How to Display Report Server Reports in a Web Page without the Toolbar

The following worked for me using SSRS 2005, YMMV.

Create a URL with the following form:

The URL of the Report Server:  http://MyServer/ReportServer  

The report parameters: 

• The first parameter is the URL of the report: http://MyServer/ReportsLibrary/MyReport.rdl
• rs:Command=Render
• rc:HTMLFragment=True
• rc:Toolbar=False
• rc:Parameters=False

If the report had parameters add them with the following format: MyParameter=MyValue (If a parameter has multiple values just add it many times).

Stick it all together and you get:
http://MyServer/ReportServer?http://MyServer/ReportsLibrary/MyReport.rdl&rs:Command=Render&rc:HTMLFragment=True&rc:Toolbar=False&rc:Parameters=False

Add an IFRAME to the web page using the above URL.

Demystifying SSAS Date Dimension Attribute Types

This spreadsheet (via Google Docs) is my attempt at organizing the SSAS date/time attributes. Note that the spreadsheet has four tabs. FEEDBACK AND SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT WELCOME. [Direct link: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pIsKma8AZfzY_KETerdpcAA&gid=2]

Self-publishing

"[Why is it that] self-publishing an album is cool (indie), but self-publishing a book isn't ('vanity' press)." (Via @thecreativepenn on Twitter)

UPDATE: 2012-07 This isn't as true anymore. With the rise of ebooks self-publishing has gained more respect.

...but if you want to test a man's character...

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's
character, give him PowerPoint." - N. Duarte (Via twitter user @gtdguy)

App Store Suggestion - Ability to Flag an App as Interesting

Often when I'm browsing the Apple App store I come across something that I might want to buy, but just not now. The app Baby Names Plus is an example: I heard about it on the Mac OS Ken podcast and thought it was interesting, but not interesting enough to drop the 2.99 on right now (I know, I'm cheap). What I would like is the ability to flag it as "I want to come back to this later." Perhaps each of the drop downs ("App Store," "Music," etc.) in the newest iteration of the App store could have an additional item in the list - "flagged apps" perhaps. Anyone from Apple reading this?

Columbus

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. And then—wait...what rhymes with "genocide"? (via Twitter: http://twitter.com/fedge/status/4812255805 ) ... yea, I like black humor.

ADOS

ADOS ... Attention Deficite Ooooooh Shiny!! (found on Twitter)

No cube or table listed under the selected database in the Excel Data Connection Wizard

Problem: No cube or table listed under the selected database in the Excel Data Connection Wizard.

Solution: In Microsoft Visual Studio set the cube's "Visible" property to "True"; republish the cube

Recently I was trying to connect from a brand new Excel document to a cube I had created in Analysis Services.

Where the problem is: In Excel 2007...

• Select the "Data" ribbon
• Select "From Other Sources"
• Select "From Analysis Services"
• The "Data Connection Wizard" opens up
• On the "Connect to Database Server" pane enter your server name
• Click "Next"
• The "Select a Database and Table" pane displays
• Select your database from the "Select the database that contains the data you want"
• "Connect to a specific cube or table" should be checked
• No cube or table shows up

The solution:

• Open your Analysis Services cube project in Microsoft Visual Studio
• In the "Solution Explorer" double click on your cube ("MyCube" for example)
• The "MyCube.cube" tab opens up
• In the "Measures" pane (or "Dimensions" pane, or...) right click on your cube (the root node) and select "Properties"
• On the "Properties" pane set "Visible=True"
• Republish the cube

Good luck!

Google Reader Wish List

Here are some features I'd like to see added to Google Reader:

1. Ability to easily read one group: Actually this was recently added. The GUI was changed a bit -- a 'subscriptions' drop down was added from which you can easily select just one group (prior to that you had to navigate through the GUI a bit; and even then it wasn't quite clear what group you were reading).

2. A count of new messages in a group, since I last read the group: I'd like to have someway of easily seeing (in the 'subscriptions' drop down panel, perferrably) a count of new messages (since I last viewed the group).

3. (Similar to 2) A count of starred messages in a group: This, too, preferrably in the 'subscriptions' drop down panel.

A Graphical History of Computer Languages

I love a good graphic! Here's a graphical history of computer languages: http://www.levenez.com/lang/history.html.

Civilization IV for the Mac

Civilization IV was released for the Mac about a month ago. It's having much the same birthing pains it had on the PC. I bought the Special Edition of Civilization IV for the PC shortly after it came out. The forums were filled with wailing and moaning and knashing of teeth. A month or so later a patch was released and the game even ran on my under spec Sony Vaio PCG GRX670 (a bit choppy, mind you, but I was willing to put up with quite a bit just to be able to play). I'm planing on buying my first Mac in the next six months or so. I'm waiting for the Merome to hit the laptop line. I'm hoping to get a MacBook (plain, not the Pro). And I'm hoping to run Civilization IV for the Mac on whatever I get. Yes, once again, I'll be trying to run the game on an under spec system. From what I've read, however, people who've played it on a MacBook have had similar experiences to those I had playing it on my Sony Viao, so I think I know what I'm getting into.

Article: Groupware Bad

A quote from Groupware Bad: "If you want to do something that's going to change the world, build software that people want to use instead of software that managers want to buy."

Great Links for the First Time Mac User

The Tao of Mac - How To Switch To The Mac - This is a must read for anyone turning on their first Mac for the first time. It tells you exactly what to expect and some gotchas you might want to be aware of. It also details many of the ways you can use the Unix layer of Mac OS X. What is Mac OS X? - This is a well written discussion of what to expect out of the Mac OS X operating system. Fink - Home - This site has Unix software packages for the Darwin "flavor" of Unix (the Unix that the Mac is built upon); the packages are built so that they will not interfere with the Mac portion of the OS.

Picasa 2 vs Photoshop Elements 3.0

Danny Sullivan at searchenginewatch.com has written an interesting article comparing the features of Google's new Picasa 2 and Adobe's new Photoshop Elements 3.0. The executive summary: photo management software should embed it's tag/label information in the image IPTC data of each image. Picasa 2 does not do this, so you're labels are lost if you move to a different management software. Photoshop Elements 3.0 does this (but you cannot change the labels later -- bummer). Picasa is, overall, easier to use, and it's free, while Elements is more powerful and $100. Mr. Sullivan is staying with Adobe's offering for now.

Cannot create a gmail contact without an email address

I attempted to create a gmail contact for a friend of mine who doesn't have an email address (yes, there are a few people left who don't have email addresses). When I click on 'add contact' the 'Add Contact' window closes, but the contact is not saved. Since gmail's contact list is still in it's infancy I'm not too concerned -- I hoping that they'll get their contact list up to the same level as their email interface.

Gmail wish list

• I wish Gmail had the ability to "label" contacts... Gmail could then automatically label incoming email. (Contacts could then be organized and managed the same way as your Gmail!)
• I wish Gmail had a 'you have email' icon that shows up on my computer when new email arrives.
• I wish Gmail had a time out on the login (I have mixed feelings about it's 'always connected' mode).
• I wish Gmail had a "Save Draft" feature.
• I wish Gmail had signatures.
• I wish Gmail's "contacts" window didn't pop-up and then goes behind the Gmail window. (perhaps this is an IE setting I can control?)
• I wish ALL of Gmail's "from" and "to" fields would "auto-fill" the same way the "from" and "to" fields in the "compose mail" screen do (a very cool feature!).
• I wish the spell check on Blogger would work the same as the spell check on Gmail -- it rocks!

Guitar for Dummies

This is NOT a learn-to-play-guitar book; it's a book about guitars. I ordered it from Amazon before finding this out (I should have read the user comments better); I returned it shortly after it arrived (returning things if very easy with Amazon).

Spyware Smashing Code

I read an article on viruses, spyware, and other bad computer things. The article recommended the following software:

• Spyware Blaster: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/
• Spybot Search & Destroy: http://www.safer-networking.org/

I use both and highly recommend them.

BOOK: Coder to Developer

I just heard of a new book -- Coder to Developer: Tools and Strategies for Delivering Your Software. The Amazon reviews compare it to The Pragmatic Programmer, a book I highly recommend. I'll have to take a look at this one and see if I agree.

gmail

I've been beta testing gmail for a few days now and I'm impressed! It's interface is clean and quick. With the keyboard shortcuts you can do everything you need to do without using the mouse (which will warm the heart of vi users). The automatic threading makes digging through a 'pile' of emails a breeze. I haven't made much use of the labels feature yet, but I like the idea behind it -- no folders, just tags. I just spell checked this posting -- the spell checker is integrated into the GUI in the most amazing fashion. Usability: 5 of 5 stars!