We have Windows clients with UNIX servers. We use a third party product to do a lot of our printing from text files, mainly by using CALL SYSTEM. Can the Thin Client support this, and can the CALLed program execute on the client/browser?
Currently the thin client does not allow for the execution of any components on the client except ActiveX controls. This is generally preferable for security and installation reasons. While you could certainly continue to use CALL SYSTEM, the called program will execute on the server. If the server is a machine that supports the third party product, then everything should work correctly.
As an alternative, if AcuConnect is running on a Windows NT server, you could replace your CALL SYSTEM with calls to AcuConnect. The AcuConnect CALL would start the Windows program on the NT server, and the Windows program would contain the CALL SYSTEM. If AcuServer is installed on the NT server, you can read the text files from the UNIX box and then print through the Windows spooler from the UNIX box.
What if we want to use Acucorp's interfaces to the Microsoft Office applications such as Access, Excel, and Word?
The thin client will not start an executable on the client.
Is the Windows print spooler supported in the Thin Client?
Generally speaking, all functionality of the Windows print spooler is supported except the following WIN$PRINTER functions:
WINPRINT_GET_SETTINGS_SIZE
WINPRINT_GET_SETTINGS
WINPRINT_SET_SETTINGS
These functions are not supported because of variations in memory allocated by data types on the client and the server (for example, a 64-bit UNIX server versus a 32-bit Windows client). Instead, you can make calls to WINPRINT_GET_PRINTER_INFO_EX and WINPRINT_SET_PRINTER, which are similar.
If a thin client application is launched from a Web browser, does that application have Web browser access? We may want to include a hyperlink on the screen.
The Thin Client does not run in a Web browser. However, you could use the Web browser control inside your application to allow Web browser access or include your links on the same Web page that launches the application.
Are there any restrictions regarding the use of ActiveX or COM objects?
You can use ActiveX controls. However, they must be installed on the client machine. (Refer to 4.2.3 Installing ActiveX Files. Note that some controls may generate too many messages to be usable over the Internet.
COM objects are not usable, because everything executes on the server.
What could stop a hacker from capturing screen information?
You can turn on 128-bit encryption as an option. You should keep performance considerations in mind when deciding to use the encryption. Refer to section 3.3.2 Assigning Values to Server Configuration Variables for more information about how to enable encryption.