The Dot Net Dash Controls

Dot Net Dash includes a set of Asp.Net Server Controls that render in the browser as user-interfaces for performing administrative functions on your Asp.Net web applications.

Two controls are available

The Web Forms Control

Works with Web Forms (aspx pages.) Just like the built-in Asp.Net controls, you add the control to a web form by declaring the namespace and control prefix at the top of the page then add the control at the location where you want it to appear.

You can set properties with Visual Studio's Properties Pane (F4) or by typing them directly in Source View with the help of Intellisense.

The MVC Control

Works with MVC views (Aspx or Razor syntax.) Like the built-in Asp.Net controls, you'll add this control to your MVC view by importing the namespace then using an HtmlHelper method to place the control at the location where you want it to appear. The "Fluent" interface lets you add a dot (".") to display Intellisense that helps you to set properties.

Both controls render HTML that includes a Silverlight OBJECT tag as well as Javascript needed to launch the client-side application in a web browser. Except for the requirement for Asp.Net 4 and Asp.Net MVC 3 libraries, you don't need anything special on your server. The browser, however, must be capable of running Silverlight 4 or Silverlight 5.

Small project footprint

A primary goal of the product is to deliver maximum functionality with minimal project footprint. All the images, templates and other files needed to run Dot Net Dash are built into the assembly QualityData.DotNetDash.dll in order to avoid polluting your project with required resources. Except for situations where you wish to use a custom Theme, it is not necessary to add any additional files to your project.

Each control has five views

Depending on your configuration, you may encounter up to five views including Login, Dashboard, Membership Management, Roles Management and Health Monitoring. The Login view is displayed automatically if authentication is required and you can set properties on the Dot Net Dash control to hide or show any of the others.

The Login View

Provides the means for logging into the tool

If you place the control on a page that requires authenticated access, then the user may never see the Login View. When visible, the Login View displays fields for entering their username and password and will receive an "Unauthorized" message if they are not members of one of the roles specified in the control's Roles property.

The Dashboard View

Provides high-level summary information.

The Dashboard is useful for highlighting newest users, most recent logins and summary information including the number of Unapproved or Locked Out users. Click the Dashboard links to drill into highlighted information. For example, click the Unapproved Users number to see a list of unapproved users.

The Membership Management View

Lets you find and update information for membership users

Find users quickly by typing in any part of a Username or Email address then pressing Enter. The advanced Search feature lets you locate users who are locked out, unapproved or whose account was created during a certain time period.

Once you locate a desired user record, click links or use options on the Edit Menu to Approve, Disapprove, Change Password, Change Username, Change Email, Edit Profile Information, and more.

The Roles Management View

Lets you create roles and manage the members in each.

Options are available for creating and deleting roles and, of course adding/removing users from a role. One of the most useful benefits of the Roles Management View might be to quickly identify which users are members of a particular role. You might keep a close eye on your Administrators group membership, for example, by selecting that role then checking "only show members in role". You'll see all your administrators in one view.

The Health Monitoring View

Lets you search through a list of web events collected through the Asp.Net Health Monitoring system.

The DropDown lets you select from a Tree-View that summarizes the number of events of each category. For example, you can select "Unhandled Exceptions" to filter the list then use the "Search for Web Events" text box to filter for a particular phrase. Your search phrase will be highlighted in the details view.

Keep in mind that the tool simply reports on data that you collect using the Asp.Net Health Monitoring System. As such, you have a lot of flexibility on how you collect web event information.

Configuration

Whether you use the Web Forms Control or MVC Control, you can set numerous properties to define appearance and behavior.

See also

• Use with web forms
• Use with MVC view