What is the Account Setup Editor?
Setting Global Options for Account Setup
Editing Account Setup ScreensEditing Text and Graphics in Account Setup
Editing or Removing the Account Setup Previews
Editing the Account Setup Help for End Users
Troubleshooting
The Account Setup Editor is a tool that helps you create a custom version of the Internet Setup module, which you can include in a custom Communicator Installer produced using Mission Control. The Internet Setup module gives your users everything they need to access your network through a dial-up PPP connection.
The central component of the Internet Setup module is the Account Setup program. Account Setup is an HTML-based program that helps users create new Internet accounts or set up their connection software to access an account they already have. You can use the Account Setup Editor to customize Account Setup for a particular user, workgroup, market segment, or geography.
The Account Setup Editor takes you screen by screen through the actual version of Account Setup that the end user will see, letting you make changes to it as you go. You can control all aspects of the custom version of Account Setup, including:
Account Setup itself consists of a platform-specific plug-in and a set of HTML, JavaScript, and plain text files. To make the customization of Account Setup possible, these files are external to the compressed Internet Setup module. The files reside together in a single folder--the Data folder (the folder is named asw on Windows platforms). The Account Setup plug-in, which you do not need to customize, resides in the compressed Internet Setup module.
The two parts of the Account Setup module, then, are:
The Account Setup Editor lets you customize the files of the Data folder (asw folder, on WIndows) as you work your way through the screens of Account Setup. When you use the Accoun Setup Editor, you make changes to a backup set of Account Setup files, then copy these customized files into your Communicator installer. When the user runs Account Setup, the program configures the dialer and TCP/IP software installed with the Internet Setup module.
The end-product of the Account Setup Editor is a custom version of the Data folder that you can include in your custom Communicator installer. As mentioned, this custom Data folder contains all of the connection options, dialing settings, TCP/IP in formation, and that give the user dial-up access to your network.
To add your customizations to the version of Account Setup included in your custom Installer, you replace the default Data folder (asw folder, on WIndows) residing with the Account Setup module with your custom version. Because Account Setup is HTML-based, your custom Data folder can be used on both Windows and Macintosh platforms (the folder must be renamed to asw for use on Windows platforms). But because the method of building a custom Installer differs on these platforms, please refer to the Building Communicator Installers in the Mission Control online documentation for full instructions on how to include your custom Data folder in an installer.
To use the Account Setup Editor, you must open the program in Netscape Communicator. You can't use the program in previous versions of Netscape Navigator or in other browsers.
Account Setup is a program that helps end users quickly set up dial-up access to a remote network; it opens automatically when the user has completed the Communicator installation and guides the user through the set-up process.
Account Setup consists of a series of screens accessed sequentially by the user that ask the user to provide information by filling in text boxes, selecting an item from a list, clicking a radio button, and so on. Account Setup ultimately uses this information--account, network, server, modem, and dialing information--to automatically configure the user's TCP/IP and PPP communications software to access your remote network.
This automated way of setting up the the user's TCP/IP and dialer configurations ensures that the user will be less likely to have problems in setting up access and will be less likely to need the assistance of your technical support staff.
Unless you configure it differently, Account Setup offers users a choice of two functional modes:
Using the Account Setup Editor, you can configure Account Setup to use only one of these modes, rather than offering users their choice of modes.
If you decide to offer the IAS mode, you can use the Account Setup Editor to supply information that lets Account Setup connect to your Internet account server. Once connected to your Internet account server, the user can create a new account while online. When the account is created, your Internet account server passes your network, connection, and server information to Account Setup, which then configures the user's dialer and TCP/IP software for access to the account.
If you decide to offer the NCI mode, you can use the Account Setup Editor to supply information that Account Setup would ordinarily ask the user to provide--such as your DNS server addresses, domain name, and dial-up access phone number. With this information supplied, you can then "turn off" the screens in Account Setup that would have asked for that information. The more information you provide for the user in this way, the more rapid and automatic the process of using Account Setup becomes.
Account Setup consists of a platform-specific plug-in and a set of HTML, JavaScript, and plain text files. To make changes to Account Setup--to select options and add custom network, connection, and server information--you use the Account Setup Editor.
The Account Setup Editor gives you control over most aspects of Account Setup, so that you can quickly customize it to meet your needs.
Using the Account Setup Editor, you can:
You can then use the Account Setup Editor to turn off the Account Setup screens that ask for that information that you provided in an NCI configuration, so that the user can complete the entire Account Setup process in only a few minutes.
While the Account Setup Editor gives you many ways to control Account Setup, there are certain things that you can't do because of the way that Account Setup is designed and the way it uses files and filenames. Add info about js signing in appendix.
You can't:
The Account Setup Editor helps you make changes to the customization files that control Account Setup. When you installed Mission Control, the Installer created a default set of these files on your computer:
Because the Account Setup Editor makes permanent changes to the files in the Data folder, the first step in using the Account Setup Editor is to make a copy of the Data folder (Custom folder, on WIndows) and its contents. Then, when you have created the copy, launch the Account Setup Editor.
To begin using the Account Setup Editor on Windows platforms, launch the Account Setup Editor from the Mission Control directory of the start menu or program group. To launch the program on Macintosh platforms, double-click the Account Setup Editor icon in the Mission Control folder.
The Account Setup Editor runs only in Netscape Communicator and won't work properly in previous versions of Netscape Navigator or in other browsers. If an earlier version of Netscape Navigator or another browser opens when you launch the Account Setup Editor, quit that program and launch Communicator directly. Then select Open from the File menu and browse to the Account Setup Editor file.
[CONTENTS]After you launch the Account Setup Editor, the program presents a screen that asks you to specify which Data folder you want to customize. To create the list of folders available for customizing, the Account Setup Editor looks in the Dialup folder of Mission Control for folders containing the necessary files.
Use the list in the Account Setup Editor screen to select the folder you want to customize, then click "Customize".
For instructions and tips on creating multiple Data folders, refer to the next Help topic.
As mentioned above, the Account Setup Editor can customize any Data folder located in the Dialup folder of Mission Control. Here are some tips for creating and working with one or more custom Data folders containing the customizable files for Account Setup:
For example, if you were creating a version of Account Setup for user on the East Coast of the United States, you could create a new Data folder and rename it "East Coast". You could then create folders for West Coast, Midwest, and so on, to identify and keep separate your various Data folders and the configuration information inside.
Complete instructions on using your custom Data folder in a Communicator installer are provided in the Building Communicator Installers chapter of the Mission Control online documentation.
The screens displayed in the Account Setup Editor are identical to those that the end user sees. They consist of a content pane and a navigation pane enclosed in a single frameset. The toolbar includes a set of buttons, a checkbox, and a pop-up menu. As you move from screen to screen, the Account Setup Editor updates the toolbar to reflect the options available for each screen. For example, in some screens, certain toolbar buttons are grayed out, indicating that those options are unavailable for the Account Setup screen you are viewing.
The full set of toolbar controls includes:
<LAYER> tag for greater control over the layout of text and graphical elements in the screen. Other screens use layers to enable Account Setup to dynamically change the text on a screen. An example of this is found in the very first Account Setup screen. The screen includes different text layers for first-time Account Setup users, for upgrading users, and users entering Account Setup from the Communicator's Profile Manager tool. Account Setup automatically displays the appropriate text layer and hides the others. When you select a layer in the Expose Layer pop-up menu and then click the Edit Screen toolbar button, the Account Setup Editor opens the HTML file to the beginning of that layer.
Because there are several dialog screens that contain many important settings, you should always click the Screen Options button for each Account Setup screen that has options. When a screen doesn't have options or an associated dialog screen, the Screen Options button is grayed out.
When you are finished setting options in a dialog screen, click Back in the Account Setup navigation pane to return to Account Setup. When you leave a dialog screen, the Account Setup Editor automatically saves your changes.
Note that the Account Setup Editor Dialog screens are not ever visible to end users. The dialog screens are HTML files that reside separately from the Account Setup HTML files, and are not installed on end users' computers.
The Account Setup Editor lets you set global options that determine the overall function of Account Setup. To set the global options for Account Setup, move the the "Welcome to Account Setup" screen of Account Setup and click the Screen Options button in the Account Setup Editor toolbar. You can set global options in the dialog screen that the Account Setup Editor loads into the content pane. Each global option is discussed below.
Functional Mode Options
Account Setup is designed to offer two distinct capabilities to end users--that of connecting to an Internet account server (that you provide) to create a new account; and that of simply using Account Setup to configure their dialer and TCP/IP software to access an account they already have. Each of these capabilities is associated with an functional mode of Account Setup:
You can use the Account Setup Editor to supply information that Account Setup would ordinarily ask the user to provide--such as your DNS server addresses, domain name, and dial-up access phone number. With this information supplied, you can then "turn off" the screens in Account Setup that would have asked for that information. The more information you provide for the user in this way, the more rapid and automatic the process of using the NCI mode becomes.
Note that if you choose to offer one mode and not the other, the screens of the unused mode are still accessible to you when working in the Account Setup Editor. However, all of the screens are turned off (the Show Screen checkbox for each of the screens is unchecked). Although accessible to you in the Account Setup Editor, the screens are not accessible to end users from Account Setup.
Support International Name, Address, and Phone Number Formats
If you want Account Setup to support international names, addresses, and phone number formats, check this checkbox in the Account Setup Global Options dialog. Account Setup then displays no Area Code input fields in phone numbers, or State and ZIP/Postal Code input fields in addresses. It also turns off JavaScript alerts relating to required phone number fields (such as Area Code) and allows a greater number of characters in input fields.
Show Account Setup Introduction Screens.
Use this checkbox to control whether the Account Setup displays introductory screens to the user. By default, when users click Start Account Setup in the first screen of Account Setup, they are taken to the first of five introductory screens that explain about Internet accounts and Internet service providers. After the last introductory screen, users are taken to the "Welcome to Account Setup" screen. Also by default, the first introductory screen gives users the option of "fast-forwarding" over the introduction and going directly to the "Welcome to Account Setup" screen.If you uncheck the Show Account Setup Introduction Screens checkbox, users clicking the Start Account Setup button in the first Account Setup screen are taken straight to the "Welcome to Account Setup" screen without being offered the introductory screens.
Dialer Idle Timeout Interval.
Use this text box to set users' dialer software to terminate idle connections after the amount of time you specify.
The objective of the Internet Account Server (IAS) Mode of Account Setup is to gather information from users and then connect them to your Internet account server so they can create new accounts. The way that your Internet account server is designed and implemented determines what customizations you might choose to make to the screens of IAS mode.
For example, you might want to gather all information from the user--name and address, phone number, and billing information--after the user is connected to your Internet account server. In this case, you would want to turn off the screens in Account Setup that ask for that information. As another example, you might want to offer users other ways of paying for their accounts, such as by providing a bank account number or by specifying a telephone billing account. In this case, you would turn off the "Your Billing Information" screen, which asks users for a credit card number, then provide an alternate screen in your Internet account server.
Note that some screens that users encounter in the IAS mode, such as the screens that ask the user for modem information and special dialing settings, can't be turned off because this information enables Account Setup to dial and connect to your server.
In general, the customizations that you are likely to make include:
Screen Options in the IAS Mode
Excluding global options, there are two sets of screen options available in the IAS mode. Each set of options is discussed below.
Billing Options
You can specify which of four major credit cards--American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa--you accept for payment. To set these options, move to the "Your Billing Information" screen and click Screen Options in the Account Setup Editor toolbar. In the dialog screen that loads into the content pane, specify the cards you accept by checking or unchecking the checkbox next to the credit card names. When you are finished, click Back in the Account Setup navigation pane to return to Account Setup.
IAS Configuration Options
If you are offering the IAS mode, you must create at least one IAS configuration. However, you might want to create additional configurations if you have more than one Internet account server. If you create more than one IAS configuration, you have the option of selecting a single IAS configuration for use in Account Setup or offering the user a choice of all IAS configurations. If you choose to offer multiple IAS configurations, Account Setup displays your IAS configurations in a pop-up list in the "Connect to Server" screen. If you choose to use a sing IAS configuration, Account Setup does not display the pop-up list.
More information about creating and editing IAS configurations is provided in the next Help topic.
Creating and Editing IAS Configurations
To enable Account Setup to connect to your Internet account server, you must create at least one IAS configuration using the Account Setup Editor. An IAS configuration includes dialing, network, login, and other information.
To create or edit an IAS configuration, follow these steps:
.IAS.
When you create an IAS configuration, the Account Setup Editor asks you to provide the following information.
From the user's point of view, the objective of the NCI mode is to configure the dialer software installed with Communicator for access to an existing account. In the NCI mode, Account Setup asks users to provide information about their account, such as their account login and password; their email login and password (if applicable); their account's access phone number; their provider's mail and news server addresses, domain name, and DNS server addresses; and their account's publishing URL.
To make using the NCI mode faster and easier for your users, you can supply some or all of this information for users. You do this by using the Account Setup Editor to create one or more NCI configurations that contain the information you are supplying. If you supply information ordinarily asked for by an Account Setup screen, you can use the Account Setup Editor to turn off that screen.
Note that some screens that users encounter in the NCI mode, such as the screens that ask the user for modem information and special dialing settings, can't be turned off because this information enables Account Setup to configure the dialer software properly.
In general, the customizations that you are likely to make include:
Screen Options in the NCI Mode
Excluding global options, there are several sets of screen options available in the NCI mode. Each set of options is discussed below.
NCI Configuration Options
If you are offering the NCI mode, you can create one or more NCI configurations that contain account, dialing, and network information. If you create more than one NCI configuration, you can set these options:
Login Options
You can set Account Setup to display (or hide) a text field and checkbox that lets users request a terminal window when connecting. If you want to force users to use a terminal window to log in manually each time they connect, you use the options within each NCI configuration.
Save Account Information Options
TBA
Creating and Editing NCI Configurations
To supply information the Account Setup would otherwise ask the user to provide in the NCI mode, you can use the Account Setup Editor to create one or more NCI configurations. An NCI configuration can include account, dialing, network, and other information.
To create or edit an NCI configuration, follow these steps:
.NCI.
When you create an NCI configuration, the Account Setup Editor lets you provide the following information:
All of the screens of Account Setup, including the Account Setup introductory screens and previews, are HTML files. You can edit these HTML files using the Account Setup Editor, without having to provide a new security certificate for Account Setup.
You can easily edit or replace any text in any screen and you can change the image references to point to your custom graphics. You can also change the images in the Account Setup navigation pane.
<LAYER> tag for greater control over the layout of text and graphical elements in the screen. Other screens use layers to enable Account Setup to dynamically change the text on a screen. In the HTML files of screens that use layers, each layer is preceded by an HTML comment that explains the function of the layer. Reading these comments can help you edit the text and graphics in a file correctly.
If you want, you can edit the buttons and layout of the Account Setup navigation pane, but not using the Account Setup Editor. To edit the navigation pane, you work with an HTML file named clayer.htm, located at the root level of the Data folder that you are customizing.
As you see when you open the clayer.htm file in a text or HTML editor, the navigation pane uses HTML layers to position the buttons and their titles in the pane. Each button occupies its own layer and its position is defined using the TOP= and LEFT= attributes of the <LAYER> tag. You can move the layers using by changing their TOP= and LEFT= attributes, and you can change the name of each button by editing the layer that provides the title for each button (in the clayer.htm file the layer holding a button name is defined immediately below the layer holding the button icon).
Each button in the navigation pane has three states--up, mouseover, and down--and three graphics files are associated with each button. The easiest way to edit a button is to open the images folder and edit or replace the graphics files associated with the button. If your custom graphics retain the name of the original graphics, you do not need to work with the JavaScript in the clayer.htm file. A list of buttons and their associated files is provided below.
| Button Name | Filename (state) |
| Help |
hlp_up.gif (up) hlp_mo.gif (mouseover) hlp_down.gif (down) |
| Exit |
ext_up.gif (up) ext_mo.gif (mouseover) ext_down.gif (down) |
| Back |
bk_up.gif (up) bk_mo.gif (mouseover) bk_down.gif (down) |
|
Next/ Connect Again |
nxt_up.gif (up) nxt_mo.gif (mouseover) nxt_down.gif (down) |
|
Connect Now/ Connect To Server |
cn_up.gif (up) cn_mo.gif (mouseover) cn_down.gif (down) |
| Done |
dn_up.gif (up) dn_mo.gif (mouseover) dn_down.gif (down) |
| Restart |
rb_up.gif (up) rb_mo.gif (mouseover) rb_down.gif (down) |
| Account Setup |
ff_up.gif (up) ff_mo.gif (mouseover) ff_down.gif (down) |
If you decide to edit the clayer.htm file, be careful not to alter the JavaScript embedded in each layer's <A HREF= tag. If you change any of the JavaScript in any Account Setup file, you must provide a new security certificate for Account Setup and re-sign every Account Setup file. This means that you can't remove a button from the navigation pane or add a button to it, unless you are prepared to recertify all of the Account Setup files.
Account Setup includes two short tutorials: the Internet Preview and the Communicator Preview. Both previews are accessible to end users from the first screen of Account Setup. You can use the Account Setup Editor to edit these screens just as you would any other Account Setup screen.
If you want to remove the previews from Account Setup, all you have to do is edit the first screen of Account Setup and delete the table that holds the links to the preview screens. The table is found in the layer named "buttontext" and is indicated by an HTML comment preceding the table. If you want to delete only one of the buttons, simply delet the appropriate table rows from the table.
If you remove links to one or both of the previews, you can also remove the HTML files associated with those screens. The files for the Internet Preview are located in the "ipreview" folder at the root level of the Data folder. The files for the Communicator are located in the "preview" folder at the root level of the Data folder.
You can view the end-user Help for Account Setup from inside the Account Setup Editor. On any screen, just click the Help button in the Account Setup navigation pane. Like Account Setup, the Account Setup Editor opens the appropriate Help file in a new Navigator window. With the Help file loaded in a separate window, you can edit the file in Composer by selecting Edit Page from the File menu. Alternatively, you can open the Help files from outside of the Account Setup Editor, in the text or HTML editor of your choice. All of the Help files are stored in the "help" folder, which is located at the root level of the Data folder.
Account Setup includes two types of end user Help:To edit the general Help file, you can use Communicator as described above for the screen-specific Help files or you can open the file from outside of the Account Setup Editor. The name of the general Help file is ashelp.htm. The file is located in the "help" folder at the root level of the Data folder.
If you are having trouble using the Account Setup Editor successfully, refer to the topics below for help isolating and resolving the problem.
Try connecting again. Click the Connect Now button in the last screen of Account
Setup.
[CONTENTS]
Some voice messaging systems alert you to the fact that you have new messages
by changing the ordinary dial tone of your phone to a "flashing" dial tone
(an on-off-on-off dial tone). When this happens, your modem, not being able to detect
an ordinary dial tone, cannot dial out. The solution is to get your new messages.
When you have heard and acted on all of your new messages, your normal, continuous
dial tone will be restored and you can connect to the Internet.
The Internet is a worldwide network of public and private computers that cooperate to exchange information.
Many computers on the Internet are connected permanently together and function as Internet "hubs." Millions of people take advantage of Internet services either by connecting to these hubs directly--as when linked to a corporate or university network--or by connecting indirectly, using a modem and an ordinary telephone line.
The first step in taking advantage of all that the Internet offers is setting
up an account with an Internet service provider.
[CONTENTS]