Can't duplicate a user's error...

[KevinFSI]

I'm sure this has happened to all of us at one time or another. No matter what you do, you can't duplicate a user's error.

Usually when that happens, and you know you're going through the exact same process as the user, it's time to look at software/hardware. Luckily, in a corporate environment like mine, the hardware from machine to machine is nearly identical. In my case the software is the same too with one exception...

On his machine the cgi variable HTTP_USER_AGENT has "DigExt" in it. What is that? From what I've read it has something to do with offline browsing, but I really don't know. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

Thanks, Kevin
slanek@ssd.fsi.com

 

[JHoarty]

From Microsoft's knowledgebase:


The following sample code illustrates the use of Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_USER_AGENT&quot:

<%
dim UserAgent

UserAgent = Request.ServerVariables(&quot;HTTP_USER_AGENT&quot
Response.Write &quot;<p>&quot; & UserAgent & &quot;</p>&quot;

if instr(1,UserAgent,&quot;MSIE&quot > 0 then
Response.Write &quot;Browser is Internet Explorer&quot;
else
if instr(1,UserAgent,&quot;MSPIE&quot > 0 then
Response.Write &quot;Browser is Pocket Internet Explorer&quot;
else
Response.Write &quot;Browser is not Internet Explorer&quot;
end if
end if
%>

In Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0, this code returns the following data or similar:
Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.0; Windows NT; DigExt)

Browser is Internet Explorer
This sample code uses the string that is returned for Internet Explorer, but there is no standard format for the string that a browser returns to the HTTP_USER_AGENT server variable. The complete list of possible values for HTTP_USER_AGENT is quite long, and new values are added each time that a browser is updated.

Here is a very brief sample of HTTP_USER_AGENT values:
Internet Explorer
- Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.01; Windows NT 5.0)
- Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 4.0 Crawler; Windows 95)

Netscape Navigator
- Mozilla/4.0b1 (Win95; I)
- Mozilla/3.01Gold (Macintosh; U; PPC)

To see samples of possible strings, search on your hard disk for a file named Browscap.ini, and open it in NotePad. Browscap.ini contains a list of values for Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, as well as browsers from Oracle and Opera. You can also download the most recent version of Browscap.ini from the following cyScape Web site:

http://www.cyscape.com/asp/browscap

John Hoarty
jhoarty@quickestore.com

http://www.quickestore.com

 

[KevinFSI]

I've read that. Still don't know what &quot;DigExt&quot; is all about. Kevin
slanek@ssd.fsi.com

 

[tleish]

There have been numerous posts in other forums on other sites about this. Several people said they were blasted with hits at several different times, and the only thing they have in common is that they all have DigExt, which is added onto the end of many IE5+ browsers.

IE5+ has a feature where you can add to favorites or save a page and save as many levels of links as you want for offline browsing. The general consensus is that this DigExt is for that.

Some have taken it as far as to say that if it has DigExt on it, the individual is spidering the site. I know that's not true because my IE5 HTTP_USER_AGENT shows up with DigExt in it, and I've never used IE5 for offline browsing.

I don't think DigExt has anything to do with the error you are getting. What is the error you are getting and what does the individual do to get the error? - tleish

 

[KevinFSI]

I must have read the exact same forum you read, because I saw that story.

Ok, take two identical machines and click a link where &quot;issue_id=1234&quot; is passed along to the next page in the Query String:

On the next page (the page where he is getting the error) look at cgi.QUERY_STRING

On my machine, I get the correct response: issue_id=1234

On his machine, he gets: issue+AF8-id+AD0-1234

The error, of course, says &quot;issue_id cannot be found etc, etc, etc...&quot; because on his there is no issue_id variable because the special characters (underscore and equals) have been converted. Why?

The only difference between the two machines, and I mean hardware AND software is that his has DigExt in the HTTP_USER_AGENT.

All I can say is what the...? Kevin
slanek@ssd.fsi.com

 

[tleish]

Just for troubleshooting sake, look at View > Encoding properties on both browsers and see if they are set to the same thing. - tleish

 

[KevinFSI]

I'll have to call the guy. I'm in Oklahoma he's in Toronto. Sounds like a distinct possibility though. Kevin
slanek@ssd.fsi.com

 

[KevinFSI]

Can't get him on the phone, but was hoping I could duplicate it by changing mine. No luck it seems. Kevin
slanek@ssd.fsi.com