More From the Web Team
As of December 2011, this topic has been archived. As a result, it is no longer actively maintained. For more information, see Archived Content. For information, recommendations, and guidance regarding the current version of Internet Explorer, see Internet Explorer Developer Center.
Tom Moran, Rafael M. Muñoz, and Kusuma Vellanki
Microsoft Corporation
June 5, 2000
Contents
Getting there faster—Using the Server.Transfer method
SELECT elements on the fly—Creating SELECT elements
From one frame to another—Linking into a different frame
Serving up cookies—Personalizing the user experience
Getting there faster
Dear Web Team:
Hi!
I am using Windows 98 Second Edition and Personal Web Server. I have been using Response.Redirect to move to a new ASP page, but I would like to utilize the new Server.Transfer method. Unfortunately, when I try to use it, I get the following message:
Does Personal Web Server support Server.Transfer? Do I need a new version?
Thanks for any help you can provide!!!
David
The Web Team replies:
David, Server.Transfer is one of the new features of ASP in Internet Information Services (IIS) 5. So, to answer your question, you need IIS 5 to get this functionality.
We thought it would be nice to expand on this a little more for our readers.
Server.Transfer does a lot more than just redirect to a page without an expensive round trip to the client. The state information for all the built-in objects and the information in the Request collections will be included in the transfer.
The code snippets at the following URLs clarify this much better.
Another useful ASP feature in IIS 5 is Server.Execute, which allows you to include ASP files dynamically.
SELECT elements on the fly
Dear Web Team:
The DHTML method reference stated that you can't create SELECT elements using the createElement() method.
On my Internet Explorer 5.01/NT machine, this seems to work very well, though. So does it actually work on Internet Explorer 5? If yes, is the documentation wrong?
Nota bene: I don't want to use the InnerHTML property.
Thanks in advance,
Taras
The Web Team replies:
Tara, we're glad you brought this to our attention. We'll get the documentation bug corrected. It is definitely possible in all versions of Internet Explorer 5 to use createElement to create SELECT elements. However, you cannot create SELECT and OPTION elements in one frame and add them to a document in a different frame.
We thought you might find this article interesting: Q255610 "PRB: createElement() for SELECT Options Is Slow in Internet Explorer 5."
From one frame to another
Dear Web Team:
I have two frames. The upper one has a form, and I want to display data in the lower. Should be easy, right? Problem is: I can't get it working. I've tried to set the target value to the lower frame name, but I keep getting a page-not-found error when I try to submit..Web Team, please help me!
The Web Team replies:
It sounds like you are probably just not targeting your frame correctly. You should use the name defined in your parent <FRAMESET>.
For example, let's say you have the following code in your default page:
<HTML>
<FRAMESET>
<FRAME SRC="header.asp" NAME="fraHeader">
<FRAMESET>
<FRAME SRC="frame1.asp" NAME="fraFrame1">
<FRAME SRC="frame2.asp" NAME="fraFrame2">
</FRAMESET>
</FRAMESET>
</HTML>
From "frame1.asp" or "fraFrame1," you should be able to populate "fraFrame2" by doing the following:
<HTML> <BODY> <A HREF="Test.asp" TARGET="fraFrame2">Test this link<A> </BODY> </HTML>
Once you've created the test.asp page, it should show up in the <FRAME> named fraFrame2.
Serving up cookies
Dear Web Team:
I've got my own personal fan page for heaps of pop groups—and on their biography pages, I want to add some of their songs in the *.mid form.. I don't want the same song to play all the time; what I want is for the song to change every time they come back. For example:
e.g.- First time = wltp.mid
Second time = bbbb.mid
Third time = ibiza.mid
Fourth time = wltp.mid
Fifth time = bbbb.mid
Sixth time = ibiza.mid
...Etc.
So that on the fourth return, they get the same song as the first time, and the cycle begins again.
Is there any HTML or JavaScript code to do this? It'd be a big help.
Regards,
Jesse Walker
The Web Team replies:
Jesse, would you like chocolate chip or peanutbutter cookies with your milk? For the type of Web experience you are talking about here, cookies are definitely the answer.
You can find a ton of information on cookies around the Web. One great source is our very own MSDN Online Library. Just do a search for cookies and Active Server Pages (ASP), and you'll find more information than you'll need..Even a few great samples will come up, which you can play with until you get the hang of things.
Basically, you are customizing the user's experience. Like many of the Web sites you see that allow you to personal a start page, you would be sort of personalizing users' music experiences.
Finally, a great resource that we have highlighted in other columns is Cookie Central. 
The Web Team in Short
Q: Cheryl wants to do an addRecord without requiring the user to click multiple times.
A: Use AddImmediate instead of AddRecord and UpdateRecord.
Q: Shubhabrata De wants a good program for working with graphics to be placed on his Web site.
A: Tough one. There are a lot of good graphics software apps; one that immediately comes to mind is Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000, Version 2.
Q: Rukmini Srinivasan is looking for more information on DirectAnimation.
A: We are sure all your questions can be addressed at the Microsoft DirectX Media SDK.
Q: Michael McDowell wants a better XML/XSL editor.
A: Try XML.com. They have a huge list of resources, including editors and parsers.
Q: Robert Neal, Andre Vanha, and a few others have inquired about the shortcut icons for the URLs that show up in Internet Explorer's address bar, favorites list, and shortcut links on the desktop.
A: This is becoming a popular question in our column, so here it is again: How to Add a Shortcut Icon to a Web Page.
Q: Jeremy Lattimore wants to know if there's a DHTML equivalent of the Masked Edit Control.
A: Check out The Mask Behavior Sample.
Rafael M. Muñoz, when not playing or coaching his favorite pastime (volleyball), provides technical assistance as a full-time developer support engineer for Microsoft Developer Support.
Thomas Moran, when not struggling to maintain some semblance of sanity (working with Rafael certainly doesn't help), toils with a prodigious team that creates articles and other content from Microsoft's Developer Support.
Kusuma Vellanki is one of the few people who like winters in Washington state more than summers. When not working as a Developer Support Engineer for the Internet Client team, she can be found torpedoing out of control down the ski slopes.