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fill asp dropdown list with SQL records by using kentico API calls

okay, it seems that no one is explaining the process of this issue completely, even kentico's documentations are not well organized and clear. My problem is that i have more than 50 records in a table in SQL which i would like to load in a single ASP dropdown list (because it would be a bad practice to fill it statically), and I am new to kentico so my problem is that I need a complete explanation about the process from A to Z, from building the query in kentico, to using it in visual. please post some examples if possible.
also please note that i have seen many examples like this one:
https://docs.kentico.com/k10/custom-development/developing-web-parts/advanced-web-part-development-scenarios/developing-custom-filters
but these examples are showing us only the last step, which is using DepartmentInfoProvider.GetDepartments(); to fill the dropdownlist, my main focus is to know how and where and using what they created the DepartmentInfoProvider class on the first place.

you should read about creating custom modules. There is a section how to add a class to the module. As soon as you add a class to the module, you'll be able to generate its Info and InfoProvider class, then add these files to solution and use them.

Farah, Another person asked a similar question:
https://devnet.kentico.com/questions/custom-filter-with-a-drop-down-list-from-the-databse
This will help give a little info on the Info and InfoProviders in Kentico
To be more specific to your needs though, you can use the QueryInfoProvider.ExecuteQuery to use a custom Kentico query that selects from your table, OR you can as Anton suggested make a custom module, but if you're new to Kentico this may be a bit much for you.
Lastly, if you want i have a universal filter webpart (just haven't published it yet) which gives you the ability to simply write a SQL query and then define how that selected value affects your repeater (you design the WHERE condition). Just tell me if you want it.

The solution was far more simple than I thought, First we should create a Query in Page Type --> Queries --> new Query --> specify queryName and queryText, the query gets the data from database, second in visual we have to write:
using System.Data;
private void initializeDropDownList(String queryName, String rowName, DropDownList dd)
{
List<String> listData = new List<String>();
DataSet dataset = new DataQuery("custom.PageType." + queryName).Execute();
foreach (DataRow row in dataset.Tables[0].Rows)
{
listData.Add(row[rowName].ToString());
}
String[] arrayData = listData.ToArray();
foreach (String data in arrayData)
{
if (data.Equals("")) { continue; }
else
{
dd.Items.Add(new ListItem(data));
}
}
}

How to move through different records in C#

I made a form that basically displays information about different vendors from an XML file that I was given. The XML file is retrieved from a class that I created, called VendorsDB.cs. On my form, I have a Previous and Next button that I want to display the next vendor or the previous vendor (Vendor1, Vendor2...) but I have no idea what method to use. I know I have to use a loop but I'm not sure as to how to code the loop. I've just started programming with C# so I'm really lost. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Your question is missing alot of information, but what im seeing is that you need to do some work with XML.
I suggest you look into Linq To XML which enabled you to query tags and attributes with query syntax.
A very simple query good look like this:
// Load the xml from the specified path
var xml = XDocument.Load(#"LocationOfXml");
// Query the first element with a "MyXmlTag" as name
var someAttribute = xml.Descendants().FirstOrDefault(x => x.Name == "MyXmlTag");
The query language is far richer than this simple query. Read up and im sure you'll be able to get it working asap.

Saving custom settings or attributes in a Word document

I've got a MS Word project where I'm building a number of Panes for users to complete some info which automatically populates text at bookmarks throughout the document. I'm just trying to find the best way of saving these values somehow that I can retrieve them easily when re-opening the document after users have typed in their values.
I could just try to retrieve them from the bookmarks themselves but of course in many cases they contain text values when I'd ideally want to store a primary key somewhere that's not visible to the user and just in case they made changes to the text which would make reverse engineering the values impossible.
I can't seem to find any information on saving custom attributes in a Word document, so would really appreciate some general guidance of how this might be achieved.
Thanks a lot!

I would suggest the use of custom document properties. there you can strings in a key -value manner (at least if it is similar to excel).
I found a thread which explains how to do it:
Set custom document properties with Word interop

After playing around with this a fair bit this is my final code in case it helps someone else, I've found this format easier to understand and work with. It's all based on the referenced article by Christian:
using Office = Microsoft.Office.Core;
using Word = Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word;
using System.Reflection;
Office.DocumentProperties properties = (Office.DocumentProperties)Globals.ThisDocument.CustomDocumentProperties;
//Check if the property exists already
if (properties.Cast<Office.DocumentProperty>().Where(c => c.Name == "nameofproperty").Count() == 0)
{
//Then add the property and value
properties.Add("nameofproperty", false, Office.MsoDocProperties.msoPropertyTypeString, "yourvalue");
}
else
{
//else just update the value
properties["nameofproperty"].Value = "yourvalue";
}
In terms of retrieving the value it's as easy as using the same three lines at the top to get the properties object, perhaps using the code in the if statement to check if it exists, and the retrieving it using properties["nameofproperty"].Value

Appending/Listing LINQ to XML data

I'm currently writing a function to save and read data to/from and XML document through
LINQ. Currently I can write the document just fine, but if I go to add data to an existing item, it simply adds a new item. My goal is to create an address book type system (yes I know there's 1000 out there, it's just a learning project for myself) and I've tried ini and basic text but it seems that XML is the best way to go short of using a local DB like sql. Currently I have:
XDocument doc = XDocument.Load(#"C:\TextXML.xml");
var data = new XElement("Entry",
new XElement("Name", textBox1.Text),
new XElement("Address", richTextBox2.Text),
new XElement("Comments", richTextBox1.Text));
doc.Element("Contacts").Add(data);
doc.Save(#"C:\TextXML.xml");
I searched SO and can't seem to find how to append/replace.
Now this saves everything properly, even when I add to the document, but if I want to update an entry I'm not sure how to without creating a new "Entry" nor am have I gotten the knack of removing one. (I'm somewhat new to C# still and self-taught so pardon anything obvious I've overlooked.)
My second issues revolves around loading the information into textboxes.
I'm able to load a list of Entry names into a listbox, but when I go to open the information from that entry I'm not sure how to properly get the nested info.
With the example above I'd need something similar to the following:
XDocument doc = XDocument.Load(#"C:\TextXML.xml");
boxName.Text = The name from the SelectedItem of the list box.
boxAddress.Text = The address child of the element named above etc.
Each method I've tried I wind up with a null reference exception, which tells me I'm not pointing to the right thing, but I'm not sure how to get to those things properly.
I've also tried creating a string and var of the SelectedItem from the list box to help with the naming, and using ToString methods, but still can't figure it out.

For replacing values, there are several functions you can use in XElement:
Value (property with a public setter)
SetValue()
SetElementValue()
SetAttributeValue()
ReplaceWith()
ReplaceNodes()
For example, if you wanted to replace the value in Name:
data.Element("Name").SetValue("NewValue");
or
data.Element("Name").Value = "NewValue";
For loading, once you have the XElement node you desire, then it's as simple as doing
xelement.Value
Or if it's an attribute:
xelement.Attribute("AttributeName").Value
Using your code as an example:
boxName.Text = doc.Element("Entry").Element("Name").Value;
Edit to address comment:
If I'm reading your comment right, you're wanting to extract the Name/Address/etc. data from all the nodes within the Contacts main node?
If so, then you would probably want something like this:
boxName.Text = string.Join(",", doc.Elements("Entry").Select(x => x.Element("Name").Value));
This will give you a single string that has all the names in all Entries separated by a comma. Just change "Name" to "Address" to do the same for addresses.
I'd suggest doing a search for Linq to XML for finding more information about how to use this parsing.

How to get all files from a folder in sorted order in C#.Net? [duplicate]

Is is possible to get files that is ordered same as in Windows Explorer
I know "natural sort", but it's not what I need, I need to get the file list ordered by the same attribute in Windows Explorer, for example:
If I ordered a directory by the attribute "create date", then I will get a file list as below:
name create date file size
1.txt 2012/1/1 125Kb
2.tab 2012/3/2 15Kb
3.bmp 2013/5/5 26Kb
If my windows explorer order file list with the attribute "file size", the the file list would be:
name create date file size
2.tab 2012/3/2 15Kb
3.bmp 2013/5/5 26Kb
1.txt 2012/1/1 125Kb
Could anyone help?

I think this is going to be a lot more complex than you expect. Folder settings are stored in the registry in two places:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags
The first path contains a structure which reflects the structure of the file system, and the second path contains details about those items, including a REG_BINARY value called "Sort" which records the sort order used for that folder.
See Willi Balenthin's website for details on the structure, including sample code (in Python)

Here's how to get a list of files sorted by their name:
var path = #"C:\windows"; // obviously change this to whatever you want
var files = System.IO.Directory.GetFiles (path).ToList ();
file.Sort();
And that's it!
Here's how you would do it per your given code sample:
var temperaturePressureSignalFilesList = Directory.GetFiles(TemperaturePressureSignalDirectory, "*.txt", SearchOption.TopDirectoryOnly).ToList();
temperaturePressureSignalFilesList.Sort();

using System.Linq;
DirectoryInfo info = new DirectoryInfo(""); FileInfo[] files =
info.GetFiles().OrderBy(p => p.CreationTime).ToArray(); foreach
(FileInfo file in files) {
// DO Something... }
here is the sample code for get files in directory by creation time.
You can get files by size same way.

I guess you are talking about viewing pane in Windows Explorer (it's essentially a Windows File Manager but also known under different name). Some clarification is needed. You can apply your custom sorting on various columns; moreover, you can have multiple viewing panes (windows) open sorted on different columns. Thus, the problem definition is a bit unclear.
Assuming that you know the sorting order in your viewing panes, then you can use System.IO.DirectoryInfo and derived FileSystemInfo[] objects; the latter has files.OrderBy method.
Hope this will help. My best, Alex

If you want natural sort order, you should either P/Invoke StrCmpLogicalW (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb759947.aspx) or find a managed natural sort algorithm. There is no built-in natural sort in .NET Framework.

I think you cannot know which is the order in the pane (by size, name or whatever), you must read the list and then sort it the way you want or prompt the user to select a sorting attribute.
As Kenny posted Sorting Directory.GetFiles() here is an approach, anyway I still thinking there is no possibly way to know which is the sorting order that user selected in the viewing pane.

I think you would have to write a shell extension for windows explorer that captures sort events on columns and writes that metadata to disk in some structured way. You may have multiple explorer windows open so might be an idea to apply timestamp or id so you know which explorer window you are dealing with. Then in your app read that metadata to get the sort order and apply accordingly. Not easy but doable.