Expression web help

I have been spending a great deal of time looking at many of the asp.net controls that ship with expression web.

File upload. Nice simple control to get images and other files upto your server.

membership control. Actually quite easy to get working if your host is supportive. However i also found a way to localise the concept where, you give the user a user name and password to gain entry to a specified protected folder/s. This is quite nice as you control who can go there.

Data views grid views and other database tools. Some will remember my xml shopping cart which is quite popular but not an easy set up. So  it though i would do the same with a gridview and an access database. Bingo, very basic but very simple shopping cart which is essentially 2 pages and a simple access database.

Outside of all this activity, i have been pushing expression web to the limits with XML - well i like xml it is so simple. But i digress, i say push its limits and that i have. A great friend and i have been building a monster 700 page xml driven web site that is near completion. The only real issue is the expression web slows to a crawl with this much data. We hope to publish in the very near future.

Everything i have written about is in my strange little head but i hope to write up some tutorials in the very near future.

Check out my expression web help forum for ongoing details.

www.expression-web-designer-help.com

Regards

JIM

So you have come in search of expression web help, but cannot understand what on earth is going on! All this talk of Divs and CSS has left you feeling numb and confused!

Fear not help is at hand.

It pains me to think that some users are being left behind or feel excluded from using expression web due to a lack of understanding. Who are we to assume, that you will just slip into using expression web and create great sites.  It is wrong of me to assume that you just know what a div or css is.

So this new expression web tutorial is for 2 types of people. Those that don’t care and just want to be able to work the thing, and those that do care and want to understand the inner workings.

Tables: I feel sure you will know what they are and that they can help with page layout. It is familiar ground for frontpage users, so it seems right that somebody should offer a transitional tutorial showing how to use expression web within a table based layout. Note the word transitional. It means to help you move accross from FrontPage but it also means to help you move onto div based design.

This free expression web template tutorial takes you from a blank page through to creating pages from a dwt that you will have built. It is something like an hour long.

http://www.expression-web-designer-help.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2301&PID=14245#14245

I have now completed a shopping cart for expression web, and i am looking for some testers.

The cart looks like this

http://www.expression-web-help.com/ewh5/shoppingcart/category.aspx

Please note it is only for a guide, many of the links do not work although in the download  most do.

This cart is aimed at those who want something in between pay now paypal button and the full blown thing.

I use the term shopping cart loosely as this is actually a backend to integrate with mals-e.com.

So if you would like to test this free of charge, please let me know via the expression web forums.

www.expression-web-designer-help.com/forum

Thank you jim

If you want hosting with asp.net v2 and v3, php v4 and v5 e-mail and plenty of buzzers and bells then the Parcom 99cent plan will get you up and running.

They don’t call the owner Crazy Dave for nothing.

Concerned about the quality of service? Trust me it is of the highest caliber. I host all my sites with parcom and have done for over 5 years. Any problems i have had, have been of my own making but Dave and his staff have always been very patient in resolving my issues.

What more could you want.

JIM

Expression web will soon support php!

This is great news for designers and really open up the capability of  expression web.

http://visitmix.com/blogs/TheSignal/The-Signal-Episode-1-PHP-Expression-Web-and-MIX-Crew/

JIM

Over the months, i have made reference to xml and the asp.net v2 data controls that ship with expression web.

Quietly and just for fun, i have been building a  dynamic web site with various examples of what can be done with expression web.

Expression web shopping cart.

It is quite possible to build a shopping cart for expression web using nothing more than an access database and good old EW.

I have in the past had example shopping carts but now have decided to create a fully working version where you can actually buy something! For example expression web templates are just £1.50 or an hour long tutorial for just £5.

The charges are only to help pay for bandwidth charges and have been kept puposefully low and wll remain so.

The expression web templates and tutorials in the shopping cart will be added to as time permits.

Remember it is just fun for me but if you need help, find me at www.expression-web-designer-help.com/forum

Microsoft Expression Web Language Pack is now available and supports the following:

The packs can be downloaded from the link below

http://www.microsoft.com/expression/kc/tutorial.aspx?family=web&key=howtocheckthespelling

In our forums today, we had a request for experienced expression web users, who have some teaching experience and who might want to write a book! Below is a copy of the post.

I am the Managing Editor for the New Perspectives textbook series, published by Thomson Learning/Course Technology (http://www.course.com).

We are currently seeking an author for a textbook on Expression Web.

Our ideal candidate would be a writer who has had experience with the software and experience with teaching web design. The New Perspectives series publishes for the college/career school market. The series is distinguished by its tutorial format and a number of unique pedagogical features. The author of this title would be expected to work to the series specifications.

Replies from author candidates should include the following information:

 (1)  Describe experience with the software itself.

 (2)  Describe teaching background and experience—                    particularly any experience teaching web design.

 (3)  Describe previous writing experience.

I am sending this query to a number of people whom I have identified as good sources for author leads.  Once we have received and reviewed all the responses, we will take the next steps with interested and qualified candidates. Replies to: ted.knight@contrator  

Ted Knight

So think this might be you? Why not contact Ted and see if you have the required skills.

JIM

Following on from our populated dropdown list tutorial, i have created a quick narrated flash tutorial explaining how you can search a database in expression web.

Its a simple tutorial that uses a text box, a button and a datalist control to display the results. The tutorial can lead onto much more complex database searches.

http://www.expression-web-designer-help.com/textboxsearch/textbox-search.htm

If you really want to get in the know about the latest technologies that we are currently using and some of the future, you really don’t want to miss the MIX UK07 event in London.

If your quick, you can get and early bird discount - saving £100!

This 2 day event is going to sell out fast, so if you want to see the likes of

Scott Guthrie and George Moore (Microsoft) and some of the Industries greats who will be talking. You best not hang around.

Scott Guthrie is scheduled to give a keynote speech.

More info?

http://www.microsoft.com/uk/mix07/default.aspx