TheDesignspace

.NET Error: httpRuntime requestValidationMode=”2.0″

Posted on October 23, 2012December 3, 2013 by ellen

If you get .NET errors that reference

<system.web>
<httpRuntime requestValidationMode="2.0" />
<!-- everything else -->
</system.web>

It means that the application you are trying to run has set the property requestValidationMode to function the way it acted under .NET 2.0, but this directive only makes any sense under .NET 4.0 or greater, and your website is not set up to use .NET 4.

You need to run the application in a separate application pool and set it to run under .NET 4.0 (which, of course, needs to be installed before it can be used).

Integrating the Rustici SCORM Engine with our LMS: part 2

Posted on October 10, 2012December 3, 2013 by ellen

<< Back to Part 1, Determining Scope, Course Import

A phased approach was used to integrate our aging LMS and the SCORM Engine. Starting with a “bare-bones integration” we assessed the user workflow and determined next steps.

Course Delivery

When users log in to our LMS, they are presented with a Learning Plan screen which lists required learning and current enrollments.

Learning Plan

Integrating the Rustici SCORM Engine with our LMS: part 1

Posted on October 8, 2012December 3, 2013 by ellen

Our aging Docent learning management system is scheduled to be replaced over the next couple of years, but last year it became clear that we chould not wait until then to replace the SCORM elements of the system.

We were nearing a sort of “technical cliff” if you will, where most home computers would have enormous security surrounding Java applets, and the circa 1992 factory-original Java-based SCORM adaptor would pretty much be out of business in modern browsers. The applet-based SCORM adaptor was also completely incompatible with a new authentication and VPN system that was coming online. To stay in the game, we needed to modernize this part of the system, and in the process we took the opportunity to add new capabilities and improve the user experience. We chose the Rustici SCORM Engine because of the depth of knowledge they have surrounding SCORM, and also because they are on the cutting edge of the new standards.

The integration project gave our LMS quite a face-lift, and added some exciting new capabilities like the ability to use TinCan to track learning. But as with all projects, there were some learning experiences that we didn’t expect, as well as some shareable solutions.

How to delete a few Time Machine backups, safely

Posted on June 20, 2012 by ellenm1

Sometimes for whatever reason, Time Machine doesn’t auto-delete backups to make space for new ones. If you have this problem you might try getting it going again by manually deleting one or two of the oldest ones. Here’s how to safely do this, using the Time Machine interface.

Enter Time Machine and select the backup you want to delete.

Use BBEdit to replace the entire contents of multiple files

Posted on June 20, 2012 by ellenm1

A few months ago, I needed to revise an HTML file that is used many times across a large website. Most of the key code associated with this file is contained in centrally-located includes, but as luck would have it, this time the entire file needed to be revised – even the user-customized bits. That meant that almost a thousand files would have to be replaced. Worse, they were not entirely the same, since they were customized by the users to some extent.

After checking a few of them, I found there were enough commonalities to serve as the basis of a regular expression search. They always started with a comment, like this:

<!--/ *v

Adobe Presenter and Captivate: Hyperlinks don’t work after importing Powerpoint

Posted on May 16, 2012November 21, 2013 by ellenm1

Symptom: hyperlinks that worked in a Powerpoint file no longer work in the published Presenter or Powerpoint presentation based on that Powerpoint.

This is because Flash Security treats local content differently than the content on the internet.

The solution is to put the published files onto a web server and access it using the URL (like: http://yoursite.com/yourpresentation.htm).

Mandelbulb 3D: Sarcophagus Variations Parameter Pack

Posted on April 29, 2012December 29, 2013 by ellen

For the Mandelbulb 3D enthusiasts out there, I’m putting up some of my best images along with their formulas. Click here to see the complete list.

Here’s a parameter pack for a series of images that remind me of Egyptian sarcophagi. If you do something nice with them, drop me a line! I’m ellenm1 on Flickr, or ellen@thedesignspace.net.

Download them now:
sarcophagus_pack.zip

Update on exporting highlights from your Kindle

Posted on April 16, 2012December 3, 2013 by ellen

There have been a few interface updates to Amazon’s Kindle page since I last wrote about it, but there remains a strange lack of comprehension on the part of Amazon, that people might actually want to use their highlights. There is still no obvious way to export the data.

For those with Macs, I’ve come up with a workaround, and perhaps there is something similar on the PC side.

Drupal error message: “call_user_func_array() expects parameter 1 to be a valid callback”

Posted on February 14, 2012 by ellen

After doing a series of updates to a Drupal installation, the following error appeared on all admin pages and edit pages:

“call_user_func_array() expects parameter 1 to be a valid callback, function ‘clients_access_callback “

Other symptoms included that the database could not be updated to complete some of the following updates, and search no longer worked.

Mandelbulb 3D: e_3Dtess variations Parameter Pack