MultiView 2000® & MultiView 2000 Server Edition Support

How To:  Use Browser Embedding in MultiView 2000

Embedding behavior for Microsoft's Internet Explorer

To embed the main components of MultiView 2000 into a Browser, it was decided to concentrate on Microsoft Internet Explorer. The technology that makes Browser embedding possible is called ActiveX Document technology. To utilize this technology we made our Terminal Emulator and File Transfer components ActiveX Document Servers. This allows them to be embedded into any ActiveX Document Client such as Microsoft Binder and Microsoft Internet Explorer 3 or above.

ActiveX technology was introduced by Microsoft to allow non-HTML documents to be viewed in a Browser without the need for opening another application. A Browser is used to navigate various documents, reading and responding to them, then moving on to the next. We recommend the same mode of usage for our documents. Therefore, we recommend embedding only when the session is used for a single or simple action. Using the Terminal Emulator, for example, the purpose of a session could be to perform a sales query; on completion, the session finishes and the user can navigate on. If the user spends most of their time using a single remote application they would benefit the most from a standalone Terminal Emulator that can be permanently open and therefore easily accessed without the need for navigation.

• As with all ActiveX Documents opened in a Web Browser, only the document is downloaded, and hence MultiView 2000 must already be installed.
• In Internet Explorer 4.0, the ActiveX document will be terminated as soon as the user navigates away from the document. In Internet Explorer 3.0, an ActiveX document is stored in a cache of four documents. When the user loads or navigates to a fifth document, the ActiveX document will be terminated. This saves both local and remote system resources.
• As Internet Explorer is primarily a document viewer, when loading we may be asked to hide our toolbars. If this is the case, they will be hidden. This is also the case for any other ActiveX document viewer.
• When embedded in a frame, ActiveX Documents are not allowed to merge their menus with Internet Explorer. It would clearly be very confusing if multiple applications merged their menus and as a result, no configuration controls are available.
• We recommend that when using frames the same application is NOT loaded into more than one frame as a conflict of application focus would occur./li>
• When using our Active Rules technology to launch URL links from within the Terminal Emulator, links such as telnet:// and ftp:// launch the relevant application as a separate instance and do not replace the current embedded session.

Embedding Behavior for Netscape's Communicator

Netscape Communicator v4.04 has the ability to open applications using OLE. As the MultiView Terminal Emulator and File Transfer applications also support OLE, we can embed into this Browser. ActiveX Document technology is, however, an extension to OLE. The level of integration into Netscape is consequently reduced. The following behavior applies to embedding in Netscape's Communicator.

• When embedded, our applications do not fill the entire Client area of the Browser. Instead, a rectangle contains the application instance.
• The OLE object requires activating by double-clicking it. Once this is done, the session can be used.
• At this version of Netscape, embedding into a frame does not activate in-place, but instead the session appears as a stand-alone application once activated.
• When using our Active Rules technology to launch URL links from within the Terminal Emulator, links such as telnet:// and ftp:// launch the relevant application as a separate instance and do not replace the current embedded session.

DDE while embedded

All DDE conversations require a topic name. This is used as a method of uniquely identifying which open document the conversation is to take place with. Our Terminal Emulator defaults its topic name to "jsbterm|" followed by the full filename of the open document. When opening a .ZZT that is downloaded from a Web Server, Internet Explorer downloads ' the document to a temporary file. This means that when the file is embedded, its topic name is the temporary file name. This makes knowing the topic name rather difficult. When opening a local .ZZT however, the topic name is that of the correct filename.

OLE while Embedded

If you need to converse with the terminal emulator using OLE whilst embedded in a Browser, complications arise. To manipulate any OLE object, you must have a copy of its object handle. Usually this handle is known, as you would normally create the OLE instance within the same application that talks to it. For the session to be embedded within the Browser however, the Browser creates and owns this object. You therefore need to obtain a copy of this handle by interrogating the Browser itself or the operating system.

Microsoft's, IE3 White Paper extract on ActiveX documents

ActiveX documents enable you to open an application with its own toolbars and menus in the Internet Explorer window. This means you can open richly formatted documents, such as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, without having to open another application. You can do your work and then go back to the Web page you were last viewing.

Like all ActiveX technologies, ActiveX Documents are available as an open, published specification available to all parties. Support for ActiveX Documents enables Internet Explorer to become the frame in which users can browse and view these non-HTML documents and applications. To users, it appears that they are running the stand-alone application complete with toolbars, menus, and all other user interface elements, while network administrators can use existing documents and applications on their Intranet site without having to convert them all to HTML format.

The Internet Explorer frame is not only an ActiveX Document host, but it also packages the HTML viewer as an ActiveX Document. This means that other vendors can use Internet Explorer as a document viewer for files in other formats. ActiveX Documents are a set of extensions to OLE Documents, the compound document technology of OLE. The extensions are in the form of additional interfaces that allow what looks like an embeddable in-place object to represent an entire document instead of a single piece of embedded content. As with OLE Documents, ActiveX Documents involve a container that provides the display space for ActiveX Documents and Servers that provide the user interface and manipulation capabilities for DocObjects themselves.