Using an ASP.Net page as a presentation 2

[Fubear]

We run a plasma screen in the office here, that shows a variety of information for the internal staff.

currently we run a powerpoint presentation, which being run 24/7 has a habit of freezing requiring me to close the presentation and running at again once a day.

We are thinking of replaceing it with an ASP.Net page on a timed refresh that can read data from a databse, as well as having a backend system for users to update information.

Since this will be running in a fullscreen web-browser, is there a way for the HTML to scale so that it does not run off the screen boundaies?

Are there any other problems people can think of for running a system like this (session state being maintained 24/7?).

 

[jasonsalas]

You'll need to programmatically set the width limitations of your page...most likely in a table.

I'd recommend running a Web service or calling a busines object component in this way...you'll still be able to display the most recent version of the page, while getting the freshest data after it's been updated/inserted into your database.

The best way to do this while getting the page to load the quickest would be to use the Cache API and set a file dependency, like for an XML file. When the DB is updated, just invalidate and re-create the Cache entry and write an XML file to disk, which your page reads from. That way, the data will always come out of the cache, until it's changed on the server.

 

[jfrost10]

Hey Fubear,

Is your page jsut changing the data displayed, not the layout of the page? If so, there's a REALLY EASY way to pull this off:

1. In your page load, set up the code to get the data from whatever data source you're using (sql server, xml, whatever)

2. In your page, you can add a metatag that will force the page to refresh every so often (you can set the timer). Check the link:

http://www.webdeveloper.com/html/html_metatags_part2.html

for more info on how to set this up.

3. Set the SmartNavigation=True in your page declaration (html view). This will prevent the flicker that occurs when a page is posted back (nicer interface for users).

Once thats set up, you should be fine.

hth

D'Arcy

 

[jasonsalas]

Good tip jfrost10!

Just keep in mind that the SmartNavigation has had a shaky response from developers, at best. Those that can get it to work swear by it, others relate it to evil itself.

You can also force the page to reload by using client-side JavaScript:

<!-- REFRESH THE STOCK TICKER EVERY 20 MINUTES -->
<script language=\&quot;JavaScript\&quot;>
var intervalID;
intervalID = window.setInterval(\&quot;refreshStockTicker()\&quot;,1200000);
function refreshStockTicker() {document.execCommand(\&quot;Refresh\&quot;}
</script>

 

[jfrost10]

heh, I'm one of the ones that swears by smart navigation (unless my page does pop ups, in which case its evil)


Great idea with the javascript! Fubear, you could even write code in your code behind using the RegisterStartupScript, which would mean that you wouldn't have to play around with the html view at all.

D

 

[jasonsalas]

Thanks...I use this very same script construct for a custom server slideshow control I wrote:

http://www.kuam.com/techtalk/slideshowcustomservercontrol.htm

Jas

 

[Fubear]

A great bunch of responses - I will start looking into things tomorrow.

The page will have to change the layout once in a while to prevent screen burn (the old presentation was running for 1 year solid before i started, and has left some nasty burn).

My main problem is making sure the screen doesnt scroll - we have three offices, and i only know what Res the one in this office runs at. All the offices have slightly differant sized screens, ours is widescreen, another is fullscreen, and I have never been to our third office.