base url, frames etc. ...

[Rick Parsons]

I have a complex problem which I will attempt to explain and would appreciate help with. The site in question is

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....in/search.html

The host for this site does not allow execuatble content so what you are seeing is a container frame that loads the search engine from

http://west-penwith.org.uk/cgi-bin/search.cgi

The search engine works fine.

To allow other links, and especially a javascript drop down menu to work, I have a

base href="http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~kayhin/"

This allows the javascript to work. If it is not there then it tries to load subroutine scripts from the cgi-bin directory which is not allowed.

The problem is, if the search engine makes spelling suggestions (try searching for "hicking" which does not exist) then it tries to run the search at the rootsweb site e.g. (split URL)

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....in/search.cgi?
zoom_query=Hawking&zoom_page=1&zoom_per_page=25&
zoom_cat=-1&zoom_and=0

Can you suggest a way that the full URL can be provided for these suggestions?

[David]

In fact it is not just the spelling suggestion links that are broken. The Next and Previous links and page number links are also broken.

The solution is probably to use the "Link back URL" setting in the Zoom configuration window (on the advanced tab). Set this link to link back to your container page (search.html). But you also need to make sure your container page passes URL parameters to the embedded page.

You might also want to the read this FAQ question about wrapping the search scripts.
http://www.wrensoft.com/zoom/support/faq_ssi.html

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David

[Rick Parsons]

Thanks, that has given me a few things to try. I have also had a response from an expert on the Javascript menu system so I can aproach it from either end (or possibly both together).

Looks like an oportinity for a future enhancememt to be able to configure the URL prefix explicitly.

[David]

Looks like an oportinity for a future enhancememt...

We have already done this. As pointed out in my previous post. It is the "Link back URL" field that controls this.

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David

[Rick Parsons]

In that case I have misunderstood it. The comment against it says "If you are going to embed Zoom in another server-side script" which I wasn't planning to do.

I was suggesting just allowing a URL prefix to override a possible BASE tag. The faq and your reply suggested that I had to do a lot more than just that.

I haven't tested it yet to see if all that extra scripting is needed.

[Ray]

The "Link back URL" does do exactly what you were originally asking for. It allows you to enter the URL that Zoom will use to link back to itself (for spelling suggestions, etc.). It's main purpose is, as documented, to allow you to embed Zoom in another server-side script (or any dynamically generated page). It can also be used for other purposes which it was not designed for (such as your case), but this is for good reason, and I will explain why further below.

Your "search.html" container frame will not be passing search parameters in the URL to the CGI. This means that should you change the URL link (as you requested in your original post) to allow spelling suggestions to link back to something like the following:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....=-1&zoom_and=0

Then this would not work. As you can see by clicking on the above, your search.html file is not passing the parameters onto the CGI. So what we're trying to tell you is that the "link back URL" does what you were originally asking for, but your "search.html" should be implemented in something more like the examples described in our FAQ, to allow what you ask for to actually work.

Simply put, what you are trying to do is not best suited for a frames implementation. While you can use Zoom on a frames-based website, as documented here, you will come across other issues (eg. your need for search option links to load within a frame, and other links to load outside of the frame).

We recommend using SSI as described in the FAQ as a better method for you to achieve what you're after (having a search page located outside of your "cgi-bin").

[Rick Parsons]

Thanks for that detailed reply - it looks like I have a lot of reading to do.