Seach Engines Causing Load Problems on Web Server

Search engines need to crawl websites regularly to index new content and check for changes to existing content.  The frequency search engine bots spend on a website can cause the server to experience load problems. Most major search engines allow the ability to slow the crawl rate.

Small websites which do not update their content regularly will likely never need to slow the crawl rate.  Bots will adjust the crawl rate to an appropriate frequency based on the content they find.

For large websites with many pages updated more frequently, search engines may attempt to visit the site often and crawl deeper.

The crawl-rate can be set inside of the robots.txt file as shown (in seconds):

User-agent: *Crawl-delay: 10

But, wait, Google doesn't support this.  You have to adjust your settings in Google Webmaster Tools.  And, they have the nerve to say they can ignore this setting whenever they want and do it anyway...

230 Color Palette for Telerik radEditor radColorPicker

<colors> <!-- row 1 --> <color value="#000000"/> <color value="#111111"/> <color value="#00CC00"/> <color value="#336600"/> <color value="#660000"/> <color value="#66CC00"/> <color value="#996600"/> <color value="#CC0000"/> <color value="#CCCC00"/> <color value="#FF6600"/> <!-- row 2 --> <color value="#111111"/> <color value="#000066"/> <color value="#00CC66"/> <color value="#336666"/> <color value="#660066"/> <color value="#66CC66"/> <color value="#996666"/> <color value="#CC0066"/> <color value="#CCCC66"/> <color value="#FF6666"/> <!-- row 3 --> <color value="#222222"/> <color value="#000099"/> <color value="#00CC99"/> <color value="#336699"/> <color value="#660099"/> <color value="#66CC99"/> <color value="#996699"/> <color value="#CC0099"/> <color value="#CCCC99"/> <color value="#FF6699"/> <!-- row 4 --> <color value="#333333"/> <color value="#0000CC"/> <color value="#00CCCC"/> <color value="#3366CC"/> <color value="#6600CC"/> <color value="#66CCCC"/> <color value="#9966CC"/> <color value="#CC00CC"/> <color value="#CCCCCC"/> <color value="#FF66CC"/> <!-- row 5 --> <color value="#444444"/> <color value="#0000FF"/> <color value="#00CCFF"/> <color value="#3366FF"/> <color value="#6600FF"/> <color value="#66CCFF"/> <color value="#9966FF"/> <color value="#CC00FF"/> <color value="#CCCCFF"/> <color value="#FF66FF"/> <!-- row 6 --> <color value="#555555"/> <color value="#003300"/> <color value="#00FF00"/> <color value="#339900"/> <color value="#663300"/> <color value="#66FF00"/> <color value="#999900"/> <color value="#CC3300"/> <color value="#CCFF00"/> <color value="#FF9900"/> <!-- row 7 --> <color value="#666666"/> <color value="#003333"/> <color value="#00FF33"/> <color value="#339933"/> <color value="#663333"/> <color value="#66FF33"/> <color value="#999933"/> <color value="#CC3333"/> <color value="#CCFF33"/> <color value="#FF9933"/> <!-- row 8 --> <color value="#777777"/> <color value="#003366"/> <color value="#00FF66"/> <color value="#339966"/> <color value="#663366"/> <color value="#66FF66"/> <color value="#999966"/> <color value="#CC3366"/> <color value="#CCFF66"/> <color value="#FF9966"/> <!-- row 9 --> <color value="#808080"/> <color value="#003399"/> <color value="#00FF99"/> <color value="#339999"/> <color value="#663399"/> <color value="#66FF99"/> <color value="#999999"/> <color value="#CC3399"/> <color value="#CCFF99"/> <color value="#FF9999"/> <!-- row 10 --> <color value="#888888"/> <color value="#0033CC"/> <color value="#00FFCC"/> <color value="#3399CC"/> <color value="#6633CC"/> <color value="#66FFCC"/> <color value="#9999CC"/> <color value="#CC33CC"/> <color value="#CCFFCC"/> <color value="#FF99CC"/> <!-- row 11 --> <color value="#909090"/> <color value="#0033FF"/> <color value="#00FFFF"/> <color value="#3399FF"/> <color value="#6633FF"/> <color value="#66FFFF"/> <color value="#9999FF"/> <color value="#CC33FF"/> <color value="#CCFFFF"/> <color value="#FF99FF"/> <!-- row 12 --> <color value="#949494"/> <color value="#006600"/> <color value="#330000"/> <color value="#33CC00"/> <color value="#666600"/> <color value="#990000"/> <color value="#99CC00"/> <color value="#CC6600"/> <color value="#FF0000"/> <color value="#FFCC00"/> <!-- row 13 --> <color value="#999999"/> <color value="#006633"/> <color value="#330033"/> <color value="#33CC33"/> <color value="#666633"/> <color value="#990033"/> <color value="#99CC33"/> <color value="#CC6633"/> <color value="#FF0033"/> <color value="#FFCC33"/> <!-- row 14 --> <color value="#9c9c9c"/> <color value="#006666"/> <color value="#330066"/> <color value="#33CC66"/> <color value="#666666"/> <color value="#990066"/> <color value="#99CC66"/> <color value="#CC6666"/> <color value="#FF0066"/> <color value="#FFCC66"/> <!-- row 15 --> <color value="#aaaaaa"/> <color value="#006699"/> <color value="#330099"/> <color value="#33CC99"/> <color value="#666699"/> <color value="#990099"/> <color value="#99CC99"/> <color value="#CC6699"/> <color value="#FF0099"/> <color value="#FFCC99"/> <!-- row 16 --> <color value="#B1B1B1"/> <color value="#0066CC"/> <color value="#3300CC"/> <color value="#33CCCC"/> <color value="#6666CC"/> <color value="#9900CC"/> <color value="#99CCCC"/> <color value="#CC66CC"/> <color value="#FF00CC"/> <color value="#FFCCCC"/> <!-- row 17 --> <color value="#B8B8B8"/> <color value="#0066FF"/> <color value="#3300FF"/> <color value="#33CCFF"/> <color value="#6666FF"/> <color value="#9900FF"/> <color value="#99CCFF"/> <color value="#CC66FF"/> <color value="#FF00FF"/> <color value="#FFCCFF"/> <!-- row 18 --> <color value="#BFBFBF"/> <color value="#009900"/> <color value="#333300"/> <color value="#33FF00"/> <color value="#669900"/> <color value="#993300"/> <color value="#99FF00"/> <color value="#CC9900"/> <color value="#FF3300"/> <color value="#FFFF00"/> <!-- row 19--> <color value="#C6C6C6"/> <color value="#009933"/> <color value="#333333"/> <color value="#33FF33"/> <color value="#669933"/> <color value="#993333"/> <color value="#99FF33"/> <color value="#CC9933"/> <color value="#FF3333"/> <color value="#FFFF33"/> <!-- row 20 --> <color value="#CDCDCD"/> <color value="#009966"/> <color value="#333366"/> <color value="#33FF66"/> <color value="#669966"/> <color value="#993366"/> <color value="#99FF66"/> <color value="#CC9966"/> <color value="#FF3366"/> <color value="#FFFF66"/> <!-- row 21 --> <color value="#D4D4D4"/> <color value="#009999"/> <color value="#333399"/> <color value="#33FF99"/> <color value="#669999"/> <color value="#993399"/> <color value="#99FF99"/> <color value="#CC9999"/> <color value="#FF3399"/> <color value="#FFFF99"/> <!-- row 22 --> <color value="#DBDBDB"/> <color value="#0099CC"/> <color value="#3333CC"/> <color value="#33FFCC"/> <color value="#6699CC"/> <color value="#9933CC"/> <color value="#99FFCC"/> <color value="#CC99CC"/> <color value="#FF33CC"/> <color value="#FFFFCC"/> <!-- row 23 --> <color value="#E9E9E9"/> <color value="#0099FF"/> <color value="#3333FF"/> <color value="#33FFFF"/> <color value="#6699FF"/> <color value="#9933FF"/> <color value="#99FFFF"/> <color value="#CC99FF"/> <color value="#FF33FF"/> <color value="#ffffff"/> </colors>

VB.NET - Show Hidden Form Elements with a Keyboard Shortcut

I created a keyboard shortcut to show form elements that aren't quite production ready:

Private Sub showHiddenElementsByKeyboardCombo(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.KeyEventArgs) Handles MyBase.KeyDown
If (e.KeyCode = Keys.H AndAlso e.Modifiers = Keys.Control AndAlso e.Modifiers = Keys.Alt) Then
MsgBox("The keyboard shortcut you used is about to allow you to see hidden features which have not been fully tested. If this was not your intention, close the tab and re-open it.")
dropDown1.Visible = True
dropDown2.Visible = True
dropDown3.Visible = True
End If
End Sub

Google Maps V3 With Multiple Markers and Multiple InfoWindows

For anyone looking for the simple answer to creating a Google Maps Version 3 API map with multiple markers and multiple info windows, here is my simple and dependable solution:


        var locationsToMap = [
            [39.638547, -85.952911, "Southeast Corner"],
            [39.914990, -85.957193, "Northeast Corner"],
            [39.922966, -86.325456, "Northwest Corner"],
            [39.633365, -86.325456, "Southwest Corner"]
        ];

        function addGeoLocationsToMap() {
            var myOptions = {
                center: new google.maps.LatLng(getLatOfMapCenter(), getLongOfMapCenter()),
                zoom: getMapZoomLevel(),
                mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP
            };
            // "map_canvas" is the div container for the map
            map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map_canvas"), myOptions);

            var inforwindow = null;

            for (var i = 0; i < locationsToMap.length; i++) {
                //listingLatitude[x] and listinglongitude[x] are arrays holding the latitude and longitude for the marker
                if ((locationsToMap[i][0] != 0) && (locationsToMap[i][1] != 0)) {
                    //we are using an "eval(); expression to dynamically write new javascript in each loop
                    eval("var marker" + i + " = new google.maps.Marker({position: new google.maps.LatLng(" + locationsToMap[i][0] + ", " + locationsToMap[i][1] + "),map: map});");
                    //locationsToMap[x] is an array holding the html for the infowindows
                    eval("google.maps.event.addListener(marker" + i + ", 'click', function() {infowindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow({content: locationsToMap[" + i + "][2] + '
'});infowindow.open(map,marker" + i + ");} );");
                }
            }
        }

        function getLatOfMapCenter() {
            return 39.773595;
        }

        function getLongOfMapCenter() {
            return -86.150399;
        }

        function getMapZoomLevel() {
            return 10;
        }

sample

XAML: Changing a Style on MouseOver of the Parent Item

Sometimes, you want a Mouse Over event to trigger a style change on some or all the items within a container.

Changing Image style when a Mouse moves over a custom parent container (WC_MenuItem). Any type of container or Panel can be substituted for the custom type I've used.

<Image x:Name="imgHelpLink" Source="pack://application:,,,/Weblink_WPF;component/Images/Help.png" Cursor="Hand" Grid.Column="1" Width="16" Height="16" Margin="0,0,0,0" ToolTip="Click to view the Knowledgebase article on this report" HorizontalAlignment="Right" >
<Image.Style>
<Style TargetType="{x:Type Image}">
<Setter Property="Opacity" Value="0" />
<Style.Triggers>
<DataTrigger Binding="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource Mode=FindAncestor,AncestorType={x:Type weblink_controls:WC_MenuItem}},Path=IsMouseOver}" Value="True">
<Setter Property="Opacity" Value="1" />
</DataTrigger>
<!--<DataTrigger Binding="{Binding Path=HelpLink.Length}" Value="0">
<Setter Property="Opacity" Value="0.3"/>
</DataTrigger>-->
</Style.Triggers>
</Style>
</Image.Style>
</Image>

Serializing and DeSerializing Objects as XML in VB.NET

It was unbelievably difficult to find a working example where the XML could come from a web server on a different domain. So, I guess I will share with the world how I managed to make it work.

Serialize List of Objects to XML (Web Server)

Dim xml As String = ""
Dim mstr_XmlFilePath As String = "/myFolder/myFile.xml"
Dim mstr_ServerXmlFilePath As String = Server.mapPath(mstr_XmlFilePath)
Dim obj_objMyObject As New objMyObject
Dim lst_objMyObject As List(Of objMyObject) = [[***populate object***]]

Try

Dim ser As XmlSerializer
ser = New XmlSerializer(GetType(System.Collections.Generic.List(Of objMyObject)))
Dim memStream As New MemoryStream
Dim xmlWriter As New XmlTextWriter(memStream, Encoding.UTF8)
xmlWriter.Namespaces = True
ser.Serialize(xmlWriter, lst_objMyObject)
xmlWriter.Close()
memStream.Close()

xml = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(memStream.GetBuffer())
xml = xml.Substring(xml.IndexOf(Convert.ToChar(60)))
xml = xml.Substring(0, (xml.LastIndexOf(Convert.ToChar(62)) + 1))

My.Computer.FileSystem.WriteAllText(XmlFilePath, xml, False)

Catch ex As Exception
Throw New Exception("Error calling ToXML. " & ex.GetBaseException.ToString)
End Try


DeSerialize List of Objects from XML (Client or Cross-Domain Web Server)

str_XmlFullFilePath = "myURL" + mstr_XmlFilePath
Dim objListFromXml As New List(Of objMyObject)
Try

Dim reader As System.Xml.XmlReader
reader = System.Xml.XmlReader.Create(str_XmlFullFilePath)

Dim mySerializer As XmlSerializer = New XmlSerializer(GetType(System.Collections.Generic.List(Of objMyObject)))
objListFromXml = CType(mySerializer.Deserialize(reader), System.Collections.Generic.List(Of objMyObject))

Catch
'don't do anything. If error occurs, return an empty object
End Try

I may have some typos above. I replaced all my variables with more generic ones.