Internet Explorer Administration Kit

ISP/INS File Formats Version 1.1

There are two different types of files 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(r) Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) wizard will enable 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(r) .ini file. The sections which are common 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 by square brackets (for example, [Device] is the Device section).
The order of appearance for 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 an semicolon (;).
For full reference on the .ini file format, see the Microsoft Windows SDK.

Important: All .ins files sent from the server to Internet Explorer 3.01 for Windows 3.1 must have MS-DOS filenames no longer than 7.3 (7 characters, followed by a period, followed by a three character extension). This does not apply to .ins files sent to Internet Explorer 3.01 for Windows 95 and Windows NT.

Sections Used By an Internet Service Provider (ISP)

If you are an Internet service provider, certain sections of the .isp file will automatically be set by the IEAK wizard. These sections that must be set are: [Entry], [Phone], [Server], [TCP/IP], and [User].

The following sections may be edited as well: [Internet_Mail], [Internet_News], [Proxy], [Custom], [Custom_File], [Scripting], and [Script_File].

Sections Used By a Corporate Intranet Administrator

If you are a corporate administrator, these sections may be edited: [Internet_Mail], [Internet_News], [Proxy], [Custom], [Custom_File], [Restrictions], [Security], and [Warnings].

Sections common to both .INS and ISP files

These sections are common to both the ISP and INS files. The sections are used to describe the dial-up connection parameters. The parameters have a one-to-one mapping to the parameters configurable via the Windows 95 Dial-Up Networking UI.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Entry]	.	Entry Description	.	Required for ISP
.	Entry_Name	Name of the Dial-Up Networking connection to add.	text string	.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Phone]	.	Phone Number Description	.	Required for ISP
.	Phone_Number	POP modem number, without country and area code. If dial as-is, this field contains the entire dialing sequence. (POP = Point of Presence - denoting ISP's dial-in access number appropriate for the customer.)	numeric string	.
.	Area_Code	Area code of the POP modem number.	numeric string	.
.	Country_Code	Country code of the POP modem number.	numeric string	.
.	Country_ID	Country ID is necessary when the same country code is used for multiple countries. For example, U.S. and Canada both have 1 as the country code. See the table in Appendix A for the list of country codes.	numeric string	.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Server]	.	Dial-Up Access Server Description	.	Required for ISP
.	Type	Server type. PPP is the only supported server type in Windows 3.1.	PPP	.
.	SW_Compress	Negotiate PPP software compression of data. If not PPP, the value is ignored.	Yes No	.
.	PW_Encrypt	Encrypt password while authenticating login.	Yes No	.
.	Negotiate_TCP/IP	Whether to use TCP/IP network protocol.	Yes No	.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[TCP/IP]	.	TCP/IP Settings Description	.	Required for ISP
.	Specify_IP_Address	Whether the ISP will specify a static IP address.	Yes No	.
.	IP_Address	If static IP address is used, enter it here.	111.222.100.2	Only if static IP address is used.
.	Specify_Server_Address	Whether the ISP will specify a static DNS address.	Yes No	.
.	DNS_Address	If static DNS address is used, enter the primary DNS address here.	111.222. 100.2	Only if static DNS address is used
.	DNS_Alt_Address	If static DNS address is used, enter the alternate DNS address here.	111.222. 100.2	Only if there is a secondary DNS address
.	IP_Header_Compress	IP header compression is used if either the Server Type = CSLIP or this entry = yes.	Yes No	.
.	Gateway_On_Remote	Specifies whether to use default gateway on remote network.	Yes No	.

ISP File

The ISP file contains all the sections described in "Sections common to both INS and ISP files." In addition to those sections, the ISP file adds an additional sections and entries as detailed below.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[User]	.	Login Description	.	Required for ISP
.	Name	The user name used to log on.	text string	.
.	Password	The password used to log on.	text string	.
.	Requires_Logon	To determine if the user should be logged on to insure caching of passwords.	Yes No	No is default Windows 95 only.
[URL]*	.	Describe the URL used during sign-up	.	Required for ISP
.	Signup	Specifies the local file (in the same directory as the .isp file) that the browser should point to before connecting to the sign-up server.	Valid local .htm file name	.
[Scripting]	.	Scripting File Description	.	.
.	Name	If a logon script is necessary to make the connection, this field contains the file name under which the script is saved. The body of the script is stored in the [Script_File] section.	text string	.
[Script_File]	.	Script File Content	.	.
.	0	First line of script using the Microsoft Dial-Up Networking scripting language.	For example: 0=; This is a script file	.
.	1	Second line of script	For example: 1= proc man	.

*The [URL] section is used to designate the HTML pages the user will see during the sign-up process. If the setup failed to complete for any reason, the [Provider_Info] section contains contact information so users can reach the ISP directly. The Run entry in the [Entry] section allows the ISP file to point to a local executable program, rather than a sign-up server. This allows proprietary sign-up software to be launched in place of the Microsoft sign-up mechanism.

INS file

The INS file encapsulates all the necessary parameters to set up Internet Explorer on a system running Windows. The INS file format contains all the sections described in "Sections common to both INS and ISP"; the common sections point to the ISP POP. In addition, the INS file adds the following additional sections and entries.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Entry]	.	Describe the Entry	.	Required for ISP
.	Cancel	If "Cancel=Yes" appears in the [Entry] section of the INS file, the signup process will be stopped, and no Internet configuration is to be performed on the client's system.	Yes No	Used to terminate Isignup.exe cleanly when no configuration is wanted

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[User]	.	Describe the Logon Name	.	Required for ISP
.	Name	The user name used to log in.	Text string	.
.	Password	The password used to log in.	Text string	.
.	Display_Password	Should the username and password be displayed to the user at the completion of sign-up?	Yes No	No is default

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[URL]	.	Describe the URL	.	This section should be set by the wizard.
.	Home_Page	The WWW client's home page URL.	http://www.msn.com	.
.	Search_Page	The WWW client's search page URL.	http://www.msn.com/access/allinone.htm	.
.	Help_Page=	Set URL for the HTML Help.	http://abc.help.htm	.
.	Quick_Link_1	Set URL for Quick Link 1.	http://home.microsoft.com/best/best.asp	.
.	Quick_Link_1_Name	Set name for Quick Link 1.	Best of the Web	.
.	Quick_Link_2	Set URL for Quick Link 2.	http://home.microsoft.com/links/links.asp	.
.	Quick_Link_2_Name	Set name for Quick Link 2.	Today's Links	.
.	Quick_Link_3	Set URL for Quick Link 3.	http://home.microsoft.com/gallery.asp	.
.	Quick_Link_3_Name	Set name for Quick Link 3.	Web Gallery	.
.	Quick_Link_4	Set URL for Quick Link 4.	http://home.microsoft.com/ie	.
.	Quick_Link_4_Name	Set name for Quick Link 4.	Product News	.
.	Quick_Link_5	Set URL for Quick Link 5.	http://home.microsoft.com	.
.	Quick_Link_5_Name	Set name for Quick Link 5.	Microsoft	.
.	AutoConfig	Specifies whether Auto-Config is to be supported.	1 = Yes, 0 = No	.
.	AutoConfigURL	URL of an .INS file to be used for Auto-Config.	http://www.server.com/autocon.ins	.
.	AutoConfigJSURL	URL of a JavaScript file that automatically sets the proxy server.	http://www.server.com/autoprx.js	.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Favorites]	.	Describe the Favorites/Bookmark to add	.	This section should be set by the wizard.
.	Subdir\URL1	Full friendly name pointing to the URL file for a favorites entry. These entries should be generated by the IEAK wizard.	Text string; for example: "Cool Sites\Link Central.url=http://www.msn.com/access/links/other.htm"	.
.	Subdir\URL2	Second favorite to create.	.	.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Ie3inst]	.	Private section to be set only by the wizard.	.	This section should be set by the wizard.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Internet_Mail]	.	Describe the POP3/SMTP Setup	.	Should be set by ISP or corporate intranet administrator if configuring mail. Settings apply to Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. Wizard will not configur any settings unless the wizard has Windows 95 included int he options for that build.
.	Email_Name	The friendly name of the user.	Text string; for example:"Joe B. User"	Manual Entry
.	Email_Address	Return address of the user.	Text string; for example:"joeb@aaa.com"	Manual Entry
.	POP_Server	POP3 server address.	Valid IP address; for example: "mail.aaa.com"	This section should be set by the wizard.
.	POP_Logon_Name	POP3 logon name.	Text string	Manual Entry
.	POP_Logon_Password	POP3 logon password.	Text string	Manual Entry
.	SMTP_Server	SMTP server address.	Valid IP address; for example: "mail.aaa.com"	This section should be set by the wizard.
.	Use_MS_Exchange	If value is true, Internet Setup installs and uses Exchange as the SMTP/POP3 e-mail client.	Yes No	.
.	Domain	Domain name. This will be entered by the IEAK wizard. It will be overridden by any fully qualified name that the ISP puts in the .ins file.	For example, "microsoft.com"	This section should be set by the wizard.
.	Install_Mail	Specifies whether Internet Mail should be installed.	1 = Yes 0 = No	This section should be set by the wizard

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Internet_News]	.	Describe the NNTP Setup	.	Should be set by ISP or corporate intranet administrator if configuring mail. Settings apply to Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. Wizard will not configur any settings unless the wizard has Windows 95 included int he options for that build.
.	NNTP_Server	NNTP server address.	Valid IP address; for example: "news.aaa.com"	This section should be set by the wizard.
.	NNTP_Logon_Name	NNTP logon name.	Text string	. Manual Entry
.	NNTP_Logon_Password	NNTP logon password.	Text string	Manual Entry
.	Logon_Required	Specifies whether the user needs to be logged on to ensure caching of the password.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Install_News	Specifies whether to install News.	1 = Yes 0 = No	This section should be set by the wizard.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Proxy]	.	Entry Description	.	This section applies only to corporate Intranet administrators. This section should be set by the wizard, although it can be edited manually.
.	Proxy_Enable	Specifies whether the system will use a proxy server to connect to the Internet.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	HTTP_Proxy_Server	IP address of HTTP proxy followed by a colon and the port number.	http://proxyserver:80	.
.	FTP_Proxy_Server	IP address of FTP proxy.	http://proxyserver:80	.
.	Gopher_Proxy_Server	IP address of Gopher proxy.	http://proxyserver:80	.
.	Secure_Proxy_Server	IP address of Secure proxy.	http://proxyserver:80	.
.	Socks_Proxy_Server	IP address of Socks proxy.	http://proxyserver:80	.
.	Use_Same_Proxy	Specifies that the same proxy server will be used for all protocols. All but the HTTP proxy address are ignored.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Proxy_Override	List of addresses for which to bypass proxy, separated by semicolons; may include the designation <local>.	<local>	.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Custom]	.	Custom Settings Description	.	Optional and for ISPs only
.	Run	Specifies which executable program to run to set the custom configurations.	Valid executable name.	The INS filename is automatically passed as a parameter to the application. Note: This may cause problems if the application handles this parameter incorrectly.
.	Argument	Argument to pass to the executable above.	Valid command line.	.
.	Custom_File	Create a custom file with the contents shown in the [Custom_File] section.	Valid file name. If this is to be used with Windows 3.1, make sure the file name is in 8.3 format (no long file names).	This file is always placed in the Windows directory.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Custom_File]	.	Custom Parameter File	.	Optional and for ISPs only
.	0	Line 1 of the file	text string, for example: "[Section]"	.
.	1	Line 2 of the file	"Value1=ABC"	.
.	2	Line 3 of the file	"Value2=DEF"	.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Restrictions]	.	User interface restrictions	To be set by wizard	This section applies only to corporate Intranet administrators. This section should be set by the wizard. It can also be set manually.
.	.	General Tab	.	.
.	Multimedia	Disables all controls in the Multimedia group box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Colors	Disables all controls in the Colors group box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Links	Disables all controls in the Links group box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Toolbar	Disables all controls in the Toolbar group box. Note that users will still be able to resize the toolbars via direct manipulation.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	International	Disables the Languages field in the Fonts dialog box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Fonts	Disables all settings in the Fonts dialog box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	.	Connection Tab	.	.
.	Dialing	Disables all controls in the Dialing group box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Proxy	Disables all controls in the Proxy Server group box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	.	Navigation Tab	.	.
.	Places	Disables all controls in the Customize group box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	History	Disables all controls in the History group box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	.	Programs Tab	.	.
.	MailNews	Disables all controls in the Mail And News group box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	FileTypes	Disables all controls in the Viewers group box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Default	Disables the check box for controlling the check for default browser.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	.	Advanced Tab	.	.
.	Warnings	Disables all controls in the Warnings group box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Cache	Disables all controls in the Settings dialog box for Temporary Internet Files.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Other	Disables all check boxes at the bottom of the page.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Crypto	Disables all controls in the Cryptography Settings dialog box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	.	Security Tab	.	.
.	Ratings	Disables all controls in the Content Advisor group box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Certif	Disables all controls in the Certificates group box. Overrides any values set for the following three check boxes.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	CertifPers	Disables just the Personal Certificates button.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	CertifSite	Disables just the Site Certificates button.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	CertifPubr	Disables just the Publishers Certificates button.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	ActiveX	Disables all controls in the Active Content group box. Overrides any values set for the following five check boxes.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	ActiveDownload	Disables just the Allow Downloading Of Active Content check box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	ActiveControls	Disables just the Enable Active Controls & Plug-ins check box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Active Script	Disables just the Run ActiveX Scripts check box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	ActiveJava	Disables just the Enable Java Programs check box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	ActiveSafety	Disables all controls in the Safety Level dialog box.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Security]	.	Security Tab Preset Values	.	This section applies only to corporate Intranet administrators. This section should be set by the wizard.
.	Code Download	Allows client systems to download active content.	"yes" or "no"	.
.	.	Allows client systems to run ActiveX(tm) controls and plug-ins.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Security_RunJavaApplets	Allows client systems to run Java applets.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Security_RunScripts	Allows client systems to run Java or Visual Basic Scripts	1 = Yes 0 = No	.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Warnings]	.	System Safety Level	.	This section applies only to corporate Intranet administrators. This section should be set by the wizard.
.	Trust Level	Sets the safety level by which the system deals with potential security problems.	0 = High (fully protected) 1 = Medium (warned with option) 2 = None (no warning)	.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Branding]	.	Internet Explorer Branding Parameters	.	This section should be set by the wizard.
.	Window_Title	The name to be shown in the Internet Explorer title bar.	Text string, for example: "ABC Internet Explorer"	.
.	CompanyName	Company name, for reference only. Not used in any part of the user interface.	Text string	.
.	Custom_Key	OEM customization key that is assigned by Microsoft.	Text string	.
.	SignupCustomDir	Path of the directory that the wizard used for custom materials (not used as part of the installation)	Path	.
.	Install_Mail	Internet Mail will be installed.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Install_News	Internet News will be installed.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Install_NetMtg	NetMeeting(tm) will be installed.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Install_AMovie	ActiveMovie(tm) will be installed.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Install_HTMLLayout	HTML Layout Control will be installed.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Install_ComicChat	ComicChat will be installed.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Install_Cust1	Custom application 1 will be installed.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Install_Cust2	Custom application 2 will be installed.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	Wizard_Version	Internal version number of the wizard which generated this .ins file.	Numeric string, separated by periods.	.
.	InstallDir	Installation directory for 32-bit clients.	%p\Internet Explorer	.
.	InstallDir16	Installation Directory for 16-bit clients	%w\IEXPLORE	.
.	PerUserIns	Specifies that the installation will use per-user .INS files.	1 = Yes 0 = No	.
.	PerUserInsPath	Path to the per-user .ins files.	e:\Ins	.
.	SignupCustomCmd	Command line to be run on 32-bit clients after installation	Command string	.
.	SignupCustomCmd16	Command line to be run on 16-bit clients after installation.	Command string	.
.	Global	This is a global .ins file.	1 = Yes (global) 0 = No (group or user)	.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[CustomSignup]	.	Lists custom signup files	.	This section should be set by the wizard.
.	NumFiles	Number of files.	Number	.
.	1=	First file name.	1=Cancel.ins	.
.	...	.	.	.
.	N=	Nth file name.	4=Signup.isp	.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Big_Logo]	.	Large bitmap of logo	To be set by wizard	This section should be set by the wizard.
.	0	Line 1 of the uuencoding of the large bitmap used for branding Internet Explorer.	"0=begin 666 abc.bmp"	.
.	1	Line 2 of the uuencoding.	"1= ..."	.
.	......	.	.	.
.	N	Last line of the uuencoding.	"86=end"	.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Small_Logo]	.	Small bitmap of logo	To be set by wizard	This section should be set by the wizard.
.	0	Line 1 of the uuencoding of the large bitmap used for branding Internet Explorer.	"0=begin 666 abc_sm.bmp"	.
.	1	Line 2 of the uuencoding.	"1= ..."	.
.	......	.	.	.
.	N	Last line of the uuencoding.	"47=end"	.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Scripting]	.	Scripting file description	.	Optional and for ISPs only
.	Name	If a logon script is necessary to make the connection, this field contains the file name under which the script is saved. The body of the script is stored in the [Script_File] section.	Text string	.

Section	Entry	Purpose	Value	Notes
[Script_File]	.	Script file content	.	Optional and for ISPs only
.	0	First line of script using the Microsoft Dial-Up Networking scripting language.	E.g.: 0=; This is a script file	.
.	1	Second line of script	E.g.: 1= proc man	.