Basic configuration and other information

To setup CUTE, please copy the contents of the packaged (7z, zip or tar.gz) file (including all subdirectories) to a folder of your choice, create a Virtual Directory in your IIS that points to it, and launch the index.asp page from within this virtual directory.

CUTE requests an initial identifier, this identifier you can input to enter in CUTE is guest, and is recommended to you to change it before the first use, for this edit cute_preferences.ida file and substitute in line:

  cute_preference_passwd=guest

... the term "guest" for an identifier of your choice, serving as login/password, very complex or very simple on your own way and consideration of other guys that may want to try to jump the walls of CUTE's castle :-).

Security consideration: old cute_preferences.nfo file has changed to cute_preferences.ida, this is because ida is an extension interpreted internally by IIS, and so is virtually impossible obtain an undesired read of preferences file via website, even if the extension is not explicitly forbidden via IIS website configuration. Still, if you want to continue with the older extension, change, in file preference_file_location.inc:
Const CUTE_PREF_FILE = "cute_preferences.ida"
to:
Const CUTE_PREF_FILE = "cute_preferences.nfo"

You can protect additionally the preferences file from outside "spies" denying its read access in IIS configuration manager, and unchecking the anonymous access option in file security options.

There are more or less three generic ways to connect CUTE to databases:

• Via a folder containing some "*.mdb" files, that is msaccess files with mdb files extension as a "must".
• Via a full path to a msaccess mdb file, with mdb file extension.
• Via ODBC, using a so called DSN connection.

Using the first one is the simpler way.

Anyway, when you enter CUTE you will see all the databases found by CUTE in the search ways indicated in preferences file, this is a sample:

  ________________
* CUTE PREFERENCES *___________________________________________________
* this file was automatically generated via SavePreferences subroutine *
* comment lines like these are deleted, be warned if u edit this file  *
* use | to separate different values (arrays of) in preference items   *
* use # for your own comment lines, these won't be deleted             *
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
# path/s to msaccess databases, use | (pipe character) to separate'em if many:
cute_preference_mdbfiles=.\test.mdb|C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VB98\biblio.mdb

# folder/s where to search for msaccess databases and do new ones storage:
cute_preference_mdbsearchfolders=C:\inetpub\Data\|.|..

# cute_preference_dsnconnections: DSN's, ODBC connection strings:
cute_preference_dsnconnections=driver={SQL Server};server={localhost};database=Northwind;uid=sa;pwd=;QUOTED_IDENTIFIER=OFF|Driver={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)};Dbq=c:\inetpub\wwwroot\xesxesxes\test.mdb;Uid=;Pwd=;
# IMPORTANT: do not delete this preference or you won't be able to access newly created SQL Server databases, if you want to declare it empty, simply use a no value, that is:
# cute_preference_dsnconnections=

# please change :-) default password:
cute_preference_passwd=guest

Usually, if my paths don't fit in your path's, the only file you will initially see is test.mdb. Consider that the files and folders that are actually seen depend on the permissions the web server user or IIS user (usually IUSR) has on folders. So if you consider that you can define a path like:

cute_preference_mdbsearchfolders=C:\Users\yesiam\Desktop

... then you may consider too that this kind of paths usually are not accessible to IUSR, so better change permissions in Desktop folder or save databases in a folder or folders where you know your IUSR has read/write access.

Note that if you're a happy gvim user, you can find a colored file syntax for CUTE preferences file in a file called README VIM USERS.txt

So we're at the point that you have entered into CUTE using index.asp and you can see one or more databases in your Workspace (or Espacio the Trabajo, or whatever, depending the language you've configured the browser you usually use...). By clicking on their names, the current working database is established, and you can see its tables. In the same, very intuitive scheme, you can access to edit, sort, delete and add more data to the table, define filters and so on.

New features since version 4.3:

Version 4.3 adds the use of directives to solve some gaps in the preference specification. They are the use of whitespace in the head or trailing of a preference's value, and the use of character pipe (|) for other things not being array separation in lists of values of a preference (that is, pipe as literal). Here goes the specification:

# ---------------------------------------------------------------------
# IMPORTANT NOTE: since version 4.3 heading and trailing whitespace    |
# in preference values is not being considered, this is controlled     |
# using @trim_whitespace_on and @trim_whitespace_off directives, if you|
# prefer the old (more confusing) behavior, delete @trim_whitespace_on |
# directive or put a @trim_whitespace_off just before the lines with   |
# preferences you want to preserve head and trailing whitespace in     |
# preference values. Quotes are not needed for delimitation, so they   |
# are not delimiters anymore, only part of literal preference values   |
# ---------------------------------------------------------------------

So for example, if we put:

@trim_whitespace_on
cute_pref1=   no space surround  
@trim_whitespace_off
cute_pref2=   space surround  

Then in the first case, cute_pref1 will take the value no space surround, while cute_pref2 will continue to be valued as space surround . Spaces that are trimmed are marked in red, spaces preserved in green.

# ---------------------------------------------------------------------
# NOTE: since version 4.3 you can use character pipe (|) in preference |
# values lists, for that purpose you must specify the directive:       |
# @array_delimiter, for example:                                       |
#                                                                      |
# @array_delimiter=$                                                   |
# cute_preference_mdbsearchfolders=.$..$c:\d|a|t|a                     |
# @array_delimiter=|                                                   |
#                                                                      |
# The value of @array_delimiter is the character you want to use as    |
# separator for array values of preferences instead of default one (|),|
# remember to reestablish it to | after the preference declaration     |
# ---------------------------------------------------------------------

New features since version 4.5:

Version 4.5 adds preference loginlatencybarrierfile to allow specifiying a different location for the login latency IP storage file, that prevents from unauthorized login tries from same IP, using time increasing latencies:

# cute_preference_loginlatencybarrierfile: the file for IP storage of consecutive logins
cute_preference_loginlatencybarrierfile=../.cuteIPlog.ida

Default location is CUTE's installation folder.

Old systems:

CUTE runs in "old" systems, like a Windows 98 with Personal Web Server (PWS) installed. It requires ADO drivers and DAO (engine 3.6) to be able to create databases though. In this systems using this preference setting could be useful:

cute_preference_jetdrivertemplate=Driver={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)};Dbq=%;Uid=;Pwd=;

Problems with... permissions?

Some of the CUTE features:

1. Add new Access (*.mdb) and SQL Server databases.
2. Compact and repair MS Access databases on-line.
3. Manage more that one database (workspace of databases).
4. Create/manage tables and views, using GUI or provided SQL command line interface.
5. SQL command line, supporting session history and templates for common SQL operations.
6. A system of filters that allow to easily making your own customized table view on the fly, for example to facilitate table contents edition, find specific entries, or export selected parts of a table.
7. Single user login system to prevent unauthorized access.
8. Table/view/filter exports to MS Word.
9. Table/view/filter exports to MS Excel, and in conformance to the CSV specification (RFC 4180).
10. Table/view/filter exports to HTML.
11. Table/view/filter exports to raw XML.
12. Table/view/filter exports as an SQL Server sequence of inserts.
13. Automatic language detection/selection via HTTP negotiation with user's browser. (CUTE is translated 100% to Spanish and English, and 80%-100% translated French, German and Italian)
14. UTF-8 support for Unicode languages.
15. Options storage in a separate preferences file.

Note about views:

Views at this time can only be managed via SQL. For example, you can create a view for employee sales in test.mdb database with:

CREATE VIEW [my employee sales view] AS
SELECT Employees.FirstName,
       Employees.LastName,
       (sum(orderdetails.unitprice * orderdetails.quantity * (1-orderdetails.discount))) as [Employee Sales] 
FROM 
  (Employees LEFT JOIN Orders ON Employees.EmployeeID = Orders.EmployeeID)
    LEFT JOIN OrderDetails ON Orders.OrderID = [OrderDetails].OrderID
GROUP BY
  Employees.FirstName, Employees.LastName

Issues solved with respect to UTE:

1. Database's tables and table's fields with spaces (and other very outrageously weirdly characters) in its name can now be accessed.
2. Faster page views (lists of table entries) in big (+10000 entries) tables. UTE used to timeout IIS scripting engine when trying to show large tables.
3. Revised and corrected problems with character escapes (URL encodings, HTML entities)
4. CUTE is now able (since version 4.4) to detect all kinds of (I think...) PRIMARY KEYS when being connected to the database via ODBC. But if it were the case that not, you are still able to set the PRIMARY KEYS as additional parameters:
   • ute.asp?name=OrderDetails&pkey1=OrderID&pkey2=ProductID
   This was considered the last Legacy issue to be solved!!!

(see whatsnew.txt for more)

Some reference websites:

• SourceForge's CUTE main page (you might be here already).
• CUTE is licensed under GNU General Public License. (Site GPL copy).
• CUTE is based in UTE.

The history of UTE and CUTE can be found here.

Enjoy CUTE !

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