Re: Determining client PC to print on different i5OSprinters -- WEB400

It would not take much effort to make the IP's static since this is how
servers are configured. I would approach the server guys as this could
make things VERY simple for all parties involved. I'm betting the
printers have fixed IP's too!

Here is an option that still asks the user for help, but minimizes the
job. I would recommend the Admin do this upon system setup.

When the PC boots the first time an admin (or someone) can run a script
that asks the user for the name of the printer. Put the list of
possible names into a drop down so the user selects the one that they
see. Associate the name from a list in DB2 and with a given printer and
set it in a cookie. Retrieve the cookie as needed. Leave the cookie
around forever, or a year so that the user is not prompted every time.
If someone wipes the cookie, bring up the page asking the user to select
the printer name again and set cookie, etc. If the user selects the
wrong printer, your admins will know right away and they will ask you
for a fixed IP! <grin>

Regards,

Mike

mike.p@xxxxxxxx Cell: (408)679-1011 Office: (815)722-3454

Zend Server for IBM i Beta avilable at
http://www.zend.com/en/products/server/zend-server-5-new-ibmi

-----Original Message-----
From: web400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:web400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Loyd Goodbar
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 5:31 PM
To: Web Enabling the AS400 / iSeries
Subject: Re: [WEB400] Determining client PC to print on different
i5OSprinters

Hi Nathan,

The PCs are locked down via Group Policy and are dedicated use. The
computer automatically logs on Windows and runs IE. The front page for
the visitor log is the home page, and initiates the log book or allows
the visitor to scan their badge's bar code to "sign out" when their
visit is complete.

Visitors do not "log in" and aren't asked their location.

Since the whole system is web-based, there is no user ID to associate.
I did not see a user name in the HTTP server variables.

I'm leaning toward separate front pages that pass a cookie for the
PC's location (lobby or shipping).

Thanks,
Loyd

On Mar 2, 2010, at 16:01, Nathan Andelin <nandelin@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Loyd,

If user's IP address is not an option, then all I can think of is
prompting the user for input. If not prompting for the printer
directly, then maybe cross-referencing from User ID, or perhaps when
they select a navigational link. In our portal, a user may select a
"work area" which could cross-reference to a "printer", for example.

-Nathan.

----- Original Message ----
From: Loyd Goodbar <loyd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: web400@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tue, March 2, 2010 2:23:03 PM
Subject: [WEB400] Determining client PC to print on different i5OS
printers

Keeping as much programming the same as possible, what are some ways
to
denote a location between two PCs running the same web page? What I
need is
to know which PC is accessing the web pages so I print labels to the
appropriate printer.

We have a visitor sign in/out lobby kiosk running from a dedicated
PC and an
i5/OS-connected label printer (Intermec). The PC connected to our
iSeries
via web pages made with RPG and CGIDEV2. During the sign in process,
guest
names are written to a file, which is directed to TL Ashford to
print the
labels.

We need to implement a second kiosk in our shipping department at the
opposite end of the building. We need to print to a different label
printer.
TL Ashford allows us to set the output queue when printing. We will
have a
separate PC and label printer in the new area.

Using my PC, I checked the i5 HTTP server variables for clues. (A
sample
program is at

http://www.easy400.net/cgidev2p/dspsrc.pgm?cgiinp01=cgidev2&cgiinp02=qrp
glesrc&cgiinp03=envvar

.) While
REMOTE_ADDR is populated (IP address), REMOTE_HOST is not. I do not
want to
go by IP address since it's dynamically assigned, and not sure how
much
effort it would be to get our admins to make it static. I could make
separate start pages such as startlobby.pgm and startship.pgm, set
cookies
and read them on subsequent pages.

Any suggestions welcome!

Thanks,
Loyd

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