Monthly Archives: October 2009

How to turn auto-generation of ID numbers off

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identityAlthough not recommended, sometimes it is necessary to turn auto-generation of ID numbers off in your database. For instance, I was in a situation where I was completely redesigning a database (deleting tables, renaming tables, purging data, entering new data, ec.). However, the client was insistent on maintaining the ID numbers that were associated with specific items that they wanted to keep.

This is how I turned off the auto-generation of ID numbers in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Management Studio:

  1. Right-click on the table name and hit Design
  2. In the Column Properties tab, find Identity Specification and expand the section
  3. For (Is Identity) change the dropdown to No
  4. Hit Save

If you encounter the following error message, you will need to perform an additional step:error

Go to Tools > Options and click “Designers”.

Uncheck the “Prevent saving changes that require table re-creation” and hit OK.

menu

Try the above steps again.

When you are done, make sure to turn auto-generation back on!!!

Modifying 2532|Gigs App

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This is the second time I have installed the 2532|Gigs app for a band website. header"2532|Gigs is a php/SQL gig lister designed for bands, venues and music sites alike. The web based Control Panel allows users to add, edit and delete shows and artists. Support for multiple artists as well as multiple users." Unfortunately, it has not been updated since 1/28/08, and for all intents and purposes, seems to have been discontinued. However, I like the simplicity of the app, especially the “drop-in” PHP code that displays the gigs anywhere on your website. I’m a huge fan of not having to modify or create new theme templates. However, the app is lacking in several fundamental areas, so I had to modify 4 files and create 1 new file. Instead of listing each individual update that I made, which are numerous, I have created a zip file with the modified files that you may download.

Here are the changes I made to 2532|Gigs v1.2.2:

In the Admin > Manage Gigs page:

  • The checkboxes next to each artist are checked off by default. This helps when adding a new gig, especially if you only have 1 artist.
  • I have converted the INPUT field for Details to a text area. This will enlarge the Detail field so you can see more text on the screen.

On the front-end (show_gigs.php):

  • I created a separate column for Time.
  • I have removed the empty space preceding each field.
  • In the Details cell, I have colored the background beige, and made the font color black. This will make the Details cell stand out a bit more.
  • I created a new page called past_gigs.php and uploaded it to the same directory that show_gigs.php is in. This will allow a user to display past gigs in descending order. To display it, just use the same PHP drop-in code for the upcoming shows, except you replace the path to show_gigs.php with the path to past_gigs.php.

This is the listing of gigs that I created.