If one is hosting a Cold Fusion application on an ISP, one is likely not to have access to Cold Fusion Administrator or other server files, since a change made in either by one user would necessarily affect all other users.  The table below is designed to be a work in progress, documenting various tasks, their solution via CF admin or server files, and solutions not involving such access.

 

Problem CF Admin or Server File Solution Solution without CF Admin or Server File
Specifying a Database for a Query  In <cfquery datasource="bill"> One configures the datasource bill using the following steps:

1) To connect to an Access database in Windows 98/ME, Control Panel>ODBC Data Sources>System DSN>Add>Select Driver>Choose a  DSN and select file.  Then CFAdmin>Data Sources>Select the DSN you created in Control Panel and select JDBC-ODBC Bridge.

2) In Windows 2000/XP, etc., don't need to access Control Panel -- just CFAdmin>Data Sources>Choose a DSN and select Driver type, and then select file.

  

 TBD
Testing CF Files Locally that are Outside of the Root Directory of the Server Specify a virtual mapping to the folder containing the file by editing the jrun-web.xml file that is located in the WEB-INF folder located in the root directory of the server, which is by default c:\CFusionMX\wwwroot.  After you have changed the .xml file, you must restart the server for the change to take effect. TBD
Maximum Period for Application Variable Timeouts In CFAdmin>Memory Variables, maximum timeouts for application variables. None.  Maximum can only be set in CFAdmin
Period for Application Variable Timeouts In CFAdmin>Memory Variables, default timeouts for application variables. <cfapplication applicationtimeout="#CreateTimeSpan(0,2,0,0)#">
where createtimespan specifies days, hours, minutes, seconds, respectively which overrides the default setting in CFAdmin unless it exceeds the maximum allowed by CFAdmin in which case the maximum is used instead.
Storing Client Variables in a Database as Opposed to the Default Location Create a database.  Then configure a datasource as outlined in "Specifying a Database for a Query" above.  Then CFAdmin>Client Variables>Select datasource and add it.  <cfapplication clientstorage=registry or datasource name>
Specifying Default Location to Store Client Variables In CFAdmin>Client Variables>then Select Default Storage Mechanism for Client Sessions.  If the location does not appear as one of the choices, then follow the steps in "Storing Client Variables in a Database as Opposed to the the Default Location" above. None
How long session variables last CFAdmin>Memory Variables>default timeouts for session variables. <cfapplication sessiontimeout="#CreateTimeSpan(0,2,0,0)#">
where createtimespan specifies days, hours, minutes, seconds, respectively which overrides the default setting in CFAdmin unless it exceeds the maximum allowed by CFAdmin in which case the maximum is used instead.
Using J2EE Session Variables CFAdmin>Memory Variables>check box for Use J2EE Session Variables. Restart server. None.
Location of Custom Tags Put custom tags in the folder entitled CustomTags on server, or in CFAdmin>CustomTag Paths specify additional paths   1) Put custom tag in the same folder as the template which will use it, or 
2) <cfmodule template=relative path to custom tag template>
Specifying a Mail Server to Use for Sending Mail In CFAdmin>Mail Server>, specify mail server host name or IP address, port number and connection timeout.  <cfmail server="host name or IP address" port port="port number" timeout="number of seconds">.  This overrides any setting in CFAdmin
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Revised: November 24, 2002. Comments to wpegram@nvcc.edu