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Remote Control with a Web Browser and IRCommand2
We now offer a free ASP script that can be used to access
your IRCommand2 "server" via any network-connected
PC with a Web browser. The script provides access to all of
your device panels and is a good example
of what can be done with script and the COM interface supported by
IRCommand2.
Update 10/21/06: Version 0.7 of the ASP page
released to add the following fixes:
- Improved alignment of text and icons based on browser type
- Button size tweak to improve appearance for button grids
Update 10/20/06: Version 0.6 of the ASP page has
just been released and is available on the download
page. This new version has the following enhancements and
fixes:
- Now supports Mozilla Firefox browser!
- Now supports the Mozilla Minimo
browser on handheld devices!
- Added pop-up text labels for icon buttons
- Fix bug: if user changed default text label for an icon button the icon image was lost
- Tweaks to improve usability on handheld devices.
Requirements:
- Registration: You must have a lite or full
registration of IRCommand2 since this feature uses the COM
interface.
- Web Server: the PC running IRCommand2 must have a
web server installed that supports ASP. There are a number
of small servers available for free download from various
places. We tested with Baby
Web Server by Pablo Software Solutions. It's
compact, stable, and works with the ASP script. If you
are using Microsoft IIS under XP Pro see the note, below.
- ASP Script: free from our download
page. The download contains the IRC2_Server ASP page, image files in a
subdirectory (for the icons) and some instructions.
- A Local Area Network: you can run the browser on
the same PC as the server to test it, but this isn't all
that useful as a long-term configuration. A wireless LAN
will work here!
Setup Procedure:
- If not already done, install IRCommand2 on the server PC
and set it up so it controls your equipment. The install
package includes help.
- Install the web server software on the same PC as
IRCommand2. Follow the instructions that came with the
software. Take note of the root document directory location.
- Unzip the ASP Script download package into the document
directory of the web server. The image files should unzip to
a subdirectory under the document directory where the ASP
page is located.
- If you are updating an existing ASP installation then
just install over the old version overwriting old files.
- Set the just-installed ASP script page as the default home
page for the web server. If you don't want to do that, then
just note the name of the ASP page so you can enter it in
step 6, below.
- Make sure IRCommand2 and the web server are both running.
The order of startup doesn't matter.
- Start up a web browser on any network-connected PC and
enter the address of the server PC. If you're on a private
network you'll probably need to enter the IP address of the
server PC into the browser's address window. Also, if you
did not set up the ASP page as the default home page then
you need to append the name of the page to the server
address to view it.
- You should now see a rendering of the first device panel
in your IRCommand2 setup. If you have multiple device
panels defined in IRCommand2 you can move between them by
selecting the desired panel using the drop list at the top
of the browser page.
- WARNING: if your web server is accessible on the
public Internet then anyone calling up the ASP page will be
able to control your equipment! You might want to consider
at least password locking the ASP page in this case.
Known Limitations:
- The web page will not show the current state of a state
group, but clicking on state group buttons does work.
- Text labels may not render exactly as they appear in
IRCommand2.
- The ASP page doesn't work well with Pocket IE - button
layout is lost, though the buttons will actually work.
- The latest ASP (v0.6) has been tested and works well with
Minimo (Mozilla) on a Pocket PC. However, keep in mind that
Minimo is still in a pre-release state. We found it to be
very stable, but we did see some quirks with the pen
interface and with shutdown hangups.
Using Microsoft IIS under XP-Pro
If you use IIS (Internet Information
Server) then the default user account used for web client access
must have interactive user rights. The simplest approach is to
use the Permissions Wizard under the IIS Manager (Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, Internet Information Services) to
configure the web as a "Secure Web". This
allows only local users, with interactive user rights, to access
the ASP page.
To set up a Secure Web -- in IIS
Manager, right click on the web site, select "All
Tasks" from the menu and then select Permissions Wizard.
Choose "Select new security settings from a template"
then select "Secure Web Site". Allow it to replace all
directory and file permissions.
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