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Register Web Application

Use the Register Web Application dialog to register the current workspace’s web application on your local machine.

A web application needs to be correctly set up and registered in several different places before it can be run on your local machine. Specifically:

  • There needs to be a correctly configured entry in the WebApp Server’s list of DataFlex web applications. This is the same list that is administered by the WebApp Administrator tool.
  • A correctly configured Virtual Directory mapping to the workspace’s AppHtml folder must be created in IIS (Microsoft Internet Information Server).
  • The web application name that is registered for the DataFlex WebApp Server must be correctly stored in the workspace’s global.asa file.
  • The Virtual Directory name should be stored in the Application URL property for the Web Application Project Properties maintained by the Studio.

Typically, this registration process is executed when you first create a new web application project in a workspace. If you have imported a web application that was created on another machine, it is useful to use this dialog to register that web application independently of the Create New WebApp Project operation.

Another motivation to use this dialog is when some of the web application’s registered attributes have been removed or corrupted. This could happen if they are accidentally deleted or when the registration of another web application “steals” the web application name or virtual directory name of this web application.

Web Application Name

Enter the name that will be used to register this web application with the DataFlex Web Application Server (as listed in the WebApp Administrator tool). This name is also stored in the workspace’s global.asa file.

Generally, it is a good idea to keep the Web Application Name the same as the workspace name and have identical casing. Web Application strings are typically case-sensitive, so a casing difference between your workspace name and your web application name might be accidentally propagated and cause your web application name to be unrecognized.

Web Site

Select under which IIS (Internet Information Server) website the virtual directory should be created. If your installation features multiple websites, they should be listed here by their IIS name. The default value is ‘Default Web Site,’ which is the standard website available on a clean IIS installation.

Virtual Directory Name

Enter the name that will be used by IIS to create a virtual mapping to your workspace’s AppHtml folder. This name is used to form the URL you would enter in the address field of your browser to run your web application.

For example, if your Virtual Directory Name is “ACME_Catalog,” then the URL to load the WebApp on your local machine would be:

http://localhost/ACME_Catalog/Index.html

Whitespace is not allowed in the name. If this value is left blank, the root of the website will be changed to point to this application.

You can see the list of virtual directory mappings by running the Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) Manager tool.

OK Button

Click the OK button to initiate the Register WebApp operation using the entered values. This operation will perform the following:

  • Update the web application server registry.
  • Create a virtual directory mapping.
  • Create a Global.Asa (if needed) and set the WebApp name.
  • Set parameters in the web application’s configuration file.

If any naming conflicts occur during this process, then the web application that you are registering will take precedence.

See Also

Project Properties - Web Application