newstuff@microsoft.com

Spring is just around the corner, but as long as it's cold and wet outside, you might as well bask in the glow of your monitor and keep working on those interactive applications. Here are some tools to make your apps both more interesting and more profitable. Managing Link Partner Programs       ClickTrade, published by SubmitIt!, lets Web site owners set up and run their own link partner programs. To use ClickTrade, Web site owners sign up as members who can then use the service as advertisers for rewarding links, as link partners to earn revenue for placing links, or as both advertisers and link partners. Links can be handpicked by site owners and placed in context with related content, making them relevant to users. ClickTrade gives Web site marketers flexibility in the types of links used, supporting text-only links, buttons, banners, and enhanced creative elements built with Shockwave and Java. In addition to receiving revenue for every visitor sent to an advertiser's site, link partners receive a reciprocal link through ClickTrade's partner tracking and display button. No downloading of software is required. SubmitIt! 23 Crosby Drive Bedford, MA 01730 781-275-0930 http://www.clicktrade.com Create Internet-Aware Security Applications       The e-Lock Toolkit version 2, published by Frontier Technologies, is designed to ease integration of secure messaging, security management, and IP security (IPSEC) with interactive applications. This toolkit provides interfaces to both a standard MIME processing engine and security protocol modules specific to different secure messaging standards. The modular architecture of e-Lock Toolkit supports multiple Secure Protocol Modules (SPM), as well as RFC822, MIME, and S/MIME processing capabilities. The e-Lock PKI VPN Toolkit provides IPSEC functionality via the Authentication Header and Encapsulated Security Protocol for IP Security. The e-Lock PKI Client Toolkit is an application programming interface that allows developers to integrate all of its key and certificate management capabilities into their applications. Another component, the e-Lock Desktop, is a complete application that can protect sensitive documents and files by digitally signing and/or encrypting them. Security administrators may use another component, the e-Lock Director, to manage user registration, key and certificate maintenance, public key directory, certificate revocation and validation, automated key backup, key recovery, and key portability services. Frontier Technologies Corporation 10201 N. Port Washington Road Mequon, WI 53092 800-929-3054 http://www.frontiertech.com Input and Data Handling Controls for Visual Basic Apps       APEX Software Corporation publishes two suites, True DBInput and True DBList Pro, aimed at developers using Visual Basic® who are looking for ActiveX® controls that manage data entry and grids. True DBInput consists of data-aware ActiveX input controls for 32-bit Visual Basic applications, including: True DBDate, with properties for setting the beginning of a fiscal year, quarter, and so on; True DBTime, with facilities for manipulating minutes, hours, and seconds; True DBMask, which can define any kind of data entry mask; and True DBNumber, for number manipulation and formatting. True DBInput offers three handy popup controls for automatic entry of data. True DBList Pro manages database operations, allowing developers to build complex applications that previously required extensive coding, including multiple lines per record and data-sensitive colors and graphics. True DBList Pro uses advanced data binding as well as ActiveX and OCX technologies like APEX Software's True DBGrid Pro 5.0. APEX Software Corporation 4516 Henry Street Pittsburgh, PA 15213 800-858-APEX, 412-618-4343 http://www.apexsc.com Debug and Deploy Applications Quickly       The Distinct Visual Internet Toolkit version 3.0 (VIT 3.0), available from Distinct Corporation, is designed to help developers make their applications Internet and intranet-aware quickly. This version includes a desktop software "sniffer," Distinct Network Monitor, that lets developers debug the networking-related problems in their applications from their own desktops. The Distinct Network Monitor is capable of capturing all subnet traffic and has built-in parsers for all major TCP/IP-based protocols. It is also extensible, and developers may add their own parsers for other protocols that they want to analyze. VIT 3.0 also includes the Distinct License Manager to create time-limited trial copies of applications developed using this toolkit, as well as the Distinct Floating License Manager for developers wanting to distribute applications built with Distinct components on a concurrent usage basis. This release also includes 26 ActiveX controls for networking, host connectivity, and communications, including Firewall, FTP Client, FTP Server, Uuencode/Uudecode, Rlogin, SMTP, Windows Sockets, and WebViewer. Distinct Corporation 12900 Saratoga Avenue P.O. Box 3410 Saratoga, CA 95070-1410 408-366-8933 http://www.distinct.com Load and Execute a CD-ROM Menu Automatically       AutoPlay Menu Studio 1.1 for Windows® 95 and Windows NT® 4.0 has been released by Indigo Rose Corporation. This tool is aimed at anyone using CD-ROM as a distribution medium. When a user inserts a CD-ROM containing an AutoPlay menu, it loads and executes automatically, making it easier to access the desired content. The drag and drop visual environment makes it easy for developers to create a customized menu system that looks and acts the way they want. Multimedia action buttons can be used to accomplish a variety of tasks such as program execution, jump to a Web site, browse local drives, send email, download via FTP, and more. AutoPlay Menu Studio includes full support for UNC filenames, integrated palette management, alignment tools, undo/redo, background gradients, and bitmap tiling. Indigo Rose Corporation 123 Bannatyne Avenue, Suite 230 Winnipeg, MB Canada R3B0R3 800-665-9668, 204-946-0263 http://www.indigorose.com/autoplay Add an Online Shopping Cart       New Perspective Software Inc. is now shipping the InternetMaster Toolkit, which makes online shopping cart capabilities available. The Toolkit is designed to facilitate electronic business by generating product catalogs and an ordering environment, and is powered by FileMaker Pro 4.0 for Windows 95 and Windows NT. The InternetMaster Toolkit includes quote generation that can be rolled into an invoice once a customer decides to purchase, PCAuthorize and MacAuthorize links for instant credit card authorization, and links to two other New Perspective products, SOHOMaster and MembershipMaster, which manage invoice, inventory, and membership databases. The only required setup is a dedicated Internet connection and a server to host the product catalog. New Perspective Software Inc. 1635 S. Plaza Way Flagstaff, AZ 86001 888-522-8334, 520-214-8334 http://www.newperspective.com

Does your company provide development tools for interactive applications? We'd love to hear the news! Email us at newstuff@microsoft.com.

From the March 1998 issue of Microsoft Interactive Developer.