ConferenceXP Source Code (March 2006) Developer’s Guide

The following information will guide you through downloading and setting up with the source code for ConferenceXP 3.5, which includes the source code for ConferenceXP Client 3.5, Venue Service 2.1, Reflector Service 1.3, and Archive Service 1.3.

The ConferenceXP Client includes the following sample capabilities, not included in the released ConferenceXP Client 3.5, which appear on the Actions > Start Other Capabilities menu:

• File Transfer  Send one or more files to other participants in the venue. Created by Boris Capitanu.
• Rich Text Chat  Format your instant messages and send them to other participants in the venue.

Software requirements

If you’re an academic researcher and are interested in working with the ConferenceXP source code, but do not have a copy of Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Visual Studio .NET, send a request to confxp@microsoft.com.

To build and run the ConferenceXP source code (March 2006), you’ll need the following software:

• Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
• Microsoft® Visual Studio® .NET 2003
• Windows® Server 2003 SP1 Platform Software Development Kit (SDK) Full Download
• Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Software Development Kit (SDK) 1.7

Tip  If you want DirectX resources in addition to DirectShow resources, download the Microsoft DirectX® 9.0 Software Development Kit (SDK).

To build and run the Venue Service 2.0 source code, you’ll also need the following software:

• Internet Information Services (IIS)

Note  Because the .NET Framework setup program detects the presence of IIS and installs additional IIS components, which are not installed otherwise, it is recommended that you install Internet Information Services (IIS) before Visual Studio .NET, which includes .Net Framework 1.1. For instructions on installing IIS, see Installing the required software in the Venue Service 2.1 Installation Guide.

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Downloading the ConferenceXP source code (March 2006)

After you make sure you have the required software and hardware, you’re ready to download the ConferenceXP (March 2006) source code, which include the source code for ConferenceXP Client 3.5, ConferenceXP Venue Service 2.1, ConferenceXP Reflector Service 1.3, and ConferenceXP Archive Service 1.3.

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Setting up the ConferenceXP build environment

The Visual Studio .NET solutions for compiling and building the ConferenceXP binaries are located in the \Program Files\Microsoft Research\ConferenceXP\Source Code\March2006\Solutions folder. You can also view the Visual Studio .Net solutions by choosing Start > All Programs > ConferenceXP > Source Code (March 2006) > Setup.

To prevent build errors, build solutions in the following order:
ConferenceAPI.sln
AudioVideo.sln
Capabilities.sln
ServiceCommon.sln
Archive.sln
BarUI.sln

The ConferenceAPI solution builds core components of ConferenceXP that are reused by applications, such as the ConferenceXP Client. It is not necessary to rebuild this solution unless you make source code changes to core ConferenceXP components, such as RTP or the Conference API. Before rebuilding this solution, delete the \Program Files\Microsoft Research\ConferenceXP\Source Code\March2006\MSR.LST.ConferenceAPI\Redist folder.

If you want to build the ConferenceXP setup solutions, copy the contents of the Tablet SDK merge modules folder to the \program files\common\merge modules folder.

To make sure you’re using the latest headers from the Windows Server 2003 SP1 Platform SDK, add an environment variable.

Add an environment variable for the Windows Server 2003 SP1 Platform SDK

1. In Windows, open System in Control Panel.
2. On the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables.
3. Under User variables (or System variables), click New.
4. In the Variable name box, type: Platform_SDK
5. In the Variable value box, type the install location of the Windows Server 2003 SP1 Platform SDK (for example, G:\Sdks\Platform).

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Setting up the Venue Service build environment

Before you can run or build the Venue Service source code, you’ll need to set up a VenueService virtual directory.

Set up a VenueService virtual directory

1. In IIS, create a Virtual Directory for Venue Service by using "VenueService" for the alias and "<Install Location>\MSR.LST.VenueService" for the directory.
    
   Note For the alias, be sure to type “VenueService” with no space. If you type a different alias, Visual Studio will not work properly without changing settings in the solution.
    
2. In Windows, right-click the MSR.LST.VenueService folder, and click Sharing and Security.
3. On the Security tab, click Add.
   
   Note  If you do not see the Security tab, turn off the Use Simple File Sharing feature. To do so, on the Tools menu, click Folder Options. On the View tab, select to clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) check box.
    
4. Click Locations.
5. In the Location list, click the local computer, and then click OK.
6. In the Enter the object names to select (examples) box, type "aspnet" and then click OK.
7. In the Group or user names list, click ASP.NET Machine Account (<LocalComputer>\ASPNET).
8. In the Permissions for ASP.NET Machine Account list, next to Modify, select the Allow check box.
9. Click OK.

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To verify the Venue Service setup

1. If you have installed .NET Framework 1.1 or Visual Studio .NET before IIS, register ASP.NET with IIS.
2. Build the venue service source code.
3. In your browser, go to http://<LocalHost>/VenueService/VenueService.asmx, where <LocalHost> is the name of your local computer. If the setup was successful, you’ll see a page that lists VenueService operations.

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Troubleshooting problems running the Venue Service sample code

To develop Web projects with Microsoft Visual Studio .NET, Internet Information Service (IIS) Web settings need to be properly set for your projects. If you encounter problems running the test application or sample program, you can check the Setup.log file for error messages and you can check IIS Web properties.

Check IIS Web properties

1. On the Start menu, click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Administrative Tools and then double-click Internet Information Services.
3. In the left pane, expand UserID (local computer), expand Web Sites, and then expand Default Web Site.
4. Right-click VenueServer, and then click Properties.
5. Make sure that the Read and Directory Browsing check boxes are selected, and then click OK.
6. If the Inheritance Overrides dialog box appears, click Select All, and then click OK.
    
   Tip  You can also enable the Read and Directory Browsing options by running the following script from the command line:
   

   cscript \inetpub\adminscripts\adsutil.vbs
   set W3SVC/1/Root/VenueServer/EnableDirBrowsing true

Troubleshoot problems with the sample application

• If you encounter problems running the test application or sample program, check the Venue Service installation log file (setup.log) located in the \Program Files\Configuredb\ folder. If there are error messages logged from creating and initializing the Venue Service database, run \Program Files\Configuredb\Populate.cmd again.

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Additional resources

For more information about the ConferenceXP Source Code (March 2006), see the ConferenceXP Source Code (March 2006) Help.

If you've installed the ConferenceXP Source Code (March 2006), you can also view the ConferenceXP Source Code (March 2006) Help by choosing Start > All Programs > ConferenceXP > Source Code (March 2006) > Source Code Help.

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