IntraDOS 1.4
Network Setup

IntraDOS was designed with a network of 386 PCs in mind. Before getting to the details, here is an overview with explanations.


Some Frequently Asked Questions

What rights must users have on the network? IntraDOS requires that there be at least one directory in which users have full read, write, create, and delete rights, for temporary files, and at least one directory in which they have at least read, write, and create rights for more permanent files. By default, these directories are created off of the directory in which IntraDOS is installed. This is the default configuration, which the network administrator can change:

Subdirectory Rights Needed Purpose
(Main) Read Program files & utilities. Until the network administrator modifies it, this is where the program first looks for HTML files to read. System HTML files (such as the help file) may be stored here.
TEMP Read, write (modify), create, and delete For temporary files that IntraDOS creates as it reads HTML files, a temporary batch file in rare circumstances, information about the state of IntraDOS when a user launches other applications, and (by default) the place where the user's personal setup files are stored, thus enabling the user to edit or delete them by means of other applications.
PERM Read, write (modify), and create For stockpiled (cached) files. These allow users with slower PCs to view HTML files quickly. Users need "create" rights in order to add to the stockpile and need "write/modify" rights in order to update the stockpiled files if the source HTML files are updated.
(HTML Files) Read By default, this will be the (Main) directory, but it would be advisable to select another directory without executable files to store these "start-up" files.

Why does IntraDOS create temporary files on the network rather than a local directory where the user's TEMP environmental variable points? IntraDOS stores temporary files on the network because (a) it allows users to create and modify files on the network anyway, (b) some PCs lack hard drives and TEMP variables, (c) it made it easier to maintain, since all program files were stored in the same place, and (d) it was simply easier for me to do so in my own office.

However, the administrator can change the global or master default location as noted below.

Why do you need to allow users the right to create and modify files on the network? In a word, SPEED. IntraDOS, regretably, is not the fastest browser for parsing long HTML files. Slower machines need all the help they can get. That can be accomplished by making use of a stockpile (cache) of pre-parsed files. But those files need to be on the network in order that all PCs on the network can take advantage of them. And if the underlying HTML file is updated, the cached file needs to be updated as well. And since there is no guarantee that the network administrator is the only one who will first visit the file (allowing IntraDOS to create a cached file or update it), when any user visits the file, the program should create or update the cached file. And this requires that the user have rights to modify files on the network. Once users have modify rights on the network, it is no great leap to allow them to have create and delete rights as well.

How, then, do you maintain security for network files? To accomplish all of the above, users need to have modify, create and delete rights in only one network directory: the one with temporary files in it (by default, the TEMP directory). Since users do not need deletion rights for stockpiled files, a separate directory with modify and create rights can be maintained for those (by default, the PERM directory). Users need only read rights for the rest of the network to run IntraDOS.


Recommended Setup on a Network

  1. Place the program file IntraDOS.EXE in a directory on your network server (e.g., X:\INTRADOS) accessible to those with DOS PCs who will use it. This directory will store:
    (a) The online help file (ID-Help.htm).
    (b) The registration information file (IDReg.cfg) when the program is registered.
    (c) A master file (iddir.cfg) containing the directories in which temporary, permanent, and user configuration files will be stored.
    (d) A master setup file (id000.cfg) containing defaults selected by the network administrator.
    (e) The sample files and information files that come with IntraDOS.

  2. Running IntraDOS for the first time will create TEMP and PERM subdirectories for storing temporary and stockpiled files.

  3. Prepare one or more appropriate start-up files (home pages) for network users. Since this program allows the network administrator to use any file as a start-up file, he/she can set the browser to start with a file that may be appropriate to different contexts in the office setting. This can be done by:

  4. Put your (users') startup HTML file(s) in a public directory. This directory can be, but probably should not be, the same as the directory containing the program files.

  5. Determine how each user will be identified to IntraDOS. IntraDOS uses three characters (initials) to represent users and it requires that a user's initials be given. This can be done in one of three ways.

  6. The administrator should preview all the files on the intranet with IntraDOS on a fast PC and save at least the large ones (if not all files) in the permanent stockpile, so that users on slow PCs can view the files quickly. This can be done manually, by pressing Ctrl+P with each file, or automatically, by using the File, Setup, Stockpile All Automatically option. For further discussion, see Stockpiling Options, below.

  7. The administrator can then set the configuration options for each user, as shown next.

  8. Last, the administrator can make other appropriate revisions of the batch file for launching the program, as shown below.


Configuration Options

Directory Configuration Options

The network administrator can set the default locations for files by using IntraDOS's File Setup menu or by manually editting the IDDIR.CFG file with a text editor. Valid settings are:

TEMPDIR=x:\intrados\temp
PERMDIR=x:\intrados\perm
CFGDIR=x:\intrados\temp (for user configuration files)

The administrator can substitute other directories for any of the above defaults so long as users have the rights shown above.

Global User Configuration Options

The network administrator can create a global (or master) defaults file that will be used initially by each new user on the network. This file, located in the executable directory, is called id000.cfg. It is a text file, in all respects identical to a user's configuration file discussed below. A master file containing IntraDOS's standard defaults is supplied with the zip file. Perhaps the easiest way to modify it is for the network administrator (a) to set his/her own defaults as if he/she were an ordinary user, and (b) to copy those defaults from his/her temp\id-xxx.cfg file to the id000.cfg file.

Here is a list of the options that can go into a user configuration file, showing defaults:
BGCOLOR=3
FGCOLOR=0
BOLD=15
ITALICS=5
H1=15
H2=10
H3=11
H4=9
H5=1
H6=8
These color settings are best set by IntraDOS's File Setup menu. Valid values are 0-3, 5-13, and 15. The default values are shown here.
AUTOSTOCKPILE=0 This can be set by the File Setup menu. Valid values are 0 (no automatic stockpiling of each file visited), 1 (force user to select whether to stockpile each file), and 2 (automatically stockpile each file).
STARTFILE=X:\intrados\home.htm Sets the file which users read when the program starts.
HELPFILE=X:\intrados\id-help.htm Sets the file which users can access by using the Help menu option. The administrator is free to modify or replace this default file.
PRINTERON=1 Adding this line will cause two menu items to appear in the File menu: one for printing to the DOS LPT1 printer, and the other for printing to a file. If this line is not present or is set to 0, those lines will be invisible.
SOUNDON=1 By default, IntraDOS makes certain sounds to indicate a successful operation or an invalid one. The user may turn off sounds by manually changing this value to 0.
BOOKMARKNAMEn=My first bookmark
BOOKMARKURLn=x:\htm\bkmk1.htm
These lines go together. If they appear, a bookmark entry is created on IntraDOS's View menu. In this example, the menu will display My first bookmark and clicking it will display the file x:\htm\bkmk1.htm. Valid values for n are 1 to 200 (really probably more, but don't try it).
APPTITLEn=WordPerfect 5.1
APPNAMEn=X:\wp51\wp.exe
APPEXTn=.WP5 .DOC .LTR .MEM
These three lines go together. If they appear, they add a program to a list of programs that can launch data files. In this example, if a user attempts to launch a file other than a typical browsable file, the user will get a list of programs (including WordPerfect 5.1). If the file has a .WP5 extension, WordPerfect will be shown as the default means to launch the program. And if it is selected, IntraDOS will launch the file at x:\wp51\wp.exe with the selected file as a command line argument.

Individual User Configuration

Each user has a similar file in the directory set by the CFGDIR variable in the IDDIR.CFG file, with a name in the form of id-abc.cfg, where abc stands for the user's three initials. This file is a text file that can be editted by any text editor. If one does not exist at the time a user begins, a file will be created based on the defaults set in the ID000.CFG file. If one exists, the data in it will be used to set the user's defaults.


Launching the program

IntraDOS can be launched by command line or by batch file. Here are some sample methods for launching the program, where the executable is located in the X:\HTML directory.

Setting the User variable before calling the program:
set USER=ABC
x:
cd \intrados
intrados

Same, setting Begfile.HTM as the start-up file:
set USER=ABC
x:
cd \intrados
intrados Begfile.HTM

Same, setting a different User variable (U) before calling the program:
set U=ABC
x:
cd \intrados
intrados /u=%U%

Calling the program by command line only:
x:\intrados\intrados /u=ABC

Same, setting Begfile.HTM as the start-up file:
x:\intrados\intrados /u=ABC Begfile.HTM

IntraDOS will open a startup HTML file as follows:


Writing HTML for IntraDOS

IntraDOS can render most HTML tags to the extent that a text-based browser can. For a full list of tags that IntraDOS handles, see HTMLTags.TXT.

IntraDOS also allows the author these options.

Links to the directory structure. You can write a link that will cause IntraDOS to display the directory structure of a particular directory. To do so, simply add ASCII character 181 (µ) to the beginning of the directory when you write a link. (You can generate this character by holding down the alt key while typing 181 on the numeric keypad -- at least in DOS programs.) For example, this will link to the C:\TEMP directory:

<a href="µc:\temp">Link to Temp Directory</a>

Launching Executables. You can write links to an executable file and include parameters. However, you should include the extension (e.g., .EXE .COM .BAT) to avoid confusion. For instance, IntraDOS would treat a link to "read myfile.txt" as a link to a text file with a long file name and try to find a file called "readmyfi.txt" or "readmy~1.txt". However, a link to "read.exe myfile.txt" would be treated as a request to launch the file "read.exe" with "myfile.txt" as a command line argument.


Stockpiling Options

This option, which will be of importance mainly to the intranet administrator, allows the automatic saving of pre-parsed files to a "stockpile," a permanent cache, which improves performance on the intranet, particularly for slower PCs.

By default, no files are automatically saved to the stockpile. The user may add files to the stockpile only by clicking the "File, Stockpile Permanently" option (Ctrl+P).

The user can change the default by clicking on "File, Setup" and selecting whether to save all automatically, or to force the user to decide on each file.

Recommendations: The administrator should pre-parse each startup file and help file. If disk space is abundant and users' PCs are slow, consider pre-parsing each file on the intranet. If, however, space is limited or users' PCs are fast, the administrator should pre-parse at least the larger files that the users are likely to visit.


Address any questions or comments to me at ccork000@counsel.com.