Is there any way to launch an application (eg Word, StarOffice, etc) on your local hard drive by clicking on a link in the PostNuke Main Menu or in a block?

Is it possible? Does such a module/block/hack exist?

I am building an educational portal and would like users to launch a non-postnuke application by clicking from within the portal. The application I'm interested in is a piece of videoconferencing software, but it could be anything on the local drive.

I'm running a Mac but would like this to work on Macs and PCs.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

AFAIK this is not possible. Consider the security implications of a URL being able to access the resources of a local machine. Then consider the OS independance of a web browser and the different mechanism for launching 'an application' across these platforms. Further add PDA's, mobile phones, internet TV browsers etc. and you can see that this isn't viable.

For IE and Windows only i'm sure an ActiveX control could be written that would provide some access to the local machine. This MAY be possible via a local java application installed by the client. But either way there's no easy, transparent method of doing this.

-Mark

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Thanks markwest. I used an application called HyperStudio (not a web app) that would allow you to choose an application (or file) that could be launched with a click of a button. I also recall that by setting mime types, an app like RealOne Player can be lauched by clicking on the properly configured .ram file (for example).

I was hopeful this type of lauch could be done within PN.

cheers

All your doing there is setting up a local association of a filetype with a application. If that's what your after then you can do that - but each client must be setup with the association. This wasn't what you asked for though - the ability to execute a arbitrary local application from a link. This can't be done for the reasons I outlined. All posibilities would require some additional client software.

-Mark

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Mark

I plan to put the required app (Marratech Pro) on each computer so that the local user (after logging into PN) could easily launch it from within PN. This hotlinking the launch would add a level of transparency to the PN portal and save the user digging for the application.

I am doing a master build (per platform) and cloning the hard drive on each student computer.

The point I was trying to make is that there is a difference between launching an application and opening a file in an assoicated application. The latter browsers are designed to do, the former can't be done easily. Althougth if the application is to be in a consistent location then you might try a link like file://path/to/my/executable/myapp.exe. This may (or may not) work.

Since this isn't really specific to PN i'd see what information you can find elsewhere (a link is a link regardless of PN). Give google a try....

-Mark

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