Welcome to TANGO Shared HTML Browser !
Purpose: This application allows sharing of Web pages. HTML pages are converted to a form that automatically synchronizes display in all browsers connected to a TANGO session, i.e., all slave browser follow the links selected in the master browser. Master status can be dynamically re-assigned using "Become Master" and "Grant Master" buttons in the TANGO control application. Slave browsers can follow links on their own, but this action will not be shared. After a new link has been selected in the master browser, all slaves will be automatically re-synchronized.

Important hint: After master status has been re-assigned, the new master MUST click the Submit button in the upper frame to initialize link sharing.

Examples of typical applications:
  • Presentations over Internet: TANGO shared browser will automatically turn each Power Point HTML presentation into an interactive presentation over Internet. Tell your audience to login to a TANGO session, and start shared browser. From now on, they see what you want them to see. You do not have to do anything at all to your presentation! If a person in your audience wants to go back to a slide and ask questions, he/she grabs shared browser control and proceeds while other (including you) watch and listen. Combine our shared brwoser with TANGO chat and TANGO audio/video conferencing, and you have a virtual conference room at your service.
  • Discuss web page design with your customer: You design a site for a customer and want to get feedback on your work, or teach the customer how to use the site. Use TANGO shared browser to accomplish just that. No changes of any kind are needed to turn your design into shared entity - our browser will do it for you on the fly!
  • Forms sharing: Your organization needs to share certain forms and train employees in using them. The employees are all over the globe. Use TANGO shared browser to share the forms and to pass instruction to the employees how to handle them - all in real time.

Limitations: Actions of Netscape navigation buttons such as Back/Forward are not shared. Further, only static HTML pages and forms are properly handled. Pages using JavaScript and Java applets may, may partly, or may not work. Fullproof shared JavaScript applications can be implemented using TANGO JavaScript API. Java applets can be shared using TANGO Java API

Bugs: If you try to activate menu bar in the shared browser window, the application will disconnect from TANGO. This is not really a TANGO bug, but one of the undesirable "features" of the Netscape's JavaScript implementation over which we have no control and no workaround .

Copyright: Northeast Parallel Architectures Center at Syracuse University, 1997