Document Handler Tool Agent

The Document Handler tool agent performs a specified command on a target document. The document type (as defined by its MIME content type) is used to determine the appropriate tool to perform the requested operation. When invoked remotely from a web-based client such as a browser, the tool agent delegates the task of associating the content type with a suitable tool to the host browser, which in turn relies upon its own internal plugin registry, which in turn defaults to the host operating system's shell file associations. When invoked locally or from a Java client, the tool agent uses the Java Activation Framework (JAF) to retrieve a suitable content handler from the host operating system's shell file associations. (In fact, JAF parses the standard files ~/.mime.types and ~/.mailcap for this information.)

Repository Metadata

A Document Handler tool agent metadata entry contains:

    <document-handler ...>
        ...
        <content-type ... />?
        <command-name ... />?
        <title ... />?
        <height ... />?
        <width ... />?
        <status ... />?
        <toolbar ... />?
        <menubar ... />?
        <location ... />?
        <scrollbars ... />?
    </document-handler>

content-type: The MIME content type of the document in question. If unspecified, it is inferred from the document itself (typically by a file association mapping).
command-name: The name of the MIME command to execute upon the document. If unspecified, the first (default) registered command is invoked.
title: The title to display on the window containing the document content.
height: The height of the document window in pixels.
width: The width of the document window in pixels.
status: true to display a status bar, false to hide it.
toolbar: true to display a toolbar, false to hide it.
menubar: true to display a menubar, false to hide it.
location: true to display the document location bar, false to hide it.
scrollbars: true to display scrollbars, false to hide them.