Contents

The following Help Topics are available:

Assigning a MIME Type to a Specific Netscape PlugIn

Creating a Fixed PlugIn Configuration (System Administrators)

Disabling a MIME Type

Glossary

Plugsy for Everybody

Plugsy for PropellerHeads

Plugsy for System Administrators

Plugsy Technical Support

Plugsy Sales

UnInstalling Plugsy

Using a Helper Application to handle a MIME Type

For Help on Help, Press F1


Assigning a MIME Type to a Specific Netscape PlugIn

To Assign a MIME Type to a Specific Netscape PlugIn:

1.	Close Netscape Navigator if it is already open.

2.	Start Digigami Plugsy.

3.	Select a MIME type from the box labelled `MIME Types'.

4.	Click the button labelled `Handled By'.

5.	From the menu that appears, choose the plugin that you wish to handle the selected MIME type.

Related Topics

Disabling a MIME Type

Using a Helper Application to handle a MIME Type


Creating a Fixed PlugIn Configuration (System Administrators)

System Administrators responsible for many workstations, or developers building kiosks or other types of information systems can use Plugsy to create bulletproof, reliable Netscape installations that work and act uniformly across different physical machines.

To Create a Fixed PlugIn Configuration:

1.	Install a clean version of Netscape Navigator on an administrative computer.

2.	Install any additional Netscape PlugIns on the administrative computer.

2.	Install Digigami Plugsy on the administrative computer, in the PlugIns folder.

3.	Using Plugsy choose which MIME types are to be handled by specific PlugIns.

4.	Save the changes made by Plugsy.

5.	Test the configuration on the administrative computer.

6.	On the target machine, install a clean version of Netscape Navigator.

7.	On the target machine, install the additional Netscape PlugIns.

8.	Copy the files in the Netscape PlugIn folder named `NP*.DLL' from the administrative computer to the Netscape PlugIns folder on the target computer.

Tip	Because you have copied the modified versions of the plugins, end users will not be able to change the MIME configuration for PlugIns, even if they had installed Plugsy.

Related Topics

Plugsy for PropellerHeads

Plugsy for System Administrators


Disabling a MIME Type

To Disable a MIME Type:

1.	Close Netscape Navigator if it is already open.

2.	Start Digigami Plugsy.

3.	Select a MIME type from the box labelled `MIME Types'.

4.	Click the button labelled `Handled By'.

5.	Choose None from the menu.

6.	Click the button labelled `Save'.

Related Topics

Assigning a MIME Type to a Specific Netscape PlugIn

Using a Helper Application to handle a MIME Type


Plugsy for Everybody

Digigami Plugsy is an add-in utility for Netscape Navigator which is useful for eliminating conflicts between two or more Netscape PlugIns; each of which supports the same MIME type(s).

In Windows Navigator, if two or more installed Netscape PlugIns handle the same MIME types, there is no easy way to select which PlugIn should be used.  The Mac version of Netscape Navigator does not have this limitation.

Digigami Plugsy also can disable MIME types in any installed Netscape PlugIn, thus allowing you to assign a MIME type to an external helper application.  For instance, let's say that you wanted to use an external MIDI player (such as Windows Media Player) for listening to MIDI files.  Using Plugsy, you can disable the audio/x-midi MIME type in the NPAUDIO.DLL that ships with Netscape 3.0, and then assign MPLAYER.EXE to audio/x-midi in the Netscape preferences.

Related Topics

Plugsy for PropellerHeads

Plugsy for System Administrators


Plugsy for PropellerHeads

About Netscape PlugIns

Netscape PlugIns are Windows Dynamic Link Library (DLLs) that Netscape Navigator can use to interpret arbitrary data received from web sites around the world.  Any data retrieved via the web has a MIME type associated with it.  Netscape understands a number of MIME types natively, for instance GIF and JPEG graphics, and HTML text itself.

How Netscape Determines who will Handle a Particular MIME Type

For any MIME type that Netscape receives from a remote server, Netscape first determines if it knows how to `render' the MIME type in a manner that the viewer will understand.  If Netscape does not know how to render the MIME type, Netscape `queries' all the installed Netscape PlugIns, looking for a plugin which `knows how' to render that MIME type.  Netscape loads the first PlugIn that understands the MIME type, and gives control over the `rendering' or display of the MIME type data to the PlugIn.  If Netscape finds no PlugIn to handle the MIME type, it then checks its list of helper applications.  If Netscape finds no helper application for the MIME type, Netscape prompts the user to save the file to a local disk.

How does Netscape know what MIME types a PlugIn can handle?

Unlike helper applications, which are assigned MIME types in the Netscape General Preferences dialog, each Netscape PlugIn knows exactly which MIME types it can handle or render, and includes a list of these types in it's own version resources.  Netscape queries the version resource of a PlugIn to determine which MIME types a PlugIn can handle.  You can see an overall summary of this information by choosing About PlugIns from the Netscape Help menu.

How does Plugsy manage conflicts between PlugIns?

Digigami Plugsy knows how to read and write the version resource in a Netscape PlugIn.  When Plugsy is first installed and run, it scans for all files named NP*.DLL in the folder where Plugsy has been installed, usually the Netscape PlugIns folder.  For each Netscape PlugIn that it finds, Plugsy saves an original unmodified copy of the version resource in a file with a .PLUGSY extension.  These files should not be deleted, but will be deleted by Plugsy during `UnInstall'.  Plugsy works by scanning all the installed PlugIns, and making a list of MIME types and the PlugIns that can handle those MIME types.  When Plugsy saves its configuration, Plugsy modifies the version resources of all the installed Netscape PlugIns, ensuring that each MIME type is handled by either none or one PlugIn.  Thus Plugsy allows the descriminating user to choose exactly how a particular MIME type will be handled.

Related Topics

Plugsy for System Administrators


Plugsy for System Administrators

Before reading this section, you'll need to get some background information.

System Administrators can use Plugsy to build `custom' sets of PlugIn installations that can easily be copied to and from Netscape installations on different physical computers.  These custom sets can either be `fixed', or `flexible'.  Fixed sets, which do not require that Plugsy be installed on the target computers, are configured by the Administrator ensuring that end-users (ie. Kiosk users) will not be able to change the configuration.  Flexible sets require that Plugsy be installed, and simply can be used to predefine a MIME-type configuration.

Related Topics

Plugsy for PropellerHeads


UnInstalling Plugsy

To UnInstall Digigami Plugsy:

1.	Close Netscape Navigator if it is already open.

2.	Start Digigami Plugsy.

3.	Choose the button labelled `UnInstall'.

4.	Choose the button labelled `Yes'.

5.	As a final step, you will need to use Windows Explorer, or File Manager to remove PLUGSY.EXE from your Netscape PlugIns folder.

Related Topics

Disabling a MIME Type


Using a Helper Application to handle a MIME Type

To Use a Helper Application to handle a MIME Type:

1.	Close Netscape Navigator if it is already open.

2.	Start Digigami Plugsy.

3.	Select a MIME type from the box labelled `MIME Types'.

4.	Click the button labelled `Handled By'.

5.	Choose None from the menu.

6.	Click the button labelled `Save'.

7.	Start Netscape Navigator.

8.	From the Options menu, choose `General Preferences'.

9.	Choose the tab marked `Helpers'.

10.	Assign the MIME type to the helper application.

11.	Choose OK.

Related Topics

Assigning a MIME Type to a Specific Netscape PlugIn

Disabling a MIME Type


Plugsy Technical Support

Free technical support is available for all users of Plugsy.  Send email to the following address:

plugsy-help@digigami.com

Telephone support is available for those users of Plugsy who have purchased a valid license agreement from Digigami, Inc.


Plugsy Sales

Users of the 30-evaluation copy of Plugsy can upgrade to the standard version of Plugsy by simply visiting the Digigami web site at:

http://www.digigami.com/sales

Alternately, you can order Plugsy from Digigami via email:

sales@digigami.com


Glossary

MIME_Type

Netscape PlugIn

Helper Applications


MIME Type

A MIME type is a unique name that identifies the format of a file on the internet.  Each MIME type is given in the format 'type/sub-type'.  The type portion of the name is the general grouping of the data, and the sub-type gives the specific format.

audio/x-wav

audio/aiff

audio/au

audio/x-midi

video/quicktime

video/mpeg

When the 'x-' prefix appears as part of a sub-type, it signifies that the MIME type is provisional, and has not yet been ratified as a standard.


Netscape PlugIn

A small library or DLL program usually written by a third party to provide support for a particular internet MIME type.  Often, MIME types supported by PlugIns are specific to the vendor of the PlugIn.

PlugIns are installed in the Plugins sub-folder in the Netscape folder.


Helper Applications

The precursor to 'Netscape PlugIns', helper applications are simply external programs that Netscape can 'open' to view a particular file downloaded from the internet.

Helper applications are configured in the 'General Preferences' dialog on the Netscape 'Options' menu.