Using the Metabase Editor (MetaEdit)

April 1999

Microsoft Corporation

Using the Metabase Editor (MetaEdit)

The MetaEdit tool allows you to work with the Microsoft® Internet Information Server (IIS) metabase. MetaEdit has two components:

• Metabase Consistency Checker
  
  
• Metabase Browser/Editor

You can use MetaEdit with IIS running on Microsoft® Windows NT® Server, Personal Web Server (PWS) running on Windows NT Workstation, or PWS running on Microsoft® Windows® 95.

To install MetaEdit (for x86 only)

These instructions assume that you have loaded the MetaEdit directory as part of the Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition Resource Kit.

1. Open Microsoft® Windows® Explorer and go to the MetaEdit directory. This will be found under the directory where you installed the Resource Kit, in the \ResKit\Tools\ directory.
   
   
2. Double-click Setup2.exe to start MetaEdit Setup.

To Open MetaEdit

For x86, on the Start menu, point to Programs, and then click MetaEdit.

For Alpha, open File Manager and double-click metaedit.exe, which will be located in the directory where you installed the Resource Kit, in \ResKit\Tools\MetaEdit.

Metabase Consistency Checker

Using Consistency Checker, you can check schema, the selected key, or all keys. Consistency Checker performs the following tasks:

• Checks for invalid data
  
  
• Validates package CLSIDs against the registry
  
  
• Ascertains whether or not the schema exists
  
  
• Checks for case-sensitivity issues
  
  
• Checks for unknown properties
  
  
• Checks for missing mandatory properties
  
  
• Evaluates branch size and returns warnings if the branch is very large
  
  
• Checks some hard-coded cases (for example, an application that must have an MTS package)
  
  
• Checks for /root/ in all w3svc/1/xxxx paths

Consistency Checker will not repair data, because this is a task for the Metabase Browser/Editor. Also, if Consistency Checker finds more than 100 errors, it returns a “Too many errors” message for the 101^st error.

Sample Code

<%
Set mb = Server.CreateObject(“MSWC.MetaUtil”)

'Check the schema
Set errors = md.CheckSchema("LM")
For Each error In errors 
   Response.Write(“Error found in “ & error.Key & “. “)
   Response.Write(error.Description & “, “ & Str(error.Id))
   Response.Write(“<BR>”)
Next

'Check the rest of the metabase
Set keys = mb.EnumAllKeys(“LM”)
For Each key In keys
Set errors = mb.CheckKey(key)
   For Each error In errors 
      Response.Write(“Error found in “ & error.Key & “. “)
      Response.Write(error.Description & “, “ & Str(error.Id))
      Response.Write(“<BR>”)
   Next
Next
%>

Metabase Browser/Editor

The Metabase Browser/Editor is a tool that provides similar functionality to the Windows NT Registry Editor (regedit.exe). Using MetaEdit, you can browse and modify attributes in the IIS metabase. Note that when using MetaEdit, you can make changes that may damage your IIS configuration. Be sure to edit all entries carefully.

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