Hi, all! I decided that instead of griping about the specific problems I've run into with DMX, I'd offer my workarounds. Perhaps they will assist the Macromedia types in identifying the bugs as well, but my intent is to help my fellow users get around them until they are patched.

My environment: Win2k Pro SP3 / DMX Suite / Dual monitors / UD4 layout (not docked)

Problem 1: Testing server doesn't let me preview my site locally.

Solution: Use the local IP for your machine in the Testing Server field (I'm on a home LAN, so I use 192.168.2.89, but you could just as easily use 127.0.0.1). If you put an entry in your hosts file you can create a 'nice' alias for it such as
127.0.0.1 NED
And then tell the testing server dialog to use NED/testsite/

Problem 2: No matter what I do, the Bindings tab in Application won't let me press the '+' sign to add a new table.
Solution 1: If you HAVE defined a connection and built pages, but new pages misbehave in this way AND if the Databases tab shows you your database, Press the + sign next to the database in the Application/Databases tab (to show the tables), then grab and drag one of the tables into the BODY of your document (not the code view). This will open the 'New Recordset' dialog just as if you had selected 'New Recordset'.
Solution 2: If this is a new site and it won't cooperate no matter what you do, you'll have to do some cutting and pasting. Go to a page in another site that has a Recordset block in it and manually copy the code for that recordset. It really doesn't matter what it is, as long as it's a properly formatted recordset block using the server model you prefer. Paste that block into your new page. Your Server Behavior tab should now show that recordset with a red ! - Now you can open it, create your connection, and modify to match your needs. I have to do this often on the first ASP page of a new site.

Problem 3: On dual monitors, I can't get some of the dialogs (particularly user variables in the Recordset Definition dialog) to allow me to enter data IF the dialog is on my second monitor.

Solution: Drag the dialog to your primary monitor. It will work perfectly.

Problem 4: After I've built a page, sometimes it loses my bindings completely even though I know that my code hasn't changed and it was healthy before. The Application box shows the now infamous 'checklist', ending with Define Testing Server.

Solution: It forgot your server model. This probably happens more to JavaScript and CF users than VBScript users because it always seems to default to VBScript. Click the Define Server Model in the checklist and change it to the correct scripting language. Your bindings should return.

Problem 5: After a modification to a server component, I get 'Recordset Behavior was only partially deleted', the Recordset is missing from my Bindings, and everything else has a red ! by it. I go to code view and everything seems in order (I didn't really delete anything).

Solution: The realtime par-ser that determines which components you have on a page has a bug in that it doesn't completely recheck your code on certain actions (or it does it incorrectly). If you are SURE that your page is ok, save it, close it, and reopen it. Your bindings will reappear. I have to do this very often. A good test to do before committing the save is to attempt an Undo. If your bindings/behaviors return when you Undo, you actually DID do something destructive, and DMX is correctly assessing the situation. If the components don't return on Undo, then you've run across this bug and you can (probably) safely save and reopen.

Problem 6: I get an error on viewing a page telling me that I can only have one @ directive per page.

Solution: DMX inserted another ASP header on your page - manually delete one of them and save the page.


I'd like to see a continuation of this thread with other folks' workarounds - these are just the ones that I have to deal with on a daily basis, but I'm sure there are others who have a similar list.

Ned Frankly

BTW - the hyphenated word above is to get around the profanity filter (apparently p-a-r-s-e is a bad word. See: parse. Oddly enough, assess is not filtered.


Edited by - NedFrankly on 02 Oct 2002 16:22:27

Glad I don't live in Scunthorpe (s-c-u-n-t-h-o-r-p-e) then <img src=../images/dmxzone/forum/icon_smile_shock.gif border=0 align=middle>

All the best, Steve

Me? I can't even spell ASP!

Edited by - Microbe on 04 Oct 2002 08:17:54

problem: DWMX deletes all the sites you defined after a random restart of the program. Unfortunately, the backup program that backs up the registry setting, ios not able to put them back (winXP problem?)

solution: manually restore the sites (all 30!) or go back to ultradev.

problem: extreme slow screen refreshes. Especially when you do a lot of manual coding and the files you're working on are on a different computer.

solution: use ultradev, even though you'll have to miss the wonderful wonderful snippets panel.