TheDesignspace

SQL Server: Clone a database with all its objects

Posted on October 10, 2010 by ellen

A previous post covered the steps to copy table structure and data to a new or existing database.

To copy all the objects (tables, users, constraints, etc.) from one SQL Server database to another database, use the Generate Scripts function in SQL Server Management Studio.

In the Object Explorer, right click the name of the database. Select Tasks > Generate Scripts…
The Script Wizard will open. Click Next.
Select the source database. If you want to copy ALL objects, make sure Script all objects in the selected database is checked. If the box is not checked, you will get a chance to choose the objects you want to include later.
Click Next.

Installing .mobileconfig files on iPad (Setting up MWireless and U-M VPN)

Posted on October 10, 2010 by ellen

Secure wifi networks often require installation of a certificate on mobile devices trying to connect. Apple provides a utility to allow companies to create configuration (“.mobilconfig”) files for iPhone and iPad that install the appropriate settings and certificates for their wifi network.

These .mobileconfig files can be put on the web for download to the device through Safari, but sometimes this doesn’t work. If the web server is not configured with the correct MIME type (application/x-apple-aspen-config for .mobileconfig files), the device’s Safari browser may not allow it to be downloaded. The link may not even function at all – it is not clickable in some cases.

If this happens, you can still install the .mobilconfig file by downloading it on a laptop or desktop computer and emailing it to your i-device. When you click on the attachment, it should start the installation process. However, you may have to change the extension to “.der” before emailing it to have it recognized as a certificate.

The University of Michigan has .mobilconfig files available for connection to the MWireless network and U-M VPN, and I found that emailing them to my iPad as described above was the only way I could install them.

Captivate 4 not generating SCORM support files

Posted on October 7, 2010 by ellen

If you have a Captivate 4 file that refuses to generate any SCORM support files when publishing, check your Publish settings. Make sure that “Fullscreen” is not checked in the publishing settings. Then it will publish fine.

Since you are eliminating the Captivate generated code for maximizing the window, you may want to add that back in. To force the Captivate window to maximize to full-screen upon opening, add the following to the head of your published HTML file:

Captivate 5: Endless “Loading…” screen fix

Posted on October 7, 2010 by ellen

Captivate 5 has many bugs that have been complete showstoppers for my elearning projects. Among them, there is a problem with SCORM courses that get perpetually stuck on the gray “Loading…” screen. This is because

Drupal OpenWYSIWYG text editor

Posted on October 4, 2010 by ellen

One of the biggest drawbacks of Drupal for several years has been the lack of a single rich-text editor that is totally compatible with all browsers. Two years ago, I tested all of the WYSIWYG modules available at the time, found they were all riddled with bugs and incompatibilities, and finally settled on the YUI editor for a large Drupal site I run.

Unfortunately, it never really worked that well: the site’s members upload lots of photos, and it did a poor job of sizing them – users had no idea how to ensure they were not displayed at full resolution – and with 10 megapixel cameras, full resolution is enormous!

Audio, but no video on GoToMeeting WMV videos (G2M3 format)

Posted on October 1, 2010 by ellen

The other day I came across a Windows Media file that would not play correctly on any player on Mac or PC. The audio track played fine, but there was no video – it was black. Nor would any encoding software convert the file to Flash Video, which is what was really needed.

Looking in Quicktime’s Movie Inspector I could at least tell that the video was in “G2M3” format. G2M3 is a proprietary codec, used in GoToMeeting by default when you save a recorded session.

GoToMeeting allows users to record meetings in either G2M3 or in standard Windows Media format. The latter choice is likely to be overlooked by most users, so chances are their recordings will be un-viewable and un-convertable on non-GoToMeeting software. However, even if a GoToMeeting session has been recorded in the proprietary format you can still convert the file after the fact using a little application called g2mtranscoder that is installed in the GoToMeeting folder.

Drupal YUI Rich Text Editor: Set maximum image dimensions on uploaded images

Posted on September 26, 2010 by ellen

The search for the perfect WYSIWYG text editor in Drupal goes on. The best I’ve seen yet is YUI Rich Text Editor, but it still has some serious browser incompatibilities and usability problems. One significant is that there is nothing stopping users from upload a huge image, and not resizing it down using the provided resizing tools.

Now that just most cameras produce images of enormous resolution, users in my Drupal sites’ users often upload gigantic photos, which remain splashed across the entire layout until I get around to fixing them. I finally got tired of correcting users’ posts for them and fixed the CSS so it will never happen again.

Troubleshooting iPhone “No-Service” messages, part 3

Posted on September 25, 2010 by ellen

Previous posts on this topic:

I’ve written in the past about some of the solutions people have come up with to deal with the dreaded “No-Service” message on an iPhone. But yesterday I realized I’d forgotten one of the easiest to try: make sure your hand is not covering the antenna. Covering the antenna accidentally may not cause you to see “No Service” but the effect will be the same – no bars at all.

The Canon point-and-shoot space telescope.

Posted on September 23, 2010 by ellen

Last night’s harvest moon was so big I couldn’t resist trying to get a shot of it with my little camera, a Canon powershot SX210IS.

It’s easier to take pictures of the moon with a point-and-shoot camera in the afternoon, because there is very little contrast between the sky and the moon itself. Here’s an afternoon shot taken a few months ago. This was hand-held, at maximum zoom, using the automatic settings. Exposure was .02 sec (1/50), ISO 80. The craters are clearly visible.

Creating an A3 sized document in Google Docs

Posted on September 21, 2010August 30, 2018 by ellen

Google Docs has an A3 selection right within File > Page Setup. In Google Sheets, you will find it under the Print Settings (File >Print). No more special settings are needed, as in the past.