McGill 3270 and Netscape 4

[Michael Purcell]

We are using Win95, HostExplorer 4.0, and Netscape 4.0

At 04:39 AM 2/13/98 -0800, Jean-Marc Edwards wrote:
>I have been having the same problem too with TCP3270 and netscape 4. 
>I read your message with much interest and tried what you are 
>suggesting and it has improved the situation.
>
>Although it looks like none of those solutions are passing 
>automatically to TCP3270 the telnet address that is on the web page. 
>Instead it loads the default telnet address specified in TCP3270 or 
>asks me to enter one.

Netscape 4 -> 4.03 would pass two values, the first being the full URL and 
the second being the host name.  For these versions, Bill Drew's batch 
file solution worked.  The batch file received both the full URL (%1) and 
the host name (%2) and passed only the host name to TCP3270/HostExplorer.
With Netscape 4.04, the only value passed to the telnet or tn3270 application
is the full URL.  

Our installed base of HostExplorer 4.0 users is too large to contemplate a 
newer version or different telnet/tn3270 application that will work with
the full
URL and not just the host name.  My solution was to write a small Visual
Basic 3 program that works similar to the batch file solution.  Netscape 4.04
passes the full URL to my program (e.g. tn3270://ulkyvm.louisville.edu/), my
program extracts the host name and passes that value (ulkyvm.louisville.edu)
to TCP3270/HostExplorer.  

I have not tried this program with every possible combination, but it has
worked 
with minor versions of Netscape 4.0x, Win3.1/Win 95, and 
TCP3270 v3.12/HostExplorer 4.0.  

If you would like to try this free program let me know and I will send it
to you.

>Jean-Marc Edwards
>Systems Librarian
>Unievrsity of Ottawa


Cindi Trainor wrote:
>> Has anyone had any luck with Netscape 4 and using McGill as the
>> tn3270 program?  I can only get it to connect to the gateway address
>> listed in the ini file for McGill, no matter what Netscape is trying
>> to send.
>> 
>> I searched the web4lib archive and found Bill Drew's solution 
>> (http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/archive/9707/0467.html )
>> suggesting creating a telnet.bat file, but this doesn' t work with
>> McGill, no matter how I move those %1s and %2s around.  It wants to
>> connect to the address listed in the [Default] section of the
>> net3270.ini file, and just presents a blank connection box if there
>> is no address in that section.
>> 
>> This stubborn thing is driving me nuts!  I'm *almost* ready to give
>> up and just let users connect to our catalog, no matter what
>> tn3270:// link they click on!
>> 
>> Thanks.
>> Cindi
>> --
>> Cindi Trainor
>> Electronic Resources Librarian
>> University of Kentucky
>> cindi at email.uky.edu or cindi at pop.uky.edu

--
 Michael Purcell, Computer & Cataloging Support Specialist
 Kornhauser Health Sciences Library, University of Louisville
 (502) 852-5767 / Fax: (502) 852-7086
 mopurc01 at homer.louisville.edu