Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 09:03:41 -0500 (EST)

From: Dennis C Prieve <dcprieve+@andrew.cmu.edu>

To: Bulletin Board Administration <bb+org.che.mathcad@andrew.cmu.edu>

Subject: downloading Mathcad documents with Netscape

Cc:

For some time now, I've been frustrated by my inability to download Mathcad documents which I publish on my coursework website. This problem only occurs with Netscape (Internet Explorer downloads and runs Mathcad documents automatically).

In the past, when you click on a link to a Mathcad document on my website, Netscape would attempt to display the file in a Browser window instead of passing off the file to Mathcad. At first I thought the problem was declaring the correct MIME type for Mathcad documents in Netscape's configuration. But this is only part of the solution. I now have the rest of the solution, which I'd like to share with you.

It turns out that, for Netscape to automatically download a file directly to an application, not only must the MIME type be known to the client (Netscape) but it must also be known to the server. Apparently there exists a centrally maintained "CERN http configuration file" in which declarations of MIME types are made. At my request, this file was just updated to include Mathcad.

Now when you click on a link to Mathcad document on my website, Netscape runs Mathcad and downloads the file correctly. For the record, I also have declared the MIME type to Netscape (I'm running version 3.01 Gold) by

1) going to the Options/General Preferences/Helpers menu and

2) clicking on the "Create New Type" button (assuming your version doesn't already have this type). This brings up a dialog box in which you

3) enter the MIME type (application) and MIME subtype (x-mathcad).

4) Click "OK". This brings you back to the "helpers" dialog.

5) Enter "mcd" as the File Extension associated with this new subtype.

6) Under "action", choose "Launch the application"

7) Click on "Browse" to find your version of "mcad.exe". My is in C:\WINMCAD\MCAD.EXE

8) Click on "OK" and you're done.

For the record, Mathsoft maintains a website on publishing Mathcad documents:

http://www.mathsoft.com/browser/publish.html

This was the key to solving this puzzle.