Internet Explorer Administration Kit

Prepare for the wizard

Choose a sign-up method

See Creating a Server-Based Sign-up Package, Creating a Non-Server-Based Sign-up Package, and Setting up a Sign-up Server for more information.

Create the structure

You should decide whether to publish the browser package directly to an Internet server or to create the browser package on a hard disk or network drive, and then move it to an HTTP or FTP server.

Do the following when publishing your browser package to an Internet server:

Gather the path to the server and the URL where the files will be downloaded from. You should create a folder on the Web server, such as CIE, to publish all the files and folders associated with your custom browser.
Create a folder on your hard disk or network drive for the custom bitmaps you will use.

Do the following when creating a browser package on your hard disk or network drive:

Create the following new folder including the two subfolders.

Folder name	Description
\CIE	Parent root for all files
\CIE\Custom	Custom files (signup.isp, signup.htm, instal.ins, cancel.ins) for server-based signup
\CIE\Dist	Destination directory for the files
\CIE\Bitmaps	Custom bitmap files (graphic files needed for your custom browser)

You can also create a custom browser package on a CD-ROM.

Copy necessary files

Select all the files contained in the following folder located on the compact disc: \reskit\isp\servless
Copy these files to CIE\Custom

Customize the sign-up HTML file

Using the existing files on your desktop computer, you can start to customize your browser. Begin by updating the signup.htm file, which is the page users see when they open your custom browser. When users click Install on this page, setup information contained in the instal.ins file copies your custom settings to the users' browsers.

To modify signup.htm

Open the signup.htm file using an editor such as Notepad or FrontPage.
Make changes to the information. For example, you might want to add technical support information, or if you are using multiple sign-up servers, you might want to include links to multiple instal.ins files. If you are using different .INS files for 16-bit and 32-bit intalls, refer to the Important Note above.
Replace the logohere.gif with your own logo. In addition, you can replace the install.gif. Any graphic files, such as .gif and .jpg files, must be placed in the CIE\Custom folder.

Prepare the graphics

Create bitmaps

You will have the option of customizing the following bitmaps in your browser. Place the bitmaps in the \CIE\Bitmaps folder before you run the IEAK wizard.

One background bitmap for CD-ROM autorun screen (if you create a CD-ROM package)
Custom image for the CD-ROM buttons if you create a CD-ROM package)
Custom 135 by 256 bitmap for the Active Setup installation wizard that your users will run when they install the browser.
Custom toolbar bitmap (that displays as a background for the buttons and menus).
Two static 256-color bitmap images (one 38 by 38 and the other 26 by 26 pixels), which will be used to brand the Internet Explorer browser with your logo.
Two animated 256-color bitmap images (one 38 by 38 and the other 26 by 26 pixels), which will be used to brand the Internet Explorer browser with your animated logo. See the next section for more information.

Create animated bitmaps

Create two bitmaps (one 38 by 38 and the other 26 by 26 pixels) that follow these Internet Explorer animation rules:
On the File menu, click Save As. Type a name for the bitmap and save it to the same folder you created for the custom bitmaps (CIE\Bitmaps).

Note: Two tools are included with the IEAK to assist you with creating customized animated bitmaps for your browser. One tool is used to stack bitmaps in the format described above, while the other tool previews the animation. For information on how to use these tools, click here.

Create a bitmap for the Autorun splash screen

If you plan to distribute your custom browser on a compact disc, you'll need to create bitmaps as part of the Autorun splash screen that is displayed after the user has inserted the compact disc.

Before you can create the splash screen, you need to convert any 24-bit images to a common 256-color identity palette. Use the following procedure to create your bitmap.

These instructions assume that you are starting with 24-bit RGB bitmap files. If your file is not a 24-bit RGB bitmap, you must convert it.

Create a 256-color bitmap image (540 by 357 pixels) as described above. This bitmap should provide an introduction to the product.
Or, click sample.bmp to open the sample Autorun splash screen bitmap.
Note: The bitmap should contain labels for the two buttons (one for installing Internet Explorer, the other for displaying more information).
In your graphics program, create a working file for your palette. To do this, paste both your background and your button file into a single file. Make sure to paste the files side by side, not overlapping.
Save the file as palette.bmp.

Edit your graphic

In BitEdit, open palette.bmp. When you open the file, BitEdit prompts you to reduce the colors to 236 colors. Keep this number in the edit field.
On the Options menu, click Palette. PalEdit starts, displaying the palette to which your file has been indexed.
On the Palette menu, click Make Identity Palette. PalEdit adds 20 Windows colors to the first and last 10 indices of the palette.
Save the palette as palette.pal.
Switch to BitEdit, and open your original background file.
Save the file with a different name, such as Bgnew.bmp, to the CIE\Bitmaps folder.
Open the renamed background file. On the Options menu, click Color Reduction. Then click Palette File and select palette.pal. BitEdit dithers your background to the common palette.
Save this file.
Repeat steps 4 through 8 for the button file.

The custom backgrounds and buttons are displayed only on computers with 256-color (8-bit) display capabilities. On computers with 16-color (4-bit) display capabilities, a standard low-resolution background bitmap and button set is displayed.

Gather the URLs for Start, Search, and Support pages

Gather the URLs for Start, Search, and Support pages. It's a good idea to create a support page that will display if your users encounter problems when installing the browser. You will be prompted for the URLs for these pages when you run the IEAK wizard.