by Jamston

Align items vertically in Bootstrap 4.5

I’m sick of forgetting how to do the simplest things using bootstrap so here’s a bit of a cheat sheet for reference.

Align items in a “col” vertically center (applied to an individual col):-

<div class="row">
 <div class="col d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center">
    <p>Vertically centered content</p>
  </div>
</div>
  • d-flex = makes the column a flex container.
  • align-items-center = vertically centers items.
  • justify-content-center = horizontally centers items (optional).

Align items vertically center in all columns across the whole “row”


<div class="row align-items-center">
  <div class="col">
    <div>Column 1</div>
  </div>
  <div class="col">
    <div>Column 2</div>
  </div>
  <div class="col">
    <div>Column 3</div>
  </div>
</div>
  • .row in Bootstrap is already a flex container.
  • Adding align-items-center to the row applies align-items: center; to all its children (the columns).
  • This vertically centers everything inside each column relative to the row’s height.
  • Make sure the row has a defined height (e.g., via CSS or its parent container), otherwise vertical centering won’t be visible.

Switch the order of columns based on screen size


<div class="row">
  <div class="col order-2 order-md-1">Column 1</div>
  <div class="col order-1 order-md-2">Column 2</div>
  <div class="col order-3">Column 3</div>
</div>
  • On extra small screens (default), Column 1 will appear second, Column 2 will appear first.
  • On medium screens and up, Column 1 will appear first, Column 2 will appear second.
  • Column 3 stays third.
by Jamston

Why cant I connect to a share on another machine on my network?

There could be several reasons why you can’t connect to a share on another machine on your network. Here are some common troubleshooting steps:

  1. Network Discovery and File Sharing:
    • Ensure that Network Discovery and File and Printer Sharing are enabled on both machines.
    • Go to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change advanced sharing settings.
    • Turn on Network Discovery and File and Printer Sharing under the Private network profile1.
  2. Network Type:
    • Make sure both machines are on the same network type (preferably Private).
    • You can check and change this in Settings > Network & Internet > Status > Change connection properties1.
  3. Firewall Settings:
    • Ensure that the firewall is not blocking file sharing.
    • Go to Control Panel > Windows Defender Firewall > Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall.
    • Make sure File and Printer Sharing is allowed2.
  4. SMB Protocol:
    • Ensure that the SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support feature is enabled.
    • Go to Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows features on or off.
    • Check SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support and click OK2.
  5. Permissions:
    • Verify that the shared folder has the correct permissions.
    • Right-click the shared folder, select Properties > Sharing > Advanced Sharing.
    • Click Permissions and ensure that the user or Everyone has the necessary permissions2.
  6. NetBIOS over TCP/IP:
    • Ensure that NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled.
    • Go to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings.
    • Right-click your network connection, select Properties > Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) > Properties > Advanced > WINS.
    • Select Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP2.

If you’ve tried these steps and still can’t connect, there might be other network configuration issues or policies in place. 

by Jamston

How can I split a column of first name and last name in to two separate columns in Excel

To ensure Excel’s Text to Columns feature only splits at the first space, you can use a combination of Excel functions to achieve this. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

  1. Insert “Helper” Columns: Add two new columns next to your full names column.
  2. Extract First Name:
    • In the first helper column, use the formula:
      =LEFT(A1, FIND(" ", A1) - 1)
      This formula finds the first space and extracts the text before it.
  3. Extract Last Name:
    • In the second helper column, use the formula:
      =MID(A1, FIND(" ", A1) + 1, LEN(A1))
      This formula finds the first space and extracts the text after it.
  4. Copy and Paste Values:
    • Copy the results from the helper columns and paste them as values to replace the original full names column.

This method ensures that only the first space is used to split the names, regardless of any additional spaces in the text.

by Jamston

How can I find the serial number of my windows laptop?

You can find your computer’s serial number using a few different methods. Here’s my preferred method…

Using Command Prompt (cmd)

  1. Open Command Prompt
    • Press the Windows key and type cmd.
    • Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
  2. Enter the Command:
    • Type wmic bios get serial number and press Enter.
    • Your serial number will be displayed.

by Jamston

SQL Server 2019 Service Wont Start

I recently had an issue where a 2019 SQL Server service would not start. It advised to look at the application event log for more details.

I found an event “Unable to find the user-specified certificate [Cert Hash(sha1) “######################################”] in the certificate store of the local computer. Please verify that certificate exists.” followed by another saying “Unable to load user-specified certificate [Cert Hash(sha1) “######################################”]. The server will not accept a connection. You should verify that the certificate is correctly installed. See “Configuring Certificate for Use by SSL” in Books Online.” followed by a few other messages basically saying something is wrong with the SSL certificate it was using to try start the SQL service.

After a little googling I found a solution that worked for me which was a relatively easy fix.

First thing is to find the registry key in question that stores the certificate thumbprint

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.<Version>\InstanceName\MSSQLServer\SuperSocketNetLib\Certificate

If you are not using a certificate, then you can rename “Certificate” to “Certificate_old” then create a new String Value entry (REZ_SZ) called “Certificate” with an empty data value.

Once this has been done go ahead and try start the SQL service.

If you are using certificate, then it’s best not to play with that key. The other possible reason for such an error while using a certificate is that the SQL Server Service account doesn’t have full permission on Certificate private key. To fix this issue, you need to find the certificate in right-click on the certificate and in manage private key, grant full permission to SQL Server service account.

Credit goes to Pinal Dave over at https://blogs.SQLAuthority.com for this workaround.

by Jamston

Completely remove Microsoft Teams

If you’re having problems with your Microsoft Teams installation and you cant seem to fix it then sometimes it’s worth fully removing and reinstalling.

To thoroughly uninstall Microsoft Teams from your Windows profile, follow these steps:

  1. Close all active Teams windows and processes.
  2. Open the Windows Settings app.
  3. Click on “Apps & features.”
  4. In the search bar at the top, type “Teams.”
  5. Select the Microsoft Teams application icon with the purple background.
  6. Click on “Uninstall.”
  7. Confirm the uninstallation by clicking “Uninstall” again.
  8. A dialog box will appear, asking for permission to make changes to your device. Click “Yes” to proceed.
  9. Microsoft Teams will be uninstalled from your computer.

Once Teams is uninstalled, you can remove any remaining Teams files by deleting the following folders:

  • %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams
  • %localappdata%\Microsoft\Teams

Additionally, you can delete the following registry keys:

  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Teams
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Teams

To delete a registry key:

  1. Open the Registry Editor.
  2. Navigate to the registry key you want to delete.
  3. Right-click on the registry key and select “Delete.”
  4. Confirm by clicking “Yes.”

After deleting the Teams folders and registry keys, restart your computer to ensure that Teams is completely uninstalled from your Windows profile.

For addressing other accounts showing up in the sign-out screen:

These accounts are likely stored in the Windows Credential Manager. To remove them, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Control Panel.
  2. Click on “User Accounts.”
  3. Select “Manage your credentials.”
  4. In the “Windows Credentials” window, click on the “Windows Credentials” tab.
  5. Locate the credentials associated with the accounts you want to delete and click on them.
  6. Click “Remove.”
  7. Confirm by clicking “Yes.”

After deleting the credentials, the accounts should no longer appear in the sign-out screen.

by Jamston

How can I find my Wi-Fi password in Windows?

Connected to your Wi-Fi but cant remember the password? Here’s how to find out what it is.

Windows 11

To do this, select the Start  button, then select Settings  > Network & internet  > Properties  > View Wi-Fi security key.

Note: You can also view the password of saved networks on the Manage known networks page by selecting any network and then View Wi-Fi security key.

Windows 10

  1. Select the Start  button, then select Settings  > Network & Internet  > Status  > Network and Sharing Center.
  2. In Network and Sharing Center, next to Connections, select your Wi-Fi network name.
  3. In Wi-Fi Status, select Wireless Properties.
  4. In Wireless Network Properties, select the Security tab, then select the Show characters check box.
    Your Wi-Fi network password is displayed in the Network security key box.

 

by Jamston

SQL Server Error: 14607, profile name is not valid [SQLSTATE 42000]

SQL Email Failures, Failed to notify via email, issues?

For some reason emailing of SQL Server Agent job reports stopped working when I disabled the ‘sa’ account and created a different admin user. Never could figure out why until today!

I’m not even sure if disabling the ‘sa’ account had anything to do with it because when I checked the properties of the job in question it wasn’t even configured to send alerts!

Anyway, the way I fixed it was to right click the SQL Server Agent node in SQL Management Studio and select Properties. Click the Alert System node and Enable the Mail profile you’d like to allow the SQL Server Agent to use, restart the SQL Server Agent Service (just the service, not the server!) and it should start working.

 

by Jamston

How do you turn off the Outlook email sidebar in Microsoft Edge?

Microsoft have recently made a change to how internet links open from within Outlook. The link now opens in Microsoft Edge and also shows the email content in a box to the right known as the side pane.

Some people like it, some don’t. Here’s how to turn it off.

  1. Open Microsoft Edge and click the ellipsis button (top right)
  2. Go to Settings (cog icon)
  3. Under the Settings heading click “Sidebar“
  4. Under the heading “App and notification settings” then sub heading “App specific settings” look for Outlook and click it
  5. Turn it off by clicking the “Automatically open Outlook email context in the side pane” toggle.