Plot from a Web Browser Plot from any computer – in your office, at home, at the airport, etc. No local client software required on any PC with JustPlotWeb

What is JustPlotWeb?

JustPlotWeb is designed as an alternative interface to the JustPlot printing and plotting system. It provides access to the client and management functions of JustPlot through a platform independent thin client, which leverages the display and interaction capabilities of a standard web browser.

JustPlot itself provides flexible network clients to manage and use the system. JustPlotWeb allows the management and use of JustPlot in a far wider range of locations, since it uses standard protocols that can be readily and safely routed through firewalls. An Internet café or wireless laptop can provide access to JustPlotWeb, anywhere in the world, from a variety of operating systems.

The user in the field can arrange for his seismic profiles to appear on a head office plotter, and a JustPlot administrator can handle problems with the plotters, or abort a rogue job, from the nearest PC without having a JustPlot client installed.

How does JustPlotWeb work?

JustPlotWeb provides a web application wrapper around an existing JustPlot installation. It uses client connections to the base to provide access to the user and management functions. It then serves up dynamically generated web pages to allow the user or manager to interact with the JustPlot system.

The web pages are served from a lightly customised version of the highly respected Tomcat web application server. Tomcat provides a container in which Java Server Pages (JSPs) can be deployed, which are the means of generating the dynamic HTML which forms the JustPlotWeb interface. Behind the scenes, these JSPs are linked to a set of Java libraries that handle the interaction with JustPlot.

Access to the JustPlotWeb pages is controlled by a log in and session management systems, which use short-lived tokens to maintain the user's session. It is essentially safe from casual intrusion.

Can I use the JustPlot client applications as well as JustPlotWeb?

All setting changes are saved in the JustPlot base and are available when the user uses the existing JustPlot client applications. Changes to the settings made using JustPlot client applications will be reflected in the JustPlotWeb interface. Newly created items such as queues, accounts or redefinitions will be immediately available to all users, whether they connect through JustPlotWeb or use the JustPlot client interface.

Is JustPlotWeb easy to use?

The JustPlotWeb interface is clear and intuitive. Much of it is similar in layout to the JustPlot 4.2 client programs. If you need help, it is available in the form of on-line documentation accessible from a simple help index. User, management, installation and configuration manuals will be shipped with JustPlotWeb.

Look and Feel

JustPlotWeb uses the web browser's layout engine to present the forms and dialogs required to operate JustPlot. The look and feel is very simple and modern, with a menu at the left and a clear working area in the centre.

Login

This is the main difference between using JustPlot client programs and using JustPlotWeb.

JustPlotWeb provides freedom to use JustPlot from anywhere, but this introduces a security problem. When the JustPlot client programs are installed on a user's computer, they use a fixed user name that maps to a user in JustPlot.

In a web-based environment, a user may not be logged in on the machine as a user recognised by JustPlot, so the first step to using JustPlotWeb is to log in as a registered user. Once logged in, the server maintains a session that holds the user information and details of his actions. The session will time out after a period without use, to free up resources in the server, but until then the user will not have to log in again.

Multiple Language Support

JustPlotWeb provides support for multiple languages in the user interface. A set of language resource files on the server allows an administrator to translate the text on screen into whatever language is required. Initially, JustPlotWeb ships with English installed, but in principle any written language in the world could be used. The user can choose from the available languages at login time.

or