Internet Explorer Administration Kit

.ISP/.INS Reference Guide

Two different types of files are used in the sign-up scenario: the ISP (Internet service provider) file and the INS (Internet Setup) file. The ISP file contains the information that a computer needs to connect to a sign-up Web server connected to the PSTN (Public Switch Telephone Network). A single .isp file can be used by all computers that want to sign up.

The INS file encapsulates the parameters needed to set up Internet access and service for the customer. The INS file is generated dynamically by the sign-up server as a result of the customer signing up for an account. The .ins file will be unique for all users wanting to sign up. The Microsoft« Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) wizard enables the ISP to easily generate a large part of the .ins file.

Both the ISP and INS file formats are extensions of the Dial-Up Networking file format, which itself is a Microsoft Windows« .ini file. The common sections are listed below. The Windows .ini files have the following characteristics:

An .ini file is divided into sections. A section heading is identified by its enclosure in square brackets (for example, [Device] is the Device section).
The order of the sections is not important. Therefore, a particular section can be placed anywhere in the .ini file.
Sections are delimited by one blank line.
Each section can contain multiple entries.
Each entry is a line of the form "EntryName=EntryValue".
Comments in the .ini file are denoted by starting the comment with a semicolon (;).
For complete information about the .ini file format, see the Microsoft Windows SDK.

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[ActiveSetup]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Active Setup branding section

WizardTitle

Text string

Title of Active Setup wizard

WizardBitmap

Path

ex:

Path of bitmap to be displayed on

C:\bitmaps\actsetup.bmp

left-hand side of Active Setup

install pages.

[ActiveSetupSites]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Section to describe Active Setup

site URLs, names, and regions

SiteName0

Text string

ex: Download Site 0

Friendly name of download site.

SiteNameN

Text string

ex: Download Site 9

Friendly name of download site.

N=0à9

SiteRegion0

Text string

ex: North America

Region of download site.

SiteRegionN

Text string

ex: Asia

Region of download site. N=0à9

SiteUrl0

URL

ex:

Site of first download site.

SiteURLN

URL

ex:

Download site URL. N=0à9

[Animation]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Animation section

Big_Name

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Big_Path

1 = Yes / 0 = No

DoAnimation

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Small_Name

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Small_Path

1 = Yes / 0 = No

[Batch]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Batch install parameters (not for

regular use)

Build_CD

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Flag to build CD package.

Build_MultiFloppy

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Flag to build multiple floppy package.

Build_Floppy

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Flag to build floppy package.

Build_Win31

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Flag to build Windows 3.1 package.

[Big_Logo]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Large bitmap logo

Path

File name

path to large bitmap file.

[Branding] See note following this table

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Internet Explorer branding

parameters

Add on Url

Text string

Text string of add-on component

page.

CompanyName

Text string

Company name, for reference

only. Not used in any part of the

user interface.

Configuration ID

Text string

Configuration ID for duplicate

installs.

Custom_Key

Text string

OEM customization key that is

assigned by Microsoft.

DesktopGuid

Text string

GUID

Global

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Global .ins file.

GUID

IE4 Welcome Msg

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Display Internet Explorer 4.0 welcome

message at startup.

InstallDir

Text string

ex: %p\Internet Explorer

Installation directory for 32-bit

clients.

InstallDir16

Text string

ex: %w\IEXPLORE

Installation directory for 16-bit

clients.

Serverless

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Silent Install

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Do a silent install?

Toolbar Bitmap

File name

Filename of toolbar background

bitmap.

Type

number

User Agent

Text string

Text to append to default user

agent string.

Version

Four integers

Version.

WebChoice

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Whether or not the user has the

choice to install the Windows

Desktop Update.

WebIntegrated

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Include Windows Desktop Update

with install.

WebIntegrated

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Include Windows Desktop Update.

Wizard_Version

numeric string

string separated by

Internal version number of the

periods

wizard that generated the .ins

file.

[Content]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Content parameters section

DoCertificates

1 = Yes / 0 = No

DoPubCertificates

1 = Yes / 0 = No

DoRatings

1 = Yes / 0 = No

[Custom Wallpaper]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Custom wallpaper file

specifications

file0

File name

fileN

File name

NumFiles

number

number of files to include.

[Custom]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Optional and for ISPs

Custom settings description

only

Custom_File

File name

Must be 8.3 to be used

Creates a custom file with the

with Windows 3.1. This file is

contents shown in the

always placed in the

[Custom_File] section.

Windows directory

[Custom Branding]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Optional and for ISPs

Custom branding cab name

Cab Name

File name

points to custom branding .cab file.

[Custom_File]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Optional and for ISPs

Custom parameter file

only

Text string

ex: "
[Section]"

Line 1 of the file

Text string

ex: "Value1=ABC"

Line 2 of the file

Text string

ex: "Value2=DEF"

Line 3 of the file

[CustomSignup]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

List custom signup files

File name

ex: 1=cancel.ins

First file name.

File name

ex: 4=signup.isp

Nth file name.

NumFiles

number

Number of files.

[DesktopObjects]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Desktop objects parameters

section

Control Panel Path

File name

Path to Controlp.htt.

Desktop Wallpaper Path

File name

Path to wallpaper file.

ImportToolbars

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Flag setting whether to import the

desktop toolbars from the current

machine.

My Computer Path

File name

Path to Mycomp.htt.

Option

[Entry]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Cancel

Yes / No

Used to terminate

If set to yes, the signup process

Isignup.exe cleanly

will be stopped, and no Internet

when no configuration is

configuration is to be performed

wanted.

on the client's system.

[Favorites]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Describe the favorites to add

Subdir\URL1

Text string

ex: "Cool Sites\Link

Full friendly name pointing to the

Central.url=http://www.m

URL file for a favorites entry.

sn.com/access/links/other

These entries should be

.htm"

generated by the IEAK wizard.

Subdir\URL2

Text string

Second favorite to create.

[Ie3inst]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

This section is set by the

Private section to be set only by

IEAK wizard.

the wizard

[Internet_Mail]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Should be set by ISP or

Describe the POP3/SMTP Setup

corp. admin in

configuring mail.

Settings apply to Windows 3.1

and Windows 95. Wizard will

not configure any

settings unless the

wizard has Windows 95 in the

options for that build.

Default_Client

Yes / No

Should Outlook Express be the default

mail client?

Domain

ex: "microsoft.com"

Domain name. This will be

overridden by any fully qualified

name that the ISP puts in the .ins

file.

Email_Address

Text string

ex: "joeb@aaa.com" -

Return address of the user.

Manual Entry

Email_Name

Text string

ex: "Joe B. User" -

The friendly name of the user.

Manual entry

Infopane

URL

or file name

URL of custom Infopane.

Infopane_Bitmap

File name

File name of bitmap to include

(optional).

Install_Mail

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Specifies whether Internet Mail

should be installed.

Install_Mail_16

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Whether or not to include the

16-bit mail client.

Logon_Using_SPA

Yes / No

Logon using secure password

authentication.

POP_Logon_Name

Text string

manual entry

POP3 logon name.

POP_Logon_Password

Text string

manual entry

POP3 logon password.

POP_Server

IP address

ex: "mail.aaa.com"

POP3 server address.

SMTP_Server

IP address

ex: "mail.aaa.com"

SMTP server address.

Use_MS_Exchange

Yes / No

If value is true, Internet Setup

installs and uses Exchange as the

SMTP/POP3 e-mail client.

Welcome_Address

Text string

Text of welcome message From:

URL.

Welcome_Message

File name

File name of custom e-mail

welcome message.

Welcome_Name

Text string

Text of welcome message From:

friendly name.

[Internet_News]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Should be set by ISP or

Describe the NNTP setup

corporate intranet admin

if configuring mail.

Settings apply to Windows 3.1

and Windows 95.

Logon_Required

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Specifies whether the user needs

to be logged on to ensure

caching of the password.

News_Address

Text string

Used if Email_Address is

News address.

not found.

News_Name

Text string

Used if Email_Name is

News username.

not found.

NNTP_Logon_Name

Text string

manual entry

NNTP logon name.

NNTP_Logon_Password

Text string

manual entry

NNTP logon password.

NNTP_Server

IP address

ex: "news.aaa.com"

NNTP server address.

[LDAP]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Lightweight Directory Access

Protocol

AuthType

number

0, 1, 2

Anonymous, secure password, or

secure path of

Bitmap

File name

LDAP service bitmap.

CheckNames

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Check names against the LDAP

server when sending mail.

FriendlyName

Text string

Friendly name of server.

HomePage

URL

Home page address.

SearchBase

Text string

Hierarchical level at which to

search LDAP server.

Server

URL

LDAP server address.

[Mail_Signature]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Default signature for mail

messages

Signature_Text

Text string

Signature text.

Use_Mail_For_News

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Use the same signature for mail as

for news.

Use_Signature

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Whether or not to use the mail

signature.

[Proxy]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

This section only applies

Proxy entry description

to corp admins.

FTP_Proxy_Server

IP address

ex: http://proxyserver:80

IP address of FTP proxy.

Gopher_Proxy_Server

IP address

ex: http://proxyserver:80

IP address of Gopher proxy.

HTTP_Proxy_Server

IP address

ex: http://proxyserver:80

IP address of HTTP proxy

followed by a colon and the port.

Proxy_Enable

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Specifies whether the system will

use a proxy server to connect to

the Internet.

Proxy_Override

List of IP address

ex: <local>

List of addresses for which to

bypass proxy, separated by

semicolons; may include the

designation <local>.

Secure_Proxy_Server

IP address

ex: http://proxyserver:80

IP address of secure proxy.

Socks_Proxy_Server

IP address

ex: http://proxyserver:80

IP address of Socks proxy.

Use_Same_Proxy

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Specifies that the same proxy

server will be used for all

protocols. All but the HTTP proxy

addresses are ignored.

[Quick Launch Files]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Quick Launch toolbar file

specifications

file0

File name

File name of .lnk quick launch file.

fileN

File name

File name of .lnk quick launch file.

NumFiles

number

number of files to include.

[Restrictions]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

corp admin only

User interface restrictions

[Security Imports]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Flags to determine what security

settings to import.

ImportAUTHCODE

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Authenticode flag.

ImportRATINGS

1 = Yes / 0 = No

content ratings flag.

ImportSECZONES

1 = Yes / 0 = No

security zones flag.

ImportSITECERT

1 = Yes / 0 = No

site certificates flag.

TrustedOnly

1 = Yes / 0 = No

only use trusted certs.

[Security]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Security paramters section

Code Download

Yes / No

Flag for allowing users to

download code from the internet.

Security_RunActiveXCo

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Allow user to run ActiveX controls.

Security_RunJavaApplet

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Allow user to run Java applets.

Security_RunScripts

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Allow user to run scripts.

[Signature]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Signature of news postings

sections

Signature_Text

Text string

Uses printf style encoding (\n for

new-line, \\ for actual text

backslash).

Use_Signature

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Flag to turn on or off signature

specification.

[Small_Logo]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Small bitmap logo

Path

File name

Path to small bitmap file.

[URL]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

AutoConfig

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Specifies whether Auto-Config is

to be supported.

AutoConfigJSURL

URL

ex:

URL of a JavaScript file that

http://www.server.com/au

automatically sets the proxy

toprx.js

AutoConfigTime

number

ex: 18000

number of minutes between

auto-config queries.

AutoConfigURL

URL

ex:

URL of an .ins file to be used for

http://www.server.com/au

Auto-Config.

tocon.ins

Help_Page

ex: http://abc.help.htm

Set URL for the HTML Help.

Home_Page

URL

ex: http://www.msn.com

The WWW client's home page

URL.

NoWelcome

1 = Yes / 0 = No

Display Internet Explorer 4.0 welcome page?

Quick_Link_1

URL

ex:

Set URL for Quick Link 1.

http://home.microsoft.co

m/best/best.asp

Quick_Link_1_Name

Text string

ex: Best of the Web

Set name for Quick Link 1.

Quick_Link_2

URL

ex:

Set URL for Quick Link 2.

http://home.microsoft.co

m/links/links.asp

Quick_Link_2_Name

Text string

ex: Today's Links

Set name for Quick Link 2.

Quick_Link_3

URL

ex:

Set URL for Quick Link 3.

http://home.microsoft.co

m/gallery.asp

Quick_Link_3_Name

Text string

ex: Web Gallery

Set name for Quick Link 3.

Quick_Link_4

URL

ex:

Set URL for Quick Link 4.

http://home.microsoft.co

m/ie

Quick_Link_4_Name

Text string

ex: Product News

Set name for Quick Link 4.

Quick_Link_5

URL

ex:

Set URL for Quick Link 5.

http://home.microsoft.co

Quick_Link_5_Name

Text string

ex: Microsoft

Set name for Quick Link 5.

FirstHomePage

URL for first browser opening.

Search_Page

ex:

The WWW client's search page

http://ww.msn.com/acces

URL.

s/allinone.htm

[User]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Display_Password

Yes / No

Default = No

Should the username and

password be displayed to the user

at the completion of sign-up?

Name

Text string

The user name used to log in.

Password

Text string

The password used to log in.

[Warnings]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Warnings parameters section

Trust Level

number

[WebviewFolders]

Entry

Value

Notes

Description / Purpose

Webview folder paramters

Path0

Path

ex: C:\

Editing the .ins File to Specify Branding Cabinet File Location

The branding cabinet file enables the administrator to apply graphical and non-string based customizations on the fly, because each .ins file can specify a unique cabinet file. Note that all cabinet files need to be signed. For more information, see Signing Your Programs.

ISP Mode

You need to add the following sections to your automatically generated .ins files or to the static .ins files on your registration server. Just specify the location of the .cab file on your registration server; you can specify the full URL or only the file name. Make sure the .cab file is in a directory that has at least read permission so that the file can be extracted properly to the client computer.

[Custom]
Keep_Connection=Yes
Run=rundll32.exe
Argument=IEDKCS32.DLL,CloseRASConnections

[Custom Branding]
Cabinet file name=http://192.100.100.2/launch/branding.cab

Note
Make sure the Serverless setting in the
[Branding] section of the .ins file is set to 0. If it is set to 1, the .ins file will only look for the Branding .cab file locally.

CorpAdmin Mode

You need to add the following section to your automatically generated .ins files or to the static .ins files on your Autoconfiguration Web Server. Just specify the location of the .cab file on your registration server; you can specify the full URL or only the file name. Make sure the .cab file is in a directory that has at least read permission so that the file can be extracted properly to the client computer.

[Custom Branding]
Cabinet file name=http://192.100.100.2/launch/branding.cab