FP2000: Using FrontPage Database Features on Servers Running Chili!ASP

• Microsoft FrontPage 2000

SUMMARY

FrontPage 2000 database features require the FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions for authoring and a Web server running Active Server Pages (ASP) for browsing. Versions of ASP manufactured by Microsoft Corporation function only on Web servers running on Windows platforms. Chili!Soft Corporation has created a product named Chili!ASP that functions on Web servers running on UNIX platforms.

FrontPage 2000 supports a subset of its database features on a server running Chili!ASP version 3.0.

The "More Information" section of this article comprises a list of the major points that a Web server administrator and a FrontPage author must bear in mind in order to implement FrontPage 2000 database functionality on a Web server running Chili!ASP:

MORE INFORMATION

• You cannot create ASP pages directly on a computer with UNIX and Chili!ASP. You must create any ASP pages generated by the Database Results Wizard on your local workstation (by using a disk-based Web, Personal Web Server, or Internet Information Server). After the pages are published to the remote server running Chili!ASP and the FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions, you can use FrontPage to alter the ASP or HTML pages directly.



• The Database command on the Insert menu in FrontPage 2000 is not activated when you perform remote authoring against any UNIX server. If you need to adjust some element of your database results region after publishing it, make the adjustment to your local copy and re-publish the changes.



• Remember to create any system data source names (DSNs) that you refer to in your FrontPage ASP application on the Chili!ASP server, or use "DSN-less" connections.



• Chili!ASP does not support UDL connection files on UNIX. Use DSN files instead.



• Do not use hard-coded paths when referring to file-based databases or file DSNs. Use the URL= web-relative path instead. This is only a consideration if you are creating or using a connection based on the Custom Definition option within FrontPage 2000.



• Remember that UNIX systems are case-sensitive. Make sure that all data source connections and SQL statements accurately reflect the case of the file names and table/field names involved.



• When you publish your database-enabled Web to a Chili!ASP server, you must define the root directory of the application as an ASP application. With Chili!ASP for UNIX, you must manually add an application entry to the Casp.cnfg configuration file. See Chili!ASP configuration documentation for details. After your database-enabled Web is configured as an application, subsequent publishing to that Web does not require that the application be re-created.



• Microsoft Access databases do not run with Chili!ASP on UNIX servers. You may use dBase databases instead. It is possible to convert Access databases to dBase databases using the Access Export Table feature. If you choose to perform this conversion, do so before using the Database Results Wizard, or re-run the Database Results Wizard after the conversion, choosing a new connection to the converted data. Note that FrontPage 2000 uses Microsoft Access file format for its sample database and for databases it creates for use with the Save to Database feature.



• dBase databases do not support multi-table joins on UNIX.



• If EnableParentPaths is False in the Chili!ASP registry, the CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") calls generated by FrontPage will not work. Either change EnableParentPaths to True (the default), or change the code generated by FrontPage in the Global.asa file to Server.CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject").

REFERENCES

The third-party products discussed here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

The third-party contact information included in this article is provided to help you find the technical support you need. This contact information is subject to change without notice. Microsoft in no way guarantees the accuracy of this third-party contact information.


For more information about Chili!Asp, please see http://chilisoft.com/

Additional query words: FP2K

Keywords          : kbdta 
Version           : WINDOWS:
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbinfo 

Last Reviewed: July 1, 1999