Open a New PageBuilder Webpage

Click the link below to open a new window on a PageBuilder webpage, click "Continue" on the pop-up alert, and read some comments about it. Then use your "Back" key to return to this webpage and view the source code and additional comments.

Open New Window

Consider the following comments about this method:

- This would be a viable method for opening a new window for additional notes, code sniplets, etc, for PageBuilder webpages if it were not for that tacky alert that pops-up when the page loads! Even though the webpage opens correctly, our PageBuilder webservers pop-up the alert: "The publisher community-2.webtv.net couldn't find the requested page." Why? Where is this webpage? Apparently, the new page is not on the "community-2" group of webservers like the parent webpage? I cannot find a way to stop the alert? Does anyone know how to kill the alert pop-up?

- Using the "Go To" key "Show current" button shows empty, except for the default "http://" in the panel text box? The "Go To" key "Show last" button panel text box shows the parent page URL, with all the HTML code and text I entered for the "newWin" variable in the script for this new window, following the parent webpage URL title?

- The "Info" key does not work at all? I don't think it's because this new window URL, which contains all the code, is simply too long for the Info panel because the info panel show elipisis if that were the case? Is this because, for some unknown reason, the "Show current" box is empty - the Info key shouldn't work either?

- This is not a browser "cached" webpage window like a "document.write()" new window method that Art C, aka RTCamm@webtv.net, previously published in the PageBuilder NG; but, is apparently a temporary page in our browser's RAM, rather than a temporary webpage, without an assigned URL on the PageBuilder parent page community server group?

- Unlike "document.write()" cached new windows, which replaces the parent window in a browser's "History" list so you cannot use the "Back" key to return to the parent page (unless you replace the webpage in the history cache with Bob Wedge's script), this new window remains in the "History" list and appears in order in the "Recents" panel? Therefore, you can use the "Back" key to return to the parent webpage - this is another puzzler about this feature!

- And, when I subsequently open this new window from the "Recent" panel history list, the "... couldn't find ..." alert does not occur again! And this is really wierd: I cannot print this new page - either with "Cmd-P" or from the "Option" panel!

- A primary consideration for the reason this new page open works this way may be because of the way the javascript protocol of the new window open link above is coded? The script is certainly unconventional, and is the result of me trying many different things, and stumbling on to something that works, rather than any insight into possible options that would work! I got no idea how it works the way it's scripted, and am rather surprised - I guess it's just an LBB "thing" like all the other quirky features we've dscovered about our browsers! However, I believe a little creative coding and scripting by other more talented PageBuilders could possibly solve the problems with this method and make it more useful for our PageBuilder webpages!

- You cannot view the source code of the new opened page with our MSN-TV browsers using online source code viewers, because the webpage doesn't exist on the webservers; but, exists in our browser's temporary RAM only, and not in a numbered cache memory register, while it is being viewed. If the page was in a numbered cache RAM register, we should be able to see it in our "Go To" (Current) panels? MSN-TV viewers can view the source code for the new window webpage by viewing the source code of the script on the parent webpage - the source code for the new window is contained in the script "newWin" variable value!

- Computer users with Windows and MSIE can view this parent page OK; but, cannot view the new opened page as formatted - the new page appears on a grey screen with all the code and text in the newWin variable, and the spaces between the text are escaped! Also, the note: "Cannot be found on this server" appears at the top and bottom of the screen, which is the same basic message of the pop-up alert that appears when the new page opens in MSN-TV browsers. The fact that MSIE cannot open this new page shows there is a great difference in the way our browsers handle new windows.

- Another puzzler is the fact that MSIE shows the "history.current" property of this parent page window as "undefined" in the Thunderstone Source Code Viewer form text box below? Then when I type the webpage URL in the form and try to source it, I get a grey screen that shows only the basic PageBuilder table template formating tags - none of the webpage content is shown? However, I can view this webpage source code using the MSIE browser's toolbar "View" option or right-click drop-down panel options.

- This method can only be used for short, supplementary sniplets of additional information because of an apparent limitation on the number of characters that can be contained in script variable values? Our browsers apparently have a limit on the number of characters and spaces in a script variable, which is about 400 spaces; therefore, the amount of text entered on the new webpage is limited. I tried to use the javascript "+=" operator (assignment with operation) to extend (concatenate a longer variable) the character length of the variable, but it would not work - I get a blank, grey screen with "null" in the upper left corner of the screen when the variable is too long!

So, how about it, anyone? Anyone seen this LBB new window open function before? Is there any way to eliminate the alert pop-up? That darn pop-up kills the utility of this feature! Any suggestions you have will be much appreciated!

In summary, I can only suggest that this feature is just another unknown and undocumented result of our browser's "patchwork" ROM programming! This feature is just to quirky to be of any practical value; but, I just thought you guys may like to see it and play with it for a while and maybe find ways to use it more reliably!

Thanks for visiting my webpage, folks! Have a nice day! My best wishes to you, your family, neighbors, and friends!

JaxRed

The Thunderstone WebTV Source Code Viewer



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