Examples for URLFetch

You can never have enough examples! If you've done some tricky things with URLFetch and don't mind sharing your expertise, please send us your code! We'll post it here for everyone to enjoy.

links to examples on this page:

the basic (GET) fetch

the basic (GET) fetch with a twist

the basic fetch through a proxy server

the tricky (POST) fetch

a fetch with a munchie

a fetch with a few munchies

grab an image and spit it out

grab an image and save it for later

example HTTP headers

the basic (GET) fetch

this is an example of the simplest way to fetch a document

the basic (GET) fetch with a twist

here's a simple fetch with some data added to the GET request (notice the URL)

the basic fetch through a proxy server

this is a fetch that takes place by passing through a proxy server

NOTE: If you're having trouble getting URLFetch to work with a proxy server try assigning your proxy settings to the network connection on the server (e.g. using Internet Explorer under Tools->Internet Options, Connections tab). URLFetch will use these settings by default.

the tricky (POST) fetch

try this example that illustrates a basic POST request

a fetch with a munchie

this one shows you how to retrieve a cookie and send it back again

'create the object
Set URLFetchObj = Server.CreateObject("URLFetch.URLFetch")

'set the URL you want to retrieve (this site sets a cookie; 
'we're going to grab it, print it out, then send it back)
URLFetchObj.SetURL("http://home.cnet.com/")

'fetch the contents of the URL into the variable sResponse
sResponse = URLFetchObj.Fetch()

'write out the contents of sResponse to the client
Response.Write(sResponse)
Response.Write("<hr>")

'Cookies are sent in the header of the HTTP response, URLFetch 
'gives them all to you in an array
Headers = URLFetchObj.GetHeaders()

'loop through all of the HTTP headers; print them all out; when 
'you find the cookie set it to be sent in the next fetch
Response.Write("These are the headers that came in ")
Response.Write("the HTTP response from that last fetch: ")
If NOT IsNull(Headers) Then
 For i = 1 to UBound(Headers, 1)
 If Headers(i, 0) = "Set-Cookie" Then
 Response.Write("Cookie: " & Headers(i, 0) & ": " & Headers(i, 1) & " ")
 Call URLFetchObj.SetHeader("Cookie", Headers(i, 1))
 Else
 Response.Write("Header: " & Headers(i, 0) & ": " & Headers(i, 1) & " ")
 End If
 Next
End If

'fetch the contents of the URL into the variable sResponse 
'(we're retrieving from the same URL)
sResponse = URLFetchObj.Fetch()

'write out the contents of sResponse to the client
Response.Write("<hr>")
Response.Write(sResponse)

'clean up after yourself!
Set URLFetchObj = Nothing

a fetch with a few munchies

this example is just like the last one, except that it retrieves and sets multiple cookies
you can actually try this one out by signing up for an account at headhunter.net and substituting your own e-mail address and password in the code!

'create the object
Set URLFetchObj = Server.CreateObject("URLFetch.URLFetch")

'set the URL and POST data (here we log in to the site)
URLFetchObj.SetURL("http://back1.Headhunter.net/scripts/UserLogin.asp")
'use your own e-mail address and password in this next line of code
URLFetchObj.PostData = "Email=me@mymail.com&Passwd=KJDK8H&btnUASubmit=Submit"

'fetch the contents of the URL into the variable sResponse
sResponse = URLFetchObj.Fetch()

'write out the contents of sResponse to the client
Response.Write(sResponse)
Response.Write("<hr>")

'grab all of the headers
Headers = URLFetchObj.GetHeaders()

'here we're going to retrive multiple cookies and set them so that they'll all
'be sent back to the server with the next request
Response.Write("These are the headers that came in the HTTP response from ")
Response.Write("that last fetch: ")
If NOT IsNull(Headers) Then
 For i = 1 to UBound(Headers, 1)
 If Headers(i, 0) = "Set-Cookie" Then
 Response.Write("Cookie: " & Headers(i, 0) & ": " & Headers(i, 1) & " ")
 Call URLFetchObj.SetHeader("Cookie", Headers(i, 1))
 Else
 Response.Write("Header: " & Headers(i, 0) & ": " & Headers(i, 1) & " ")
 End If
 Next
End If

'this new URL is the one we use to view our resumes
URLFetchObj.URL = "http://back1.Headhunter.net/scripts/resMan.asp"

'fetch the contents of the URL into the variable sResponse
sResponse = URLFetchObj.Fetch()

'write out the contents of sResponse to the client
Response.Write("<hr>")
Response.Write(sResponse)

'clean up after yourself!
Set URLFetchObj = Nothing

grab an image and spit it out

this one grabs an image from a remote server and spits it out to the client

This one requires two files.

The first is grab_image.asp:

Here's the second file, we'll call it display_image.htm, that makes use of grab_image.asp. <head></head>  <img src="/test.asp">

grab an image and save it for later

this one grabs an image from a remote server and saves it as a file

example HTTP headers

this isn't a complete example, but rather some common HTTP headers to get and set

headers to set (that is, headers you'll want to set before making a request to a server)

here's a good list of User-Agent strings that I found: http://www.highermind.org/design/user_agent/?Action=List_UA

headers to get (that is, headers you'll after you've made a request to a server)

about us

blog

legal