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This thread is carried over and continued in the Current Elsmar Cove Forums |
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This thread is carried over and continued in the Current Elsmar Cove Forums |
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 Forums - How Do They Work? Suggestions!
 Am I missing Something?
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CJacobsen Forum Contributor Posts: 48 |
posted 06 November 2000 07:07 AM
   
I have read the posts in this section. Some of them refer to downloading spreadsheets from this site. I have visited the FTP area of this site and found only one listing - PDF files. In this listing I found the spreadsheets that were mentioned. I have tried to download some of these - but unsuccessfully. What am I missing? What is the technique to download one of the spreadsheets? IP: Logged |
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Ken K Forum Contributor Posts: 44 |
posted 08 November 2000 12:25 PM
Good question. I have the same problem. Jerry, Marc; any idea's? IP: Logged |
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Jerry Eldred Forum Wizard Posts: 136 |
posted 08 November 2000 12:30 PM
I'll have to defer this one to Marc, as I am remote to the particulars of the website. -Jerry ------------------ IP: Logged |
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Marc Smith Cheech Wizard Posts: 4119 |
posted 08 November 2000 04:49 PM
The pdf_files directory is actually set up as an http directory so anyone with a browser can navigate there and see the directory listing. The only restriction is the usual "Read Only' status. If your browser is set up correctly all you have to do is click on the file name you want to 'download' and it should start downloading. You will probably get a dialogue box asking you where you want the file to be put on your computer. If you are having problems, it has nothing to do with the site its self. It's pretty standard Apache running on unix. If you want to tell me the details of exactly what happens when you click on a file name in the listing at Elsmar.com/pdf_files/ I'll try to help you. Bottom line - it's a browser file helper configuration issue. IP: Logged |
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CJacobsen Forum Contributor Posts: 48 |
posted 09 November 2000 06:16 AM
Hmm....my browser is configured correctly. This is the only site that I can think of that I have this difficulty from. If I click on a PDF file I get the message do I want to open or save the file. If I click on an .xls file (like the spreadsheets) it never asks me if I want to open or save the file, it tries to open it through the browser and hence I get a screen of garbage. My suggestion, if you are going to offer files like .xls as downloads, you should have them in .zip format. That always triggers the download dialog. ------------------ IP: Logged |
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CJacobsen Forum Contributor Posts: 48 |
posted 09 November 2000 06:18 AM
Bottom line - it is a file format issue. ------------------ IP: Logged |
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Laura M Forum Contributor Posts: 299 |
posted 09 November 2000 07:34 AM
I haven't had a problem downloading .xls files. IP: Logged |
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Marc Smith Cheech Wizard Posts: 4119 |
posted 09 November 2000 08:14 AM
I guess my browser is configured wrong... With my windows PC when I click on the file name in Explorer the file opens without a problem - no 'garbage' appears on my screen, just the file which I can then save to disk. I have my Mac configured to simply download the file to disk -- which works fine as well. As I said - I have no problem opening up .xls files. I just opened 5 different .xls files from the pdf_files directory without any problem with my peecee. You can blame the site, but it seems strange that I have had no other 'complaints' about this until now and that I can't reproduce the problem myself. If there are any peecee gurus who can explain what's happening, please speak up. IP: Logged |
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Laura M Forum Contributor Posts: 299 |
posted 09 November 2000 08:40 AM
Marc, I do the same as you on a PC - open and save as. Not 'cuz I'm a PC expert - more because I'm NOT an expert - and that's what worked! IP: Logged |
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Marc Smith Cheech Wizard Posts: 4119 |
posted 09 November 2000 09:08 AM
I'm spoiled by the simplicity of the Mac OS. I looked all though explorer and windows to find a comparable setting on my peecee to tell it how to handle different file types and can't find anything. The HELP system didn't address the issue as far as I could tell. Personally I don't know how to tell explorer on my peecee to save the file to disk rather than to open it in explorer - If I did I'd set it to download the file to disk. I sure would appreciate someone telling me how to do this or if it can be done as it can on my Mac. IP: Logged |
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Ken K Forum Contributor Posts: 44 |
posted 09 November 2000 12:07 PM
Actually, it is the browser. I tried to open the files with Netscape and I got garbage also. I then tried Explorer and it opened them right up and I copies them to the harddrive. Will snoop around in Netscape to find out why. IP: Logged |
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CJacobsen Forum Contributor Posts: 48 |
posted 09 November 2000 12:10 PM
Ah...now you said the key words...Explorer as in Internet Explorer the browser? I don't use Explorer to surf the web - it shows too many limitations no matter how many plug-ins I install for it. The difference here though is simple - .xls is recognized by explorer as an Excel file and Explorer boots Excel to view the file which then gives you the opportunity to save it permanently on your HD. Netscape however, seems to not recognize .xls as Excel and attempts to open it itself. Netscape recognizes the .pdf format due to the plug-in so it generates the proper dialog. Putting data or document files in a .zip file will insure that no matter what browser you are using it will generate the download dialog. To have Netscape open the file you need to go to Edit, preferences, applications and set up an association for Excel and .xls types. [This message has been edited by CJacobsen (edited 09 November 2000).] IP: Logged |
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Marc Smith Cheech Wizard Posts: 4119 |
posted 09 November 2000 03:55 PM
If you figure it out let us know. IP: Logged |
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Roger V unregistered |
posted 30 November 2000 06:57 AM
I think there may be a problem with mime types. The browser, using either a plug-in (automatically installed for MS Office programs when Netscape is installed) or a helper (Manually set up in the browser preferences) needs to recognise not only the file extension but also the mime type. For example typical mime types recognised by the Netscape plug-in are "application/vnd.ms-excel" and, perhaps not standard, "application/x-excel" It's possible that the files on the forum server use a different mime type and so Netscape doesn't recognise them. IP: Logged |
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Steven Truchon Forum Contributor Posts: 89 |
posted 30 November 2000 08:57 AM
Great subject. Long ago, when I was a stuffy, stubborn Netscape only, faithful and true to the demise of Microsoft..., I experienced some of the stated limitations. I finally mellowed and came to the conclusion that to optimize my internet experience I needed to use both browsers. Some websites I visit will not open correctly in Netscape and while I put that condition solely on the site developer, its still real on my end. Oubrowser here at work is IE and I have never had a problem with the downloads at this site. Steve IP: Logged |
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Marc Smith Cheech Wizard Posts: 4119 |
posted 23 December 2000 06:08 PM
I just switched servers and updated the Apache interface to 1.3.14 (I think - it only says it upgrades to v 1.3 so I have to check that as well...) I will be looking at the mime types configuration file and if I see an anser to this there I'll let you know. Don't 'hold your breath', but you never know what I'll learn as I dig into the guts of the server. IP: Logged |
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Graeme Forum Contributor Posts: 30 |
posted 26 December 2000 10:51 PM
On my "PC's" (3 or 4 of them) I usually RIGHT-click on the file name to get the pop-up menu, then choose "Save File As..." to throw it in the Incoming pile. That way I don't have to worry about what helper plug-ins the browsers have. The only problems I have is when the originator of the file used a newer version of the program (like Excel). If I'm at work when that happens (the usual case) I just take it home, convert it back to the ancient version, and everything is OK. So far. Do Macs have right mouse buttons? I assume there must be some way to do the same thing. [This message has been edited by Graeme (edited 26 December 2000).] IP: Logged |
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Marc Smith Cheech Wizard Posts: 4119 |
posted 26 December 2000 11:05 PM
> Do Macs have right mouse buttons? I assume there must be some way to do the same thing. Nope - just 1 button. Click and hold and you get what peecee users see when they right click. Macs don't need no stinkin' second button!!! IP: Logged |
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