.Net, C#, HTML, MVC, Programming

.Net MVC – Display a user’s Full Name instead of User.Identity.Name (DOMAIN\USERNAME)

I had a request come in on a MVC web app to display a user’s full name instead of their domain network username. The app was using something like:

<p>Hello, @User.Identity.Name</p>

which displayed like:

Hello, MYDOMAIN\myusername!

So to update this on the MVC web app (and avoid a dedicated helper) here is what I did:

In your _ViewImports.cshtml include:

@using System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement

Then, in your _Layouts.cshtml place this

@{ 
    var context = new PrincipalContext(ContextType.Domain);
    var principal = UserPrincipal.FindByIdentity(context, User.Identity.Name);
}

The above will render the user’s currently logged in claims and return their claim attributes as needed. You can use others as you have them also for other purposes, too.

Now, in your _Layouts.cshtml you can switch your original hello item to:

<p>Hello, @principal.GivenName @principal.Surname!</p>

You should get a friendlier format like:

Hello, Jared Meredith!

Hope that helps. Questions or comments are always welcome!

HTML, JavaScript, Troubleshooting, Web

Check For Internet Explorer (IE) Compatibility Mode

Create a JavaScript file called iecheck.js and paste the following in the snippet:

function trueOrFalse() {
 return true;
}

function IeVersion() {
 // Set defaults
 var value = {
 IsIE: false,
 TrueVersion: 0,
 ActingVersion: 0,
 CompatibilityMode: false
 };

// Try to find the Trident version number
 var trident = navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident\/(\d+)/);
 if (trident) {
 value.IsIE = true;
 //Convert from the Trident version number to the IE version number
 value.TrueVersion = parseInt(trident[1], 10) + 4;
 }

// Try to find the MSIE number
 var msie = navigator.userAgent.match(/MSIE (\d+)/);
 if (msie) {
 value.IsIE = true;
 // Find the IE version number from the user agent string
 value.ActingVersion = parseInt(msie[1]);
 } else {
 // Must be IE 11 in "edge" mode
 value.ActingVersion = value.TrueVersion;
 }

// If we have both a Trident and MSIE version number, see if they're different
 if (value.IsIE &amp;&amp; value.TrueVersion &gt; 0 &amp;&amp; value.ActingVersion &gt; 0) {
 // In compatibility mode if the trident number doesn't match up with the MSIE number
 value.CompatibilityMode = value.TrueVersion != value.ActingVersion;
 }
 return value;
}

Once you have the JavaScript file then open your page where you are going to check for compatibility for and place a reference to the iecheck.js file in the head tag.

<script src="iecheck.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

After that you have multiple options on how to use the script.

For example, if you would like to check for compatibility and redirect then paste the following snippet inside of the body of your html:

<script type="text/javascript">
// 0 = not in compatibility view, 1 = in compatibility view
var ie = IeVersion();
if ((ie.CompatibilityMode == "0") && (ie.IsIE == "1")) {
window.location = "redirecttosomewhere.html"
}
else {
// do nothing, is in compatibility view
}
</script>

Another example would be if you just want to see the results on the page; just place this snippet inside of the body of your html:


<script type="text/javascript">
// <![CDATA[
var ie = IeVersion();
document.write("IsIE: " + ie.IsIE + "</br>");
document.write("TrueVersion: " + ie.TrueVersion + "</br>");
document.write("ActingVersion: " + ie.ActingVersion + "</br>");
document.write("CompatibilityMode: " + ie.CompatibilityMode + "</br>");
// ]]>
</script>

Hope this helps. Questions are always welcome.

.Net, C#, HTML, Office, Programming, VB, Web

Exporting asp:GridView Results To A Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet in VB/C#

I have received this requirement on more than one occasion so I thought it would benefit others if I posted these snippets. So here we go, let’s export a gridview as an excel file.

For starters let’s add a couple controls to the front-end aspx page:

 
<asp:Button ID="btnExport" runat="server" Text="Export Results To Excel" /> &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;<br /><br />

<asp:GridView ID="grdSearch" runat="server" CellPadding="3" BackColor="White" BorderColor="#CCCCCC" BorderStyle="None" BorderWidth="1px">
 <FooterStyle BackColor="White" ForeColor="#000066" />
 <HeaderStyle BackColor="#006699" Font-Bold="True" ForeColor="White" />
 <PagerStyle BackColor="White" ForeColor="#000066" HorizontalAlign="Left" />
 <RowStyle ForeColor="#000066" />
 <SelectedRowStyle BackColor="#669999" Font-Bold="True" ForeColor="White" />
 <SortedAscendingCellStyle BackColor="#F1F1F1" />
 <SortedAscendingHeaderStyle BackColor="#007DBB" />
 <SortedDescendingCellStyle BackColor="#CAC9C9" />
 <SortedDescendingHeaderStyle BackColor="#00547E" />
 </asp:GridView>

I’m going to assume you know how to wire in your gridview to return results.

With that assumption in place here is the click event that performs the export (in VB):

You will need: Imports System.IO

Protected Sub btnExport_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles btnExport.Click
        Try
            Response.Clear()
            Response.Buffer = True
            Response.ClearContent()
            Response.ClearHeaders()
            Response.Charset = ""
            Dim FileName As String = "filename" + DateTime.Now + ".xls"
            Dim strwritter As New StringWriter()
            Dim htmltextwrtter As New HtmlTextWriter(strwritter)
            Response.Cache.SetCacheability(HttpCacheability.NoCache)
            Response.ContentType = "application/vnd.ms-excel"
            Response.AddHeader("Content-Disposition", Convert.ToString("attachment;filename=") &amp; FileName)
            grdSearch.GridLines = GridLines.Both
            grdSearch.HeaderStyle.Font.Bold = True
            grdSearch.RenderControl(htmltextwrtter)
            Response.Write(strwritter.ToString())
            Response.[End]()
        Catch ex As Exception
            ' Do something important here if you expect strange results
        End Try
    End Sub

Now in C#:

You will need: using System.IO;

try {
	Response.Clear();
	Response.Buffer = true;
	Response.ClearContent();
	Response.ClearHeaders();
	Response.Charset = "";
	string FileName = "filename" + DateTime.Now + ".xls";
	StringWriter strwritter = new StringWriter();
	HtmlTextWriter htmltextwrtter = new HtmlTextWriter(strwritter);
	Response.Cache.SetCacheability(HttpCacheability.NoCache);
	Response.ContentType = "application/vnd.ms-excel";
	Response.AddHeader("Content-Disposition", Convert.ToString("attachment;filename=") + FileName);
	grdSearch.GridLines = GridLines.Both;
	grdSearch.HeaderStyle.Font.Bold = true;
	grdSearch.RenderControl(htmltextwrtter);
	Response.Write(strwritter.ToString());
	Response.End();
} catch (Exception ex) {
	// Do something important here if you expect strange results
}

I realize you may not need some of the formatting that I used in this example so remove the Gridview related property assignments in the export snippet. Also, depending on how you format your gridview on the aspx page will dictate some of the formatting you have on the spreadsheet. Hope this helps, questions are welcome.

HTML, JavaScript, Web

JavaScript HTML Redirect To Another URL

There may be cases where you don’t have as free of access to the meta information or web.config to set redirects in place. You can also do this with JavaScript!

Here’s the snippet (place this in between script tags in the body or applicable section in the body that allows HTML):

<script type="text/javascript">
    window.location.replace("http://www.yourexamplesite.com/some-other-page.html");
</script>

Hope that helps.