_rootForumNode is null when using ForumActiveTopics.ascx

When including the ForumActiveTopics.ascx in my homepage I'm getting an error. Debugging shows me _rootForumNode is null. Where should I set it? Cannot seem to find it browsing the sourcecode...

BTW my forum root != site root. Got this error after upgrading to 1.7

Server Error in '/' Application.

Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.

Exception Details: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Source Error:


Line 122:        public IEnumerable ReturnActiveTopics(int amountToTake)
Line 123:        {
Line 124:            var topics = _rootForumNode.Descendants(AppConstants.NodeTypeTopic)
Line 125:                              .OrderByDescending(x => x.GetProperty("forumTopicLastPostDate").Value.ToDateTime());
Line 126:

Source File: d:\Websites\nForum\nForum.BusinessLogic\Data\ForumFactory.cs Line: 124

Stack Trace:


[NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.]
   Umbraco.Web.PublishedContentExtensions.Descendants(IPublishedContent content, Func`2 func) +9
   nForum.BusinessLogic.Data.ForumFactory.ReturnActiveTopics(Int32 amountToTake) in d:\Websites\nForum\nForum.BusinessLogic\Data\ForumFactory.cs:124
   nForum.usercontrols.nForum.ForumActiveTopics.ShowActiveTopics() in d:\Websites\nForum\nForum\usercontrols\nForum\ForumActiveTopics.ascx.cs:23
   nForum.usercontrols.nForum.ForumActiveTopics.Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e) in d:\Websites\nForum\nForum\usercontrols\nForum\ForumActiveTopics.ascx.cs:14

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Lee 1130 posts 3088 karma points

Sep 20, 2013 @ 18:22

0

What version of Umbraco are you using? Also you say in your homepage, is the homepage the root of the forum?

Can you also show me a screen grab of your node tree and point out which is the forum node and where you have put your active topics usercontrol?

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Yannick Smits 321 posts 718 karma points

Sep 20, 2013 @ 18:40

0

I'm using Umbraco 6.1.3.

Homepage is not the root of the forum, also has a 'non-forum' masterpage.

Any tips on what to look for while debugging are also welcome.

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Lee 1130 posts 3088 karma points

Sep 20, 2013 @ 18:46

100

Well the UC won't find the forum as its below it. The forumRoot looks for AncesterOrSelf() as it assumes the pages will be under the forum so has no way of finding the forum root node.

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Lee 1130 posts 3088 karma points

Sep 20, 2013 @ 18:53

0

Drop me an email on lee (at) webdesigncompany.co.uk and I'll send you an updated DLL which might solve your problem.

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Yannick Smits 321 posts 718 karma points

Sep 20, 2013 @ 19:00

0

great I guess that's it. Could you point me out what line you changed? So that I can change it in my customized source?

rootNode = cPage.AncestorOrSelf(AppConstants.ForumDocType);

something like cPage.Parent.Descendant(AppConstants.ForumDocType); ?

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Lee 1130 posts 3088 karma points

Sep 20, 2013 @ 19:03

I haven't tried this yet, but it should work for you

                    rootNode = cPage.AncestorOrSelf(AppConstants.ForumDocType);
                    if (rootNode == null)
                    {
                        // Means can't find it, so look down
                        rootNode = cPage.Descendants(AppConstants.ForumDocType).FirstOrDefault();
                    }

Can you post here if it works and I'll add it into the source as a backup for people.

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Yannick Smits 321 posts 718 karma points

Sep 20, 2013 @ 19:23

1

this one works:

rootNode = cPage.Up().Descendants(AppConstants.ForumDocType).FirstOrDefault();

not sure if it is very robust/generic but works for me now...

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Lee 1130 posts 3088 karma points

Sep 20, 2013 @ 19:24

0

Ok thanks

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Yannick Smits 321 posts 718 karma points

Sep 20, 2013 @ 19:25

0

this one works too:

cPage.Sibling(AppConstants.ForumDocType);

thanks Lee!

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Steph Kyriakou 7 posts 27 karma points

Feb 17, 2014 @ 06:54

0

Thanks Yannick - this worked for me too.

Had a series of forum functionality not firing, turns out they were ALL related to locating _rootForumNode.

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Steve Miller 7 posts 29 karma points

Mar 08, 2014 @ 01:13

I have a suggested solution to the problem. This is how I fixed it for my project.

1.) I added the following method to the UmbracoAppHelpers.cs file in nForum.BusinessLogic.

    public static int GetOverrideRootId()
    {
        int overrideRoot = -1;

        var cPage = CurrentForumPage();
        if (cPage != null)
        {
            IPublishedContentProperty forumRoot = cPage.GetProperty("forumRoot");
            if (forumRoot != null)
                overrideRoot = cPage.GetProperty("forumRoot").Value.ToInt32();
        }
        return overrideRoot;
    }

2.) Then I modified ForumFactory.cs in nForum.BusinessLogic.Data by adding these three lines

        if (overideRoot == null)
        {
            int forumRoot = UmbracoAppHelpers.GetOverrideRootId();
            if (forumRoot != -1) overideRoot = forumRoot;
        }

resulting in

    public ForumFactory(int? overideRoot = null)
    {
        if (overideRoot == null)
        {
            int forumRoot = UmbracoAppHelpers.GetOverrideRootId();
            if (forumRoot != -1) overideRoot = forumRoot;
        }
        _rootForumNode = UmbracoAppHelpers.GetForumRootNode(overideRoot);
        _rootForumId = _rootForumNode != null ? _rootForumNode.Id : -1;
        //_rootForumId = ReturnRootForumId();
    }

3.) I then added a content picker property in the root node doctype with the alias of forumRoot

This way I can target the root node from the ui side.

Hope this is useful.

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Devin 87 posts 251 karma points

Mar 18, 2014 @ 12:51

0

Great post Steve - I'm sure a lot of people will find this useful.

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Mirtan 1 post 21 karma points

Apr 22, 2014 @ 12:55

0

How about nForum 1.5? Is there any similar solution?

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