The Troubleshooting sample pages are a set of pages to which you can redirect your users when they are not able to access your Web site. Some P&M authentication methods automatically transfer to the Troubleshooting pages when a user is refused access.
The screens described in this topic are the pages that appear whenever a user fails to be authenticated by the system. When this happens, the system displays the Sign In Troubleshooter page, which contains suggestions such as reloading the page, and contains a button the user can click to transfer to the next troubleshooting page, the Logon Dialog Box page.
The Logon Dialog Box page (auth.html) presents the first of a series of questions to help the user identify what type of problem they are experiencing and what the solution might be. To each question, the user can answer either yes or no. A yes answer will lead them to the next question; and a no answer will lead them to a solution to their apparent problem.
The Troubleshooting sample pages are written in such a way that instead of using them to handle the troubleshooting function, you can examine the pages to learn the functionality involved so that you can write your own error handling pages.
Comments in each sample file make it easy to find each section, in case you want to put the functionality of that section in another place. The sample pages have minimal formatting, making it easy for you to customize specific code on your Web site.
The Troubleshooting pages, if they are moved, must have Automatic Cookie Authentication. Put them all in the same directory.
The Troubleshooting Pages are a linked set of pages. To view the set and its linkage, first make sure that Internet Explorer 4.0 or later is installed, then go to the folder where these pages are installed and double-click default.htm.
The following troubleshooting templates are located in the C:\Microsoft Site Server\Bin\P&M\HTML\trouble folder, for a default installation.
| Troubleshooting Template |
Description |
|---|---|
| Index.htm | The Sign In Troubleshooter page, entry to the troubleshooter. |
| Default.htm | The Repeat Sign-in Troubleshooting page, entry to the troubleshooter. |
| Deferror.htm | The No Access Permissions Troubleshooter Page. |
| Dpa.htm | The Supported Platforms page. |
| Auth.htm | The Logon Dialog Box page. |
| Upgrade.htm | The Upgrade Your Software page. |
| Member.htm | The Service Membership page. |
| Answer.htm | The Sign Up for This Service page. |
| Password.htm | The Member ID and Password page. |
| Fixpassw.htm | The Identify Member ID or Password page. |
| Noaccess.htm | The Access Denied page. |
| Refresh.htm | The Access Is Denied page. |
| Miscsol.htm | The Other Sign-In Solutions page. |
The following graphics files, which are used in the troubleshooting pages, are located in the same folder:
The P&M Troubleshooting sample pages can be used just as they are if you do not want to customize them. However, it is often more practical to customize them to match the specific needs of your users. This section describes the troubleshooting pages included with P&M and provides suggestions for augmenting or customizing these pages.
Troubleshooting pages will be used when users try to become authorized at your Web site and fail. Troubleshooting pages can also be modified for other uses, such as when access to a specific directory within the site fails.
You can transfer your users to the Sign In Troubleshooter page (Index.htm) from the Logon page where the user was not allowed access. This page suggests that the user reload the browser page. There is a Start link that begins the Troubleshooting loop by transferring to the Logon Dialog Box page (auth.html).
If the user clicks Start on the Sign In Troubleshooter page, the Logon Dialog Box page (auth.htm) appears. This page asks the user whether the Logon Dialog box was displayed. The Yes button links this page to the Service Membership page (Member.htm). The No button links to the Supported Platforms page.
To customize the Logon Dialog Box page, you can give instructions to follow when No Logon box appears. For example, using Distributed Password Authentication (DPA), you could instruct the users that client software must be downloaded.
If the user clicks the Yes button on the Logon Dialog Box page, the Service Membership page (Member.htm) appears. This page asks whether the user is a member of the service. The No button links this page to the Sign Up for This Service Page (Answer.htm). The Yes button links this page to the Member ID and Password page (Password.htm). You can customize this page by combining it with some of the following pages or by entering the name of the service.
If the user clicks No at the Sign In Troubleshooter page, the Supported Platforms page (dpa.htm) appears. This page lists all the platforms that are valid for P&M. There are two buttons to click, depending on whether or not the user’s platform is supported. The No button links this page to the Upgrade Your Software page (Upgrade.htm). The Yes button links this page to the Service Membership page (Member.htm).
To customize the Supported Platforms page, you can delete platforms or software that are not supported by your site. Or you can add links to sites where users can download the software they need to gain access to your site.
If the user clicks the No button on the Supported Platforms page, the Upgrade Your Software page (Upgrade.htm) appears. It directs users to contact their software provider to request an upgrade to one of the supported operating systems or software applications. And it contains a link to the Microsoft Web site so that users can download the platform software.
You can customize this page to include a link to the latest version of supported Web browsers or other software so that the user can immediately download a supported platform. The Upgrade Your Software page is shown in the following illustration.
If the user clicks the No button on the Service Membership page, the Sign Up for This Service page (Answer.htm) appears. This page displays a message asks the user to register to gain access.
You can customize this page to start a different action, such as linking directly to a registration page for the designated service, or including additional instructions for the user.
If the user clicks the Yes button on the Service Membership page, the Member ID and Password page (Password.htm) appears. This page suggests that perhaps the problem is an incorrect member ID or password. The No button links this page to the Identify Member ID or Password page (Fixpassw.htm). The Yes button links this page to the Access Denied page (Noaccess.htm). You can customize this page by combining it with the following page.
If you type yes in the Member ID and Password page, the Just Registered page appears.
If the user clicks the No button on the Member ID and Password page, the Identify Member ID or Password page (Fixpassw.htm) appears. This page displays a message asking users to contact customer service to get the information they need.
You can customize this page by combining it with some of the next pages.
If the user clicks the Yes button on the Just Registered page, the Access Denied page (Noaccess.htm) appears. This page queries whether the user can access a site immediately after signing up. The No button on this page links this page to the Access Is Denied page (Refresh.htm). The Yes button on this page links this page to the Other Solutions page (Miscsol.htm). You can customize this page by combining it with the previous two pages. The Access Denied page is shown in the following illustration.
If the user clicks the No button on the Just Registered page, the Other Sign In Solutions page (Miscsol.htm) appears. This page has four suggestions for other solutions. The user can click Network Outage, Account Failure, Private Site, or Proxy Server (LAN). This page has a scroll bar. The links take you to other sections of the page, where solutions are suggested for each problem.
You can customize this page with solutions that are specific to the service to which the user attempts to gain access. You can also customize these solutions by providing a test link for users to try after they complete the steps.