pappascd's Q&A profile

• Game Technologies: DirectX, XNA, XACT, etc. Path to becoming a professional game programmer

  I'm sure a lot of aspiring game programmers out there are looking for a road map on how to become a pro. (I know I am!).  Based on all the great products coming out, and the ones that already exist, it's probably very confusing for someone new to this.  I put together a quick "road map" based on my (limited) knowledge to help those rookies get to the finish line.  Please feel free to add to, change or comment...especially if you're already in the busniess! Update(11/22/06) - moved some items around and added new categories based on suggestions Beginner - Torque X Create some simple games with TorqueX Game Builder ...can't comment much more on this since I've never used it Begi ...Show All

• Commerce Server Virtual directory problem

  Hi This isn't really a Commerce Server question but I thought others might have had similar issues. We are currently running our commerce server site as http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/StarterSite/ prior to going live. We want to run the site as http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/ so I wondered what the best way forward is I've tried using pup to package up the site, but the databases weren't created correctly on XP (yes I know its got problems) when I installed it on my own machine. Given that it doesn't change all the name instances of "StarterSite" I can't really risk installing it back on the same machine (as a new website rather than a virtual directory of the default website) in case it messes up the site. Any help would be hugely a ...Show All

• Windows Forms Can't disable a button

  I am programming in c#. I have a button on my form that when clicked, it plays a wav file using the PlaySound method from winmm.dll. The wav is about 3 seconds long. The problem is that if I keep clicking the button during the 3 seconds the sound is playing, it queues all of the clicks, and plays the wav over and over. My Button is named btn. So I tried: this.btn.Enabled = false; PlaySound(...); this.btn.Enabled = true; Doing this successfully greyed out the button while the sound is playing, but it still accepts clicks, so it didn't fix my original problem. Is there some way to clear the event queue Or is there something else I'm doing wrong. I just want the button to not work while the sound is playing. I have also tried ...Show All

• Visual Studio 2008 (Pre-release) More control over callback DispatchRuntime in Duplex contracts

  Hi, I have two services that communicate through the exchange of one-way messages. There's not really a "client" or a "server", because either one of the services can start a conversation with the other one, so I will use "serviceA" and "serviceB" from here on. I used the WCF duplex binding in order for the two services to communicate with each other. I have written a custom ServiceHostBase that does some extra stuff for the project I'm working on and I would like to use the same ServiceHost implementation on both sides (i.e. "serviceA" and "serviceB") because the extra stuff is beneficial to both services. What I would like to do now is start my custom ServiceHost on the "se ...Show All

• Visual Studio need help in exporting a report using crystal reports in Visual studio 2005 (vb.net)

  Hi all when i export a file having few records, it works fine. But if i attempt to export a dataset having thousands of records, it doesn't do anything. Even, its not giving any exception. I set a "DataSet" as a datasource of "ReportDocument" object. Then i use this method to export the dataset records into doc file crystalReport.ExportToDisk(CrystalDecisions.Shared.ExportFormatType.WordForWindows, "D:\InventoryResults.doc") Can anyone help Put a break point and see if your report is still loading. It could be taking time to print all the records on the report. If nothing is printed then there's probably an error in your data. Either null fields on incorrect data are present i ...Show All

• Visual C++ 'Parameter #2": Pointers cannot reference marshaled structures, Use ByRef instead - Help!!

  I am using a third party API and I need to register a callback function that is embedded in an unmanaged structure. The callback function looks like this: typedef int(__stdcall *EventDetectedFunction) (long callback_parameter, const char* eventXML); The structure looks like this: struct Callbacks { EventDetectedFunction EventDetected_; long callback_parameter_; }; And the DLL function that sends the callback structure looks like this: int SetCallbacks( Hwnd handle, Callbacks* pCallbacks ); I am attempting to use this API in a windows form so that I can ultimately get the eventXML to display in a textbox. I can’t find an interop example that ...Show All

• Visual Studio Tools for Office MicroSoft Office Word 12.0 dll gives Problem

  Hi, I am using Office 2007 beta Release on my PC. I develop application which convert word to pdf file using microsoft office 12.0 Dll. It work fine on my PC. But when i build setup and installed application on other machine where office XP is running it gives me error. System.UnauthorizedAccessException: Access is denied. at WebApps_Doc2Pdf._Default.Convert2Pdf(String SourceFilePath, String DestFilePath) at WebApps_Doc2Pdf._Default.Button1_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) Same setup run on my machine. Please help me. Thanks, Tarique Hi Tarique First of all, keep in mind that this is a beta version, so not everything works, and not everything you see is necessarily going to still be there when t ...Show All

• SQL Server Maintain datatype for reporting services from OLAP

  I'm trying to extract data from my OLAP and present it using reporting services. The problem is that all the values extracted from the OLAP seems converted into string instead of keeping their original type. Am I doing something wrong in the setting Please let me know how can I check the data type in reporting services. Thanks! Hi David, I've just done a few more tests. I found that the datatype are maintained when it comes to the reporting services. I use the IsNumeric and IsDate functions to check for this. However, the problem is even they're in the correct type. It seems that the sorting and formating function are not handling them well. First, I would like to order by an integer value field and I got the list like this. 1, 10, 2 ...Show All

• Visual Basic Show a Boolean Field as a Check Box on a Crystal Report

  Hello, Does annyone know how to show a Boolean field on a Crystal Report in a form of a Checkbox Or else, what is the best way to show a boolean field on a Crystal Report Thanks, Joao Pinto http://senhorpires.blogspot.com/ Joao Pinto, According to your question, I suggest you to read the following articles that show two useful examples on your demand: 1. Creating the Report with Parameters http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms227825(vs.80).aspx 2. Add Professional Quality Reports to Your Application with Visual Studio .NET http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/02/05/Crystal/ In order to get the satisfied answer, I suggest you to post your question in the Cryst ...Show All

• Visual C# Windows Serial No

  Apologies if this is the wrong forum. I posted on the "Where is the forum.." but no answer yet and I need to push on with this. I can obtain the Windows serial no from WMI (Win32_OperatingSystem.SerialNo) which provides me with the serial number that is diplayed on "My Computer" properties. My question is this: How unique (or not) is this serial number I would hope that this be unique to each copy of Windows. Does anybody know And what about OEM editions of Windows Can any MS guys looking in help me out on this one In case you are wondering I was thinking of using this serial number as part of a computed key. I have discounted using CPUID, MAC, and hard disk serial number, for various reasons. The Win ...Show All

• Visual C++ Simple question on C++/CLI operators

  What is the difference of these two void Test1(RefClass^ s) and void Test2(RefClass^% s) I thought it is a way of distinguishing [in-out] parameters, but both of these functions can change the value of the handle passed to them. What is the other differences Thanks a lot, it helped me very much. Now I will look at the % operator as my familiar ref keyword in C#!!! I was trying to map it to & operator in C++ and I was lost!!! ...Show All

• Windows Forms Screen resolution affects GUI

  Hi, I've developed an windows application in VS2003 (VB.NET) and set form window size as maximized. Problem is, GUI affected b'cos of different resolution in deployment PC. My Development PCs Max .Resolution is 1400 x 1050 (32 bit). Deployment PC has a Max. resolution of 1024 x 768. Many controls are out of the screen. How to bring the exact GUI what i designed before . I've seen an article in Code Project. but i Couldn't get a clear Picture abt the concept. Sometimes Manually , I'm adjusting the GUI. Please give me good solution for it. I want to design an apps that fits to all kind of screen. Thank You! You need to redesign your form to fit the minimum resolution you may ...Show All

• .NET Development Creating new types using reflection?

  Hi, i want to create a new variable using an outsider input. here's more explination: if i have this variable: string x = "int"; now i want to create a new object that will have the same methods as an integer, it will create the the int variable with something like what i know that's available in com MyObject = createobject(x); this will create a int variable based on a string variable. later on i will want to use some of the methods like MyObject++. should i use reflection to do this i am using .NET and will create .NET objects, and i'm writing using C#. thanks all, Z i want to create a console application that will recieve certin commands. this applcation should know how to handle general obj ...Show All

• Smart Device Development How to debug installed C# [managed] application.

  I know How to debug application by runing in debug mode. I also know how to debug a native application which is installed on a device or emulator by the help of attaching the process. But how can I debug a manage[C#] installed application. Please help me I am installing the application by the help of cab file where you want to debug the app. on device or on emulator The difference is that you must choose the target device! Open the project and start debugger (F5). The project must be executable . ...Show All

• Visual Basic R

  I'm sure this is possible to do. I am working with a UTF8 encoded file. When the file is opened in VB and loaded into a text box, the line breaks are converted to squares. Each line break is represented by two sqaures. I have been using code to replace bad chars, but the problem with it is that it replaces a single instance of the square with a LB. So I am getting too many LB's. How can I replace this with a single line break TIA I'm reading a file stored in plain text (UTF 8) from another application into a Rich Text Box control. Public Sub ParseFile( Optional ByRef psFile As String = "" ) Dim oFSO As Scripting.FileSystemObject Dim oStream As Scripting.TextStream Di ...Show All