Walkthrough: Configuring ASP.NET Applications in IIS 6.

0 using
MMC
This page is specific to:.NET Framework Version:2.03.03.54.0
ASP.NET Configuration
Walkthrough: Configuring ASP.NET Applications in IIS 6.0 using MMC

ASP.NET enables you to make configuration settings for applications that are running in
Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0. You can make configuration settings in the
following ways:

• With the Web Site Administration Tool, lets Web site owners manage Web sites
either locally or remotely. For more information, see ASP.NET Web Site
Administration Tool.
• By using the configuration API to manage settings programmatically. For more
information, see ASP.NET Configuration API Overview.
• By using the ASP.NET Microsoft Management Console (MMC). MMC enables
an administrator on the server to make configuration settings for all Web sites or
for a specific Web site. Unlike the Web Site Administration Tool, MMC gives
you control over the complete configuration hierarchy for the Web server.

In this walkthrough, you will explore MMC. You will add an application setting to a
single Web site that will store a value that represents the background color of a Web
page. You will then create an ASP.NET Web page that uses the application setting that
you are making. Although the task that you accomplish with MMC in this walkthrough is
not complex, it serves as an introduction to how to work with the ASP.NET MMC.

Tasks illustrated in this walkthrough include the following:

• Launching the ASP.NET MMC.

• Making settings in MMC.
• Viewing the results of configuration changes that you made with MMC.
• For information about how to configure IIS by using IIS Manager, see
Configuring Internet Sites and Services (IIS 6.0).

Note:
When you use the IIS MMC snap-in to configure a remote server, the ASP.NET
Configuration Settings dialog box is not available.
Prerequisites

In order to complete this walkthrough, you will need:

• Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 installed locally on your

computer.
• The .NET Framework version 2.0.
• Administrative privileges on your computer.
Creating an IIS Virtual Directory

In the first part of the walkthrough, you will create a folder for your Web pages and use
Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager to create a virtual directory to which it
points.

To create a folder and IIS virtual directory

1. On your computer, create a folder to hold the files for your Web site.

For example, create a folder named C:\SampleWebSite.

2. Click Start, and then click Run.

3. In the Open box, type inetmgr, and then click OK.
4. In Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, expand the local computer, and
then expand Web Sites.
5. Right-click Default Web Site, point to New, and then click Virtual Directory.

The Virtual Directory Creation Wizard appears.

6. Click Next.
7. In the Alias box, type a name for the site such as SampleWebSite, and then click
Next.
8. In the Path box, enter the path for the folder you created in step 1, and then click
Next.
9. Select the Read and Run scripts check boxes, click Next, and then click Finish.

Using the ASP.NET MMC to Make Application Settings

You can now use the ASP.NET MMC to make settings for the Web site.

To create the application setting

1. In Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, right-click the name of your new
virtual directory, and then click Properties.

The <WebSiteName> Properties dialog box appears.

2. On the ASP.NET tab, click Edit configuration.

The ASP.NET Configuration Settings dialog box appears.

3. On the General tab, under Application Settings, click Add.

The Edit/Add Application Settings dialog box appears.

 4. In the Key box, type CustomBGColor.
5. In the Value box, type #00FF00, which is the hexadecimal color code for green.
6. Click OK to close the Edit/Add Application Settings dialog box.
7. Click OK to close the ASP.NET Configuration Settings dialog box.
8. Click OK to close the <WebSiteName> Properties dialog box.

Note:
Leave the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager open.

The ASP.NET MMC is a graphical tool for editing ASP.NET configuration files. In this
walkthrough, you are editing configuration settings for a single Web application,
meaning that you are editing the Web.config file for the Web site that you created at the
beginning of the walkthrough. You will now verify the setting that you have made in the
ASP.NET MMC by examining the Web.config file.

To verify the application setting

1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the folder that you created at the beginning of
the walkthrough.

The folder now contains a Web.config file. When you created configuration
settings for the Web site, MMC created a new Web.config file, because one did
not exist before.

2. Open the Web.config file in a text editor such as Notepad.

3. Verify that the following element was created in the Web.config file:
4. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
5. <configuration>
6. <appSettings>
7. <add key="CustomBGColor" value="#00ff00" />
8. </appSettings>
9. </configuration>

MMC created the <appSettings> element to hold the key/value pair that you
defined.

Using the Application Setting

You can now test the application setting you created with MMC by creating a Web page
that uses the setting.

To use the application setting

1. In the folder that you created at the beginning of the walkthrough, create a new
text file and name it Default.aspx.

You can edit the file using any text editor, such as Notepad.
 2. Copy the following code into the Default.aspx page.

VB C# C++ F# JScript

<%@ Page Language="VB" %>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"

"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<script runat="server">
Protected Function CustomBGColor() As String
Return ConfigurationManager.AppSettings("CustomBGColor")
End Function
</script>

<html >
<head>
<title>Sample Web Application</title>
</head>
<body style="background-color:<%=CustomBGColor%>">
<form runat="server" id="Form1">
Body background color:
<%=CustomBGColor%>
</form>
</body>
</html>

3. Open the browser, and then enter the following URL:

http://localhost/SampleWebSite/Default.aspx

The page appears in the browser.

4. Verify that the background color is green.

Changing Settings in the ASP.NET MMC

You can use the ASP.NET MMC to change existing settings as well.

To change the background color

1. In Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, right-click the virtual directory,

and then click Properties.
2. On the ASP.NET tab, click Edit configuration.
3. On the General tab, under Application Settings, click the row containing the
CustomBGColor setting, and then click Edit.
4. In the Value box, type #0000FF (the hexadecimal color code for blue).
5. Click OK to close the Edit/Add Application Settings dialog box.
6. Click OK to close the ASP.NET Configuration Settings dialog box.
7. Click OK to close the <WebSiteName> Properties dialog box.
8. Open the browser, and then enter the following URL:

http://localhost/SampleWebSite/Default.aspx

9. Verify that the background color is blue.