Web Experimentation

Setting up DDS

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 11:49:13 GMT

I was wondering if someone came across this scenario after upgrading to CMS 12

We have a Cart class and an API controller that should return Cart object.

Method is defined as such:

[HttpGet]
[Produces(typeof(Cart))]
public Cart Get()
{
    return CartService.GetCart(IdentityService.GetUserId());
}

In the appSettings.json there is this part

 "DynamicDataStore": {
      "AutoResolveTypes": "true",
      "AutoRemapStores": "true"
 }

Get method produces nice Cart object but instead of returning it as such process gets redirected to StartPage or '/'. Could it be due wrong binding or mapping?

EPiServer.Framework 12.13.0 - Failed to update database

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 14:36:20 GMT

Hi,

The EPiServer.Framework 12.13.0 update tries to alter the procedure [netSoftLinksGetBroken], which does not exist in the database for EPiServer.Framework 12.12.1.
Manually creating the stored procedure allows to proceed with the update.

Full stack trace:

2023-02-21 14:16:42.202 +01:00 [ERR] Initialize action failed for 'Initialize on class EPiServer.Data.DataInitialization, EPiServer.Data, Version=12.13.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=8fe83dea738b45b7'
System.Data.DataException: Failed to update database during execution of statement 'ALTER PROCEDURE netSoftLinksGetBroken
	@SkipCount int,
	@MaxResults int,
	@RootPageId int
AS
BEGIN
	SELECT [pkID]
		,[fkOwnerContentID]
		,[fkReferencedContentGUID]
		,[OwnerLanguageID]
		,[ReferencedLanguageID]
		,[LinkURL]
		,[LinkType]
		,[LinkProtocol]
		,[ContentLink]
		,[LastCheckedDate]
		,[FirstDateBroken]
		,[HttpStatusCode]
		,[LinkStatus]
        ,[fkOwnerPropertyDefinitionID]
	FROM (
		SELECT [pkID]
			,[fkOwnerContentID]
			,[fkReferencedContentGUID]
			,[OwnerLanguageID]
			,[ReferencedLanguageID]
			,[LinkURL]
			,[LinkType]
			,[LinkProtocol]
			,[ContentLink]
			,[LastCheckedDate]
			,[FirstDateBroken]
			,[HttpStatusCode]
			,[LinkStatus]
            ,[fkOwnerPropertyDefinitionID]
			,ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY pkID ASC) as RowNumber
		FROM [tblContentSoftlink]
		INNER JOIN tblTree ON tblContentSoftlink.fkOwnerContentID = tblTree.fkChildID 
		WHERE (tblTree.fkParentID = @RootPageId OR (tblContentSoftlink.fkOwnerContentID = @RootPageId AND tblTree.NestingLevel = 1)) AND LinkStatus <> 0
		) BrokenLinks
	WHERE BrokenLinks.RowNumber > @SkipCount AND BrokenLinks.RowNumber <= @SkipCount+@MaxResults
END
'
 ---> Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlException (0x80131904): Invalid object name 'netSoftLinksGetBroken'.
   at Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection.OnError(SqlException exception, Boolean breakConnection, Action`1 wrapCloseInAction)
   at Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlInternalConnection.OnError(SqlException exception, Boolean breakConnection, Action`1 wrapCloseInAction)
   at Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.ThrowExceptionAndWarning(TdsParserStateObject stateObj, Boolean callerHasConnectionLock, Boolean asyncClose)
   at Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.TryRun(RunBehavior runBehavior, SqlCommand cmdHandler, SqlDataReader dataStream, BulkCopySimpleResultSet bulkCopyHandler, TdsParserStateObject stateObj, Boolean& dataReady)
   at Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteNonQueryTds(String methodName, Boolean isAsync, Int32 timeout, Boolean asyncWrite)
   at Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.InternalExecuteNonQuery(TaskCompletionSource`1 completion, Boolean sendToPipe, Int32 timeout, Boolean& usedCache, Boolean asyncWrite, Boolean inRetry, String methodName)
   at Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.ExecuteNonQuery()
   at EPiServer.Data.SchemaUpdates.Internal.ScriptRunnerImpl.<>c__DisplayClass5_0.<ExecuteScript>b__0()
ClientConnectionId:5fb86f01-8c79-4d9a-a66f-39a02109db6d
Error Number:208,State:6,Class:16
   --- End of inner exception stack trace ---
   at EPiServer.Data.SchemaUpdates.Internal.ScriptRunnerImpl.<>c__DisplayClass5_0.<ExecuteScript>b__0()
   at EPiServer.Data.Providers.Internal.SqlDatabaseExecutor.<>c__DisplayClass26_0`1.<ExecuteTransaction>b__0()
   at EPiServer.Data.Providers.Internal.NoRetriesPolicy.Execute[TResult](Func`1 method)
   at EPiServer.Data.Providers.Internal.SqlDatabaseExecutor.ExecuteTransaction[TResult](Func`1 action)
   at EPiServer.Data.SchemaUpdates.Internal.ScriptRunnerImpl.ExecuteScript(IDatabaseExecutor databaseHandler, StreamReader stream)
   at EPiServer.Data.SchemaUpdates.Internal.ScriptRunnerImpl.<>c__DisplayClass2_0.<ExecuteScripts>b__0()
   at EPiServer.Data.Providers.Internal.SqlDatabaseExecutor.<>c__DisplayClass25_0.<ExecuteTransaction>b__0()
   at EPiServer.Data.Providers.Internal.SqlDatabaseExecutor.<>c__DisplayClass26_0`1.<ExecuteTransaction>b__0()
   at EPiServer.Data.Providers.SqlTransientErrorsRetryPolicy.Execute[TResult](Func`1 method)
   at EPiServer.Data.Providers.Internal.SqlDatabaseExecutor.ExecuteTransaction[TResult](Func`1 action)
   at EPiServer.Data.Providers.Internal.SqlDatabaseExecutor.ExecuteTransaction(Action action)
   at EPiServer.Data.SchemaUpdates.Internal.ScriptRunnerImpl.ExecuteScripts(IDatabaseExecutor databaseHandler, IEnumerable`1 streams)
   at EPiServer.Data.SchemaUpdates.Internal.ScriptExecutorImplementation.ExecuteEmbeddedZippedScripts(String connectionString, Assembly assembly, String resourcePath)
   at EPiServer.Data.SchemaUpdates.Internal.DatabaseVersionValidator.Update(ConnectionStringOptions connectionStringOptions)
   at EPiServer.Data.SchemaUpdates.Internal.DatabaseSchemaManagerImplementation.EnsureDatabaseSchema(DataAccessOptions dataAccessOptions)
   at EPiServer.Data.DataInitialization.ValidateDatabaseSchema(InitializationEngine context)
   at EPiServer.Data.DataInitialization.Initialize(InitializationEngine context)
   at EPiServer.Framework.Initialization.Internal.ModuleNode.<>c__DisplayClass4_0.<Initialize>b__0()
   at EPiServer.Framework.Initialization.Internal.ModuleNode.Execute(Action a, String key)
   at EPiServer.Framework.Initialization.Internal.ModuleNode.Initialize(InitializationEngine context)
   at EPiServer.Framework.Initialization.InitializationEngine.InitializeModules()

Image Editor broken in V12.19? (or earlier)

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 11:18:55 GMT

Good afternoon,

We're running CMS V12.19.0, but this might appear in earlier versions too, but it seems like the Image Editor no longer works. Whenever you try to open the editor, an error is thrown in ImageSharp, about a missing method:

Cropping etc is also unavailable.

Is this a known issue? Or is there some workaround known?

Duplicate "Open in a new window" in ´TinyMCE

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 12:54:42 GMT

Since EpiServer 12.18 the editors have noticed that you have duplicated choices when creating a link in TinyMCE. Still the same in Epi 12.20.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Regards

Linus

How can get i an entry from related entries

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 11:06:12 GMT

Hello,

I can get related entries for an entry but i can't get an entry from related entries

public IEnumerable<Association> ListAssociations(ContentReference referenceToEntry)
      {
        var associationRepository = ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<IAssociationRepository>();
        var associations = associationRepository.GetAssociations(referenceToEntry);
        return associations;
      }

Is there anyone know any solution please let me know?

Thanks,
Thang Le

Problem with LinkItemCollection in a nested block

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 09:30:07 GMT

Hi,

I have a class structure involving two nested blocks, where the outer block contains an IList of the inner block type. The inner block contains a LinkItemCollection.

In the editor UI, when I add an instance of the outer block to a ContentArea, then add two instances of the inner block to the outer block and then add links to the LinkItemCollection in both instances, it works at first. Both inner block instances has links when I preview the changes. If I then go back to the editor, add another link to one of the inner block instances and publish the changes, the other instance is emptied of all its links.

Is this a bug or is it not supported to have a LinkItemCollection in an inner block?

public class OuterBlock : BlockData
{
    public virtual IList<InnerBlock> InnerBlocks { get; set; }
}

public class InnerBlock : BlockData
{
    public virtual LinkItemCollection Links { get; set; }
}

[Commerce 13] Issues with stock not being handled correctly.

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 07:40:27 GMT

We are having some issues regarding the handling of inventory after a order is exported to our ERP system. The issue results in people being able to buy products that are not in stock anymore.

Currently we are suspecting the issue came after our upgrade from 11 to 13, but from here we don't have a good idea what might cause this issue

How can i show file type and size details along with link in Rich Text Editor (TinyMCE v6)

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 11:37:19 GMT

I need to show file type name and size along with the refrence URL in Rich Text Editor as below, any suggetions please.
Example: licence revocation notice (PDF, 369.6 KB)

How to control the edit mode UI language for individual users when using ISynchronizingUserService

Tue, 30 May 2023 22:59:24 GMT

Hi,

We are using Optimizely 12 with mixed-mode authentication (WsFederation and CmsAspNetIdentity combined by means of a PolicyScheme, as suggested in the https://docs.developers.optimizely.com/content-management-system/docs/mixed-mode-authentication documentation).

Users who log in with CmsAspNetIdentity can choose their CMS user inteface language through the built-in “My Settings” interface, under “Display Options”, “Personal Language”.

However, Active Directory users who log in with WsFederation and are synchronized by means of ISynchronizingUserService have no “My Settings” link have a blank “My Settings” page and cannot control their UI language.

For example, many users want a Swedish UI, but regardless of language preferences set in the browser, they get an English CMS UI, and there is no interface where they can change their CMS UI language.

How can we enable the “My Settings” interface for users who are synced through ISynchronizingUserService?

Or if that is not possible, how can we programmatically control the edit mode UI language for the CMS interface? (We could, for example check the browser settings of the user and set the UI language accordingly, if we knew how to control the language programmatically.)

I have searched the documentation and the forums extensively but have not been able to find any relevant information.

Best regards,

Otto

Problem with loading Options in Scheduled Job (CMS 12)

Mon, 29 May 2023 12:17:19 GMT

I've got an addon that consits of two nuget packages. One nuget with core functionalidaty and one nuget (that depends on the first nuget) with a scheduled job.

In CMS 11 and earlier versions of CMS 12, this worked without problems, but in later versions of CMS 12 this has stopped working.

Error message when I try to run the job:

Could not load type 'Gulla.Episerver.AutomaticImageDescription.Core.Configuration.AutomaticImageDescriptionOptions' from assembly 'Gulla.Episerver.AutomaticImageDescription.Core, Version=0.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'.

What I'm trying to do is different variations of this, to load the Options (settings) defined in Gulla.Episerver.AutomaticImageDescription, from the job defined in Gulla.Episerver.AutomaticImageDescription.ScheduledJob.

ServiceLocator.Current.GetInstance<IOptions<AutomaticImageDescriptionOptions>>();

I've tried with construction parameter injection. Same error.

Any tips?

Add click event through Html.PropertyFor method

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 07:49:59 GMT

Hi,

We are using @Html.PropertyFor(m => m.LeftColumnLinks) for generating links. LeftColumnLinks property is of type LinkItemCollection.

Is it possible to add click event on the generated anchor tag ?

Include attached file content to page search result

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 08:31:45 GMT

I am having a specific page type with a property that is holding a file as this:

    [Display(
        GroupName = SystemTabNames.Content,
        Order = 400)]
    [UIHint(UIHint.MediaFile)]
    public virtual Url Document { get; set; }

How can I include the content of that file to the page in the find index?

How should I write the search query for finding pages (with attached file) that are matching the search query?

Shortcuts with query string are automatically converted to Content Item losing the parameters

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 17:33:44 GMT

Hello all,

I am migrating our sites to CMS 12. In CMS 11, we utilize page shortcuts extensively, and a common setup is:

Use "Shortcut to page on another website"
URL is to internal page using a relative path with query parameters
The URL is automatically rewritten

In CMS 12, the shortcut pages that were migrated work as they did before likely due to the rewrite. But if I want to create or edit a page shortcut, the external URL is automatically converted to "Shortcut to another content item", and the query params are lost.

Does anyone have suggestions for dealing with this?

I wonder why not just have a params input in the shortcut dialog?

Thanks in advance!

-Kevin

Number field doesn't work for decimal numbers

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 08:18:09 GMT

Hi!
In Forms version 4.30.3 I am experiencing a problem with the Number field. If the user enters a decimal number like 50,5 the field value will be null after posting the form. It doesn't work for point instead of comma like 50.5 either.
The form field has not been configured to only allow integers.
Any suggestions what can be the issue? Any known bug?

Best regards
Kristian

[BUG] FormContainerBlock is not thread safe

Wed, 31 May 2023 13:49:56 GMT

When running load tests this exceptions happens in this line:

at EPiServer.Forms.Helpers.Internal.FormsExtensions.ToJson(Object value)
   at AspNetCoreGeneratedDocument.FormsViews_Views_ElementBlocks_FormContainerInitScript.<ExecuteAsync>d__0.MoveNext()
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Razor.RazorView.<RenderPageCoreAsync>d__20.MoveNext()
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Razor.RazorView.<RenderPageAsync>d__19.MoveNext()
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Razor.RazorView.<RenderAsync>d__18.MoveNext()
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.ViewFeatures.HtmlHelper.<RenderPartialCoreAsync>d__60.MoveNext()
   at Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.ViewFeatures.HtmlHelper.<PartialAsync>d__57.MoveNext()
   at AspNetCoreGeneratedDocument.FormsViews_Views_ElementBlocks_Components_FormContainerBlock_FormContainerBlock.<>c__DisplayClass0_0.<<ExecuteAsync>g__RenderFormBody|0>d.MoveNext()

Exception:

System.InvalidOperationException: 'Collection was modified; enumeration operation may not execute.'

Code executes correctly with single vu, but scaling to 2 is enough to experience this issue.

How to fetch draft/preview content?

Fri, 26 May 2023 12:25:09 GMT

Hi. I want to fetch the draft content to be able to preview before publishing.
I've tried using this approach: https://docs.developers.optimizely.com/content-management-system/v1.5.0-content-delivery-api/docs/customizing-content-delivery-api-for-edit-view
However, that code is for CMS 11(?).
When I registered my custom ContentLoaderService, a completely empty one that just overrides ContentLoaderService, I get a generic 500 response for whatever content I try to fetch 😞.

Optional properties in objects used in PropertyList types must be nullable reference types?

Fri, 26 May 2023 19:47:53 GMT

Hi,

I am currently migrating to CMS 12 and our code solution includes several PropertList properties in blocks and pages. One thing we noticed right away after migrating is that all of the previous optional properties are now marked as required by the CMS UI even though that is not the code definition. For example,

The code definition of this property looks like

public class InventorySearchSortFilter
    {
        [CultureSpecific]
        [Display(
            Name = "Title",
            Order = 10)]
        public string Title { get; set; }
        [Display(
            Name = "Order By",
            Order = 15)]
        [SelectOne(SelectionFactoryType = typeof(OrderByFactory))]
        public string OrderBy { get; set; }
        [Display(
            Name = "Field",
            Order = 20)]
        [SelectOne(SelectionFactoryType = typeof(InventorySearchSortFilterFieldFactory))]
        public string Field { get; set; }
    }
    
    /// <summary>
    ///     For registering the editing interface
    /// </summary>
    [PropertyDefinitionTypePlugIn]
    public class InventorySearchSortFilterProperty : PropertyList<InventorySearchSortFilter>
    {
    }

Normally I expect required fields to explicity have the Required decorator. Without it, they're considered optional by default.

I came to notice that by explicity setting the properties as a nullable reference type, the UI gets fixed. For example, the previous class would be rewritten as

public class InventorySearchSortFilter
    {
        [CultureSpecific]
        [Display(
            Name = "Title",
            Order = 10)]
        public string? Title { get; set; }
        [Display(
            Name = "Order By",
            Order = 15)]
        [SelectOne(SelectionFactoryType = typeof(OrderByFactory))]
        public string? OrderBy { get; set; }
        [Display(
            Name = "Field",
            Order = 20)]
        [SelectOne(SelectionFactoryType = typeof(InventorySearchSortFilterFieldFactory))]
        public string? Field { get; set; }
    }
    
    /// <summary>
    ///     For registering the editing interface
    /// </summary>
    [PropertyDefinitionTypePlugIn]
    public class InventorySearchSortFilterProperty : PropertyList<InventorySearchSortFilter>
    {
    }

Interestingly, even after fixing the class definition. The IList property that makes use of it seems to behave the same way, for example

[CultureSpecific]
        [Display(
            Name = "Sort Options",
            Order = 50,
            GroupName = SiteTabs.InventorySearchResults)]
        [EditorDescriptor(EditorDescriptorType = typeof(CollectionEditorDescriptor<InventorySearchSortFilter>))]
        [JsonIgnore]
        public virtual IList<InventorySearchSortFilter> SortOptions { get; set; }

SortOptions becomes required from a UI perspective when creating a new block/page with this property even though it's optional. Adding ? fixes the problem too but you can see how this becomes more and more complex and more refactoring is required. For example

[CultureSpecific]
        [Display(
            Name = "Sort Options",
            Order = 50,
            GroupName = SiteTabs.InventorySearchResults)]
        [EditorDescriptor(EditorDescriptorType = typeof(CollectionEditorDescriptor<InventorySearchSortFilter>))]
        [JsonIgnore]
        public virtual IList<InventorySearchSortFilter>? SortOptions { get; set; }

I took a look at the Foundation project and PropertyList propeties work as expected there and the definition matches the definition used in my code. Properties do not need to be set as nullable reference types so I believe I'm missing something here.

Based on how big our code base is and how many stuff would need to start accounting for possible null values, I'd like to have a global solution so to speak.

I couldn't find any documentation about it or posts exposing a similar issue so far so any help is appreciated!

ImageProcessor System.InvalidOperationException

Tue, 30 May 2023 15:10:59 GMT

In live site, a lot of http 500 errors are logged from ImageProcessor. The error says "System.InvalidOperationException: Target width 0 and height 0 must be greater than zero." But this is not raised during normal application usage as the image request URL's are correctly formed. Errors are logged from wrongly formed URL's like "https://www.abc.com/globalassets/new-website/privacy-policy/privacy-policy-banner.jpg?format=webp&width=1920|netstat&mode=crop&heightratio=0.5625&quality=80". I noticed the word "netstat" is getting added to the request URL! If I remove "netstat" ,the URL works fine. This malformed URL from unknown source is causing a lot of 500 errors being logged in production. Any help on this?

There are also URL's logged in the format as given below which seems very strange.

Dynamically assign page, page tree and block icons

Mon, 29 May 2023 17:57:49 GMT

Hello Everone !

I have multiple questions to tackle the scenarios where I want to change the Page/Block icon in editor view based on certain content property value.
If it's 100% possible to do it then can someone share the approach to follow.
I tried the dojo from available sample to change the icon of PageTree and it worked for me but the same code is not working for blocks (private/shared block.)

Caching GetVaryByCustomString for CMS 12

Thu, 25 May 2023 05:05:00 GMT

Hello,

We are referring solution given in this link for implementing VaryByCustom caching. But it is not going through this method.

Can anyone suggest on what might be missing for this to work or help on how can this implemented in CMS 12 to work.

Thanks,

Deepa