Chapter 10   Configuring URL Scraper


The Mobile Access Pack URL scraper provider allows you to deliver Web pages to users who access your portal site using mobile devices.

The URL scraper provider stores client-specific URLs in the profile for all supported client types. The URL scraper provider examines each request from the user, determines the user's client type, and delivers a correctly formatted page into the URL scraper channel.

This chapter discusses how to use the Administration Console to create a URL scraper channel for your mobile device user. It explains the following tasks:

• Creating a Provider

• Setting Up a Client-Specific Channel

• Serving WML Content as a Link

• Editing Channel Attributes

• Removing a Provider

Creating a Provider

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You use the Mobile Access Pack's desktop channel wizard to create a URL scraper provider. You first provide the provider's name and type and then you define the attributes for the channel.

To create a URL scraper provider, complete the following steps:

1. As root, log in to the Administration Console and select Manage Domains.

2. Select the link for your server's domain name.

3. Select the Desktop Channel Wizard link to display the Desktop Channel Wizard page.

4. In the Channel Name text box, specify the name of the channel.

5. In the Channel Description text box, provide a description of the channel content.

6. From the Provider pull-down menu, select URL Scraper.

7. Select Next to display the user attributes for the URL scraper provider.

8. In the Title text field, specify a name for the channel.

   The URL scraper content channel is displayed with this name.

9. In the Background Color text field, specify a background color for the channel.

10. In the Default Content URL text field, specify the location of the content for the URL scraper provider.

    
    

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    Note	Content located in this URL is served to the user regardless of mobile client type. To support multiple client types and supply client-specific URLs, see "Setting Up a Client-Specific Channel".

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11. In the Content Timeout text field, specify the amount of time for the URL Scraper content display.

12. In the Clients that can use default URL text box, specify the client types that can display the URL provided in the Default Content URL text field.

13. Select Add to include the client type in the Clients that can use default URL list.

    
    

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    Note	Only client types you list here have access to the default URL. If you leave this field blank, all client types have access to it.

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14. Select Finish and then select Continue.

Setting Up a Client-Specific Channel

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You can set up a URL scraper provider to display the contents of pages that are specific to mobile clients. The urlList profile attribute stores URLs for supported client types.

To set up a client-specific URL scraper provider, complete the following steps:

1. As root, log in to the Administration Console and select Manage Domains.

2. Select the link for your server's domain name.

3. Select the Desktop Channel Wizard link to display the Desktop Channel Wizard page.

4. In the Channel Name text box, specify the name of the channel.

5. In the Channel Description text box, provide a description of the channel content.

6. Select URL Scraper from the list of Provider pull-down menu.

7. Select Next to display the user attributes for the URL scraper provider.

8. In the Title text field, specify a name for the channel.

   The URL scraper content channel is displayed with this name.

9. In the Background Color text field, specify a background color for the channel.

10. In the Default Content URL text field, specify the location of the content for the URL scraper provider.

11. In the Content Timeout text field, specify the amount of time for the URL Scraper content display.

12. In the Client specific URLs for various devices text field, specify the URL for the client.

    
    

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    Tip	Use this format to specify the URL: clientType|URL For example: nokia_7110|http://wap.iplanet.com/nokia The clientType is a component of the filePath of the iwtClient attribute for that device.

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13. Select Add to include the URL in the Client specific URLs for various devices list.

14. In the Client that can use default URL text field, specify the client type for the mobile device that should display the URL.

15. Select Add to include the client type in the Client that can use default URL list.

16. Select the Display the URL as link instead of scraping check box to display the URL as link on mobile clients.

17. In the Clients that can use default URL text field, specify the client type.

    
    

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    Tip	Specify all supported clients here. For example: siemens_s35 If you do not specify any clients, all clients use the default content URL.

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18. Select Add.

19. Select Finish and then select Continue.

Serving WML Content as a Link

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You can configure a URL scraper provider to display a link in the URL scraper channel instead of scraping the WML content. This is useful because a mobile client has a small amount of memory and display area compared to an HTML-based browser, and scraped WML contents cannot have multiple cards.

The Mobile Access Pack software provides a template for generating the link. The URL scraper provider locates the template in the client type's file path attribute.

To display the WML content as a link, complete the following steps:

1. As root, log in to the Administration Console and select Manage Domains.

2. Select the link for your server's domain name.

3. Select the Desktop Channel Wizard link to display the Desktop Channel Wizard page.

4. In the Channel Name text box, specify the name of the channel.

5. In the Channel Description text box, provide a description of the channel content.

6. From the Provider pull-down menu, select URL Scraper.

7. Select Next to display the user attributes for the URL scraper provider.

8. Select the Display the URL as link instead of scraping check box to display the URL as link on mobile clients.

9. Select Finish and then select Continue.

   
   

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   Note

   To display HTML content as a link, create a link template for each link you want to display. The Mobile Pack Software does not provide this template. To display HTML content as a link, complete the following steps: Create a link template for HTML. Place it in this directory:        template_dir/channel_name/markup Replace template_dir with the name of your template directory, channel_name with the name of the channel that is to display the link, and markup with the name of the markup language. See the "The Wireless URL Scraper Provider Template Files" section of Chapter 4, "Content Provider Template Files," in the iPlanet Portal Sever: Mobile Access Pack Programmer's Guide for information about the link.template file.

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Editing Channel Attributes

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You can change attributes you set at the time you created a URL scraper channel at any time.

To change the attributes of a URL scraper channel, complete the following steps:

1. As root, log in to the Administration Console and select Manage Domains.

2. Select the link for your server's domain name.

3. Select the icon next to the Applications heading to display the Applications list.

4. Select the Desktop link to display the desktop profile attributes.

5. From the Available Channels list, select the name of the URL scraper provider that you want to modify.

6. Select Edit Channel to display the attribute values.

7. Change the attribute values you want to modify.

8. Select Submit and then select Continue.

Removing a Provider

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You can delete a URL scraper provider so that it is no longer available on your portal site.

To delete a URL scraper provider, complete the following steps:

1. As root, log in to the Administration Console and select Manage Domains.

2. Select the link for your server's domain name.

3. Select the icon next to the Applications heading to display the Applications list.

4. Select the Desktop link to display the desktop profile attributes.

5. From the Available Channels list, select the name of the URL scraper provider that you want to remove.

6. Select Delete to remove the provider.

7. Select Submit and then select Continue.