FILE Record

The FILE directory control record serves different purposes for different types of domains.

• Minidisk or CMS search order. FILE records identify all CMS files VM:Webgateway can serve on a web browser. If a file is not identified in the DIRMAP file for its domain, VM:Webgateway cannot serve it.

• Any type of domain (minidisk, CMS search order, SFS directory, and BFS directory). FILE records map the file identification entered by a user in a URL to the proper CMS or BFS file to serve. The name of the CMS or BFS file might be the same as the file identification from the URL, or it might be entirely different.
  For example, BFS file names can contain characters that are illegal in URLs. You must use a FILE record to map a legal URL to such a file. BFS file names can also be made up of both upper and lower case characters. You might want to map a variety of combinations of character casing for a particular BFS file name to the proper BFS file.

• Any type of domain. FILE records can specify a content filetype for the CMS or BFS file to serve. A content filetype, defined in VM:Webgateway, is a list of file characteristics that allow VM:Webgateway to display a file correctly on the web browser.

Record Syntax

The syntax of the FILE record varies slightly based on the domain for which it identifies files to serve. The basic syntax of the FILE record is:

How VM:Webgateway Processes FILE Records

A web browser user enters a URL on his web browser. VM:Webgateway receives the segment of the URL path that identifies the domain in which the file is stored, and the segment that identifies the file itself (the file identification). VM:Webgateway locates the DIRMAP files in the specified domain and compares the file identification to urltoken on FILE and DIR records in the DIRMAP files. VM:Webgateway serves the file specified on the first FILE record whose urltoken value matches the file identification supplied by the user. If the record specifies a content filetype, VM:Webgateway looks up that filetype in the VM:Webgateway database and uses the file characteristics associated with the filetype to display the file properly on the browser.