NetTalk WebServer - Upgrading from Version 4 to Version 5

• Required Changes (necessary)
• Hand-Code Changes (necessary)
• NetWebSource Changes (necessary)
• Browse and Form Styling changes  (optional)
• Button Styling changes  (optional)
• Menu Type Changes  (optional)
• Tab Type Changes  (optional)
• Busy Styling Changes  (optional)
• Changes in preparation for using Multi-Host (optional)
• Upgrading FAQ
  

The Footer procedure needs a new style. Current footers use the 'adiv’ style, this should be replaced with the ‘nt-width-100 nt-left’ styles.

If you have used specific properties or methods in embedded code, then you may need to change the code slightly as some of the properties, and method names have changed.

Old	New
p_web.site.BrowseHighlightColor	p_web.Site.Style.BrowseHighlightColor
p_web.site.BrowseOverColor	p_web.Site.Style.BrowseOverColor
p_web.site.BrowseOneColor	p_web.Site.Style.BrowseOneColor
p_web.site.BrowseTwoColor	p_web.Site.Style.BrowseTwoColor
loc:default	loc:default[1]
_jsBodyOnLoad	BodyOnLoad

The NetWebSource procedures were not automatically generating the HTML on the xHTML tab into the web page. The routine containing the code was generated, but in NetTalk 4 you often needed to add a line of embed code to call the routine. In NetTalk 5 the routine is now called by the template, at an appropriate place (as set in the template setting). This results in the routine being called twice. A common result of this is seeing two headers, or two footers on a NetWebPage. The problem is not in the page procedure, but rather in the header and footer procedures based on NetWebSource. The solution is simple, check the NetWebSource procedures and remove hand-coded calls to routines, where a template generated call is now sufficient.

NetTalk 5 introduces the ability to set the styles for browses and forms globally. This will have a benefit later on as you change styles and generally tweak the look of the application to suit your needs. To maintain backwards compatibility however this change is not done automatically. In order to make use of the new approach you will need to visit the CSS Classes tab of each browse and form, and tick off the option to Override Global Styles. The settings on the CSS Classes tab of NetWebPage procedures should also be cleared in this way.

To change the buttons from being OS style buttons, to jQuery buttons, go to the WebServer procedure, NetTalk extension, Settings, Buttons tab. If you delete all the buttons that are there, they will be reset with their new default settings. As you delete the buttons from the top of the list, they are automatically re-added to the bottom of the list, with the new defaults. You can also turn on Button Sets while you are here. Button sets push related buttons together. If you have a custom button in a browse column, or on a form, of type Other, then you can set the button to be a jQuery button by ticking on the option Use JavaScript Styled button at the bottom of the button’s Properties tab. Also remove the 'SmallButton' style from the button. The style for Other buttons can now be set globally.

A new TaskPanel menu type has been added. The old menu has been renamed to XP-Panel. If you are using the XP-Panel menu then consider changing to the new TaskPanel menu. One advantage with the new menu is that it is ThemeRoller compatible, meaning that it is automatically styled to match the other ThemeRoller elements on your page. A new horizontal menu has been added. If you are using the Chrome menu style then consider changing it to the Double-Drop menu type. The advantage of the new menu is two-fold; firstly it is ThemeRoller compatible and secondly it supports multi-level menus.

A new tab type, called just Tab has been added. The old Tab type has been deprecated and removed. If you are using the XP-Tab type for forms consider changing to the Tab type. This type has the advantage of being ThemeRoller compatible.

The CSS class for the “Busy Image” can now be set in the WebServer procedure, Settings, Styles, Site tab. The default has changed from ‘bdiv’ to ‘nt-busy’. If you overrode the bdiv class in your own styles then set the setting here back to bdiv.

NetTalk 5 introduces the Multi-Host application which allows multiple non-secure web sites to share the same IP number and Port number. This functionality will be discussed in a later chapter in more detail. One key element, from a code point of view, is that embedded code in the WebServer procedure will not apply* if the application is compiled as a DLL and attached to a Host EXE. *There is one exception to this. Code in the ThisWindow.Init method will apply. For this reason it is recommended that embedded hand-code in the WebServer procedure be moved, if possible, into the WebHandler procedure. Some minor internal changes have been added to make this possible. If you do not makes these changes nothing bad will happen, however if your application is run as a DLL under the Host Exe then your embed code simply will not execute but rather the embed code in the Host exe (if any exists) will be executed. The most common methods used for embeds used in the WebServer, and their equivalent methods in the WebHandler are listed below.

WebServer	WebHandler
_DeleteSession	DeleteSession
MakeErrorPage	MakeErrorPacket

I'm upgrading from NetTalk 3/4 - do I need to buy the upgrade?

What must I change in my application when I upgrade from my NetTalk 4 app?

What must I do when deploying my upgraded NetTalk 5 web server application?

What new features are in the NetTalk 5 upgrade?

Why is CapeSoft charging the for an upgrade to NetTalk 5?