1.0 Configuring Reflection for the Web Sessions

The configuration of a web-based terminal emulation session involves both the Reflection for the Web applet and the host session.

When you create a session, you determine its configuration settings using applet defaults, applet parameters, host system defaults, and a configuration file. (The applet parameters and configuration file are optional.) Users can then create their own user preference files to change some elements of the default configuration. The degree to which users can save their own configurations is itself part of the session configuration.

1.1 Configuring a Reflection for the Web Session

The easiest way to create a terminal session is by using the Manage Sessions panel in the Management and Security Server’s Administrative Console. The default choices for a given host session type are provided.

Some configuration settings can be controlled only by Reflection for the Web applet parameters:

  • Applet name (nameattribute)

  • Shortcut menu access (shortcutMenu parameter)

  • New window (frame parameter)

  • Window title (title parameter)

These applet settings remain in effect each time a new configuration file is opened or saved.

In other cases, the same configuration element can be set using applet parameters, a configuration file, or user preferences. The load order of the information determines the final configuration.

1.1.1 Load Order of Configuration Information

Reflection for the Web loads configuration information from four sources when it starts a terminal session. These sources are listed in the order that they are loaded when Reflection runs. -items later in the list (such as user preferences and applet parameters) are loaded later and can override earlier items:

  1. Applet and host system defaults--Default configuration values, usually embedded in the program code and inaccessible to users.

  2. Configuration files--Component configurations, such as keyboard mapping, saved to a file by a system administrator. Within the configuration file, a system administrator can control how much customization users are able to save with user preferences.

  3. User preferences--Customized session settings saved locally by each user. The range of configuration that the user can save is determined by the system administrator in the configuration file. For more information, go to Configuring User Preferences.

  4. Applet parameters--Applet-based administrator settings. Parameters are loaded last and therefore have the highest priority. For a list of the parameters used in Reflection applets, see Applet Attributes and Parameters.

Using the load order you can generate different configurations for different groups in your enterprise. Create a session with a basic configuration file. Import the configuration file into new sessions; then, use applet parameters to override the basic configuration with settings customized for a specific user group.

1.1.2 Using Configuration Files

Sessions launched from the Manage Sessions panel always have an administrator profile, regardless of the actual session's profile. Opening a session as an Administrator allows you to set choices on the Administration menu. You can also set up a session with an Administrator profile and provide access to the Administration menu.

Once you have a configuration file, you can import it into other sessions. The imported configuration file is saved with a new name associated with the new session.

NOTE:Configuration file settings for web-based sessions can be overridden by user preferences or applet parameters, and some session settings can be set by applet parameters only. See Load Order of Configuration Information.

1.1.3 Configuring User Preferences

User preferences are session settings selected by each user and stored locally on the user's machine. Based on the Reflection configuration load order, these values override the configuration file created by the system administrator.

The administrator uses the Set User Preference Rules dialog box to determine which settings the user is allowed to change and save. After the administrator sets the preference rules and saves them in a configuration file, users can save their preferences by clicking Save Preferences on the File menu in Reflection. Any allowed preferences that the user saves are automatically loaded the next time the user starts the same Reflection session. If the administrator does not set any preference rules, the Save Preferences option on the File menu appears dimmed and a user preferences file cannot be saved.

Blocking user preferences

By default, existing user preferences are always loaded when a user starts a Reflection session. To prevent existing preferences from loading, use the loadUserPrefs parameter in the terminal session applet tag

Naming conventions for user preference files

Reflection saves and names the user preferences file by combining the applet name with the .pref extension. (The applet is named using the name attribute in the applet tag.) For example, if an applet is named AccountingSession, the preference file will be named AccountingSession.pref. If the applet is not named, users will not be able to save preferences for the session.

Storage locations of user preference files

Preference files are stored on the user's computer under the RWEB_PREFS folder. To find the home folder, click About Reflection on the Help menu of a terminal session, then click the System Information tab.

Enabling and saving user preferences

After launching a new session:

  1. Use the User Interface Profiler option on the Administration menu to set up which menus, dialog boxes, and toolbars should be available to users.

  2. In the terminal window, click Set User Preference Rules on the Administration menu

  3. In the Set User Preference Rules dialog box, select the components that will allow user changes to be saved when the user exits Reflection

  4. Click OK to close the dialog box.

  5. Set any other options in the terminal session that you want to include.

  6. When you're done configuring the session, choose Save and Exit from the File menu. Click Save/Exit. The new session appears in the session list.

When a user runs a session, he or she can save the settings for the components that you permitted when you created the configuration file. The user has the following options when user preferences are enabled:

  • To save preferences in the Reflection terminal session, click the Exit command on the File menu. All preferences allowed by the administrator in the configuration file are saved on the local computer.

  • To clear the preferences saved in the terminal session, click the Reset Preferences command on the File menu. The session settings return to the defaults in the configuration file.

  • To create additional copies of the session with different sets of preferences, click Duplicate from the Links List. The same preferences can be modified in each duplicated session.

If an administrator has not enabled user preferences for the terminal session, the Reset Preferences command on the Reflection session File menu is dimmed and preferences are not saved upon exiting.

1.1.4 Recording macros

The Reflection for the Web macro recorder makes it easy to automate repetitive tasks. You can record macros in the Session Manager, and you can record them in end user sessions if it is enabled in the session profile.

NOTE:Automated sign-on macros, such as single sign-on macros, allow users to log on to hosts without entering their usernames and passwords. This type of macro recording is initiated from the Session Setup dialog box within the emulator and has a different set of options and requirements than those described below.

To create a macro in a green screen terminal session

  1. Choose Macro > Start Recording.

  2. Perform the actions you want to record, and then choose Macro > Stop Recording.

  3. Name the macro in the Save Macro dialog box and click Save.

To run the macro, choose Macro > Playback, click on the macro name, and click Play.

The Save Macro dialog box also allows you to set options for the macro. You can enter a description that will appear in the Playback dialog box; record the initial cursor position for the macro; and set the macro to run at startup. A table shows the individual steps in the macro, and for each step you can choose whether to automatically use the response you gave when you recorded the macro or to prompt for the response when the macro is run.

Macros recorded in the Manage Sessions panel are saved on the server. All macros, including startup macros, are available to the end user in the Play Macro dialog box if this capability is not restricted by the session profile. Even if user access to macros is restricted, however, a macro designated as a startup macro still plays back when the session starts.

Macros recorded by end users are stored in a user-specific directory on the local machine, but they can be exported and used in other sessions of the same type.