Setting A Unique @STATION Variable in Terminal Server and CTO Environments (Functions/Subroutines/Programs)

Overview

OpenInsight applications are easily configured to run from Terminal Server environments. Often the only change needed is to make the variable @STATION unique. In a client / server LAN environment the @STATION variable is always unique across running instances of the application because Windows enforces unique station names on the network. In a terminal server environment @STATION is identical across all instances of the application on the terminal server because multiple applications are simultaneously running on the same machine. Most application developers prefer @STATION be unique for each running instance of the application.

By default CTO (Character To OpenInsight) applications have identical @STATION values. A CTO window executes inside the OEngineServer service on the database server which results in @STATION containing the name of the server and not the client where the window is running.

The article guides you through changing your application's @STATION variable to contain a unique combination of username and process id for CTO and terminal server environments.

Directions

1.     Open your application in development mode.

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3.     Create a new procedure named SET_STATION.

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5.     Copy the attached SET_STATION.txt file into the new routine.

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8.     Save and compile the routine.

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10.  Open the record SYSENV*ENV_APPLICATION where APPLICATION is the name of your application.

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12.  On field 32 (line 32) add SET_STATION*APPLICATION where APPLICATION is the name of your application. The image below demonstrates the field to change and value to enter if you were working in the examples application.

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15.  Save SYSENV*ENV_APPLICATION and close OpenInsight

Start your application on the terminal server or in CTO mode and check the value of @STATION. You'll notice the value is now a combination of username and process id.

The SET_STATION routine is customizable. The @STATION variable is commonly used as a record key to store workstation specific settings between instances of the application. If this situation applies to your application you may choose to rewrite SET_STATION to return a specific value of the current username and client's workstation name that will persist between terminal server sessions.