Best regards,
Oleg Chernavin
MP Staff
All referenced links in files that are retrieved from a server, that use a '?' (such as play.htm?f) are replaced with a '@' symbol by Offline Explorer (such as play.htm@f)
I don't know why the program is doing this. But its preventing falsh videos from loading up. If I go into a retrieved file manually and edit the link to reflect the '?' symbol, then Offline Explorer will then retrieve the flash video like it should. This is tedious when you are having to manually change hundreds of links.
There must be a way to get the program to stop altering the links. Or to change them back to normal.
Additionally, I am noticing a project that loads successfully in Offline Explorer browser might not work right in a regular browser. Mainly because the file names are not correct. An example is an htm file that should be called 'set.htm'. Looking in the folder, the program actually labeled it 'set.htm@758' or something similar. So Firefox browser cannot see the proper file. But Offline Explorer can. Makes no sense why the program sets all these strange references to links and files. Am I missing something??
Also, there is a still the problem with physical filenames for some files being incorrectly named. Under the MAP tab, it shows files that include the ? reference. Such as 'set.htm?v=11.60'.
Of course, the local file this refers to would actually be named 'set.htm' on the hard drive. But OE is messing up the filenames by simply removing the ? and calling it 'set.htmv=11.60'.
It should be naming it 'set.htm' of course. Otherwise, all browsers aren't going to find this file because of the way its being named. I have no idea how to fix this without going in manually and renaming files. Kind of defeats the purpose of using software to do the work. Of course, OE seems to be the best I have ever used so far. It just needs a few changes i think.
Just to be clear about what I was stating beforehand. The "internal links" I mentioned. I was referring to links that are inside htm files. It seems to me that OE should not be changing the '?' inside htm files. Because most likely the information to the LEFT of the ? will be the filename that resides on the hard drive. So the ? will begin an operation. If its changed to @, it will become useless and will not work.
So again. Change the ? in physical filenames. Fine. But it should leave ? alone inside the htm (and other) files. Also, consider the other information posted above. If OE is supposed to be 'fixing' the mapping, it isn't doing so in the cases I have mentioned. Thanks.
The Map tab shows URLs, not filenames. It actually changes @ symbol to ?. But it is only for display purposes.
It is strange that Flash applet fails to work with @ and works with ? in the links. Can you please show me a particular example?
Regarding 'set.htm?v=11.60' vs 'set.htmv=11.60' case - can you please also tell me the URL of the page where I can reproduce this?
Thank you!
Best regards,
Oleg Chernavin
MP Staff
P.S. I also saw an E-mail from you. But I decided to reply here, because your forum messages contain more details.
I have been downloading Starfall.com. Pretty much every URL from the website uses a 'set.htm' file. And every instance of the file is named improperly in Windows Explorer. But of course OE will handle the offline website properly if it is loaded in the following way:
http://127.0.0.1:800/Default/www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/play.htm@f
But if I attempt to export the website or load it from the 'Index.htm' or 'Default.htm', then it becomes unusable due to missing files (actually misnamed files). I would think when OE exports a project, it would fix the filenames. In my case, it is not.
The flash videos example:
src="../../../ni/level-k/letters/leo-letters_F6.swf?letter=a&datestamp=20060824&20100603"
Notice many of the videos use the 'leo-letters_F6.swf' with different calls to determine what video will actually play/. The example above shows a call for the "letter a" video. You can change it to letter=b to load a different video. If I switched the ? to a @ it wouldn't work at all.
I managed to find a workaround by using a 3rd party program that would run through all the 'play.htm' files and change all instances of @ into ?. It made the videos work for the most part. But there are still a few that will not because they are loading slightly different. And I am not knowledgeable enough to figure it out.
I think the best thing would be to just download the Starfall.com website (only 100MB+) and check things out. So far, the website works for me in OE. I can load it with an external browser, but only with the 127.0.0.1....which of course puts OE in control of it. It just will not work any other way regardless of what I try.
This seems like a good website to play with. Because no other offline program can get it. And from what I have seen, quite a few parents out there are trying to get it offline. (wink).
Thanks.
Oleg.