Some infos on PoshBoard 0.4

Edit : release has been updated (0.4.1) to add correction of Christopher. Thank you ! 

After several discussions with early poshboarders, here is some infos.

How to install the PoshBoard website

a Thread is open on this subject with usefull info on installation. The user guide will be updated soon, you can take the previous version here.

Refreshers

The two refreshers (the one on the Header and the widget) don’t have the same behavior.

Header Refresher

The Header refresher adds an URL parameter : /Default.aspx?Refresh=true

This parameter is checked in each widgets at Postback. If Refresh is true, scripts are launched. The “refresh enabled” button activate this parameter, the other button changes it to false.

edit : a bug is identified when you switch pages, this will be corrected soon.

The Refresher widget

Like a pack of beer, this widget is a simple thing, but it do it's job. This will be much improved in the V1. For now, it takes a small strings in CSV format :

SourceArg;TargetArg

This one create a session variable. As for the header, this session variable is checked when the widgets are reloaded on postback.

if the variable contains something, the widget try to change the the first arg with the second (yes, a basic replace). If nothing is found, nothing changes.

Example

Put this script in the PowerShellOutput widget :

gwmi Win32_logicalDisk –Filter “DriveType = 3” -ComputerName @MachineName@

In the Refresher widget, put :

@MachineName@;MYSERVER001

Important point : the original script (saved in the widget) isn’t modified. This permit to keep the original script and update the page with other parameters without changing sourceArg.

After the Page load, the Session variable is discarded brutally.

The final version of the Refresher will let you define more advanced refresher webforms / silverlight forms, more infos in the near future.

 

This conclude the first post about PoshBoard 0.4, more to come !

(like the fun story behind these strange variables generated for BlackLight/Flip book widget, filled with £,µ, ¤ or even §…)