FP1: Runtime WebBot Fails on IIS w/Multiple Home Directories

• Microsoft FrontPage for Windows, version 1.1

SYMPTOMS

If you are running Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) with more than one home directory, and at least one home directory is defined as a virtual server, the run-time WebBot components may not function.

NOTE: This problem only affects Internet Information Server, version 2.0.

CAUSE

A Web server passes identification information about the server in a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) parameter called Server_Name. While IIS 1.0 passes the Internet Protocol (IP) address in this parameter, IIS 2.0 passes the server name.

When the FrontPage Server Extensions for IIS are installed, FrontPage needs to know the IP address specified in the World Wide Web service properties (that is how the registry keys are stored). From this information, the [Port <ip address>:<port>] section is created in the Frontpg.ini file. When IIS 2.0 passes a server name other than the IP address, FrontPage looks for the [Port <name>:<port>] section in the Frontpg.ini. If it does not find it, FrontPage looks for just the port. If FrontPage does not find that either, FrontPage puts an error log in the event viewer and fails.

Note that if FrontPage does find the [Port 80] section it may not be the section it should find because the non-virtual server on port 80 could (and should) have a different document root than the virtual server that initiated the WebBot run-time activity.

WORKAROUND

Method 1. Use the IP address instead of the host name

To work around this problem, browse pages that contain run-time WebBot components using the server IP address rather than the host name. You can achieve this by ensuring that no run-time WebBot components occur on your home page (Default.htm) and that all links to pages that contain run-time WebBot components in your Web are created as World Wide Web links to the IP address instead of as relative links to the destination pages.

Example:

In the root web, suppose you have a page named Feedback.htm that contains a WebBot Save Results component. If you create a relative link to that page, and you use the host name to browse the Web, the Save Results component will return an error message. However, if you create the link as an absolute URL using the IP address (for example, http://127.0.0.1/feedback.htm), the form may work.

To achieve this result on all links from a page, you can enter the server's IP address into the Base Location field of the Page Properties. In the example above, all links on the page could be affected by typing the following in the Base Location box in the Page Properties dialog box (File menu) in FrontPage Editor:

   http://127.0.0.1

   feedback.htm

   http://127.0.0.1/feedback.htm

   Confirmation Field
   Discussion
   Save Results
   Search

Method 2. Install the FrontPage 97 Server Extensions

Install the FrontPage 97 Server Extensions on the web server. You can obtain the FrontPage 97 Server Extensions at the following Microsoft World Wide Web site:

   http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/softlib/current.htm

   http://www.microsoft.com

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft FrontPage 97 for Windows with Bonus Pack.

MORE INFORMATION

The WebBot run-time components are: Confirmation Field, Discussion, Registration, Save Results, and Search.