All you really need to create a channel is a CDF file that contains the appropriate references to your Web site. To get the most out of your channel, you should consider including a CDF file as well as some of the other great features in Internet Explorer 4.0. To create the best possible channel, follow the steps listed at left. If you want to get your channel up and running as quickly as possible, you only need to follow step one.

Step 1: Add a CDF File
Step 2: Add Dynamic HTML
Step 3: Update Channel Content
Step 4: Get Your Channel Listed

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CDF is short for Channel Definition Format. A CDF file describes what is available on your site. You create one CDF file for your site, and that's all you need to do to turn your site into a channel. You can include sub-channels in the CDF to organize your channel. At a minimum, a CDF file contains nothing but a list of URLs that point to your site content. A more advanced CDF file can also include a schedule for content updates, Active Desktop™ components, screen savers, and more. Internet Explorer 4.0 uses the CDF file to display your channel’s outline right on the user's desktop, in the channel pane. The CDF file also defines the update frequency for your channel (or individual items), pre-caching of key material, and many other channel characteristics.

The next version of Microsoft FrontPage™ will support CDF, as will the next version of Microsoft Visual InterDev™. You can find information about third-party tools supporting CDF on the Site Builder Network.

Dynamic HTML makes Web pages faster and more interactive. It does not extend or update HTML itself, but it does radically increase the power of scripts you use on your Web pages. Dynamic HTML adds pizzazz to your Web pages without complex programming or long download times. With Dynamic HTML, you can write simple scripts that control any part of a Web page instantly, without lengthy server-side delays or reloading of a page. You can change almost anything on the page on the fly. You can easily add Dynamic HTML features to your existing Web pages because there aren’t any new HTML tags to confuse old-fashioned browsers -- just a whole new way to use the tags you already know.

You can schedule regular updates for your content -– from several times an hour for a stock ticker or sports scoreboard, to every few weeks for a newsletter. You set the schedule right in the CDF file using simple tags like <CHANNEL> and <SCHEDULE>. We'll cover how to do this later in the tutorial.

Interet Explorer 4.0 includes an integrated link to the Active Channel™ Guide, which is a list of Web sites with qualified Active Channel content. Important news for channel developers! To get your channel added to the official Channel Guide, go to http://www.microsoft.com/sbnmember/channels/default.asp for details. To qualify for the Guide, your site must:

For complete details, click here.

The Active Channel Guide is an ideal way to attract viewers to your Active Channel content. Once a viewer subscribes to your channel, a channel listing appears on the Internet Explorer 4.0 channel pane. To see the channel pane, click the channel icon on the Explorer Bar, or use the View | Explorer Bar | Channels menu item. You can also keep the channel pane open using the thumbtack icon at the top right of the pane. There is also a channel bar on the desktop with premium channels set up by Microsoft and customizable by the user.

Microsoft includes the channel bar as part of the Active Desktop. It provides access to premium channels.

The channel pane is a clickable hierarchy of available channels. There is one high-level entry for each channel, and lower-level entries for sub-channels and other content.

Any hyperlink to your CDF file displays a subscription dialog. When the user subscribes, your channel is added to the channel pane.