Symptom

You visit an intranet website that uses Windows authentication with an IE browser on Windows 7 and expect to be logged in automatically with your current domain credentials. Instead, you are challenged for credentials. Once you enter credentials everything acts normally, but you expect a single sign-in scenario and it doesn't happen. If you visit the same URL with IE on another Windows OS within the domain, single sign-on works as expected.

Cure

A default local security policy in Windows 7 prevents LM and NTLM responses.

1. Go to Local Security Policy > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options
2. Select Network security: LAN Manager authentication level
3. Change security setting to Send LM & NTLM responses

Related

• Another possible local security policy to try is Network security: Configure encryption types allowed for Kerberos. http://serverfault.com/questions/51747/windows-7-single-sign-on.
• How to enable NTLM single sign-on behaviour in Firefox: http://sivel.net/2007/05/firefox-ntlm-sso/.

Disclaimer: Not officially supported. Plunging heedlessly on...

1 - Back up INI files

First back up all your .ini files. Be sure you are getting the CORRECT copy of the ini file: the ini files in the Program Files directory are access-protected in Vista and Win7 because the Program Files area is a forbidden zone. You must open the ini file with elevated privileges, like with Notepad "run as administrator", and save it somewhere safe.

• dbtwpub.ini
• inmagic.ini
• dbtext.ini

2 - Upgrade from previous version

If you want to upgrade from previous version of WPP instead installing a fresh copy, uninstall the previous version MANUALLY first, because the WPP 12 installer tries to uninstall without elevated permission, and thus fails.

3 - Run installer as admin

Run the WPP 12 installer with administrator privileges. If you have a setup.exe you can right-click to "run as administrator".

My preview version of the installer is an *.msi file only, which doesn't have a right-click "run as admin" option. Instead, I launch the msi with msiexec from an elevated command prompt:

1. Search for "cmd.exe" from Windows Start Menu
2. Right-click cmd.exe and "run as administrator"
3. Change directory to location of the msi, e.g. cd c:\users\ptyrrell\downloads
4. Run the msi with the msiexec /i option, e.g. msiexec /i "Inmagic DBText WebPublisher PRO.msi"

4 - Fulfill prerequisites

The installer is cleverer than previous versions when checking for prerequisites, so you'll probably have to go and install or enable various Windows features before continuing.

 

IIS 6 Compatibility (IIS7 only) seems to be satisfied by enabling the "IIS Metabase and IIS 6 configuration compatibility" Windows feature.



Be warned: if you don't run the installer with elevated privileges, you will continue to fail the prerequisite check even after installing/enabling the right prerequisites!

 

5 - Test the install

Restore your backed up ini files. Run a query on the sample cars textbase to ensure WPP is returning results as expected.

If you are installing on a 64 bit machine, you need to enable 32 bit applications on the relevant application pool as covered in this previous post called How to Install Webpublisher on 64-bit IIS 7.

6 - Be the star you know you are

You did it! Now cut out a cardboard star with safety scissors, pencil "STAR HACKER" on it, and get your mum to pin it to your chest, glitter optional. Salute yourself in the mirror. Star! Hacker!

This'll be a short post, but there are many things I love about Windows 7, and many things I really like, but I've just discovered something that you might not have heard about yet: in Windows Explorer, you can now tab to complete the path in the address bar. For example, in the path below, I can type "Of" and then hit tab and it will automatically complete "Office" followed by the next backward slash, ready for me to continue on down the path.

This might not seem like a big deal, but see how much time it saves navigating to "C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v2.0.50727\Temporary ASP.NET Files". And yes, that's if you haven't already set up Executor/Launchy/Enso (note: does not work on x64)/Etc. to have a shortcut already to that particular location. However, it's even better than those launchy applications in that it's a) in Explorer already, b) it allows you to sometimes tab, sometimes type, sometimes arrow down to a selection, and c) hitting enter opens the current directory, but then you can go right back up with alt-d to the address bar and continue on again. If you use any of the above launchy-type applications, you'll know what I'm talking about. If you're not yet using one of them, hello?!? (and yes, while the new-in-Vista start button is an improvement, it's still not near as feature complete).

Another handy thing that I needed a third party app for before is the now-native "Copy as path" option for files (although you need to shift-f10 to open menu, or shift-left click to get it to show):

>

I installed Windows 7 RC a few days ago and so far it looks like Inmagic DB/Textworks 11 and Webpublisher Pro 11 are compatible with it. Both must be installed in "run as administrator" mode, of course. See the post related to Vista installs for details and further links. This post for installing Webpublisher on 64 bit IIS 7 is still valid for Windows 7. Also Denise's warning against putting textbases in the Program Files folder still applies. (Virtualization spirits the files away out of the Program Files folder.) One thing unfortunately is insurmountable at this point: there is no WinHlp32 support for Windows 7 RC (though there will be when Windows 7 goes RTM) so no DB/Textworks help for me. I've memorized it anyway.

Further to my post called Webpublisher on Windows Vista, here is how to install Inmagic Webpublisher on IIS 7 in a 64-bit environment such as Windows Vista x64 or Windows Server 2008 x64.

These instructions are valid for DB/Text Webpublisher as well as CS/Webpublisher. Steps 1 - 5 are valid for 32-bit IIS 7 as well.

1. Ensure IIS is enabled

This screenshot shows which IIS features are enabled on my Vista x64 machine. The highlighted one is particularly important (IIS metabase and IIS 6 configuration compatibility).

2. Install Inmagic Webpublisher

Follow the usual Inmagic install instructions.

3. Enable ISAPI-dll handler mapping on dbtw-wpd or ics-wpd virtual directory

Open the IIS Manager.

Open the Handler Mappings for the dbtw-wpd or ics-wpd virtual directory. (Figure below shows dbtw-wpd.)

The ISAPI-dll handler is disabled by default.

Enable the ISAPI-dll handler: right-click it, choose "Edit Feature Permissions", and check the "Execute" box. Click OK.

4. Set the Webpublisher dll as an allowed restriction

In the IIS Manager, click on the machine root - this is the top level of the tree in the left column, which shows the machine name. You should see a number of machine-level features, including "ISAPI and CGI Restrictions", as below. If you do not see "ISAPI and CGI Restrictions", you have not properly enabled IIS settings in step 1.

Open ISAPI and CGI Restrictions.

You may see Inmagic Webpublisher as an allowed restriction already. The path will point to the install location of dbtwpub.dll or icswppro.dll, depending on which version of Webpublisher you installed.

If you do not see Inmagic Webpublisher as an allowed restriction, you must add it. (Figure below shows DB/Text Webpublisher.)

5. Create an application pool for Webpublisher

Open Application Pools from the IIS Manager.

Add a new application pool to be used with Webpublisher, called "WebpublisherAppPool".

Go to the dbtw-wpd or ics-wpd virtual directory and open its Advanced Settings. Set the Application Pool to the new WebpublisherAppPool just created.

6. Enable 32-bit applications on the Webpublisher application pool

Open Application Pools from the IIS Manager.

Right-click on WebpublisherAppPool and select Advanced Settings.

Set "Enable 32-Bit Applications" to true. Click OK.

7. Get a drink. You're done.

Whatever drink you like. I like red wine, or on a hot day, gin and tonic.

Some more explanation

Whereas in IIS 6 you could run worker processes in either 32-bit or 64-bit mode, but not both, IIS 7 can run 32-bit and 64-bit worker processes simultaneously. And, as the above instructions make implicitly clear, you can set this behaviour on individual application pools.