USING THE SDR UTILITY TO START UP A SESSION
 
 You can use the SDR Utility to:-
  1. Check SDR announcements received at another site
  2. Launch the tools on the correct addresses
  3. Listen to certain SDR sessions via the RealPlayer Video and audio client


The toolstart application which is installed on your machine only accepts arguments passed to it by your browser configuration which you setup, i.e. if you only add 'rat' as an argument under the preferences window, this is the only application it will start. If you are concerned about security or wish to see the original application code, please contact me by email.

How to configure your Web Browser to start up the tools
 

  1. First you must install the videoconferencing tools on your system (rat, vic, nte, wbd available from here).
  2. The tools must be located within you path, i.e. you should be able to start the tools individually from any directory or location on your machine.
  3. You must install one of the following two files locally on your machine.
    • For Windows platforms
    • For Solaris platforms
      • install the file toolstart.o in your home directory. 
      • Type 'chmod +x ~/toolstart.o'


    These programs are currently only available to people with access to the PIPVIC-2 private site. If you do not have access, but would like to use this utility, please contact Julian Chesterfield.
     

  4. Next, you must configure you browser to recognise the MIME type which is returned by the cgi script. 
      • For Netscape under windows:-
        • go to Edit -> Preferences. You will see the following screen:-
         
        • Select 'Navigator' -> 'applications'.
        • Select 'New Type' and fill in the fields in the following way:-
         
          • The essential fields are the MIME type:- 
'x-application/x-mbone'
          • and the 'Application to use' field, type:- 
'C:\bin\toolstart.exe %1 rat vic nte wbd'
       
       
      • For Netscape under solaris, you must bring up the Preferences window in the same way. The only difference is in the syntax for the 'Application to use' field. You need to type:-
'{path to home directory}/toolstart.o %s rat vic nte wbd'
WARNING - The fields do not appear in the same order as on the windows version, see below:-

      • For Internet Explorer users, the format is very similar. Under the 'Tools' menu, select the 'Internet Options' item. Select the 'Associations' tab:-


      Click on the 'New Association' button, and fill in the fields in the following way:-

You should now be able to launch the tools directly from the 'SDR utility' -> 'More info' page. Just click on the hyperlink associated with whichever tool you wish to use.

Shortcut to the SDR Utility

If you require any further help with the installation, please email:- j.chesterfield@cs.ucl.ac.uk