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Nancy Winnick Cluts
Developer Technology Engineer
Microsoft Corporation
June 11, 1998
Contents
Channel Resources
Content delivery mechanisms
Authoring for new delivery mechanisms
Channels
OSD (Open Software Description) Specification
Software Update Channels
CDF (Channel Definition Format) Reference
Hit-Logging API
Information Delivery API
Tools
The User Experience
Support
Other Channel Resources
What's New For Internet Explorer 5
The Active Channel™ Guide is used by channel partners and content developers as a forum for their channels. MSDN Online also provides resources to assist developers and authors who want to create their own channels. This paper outlines the current resources available to assist you in your endeavor to create cool channels for Microsoft® Internet Explorer.
Now that the Internet Client SDK for Internet Explorer 5 has been merged into the MSDN Online Web Workshop site, it is easier than ever to find resources for creating channels. Channel resources reside in the Content & Component Delivery section (which you are in right now!).
The new technology delivered in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 integrates HTML items such as Web pages, Java applets, ActiveX® Controls, images, and floating frames into the user interface. When combined with support for Channel Definition Format (CDF) files, users can customize their desktop environment and have information on the Web automatically delivered directly to their desktop.
These documents describe how Web publishers can create their own Active Channel content or Active Desktop™ items and provide them to users.
Creating Active Channel Content
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 includes a special Active Desktop item called the desktop Channel Bar. This item contains the 32W x 80H logos for all channels currently available on the user's computer. The desktop Channel Bar appears on the right side of the desktop by default and is visible only when the Active Desktop is enabled. The user can enable the Active Desktop by right-clicking the desktop and selecting the View as Web Page option from the Active Desktop menu. The desktop Channel Bar is pre-populated with channels and category folders containing groups of channels on related topics. The Active Channel Guide appears in the desktop Channel Bar, contains a list of channels using Active Channel technology, and is maintained by Microsoft.
Channels 101: Creating a Simple Channel October 21, 1997
This article is the first in a series on developing channels using the Microsoft Active Channel technology. After reading this article, you will understand the basics of this technology, become familiar with its benefits, and be able to immediately create your own channel.
Channels 201: Beyond the Basics January 16, 1998
In this article, we follow up the basics introduced in CDF 101 by creating a more complex channel with Microsoft Internet Explorer Active Channel technology. We create a multi-level channel, set scheduling and crawling options, log user activity, and extend Webcasting offerings with screen savers, Desktop items, and HTML e-mail.
Channel Wizard November 12, 1997
The Channel Wizard is a tool that helps you build a channel without having to understand CDF syntax or other technical details. The Channel Wizard asks you questions about the channel you'd like to build, and generates two code listings based on your input:
The Channel Wizard also provides Dynamic HTML samples that enable you to add special effects to your channel pages easily.
Microsoft Active Channel Tutorial October 8, 1997
The Active Channel Tutorial helps you get started with channels and Dynamic HTML. The tutorial provides a jump start to understanding CDF files. You'll learn about the elements that make up a CDF file, how a CDF file describes your channel's contents, and how to use a CDF file for scheduled updates, screen savers, desktop components, and more.
You'll also get an introduction to Dynamic HTML, which enables faster, more interactive Web pages so you can deliver more fun and excitement to your users. You'll learn about the key features of Dynamic HTML and how to incorporate it into your scripts, and see working examples of Web-page enhancements built with Dynamic HTML.
Get Rolling on Channel Design August 1, 1997
Have channels brought Web design full circle, finally catching up with the interface, navigation, and graphical design of CD-ROM and interactive television? Let's answer this question and others you may have as we walk through the evolution of the channel design for Rolling Stone, the granddaddy of U.S. print magazines covering pop music and culture.
Microgroove was chartered to create Rolling Stone's first channel. The four-person creative team had several years of experience in multimedia production, a large collection of Rolling Stone back issues, and only 11 days to complete the channel.
This Open Software Description (OSD) reference contains all the elements that are defined by the Osd.dtd file. These elements can be used in OSD and CDF files to describe software. There are additional elements, described in the Microsoft Internet Component Download Element Reference, that can be used to describe software in more detail and enhance information provided by the OSD elements.
Software Update Channels in Internet Explorer 4.01 December 19, 1997
You can use Microsoft Internet Explorer with Open Software Description (OSD) for two primary purposes:
This article describes the changes introduced in Internet Explorer 4.01 to simplify the creation of software update channels. No changes were made regarding the use of OSD in Internet installation packages.
These documents contain reference information for CDF elements used with Active Channel technology, Active Desktop items, and Software Update Channels.
Content providers can determine which hits get logged for the items included in their CDF file. These logs are posted to the server during a scheduled update and cleared. With the Hit-Logging API, developers can verify if hit logging is enabled and write customized entries in the log.
The Microsoft Information Delivery API enables you to create subscriptions and add channels that can be used to deliver content to a user's computer. The following topics are covered in this overview of the Information Delivery API:
This reference describes the objects, interfaces, agents, structures, types, flags, return values, and properties included in the Information Delivery API.
Microsoft CDF Generator is an easy-to-use, highly efficient tool for the creation of CDF files.
This documentation describes how Web publishers can use the Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 Profile Assistant to collect profile information from the user. All information submitted to the Web server requires the user's approval.
This document describes how users interact with channels using Internet Explorer 4.0 Active Channel technology. Details are provided on how users add and remove channels from their desktop, as well as how channel subscriptions are managed.
And don't forget to take a look at these brand new articles about putting Internet Explorer technology to work:
Three-part series of top design tips (to come soon): Making the Most of a Channel, Making the Most of a Screen Saver, and Making the Most of Active Desktop Items.
Channel Tips (to come soon)
This document is a compilation of the most helpful how-to tips for Active Channel developers.
Active Desktop items are small Web pages or HTML components, such as a Java applet or an ActiveX control, that are displayed directly on the desktop. Creating Active Desktop items describes how users interact with Active Desktop items, including adding an item to the desktop, removing an item, managing an item subscription, and moving or resizing an item. Here's just a sampling of the topics covered:
Software Update Channels provide users with a mechanism for receiving software updates over the Web. If the user chooses, the subscription can be set up to automatically download and install the software when it becomes available. Creating Software Update Channels describes the user interface associated with Software Update Channels. For further information, see the SOFTPKG topic.
Microsoft Support 
contains a searchable, comprehensive list of Knowledge Base articles, including articles about the Active Desktop and Channels.
Here are more resources that you may find helpful in your quest for information about channels:
The big change with respect to channels for Internet Explorer 5 is the removal of the Channel Bar. Channels can be accessed via a folder within the Favorites menu. The Active Channel Guide will still exist, but the technologies used for channels (such as offline reading and notification of updates) will be available to any Web site.
In addition, no Active Channel content will be preinstalled by default and no desktop bar will be installed by default. (However, if a user upgrades from Internet Explorer 4.0, the channel bar and the channel icon will remain in the UI.) The notion of channels will shift to meaning really cool Web sites that take advantage of cutting-edge Internet Explorer technologies. The Active Channel Guide will become the directory for these cool Web sites. In the perspective of the user, CDF is transparent; nothing distinguishes a site that uses CDF from a site that doesn't.
Did you find this material useful? Gripes? Compliments? Suggestions for other articles? Write us!
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