Launching Application from a Client-side Script
Hello
The beginning of this message may not seem pertinent to this group, but the
question is.
I have a CD-ROM based application that uses the WebBrowser control inside a
Macromedia Director interface. The application is used solely to access
local files stored on the CD-ROM. A number of the files are PDF files, which
I want to open in a version of Acrobat Reader 4.0 (also distributed on the
CD-ROM), rather than in the IE window using the Acrobat ActiveX control.
I had accomplished this previously with an Xtra for Director that embedded
the WebBrowser control. The Xtra allowed me to intercept hyperlinks and,
using Lingo, launch Acrobat Reader with the appropriate PDF file.
Due to incompatibilities between the Xtra and IE5, I had to rebuild the
interface using Director's built-in ActiveX functionality. In doing that, I
had to rewrite all of the Lingo for interaction between the WebBrowser
control and the application. Everything works fine except for the
aformentioned PDF functionality. Apparently, Director does not receive the
BeforeNavigate2 event generated when a hyperlink is clicked in the
WebBrowser control.
I need to explore other options. I have tried the FileSystemObject, but
security settings prevent this. There is also no way for me to guarantee
that the users will have the Windows Scripting Host installed.
Finally, my question...
Is there ANY way to launch an application and open a file from an HTML
document on the client side? Are there any other ActiveX controls that can
be distributed on the CD-ROM that will allow me to do this? If Windows
Scripting Host is the answer, is there a way to detect if it is installed?
Minimum system requirements for the CD-ROM are IE4, preferrably SP2, which
is also being distributed on the CD-ROM. However, I cannot assume that all
users will use the installer provide, as many may already have that version
or IE5.
Thank you very much in advance. I also apologize for the cross-post.
Gregory Rohman
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Erin/Edwards Communications www.erinedwards.com
