Configuration Files

Configuration files are read by several of the ImajSite utilities in order to set user-defined options. These utilities include the Index Builder, Slide Builder, Thumbnail Builder, and the Index Database Builder. There may be up to two configuration files:

  1. The master configuration file, named "mkhtm.ini" and located in the icons directory.

  2. A local configuration file, located in the current working directory. The name of the local configuration file is set by the "configFile" setting in the master configuration file. Settings in the local configuration file override settings in the master configuration file. This allows each directory to have its own custom configuration.

The master and local configuration files are entirely optional.

The Index Builder utility also supports a special CGI mode. In this mode the master configuration file and local configuration file are not used. Instead, a CGI configuration file is used.

Each configuration file contains one or more lines in the following format:

key=value
No syntax checking is performed on the configuration file. If a line in the configuration file is invalid, it is ignored. Configuration file settings are case-insensitive (upper or lower-case will work).

The following is a list of configuration file option categories:

The following is an alphabetical list of the available configuration file keys:

backlink
body
cacheDir
cellAttributes
cgiURL
columns
columnWidth
columnWidth2
combine
configFile
dbThumbFile
dbThumbFileList
defaultOrder
format
heading
hPadding
index
indexBody
indexDB
iPadding
JavaScript
keyIconsFile
keywordThumbs
layout
links
map
markerFile
movie
pageSize
reservedFile
rowAttributes
scale
shuffle
slideBody
slides
sort
startDir
startURL
symlinkOrder
tableAttributes
tables
template
thumbFast
thumbFile
thumbFileList
thumbnails
thumbQuality
thumbSharpness
thumbSize
toolTips
vPadding
webLinks
workingDir

The following sections lists the valid configuration file settings:


Major Options


configFile index files / slide files

This option may be used in a master configuration file to specify the name of the local configuration files. A local configuration file may exist in each subdirectory, and overrides any options specified in the master configuration file. If this is not specified, then the system will not use local configuration files. This option is ignored if it appears in a local configuration file.

configFile=filename
Where,  filename is the name of the local configuration file.


index index files

There are several different types of index files that can be generated. This option determines the type of index file that will be generated.

index=formatted default
Creates a pre-formatted index. Preformatted indexes display a fixed list of links in a specific format. The "layout" and "format" options determines the basic layout of the index, along with other formatting options which affect specific aspects of the layout.
index=sequence
This index type is used to display slides, when the slides must be viewed in a specific order. It does not display a list of links, but instead, it immediately displays a frameset which contains a navigation control panel frame and the first slide file in the directory. Slides can then be viewed sequentially using controls in the navigation control panel frame. This option requires the file "controls.htm" to be located in the icons directory. This option must be used with the "slides=window" option. When this option is used, all of the index formatting options are ignored. (frames/JavaScript)
index=searchable
Generates a searchable index using dynamic HTML (frames and JavaScript). The index will be dynamically generated based on keyword(s) entered by the user. This option requires the files "search.htm" and "content.htm" to be located in the icons directory. This option must be used with the "slides=window" option. When this option is used, all of the index formatting options are ignored. The "links" option is also ignored, and is automatically set to "open". In addition, the "backlink" option only supports the values "parent", "close", "back", and "URL". (frames/JavaScript)


slides slide files / index files

There are several different types of slide files that can be generated. This option determines the type of slide files that will be generated in the current directory. Since each different slide file type has unique link requirements, this option also affects the way slide links are generated in the index file.

slides=html default
The generated slide files are identical to the "slides=simple" option below. The index treats slide files no different than any other HTML files, and links to them as specified by the "links" option. This option should not normally be used unless there is a specific reason to do so. (HTML 2.0)
slides=simple
Slides are opened in the same window as the index. Each HTML slide file may contain a "next", "previous", and "home" link. Since HTML slide files contain positional information (links), they cannot be directly included in indexes outside the current directory (using "symlinks.txt"). Therefore, an alias file is automatically created for each remote directory a slide appears in. An alias file is a copy of the original slide file, but with links that are local to the directory in which it appears. (HTML 2.0)
slides=frameset
Slides are opened in the same window as the index. Slides are viewed via a navigation control panel frame. HTML slide files do not contain any navigational links. Instead, a "frameset.htm" file is generated which contains the list of slides. This requires the file "controls.htm" to be located in the icons directory. (frames/JavaScript)
slides=window
Slides are opened in a new window. Slides are viewed via a navigation control panel frame. HTML slide files do not contain any navigational links. Instead, the index file contains the list of slides. This requires the files "controls.htm" and "slides.htm" to be located in the icons directory. (frames/JavaScript)


backlink index files

Each index may have a backlink, which is a link to the parent index of the current index. The backlink appears at the top of the index. This option determines the type of backlink that will be generated.

backlink=none
Creates an index with no backlink.
backlink=parent default
Creates a text backlink to the parent index, using the parent index title. (HTML 2.0)
backlink=keywords
Creates multiple text backlinks to the parent and each keyword index. (HTML 2.0)
backlink=back
Creates a backlink button which works the same as the browser's "Back" button. This option also affects the way the previous and next page buttons work when used with a multi-page index. These buttons will not add to the document history when this option is used. This ensures that the back button goes to the parent document and not to the previous page. (JavaScript)
backlink=smart
Creates a backlink button which links to the referring document. Because of incomplete implementation of JavaScript and cookies, this will not work with Internet Explorer 4.0 or earlier. It is compatible with Internet Explorer, but the behavior will be the same as "backlink=parent". It works fine with Netscape 2.0 or later. (JavaScript/cookies)
backlink=close
Creates a backlink button which closes the current window. (JavaScript)
backlink=URL
Creates a backlink button which links to the specified URL. (HTML 2.0)


links index files

Each index may contain a mixture of links to both slide files and other HTML files (including index files). This option determines the way in which links to HTML files (non-slide files) are generated. This option does not affect links to slide files (see the "slides" option). This option is only used if "index=formatted".

links=standard default
Uses standard links to HTML files. Standard links open the linked document in the same window as the index. (HTML 2.0)
links=open
Opens a new window whenever a link is selected for an HTML file.


Index Formatting Options

The following options are only used if "index=formatted".


template index files

Uses an index template file to specify the exact format of the index body. This allows full control over the index layout. If the template option is not used or if the template file does not exist, the system will format the index automatically using the default format.

template=filename
Where,  filename is the name (and optional directory path) of the index template file. If filename does not include a path, the system looks for the file in the current directory first, and then in the icons directory.


heading index files

Specifies the format of automatically generated index file headings.

heading=auto default
Determine the format of the heading automatically. The heading will include the directory thumbnail if the following conditions are met:
  1. A directory thumbnail file exists in the current directory
  2. The height of the directory thumbnail is less than 150 pixels
  3. The "tables=yes" option is used (default)
Otherwise, a text-only heading is used (see heading=text below).
heading=text
Always use a text-only heading, which includes the title and description. This format includes horizontal rules to separate the title/description from the rest of the index.
heading=title
Always use a title-only heading.


combine index files

combine=yes
Combine files and directories into a single list.
combine=no default
List links to subdirectories in a separate section which preceeds links to non-directories (slides and individual HTML files) in an index.


webLinks index files

When this feature is enabled, URL's that appear in description text are automatically converted to links. This feature is similar to the way many email programs convert URL's in plain text messages to clickable links. This option affects both description text that appears in index entries, and description text that appears in headings. All URL's that begin with "http:/" or "ftp:/" are converted to links. In addition, bare domain names that begin with "www." are also converted to links.

webLinks=yes
Display web addresses as clickable links.
webLinks=no default
Display web addresses as plain text.


tables index files

Specifies whether HTML tables may be used or not.

tables=yes default
HTML tables may be used.
tables=no
HTML tables will not be used. Instead, a simple unordered list will be used. This option will disable the "layout=table" option.


thumbnails index files

Specifies whether thumbnails will appear in the index or not.

thumbnails=yes default
Thumbnails may appear in the index.
thumbnails=no
Thumbnails will not appear in the index. This option will disable the "layout=thumbnail" option.


keyIconsFile index files

This option specifies the name of the keyword icons file. If this option is not used, the system uses the file "keyicons.txt" in the icons directory, if it exists.

keyIconsFile=filename
Where,  filename is the name (and optional directory path) of the keyword icons file. If filename does not include a path, then the system looks in the icons directory for this file. You can use ".\filename" to specify the current directory.


toolTips index files

This option specifies the the way in which tooltips should be specified in the generated HTML files. Tooltips are used to display an icon description when the user hovers over a keyword icon. Unfortunately, current browsers display tooltips based on different HTML attributes. Netscape Communicator 4.x displays tooltips using the ALT attribute of an HTML tag, and ignores any TITLE attribute. Netscape 6 displays tooltips using the TITLE attribute of an HTML tag, and ignores any ALT attribute. Internet Explorer 4.x & 5.x display tooltips using the TITLE attribute of an HTML tag, or the ALT attribute if no TITLE attribute exists.

toolTips=none
Does not include ALT or TITLE attributes in HTML tags. If this option is used, tooltips will never be displayed, even if they are specified in the KeyIcons file. This will also result in the smallest HTML file size.
toolTips=ALT
Uses only ALT attributes for tooltips in HTML tags. This is compatible with Netscape Communicator 4.x and Internet Explorer 4.x & 5.x. It is not compatible with Netscape 6. The HTML 4.0 specification does not recommend this method for displaying tooltips.
toolTips=TITLE default
Uses only TITLE attributes for tooltips in HTML tags. This is compatible with Netscape 6 and Internet Explorer 4.x & 5.x. It is not compatible with Netscape Communicator 4.x. The HTML 4.0 specification recommends this method for displaying tooltips.
toolTips=both
Uses both ALT and TITLE attributes for tooltips in HTML tags. This will display tooltips on all compatible browsers, but it can also result in very large HTML files (depending on how many keyword icons are displayed, and how long their tooltips are). This method should be used only if you require compatibility with both Netscape Communicator 4.x and Netscape 6.


pageSize index files / slide files

This option enables multi-page mode for static (non-CGI) indexes. Multi-page mode is used to limit the number of entries that may appear in an index. In multi-page mode, more than one index page can be created, each with up to pageSize index entries. The index files are named "index.htm", "index2.htm", "index3.htm", etc. In multi-page mode, any file with the base name "index#" (where # is one or more digits) automatically becomes a reserved file. This option is ignored in CGI mode.

pageSize=pageSize
Enables multi-page mode, where pageSize is the maximum number of index entries that may appear on each page of the index. All pages will contain pageSize entries except for the last page, which may contain fewer entries.
pageSize=0 default
Disables multi-page mode.


Index Section Formatting Options

An index normally has two sections. The first section contains links to directories or index files. The second section contains links to individual files or slides. Each option below contains an optional section designator, which specifies the section of the index the option affects. The section number may be one of the following values:

 name[1]  This affects the first section (links to directories and index files), or the only section if the "combine=yes" option is used.
 name[2]  This affects the second section (links to single HTML files and slides).

The square brackets around the section number are optional. The section number itself is also optional, and defaults to 1. The options below are only used if "index=formatted".


layout index files

Determines the layout of a formatted index. The layout determines the overall structure of the index, but not the contents of the individual entries. The "format" option determines the contents of each individual entry.

layout[section]=simple
Use the simple list format. Each entry is a simple line of text. No tables are used in this format. The "format[section]=format" option may be used to specify the format of individual entries in the list. By default, each entry will display the title, description, supplimentary information, and icons.
layout[section]=bullet
Use the bullet list format. Each entry is an item in a bullet list. No tables are used in this format. The "format[section]=format" option may be used to specify the format of individual entries in the list. By default, each entry will display the title, description, supplimentary information, and icons.
layout[section]=thumbnail
Use the thumbnail-only format. Each link will display only the thumbnail for the directory or slide. Thumbnails are laid out horizontally using the full width of the browser window. There are no line breaks (the browser will automatically wrap each line), and each thumbnail is separated from the previous one by a single space. There are no fixed columns. No tables are used in this format. If the "combine=no" option is used (default), then this layout specifies the appearance of the first section in the index (links to directories). The second section will always appear in the single-column description list format (or the bullet list format if the "tables=no" option is used). The "format[section]=format" option may be used to specify the format of individual entries in the list (e.g. for specifying no border, etc.).
layout[section]=table default
Use the table format. Each entry is the contents of a table data cell. The "format" option is used to specify the format of individual entries in the list.


format index files

Determines the layout of the individual entries in a formatted index.

format[section]=column
Use the multi-column table format when displaying links to subdirectories. Each link to a subdirectory will display the title and description of the subdirectory's index file, and the optional thumbnail. Each row will normally contain 2 entries, but the number of entries per row can be changed by using the "columns" option. This selection is only available if the "layout=table" option is used (default).
format[section]=compact
Use the compact table format when displaying links to subdirectories. Each link to a subdirectory will display the thumbnail for the subdirectory, and the title of the subdirectory's index file. Each row will normally contain 6 thumbnails, but the number of thumbnails per row can be changed by using the "columns" option. This selection is only available if the "layout=table" option is used (default).
format[section]=list default for format[2]
Use the single-column description list format for all entries. Each link will display the title and description of the item on a separate line. Thumbnails will be displayed for links to subdirectories that contain them. This selection is only available if the "layout=table" option is used (default).
format[section]=auto default for format[1]
Automatically select one of the formats above.
format[section]=format
Uses a table format with a specific format string which defines the way in which table entries will appear.


columns index files

Specifies the number of columns to display in the index. This option is only available when the "layout=table" is used, and the "format=column", "format=compact", or "format=format" options are used.

columns[section]=number
Where,  number is the number of columns from 1 to 9 (default = 2).


columnWidth1 index files

Specifies the width, in pixels, of the first field in each index entry. This option is only available when the "layout=table" is used, and the "format=column", "format=compact", or "format=format" options are used.

columnWidth1[section]=pixels
Where,  pixels is the width of the title column in pixels (default = automatic).


columnWidth2 index files

Specifies the width, in pixels, of all fields after the first in each index entry. This option is only available when the "layout=table" and "format=format" options are used.

columnWidth2[section]=pixels
Where,  pixels is the width of subcolumn 2 in pixels (default = automatic).


iPadding index files

Specifies the padding, in pixels, between fields in an index entry. This option is only available when the "layout=table" and "format=format" options are used.

iPadding[section]=pixels
Where,  pixels is the padding in pixels (default = 8 pixels).


hPadding index files

Specifies the padding, in pixels, between the columns in a multi-column index. This option is only available when the "layout=table" and "format=format" options are used.

hPadding[section]=pixels
Where,  pixels is the padding in pixels (default = 8 pixels).


vPadding index files

Specifies the padding, in pixels, between the rows in the index. This option is only available when the "layout=table" and "format=format" options are used.

vPadding[section]=pixels
Where,  pixels is the padding in pixels (default = 8 pixels).


tableAttributes index files

Specifies the attributes to be used in the HTML <TABLE> tag for the index. This option is only available when the "layout=table" and "format=format" options are used. It defaults to "BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0".

tableAttributes[section]=attributes
The attributes are inserted directly into the HTML <TABLE> tag as follows: <TABLE attributes>.


rowAttributes index files

Specifies the attributes to be used in the HTML <TR> tag for all rows in the index table. This option is only available when the "layout=table" and "format=format" options are used.

rowAttributes[section]=attributes
The attributes are inserted directly into the HTML <TR> tag as follows: <TR attributes>.


cellAttributes index files

Specifies the attributes to be used in the HTML <TD> tag for all cells in the index table. This option is only available when the "layout=table" and "format=format" options are used.

cellAttributes[section]=attributes
The attributes are inserted directly into the HTML <TD> tag as follows: <TD attributes>.


General Formatting Options


body index files / slide files

Specifies the attributes to be used in the HTML "BODY" tag for the index and all slides. This allows you to set a background color or image, and to specify the text and link colors. This option is just a shortcut that combines the "indexBody" and "slideBody" options.

body=none
Specifies that no attributes should be used in the HTML "BODY" tag for the index and all slides. If this option is used, any existing attributes will be removed from the index and slide files.
body=attributes
The attributes are inserted directly into the HTML "BODY" tag as follows: <BODY attributes>.


indexBody index files

Specifies the attributes to be used in the HTML "BODY" tag for the index. This allows you to set a background color or image, and to specify the text and link colors. See also "slideBody" and "body".

body=none
Specifies that no attributes should be used in the HTML "BODY" tag for the index. If this option is used, any existing attributes will be removed from the index file.
body=attributes
The attributes are inserted directly into the HTML "BODY" tag as follows: <BODY attributes>.


slideBody slide files

Specifies the attributes to be used in the HTML "BODY" tag for all slides. This allows you to set a background color or image, and to specify the text and link colors. See also "indexBody" and "body".

body=none
Specifies that no attributes should be used in the HTML "BODY" tag for all slides. If this option is used, any existing attributes will be removed from the slide files.
body=attributes
The attributes are inserted directly into the HTML "BODY" tag as follows: <BODY attributes>.


JavaScript index files / slide files

Specifies whether JavaScript may be used or not.

JavaScript=yes default
JavaScript may be used.
JavaScript=no
JavaScript will not be used. This option overrides all other options that may use JavaScript for specific features. It guarantees that no JavaScript will be used in the generated HTML files.


scale slide files

Causes the slide images to be scaled when displayed. This option is only available if "slides=html" or "slides=simple".

scale=height
Specifies the height that the browser should scale all slide images to. The height may be either the number of pixels (e.g. scale=480) or a percentage of the current window height (e.g. scale=90%). The height is inserted directly into the HTML "IMG" tag as follows: <IMG HEIGHT="height" SRC="...">.
scale=width,height
Specifies that all slide images should be scaled down to fit within a rectangular area no larger than width × height pixels in size. Scaling will always occur integrally (e.g. 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, ...) so that the image will still look smooth (no "jaggies") when viewed close-up.


File Options


movie index files / slide files

This option causes slide files to be generated and used for movie files with the specified extension. Typically, this is used for video files such as ".avi", ".mov", and ".mpg" files. This option may appear multiple times in a configuration file -- once for each movie file type.

movie=extension
Where,  extension is the file name extension of a file type to be embedded in a slide file (e.g. ".mov").


reservedFile index files / slide files

This option adds the specified file name to the reserved file name list. Reserved file names are not added to an index file if they exist in the directory being indexed. Slide files are not generated for reserved image file names. This option may appear multiple times in a configuration file -- once for each reserved file name, however you are limited to a maximum of about ten reserved file names. This option is typically used in the master configuration file to reserve a file name in all directories (e.g. an alternate thumbnail image file name), but may also be used in a local configuration file to reserve a file name in the current directory only.

reservedFile=filename
Where,  filename is the file name to be reserved. It may be either an HTML file name or an image file name.


markerFile EXPEREMENTAL slide files

This option specifies the name of a marker file. Marker files provide a way for each slide file to find its main set index when accessed via a symlink. The contents of the marker file is not important -- only its location is important. The system searches for a marker file by looking in the current directory and all its parent directories. It then stores the relative location of the marker file in each slide file. When a slide file is used as a symlink, the set to which it belongs can be found from the stored marker file location.

The marker location will not be stored in the slide file under the following conditions:

  1. If the directory where the slide file is located contains a marker file.
  2. If the slide file has an empty keyword list.

A marker file should be located in the parent directory of the directory which contains the slide file set. In many cases, this will be the starting directory, but it may also be any subdirectory which contains sets. In this way, the marker file indicates that "this directory is not a set", and slides should not link to it.

markerFile=filename
Where,  filename is the name of the marker file. If filename is none, then no marker file will be used.


Sort Options

The following options affect the way index file entries are sorted. These options do not affect CGI mode, which uses a pre-sorted index database.


sort index files / slide files

Specifies the method used to sort index entries.

sort=string default
Sorts the index entries by title using a case-insensitive string compare. Since a file's sort order has a higher precidence than its title, this option only affects index entries that have the same sort order.
sort=numeric
Sorts the index entries by title using a case-insensitive numeric field compare. This method is the same as the string method except when the title contains numbers. When the titles contain numbers, the numbers are sorted numerically rather than as strings, regardless of their length. For example, the title "file2" would appear before "file10" using the numeric sorting method, but "file2" would appear after "file10" using the string sorting method. Since a file's sort order has a higher precidence than its title, this option only affects index entries that have the same sort order.
sort=none
Does not sort the index entries. The index entries will appear in the order in which they are read from the directory or symlinks file. In most cases, this option should not be used. It is only useful to disable sorting when a pre-sorted symlinks file is used as the source for all index entries.


defaultOrder index files / slide files

This option specifies the default sort order that is used for files that do not specify a sort order. Be careful when changing this value, especially in the master configuration file, because it may affect the sort order of existing directories in unintended ways.

defaultOrder=order
Where, order is the default sort order (default = 50).


symlinkOrder index files / slide files

This option determines how ImajSite uses the sort order for files listed in symlinks files.

symlinkOrder=file default
Uses the sort order from the linked files and directories.
symlinkOrder=defaultOrder
Ignores the sort order from all linked files and directories, and uses the defaultOrder instead.


Directory Thumbnail Options

The following options affect directory thumbnails.


thumbFileList index files

The thumbnail file name list defines the list of file names that can be used as directory thumbnails. By default, the list contains two file names: "thumb.jpg" and "thumb.gif". This option allows the thumbnail file name list to be redefined by the user, so that any image file name may be used as a thumbnail file. If a directory contains more than one thumbnail file from the list, the first one in the list will be used.

This option does not affect the thumbnail image file name that appears in the automatically generated header for the current index. It also does not reserve the thumbnail file name in the current directory. You must use the "reservedFile" option to do that. This option only affects which thumbnails appear in the index body (list of links). This option is typically used in a local configuration file to specify which thumbnails appear in that index when alternate thumbnails are available (e.g. different size or different content).

thumbFileList=filename[, filename[, ...]]
Where,  filename is a thumbnail image file name.


thumbFile index files

This option adds a thumbnail file name to the beginning of the current thumbFileList. This option may appear multiple times in a configuration file -- once for each thumbnail file name, however you are limited to a maximum of about five thumbnail file names. See the "thumbFileList" option for more information.

thumbFile=filename
Where,  filename is the thumbnail image file name.


dbThumbFileList index database

This option defines the list of directory thumbnail file names that can appear in the index database file. A thumbnail file name must appear in the index database file in order for it to be displayed in the index in CGI mode. The "thumbFileList" option determines which of these files will be displayed in CGI mode. This list defaults to the standard thumbnail file names.

dbThumbFileList=filename[, filename[, ...]]
Where,  filename is a thumbnail image file name.


dbThumbFile index database

This option adds a thumbnail file name to the beginning of the current dbThumbFileList. This option may appear multiple times in a configuration file -- once for each thumbnail file name, however you are limited to a maximum of about five thumbnail file names. See the "dbThumbFileList" option for more information.

thumbFile=filename
Where,  filename is the thumbnail image file name.


Slide Thumbnail Options

The following options affect automatically generated slide thumbnails.


thumbSize thumbnails

This option specifies the maximum dimensions of thumbnail image files created by ImajSite.

ImajSite preserves the aspect ratio of the original image, and does not add borders around the thumbnail. Therefore, the actual dimensions of the thumbnails will vary, but they will not exceed the specified maximum width and height. If the original image is smaller than the maximum width and height, it will not be enlarged.

thumbSize=width,height
Where,  width is the maximum width of the thumbnail and height is the maximum height, in pixels. The default value is 100,100.


thumbQuality thumbnails

This option specifies the JPEG quality of thumbnail image files created by ImajSite. The scale is from 1 to 100. Higher numbers represent higher quality (and less compression). If you want the absolute highest quality thumbnails and don't mind bigger files, set this to a value of 85 or more.

thumbQuality=quality
Where,  quality is a decimal number from 1 (smallest/lowest quality) to 100 (largest/highest quality). The default value is 75.


thumbFast thumbnails

This option enables or disables fast thumbnail generation mode. When fast mode is enabled, a faster algorithm is used to read JPEG image files, but the thumbnail quality is not quite as good (may have less consistant quality among different size images). In most cases, the quality is perfectly acceptable. If you want the absolute highest quality thumbnails (and have a fast machine), you should turn this option off.

thumbFast=yes default
Fast mode is enabled.
thumbFast=no
Fast mode is disabled (higher quality).


thumbSharpness thumbnails

This option specifies the sharpness of thumbnail image files created by ImajSite. The scale is from 1 to 100. Higher numbers represent sharper images. The default value should be used for most cases.

thumbSharpness=sharpness
Where,  sharpness is a decimal number from 1 (too soft) to 100 (too sharp). The default value is 10.


keywordThumbs thumbnails

This option enables or disables the keyword thumbnails option. The keyword thumbnails option saves time and disk space by generating thumbnails only for images that need them.

keywordThumbs=yes
Thumbnails are generated only for images that have keywords in their corresponding slide file. This is useful when the directory's index does not display thumbnails but a few slide files need to be exported to the index database with thumbnails.
keywordThumbs=no default
Thumbanils are generated for all images.


CGI Mode Options

The following options should only be used in CGI mode.


indexDB index files

This option specifies the name of the index database file used in CGI mode. This option is required in CGI mode.

indexDB=filename
Where,  filename is the name of the index database file.


startDir index files

This option specifies the full file system path to the starting directory which contains the icons subdirectory and the index database. If this option is specified, all URL references in the generated index will contain absolute URLs instead of relative URLs. This option, along with the "startURL" option, allows the CGI executable to be located in any directory on any server.

startDir=pathname
Where,  pathname is the file system path to the starting directory. The pathname may contain references to environment-variable strings of the form %variableName%. For each such reference, the %variableName% portion is replaced with the current value of that environment variable.


startURL index files

This option specifies the full URL to the starting directory specified by the "startDir" option. This option will have no effect if the "startDir" option is not also specified. The URL specified by this option depends on the configuration of the host web server.

If the CGI executable is located on a different server than the starting directory, this must be in the form:

   http://hostname[:port]/[path]
If the CGI executable is located on the same server as the starting directory, this may be in the form:
   /[path]
If this option is not specified, it defaults to "/".
startURL=URL
Where,  URL is the URL of the starting directory (as described above).


map index files

This option maps a file system directory path to a URL. It can appear multiple times in the configuration file.

When the system needs to determine the URL for a given file, it scans all the map options in the configuration file for a basePath that is a parent directory of the file. If it finds a matching basePath, the full file path is converted to a URL by replacing the basePath with the baseURL (and converting the remaining relative path to URL format). If it doesn't find a matching basePath, it uses the startDir and startURL options to perform the conversion.

map=basePath; baseURL
Where,  basePath is a full file system directory path (drive:\path) and baseURL is the corresponding URL. The baseURL may be either a global URL (protocol://hostname[:port]/[path]) or a full local URL (/[path]). The web server must be configured to map the URL back to a file system path in order to properly retrieve the file.

Note:  The semicolon (;) must be followed by a space, as shown.

Examples:

  1. map=C:\startdir; /c/startdir
  2. map=D:\startdir; http://myserver/d/startdir
  3. map=E:\startdir; file:///e:/startdir


workingDir index files

This option specifies the working directory that the program should run in. The current working directory is used as a starting point to find the icons directory, the index database, and the source index file. This option must be located in the CGI configuration file.

workingDir=pathname
Where,  pathname is the file system path to the working directory (default = startDir). The pathname may contain references to environment-variable strings of the form %variableName%. For each such reference, the %variableName% portion is replaced with the current value of that environment variable.

Note: this option may be replaced by other options in the future


cgiURL index files

This option specifies the full URL to the "mkhtmidx.exe" file in the CGI bin directory. It is used to generate page links in multi-page search indexes. Since the name of the CGI executable may be renamed to something other than "mkhtmidx.exe", this URL must include the name of the CGI executable file. The default value is the name of the CGI executable file, which is sufficient for must purposes.

If the CGI executable is located on a different server than the starting directory, this must be in the form:

   http://hostname[:port]/[cgi-path/]cgi-filename
If the CGI executable is located on the same server as the starting directory, this may be in the form:
   /[cgi-path/]cgi-filename
cgiURL=URL
Where,  URL is the URL of the "mkhtmidx.exe" executable in the CGI bin directory (as described above).


cacheDir index files

This option enables search caching, and specifies the directory where cache files will be stored. Cache files contain the results of a previous CGI search. This option currently supports only a single global cache file, and is not re-entrant. Do not enable this option in multiple client configurations.

cacheDir=pathname
Where,  pathname is the file system path to the cache file directory. The pathname may contain references to environment-variable strings of the form %variableName%. For each such reference, the %variableName% portion is replaced with the current value of that environment variable.


shuffle index files

This option enables or disables shuffle mode. When shuffle mode is enabled, the results are displayed in random order, instead of the order in which they appear in the index database. Shuffle mode can only be used when search caching is enabled. When a new cache is created, the order of the entries in the cache is randomized. If search caching is not enabled, this option is ignored.

shuffle=yes
Shuffle mode is enabled.
shuffle=no default
Shuffle mode is disabled.


Sample Master Configuration File


index=formatted
slides=window
links=open
backlink=close
layout=table
format=auto
configFile=makeindx.bat
embed=avi
embed=mov
embed=mpg
embed=mpeg
embed=rm


Table of Contents
Copyright © 1996-2003 Christopher P. LaRosa. All Rights Reserved.