The document files that users attach to email messages are as varied as the combinations of document formats, tools, and users throughout the world. The Document Viewer Agent (DVA), which is automatically installed along with the POA and the MTA, accommodates multiple attachment formats by converting GroupWise attachments into HTML format. For a list of the file types that the DVA can convert, see Oracle Outside In Technology Supported Formats.
Two GroupWise components rely on document conversion for their functionality:
GroupWise WebAccess: When GroupWise users access their mailboxes through GroupWise WebAccess, they expect to view attached documents in their Web browser, regardless of the file format of the attached file. For WebAccess users, the DVA converts attached document files into HTML so that the attachments can be viewed along with the email messages or other GroupWise items to which the documents are attached.
Post Office Agent: When GroupWise users access their mailboxes in any manner and use the Find feature to search for text, they expect to locate the text in attached documents as well as in email messages and other GroupWise items. For all GroupWise users, the DVA converts attached document files into HTML, so that attachments can be indexed by the POA.
IMPORTANT:By default, the POA uses the Document Converter Agent (DCA) to convert documents into HTML format for indexing. The DCA is an internal POA process and is not as scalable as the DVA. You must manually configure the POA to use the DVA instead of the default DCA, as described in Section 39.3, Enabling the Document Viewer Agent (DVA) for Indexing.
The DVA can simultaneously convert multiple document files into HTML format.
Because some document files contain unexpected data, they cannot be successfully converted into HTML format for viewing in GroupWise WebAccess and for indexing by the POA. The DVA isolates the document conversion task from other GroupWise activities. If the DVA encounters a problem converting a particular document file, the problem does not affect conversion of other document files, nor does it affect the user experience in GroupWise, except that the problem document cannot be viewed in WebAccess and cannot be located using the Find feature.