mixed environment windows/linux

[ugach]

Anybody here using mixed linux/windows environment? I have one XP home machine (dual-core CPU big SATA hard drive new Dell hardware) running mysql and open-dent client on dot net. Images folder on this machine is shared on the intranet. One Linux machine (four year old P4 2.4 GHz 9 GB hard drive) is running client using mono. (I just copied windows open-dent folder on Linux as suggested by Dr. Sparks in some other topic) it is not compiled Linux client. I have made a permanent share from XP mounted on linux machine in /mnt/dentimages. I have configured the client on Linux to use this as image folder and checked the box that says use multiple image path. (second option, image for path for this computer). Most of the screens render correctly and normal data entry seems to be fine but I do not see the images and the application hangs while browsing images for a patient. Everything is working on windows client. The client on windows is running version 6.2.12.0. Where does open-dent store the information regarding data path? Is it global or per open-dent user/machine? What is the setup->computer where I see some machines that are not in my network? Would creating a separate mysql login for linux machine help? or is it a problem?

[jordansparks]

Don't check the box for multiple paths. Just use the "override path for this computer". If you put that path in a file explorer outside of OD, does it bring up your images? I think your path is wrong. In Setup, Computer, you will see a few extra machines. That's harmless. I think you can even delete the extras if you want. Creating a separate mysql login would not help at all, since you seem to be connecting fine to the db. It's paths that are the problem, not mysql login.

[ugach]

Don't check the box for multiple paths. Just use the "override path for this computer". If you put that path in a file explorer outside of OD, does it bring up your images? I think your path is wrong.

Yes, I can browse to the path and view all the images, pdf files, everything from Linux machine. I also use that folder for transfering other files back and forth. Does having additional files or folders in images folder affect OD? I will undo the checkbox and try. What is the use for mulitple path checkbox?

In Setup, Computer, you will see a few extra machines. That's harmless. I think you can even delete the extras if you want.

I tried deleting but there is no option. It was all greyed out. Do I need to setup my computers in this screen?I do not see controls to add my machines on this screen. On-line user manual also does not talk about this screen.

Creating a separate mysql login would not help at all, since you seem to be connecting fine to the db. It's paths that are the problem, not mysql login.

You are correct. DB connection is fine. I see the schedule, charts, accounts ....I was assuming that the information on path is setup per OD user basis in DB. So, creating additional user in mysql would help. BTW Is this information system wide or user based? Where is it stored? I do have two users setup in OD. One for windows machine and another for Linux machine. These are separate from admin account. I normally login using admin and make the path changes.

I also found out that on linux machine I cannot change printer. It says windows default althought there no windows default on Linux. I do have two printers that are available through CUPS. (One directly connected, one connected to print server).

BTW On windows machine when I select a network printer (IPP print server) as default printer in XP printer control panel and select that as default printer in OD, it does not work. I have to explicitly go in to every option and select that particular IPP printer for each individual function.

[jordansparks]

Carefully read the description by the checkbox. It refers to the line above. It has nothing to do with the override below.

You don't need to do anything in the computers window. Just out of curiousity, do you see your Linux computer in that list?

The datapath information is stored in the preference table and in the computerpref table.

Have you considered avoiding all this hassle and simply using a Windows computer?

[ugach]

Have you considered avoiding all this hassle and simply using a Windows computer?

Yes, but as Linux users would tell you, it is one time hassle (or few more while setting up) and forever bliss once done. In an office where the dentist thinks that the letter is stored in "word", not in drive C, not in a folder, just "word"!; Linux prevents lot of operator error problems. You can imagine all the clicks on wrong websites or malicious e-mails attachements. You can train a user up to a point but there is always that "oops" factor. In this case I belive more in prevention than user training. I have Linux internet gateway to access insurance web sites/e-mail and a linux firewall that blocks windows machine from receiving any e-mails and web surfing. BTW outgoing e-mail option in OD works great with my postfix SMTP gateway and I am glad that there is no incoming e-mail. If you do implement incoming e-mail, please provide an option to block incoming e-mail or limit it to address book entries.

As you support/conversion team only works on Windows, I had to install OD on XP for the first machine in the office. Besides, I am a techno junkie. I enjoy challenges as you would enjoy doing a difficult dental procedure.

[jordansparks]

Once I got used to the windows popping up to "Allow", I have found Vista to be very enjoyable. No problem with viruses.

[ugach]

I read somewhere on OD website that xp was reccomended over vista for OD, so I special ordered Dell with xp. Any way, without getting in to any OS fights, please help me solve this linux issue. Today we had a crash on XP machine and tech. suport remotely installed 6.3.8.0 after few tries. I promptly copied that to llinux and now the system does not hang when I access images screen anymore. But I still cannot see images for any patient in OD. This time I am logged in as admin user. I guess my interpretations about datapaths is wrong. I can confirm that from explorer equiv. on linux I can browse and see the image files in the folder.

Here is a screenshot of datapaths. Please let me know how it should be. right under that image path are a b c folders.

http://www.imagebam.com/image/b37ed625806358

BTW Is there a way to attach images directly here without using external sources?

[jordansparks]

All it took was the screenshot. Forward slashes are not valid Samba delimiters. Use back slashes.

[ugach]

All it took was the screenshot. Forward slashes are not valid Samba delimiters. Use back slashes.

The screenshot is from Linux workstation. As you know, path does use forward slashes in Unix/Linux as opposed to back slashes in windows. But, I did try what you suggested in hope that mono uses windows style slashes. OD complains about invalid path if I use back slashes and would not let me go beyond data path screen. BTW In that screen I can use browse button and point it to /mnt/dentimages folder. When I press OK it gives me /mnt/dentimages in the text field. Yet OD cannot show images in actual application.

Just to keep all debugging information in one post, the office has one Windows XP machine as both client and server (sharing windows dental images folder and mysql running on this same machine) and another Linux client. Just two machines. I am having trouble with Linux client looking at dentalimages folder on Windows machine only through OD. I use CIFS mount in fstab to to create a permanent share at boot time under /mnt on Linux workstation that I normally use to transfer other files back and fourth between the machines on regular basis.

[jordansparks]

I don't know.

[ugach]

OK. Let us try a different approach then. I am thinking that native compiled version may handle Linux style disk mapping correctly.

If I download source and compile based on information on this board, will it be compatible with database version of our paid stable version on XP computer?

If not, is there a way to compile it so that it is compatible?

[jordansparks]

It gets compiled exactly the same. There's no such thing as "native". It's running on top of the Mono platform. Honestly, copying the files over from a Windows computer is as good as it's going to get. There may be a bug. It's been a while since we tested on Linux. But we also had lousy luck trying to get any kind of file sharing working. We're just not very skilled with Linux. To directly answer your question, if you compile, you do have to very carefully watch the version numbers involved since you are connecting to a live database. Must be exactly the same version.