Programming code embedded in an application automatically converts local client data to emulated HTML multi-part form data, without downloading a corresponding form from a web server. The selection of data for conversion is performed programmatically, without the need for interactive user specification of each data item. The emulated HTML multi-part form data is transmitted to a web server as a service request. Preferably, the client application is a configuration utility which generates a record of a computer system configuration, and the server performs the function of configuration verification on configuration data formatted as emulated HTML multi-part form data. The server concurrently maintains a web page which will, on request, download an HTML form corresponding to a system configuration to a web browser, from which a user may specify a system configuration to be verified.