Help with launching an exy within HTML.

[Nicotine]

Hi’ya,

Need a little help with a small prob that I’m having, I’ve made a bunch of self-extracting zips and then linked them to a graphic within an HTML page… But, when I go to click on the graphic, it won’t unpack its self to my hardisk.

Personal Thought… I think it has something to do with the way the file is accessed (the link) from the graphic. To unpack an exy file, one needs to double-click the executable too activate the self-extraction, in using a graphic link you are using a single-click instead of a double-click, if my assumption is correct… How do I fool the system, into thinking that I’m doing double-clicking action from the graphic, when I’m really doing a single-click?

Please Note… I’m new to HTML and C++ Programming. I’m organizing little projects for myself to learn these too Programming languages, so if you can, please keep it simple… In short, if you assume that I’m a complete and total idiot, you won’t go to far wrong!

:rock: PS… I’m using M$ FrontPage 2000 for the time being, as a learning tool, to understand what’s going on within HTML.

[redhead]

Originally posted by Nicotine
I’ve made a bunch of self-extracting zips and then linked them to a graphic within an HTML page… But, when I go to click on the graphic, it won’t unpack its self to my hardisk.

When you click a link within a webpage, you start to download the object which the link is pointing at. depending on how the internet-server is setup to deal with the file type, it might send it streaming or as an executable.

Since this link is an executable file, it's most likely to be send as one. The viewers browser will have the option to handle this stream any way it can, that be to ask if they want to save the file or open/run it once it's finished downloading. You have no way from the server side (or html part) to inflict this final action from the user, it is entirely upto them, how they configured their browser or how they decide to recieve the transfer.

How do I fool the system, into thinking that I’m doing double-clicking action from the graphic, when I’m really doing a single-click?

There is no way of doing this in html. The viewers system will deal with the link source any way they configured their system.

[sde]

this is sort of related, .. but i had the reverse problem and i thought maybe some might find it interesting.

i wanted a user to be able to click on an image and be promted to download. the problem was that most browser force the image to be viewed in the browser, rather than downloaded.

with php, i was able to manipulate the headers of a script, and pass thru an image so it downloads.

http://milanointeractive.com

there is weird things that happen to naming it, but with a little bit of browser detection built in, it will work fine.

i know this doesn't help .. but just reminded me of this project .. good luck =)

[Nicotine]

Hi’ya,

Little misunderstanding on my part… I have giving the impression that I’m doing a downloading webpage for a server, this is not so, I’m not that advanced yet, I’m still only learning HTML.

Heres What I’m Doing… As I said in the above, giving myself task too do to learn HTML and C++, right now I’m doing personalized CD backups as a way to learn these programming languages. As I said before, I’ve zipped-up my software into self-extracting exys, and made a HTML Autorun browser for the CD, with the necessary information and graphics.

As I said in the above… I would like to know how to launch an executable file within HTML from a CD, to unpack the exy file to my hardisk (if this is possible).

In Ending… Before I signoff, please don’t think that I know anything about programming, because I’ve made a personalized Autorun exy for my CD. I used a little utility that only makes Autoruns for CDs, (I’m still learning my way around Borland C++ Builder 3) still learning C++ basics, forget doing any programming, as yet. Yes I know, Builder 3 is an old App, but is mine… and its still DOS based, as well as GUI and most C++ tutorials on the net seem too be DOS based.

PS… If anyone reading this, also knows a good step-by-step generic tutorial for C++ Builder (with graphics, if possible) that will teach you how to make an Autorun and assign an icon of your choice, to that Autorun file. This will help me get too know my way around C++ Builder, as well as give me a basic understanding in C++ programming, I would be most grateful.

[sde]

hey, i think i understand now.

i used this tutorial a few months ago for this purpose: http://www.devx.com/webdev/Article/7023/1763/page/1

[Nicotine]

Bingo!...
Many thanks Sde for the link, just what I was looking for.