use Genero Shortcut By Html

Question

I have a question now because IE was not maintained after 2022/6/15 also as the ActiveX
We have the ERP system only can use ActiveX By GDC(Genero Desktop Client), But now it can't use.
I google for it and found that I can create a shortcut By GDC, than export the shortcut on my desktop, that I can double click the shortcut to run my ERP system not using any browser(IE、chrome、EDGE...etc)
Now I want to create a webpage include this shortcut, let my co-worker can click the button on the webpage to run ERP system
If I use href to call the chortcut, it always show 404, but on the server I can double click shortcut to run the ERP system.
Can anyone tell me the problem or how can I do for it? (ps. the shortcut like xxxx.gdc)

Thank you for your Reading, if anything I missed Please tell me

Answer 1

You don't state the Genero version you are using but given the use of ActiveX it is probably an old version.

The GDCAX (Genero Desktop Client ActiveX) version was deprecated with the release of Genero 2.50 in November 2013 ( http://4js.com/online_documentation/fjs-gdc-manual-html/#gdc-topics/c_gdc_MI25x_250.html ). This was coincident with Microsoft treatment of ActiveX. If you were still using GDCAX from version 2.40 or earlier you are missing out on 10 or more years of development. This is the equivalent of continuing to run iPhone 4, Android 4, Windows 7 or earlier.

Genero including both the Genero Desktop Client (GDC) and the Genero Web Client (GWC) (now renamed Genero Browser Client (GBC)) has continued to be maintained and developed since then with releases every two years.

The documentation for current supported versions can be found here https://4js.com/download/documentation/ . For older documentation, look for the section Archived Releases on the right.

The standard GDC is an executable (Windows, Linux, OSX) that sits on the users workstation and communicates to the fglrun Genero process on the back end server.

When referring to "shortcut" you need to distinguish between GDC shortcut and Desktop shortcut.

The 'GDC shortcut' is the instructions to connect to the back end server and start the fglrun process using the GDC to render it on the front-end. This can be configured as a 'Desktop shortcut' which can be placed on the desktop, this will start the GDC executable and then initiate connection to the back end server. (just the same as clicking on a Desktop shortcut for an Excel spreadsheet will start Excel executable and open the spreadsheet). If you are putting a link on a webpage expecting it to start the GDC executable this is where you are starting to go wrong, see plenty of stack overflow posts such as Open an exe file through a link in a HTML file? on why you can't start an executable from a web page.

If you want to run a Genero application in a browser you should be using the Genero Browser Client or what was probably the Genero Web Client in the version you are using. The URL used in the GDC-AX configuration was pointing to the Genero Application Server (GAS) and to an .xcf file. (This URL probably would be of the form .../wa/r/... , the bit before the /wa/r/ helps to find the web server and application server, the bit after the /wa/r/ finds the application .xcf or entry in the .xcf configuration file. What you probably need to do is point to a different application, one that is configured to use the GWC and not the GDC.

Have a look inside FGLASDIR/etc/as.xcf. Find the entries '<APPLICATION Id="gwc-demo" ...', '<APPLICATION Id="gdc-demo" ...'. These both start the demo program, one using the GWC, one using the GDC. So just as your ActiveX could be configured .../wa/r/gdc-demo to start the demo program in the GDC, you could also type .../wa/r/gwc-demo into a browser to start the demo program in the GWC, the difference in the <APPLICATION entries being the value in the Parent node which point to different OUTPUT nodes GDC-AX vs GWC.

So find the URL in your ActiveX config, find the entry it is pointing to in your GAS config, either inside the main .xcf or it has its own .xcf, and then create a new entry in the main.xcf or create a new .xcf that uses GWC and not GDC.

Your Four Js support contact should be able to assist you in this.