[cobalt-users] [RaQ 3] Scripting problem

["Joe Quinn" <joe@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Could anyone please assist? A new customer has transferred his site to us.
It was working previously.

He is having ongoing problems with a script and thinks that perhaps it's the
server to blame. When a selection is made on the page, a script is invoked
which is supposed to take you to the correct destination but instead went to
a custom 404 page. I got this email which explains the up to date position,
the indents are from suggestions I had made to try and trace the problem;

>>>
> Try setting the destination URL as the fully
> qualified domain name including
> the host part;
>
> www.bestprac.org/whatever.htm
>
> and see if that makes a difference.

OK - I tried - to no avail.
Then, I tried adding a little more.
ie     http://www.bestprac.org/whatever.htm

Still to no avail.
So, I reverted to the original
bestprac.org/whatever.htm
as at least I know it SHOULD work, and in the past HAS
worked.

I spent some time comparing it with other sites where
the same script is used (such as the author's site at
http://www.staff.net/cgi-scripts/index.html)

I noticed a slight difference in the way the browser
was reacting to the script.... the status line in the
bottom of the browser, when the menu script button was
clicked, would first look for the cgi script - then -
upon finding it, would start looking for the
destination file.

It wasn't doing that with mine. It'd look for the cgi
script, then go to "missing.html".

It got me thinking that there must have been something
wrong with the URL of the script in the html form.

It was....
http://bestprac.org/cgi-bin/clickgo.pl
which looked perfectly as it should be.

None-the-less, short on any other clues, I changed it
by adding the "www." so that it read:
http://www.bestprac.org/cgi-bin/clickgo.pl

It worked !!!

OK - I changed that syntax site wide and uploaded all
pages again, so it is function now.

None-the-less, the problem is not *SOLVED*. The
problem is merely identified, and a "workaround"
instituted.

It *should* work with or without the "www."
There is obviously something on or within the
server-side set-up incorrectly configured.

That being the case, it is a problem you will most
likely encounter with other clients, current and
future. I'd recommend that you look into it and find
the *REAL CURE*, even though for now I'm up & running.

Now.... to figure out why my form-mail scripts are
malfunctioning.....
<<<

Thanks in advance,

Joe Quinn