Re: reading pdf/html from ifs send via cgidev2

Hi Scott,

> the apache config tells the browser where to find the file, not
> windows networking.

You're right, sorry about that.  One of your examples started the path
with two leading slashes (//webdirectory/pdfs/mypdffilename.pdf), and that
confused me, but you're right, unless it was accessed as a file: URI, this
wouldn't be interpreted as Windows networking, since it's part of a
relative link.

if I had a double slash somewhere, that was an error in my
interpreting the code from memory, not what it actually did.

I build the field that contains that path using cgi path elements from
a control file and the pdf file name I created.  the actual number of
slashes was embedded in those fields.

However, it's still just a link to the document.  A Location: header would
do the same thing without Javascript.

I'm not familiar with the Location: header technique, but I'm not sure
what you mean by it being just a link to the document.

It's my assumption that he's creating these pdfs on the fly - based on
selection criteria prompted from a browser.  when the user hits the
submit button, the cgi runs, generates the report and converts it to
pdf.  now the user needs to see it, so my solution automatically opens
a browser window with the pdf file's path and name already embedded.

So, the user presses submit, and the next thing he sees is the report
pdf in a new window.  how is that just a link to the pdf?

I thought Jim wanted to send the PDF/HTML document directly from his CGI
program without providing a link to it.  For example, if you wanted to use
the program to secure the document, you wouldn't want there to be any way
that a user can link directly to it, you'd want to require access to only
be done through the program.

Ah, I think I see what you're saying - he wants them to download the
document locally.  well, that would be a different thing altogether.

What I don't understand, however, is why you'd write it to the IFS at all.
But perhaps I'm dwelling too much on that point, and should be
demonstrating the solution instead of dwelling on "why IFS".

I'm not sure I'm understand where you're going here.

If all you are looking for is just a web inquiry, then writing the
report results in HTML is certainly an option.  But if you want to
print the output, html reports are not printer friendly, pdfs are.

So, I'm not aware of any way of generating a pdf from an RPG file
without writing a spool file first.  Is that what you're saying?  that
he can write directly from RPG to pdf format?

Rick