How to Submit a Support Ticket for Kendo UI

@ruiespinho Would you mind submitting a support ticket? We’ll get you an answer. :)

— John Bristowe (@JohnBristowe) July 5, 2012

If you find yourself faced with an issue relating to Kendo UI, we’re here to help. In fact, did you know that we have an awesome support ticketing system? In this blog post, I’ll show you how to use it.

Our team prides itself on having a robust framework for building HTML5 applications and sites. However, sometimes things just don’t work the way our customers expect them to. When this happens, we offer a number of ways to get help. One of our most popular options is the Kendo UI forums. Here, you can pose a question on a number of different topics. Our team, along with our awesome community, try our best to answer as many questions as possible. However, sometimes customers feel more comfortable dealing directly with our team. That’s fine too! For that, we have our support ticketing system.

Kendo UI Support

When you download a trial or purchase a license of Kendo UI, we provide a support term and ticketing system with a guaranteed response time. This means that if you encounter a problem with Kendo UI, you can contact our support team for help.

Here’s how it works. At the top of the Kendo UI website, you’ll notice the Telerik banner:

Kendo UI Website Banner

In fact, you’ll see this banner across all of our sites.

This banner allows you to sign in with your account profile that you create when downloading a trial or when making a license purchase:

Registration/Login Dialog

Clicking your name in the Telerik banner will display the profile pop-over for your account:

Kendo UI Account Page

The Support Tickets option will take you to a list of your support tickets:

Your Support Tickets

All of the support tickets that you’ve submitted will be listed here. Think of this page as your one-stop-shop for connecting with the Kendo UI support team.

In addition to tracking and managing your support tickets, you’ll also be able to send us presales inquiries or general feedback. We love receiving both!

To create a support ticket, you simply click Contact Support Team. From there, the following page will be displayed:

Available Support List

This is a listing of all of your support options. Note: Other Telerik products/technologies will be listed here as well if you have a trial or commercial license. In this example, I’ve just signed up for a trial for Kendo UI Complete. This provides me with the support options you see (above).

It’s important to notice here that we provide support for all trial users. That’s because we want you to be successful with Kendo UI at all stages of your project, including those stages that involve prototyping or envisioning. We want you to put Kendo UI through its paces so you can rest assured knowing that it’s providing the right solution for you.

To submit a ticket, simply click on the collection (Kendo UI Web, Kendo UI DataViz, or Kendo UI Mobile) that pertains to your issue. For example, clicking on the support ticket option for Kendo UI Web will take you to the following page:

Request Support for Kendo UI Web

Here, you’ll be able to provide us with a detailed description of any issue(s) you’ve encountered. We encourage you to be as thorough as possible. Please include all relevant information as it relates to your scenario, set-up, and/or issue. The more information you provide, the more effective we can be at helping you get unblocked and onto your next task.

Get Your Learn On!

With September just around the corner, it’s time for getting ready to go back to school.

“Back to school” is the most frightening phrase in the English language to a 12 year old. But, for the rest of us, it’s a time of renewal and optimism around learning. That’s why I felt it would be a good opportunity for me to share with you some inspiration for getting your learn on!

To assist their learning, web developers need tools and many options exist. Your starting point should be microsoft.com/web. This is your one-stop-shop for access to a range of free tools and resources for web development. Notably, this is where you can download Microsoft WebMatrix, a free web development tool from Microsoft that includes everything you need for website development. Also, be sure to check out videos, tutorials, walkthroughs and much more here.

On the other hand, if you’re looking to level up on your skills with Windows Phone app development, check out the App Hub. Or, if you’re a student, check out DreamSpark. Here you’ll find free tools and resources that will get you up-to-speed on the “latest and greatest”, including information on Windows Phone Mango. We’ve recently published the Windows Phone SDK 7.1 RC. So, what are you waiting for? Download, install, and get crackin’!

Finally, I’ve been playing around with the Kinect for Windows SDK. And wow, talk about awesome! If you’re looking to skill up on integrating with the Kinect through motion and sound, download this SDK now. Build a demo and impress your friends. And if you’re looking for inspiration, check out some of the recent awesomeness done by the Coding4Fun team with the Kinect.

Visual Studio Lightswitch 2011 is Here!

If you’ve ever found yourself challenged with building data-centric business applications quickly, here’s some excellent news: Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch 2011 is here!

Visual Studio Lightswitch is the simplest way to create data-centric business applications for the desktop and the cloud. Lightswitch is a visual development environment designed to help you create these applications quickly. By handling the generation of code and user interface, Lightswitch allows you to focus on what you know - your business. Lightswitch is a tool that’s flexible to your needs, allowing you to add custom code, controls and validation where you see fit. It features an extensibility model that enables Lightswitch applications to be augmented by third-party solutions. It also allows you adjust the deployment model of your applications, giving you the advantage of quick portability to accommodate changing requirements. All in all, Lightswitch provides a streamlined environment for quickly building and maintaining your data-centric business applications.

For more information about Lightswitch, make sure to check out the Lightswitch Developer Center where you can download a free, 90-day trial, watch instructional videos, download starter kits, install extensions, get training, and ask questions. You can also join the conversation online by following the Lightswitch team, @vslightswitch.

Happy Canada Day!

Creative Commons picture courtesy of Rene Erhardt

Happy Canada Day folks! I hope you have a good one!

Make Awesome Web: 200 Awesome Resources and Counting

About six months ago, fellow Microsoft Developer Evangelist, Michael Kordahi (@delic8genius) launched Make Awesome Web, a link-blog dedicated to client-side web awesome-ness:

Hours after its launch, I asked Michael if I could help out. Reason being, over the past number of years, I’ve used a number of tools and found a lot of awesome examples. The problem? I didn’t have a great place to share them with others. Enter Make Awesome Web.

Since its inception just six months ago, we’ve posted 200 awesome resources (including examples and sites) that should help and inspire you to build great web experiences. The response from the web developer community has been pretty incredible. For example, the site experienced over 16,000 views in the month of June alone. Going forward, the plan is to continue posting examples, sites and tools that champion web developer awesomeness. If there’s a resource that’s missing, please let me know! Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the RSS feed if you prefer getting these posts through a reader.

Conditional Breakpoints in Internet Explorer F12 Developer Tools

Just a quick tip for folks using the F12 Developer Tools in Internet Explorer: You can specify conditional breakpoints in Breakpoints window.

Conditional breakpoints are useful because they will halt execution of the debugger when a condition is met. This can be optimal when dealing with situations where you don’t want to break each and every time a breakpoint is encountered. For example, if I’m only interested in halting execution within a for loop an evenly-divisible index, I can specify the following criteria by simply right-clicking a breakpoint and selecting “Condition…” in the dialog window that appears:

Setting a condition in this manner will visually update the breakpoint listed in the F12 Developer Tools. Breakpoints with conditions are indicated with the following icon:

For what it’s worth, you can also disable breakpoints just as easily. Simply right-click a breakpoint in the code window and select “Disable breakpoint”. Disabled breakpoints are indicated with the following icon:

Here’s what it might look like in the Breakpoints section of the F12 Developer Tools:

Hopefully, this will help you out when debugging script in the F12 Developer Tools of Internet Explorer.

Outlining Elements with IE9 F12 Developer Tools

One feature of the F12 Developer Tools in IE9 that I like is its ability to outline elements on a page. You’ll find this option under the Tools menu (or Ctrl+O):

When selected, you’ll be presented with the following window:

Here, you can specify CSS selector expressions for the purpose of outlining elements on a page. Let’s say I’m reviewing the following page:

Let’s say I want to highlight all the DIV elements on my page. In the Outline Elements window, I specify the following:

Once applied, IE9 outlines all the elements that match this criteria:

Let’s take this a step further. I mentioned that this outlining capability is based on a selector, so we can specify some more power expressions that leverage pattern matching. For example, I’ll specify the universal selector and update:

As a result of this action, all elements are now outlined:

Let’s change this again. Here, I’ll have the F12 Developer Tools outline IMG elements that are child elements of any DIVs on this page:

Now I can get a better understanding – visually-speaking – of how my page is structured:

Nice!

See You at MIX!

There’s a good chance you’ve heard of MIX. It’s our super-awesome conference that brings together web developers, designers and builders under one roof. MIX also a community site with articles and labs showcasing what’s possible on the web.

Once again, MIX is coming to Las Vegas! It will occur on April 12-14 and will feature some of the top web developers and designers in the world, speaking about a wide range of topics including HTML5, CSS, JavaScript and more.

This year, I’ll be delivering a session entitled, “Adding the Awesomesauce Flavor with Internet Explorer 9 Pinned Sites”:

By now, you’ve heard about pinned sites in Internet Explorer 9. And, you’ve probably even used them yourself. But, did you know that this feature can help increase site visits and engagements by as much as 50%? In this session, you’ll hear stories of Pinned Site implementations by some of the most popular websites on the web today. You’ll also discover how to support pinned sites with a few lines of markup. Finally, you’ll learn best practices that will help you deliver an awesome experience to your visitors.

See you at MIX!

ASP.NET MVC 3, WebMatrix and More!

Earlier today, Scott Guthrie (@scottgu) announced the release of ASP.NET MVC 3, IIS Express, SQL CE 4, Web Farm Framework, Orchard, WebMatrix. As Scott indicates in his exhaustive blog post, these products are free, build upon the .NET 4 and VS 2010 release, and add a ton of additional value to ASP.NET (both Web Forms and MVC) and the Microsoft Web Server stack. In addition to Scott’s blog post, you’ll find some great information on today’s announcements from the following blog posts:

• Introducing the NuGet Gallery by David Ebbo (@davidebbo)
• ASP.NET MVC 3 and NuGet 1.0 Released (Including Source Code!) by Phil Haack(@haacked)
• ASP.NET MVC3, WebMatrix, NuGet, IIS Express and Orchard released - The Microsoft January Web Release in Context by Scott Hanselman (@shanselman)
• Scaffold your ASP.NET MVC 3 project with the MvcScaffolding package by Steve Sanderson (@stevensanderson)
• DotNetNuke, WebMatrix, and Razor at CodeMash by Joe Brinkman (@jbrinkman)
• WebMatrix, Razor, MVC3 and Orchard Release Today! by Chris Koenig (@chriskoenig)

If you’re itching to try out these bits, the easiest way to get them is with the (new) Web Platform Installer 3.0:

The Microsoft Web Platform Installer 3.0 (Web PI) is a free tool that makes getting the latest components of the Microsoft Web Platform, including Internet Information Services (IIS), SQL Server Express, .NET Framework and Visual Web Developer easy. The Web PI also makes it easy to install and run the most popular free web applications for blogging, content management and more with the built-in Windows Web Application Gallery.

Once downloaded and installed, you’ll find many of today’s releases listed in the various sections of the Web Platform Installer 3.0:

Web Platform Installer 3.0 – SpotlightWeb Platform Installer 3.0 – Products

As always, Scott Hanselman does a great job summarizing what some might be thinking with today’s announcements (with emphasis added by me):

Folks sometimes say "slow down, you're freaking me out, this is too much new stuff. What about my current stuff?" Here's a few statements from me personally on today's releases.

• Just because ASP.NET MVC 3 came out today, doesn't mean WebForms doesn't have some cool features coming. Remember that "ASP.NET > ASP.NET MVC". You'll see features and improvements from both technologies move between MVC and WebForms.
• IIS Express will integrate with VS2010 in SP1 and work with both WebForms and MVC.
• You can mix Razor Views and Web Forms Views within MVC. The creation/existence of Razor doesn't obviate your existing work.
• SQL Compact works great with WebForms as well as ASP.NET MVC, not to mention any .NET project. Ever want a tiny database for a command-line app and didn't want the headache? Bam.
• SQL Compact database can be upgraded into full SQL Server databases when/if you outgrow SQL Compact.
• While NuGet is bundled with ASP.NET MVC in today's release, you can use it for any .NET project type. Most NuGet libraries are not specific to ASP.NET MVC.

As I've said before, Microsoft is creating new LEGO pieces for software development to round our existing collection of bricks out. Be excited about these bricks, but remember they augment the existing ones, not replace them.

So, there you have it. A boat-load of new bits and products worth checking out. There’s lots of stuff to digest but as always, my team and I will make sure to help you understand what it all means for you, now and into the future. In short, if you’re a web developer, today is a very good day.

Visual Basic Code Examples

Visual Basic Code Examples

When diving into a development technique or technology, I find that documentation isn’t always enough. Often, a code sample is needed to help me solidify my understanding. Code samples vary in their complexity, but I prefer “Hello World!” programs – a homage to Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie's book entitled, The C Programming Language – because they tend to be the most useful; by keeping things simple, they eliminate mental distractions and focus entirely on the fundamentals. That stated, no matter what your preference is on the topic of “simple versus complex”, code examples are a wonderful teaching tool.

As part of its commitment to supporting the community, the VB team has published a ton of code examples on MSDN. These examples cover a wide range of topics, including:

• Windows Phone 7 (*)
• Silverlight
• Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
• SharePoint
• Office 2010
• and much more!

(*) Oh, you haven’t heard? You can write apps for Windows Phone 7 in VB and you can sell them in Marketplace.

From the VB team: See anything missing? Please file a request on the VB code wishlist, where we’re collecting suggestions for future VB code samples, and we’ll do our best to make it available!

VB Team Blog - Visual Basic Code Examples

In addition to these code examples, the VB team has also recently published a boat-load of resources worth checking out. These include links to blogs, books, documentation, training kits, tutorials, and tools. In addition to these resources, I’d also recommend following folks like Beth Massi (@BethMassi) and others listed on the Visual Basic Bloggers at Microsoft page on MSDN. On Twitter, there’s @learnvbnow, a good resource for VB samples and blog posts from the Microsoft and the VB community at-large. And, of course, there are podcasts like .NET Rocks! – a vital resource for the on-the-go developer.

Finally, there are a great number of code examples and snippets for other languages like Visual C#, Visual C++, and F#. There’s also the StyleCop Compliant Visual Studio Code Snippets on CodePlex, containing 38 code snippets for Visual Studio 2010. I’d also strongly recommend checking out the MSDN Code Gallery (and CodePlex) for samples and open source projects to help jumpstart your learning.

Update (12/1/2011 at 12:30 PM): Looks like the VB *and* C# teams are now on Twitter! Follow @visualbasicteam and @csharpteam for all your favourite programming language tweets!