Question

How to change URL in the address bar to an client side environment variable?

Asked by: Mikki-Hiiri

Hello all.

I am building a "poor man's sms" distribution web-page. In practise, software installation packages are replicated to a few servers in a few cities and I would like to make one general page, where all available software distributions are available for users (links to MSI installer scripts or batch files).

I have implemented a %SMSDP% variable in the LOGON script so that each compter gets the closest (in the LAN) distribution server address to the SMSDP environment variable. I have tested that using %SMSDP% in the Internet Explorer will bring me to the local distribution server, but adding that functionality into html makes me grazy. It looks that no matter how I write %SMSDP% into a href link it will be never translated into correct environment variable.

So, is there some way to take "dos" environment variable into code (html, php or java), use it in as a URL and then kick in installer from the web browser (IE 6 or 7).

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Asked On
2008-07-16 at 23:05:17ID23572178
Tags

HTML, PHP or Java

,

IE 6 or 7

,

Poor man's SMS

Topics

URL/URI Usage and Design

,

JavaScript

,

PHP Scripting Language

Participating Experts
2
Points
250
Comments
9

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Answers

 

by: Mikki-HiiriPosted on 2008-07-16 at 23:47:39ID: 22022840

To give more in depth into this ...

a href would like something like this: OpenOffice
and then in logon script with KIX32 I set: SET "SMSDP=\\CITY1DP1\SMS-DP$" which is shown in CMD - SET as a environment variable. If I type to Internet Explorer address bar %SMSDP%, it will bring me to the \\CITY1DP1\SMS-DP$ share.

 

by: ZvonkoPosted on 2008-07-17 at 00:05:57ID: 22022921

You cannot do that.
The browser is not allowed to access anything on client computer. Everything that is allowed for browser is only in the browser window. No access to disk files or users environment settings. Neither to change nor to read.

The %SMSDP% is a cmd.exe interprated string. It will work when you go trough cmd.exe interpreter to open the page. Like this:
C:\Users\SuperAdmin>"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" "http://%SMSDP%/Install/basic_install/whatever.cmd"

But in the browser page URL reference or address bar is % the prefix for character translation, for example %20 is a blank char in the URL string.

Only way for your approach is ActiveX and HTA:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms536496(VS.85).aspx

There you can write statements like this:
http://www.codetoad.com/forum/15_16261.asp

 

by: ZvonkoPosted on 2008-07-17 at 03:51:04ID: 22024007

B is grading for Bad (it would be G for Good :)
Why do you grade if you did not have understood the details? If you had problems I would have provide to you support.
In EE is B labeled as Good but I like to get As for my efforts.
The grading is for you the only way to say ThankYou and for me it is a points multiplier.

 

by: Mikki-HiiriPosted on 2008-07-25 at 00:49:51ID: 22086676

Hmm .. did I make mistake? Sorry! I meant good, but maybe accidently pressed B. How I can fix that?

Anyhow, I found Intralaunch as one solution and also if you generate web page with Frontpage it can execute executables ... as well as using XML (in a few HP driver CDs they use similar setting).

 

by: Mikki-HiiriPosted on 2008-07-25 at 00:53:48ID: 22086686

I can not find way to fix the problem, maybe you can contact admin and ask them to change grading to Good. Your answer was perfect and I stopped trying to use wrong approach. After a few days I found several other ways to overcome the problem and at this moment I am already implementing "poor man's sms".

Once again, sorry about the "B" which supposed to be "G".

 

by: PenguinModPosted on 2008-07-25 at 22:38:53ID: 22093849

Mikki-Hiiri,

Please review our grading tips at http://www.experts-exchange.com/help.jsp#hi97.  Technically speaking, A=Excellent, B=Good, and C=Average. In practice, however, A is a complete answer and B is an almost complete answer.  C are incomplete answers, but experts should be given a chance to add to their comments first.  (The grading tips explain it better.)

Grade changed to an A.

PenguinMod
Moderator, Experts Exchange

 

by: ZvonkoPosted on 2008-07-26 at 00:27:12ID: 22094052

Thank you PenguinMod.

 

by: Mikki-HiiriPosted on 2008-08-02 at 01:27:08ID: 22143554

I guess this is something to do what "Good" means in some countries. In Finland "Good" really means "well done = meet expectations", but as an example in USA "good" seem to mean something like "not so well done". In Finland "Excellent" means "exceeds expectations". Lesson learned. Thank you for your help.

 

by: ZvonkoPosted on 2008-08-04 at 12:01:14ID: 22155045

ei kestä

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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