Chapter 13 - Setting Up Servers

Chapter 13 - Setting Up Servers

As you customize the browser and prepare for deployment, you should also prepare any servers that you will need to support your deployment of Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. This chapter covers preparing for proxy servers, roaming user profiles, Internet sign-up with the Internet Connection wizard, and Microsoft NetMeeting.

See Also

For more information about testing the deployment process before the final rollout, see Chapter 11, "Setting Up and Administering a Pilot Program."
For more information about preparing to use the Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK), see Chapter 12, "Preparing for the IEAK."
For more information about building custom browser packages for installation, see Chapter 15, "Running the Internet Explorer Customization Wizard."
For more information about rolling out Internet Explorer to your users, see Chapter 19, "Deploying Microsoft Internet Explorer 5."
For more information about automatic configuration, see Chapter 21, "Using Automatic Configuration and Automatic Proxy."
For more information about updating programs after deployment, see Chapter 22, "Keeping Programs Updated."

Preparing Servers

Depending on your situation, you may need to set up servers as part of your deployment. When setting up servers, you should plan for your users' needs in terms of deployment, browser use, and updating of software. If you are an Internet service provider (ISP), you should also plan how users will sign up for your services.

If you distribute files over the Internet or an intranet, consult your Web server documentation for specific information about how to set up your servers. Regardless of your Web server type, consider the following issues that can impact how smoothly users are able to install your software:

Security—Certain security levels prevent files that are not digitally signed from being downloaded, and some security levels prompt the user with warning messages. For general information about digital certificates, see Chapter 6, "Digital Certificates." For information about preparing digital certificates for use with the Internet Explorer Customization wizard, see Chapter 12, "Preparing for the IEAK."
Bandwidth—Setting up servers in different locations or staggering rollouts might be necessary to avoid an overwhelming demand on a specific server. For example, you could schedule installation for different divisions or regions a few days or weeks apart, depending on the size of your organization and resources. For more information about deployment, see Chapter 19, "Deploying Microsoft Internet Explorer 5."

You can use the Customization wizard to specify up to 10 locations from which users can download and install Internet Explorer. This information is stored in the IE5Sites.dat file. If one server is down, an attempt is made to download files from the next site in the list. You can choose only one site, however, if you are installing Internet Explorer silently—that is, with no user interaction.

If you are a corporate administrator, you can help offset some of the load associated with Internet usage by specifying and setting up key user pages, such as the home, support, and search pages, on your intranet. You can preconfigure these pages before deployment on the Important URLs screen in Stage 4 of the Customization wizard.

If you are a corporate administrator and you don't have Internet access, you must set up these pages on your intranet.

If your deployment plan also includes software updates, you might want to schedule them during off-hours or stagger updates among groups of users to minimize server load. For more information about software updates, see Chapter 22, "Keeping Programs Updated."

In addition to general deployment issues, you may need to address additional server needs for your organization. This chapter covers the following specific server issues:

Automatic browser configuration servers and automatic detection of browser settings (corporate administrators)
Proxy servers
Automatic searching
Roaming user profiles (corporate administrators)
Internet sign-up servers (ISPs)
NetMeeting servers

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Configuring Central Automatic Configuration Servers

Automatic configuration and automatic proxy enable you to change user settings from a central location after you deploy Internet Explorer. This can be useful if you expect the needs of your users or your organization to change frequently.

On the Connections tab in the Internet Options dialog box, you can specify that Internet Explorer should check periodically for changes to the automatic configuration files, and then refresh user settings as needed.

You can also set these options before deployment by using the Internet Explorer Customization wizard. The following illustration shows the Automatic Configuration screen of the wizard, where you can set automatic detection, automatic proxy, and automatic configuration settings.

Dd361934.ch13_01(en-us,TechNet.10).gif

Information about setting up your servers for this feature is contained in this chapter. Information about setting options in the browser and in the Customization wizard are contained in Chapter 21, "Using Automatic Configuration and Automatic Proxy. If you plan to use automatic configuration, you will need to configure servers on your intranet. To configure central management servers, you need to have the following:

Web-server software, such as Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS)
Automatic configuration and automatic proxy files on the server at the URLs necessary for automatic browser configuration

The number of automatic browser configuration servers you require can vary according to the size and demands of your organization. If your organization is large, you might need to configure automatic browser configuration servers for each domain. For example, you could specify automatic browser configuration for user groups in domain 1 as follows:

http://domain1_server/autoconfig/<usergroup>.ins
http://domain1_server/autoconfig/proxy1.pac

You would install a Web server at http://domain1_server/ and then copy the <usergroup.ins and <usergroup>.cab files and proxy1.pac to the server at http://domain1_server/autoconfig/. When users in domain 1 start Internet Explorer, it reads the appropriate automatic configuration files and the auto-proxy file residing at http://domain1_server/autoconfig/.

Note Whenever you update and post an Internet settings (.ins) file to a server, you should also copy any cabinet (.cab) files that have also changed.

Automatic Detection of Browser Settings (Corporate Administrators)

You can configure your network so that Internet Explorer is customized automatically the first time it is started. This can help reduce administrative overhead and potentially reduce help desk calls about browser settings.

Automatic detection of browser settings, which is based on Web Proxy AutoDiscovery (WPAD), is supported by both Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Domain Name System (DNS). With the appropriate settings, DHCP servers that support the DHCPINFORM message and DNS servers can automatically detect and configure a browser's settings.

Automatic detection of settings builds on existing automatic configuration technologies, in which a browser can be configured from a central location with an IEAK profile or a JavaScript proxy configuration (.js, .jvs, or .pac) file.

With automatic detection, the browser can now be automatically configured when it is started, even if the browser was not first customized by the administrator. For example, if a user were to download a noncustomized browser from the Internet, instead of installing a customized version from the corporate servers, automatic detection can automatically configure and customize the user's browser.

To specify in the IEAK that you want to set up automatic detection of browser settings, select Automatically detect settings on the Automatic Configuration screen of the Internet Explorer Customization wizard.

Automatic Detection of Browser Settings for DHCP and DNS

A DHCP server enables the administrator to centrally specify global and subnet-specific TCP/IP parameters and to define parameters for clients by using reserved addresses. When a client computer moves between subnets, it is automatically reconfigured for TCP/IP when the computer is started.

DNS is a set of protocols and services on a TCP/IP network that allow users to search for other computers by using hierarchical user-friendly names, often known as "hosts," instead of numeric IP addresses.

Using DHCP with automatic detection works best for local area network-based (LAN-based) clients, while DNS enables computers with both LAN-based and dial-up connections to detect their settings. Although DNS can handle network and dial-up connections, DHCP provides for faster access to LAN users and allows greater flexibility in specifying configuration files.

To enable automatic detection of browser settings, you need to configure specific settings on DNS servers, DHCP servers, or both.

Enabling Automatic Detection of Browser Settings on DHCP

To set up automatic detection of browser settings on a DHCP server, you need to create a new option type with a code number of 252. Your DHCP server must support the DHCPINFORM message.

Note Depending on your type of DHCP server, the option names may vary slightly.

To add a new DHCP option type

On the DHCP Options menu, click Defaults.
In the Option Class list, click the class for which you want to add a new option type, and then click New.
In the Name box, type a new option name.
In the Data Type list, click the String data type.

For the default value of the string, type the URL that points to your configuration file. This file can be a .pac, .jvs, .js, or .ins configuration file.

Examples:
http://www.microsoft.com/webproxy.pac
http://marketing/config.ins
http://###.#.###.#/account.pac
In the Identifier box, type the code number 252 to associate with this option type.
In the Comment box, type a description.

Enabling Automatic Detection on DNS

To enable automatic detection of browser settings on DNS, you need to configure either the host record or CNAME "alias" record in the DNS database file.

Host Record

A host record is used to statically associate host (computer) names to IP addresses within a zone. A host record contains entries for all hosts that require static mappings, such as work stations, name servers, and mail servers.

The syntax for a host record has this form:

<host name> IN A <ip address of host>

The following list shows some examples.

Host name	IN	A	Host IP address
corserv	IN	A	192.55.200.143
nameserver2	IN	A	192.55.200.2
mailserver1	IN	A	192.55.200.51

CNAME Record

These records are sometimes called "aliases" but are technically referred to as "canonical name" (CNAME) entries. These records allow you to use more than one name to point to a single host. Using canonical names makes it easy to do such things as host both an FTP server and a Web server on the same computer.

To configure a DNS database file for automatic detection of browser settings

In the DNS database file, enter a host record named wpad that points to the IP address of the Web server that contains the .pac, .jvs, .js, or .ins automatic configuration file.

-or-

Enter a CNAME alias named wpad that points to the name (the resolved name, not the IP address) of the server that contains the .pac, .jvs, .js, or .ins automatic configuration file.

Note After the record is added and the database file is propagated to the server, the DNS name wpad.domain.com should resolve to the same computer name as the server that contains the automatic configuration file.

When using DNS, Internet Explorer constructs a default URL template based on the host name wpad—for example:

http://wpad.domain.com/wpad.dat

Therefore, on the Web server wpad, you must set up a file or redirection point named wpad.dat, which delivers the contents of your automatic configuration file.

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Working with Proxy Servers

A proxy server acts as an intermediary between your computer and the Internet. It is most frequently used when there is a corporate intranet and users are connected to a LAN. It can also work with a firewall to provide a security barrier between your internal network and the Internet. In addition, corporate administrators can balance proxy loads and block undesirable sites. Proxy servers are becoming more advanced in their ability to reduce network traffic by caching content that is frequently requested by the browsers they serve.

A key benefit of Internet Explorer 5 is that users can have multiple connection configurations. Proxy and other LAN settings can be altered for each connection configuration, and a friendly name can be assigned to each configuration—for example, "docking station."

The following section covers two key issues that you should consider if your organization uses proxy servers:

Configuring proxy port settings
Configuring proxy bypass lists

Proxy Configuration (Corporate Administrators and ISPs)

Corporate administrators and ISPs can preset proxy server settings by entering the settings in Stage 4 of the Internet Explorer Customization wizard. The following illustration shows the Proxy Settings screen.

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These settings in the Customization wizard correspond to proxy settings in the browser. To see these settings in the browser, click the Tools menu, and then click Internet Options. Click the Connections tab, and then click LAN Settings. To see addresses of specific proxy servers, click Advanced.

Selecting the Use the same proxy server for all protocols check box in the browser or the Use the same proxy server for all addresses check box in the Customization wizard makes all the other entries unavailable and copies the proxy information in the HTTP setting into the other protocol settings. Selecting the check box also hides the information in the Socks setting.

The Secure setting is for HTTPS requests based on the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology.

Proxy locations that do not begin with a protocol (such as http:// or ftp://) are assumed to be a CERN-type HTTP proxy. For example, when the user types proxy, it's treated the same as if the user typed http://proxy. For FTP gateways, such as the TIS FTP gateway, the proxy should be listed with the ftp:// in front of the proxy name. For example, an FTP gateway for an FTP proxy would have this format:

ftp://ftpproxy

When you enter proxy settings, use the following syntax, where <address> is the Web address of the proxy server and <port> is the port number assigned to the proxy server:

http://<address>:<port>

For example, if the address of the proxy server is proxy.example.microsoft.com and the port number is 80, the setting in the Proxy Server box for LAN settings in the Proxy Settings dialog box or the Proxy Settings screen of the Customization wizard should read as follows:

http://proxy.example.microsoft.com:80

Note If you are using the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your proxy server, make sure not to type leading zeros. For example, use 130.25.0.1 instead of 130.025.000.001.

Key proxy registry settings are as follows:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \Software \Microsoft \Windows \CurrentVersion \
Internet Settings\
"ProxyEnable"="01 00 00 00"
"ProxyServer"="data"
"ProxyOverride"="local"

The proxy bypass list in the Exceptions area of the Proxy Settings dialog box allows users to specify addresses that will bypass the proxy server and be accessed directly.

Corporate administrators can also preset proxy settings or manage proxy settings by using an automatic proxy configuration file in .js, .jvs, or .pac format. For more information about automatic proxy configuration, see Chapter 21, "Using Automatic Configuration and Automatic Proxy."

Using the Proxy Bypass List

Some network requests need to bypass the proxy. The most common reason to bypass the proxy is for local (intranet) addresses. Generally, these addresses do not contain periods in them. By selecting the Bypass proxy server for local (intranet) addresses check box, all addresses without a period (for example, http://compserv) will bypass the proxy and be resolved directly.

To bypass more complex addresses, you can set up exceptions for specific addresses or wildcards. If you are configuring settings by using the Customization wizard, enter the addresses into the Do not use proxy server for addresses beginning with check box in the Exceptions area of the Proxy Settings dialog box. If you are configuring proxy settings on a user's computer after deployment, click the Tools menu, and then click Internet Options. Click the Connections tab, click LAN Settings, and then click Advanced. Enter the addresses into the Do not use proxy server for addresses beginning with check box in the Exceptions area. Use a semicolon (;) between entries in the Customization wizard and in the browser.

A proxy bypass entry may begin with a protocol type: http://, https://, ftp://, or gopher://. If a protocol type is used, the exception entry applies only to requests for that protocol. Note that the protocol value is case insensitive. Multiple entries should be separated by semicolons.

If no protocol is specified, any request using the address will be bypassed. If a protocol is specified, requests with the address will be bypassed only if they are of the indicated protocol type. As with the protocol type, address entries are case insensitive. If a port number is given, the request is processed only if all previous requirements are met and the request uses the specified port number.

The Exceptions area of the Proxy Settings dialog box allows a wildcard (*) to be used in the place of zero or more characters. The following list contains examples showing how to use wildcards:

To bypass servers, enter a wildcard at the beginning of an Internet address, IP address, or domain name with a common ending. For example, use *.example.com to bypass any entries ending in .example.com (such as some.example.com and www.example.com).
To bypass servers, enter a wildcard in the middle of an Internet address, IP address, or domain name with a common beginning and ending. For example, the entry www.*.com matches any entry that starts with www and ends with com.
To bypass servers, enter a wildcard at the ending of an Internet address, IP address, or domain name with a common beginning. For example, use www.microsoft.* to bypass any entries that begin with www.microsoft. (such as www.microsoft.com, www.microsoft.org, and www.microsoftcorporation.com).
To bypass addresses with similar patterns, use multiple wildcards. For example, use 123.1*.66.* to bypass addresses such as 123.144.66.12, 123.133.66.15, and 123.187.66.13.

Although wildcards are powerful, they must be used carefully. For example, the entry www.*.com causes Internet Explorer to bypass the proxy for most Web sites.

If you need to bypass the proxy for a local domain, try using *.domain.com. This will not use the proxy for any computer name ending in .domain.com. You can use the wildcard for any part of the name.

Using FTP with CERN-Compliant Proxy Servers

Users can access FTP sites through a CERN-compliant proxy server. To access an FTP site, users would type the Internet address (URL) for the FTP site they want to connect to, as shown in the following example:

ftp://ftp.microsoft.com

If the site requires a user name and password, users also need to include that information in the address:

ftp://username:password@ftp.microsoft.com

If your system uses a CERN proxy server, users can only download files from and view files at FTP sites. To enable users to perform other services, such as uploading files, you need to provide another proxy solution.

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Working with Automatic Search

You can customize automatic search, which enables users to type a conversational word into the Address bar to search for frequently used pages. Users do not need to remember the URLs for the pages that you specify, so key information is easier to find.

For example, you could enable a Web page about invoices to appear when a user types the term "invoice" into the Address bar, even if the URL of the page doesn't contain this term. If you are a corporate administrator, the following topic shows you how you can customize automatic searching. If you are an ICP or ISP, send e-mail to autosrch@microsoft.com for more information.

This feature is already enabled for the Internet. For example, typing certain distinct, popular terms into the Address bar causes a Web site associated with that term to appear. When a Web site cannot distinctly be associated with that term—for example, if there are several apparent matches—then a Web page showing top search results is displayed.

The Web site that appears does not necessarily contain the exact search term in its URL. If a Web site whose domain is the same as the term is not the best match for the search term (for example, if the search term is the same as the URL without www. and .com), then the user is redirected to the site that is the best match for that term. By default, the user is prompted when a redirection occurs.

The Automatic Search URL is configurable by using two parameters denoted by a percent (%) sign. These two values must be part of the URL itself. The value %1 represents what the user typed in the Address bar. The value %2 represents the type of search option chosen by the user. Possible values for %2 are 3, 2, 1, and 0, where:

3 = Display the results and go to the most likely site.
2 = Just go to the most likely site.
1 = Just display the results in the main window.
0 = Do not search from the Address bar.

To set up Automatic Search

Create a script and post it to an intranet server.

The search page can be a script file, such as an Active Server Page (.asp) file, that conditionally checks for search terms. The script needs to be hosted at this location: http://ieautosearch/response.asp?MT=%1&srch=%2. If you are not using IIS, then you would need to remap this URL to the address where your script is located.
If you are setting this option on the System Policies and Restrictions screen in Stage 5 of the Customization wizard, click Internet Settings.

If you are setting this option in the Profile Manager, click Policies and Restrictions, and then click Internet Settings.
Click Advanced Settings, and then in the Searching area, type intranet into the Search Provider Keyword box.

If you're just redirecting users to another site rather than returning search results, then select Just go to the most likely site in the When Searching From The Address Bar box.

Note If you are a corporate administrator, you are not customizing search, and your organization doesn't have Internet access, you may want to disable automatic searching. To do this, in the Searching area on the Advanced Settings screen, select Never search from the Address bar.

Sample .asp AutoSearch Script

The following is a script that shows how search queries on an intranet can be redirected to the appropriate Web page.

<%@ Language=VBScript %>
<%
' search holds the words typed in the Address bar by the user, without 
' the "go" or ' "find" or any delimiters like "+" for spaces.
' If the user types "Apple pie," search = "Apple pie."
' If the user types "find Apple pie," search = "Apple pie."
search = Request.QueryString("MT")
search = UCase(search)
searchOption = Request.QueryString("srch")

' This is a simple if/then/else script to redirect the browser 
' to the site of your choice based on what the user typed.
' Example: expense report is an intranet page about 
' filling out an expense report
if (search = "NEW HIRE") then
Response.Redirect("http://admin/hr/newhireforms.htm") 
elseif (search = "LIBRARY CATALOG") then
Response.Redirect("http://library/catalog")
elseif (search = "EXPENSE REPORT") then
Response.Redirect("http://expense")
elseif (search = "LUNCH MENU") then
Response.Redirect("http://cafe/menu/")
else 
' If there is not a match, use the
' default IE autosearch server
Response.Redirect("http://auto.search.msn.com/response.asp?MT="
+ search + "&srch=" + searchOption + 
"&prov=&utf8")
end if
%>

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Working with Roaming User Profiles (Corporate Administrators)

The roaming user profiles feature allows multiple users to use a single installation of Internet Explorer while retaining unique individual settings for each user. This feature also allows settings to follow a user to another computer. Corporate administrators should consider how best to configure roaming user profiles for network configuration and user needs.

If a network is used, user profiles can roam. This means that the user's copy of User.dat is stored on a central server and downloaded to any workstation that the user logs on to. This way, users can see the same environment no matter what workstation they use. It also allows administrators to have central control over individual user settings.

Internet Explorer and the Internet Explorer Customization wizard include options for caching temporary Internet files. These options can be useful when you are using roaming user profiles on a network. If you do not use these options, all temporary Internet files are copied to the user's profile folder when the user logs off. The temporary Internet files are then copied back to the local computer the next time the user logs on. This can be time-consuming and can use a lot of server space.

Caching Options

You can use a caching option in Internet Explorer to delete all cached Internet files when a user quits the browser. This option does not delete cookie information. Cookie information (which is usually small) is copied when the profile is saved. To set this option in the browser, carry out the following procedure:

To set caching options in Internet Explorer

On the Tools menu in Internet Explorer, click Internet Options.
Click the Advanced tab.
In the Security area, select the Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed check box.

You can also use the System Policies and Restrictions screen of the Internet Explorer Customization wizard or the Internet Restrictions screen of the IEAK Profile Manager to set this option before deployment. In the Security area, select the Delete saved pages when browser closed check box.

Understanding Roaming Profiles

The Personalized Item Settings dialog box in Control Panel can control the content and settings saved on a per-user basis. This control is especially useful for conserving disk space and for avoiding excessive network traffic. Even if a server might have unlimited disk space to store content, it is not always practical for content in a profile to pass back and forth between the server and a client. Thus, to minimize the amount of data stored in profiles, you can specify personalized item settings as follows:

Desktop folder and Documents menu—If the Active Desktop is part of the corporate installation, this setting can be left on.
Start Menu and Program folders—Because these folders are dependent on the programs installed in a standard corporate installation, this setting can be turned off.
Favorites folder—This setting should be left on so that users can maintain a personal Favorites list.
Downloaded Web pages—This setting affects the Temporary Internet Files folder, which contains Cookies and History. If strict size limitations are necessary, this setting can be left on, but in most cases it can be left off.
My Documents folder—Network traffic can be minimized if this setting is turned off and a network share is used for document storage.

If roaming profiles are already enabled on a computer, installing Internet Explorer does not automatically move the new folders to the profile. You need to select the items from the User Profiles Manager by clicking the Users icon in Control Panel in Windows. If you run Internet Explorer on Windows NT 4.0, the Users icon does not appear in Control Panel. Windows NT 4.0 either uses a preconfigured profile or creates a local user profile automatically when you log on.

Note Because roaming profiles are handled by the operating system, they are bound by the differences between user profiles for specific operating systems.

Creating User Profiles

Before you can create a user profile, you first need to enable them on the User Profiles tab of the Passwords Properties dialog box (to access this dialog box, click the Passwords icon in Control Panel.)

To create a new profile in Windows, just log on using a user name that is new to the system and, therefore, has no corresponding password list (.pwl) file. The system prompts you to confirm the new user password and asks whether you would like to use global settings or per-user settings.

Instead of logging on with a new user name, you can click the Users icon in Control Panel to run the User Profile wizard, which you can use to add and configure user profiles. This is an alternate user interface for creating a new profile.

Understanding Advanced User Profile Functionality

If a path is stored in the per-user registry, it probably points to a folder with contents that are also per-user. You should consider whether these contents also should roam from one computer to another. Keep in mind that although any file can be made to roam, not all files should. In addition to performance issues when large numbers of files are copied to and from the user's logon server, there are security issues. For example, a user may not want or expect sensitive documents to be copied to any workstation on which they log on and to remain there even after they log off.

You need to be particularly careful with links to programs. Links usually contain hard-coded paths (such as a shortcut to C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IExplore.exe), which may not roam well. If you want the contents of a folder full of shortcuts to roam, create shortcuts that don't contain absolute paths.

When working with roaming profiles, there are several ways you can use folder settings:

Not per-user—The setting is the same for all users and does not follow the user to other computers.
Optionally per-user—The user or network administrator can choose whether users get their own version of the setting. Note that it's possible for this optional configuration to be per-user. That is, either all users get their own version of the setting or none of them do, or some users get their own setting and others use the default.
Optionally both per-user and roaming—Either all users get the same setting and the contents do not follow them from computer to computer, or users get their own settings and the contents follow them. This is how the Desktop and Start menus work in Windows 95. Whether a particular user gets a unique copy or uses the default is determined on a per-user basis.
Always per-user, optionally roaming—All users on a computer get their own version of the setting, but the contents of the folder do not follow the user to other computers on the network.
Always per-user, always roaming—Users each get their own content because their individual content always follows them. This is the way typical per-user registry items work; it is also how the user's Favorites, Cookies, and History folders are expected to work.

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Preparing Servers for Internet Sign-up (ISPs)

An Internet sign-up server is an HTTP server that automates the task of adding new customers to an ISP's customer database. The Internet sign-up server collects information from each new customer, adds the information to the ISP's customer database, and then passes a configuration packet back to the customer's desktop computer. The configuration packet contains information that is used to configure the customer's Internet browser for subsequent connection to the ISP's services.

To add a new customer to the ISP's database, the Internet sign-up server:

Causes the client computer to establish an HTTP connection with the sign-up server.
Collects sign-up information from the customer.
Handles the customer's acceptance or refusal of the ISP's services.

When using the IEAK, three options are available for performing Internet sign-up:

Server-based sign-up by using the Internet Connection wizard (ICW)
Server-based sign-up by using the browser in Kiosk mode
Serverless sign-up

Server-based sign-up is preferred, unless you can't provide a sign-up server, because settings are easier to change on the server than on the client. Of the two server-based options, the ICW method is recommended, because it uses a standard wizard interface that can be customized to fit your needs. This section will help you prepare for Internet sign-up by using the ICW.

If you're an ISP, you can specify the ICW as the tool that customers use to sign up for Internet services and configure their computers.

Important If you are using single-disk branding and you anticipate that some of your users will have Internet Explorer 4.01 Service Pack 1, you should not use ICW mode sign-up; you should Kiosk-mode sign-up instead. If you think some customers will have a later version of Internet Explorer, then you can create an IEAK package that contains both sign-up solutions.

Customizable solutions for Internet sign-up are located in the IEAK Toolkit. The code is provided in Active Server Pages as well as in Perl format, allowing you to build an ICW sign-up process for Web servers on different platforms with a minimum of effort. If you use the sample code, the only work you need to do is to integrate the sign-up server with your registration and billing systems. In the Windows 98 Referral Server Program, the sign-up server code is similar for both IEAK sign-up and Referral Server registrations.

The following sections describe how to develop a sign-up process for the ICW. Although these sections describe a tested, comprehensive sign-up solution, which is recommended in most cases, you can customize the sign-up process further to meet the needs of your organization.

Note Because the IEAK solution includes multiple Internet sign-up (.isp) files for different customer needs, you must also include the Dynamic HTML Data Binding component in your custom package.

For general information about Internet sign-up and implementing the sign-up process, see Chapter 20, "Implementing the Sign-up Process."

Meeting Coding and Accessibility Requirements for Internet Sign-up by Using the ICW

To prepare your Internet server, you need to design HTML pages on your server that will interact with the customer during Internet sign-up.

The new ICW-mode sign-up mechanism in the IEAK is designed so that an Internet sign-up server looks and acts like a standard Windows wizard. Although the ICW uses the power and flexibility of HTML, it does not use the same formatting as HTML.

HTML pages in the ICW must use the Windows system colors and fonts and also must meet accessibility requirements. Unless otherwise specified, the ICW HTML pages cannot contain any special HTML formatting, such as tables with visible borders, images, or anchors. Only plain text and FORM elements (where required) are allowed. Tables with invisible borders can be used for layout.

To match the user's system colors, all HTML pages except the Icwsign.htm page should contain no color or font attributes unless otherwise specified.

The only requirement for implementing forms within the HTML pages is that the forms use the NAME attribute in FORM elements defined in the specification.

Back and Next Button Functionality

ICW-mode sign-up has specific requirements that must be met for the Back and Next buttons in the Internet Connection wizard to work correctly.

Back Button

For the Back button to work correctly, you must add a FORM element to the sign-up server page that specifies the URL of the Back button. To retain the data previously collected in the sign-up process, you must append it to the URL for the Back button page.

The following example shows the FORM element that's used with the Back button for sending the user to the previous page of the sign-up process. Note that the data for the first and last names is appended to the URL in name/value pairs:

<FORM NAME="BACK"ACTION="http://myserver/page2.asp"?firstname=bob&lastname=smith&address=..."></FORM>

Note All letters in the NAME attribute and its value must be capitalized because the ICW is case-sensitive.

Next Button

For the Next button to work properly, you must add a FORM element to the sign-up server page that specifies the URL of the Next button. For the data collected to be passed to the next page in the sign-up process, you must add hidden FORM fields on each of your sign-up server pages that contain the data elements collected on this and all previous pages. The URL you reference must contain code that collects the data from the previous page and displays the next page of the sign-up process.

The following example shows the FORM element that's used with the Next button for sending the user to the next page of the sign-up process:

<FORM NAME="NEXT" ACTION="http://myserver/page2.asp"></FORM>

The sample sign-up server code included in the IEAK already conforms to these requirements.

Accessibility

To ensure that the elements on the page are accessible by using only the keyboard, you should check that each FORM element meets the following requirements:

An access key (hot key) must be associated with the FORM element. Use the Internet Explorer ACCESSKEY attribute in the INPUT element. The access-key character should be highlighted with an underline by using an Underline tag. The letters b, f, g, n, and o are reserved for the ICW and cannot be used as access keys. For more information about the ACCESSKEY attribute, see the MSDN Online Web site.
Each FORM element on the page must be part of the ICW tab-key order. To be included in the ICW tab-key order, the element must have a unique ID in the INPUT element.
Each FORM element should have a label associated with it. To associate a label for the different FORM input types, use the Internet Explorer LABEL attribute.

The following example shows a radio button FORM element that meets these accessibility requirements:

<input ID="option2"
type="radio"
name="billing"
value="hour" 
accesskey="h"
checked>

<label for="option2"> 
5 <u>H</u>ours per month for $10. 
</label>

Designing HTML Pages for ICW Sign-up

Each page of the Internet Connection wizard should have the following design elements and adhere to the following design conventions.

Style Sheet

If you use a style sheet, do not specify any font style or color attributes in it. The parent wizard sets these attributes. If you use a TABLE element in your error pages, the element must include a STYLE attribute—for example:

<TABLE style="font: 8pt 'ms sans serif' buttontext"> </TABLE>

Design Restrictions

Only text and FORM elements are allowed. Do not use images, links, or scroll bars in your design.

Required Form Elements

The HTML page must include four FORM elements that specify different page properties:

The unique PAGEID for the page—The NAME attribute for the FORM element must be "PAGEID" (case sensitive). The ACTION attribute of the FORM element must be a unique ID that does not match the PAGEID of any other page in the ISP section of the wizard, as shown in this example:

<FORM NAME="PAGEID" ACTION="page4"></FORM>
The Back button function—The NAME attribute for the FORM element must be "BACK" (case sensitive). The ACTION attribute for the FORM element should be the absolute URL for the previous page, as shown in this example:

<FORM NAME="PAGEID" ACTION="HTTP://signup/bin/page1.cgi"></FORM>

Note, however, that no data is posted to this page.
The characteristics of the page—The NAME attribute for the FORM element must be "PAGETYPE" (case sensitive). Because this is a standard frame where the ISP defines the entire space, the ACTION attribute for the FORM element must be an empty string, as shown in this example:

<FORM NAME="PAGETYPE" ACTION=""></FORM>
The Next button function—The NAME attribute for the FORM element must be "NEXT" (case sensitive). There are no restrictions on the token names for the INPUT elements within the FORM element. The ACTION attribute for the FORM element should be the absolute URL where the form information should be posted. The URL that you post on your server should contain a script that receives the data and then displays the next HTML page of the wizard.

Working with the ICW Sample Sign-up Files

If you want to simulate the sign-up process before creating your own files, you can use the sample files from the IEAK Toolkit. The sample files can give you a general idea of how the sign-up process works and the type of information that you'll need to provide.

To test the sample sign-up files on your server

Create a subfolder named Signup in the wwwroot folder on your server.
Copy the files from the Toolkit folder to the Signup subfolder.
In the files, change all the references to point to your sign-up server.
In the HTML code of the sign-up server pages, change all the references from the sample company name to your organization's name.
Modify the last sign-up server page to reflect your .ins settings.

Creating Initial, Error, and Finish Pages for ICW Sign-up

For ICW sign-up, you need to design the initial page the user sees (Icwsign.htm), error pages, and the finish page.

Initial Page (Icwsign.htm)

The initial page that the user sees after installing Internet Explorer 5 and restarting the computer is the branded Icwsign.htm page. This page is specified in the IEAK and is included in your build of Internet Explorer 5. It is not hosted on your sign-up server.

On the Icwsign.htm page, the user sees welcome information from the ISP and is asked to either click Next to begin the sign-up process (if there is only one ISP file needed for sign-up) or to select the city and state being dialed from so that the ICW can select the appropriate sign-up server ISP file to use. When the user clicks Next, the ICW dials and connects the user to the ISP sign-up server.

Error Pages for ICW Sign-up

If the data submitted to the sign-up server is invalid at any time during the sign-up process, the server can display an HTML page with a friendly error message. An example would be if the user requests an e-mail name that is already in use.

The error HTML page that is sent by the ISP's sign-up server is displayed in a floating frame within the wizard. The frame is 444 pixels wide by 273 pixels high. Scroll bars do not appear if the HTML page exceeds these dimensions.

The frame should contain text that lets the user know that the data entered was invalid and provides the FORM elements required for the user to enter new data.

For information about HTML design and required FORM elements, see "Designing HTML Pages for ICW Sign-up" earlier in this chapter.

Finish Page for ICW Sign-up

When the user clicks Next on the ISP finish page, the .ins file is processed and the computer is configured for the new Internet account. After this is done, the ICW displays its final page, which informs the user that the Internet connection is ready and tells the user how to begin browsing the Internet. There is no ISP-configurable interface on this page.

The finish page also provides the option of beginning browsing immediately when the user selects the Begin browsing immediately check box. You can use the StartURL value in the .ins file to specify the page the browser displays when it first opens.

Note After the user has finished the sign-up process, your sign-up server must return information about how to configure the user's computer for Internet access. The .ins file, downloaded at the end of your sign-up process, contains this information.

Creating the Name and Address Page for ICW Sign-up

When a user connects to your sign-up server, the first page the user sees is the name and address page.

The name and address HTML page is displayed in a frame within the wizard. The frame is 444 pixels wide by 273 pixels high. Scroll bars do not appear if the HTML page exceeds these dimensions.