This section provides specific reference information about the requirements and operation of HomeDoor Admin, which is used to configure the HomeDoor extension.
Admin requirements: HomeDoor Admin is a HyperCard stack. Use of HyperCard drastically reduces the size of the HomeDoor archive, and hence the amount of time required to download it over the Internet. HyperCard Player is shipped with every Mac. HomeDoor Admin requires HyperCard or HyperCard Player version 2.0 or later, configured to use at least 1MB of memory. Registered users of HomeDoor can also download a standalone version of HomeDoor Admin, which does not require HyperCard.
Configuring the address range: The address range configured into HomeDoor Admin is a block of up to 256 consecutive IP addresses. Enter the first address in the range in the "First IP address" field and the last address in the "Last IP address" field, using standard IP dotted decimal notation.
The address range you enter indicates the maximum number of addresses that HomeDoor can use, assuming you associate a URL with each of these addresses. Addresses for which you do not enter URLs are not used by HomeDoor -- these addresses can be used for other devices on the network. HomeDoor will only utilize addresses within its range for which URLs have been assigned, and will not utilize others in any way.
Configuring the URLs: URLs for default home pages and virtual domains are configured into HomeDoor Admin using the URL field. Each address in the address range is listed individually down the left side of each HomeDoor Admin page, with each page holding up to 32 addresses. To enter a URL for a specific address, simply click on the line in the URL field across from that address, and then enter the full URL (starting with http://). If you do not want HomeDoor to use a specific address, do not associate a URL with it -- leave that line blank.
The URLs configured into HomeDoor Admin can be any valid URL. They can point directly to a Web server, or to a file or a directory on a Web server. HomeDoor's URLs are simply returned to the Web browser as indicated previously in the Extension Reference section under "How HomeDoor Works." The configured URLs do not even need to point to the same Web server, allowing you to use a single HomeDoor server to provide default home pages on more than one actual Web server.
To configure a particular HomeDoor address to serve as a virtual domain (or more precisely as a virtual Web server within a virtual domain), the URL entered for that address must point to the directory on a Web server which is to serve as the "root" of the virtual domain. That is, the URL must be of the form http://www.yourwebserver.com/directory/. It can not point to a specific file.
The Revert and Write buttons: The Revert and Write buttons are available only on the first page of HomeDoor Admin. Use the Revert button to discard any changes you have made since the last time you wrote out changes using the Write button. Use the Write button to write out the changes you have made. The changes will be written to the HomeDoor extension and will become effective immediately; it is not necessary to restart the Macintosh. If you quit HomeDoor Admin without writing out your changes, you will be asked whether you wish to do so or not. If you do not write out the changes, they will be saved in HomeDoor Admin but will not be written to the extension file. You will be able to write them out the next time you run HomeDoor Admin.
The status buttons: HomeDoor displays its current status using two sets of radio buttons: Running and Logging. These buttons, available only on the first page of HomeDoor Admin, also allow you to change HomeDoor's running and logging status.
If you have not restarted your Mac after installing HomeDoor, HomeDoor will always be indicated as Not Running. Once you have restarted, this status should always be Running unless an error occurred at startup or you specifically disable HomeDoor by clicking the Not Running radio button. When not running, HomeDoor does not listen on any of the addresses in its range. If you disable HomeDoor through the Not Running button, you can make HomeDoor active again simply by clicking the Running button. If an error occurred at startup, however, you need to correct the error and restart the Macintosh to re-enable HomeDoor.
HomeDoor's Logging status will also be Off immediately after installation, until your Mac is restarted. Once restarted, assuming no error occurs at startup, Logging status should be On until it is disabled. To disable HomeDoor logging, click the Off radio button. HomeDoor will close its log file and no longer write access information to that file. HomeDoor will, however, still log significant events such as startup errors. To re-enable logging, click the On button.
Changing the HomeDoor configuration: Changing HomeDoor's configuration simply requires re-running the HomeDoor Admin application. URLs can be added or changed simply by typing in the new URL next to the appropriate address. HomeDoor's address range can also be changed, however care should be taken to ensure that current URLs continue to be mapped to the correct addresses, since their association will shift if you change HomeDoor's starting address. The Write button will cause the new configuration to be written out and to immediately be made active. The Revert button can be used to discard any changes which have been made since the Write button was last hit.
Controlling HomeDoor Admin: HomeDoor Admin is a HyperCard stack, and as such responds to all standard HyperCard commands. You can utilize the "Go" menu to move between cards (pages) and to perform other functions such as searching for specific text strings.
HomeDoor Admin is intended to be run on a monitor with a minimum resolution of 640 by 480. On smaller monitors, you can access the full screen by using the "Scroll" command under the "Go" menu.
You can print out individual cards or all of HomeDoor Admin's configuration using the Print commands under the "File" menu.