I recently worked on a project for my employer, Insource Technology, to develop a corporate blog. As the project progressed we ran into an interesting problem. An author would upload a .docx file to the site without an issue. When the file was downloaded it would not download as a .docx file but as a .zip file. When the .zip file was extracted the contents showed the XML structure of the .docx file but the file was not readable by Microsoft Word.

Background

Microsoft’s XML Document Format

With the release of Office 2007, Microsoft released a new file format based on XML. Microsoft dubbed this new file format Open XML and claimed many tangible advantages including smaller file size, improved privacy control and better integration. A full list of extensions and more in-depth information on the Open XML format can be found here

MIME File Types

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an internet standard designed to identify the type of media content served by a web browser. The MIME types are used to help web browsers understand how to handle file types presented by a web browser or email application. Some of these MIME file types are set up by default to be interpreted correctly by the server. On some servers the .docx filetype is not set up by default.

Solution

Serving Office 2007 documents from an Apache Web Server

If you are running a blog on an apache web server you will need to add the following code to a .htaccess file in the root directory of your blog site. If you already have a .htaccess file you can add this to that file. No restart of the apache server is required.

application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document docx application/vnd.ms-word.document.macroEnabled.12 docm application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.template dotx application/vnd.ms-word.template.macroEnabled.12 dotm application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet xlsx application/vnd.ms-excel.sheet.macroEnabled.12 xlsm application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.template xltx application/vnd.ms-excel.template.macroEnabled.12 xltm application/vnd.ms-excel.sheet.binary.macroEnabled.12 xlsb application/vnd.ms-excel.addin.macroEnabled.12 xlam application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation pptx application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.presentation.macroEnabled.12 pptm application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.slideshow ppsx application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.slideshow.macroEnabled.12 ppsm application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.template potx application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.template.macroEnabled.12 potm application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.addin.macroEnabled.12 ppam application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.slide sldx application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.slide.macroEnabled.12 sldm application/vnd.ms-officetheme thmx application/onenote onetoc application/onenote onetoc2 application/onenote onetmp application/onenote onepkg

Serving Office 2007 document from and IIS Web Server

It is not necessary to add the MIME file types to versions of IIS 7.0 or greater. Microsoft’s Technet has a full article outlining the process to Register the 2007 Office system file format MIME types on servers. This article includes how to add the MIME file types to IIS 6.x web servers.

Previously we discussed how to use the Database Deployment feature in Visual Studio 2010. There are two options to deploy a database project. The first is to have Visual Studio deploy the scripts automatically. The second is to have Visual Studio build a deployment script that can be run via SQL Server Management Studio or SQLCMD. Running a Visual Studio generated deployment script in Management Studio is not as strait forward as it would seem.

When Visual Studio connects to a database and runs its deployment script, it does so via SQLCMD. This is seamless when a user wants to deploy his project directly through VS2010. When VS2010 creates a deployment script, it generates a script that contains SQLCMD Variables.

What are SQLCMD Variables

SQLCMD Variables are simply scripting variables that give a script more flexibility. The example in the Books Online is when a script is developed to be run agains multiple servers, scripting variables are used. Setting a scripting variable would allow the query to be run agains each server without the need to modify the query. Other example of SQLCMD variables and the full syntax are available in the Books Online article mentioned above

Running SSMS with SQLCMD Variables

The .sql script that is generated by VS2010 contains SQLCMD variables. Trying to run this via SSMS will generate “Incorrect syntax near ‘:’” errors. Queries that contain SQLCMD variables can be run through SSMS by turning on the ‘Run with SQLCMD’ option. This option can be found in the Query menu as ‘SQLCMD Mode’. This menu item is only visible if a query window is open and selected and allow queries that contain SQLCMD variables to be run in SSMS.

When the ‘Run with SQLCMD’ is enabled the scripting variables will be highlighted in grey by default. This color can be modified in the Fonts and Colors section of the options screen.

In previous articles we discussed how database professionals could use the features in Visual Studio 2010. During the video I demonstrated with a test project. Since then I have been working to migrate my DBA database project into Visual Studio 2010. From the beginning I ran into issues. This was a very discouraging start to using Visual Studio 2010 for my projects. There was a very simple fix and now we are moving right along.

One of the scripts that I deploy to all of my servers is Adam Machanic’s (Blog|Twitter) WhoIsActive. I created a stored procedure and saved the script. A few seconds later I saw 84 warnings show up on the Error List. Something was amiss. I have this script deployed into most of my environment and it works like a charm. It was time to do a little research.

The warnings all seemed to be due to some sort of missing reference. The WhoIsActive script, like many DBA scripts, uses the [master] database heavily. Visual Studio is parsing through the script and can’t find any of the items that the script is trying to reference, so it throws a warning. The good news is that there is a very simple fix.

Adding a Reference to master.dbschema

Database projects are designed to be self contained. When creating a database project, scripts typically will reference items within the same project. Some scripts, however, will reference other database items. In this case, the [master] database is referenced. The master.dbschema file is not included in every project for performance reasons. It contains a large number of objects that are unnecessary for many projects.

The default installation of Visual Studio 2010 includes dbschema for both the [master] and [msdb] databases. There are separate schema SQL Server 2005 and 2008. These files are located in the Visual Studio installation directory in the Extensions folder. I am working on a SQL 2008 project so I will use the following folder:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\VSTSDB\Extensions\SqlServer\2008\DBSchemas

To add the database reference right click on the References folder in the Solutions Explorer and select Add Database Reference. This will open the Add Database Reference window. Add the master.dbschema by selecting browse and navigating to the folder that contains the appropriate schema for your project. In my case, it was the folder listed above. I accepted the defaults and clicked OK. Saving the project will cause Visual Studio to parse the code again and resolve the reference errors.

If no other references have been added, it can also be added from the References tab of the Project Properties page. If the project already contains references this tab will show a list of the current references and no additional references can be added.

We are working up more articles and videos about Visual Studio 2010 and its features for Database professionals. Do you have a specific topic you would like us to cover? We would love to hear from you.

I have been exploring some of the features of Visual Studio 2010 that are useful to DBAs and Database Developers. Today’s topic is Database Deployment. Software developers have been using the deployment tools in Visual Studio for some time, however, the addition of database deployment gives database professionals the ability to systematically deploy their projects to a multiple environments.

Every enviornment can be configured to have a different configuration. For example, in my development environment I tell VS2010 to build the solution script and then deploy it to the server. In my production environment I tightly control what and when scripts are deployed to the database. When I am building the solution for my production environment I configure VS2010 to build the deployment script and put it into a folder. This allows me to schedule the script to go into production when I choose.

We are going to walk through setting up a database project and configuring the project for deployment. Open or create a database project. Right click on the top of the project in the solution explorer, at the top of the explorer tree. Select ‘Properties’ from the menu. This will open the project properties window. The deploy tab of the project properties will allow us to configure the deploy settings.

There are three main settings that we will focus on. The first is the configuration. Configuration is the setting that allows us to change the behavior for different environments. In this example project I have set the configuration to be debug. The debug configuration is my test environment and where I want to allow VS2010 to automatically deploy the solution to the server automatically.

The second setting we are going to look at is the ‘Deploy Action’. The default setting is ‘Create Deployment Script (.sql). Leaving this set on the default means that a deployment .sql script will be crated but not deployed to my database. This gives database professionals the flexibility to deploy the script via SSMS, scheduled job, etc. In the case of my test environment I want to use ‘Create a deployment script (.sql) and deploy to the database’. This will run the deployment script against my test environment every time I select deploy from the build menu.

The final setting that I want to highlight is the Target Connection Setting. This can be different with each configuration setting allowing me to connect to different SQL Servers and/or different databases for the environment I am deploying to.

What have your experiences with deployment in Visual Studio 2010. We would love to hear about them.

I spent most of last week in Atlanta attending Microsoft Convergence 2010. Convergence is a event focused on Microsoft’s Dynamics line of business products, ERP platforms and CRM. It is the only Dynamics event where customers, partners, and the Microsoft team are all together in one location to discuss their products.

Overall

There were two themes that permeated the entire conference, Microsoft Azure and Web Services. During one of the general sessions it was mentioned that currently 70% of the Dynamics development team is focused on cloud based services and in 2011 that number would climb to 90%. Microsoft’s investment in cloud services gives greater flexibility in the architecture of the infrastructure that runs the Dynamics products. The extension into the cloud is made possible through the implementation of web services. Dynamics web services running on Azure would allow for cloud based services to safely and securely connect to a back-end Dynamics platform without the need for a complex server architecture. Cloud based web services would allow for a central point of communication for external services at the same time it would limit the exposure of any back end system by limiting the external communication to one point, Azure, instead of many different services.

The conference was a huge success, however, there was a glaring need for deep technical tracks during the event. I attended 2 SQL events that were marked as “400 Level” technical classes and the material presented defiantly not what I would consider 400 Level material. I had my opinion confirmed when I discussed the material with the SQL community via Twitter. An opportunity was missed for training and knowledge sharing between developers, DBAs, the some of Microsoft’s technical staff.

This was the first year that the User Groups played a large role at the conference. These groups were not closed to only users so partners and Microsoft employees were encouraged to attend. These turned out to be not only the most productive parts of the conference for everyone. Users were able to discuss issues and features directly with the product team that Microsoft really needs to address. Partners were able to add great advice on topics like add-ons and upgrading.

Everyone that deals with Microsoft’s dynamics products would gain valuable insight and knowledge from attending the convergence event. There was not a partner, user, or Microsoft employee that I spoke with that did not find the event worth attending. I would highly recommend that anyone involved with a Dynamics product try to make it to Convergence 2011.

If you attended Convergence 2010 we would love to hear about your experience.

As an audiophile I am constantly listening to music, everything from Classical and Jazz to Metal and Punk. The ear buds that came with my iPhone work when you are in a pinch but they just don’t to the music justice. I spend a lot of time on the road and in noisy cube farms so I started researching noise canceling headphones. I narrowed my selection down to two choices, Beats by Dr. Dre Studio Headphones and Bose QuiteComfort 15. I went with the Beats by Dr. Dre and could not be happier with my choice

Yesterday was day one at Convergence 2010 and it turned out to be a good one. The event, so far, has been well managed and attendance is strong. During the keynote in the morning it was announced that there are over of 8900 users, partners, ISVs, and Microsoft employees in attendance.

The keynote, as expected, featured some of the latest and greatest the Dynamics team has to offer. Dynamics GP 2010 was announced with some much needed improvements to BI and tighter integration with CRM and CRM Online.

The demo included some interesting integration between CRM and social media. Native functionality exists to define socially driven searches and IE accelerators that can push information to generate knowledge base articles. While the demo was limited it shows that the power of social media is being seen and embraced by Microsoft.

The concurrent and interactive sessions covered relevant topics and some were offered more than one time during the course of the conference. This is great when two topics of interest are presented at the same time slot.

Overall

So far Convergence 2010 has been a great experience. If you are a user or a partner of any of the Dynamics line of products I would suggest not missing the next one.

The Good

Staff/Attendants are knowledgeable and helpful. I have never been to a conference that had so may attendants. They seemed to be everywhere to help attendees find their way around the conference center.

The event was spread out over lots of real estate. While I also mentioned this in the ‘bad’ section I think it is a good thing. I sit behind a desk for too much of my life so some walking is good for me.

The Bad

The food. Breakfast and lunch were terrible. With as much as we paid for this conference this should have been much better. That being said I can only imagine that feeding 8900 people at one time is very difficult.

To handle the numbers of people and small sessions it would be expected that the location would have to be huge. The layout just requires a lot of walking back and forth up and down escalators. The dining area, expo center and large presentation room are located far away from the breakout rooms.

The #EpicFail

Wireless at the convention center is $75 per week. Are you kidding me! That would pay for 2 months of my 12M connection at home. Arrangements should have been made for free wireless access throughout the convention center.

I have been evaluating Visual Studio 2010′s usefulness to the DBA and the Developer over the past few weeks(See: What Features Visual Studio 2010 Offers DBAs and Database Devs).  While I work with the applicaiton I find myself spending a lot of time over on Zain Naboulsi’s blog (Blog | Twitter).  It is a great resource for finding info about Tips and Tricks for VS 2010.  While all of the posts are helpful, below are the items that I find myself using often.

Tracking Changes in the Editor – This allows me to quickly see what I have changed and/or what has not been saved.

Pasting a Single Selection Into a Box Selection

Comment and Uncomment Code – This has been around in SSMS for a while and I use it all the time.  The same holds true for VS2010.

What Tips and Tricks have you found?  We would love to hear from you about how you are using VS2010.

During a Twitter conversation today Malik Alamin (Twitter) asked about the Autogrow settings on his databases. The conversation naturally progressed to the question of how you change the default behavior and set all newly created databases to have user defined settings. Brent Ozar (Blog | Twitter) was able to point us in the right direction to find a solution.  Modifying the model database.

About the model Database

When a new database is created either by using the CREATE DATABASE statement, that mean via SSMS as well, the model database is used as a template. This means that change made to the model database settings, including tables, permissions, stored procedures, and functions will all transfer over to the newly created database.

According to the TechNet article about the model database some file sizes may look different depending on what version of SQL Server is installed.  Also, there are some things that cannot be modified in the model database. Items like CHANGE_TRACKING, ENCRYPTION, and TRUSTWORTY cannot be modified. A full list of restrictions can be found in the TechNet Article.

Example

I need to set the auto grow on my data file to Autogrow by 10% instead of 1 MB as was the default on my instance. I can run the ALTER DATABASE command or use SSMS against the model database

USE [master] GO ALTER DATABASE [model] MODIFY FILE ( NAME = N’modeldev’, FILEGROWTH = 10%) GO USE [master] GO ALTER DATABASE [model] MODIFY FILE ( NAME = N’modeldev’, FILEGROWTH = 10%) GO

Making these changes will alter all newly created databases to have the same settings.

Note: Jorge Segarra (Blog | Twitter) pointed out that this does NOT work in a SharePoint environment.  SharePoint does not use the model database when it creates new site databases.

I was recently reviewing some the change management and document control policies that governs our IT group. While I have been confirming to these change management policies I started to think back on how we make our developers work with code.

It seems that we were holding our database developers (i.e. me) and our application developers to two different standards. This article is the first in a series to explore what Visual Studio 2010 and TFS 2010 has to offer for Database Developers and DBAs.

These topics will include but not be limited to:

• Database Deployment
• Database Change Management
• Database Unit Testing
• Database Test Data Generation
• Data Access
• Version Control
• Build Automation

Some of these features are only available in certain versions of Visual Studio and/or only available via TFS. I will outline and note these feature when we cross them. Keep an eye out for our first article on Database Deployment next week.