Using Text Control with ASP and VBScript

This chapter shows you how to use Text Control on a server.

When running on a server, Text Control is switched to a special mode so that it does not have a user interface. There is no editing window, no toolbars and no ruler. No dialog boxes nor error messages will be displayed. It is completely invisible to the user, and all editing and processing is done from code.

At first glance it may seem strange to have an editor running where it is hidden from the user, but there are many applications where documents need to be processed from code rather than interactively:

• Documents can be assembled from various sources, like text files (ASCII, RTF, HTML, DOC, XML) and image files (BMP, TIFF, WMF, JPEG, PNG, GIF).
• Information can be filled in from a database. An example for this is the automatic generation of nvoices and order confirmations, as shown in the Online Store sample program.
• Documents can be converted to RTF, HTML, DOC or PDF, and then either saved to a file or database, or sent via email or HTTP.
• XML data can be converted to HTML and other formats on-the-fly. Documents can be stored in a single format, and converted as requested by users.
• Batch processing and batch printing of large volumes of documents is supported.
• All word processing functions normally available from menu items and dialog boxes can be applied from code. Options include find&replace, fonts, paragraph indents and alignment, inserting tables and images, and many more. Just like a piece of text is selected with the mouse, it can be selected from code, for instance to underline it or change its text color.

Instead of the word processor interface common to client applications, server based programs often communicate with the user via HTTP. The user enters some information on a web page, which is sent to the server, processed on the server, and then sent back as, say, a PDF file containing an invoice. Some applications may not have a user interface at all, for instance when used for batch processing of large amounts of files, or batch print jobs.