This chapter covers the use of HomeDoor Admin in setting up HomeDoor. For related information, see HomeDoor Reference and Appendixes.
HomeDoor Admin 2.0 does not require the use of HyperCard, like previous versions did. HomeDoor Admin requires a minimum of 512 KB of RAM.
You can install HomeDoor Admin wherever you choose. If you use host field mapping, however, and Admin is not in the WebSTAR plug-in folder, you will need to point Admin to the HomeDoor Plug-in the first time you launch Admin.
You can implement a given virtual Web server using one of two methods: browser-independent redirection or host field mapping. Certain situations will require you to use a particular method; others will allow you to choose either (but not both for a given virtual server). The tradeoffs are summarized in Method Tradeoffs in HomeDoor Reference. Methods can be selected on a domain-by-domain basis. The method is chosen by selecting either "Redirection" or "Host Field Mapping" from the Window menu and specifying the relevant information in the window that comes up.
When you launch HomeDoor Admin and choose Redirection from the Window menu, the window in Figure 1 appears. Refer to this figure in the sections that follow.
Figure 1. Redirection Window
The address range configured into HomeDoor Admin for use with redirection is a block of up to 256 consecutive IP addresses (8 addresses for HomeDoor Lite). In the Redirection window (Figure 1), click the "New IP's" button to bring up the dialog below in Figure 2.
Figure 2. IP Address Range
Enter the first and last addresses, using standard IP dotted decimal notation. Click the Save button to save the address range.
The address range you enter indicates the maximum number of addresses that HomeDoor can use for redirection. Addresses for which you do not enter URLs are not used by HomeDoor -- these addresses can be used for other devices on the network. HomeDoor will only utilize addresses within its range for which URLs have been assigned, and will not utilize others in any way. HomeDoor Admin does not check the validity of the addresses in the entered range, so you need to be sure that these addresses are valid for the Ethernet network on which HomeDoor is running. It is also very important to be sure addresses for which URLs are entered are not in use by other devices on the network. If you later change the range of addresses in a way that would eliminate addresses that have been configured, a dialog will warn you of this and will confirm your choice.
If the "real" server's address is within the range of addresses you enter here, take care to not configure it later as a virtual server. The "real" server's actual home page is served directly by the "real" server itself, not through HomeDoor.
URLs for virtual Web servers implemented with redirection are configured into HomeDoor Admin using the URL field. Each address in the address range is listed in the scrolling list in the Redirection window. To enter a URL for a specific address, select the address by clicking on it, and click the Edit button in the Redirection window (Figure 1) to bring up the dialog below in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Configuring An Address
Enter the full URL (starting with http://) in the text box and click the Save button.
A URL configured into HomeDoor Admin can be any valid URL. It usually will point to a folder you created to be the root of a virtual Web server. The configured URLs do not even need to point to the same Web server, allowing you to use a single copy of the HomeDoor extension to provide virtual Web services on more than one actual Web server. Although it is unlikely, if you want to only support a home page for a particular virtual Web server, and no other pages, you can use a URL that points to a specific file.
Once in the Redirection window, select the line you wish to change and hit the Edit button. In the dialog in Figure 3, enter the desired URL and click OK. The change will be effective as soon as you hit the Redirection window's Save button.
To remove the URL for a virtual server entry, select the virtual server in the Redirection window (Figure 1) and click the Remove button. The address will remain in the left column, but the URL will be deleted. The change takes effect immediately upon hitting the Save button.
The Revert and Save buttons appear in the Redirection window (Figure 1). Use the Revert button to discard any changes you have made since the last time you wrote out changes using the Save button. Use the Save button to save the changes you have made. The changes will be written to the HomeDoor extension and will become effective immediately; it is not necessary to restart the Macintosh. If you quit HomeDoor Admin without saving your changes, you will be asked whether you wish to do so or not.
The status of HomeDoor's redirection is displayed and set through the Preferences dialog. Select "Redirection Preferences..." from the File menu to bring up the Preferences shown below in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Browser-Independent Redirection Preferences
Redirection
If you have not restarted your Mac after installing HomeDoor, redirection will always be indicated as Inactive. Once you have restarted, this status should always be Active unless an error occurred at startup or you specifically disable redirection by clicking the Inactive radio button. When not running, redirection does not listen on any of the addresses in its range. If you disable redirection through the Inactive button, you can make it active again simply by clicking the Active button. If an error occurred at startup, however, you need to correct the error and restart the Macintosh to re-enable redirection.
Logging
HomeDoor's Logging status may be Off immediately after installation. Once your Mac is restarted, assuming no error occurs at startup, Logging status should be On until it is disabled. To disable HomeDoor logging, click the Off radio button. HomeDoor will close its log file and no longer write access information to that file. HomeDoor will, however, still log significant events such as startup errors. To re-enable logging, click the On button.
Preferences take effect immediately upon hitting the Save button in the Preferences dialog.
NOTE: If you are using a version of the HomeDoor extension prior to 1.2, HomeDoor's status may be shown as "Inactive" even if the prior version is in fact active. You must be using HomeDoor extension 1.2 or later for either of these preferences to work.
When you launch HomeDoor Admin and choose Host Field Mapping from the Window menu, the window in Figure 5 appears. Refer to this figure in the sections that follow. The data is initially sorted by host name, but can also be sorted by pathname. To change the "sort by" column, click once on the column heading; the underlined heading is the one used for sorting.
Figure 5. Admin Host Field Mapping Window
If you launch HomeDoor Admin from WebSTAR's Plug-in folder, Admin will automatically open HomeDoor Plug-in (which resides there as well). If you wish to switch to another plug-in -- say you're running multiple copies of WebSTAR on a given Macintosh -- you do so with "Select Plug-in..." from the "File" menu.
HomeDoor maintains a list of the names and all aliases of virtual servers using host field mapping, and their associated pathnames on your "real" Web server. Using HomeDoor Admin, list entries can be added, edited and removed. When altering the list, changes take effect immediately upon hitting the "Save" button in the "Host Field Mapping" window. Before hitting the "Save" button, changes can be undone with the "Revert" button. The list is sorted and case insensitive. Duplicate virtual server names are not allowed. You do not need to enter the name for the "real" server in the list unless you change the default error-handing preferences as covered in the Error Configuration section of the this chapter.
To specify a virtual server as a host-field-mapping server, you need to add an entry to the plug-in using HomeDoor Admin. If you have not already done so, select host field mapping as the method by selecting "Host Field Mapping" from the "Window" menu. In the "Host Field Mapping" window, click the "New" button. A dialog appears, asking you for the host name and the pathname to insert. Enter the host name of the virtual server, and the pathname of the folder which will represent that domain on the "real" server. This pathname is relative to WebSTAR's root, and must begin with a "/" and end without one. If you forget the leading "/", Admin will insert it for you. When the entry is complete, click the dialog's "OK" button. To add another entry, click "New" again. When you are done adding entries, click the "Host Field Mapping" window's "Save" button. There may be a delay of a few seconds between hitting the "Save" button and the changes taking effect through the plug-in. To undo changes since the last "Save" (or since opening the window), click "Revert". This will reset HomeDoor Admin's settings for the plug-in to the last saved state.
If you wish to modify an entry for a virtual server, bring up the "Host Field Mapping" window as above, select the virtual server entry from the list, and click the "Edit" button; you may also just double-click the entry. Make your changes, and click the dialog's "OK" button. Use the "Host Field Mapping" window's "Save" and "Revert" buttons as with adding entries above.
If you wish to remove an entry for a virtual server, bring up the "Host Field Mapping" window as above, select the virtual server entry from the list, and click the "Remove" button. Use the "Host Field Mapping" window's "Save" and "Revert" buttons as with adding entries above.
This button resets HomeDoor Admin's settings for the plug-in to the state they were in when the window was opened, or since the last "Save", whichever is more recent. It provides a convenient means of undoing changes.
There are two basic types of errors that can occur when users try to access virtual servers implemented with host field mapping:
HomeDoor's default error-handling behavior, which requires no additional configuration, is adequate for getting started, but you may find you need other behavior for your situation. The options are discussed in the next two sections.
It is important to note that if you choose non-default error-handling behavior, those changes apply to all pages served by the server on which the plug-in is running. These pages include pages from the "real" server, and pages served through redirection or mapping. For example, if you configure the plug-in to return a specific error page for "unsupported browser" errors, that error page will be returned whether the old browser was trying to access your "real" server, or a virtual server implemented with either mapping or redirection. Likewise, if you configure the plug-in to return a specific error page for "hosts not found in host list" errors, it will return that error page for all such hosts -- your "real" server, or a virtual server implemented with either mapping or redirection.
To view or change these options, select "Mapping Preferences..." from the File menu to bring up the dialog shown below in Figure 6. Error handling changes take effect upon clicking this dialog's "Save" button.
Figure 6. Plug-in Preferences
The Webmaster has two basic options for "unsupported browser" errors:
The Webmaster's two options for "host not found in host list" errors are:
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