, using CF 'vanilla' session variables (where the session ID are determined by CF administrator) may not be the proper place to store the information to be relied upon.

If a user uses two computers both logged in at the same time, or two different user log in with the same account information simultaneously, we already realize that frequently updated information may lag and not reflect actual values due to activity in the different sessions updating the session variables without regard to the other session.  This same phenomena occurs  [More]


New ColdFusion 8 Book... No BF or RC signatures?
Tue, 02 Oct 2007 11:44:00 -0600
Why oh Why... after purchasing these beefy WACKs ....from WACK 4, WACK 5 (including my duct taped CF5 quick reference I still grab from time to time), WACK CFMX, WACK CFMX7...
after being a student lugging around both regular Book 1 and Advanced.... (you should see my biceps).....
After all the years of faithfully supporting Ben, Ray, et all.... Why didn't my NEW CF8 Wack-1 come autographed? ? or a bookmark? or, perhaps a poor xerox of Ray playing Guitar Hero? 

So.... .....    I crack the binding of my book, waiting for the others to ship, and plow into another great techie read.... Thanks Ben... Thanks Ray (and all the others), for the time and effort spent. Once again, a first rate job... (though, my biceps may suffer at the lighter weight).


Creating a Dynamic 'Last Updated' value in CFMX
Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:28:00 -0600
Many websites have a 'Last Updated' value in the footer of the site. It tells the user when that page was last updated. However, often times the date is manually entered/updated. Wouldn't it be nice if we could just have a CFC that would do the same thing?  We can. 

There is a great and fast way to get file information using CFLib's Java based function FileDateLastMOdified (view it here). But, this function works on Windows OS. 

However, here is a non operating system dependent method.  [More]