If you haven't used Stadium 5 yet, what are you waiting for? It is quick and easy to install and if you don't have the prerequisites (.net Framework 4.5 and IIS/IIS Express) installed, Stadium will download and install them automatically. And once installed, the designer will tell you whenever there is a new release available.
NB: If you do have the first Beta release of Stadium installed you will need to do a clean install of this version. We have a completely new installer and have changed the way we handle file updates on upgrades. These changes should ensure that this is the last time a clean install is needed!
- Make a backup of your 'Application and User List File' so you don't lose the list of Users and uploaded Apps. You will find it here: C:\ProgramData\Stadium5\ApplicationStorage. It is an encrypted file so you won't be able to read its contents
- Uninstall your existing Stadium from the Programs list
- Delete all the remaining install files and folders EXCEPT the Configuration folder. This allows you to keep all your existing applications
- Now run the new installer. It doesn't matter if you already have a Virtual Directory, Stadium will handle it if they have the same name
- If you kept the Application Storage file, your login credentials should still be the same. The user specified as part of this install will also be an admin user
- If you didn't keep your Application Storage file you will need to delete your existing Application Virtual Directories from IIS before uploading them again
So what does this release of Stadium 5 include?
New Installer
- Checks the pre-requisites and installs them if needed - .net Framework 4.5 and IIS Express 8
- We'll only install IIS Express if you don't have IIS running on your machine
- One page to complete everything
One Click Deploy
- Button located in the Menu icons
- Your file is uploaded to localhost and opens in your default browser
- It will automatically save the changes and if it is a new file prompt you to Save it before continuing
- Applications uploaded from the designer are always uploaded without Authentication
- Note: Applications are created using the application name in the designer. This is both the title of the Application and the name of the IIS Virtual Directory. This name can contain spaces and it cannot be edited on the Admin site at any point
New Layout Control - Table
- Drag it onto a page and put other controls into each cell of the table
- Allows you to space controls consistently, especially when building a form
Updates to Existing Controls
- Default Date property added to the Date Picker
- Quick Links to add a Constant, Query or Page Parameter directly from the control/action properties if none exist
- Add a variable or output parameter immediately if none exist and you try to set one
- Link Validations to Buttons and Links. You can't save an input if the validations don't pass
- Easier to use connections editor
- If you specify Windows Authentication you need to make the IIS AppPool/DefaultAppPool user a valid user on the Server and the Database. The Application uses the App Pool Identity by default as the Windows Authentication User
Improved Designer Interaction
- One click open of pages and scripts. If you don't interact with it, it will close. If you do, it will remain open. Double-click will keep the page or script open
- One click open of constants, connections and queries. Once you click away, they automatically close
- Copy and Move of controls, actions, pages and scripts. It works similarly to Stadium 4 at the moment. Have both pages or scripts open next to each other to copy and move controls and scripts between them
- The .sap and .sap.config files have been combined into one .sapz file. The designer will still open .sap files but will automatically save all files as .sapz. The Upload functionality on the Stadium 5 Admin Site will only accept the single .sapz file.
- New icons
- Properties grouping changed
- Access the Online Help directly from the designer: F1, Help>View Help or click the icon next to every control and action
New Look and Feel for the Applications
- Default Theme has been refreshed
- It is clean, modern and gives a sense of space
IIS vs IIS Express
Stadium needs either IIS or IIS Express to host the admin site and your applications. If you have IIS installed we will run everything off it. The Stadium Admin site will be at http://localhost/Stadium5 and your applications will be at http://localhost/{ApplicationName}.If we install IIS Express we will run everything off it. The Stadium Admin Site will be at http://localhost:8032/Stadium5 and your applications will be at http://localhost:8033/{ApplicationName}. They run off different ports because this allows us to Start and Stop the application server to refresh the list when applications are uploaded, refreshed and deleted while keeping the Admin site running. You can start the Web Server from the Designer (File>Start Web Server) and an IIS Express Icon lives in the Icon Tray. You can also access all your sites from here and stop them if needed.
What is next?
- A new look and feel for the designer. We're making sure the Stadium Branding is consistent
- Search in the designer
- Auto complete lists of options in the designer to make it easier to assign the right value to a property
- Warnings when properties haven't been mapped
- Add your own layout templates to decide what the pages should look like
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