FP98: Overview of FrontPage Discussion Web Architecture (250839)

MORE INFORMATION

The following main components provide the foundation for the FrontPage Discussion Web, assuming you select the Use Threaded Replies option when you create the Discussion Web by using the Discussion Web Wizard.

• WebBot Discussion component.
• Disc#_toc.htm or Disc#_tocf.htm (framed), where disc# is the name of your Discussion Web.
• Tocproto.htm.
• Service.cnf.
• The Discussion Web folder. By default, this folder is named _disc# where # is the number of Discussion Webs that you have created so far.

All of these items work only when used with the FrontPage Server Extensions.

If any of these components is damaged or configured incorrectly, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

• New posts are appended to existing posts.
• Messages are threaded incorrectly.
• Posted articles do not appear in the table of contents even when you refresh the page.

What Happens When an Article Is Submitted?

When you submit an article, the WebBot Discussion component does the following:

1. Scans the Service.cnf file for an article number and converts this number to hexadecimal.
2. Creates the article using an eight-digit hexadecimal integer; for example, 00000001.htm or 0000000a.htm.
3. Updates the Tocproto.htm file with threading structure and hyperlink information.
4. Uses the WebBot Include component in the Toc.htm file and copies the body of the Tocproto.htm file to the Toc.htm file for threading structure. The Toc.htm file contains a header (also included by a WebBot Include component), which creates the Next, Previous, Up, Post, Search, and Reply hyperlinks.

What Is Tocproto.htm?

The Tocproto.htm file is located in the _disc# folder.

NOTE: This is only true if the discussion folder is not renamed. It has a specific architecture that is maintained by the WebBot Discussion component and changes every time an article is posted. For example, the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) code for the article structure initially looks similar to this:

NOTE: To conserve space, only the body of the file is shown.

<dl>
  <p><!--webbot bot="FormInsertHere"
  DESCR="The FrontPage FormInsertHere Component indicates the point in an
HTML file where you want a default, Registration, or Discussion Component
to insert new results."
  --></p>
</dl>
				

After the first article is posted, the Tocproto.htm file reflects the changes as follows:

NOTE: The position of a new thread is indented only once, and replies to that thread are indented even further.

<dl>
  <dt><b><a href="00000001.htm" name="00000001">Test</a></b><i> Joe 1/12/2000</i></dt>
  <dd><dl>
      <p><!--webbot bot="FormInsertHere" S-RepliesTo="00000001" --></p>
    </dl>
  </dd>
  <p><!--webbot bot="FormInsertHere"
  DESCR="The FrontPage FormInsertHere Component indicates the point in an
HTML file where you want a default, Registration, or Discussion Component
to insert new results."
  --></p>
</dl>
				

Notice below how the addition of another article (the reply) to that posting is indented.

<dl>
  <dt><b><a href="00000001.htm" name="00000001">Test</a></b><i> Joe 1/12/2000</i></dt>
  <dd><dl>
      <dt><b><a href="00000002.htm" name="00000002">Re: Test</a></b><i> Paul 1/12/2000</i></dt>
      <dd><dl>
          <p><!--webbot bot="FormInsertHere" S-RepliesTo="00000002" --></p>
        </dl>
      </dd>
      <p><!--webbot bot="FormInsertHere" S-RepliesTo="00000001"
      DESCR="The FrontPage FormInsertHere Component indicates the point in
an HTML file where you want a default, Registration, or Discussion
Component to insert new results."
      --></p>
    </dl>
  </dd>
  <p><!--webbot bot="FormInsertHere"
  DESCR="The FrontPage FormInsertHere Component indicates the point in an
HTML file where you want a default, Registration, or Discussion Component
to insert new results."
  --></p>
</dl>
				

A new thread posted to the discussion group begins at a new indention, and replies to that posting appear indented under the new thread as shown above. This structure continues throughout continuous replies and with replies to a reply.

What Components Make the Tocproto.htm File Work as It Does?

The Tocproto.htm file comprises three components:

• <DT>, <DD>, <DL>
• "FormInsertHere" (with the quotation marks)
• s-repliesto=x

<DT>, <DD>, <DL>:

"FormInsertHere" (with the quotation marks):

s-repliesto=x:

Disc#_toc.htm or Disc#_tocf.htm (framed)

The Disc#_toc.htm file (or Disc#_tocf.htm) is used as the contents page of your Discussion Web. (The Disc#_tocf.htm file is created when you use a frameset to create the Discussion Web.) The body of the Tocproto.htm file is included in this page using the WebBot Include component.

Unlike Disc#_tocf.htm, Disc#_toc.htm also includes _private/disc1_head.htm (header) and _private/disc1_foot.htm (footer).

What Is Service.cnf?

The Service.cnf file is a configuration file located in the _vti_pvt folder in the current Web. This file contains information about the Discussion Web, as well as other FrontPage Web-specific configuration information. The section of this file that the Discussion Web directly relates to contains the article number variable. For example, if your discussion group is called "_bob", the configuration information is stored in the _vti__bob_articlenumber key. The number increments each time an article is submitted. If you change this number, you can alter the next article number. However, if you change this number so that it is less than the number of articles you have, newer articles are appended or added to an existing article.

NOTE: If you rename or modify a file in FrontPage Explorer, all subsequent links and configurations are updated automatically. Because experimenting with the structure of your Discussion Web can cause it to function incorrectly, you should make these types of adjustments to a test Web first. When you have attained the results you want, check and recheck your Web before you implement the changes on your primary Web.