When I started this blog in 2015 as a place to stash my, eh, thoughtful workarounds, I didn’t think I’d ever hit 200 live articles (with another hundred still in draft mode). Or that I’d get half a million people reading them in a year! Man, I didn’t know either one of these things when I was writing my 2018 review, which feels like was just a moment ago. Taking a look a bit further back, year 2017 living, working and traveling in the United…Continue reading 2019 – Year Review (200th post on this blog!)
How to resolve “Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlException (0x80131904): Cannot insert explicit value for identity column in table when IDENTITY_INSERT is set to OFF”
Okay, okay – another super simple thing that I messed up, fixed, and decided to document :) This time I messed up a simple operation in Entity Framework Core operation on a simple entity, and hopefully I’ll save someone else some trouble! Onwards to the issue, then! Problem So when you’re trying to insert stuff into your database – somewhat like shown in the example below: var entity = new MyEntity(){ Id = 1337, Name = "My Entity" }; _ctx.MyEntities.Add(entity); _ctx.SaveChanges(); You get an error…Continue reading How to resolve “Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlException (0x80131904): Cannot insert explicit value for identity column in table when IDENTITY_INSERT is set to OFF”
How to resolve persistent “Build started… Build failed.” when trying to run Entity Framework Core commands?
This time, I’m happy to present you perhaps the simplest way of fixing an annoying and persistent issue with a misleading error message! Wait, does that sound familiar? It’s almost like that’s what half of my articles are about… Anyway, I was happily going my way about creating a couple of new fields to an entity and then scaffolding my changes to a new migration using Entity Framework Core’s Add-Migration, but this happened: Build started… Build failed. “Oh”, I thought. “I must have messed something…Continue reading How to resolve persistent “Build started… Build failed.” when trying to run Entity Framework Core commands?
SharePoint Home Sites – a Game Changer?
This topic seems to be on everyone’s mind right now: SharePoint Home Sites. They’re finally rolling out (again). Or maybe even rolled out, in case this article ends up late in my publishing queue! But what are they? How do you create SharePoint Home sites? How do you best use them in your organization? To take a step back, let’s first take a step upwards – to get the 1000-feet view! Getting the big picture – why is Microsoft doing this stuff in the first…Continue reading SharePoint Home Sites – a Game Changer?
How to resolve another “An error occurred while updating the entries” exception in Entity Framework Core
This article offers yet another possible fix to an issue, where trying to call SaveChanges() in Entity Framework Core throws a pretty generic “An error occurred while updating the entries”-exception, and you’re left wondering what in tarnation is wrong this time. And admittedly, that’s a really generic error, so it could be pretty much whatever. But in this article, I’ll go through one possibility. Problem So I was just pushing in some new rows to an incredibly simple table in my small Azure MS SQL…Continue reading How to resolve another “An error occurred while updating the entries” exception in Entity Framework Core
How to find out the Directory ID of your Azure AD tenant?
This article explains in extremely short way, how to fetch your Azure Active Directory tenant’s Directory ID. Let’s make it short and sweet, because quite frankly, it is really simple! Solution Option 1: Use whatismytenantid.com for finding your tenant/directory id: Quick solution – works (at least) for all standard tenants: Navigate to https://www.whatismytenantid.com/ Enter the domain associated with your Azure AD instance (often like contoso.onmicrosoft.com) Let ShareGate do their magic and find your tenant/directory id for you! Thanks to Thomas Vochten for pointing this out…Continue reading How to find out the Directory ID of your Azure AD tenant?
How to resolve error “Insufficient memory to continue the execution of the program.” when debugging Azure Functions locally?
This article describes a solution to an error “Insufficient memory to continue the execution of the program.” I was debugging an Azure Function locally and ran into it – it stopped my Azure Function from starting at all. So, this is what I got: Ohh… kay..? My development machines have plenty of RAM, surely enough to run an Azure Function! So what gives?
How to implement multiple Connection Strings for one DbContext in EF Core?
Recently, while building an app service to host a .NET Core API, I had to implement the logic for using both Read-Only and Read-Write Database Contexts for Entity Framework Core. In this particular case, it was the same database – just different contexts, because depending on the location of the app service the app was deployed in, read and write operations might actually go to different database instances, That’s really easy, right? Well… Yes and no. Essentially, it’s easy to spin up, but comes with…Continue reading How to implement multiple Connection Strings for one DbContext in EF Core?
How to clean up duplicates from MS SQL Database?
This article explains how to query and remove duplicate entries from a Microsoft SQL database using T-SQL. The same model works both for Azure Databases (in Azure SQL Query Editor) and databases on MS SQL Server (using SSMS – SQL Server Management Studio). Background Why bother? That’s a (somewhat) valid question. A table in a SQL database can have quite a few rows as long as you have plenty of storage space available. The number of rows might (technically speaking) be limited by the maximum…Continue reading How to clean up duplicates from MS SQL Database?
How to fix weird “Production Breakpoints” errors in an Azure App Service?
This article describes a curious fix I found to an issue where Application Insights (seemingly) crashes your Azure App Service, leaving behind interesting and non-descriptive errors in the Application Event Logs. Problem Does your Application Insights look like this, too? Event logs full of “Production Breakpoints” with weird errors about named pipes? In my case, the errors were something like these below: IfFailRet(pNamedPipe->Read((BYTE*)&controlRequest, sizeof(SnapshotHolderControlStruct))) failed in function CSnapshotHolder::HandleNewPipeConnection: -2147024787 And: CNamedPipe::Read – Read from named pipe failed: 0x8007006D. These errors would always pop up at…Continue reading How to fix weird “Production Breakpoints” errors in an Azure App Service?
How to get the EF Core Connection String?
A while ago, I had a situation where a DbContext was misbehaving after deployed to an Azure App Service, and I needed to check the connection string it’s using directly in the code. However, finding the right method actually took me googling, as there were plenty of examples for Entity Framework for .NET Framework, but next no nothing for Entity Framework Core. Let’s fix that. Long story short, here’s how:
Tips on organizing an online conference using Microsoft Teams
Writing this in a country under lockdown, it feels like every single conference in the world has either been cancelled or switched to being online-only. And right now, that’s definitely for the best! But it does pose quite a dilemma for those in charge of these events – how do you organize an event for potentially thousands of attendees, online? How do you foster great interaction between the audience and speakers? How do you encourage your attendees to mingle as well? How do you avoid…Continue reading Tips on organizing an online conference using Microsoft Teams
How to fix a Teams team with no Owners?
As Teams adoption grows (partially driven by the megatrend of digitalization, partially by the massive surge in working from home due to Covid-19), different problems managing Teams also become more obvious. The growth seems to have been largely organic. Teams and organizations are adopting the tools that best help them get their work done with little regard to how the tools are maintained and best used. Teams are often created as needed, and by whoever needs them. The creator also becomes the owner – often,…Continue reading How to fix a Teams team with no Owners?
How to fix “HTTP Error 500.32 – ANCM Failed to Load dll”
Yikes – ever ran into this error after deploying your ASP.NET Core web application to an Azure App Service? Yeah, me too. And when it’s a production deployment, and the error didn’t happen in test/QA environment, that’s even more fun. This article describes a couple of ways to fix it, though. You wouldn’t believe these 3 solutions to fix the error “500.32”, and what they look like now! Oh heavens, what have I done with that subheading? All of that time watching Growth Hacking YouTube…Continue reading How to fix “HTTP Error 500.32 – ANCM Failed to Load dll”
Why you shouldn’t attach files from other channels in Microsoft Teams?
This article will describe a surprising issue with Microsoft Teams, and a simple workaround. 😊 Essentially, using the out-of-the-box “Attach” > “Recent” messaging extension in Teams has a couple of caveats or edge cases, that make it problematic to use. Instead, either move the file to the proper location using the “Files” tab, or share a link to your file (also available under “Attach” > “Browse Teams and Channels”). This post will describe the actual solution for moving the file safely, without data loss. Problem…Continue reading Why you shouldn’t attach files from other channels in Microsoft Teams?
Top Tips To Survive Working From Home!
Due to the outbreak of Corona-virus, there’s a sudden influx of people working remotely. As someone, who has only recently gone through the transformation from a regular office worker (with an actual assigned desk and all that classic stuff), to a full-time remote worker, I thought I could share some of my experiences on how to survive WFH (that’s Working From Home for those of you who’re even newer to this stuff than I am!) Introduction Up until recently, I used to work at Valo’s…Continue reading Top Tips To Survive Working From Home!
Adding new MVC/Razor items fails throwing an error about hostpolicy.dll
This article describes how to fix error “There was an error running the selected code generator: ‘Failed to load the dll from \bin\Debug\netcoreapp\win-x86\hostpolicy.dll, HRESULT: 0x800700C1 An error occurred while loading required library hostpolicy.dll’” when you’re adding a new scaffolded item (such as a Razor page or ASP.NET Core MVC Controller). Description Imagine this: You’re developing your run-of-the-mill, basic, everyday ASP.NET Core web application. You need to add a new scaffolded item – that is, This’ll result in an error somewhat like below: There was an…Continue reading Adding new MVC/Razor items fails throwing an error about hostpolicy.dll
How to disable “Register” action in ASP.NET Core?
Sometimes you’ll need the default identity for your ASP.NET Core application, but want to disable the registration of new users. Sounds pretty basic, right? However, there’s actually no easy switch you can just flip to enable or disable said functionality. I went through a lot of different articles and ideas by other people. Most of them involved fiddling with IdentityController, creating new scaffolded pages, adding new Actions with redirection code, and who knows what else… But who wants to fiddle with Identity? It’s glitchy and…Continue reading How to disable “Register” action in ASP.NET Core?
Fun with Azure DevOps NuGet package versioning!
This article will briefly explain the different NuGet package versioning schemes – both automatic and manual – available. Then we’ll take a look at how to implement a nifty, and quite frankly, downright elegant automatic versioning scheme for your NuGet packages. Okay – returning from quite a trip down another rabbit hole, I think it’s a good time to document some of my findings in regards to Azure DevOps NuGet package versioning! This seems to be another area, where the documentation certainly does exist, but…Continue reading Fun with Azure DevOps NuGet package versioning!
Adding Debug listeners to your console application fails in .NET Core
Every now and then comes the need to write your console output to a log file. There’s a simple way to do this in .NET Framework, and quite a few online articles detailing a borderline one-liner on how to do achieve it: Adding a log file listener(s) by calling Debug.Listeners – something like this: TextWriterTraceListener tr1 = new TextWriterTraceListener(System.Console.Out); Debug.Listeners.Add(tr1); TextWriterTraceListener tr2 = new TextWriterTraceListener(System.IO.File.CreateText("Output.txt")); Debug.Listeners.Add(tr2); Source However, this doesn’t work in .NET Core anymore. Problem: Everything changes in .NET Core Using the code…Continue reading Adding Debug listeners to your console application fails in .NET Core
How to change the delimiter when exporting CSV from Excel?
Recently, I needed to find a way to import data from an Excel to a custom-coded system that could import CSV files. However, the data was fairly unsanitized – containing commas, semicolons and other weird characters. I could define the delimiter used in the imported data – however, to do that, I needed to also be able to define it in the export. What’s a “CSV” -file ? Stands for “comma-separated values” – A text file that uses a comma to separate values. Each line…Continue reading How to change the delimiter when exporting CSV from Excel?
