Instructions on using Internet WorkHorse

WorkHorse has been written to provide a base for Internet Commerce currently not available through Netscape or any other browser. WorkHorse is clearly not as good a browser as Netscape, but there are a number of things possible with WorkHorse that are not possible with Netscape. These notes are written as a comparison between Netscape and WorkHorse and presume some experience with the use of the World Wide Web. WorkHorse also operates as a basic server for a number of functions.

Structure of These Notes

These notes describe each of the functions in WorkHorse and indicate how to use them.

The File Menu

The Edit Menu

View Menu

Window Menu

Each of the Web Pages is stored as a separate MDI window. Those windows are listed here. Only around 10 are stored at any one time. See navigating the web.

Code View

WorkHorse stores an internal hexadecimal scratchpad. This menu generally allows access to that scratchpad.

Alter Menu

Mail Menu

System

Help

BookMarks

The bookmarks file is always stored in HBOOKMRK.htm. It can, however, be loaded from \netscape\BOOKMARK.HTM. This allows the Netscape bookmarks file to be automatically loaded into WorkHorse. In addition you can store your password/userid in the bookmarks file for sites which have password access, but only for statistics. This avoids having to remember and type in considerable numbers of different password. It is not a good idea to use this facility if anything particularly confidential is accessed by the password. Editing the list is currently through text editing of the file.

Navigating the Web


Forwards and Backwards

WorkHorse stores each web page as an MDI window. When you click on a hypertext reference it sets going a task to get another page in a new window. If you click quickly on two different links then it will load both pages. When you tell the program to go forwards or backwards (menu option, toolbar, Ctrl B/F or Alt cursor) then it pages through the windows which can be confusing if you have gone back to a prior page. Inactive pages that you have not clicked on are dropped first. If you want to remove a page and go back, therefore, use Ctrl F4 and close the window rather than backwards.

Cancelling a page request

Clicking on the red button or pressing esc will cancel loading the last page you requested. Ctrl F4 on a page will cancel loading that page.

History

The history is updated and colour of links changed when you request them not when you get them.

Security and SSL

WorkHorse indicates the security history on the status window. It indicates whether you are using 40 bit or 128 bit SSL and the size of the key exchange RSA key. For testing SSL there is an inbuilt key that should not be used in the live environment. To run an SSL server in a live environment the client needs to be Netscape Version 2.0 or later. You also need to obtain a certificate in an ascii form saved as a file on the disk and specify this and your key file (which must not have a password).

HTML support

We have not concentrated on HTML support as our priority was digital instructions and security. WorkHorse supports basic HTML and some background features, but does not support images.

PGP integration with Web

If a Mailto link includes a PGP key the mail will be encrypted with that key. If a form has a PGP key and is mailto(ed) then it will also be encrypted.

ECheques

If a form is digitally signed and has been enabled by clicking the button for a digital signature then an ECheque will be prepared. If the private key is not loaded beforehand it will be loaded when the form is sent and erased from memory after that. We recommend that private keys are not stored on the hard disk.

URLs and FTP/POP/DNS

If you are using FTP or POP to get a file or mail you may need to put your username and password in the url. In this case us the form ftp://domain.com(UserName:Password)/ or pop://domain.com(Username:password)/ If you want to do a domain search the url is similar to dns://192.91.199.5/mkn.co.uk/MX dns (IP address of server/ Domain to search/ type of search)

User File

The user file is updated on Alter Mydetails. This allows a number of users to be entered each with their own details. This is also used for security controls in other parts of the system.

POP Server

This uses the User File to determine what access someone has. The email address specified is the email list that is generated when the list function operates. In otherwords if you specify a particular email address in the user file accessing that user will give that mailbox. If you specify "*" as the email address you will get all undeleted mail in the mailbox.
Deleted mail is only flagged for deletion.

POP Client

This uses the user file to poll the defined pop server. The current user name and password are used and the data is placed in the received email files. An HTML window is used to display the status of the transfer. After retrieving all mail in the specified mail box it is flagged for deletion. The server is polled at initial load and also at a frequency determined by the POPPollSeconds variable in the INI file (defaults to 5 minutes). The hidden URL for this is pop://pop.server.com/poll (poll makes it use the current user name and password) alternatively any other pop://pop.server.com(username:password)/ will acheive the desired result for another mailbox. This does not, however, poll the server unless requested.

File Reorganisation

No file reorganisation exists as yet.