This is my seventh revision DNN Upgrade guide.  This version of the guide includes important updates for working with DNN 4.8.2 and customized SqlDataProvider configurations.  Many portions of this upgrade guide are the same as previous versions, however, there are some new items and many minor changes/clarifications.  This is simply due to the LIMITED changes that have truly occured in the area of DotNetNuke upgrades.  If a newer version of DNN has been released and I do not have a new version of this document, please use this version as there are most likely no breaking changes!

In previous articles on this site I have provided tutorials for installing DotNetNuke to a local machine, however, I typically avoid the topic of installing DotNetNuke to a remote web hosting provider.  I have been asked many times why and the answer is simple; installations to remote hosts are not standardized, depending on the hosting providers environments the steps to install can differ greatly.  However, due to popular demand I have created this tutorial which will provide you the basic overview of how to perform a clean installation of DotNetNuke on a remote web hosting provider.  In the article I will try to point out the most common differences between different hosting providers, I will also be providing specific examples regarding the use of the Plesk control panel which is what my hosting provider (3Essentials) uses.  This article is my third revision updated to add some more clarifying points, be sure to share any feedback in the comments section at the bottom of the article!

Installing DotNetNuke can be somewhat difficult at times, therefore I am writing this article to give you a full step by step guide to installing DotNetNuke on a Windows XP Pro system. The instructions are similar for Windows 2000 but might vary slightly, I have tried to note as many differences as possible. Windows Vista installation is similar but requires a few different steps relating to IIS. for Vista information please view my video tutorial.  This guide is my sixth revision and includes additional steps and information based on feedback from previous users.  Additionally a few new instructions and notes have been provided for users installing on Windows 2003 Server to address a few common "stumbling blocks" that have prevented successful installations.

Finding out how many modules you have installed on a site, and additionally how many times those modules are used is something that you would think is very simple within DotNetNuke.  However, it is a bit more complex than one would hope.  By default DNN does not provide a mechanism for you to perform this kind of research, however, I have a very simple SQL Script that will allow you to see ALL modules and from there the total number of instances (in all portals) and the total number of instances that are deleted (in the recycle bin).  From an administrative perspective this is a key piece of information to know.

I will be on vacation from 3/15/2008 - 3/23/2008 with very limited access to e-mail. (Typically only for DNN Support SLA customers).  Upon my return I will be back to getting new content out here, below is a listing of things that are on my plate to create/deliver in the upcoming weeks.  If you have any suggestions/additions please share them in the comments below.

Module Updates

• DNN Expandable Text/HTML
  • Option for "Expand All On Print"
  • Option to supply "header" text
• DNN Categorized Documents
  • Implementation of ISearchable to allow titles/descriptions to be searchable
  • File Icon administration
  • Delete all files option
  • Summarized download reports

Visual Studio Templates

The following is a listing of the Visual Studio Templates that I plan to create and release in the near future.

• C# Blank Module With DAL
• C# Authentication Provider
• C# Skin Object 

Blogs/Articles

The following is a listing of all currently planned blog topics.

• DNN Performance Settings: What, How and Why?
• DNN Event Log: Preventing Log Bloat By Disabling UnNeeded Logging
• DNN Friendly URLs: Creating a basic landing page

As I mentioned before please share any comments, suggestions, requests below. I will resume working on the above as soon as I return!

Following the high popularity of my previous article about the DNN Scheduler I thought I would follow up with this article explaining DotNetNuke Host settings.  This article will give an overview of each section of the host settings.  Some areas might be highlighted in future articles to provide more detail regarding specific configuration options that are of high importance to site administrators.

I have just released versio 01.00.00 of the Categorized Documents module.  This is a full featured module that allows you to display documents in a unique manner and DOESN"T require that users have edit permissions to specific directories to allow uploads. 

For more information please check out the product page.  If you have any questions or comments please share them below or use the forum to discuss specific troubleshooting/configuration issues.

I thought I would make this post to announce the next new free module that will be provided by MitchelSellers.com and IowaComputerGurus Inc.  Categorized Documents will be a basic document management module that will allow you to quickly and easily display documents listings to your users.  This module will include the following features.

• Fully template driven display
• Ability to have file icons based on file extension
• All files displayed at once, category by category
• Anyone can be given edit permissons, no messing with DNN folder permissions to get it working
• Administration interface to add additional file icons
• Ability to track download counts (external to DNN Link Click, to allow for future reporting)
• Ability to publish a document on a future date

Future versions of this module will allow for advanced permissons and other settings  The inital public version of this module is scheduled to be released 4/15/2008.  If you have any comments or suggestions on this module please feel free to share them below!

Recently I have been asked by multiple people what rapid design tools I use, or what types of code generation tools do I use.  Many people are surprised when I tell them that for the most part I don't use any rapid generation tools.  I do use a few home grown tools, such as my Info Class Generator, which is available on this site.  However, that is as far as I go with automated code generators.  However, one thing that I have started using more and more frequently are Code Snippets within Visual Studio.

I have found that creating a few helpful Code Snippets has allowed me to quickly and easily format my code, and build my needed structures in almost no time.  In this blog article I will share two of my most commonly used Code Snippets, if there is a demand I will post future code snippets here as well.

I am proud to announce the release of two new versions of my free DNN Modules.

DNN Guestbook 03.01.01

This is an update to my DNN Guestbook module that resolves a potential issue with version 03.01.00 where errors were recorded to the event log on application startup.

You can obtain this version and full information on the DNN Guestbook module by visiting the DNN Guestbook Product Page.

DNN Expandable Text/HTML 01.06.00

This is an update to the Expandable Text/HTML module to ensure that individuals can remove the [EXPANDCOLLAPSEICON] token from the display templates without errors being introducted.  Additionally support has been added for ISearchable allowing your content to be indexed by the DNN search indexer.

You can obtain this version and full information on the DNN Expandable Text/HTML module by visiting the DNN Expandable Text/HTML Product Page.

As with all previous module updates your feedback is appreciated and helps to shape future versions of these modules.  Additionally donation links are provided on each product page if you care to make a donation that helps fund the time spent on these free module offerings.