Monthly Archives: October 2007

Plugin directory updated

Not Code,

I am pleased to announce phase 2 of the plugin directory!

You can now rate the plugins and add your own comments about them. If you have had some experience of some of the plugins listed then please do add your comments. Unlike adding or editing the plugins listed comments are not moderated so feel free to add what you think about them. The average rating is also given.

Adding ratings requires that you are “registered” this is so that plugin ratings are not skewed. Adding comments does not required any registration and can indeed be anonymous.

Check out the new features here:

http://www.zeidman.info/php/plugins.php

Look forward to reading your comments!

Phase 3 will include sorting and filtering by product, rating and date added. Watch this space…

How I would improve the API

Not Code, , , , , , , , , , ,

If I have often wondered if I were in charge of the API at Blackbaud how I would change it. Well unfortunately I don’t wield that kind of power and secondly I am not sure that a major overhaul is required. It is clearly not a modern API being COM based but for the main it works well. However there are still quite a few areas that I would improve upon. I don’t suppose that these will ever happen. Changing the API is no doubt lower on Blackbaud’s list of priorities. With the imminent arrival of the Infinity platform (and, yes, its name does seem to have influenced the pace at which it is being released) , the ability to develop any interface into the system seems a real possibility. RE API by comparison appears somewhat staid and limited. I would imagine it no longer commands the attention at Blackbaud those of us using it would like.

That being said I would love to be proven wrong so Blackbaud if you are listening here are the areas that I would change: Continue reading How I would improve the API →

Blackbaud Labs RE7 code sample

Beginner, Not Code, , , , ,

I just noticed Blackbaud have added a code sample to their Blackbaud Labs site. This appears to be the same code sample as was released on CodePlex but it will no doubt get a larger audience here.

My initial thought about this code are that it is unnecessarily complicated. Creating an embedded HTML resource, creating a specific control, putting in the correct GUID into to the HTML page and then getting it all to work seems to be somewhat of a long winded approach. Continue reading Blackbaud Labs RE7 code sample →

Opening a custom Crystal Report from code

Intermediate

Have you ever wanted to call your own Crystal Report from a custom user form? Here is how…

In this example I have a UserForm, a button, a text field for the constituent id and a Crystal Report Control. You will need to go to the control toolbox and add this control before it can be added to your form. All of the constants (variables in upper case) have been previously defined somewhere in the code. Continue reading Opening a custom Crystal Report from code →