by Ed Bott
The Active Desktop represents a key change in the Windows interface. The classic Windows 95 interface uses the desktop simply as a holding area for icons; however, the Active Desktop treats the entire Windows desktop as if it were a web page. You can still store icons there, but you can also add live web pages, components written in HTML, ActiveX controls, and Java applets. To see the Active Desktop in operation, look at Figure 33.1.
FIG. 33.1 Add live web content, including the headline and stock tickers shown here, to the Active Desktop.
NOTE: Don't confuse the Active Desktop with the Windows Desktop Update. The Windows Desktop Update, standard in Windows 98, makes sweeping changes to the Start menu, taskbar, Explorer, and other parts of the Windows interface. The Windows Desktop Update offers a number of options, including the choice of web-style single-click navigation or the traditional double-click style. The Active Desktop is one choice in the Windows Desktop Update, but even if you choose to disable web-based content on the desktop, the other changes in the Windows Desktop Update remain in place.
When you choose web style as your preferred interface, the Active Desktop is automatically enabled. If you choose Classic style, on the other hand, the Active Desktop is automatically disabled, and your desktop looks and acts like Windows 95.
You can enable or disable the Active Desktop at any time, regardless of which navigation style you've chosen. Follow these steps:
TIP: What good is information on the Active Desktop if your application windows cover it up? To quickly clear away all windows, use the Show Desktop button on the Quick Launch toolbar.
If you're a skilled web page designer, it's a trivial task to create a custom page that organizes essential information and links. In corporate settings, using a standard HTML-based background page can be an excellent way to ensure that every user has access to the same crucial information on the intranet. Windows 98 enables you to specify an HTML page as the desktop background, just as previous versions of Windows enabled you to use a graphic image as wallpaper.
You can use any HTML editor, including FrontPage Express, to create your background page. Think of this page as the base layer of the Active Desktop. Standard desktop icons sit on top of this layer, and you can add other web elements as well. The HTML page you use as your Windows background can include hyperlinks, graphics (including a company logo), tables, HTML components, scripted objects, and ActiveX controls.
After you've created the background page, save it to local or network storage. To begin using the page as your desktop background, follow these steps:
TIP: If you prefer to see only your custom background when you view the Active Desktop, open the Display Properties dialog box, click the Effects tab, and choose Hide icons when the desktop is viewed as a web page. To switch between the Active Desktop and the desktop icons, right-click any empty space on the desktop, choose Active Desktop from the shortcut menu, and enable or disable the View As Web Page choice.
FIG. 33.2 Create a custom web page and use it in place of wallpaper to make a truly custom interface.
Enabling the Active Desktop lets you use the Windows desktop to display a variety of content. You can add the following:
Before adding a new web page to the Active Desktop, create an Internet shortcut to the page. Then follow these steps:
FIG. 33.3 Enter a filename or web address to add pictures or entire web pages to your Active Desktop.
FIG. 33.4 Click OK to customize login and update options for web pages on the Active Desktop.
TIP: There's a far easier way to add a new element to the Active Desktop. First, view the web page or open the graphic file in the browser window; size the window so you can see a portion of the desktop. To add a web page, hold down the right mouse button and drag the icon from the left of the address bar onto the desktop. To add a picture to the Active Desktop, right-drag the image onto the desktop. Choose Create Active Desktop Item (or Image) Here.
To move or resize objects on the Active Desktop, let the mouse pointer hover over the object until a gray border appears around the object. Click the thick bar at the top of the object and drag it to a new location. Use the borders to resize the windows. Scrollbars appear if the object is larger than the window you've created.
The Classic Windows 95 interface lets you add one graphic, centered or tiled, as wallpaper on the Windows desktop. Using the Active Desktop, you can add multiple pictures to the desktop and rearrange them as you see fit. You can use saved image files, such as a family picture or a postcard of your favorite tropical resort. Alternatively, you can select a web-based image that is regularly updated, such as a weather or traffic map.
NOTE: The Active Desktop supports three standard graphic file formats: Windows Bitmap (BMP), GIF, and JPEG File Interchange Format (JPEG). GIF and JPEG are the most common graphic formats on the Internet.
For photographs and other images that remain static, your best strategy is to create the Active Desktop item from a file stored on your local drive. Linking to a graphic file on a web site forces the browser to try to update the file for no good reason. To save an image you find on a web page, right-click the image and choose Save Picture As from the shortcut menu. Give the picture a meaningful name, and store it where you can find it later.
CAUTION: Images and other original elements on most web sites are protected by copyright. Displaying an image file on your personal desktop is generally considered acceptable, but reusing a copyrighted graphic on a commercial web site without permission could land you in court.
Unlike web pages, which sometimes have to be forced into service as an Active Desktop object, components are made for this very purpose. A component can be a simple scrap of HTML, or it can include an ActiveX control or a Java applet. Some components are actually miniprograms that you can customize to match your own preferences.
ON THE WEB: Microsoft's Active Desktop Gallery includes an assortment of interesting desktop components, including a useful search box, stock tickers, and several clocks. Browse the entire collection at the following address:
http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ie40/gallery
Adding a new component to your Active Desktop is simple. In most cases, the web page designer includes an Add to Active Desktop button (see Figure 33.5). Click this button to download and install the component.
FIG. 33.5 Choose a component like this weather map from Microsoft's gallery; then click the Add to Active Desktop button to add it to your desktop.
You don't have to display every installed component, picture, and web site on your Active Desktop. Hide objects you use infrequently so that they remain available when you need them. To display, hide, remove, or edit objects on the Active Desktop, right-click the desktop, and then choose Properties. Select the web tab in the Display Properties dialog box.
When you subscribe to a web site, you instruct IE4 to regularly visit the site in search of new content. Don't let the term subscription mislead you; there's no fee associated with the process. Subscriptions are simply a way for you to automatically search for and download content from your favorite sites.
If you can load a web page into the browser window, you can subscribe to it. You can specify the amount of information to download from the site, although this capability is limited and might not produce the results you're expecting.
You can also subscribe to Active Channels--prepackaged collections of web content that include a site map and a recommended schedule for updates. With the help of Channel Definition Format (CDF) files, a webmaster can assemble just the information you need and not a page more.
CAUTION: With an IE4 subscription, you can instruct the browser to retrieve a given page and all pages linked to it, to a depth of as many as three pages. On web sites that contain large collections of files, this "web crawling" can cause an unacceptable performance hit. For this reason, some sites ban web crawlers, and you'll find that your subscriptions to these sites won't update correctly.
To subscribe to a web site, you start by adding it to your Favorites list. Follow these steps:
FIG. 33.6 Choose one of these options to add a web page to your Subscriptions list.
TIP: When you subscribe to a web site, IE4 adds a shortcut in your Favorites folder and in the Subscriptions folder. Deleting the shortcut in the Favorites folder does not delete your subscription, nor does deleting a subscription remove the entry from your Favorites list. The property sheet for an Internet shortcut includes extra tabs when you've subscribed to that site.
FIG. 33.7 To customize subscription options, follow the wizard's prompts.
Internet Explorer maintains your list of subscribed sites in the \Windows\Subscriptions folder. Special extensions to the Windows Explorer let you view subscription details, edit update schedules, and delete sites when you no longer want to subscribe.
To open the Subscriptions folder, choose Favorites, Manage Subscriptions. You'll see a window like the one in Figure 33.8.
Select one or more sites from the list and use the right-click shortcut menus to open, copy, delete, or update the selection. Select a single site and choose Properties to adjust the subscription's settings.
By default, each subscription downloads one page, once a day, around 1:00 a.m. For most subscriptions, you'll probably want to change those defaults. Most often, you'll want to increase the amount of content that IE4 downloads as well as the update schedule.
FIG. 33.8 Switch to Details view to see information about each entry in the list, including error messages from the last update attempt.
You can adjust all the following options when you first create a subscription, using the Subscription Wizard. To change a subscription's properties after that, open the Subscriptions folder, right-click the entry for the site, and choose Properties from the shortcut menu. Select the Subscription, Receiving, or Schedule tabs and make any of the following changes.
Controlling the Size and Depth of Subscriptions
Chances are you'll want to see more than one page for your favorite web sites. On the front page of a newspaper like the Los Angeles Times, for example, you'll usually find links to the day's top stories. When you go to those pages, you'll find links to still more stories. As part of the settings for each subscription, you can tell IE4 to follow all the links on the subscribed page. For subscriptions you plan to read offline, it's crucial that you enter a number large enough to gather the information you need. However, it's also important to monitor the amount of material that IE4 must download. The number of pages that need updating might increase dramatically with each additional layer. If you don't set the correct limits when setting up a subscription, the downloaded content might consume all the space in your Temporary Internet Files folder.
TIP: If you typically read only one portion of a web site, don't start at the site's home page; instead, pick the site that contains the links you plan to follow. On highly structured sites, this page might be deep within the site. However, you might not be able to be selective with an active server page or a page that was created in response to your query.
To define exactly which pages IE4 will download with each update, follow these steps:
FIG. 33.9 If you've opted to download a subscription for offline viewing, click the Advanced button to adjust the amount of content to retrieve.
FIG. 33.10 Balance these options to download the right amount of content without consuming too much disk space.
CAUTION: Many web pages use images to help with navigation and to supply information. Don't restrict image downloads unless you're certain a site is useful in text-only mode.
Specifying a Format for Update Notifications
How do you know when there's been a change in a web site to which you subscribe? Look at any Internet shortcut, on the desktop, in the Favorites bar, in the Channel bar, or in the Subscriptions window; a red gleam in the upper-left corner of an icon means there's new content. If you prefer a more emphatic notice, ask IE4 to send you an email message every time it notices a change in a web site to which you subscribe. The email message can be a simple notice with a hyperlink, or it can contain a copy of the updated HTML page.
To set up email updates, follow these steps:
Scheduling Automatic Updates
By default, IE4 updates your subscriptions once a day, at 1:00 a.m. You can adjust the update interval or set the subscription for manual updates only. You can also specify whether IE4 will dial your Internet connection automatically. To adjust a subscription's update schedule, open the Subscriptions folder and select the Schedule tab. You'll see a dialog box like the one in Figure 33.11.
To use a regularly scheduled interval, choose the Scheduled option and select Daily, Weekly, or Monthly from the drop-down list. Click the Edit button to adjust the details of this schedule. For example, if you subscribe to an online magazine that appears every Friday at midnight, you can tell IE4 to update your subscription each Friday morning at 5:00 a.m., before you arrive at work.
FIG. 33.11 Use these options to control how and when IE4 updates your subscriptions.
TIP: Network administrators might be horrified at the thought of thousands of users requesting web updates on the hour. IE4 attempts to minimize that problem by randomly varying the exact time for each update by a few minutes in either direction. To take maximum control over how users work with Internet Explorer 4.0, make sure you check the Internet Explorer Administrator's Kit, available from Microsoft. For more information about the most current release of IEAK, see http://ieak.microsoft.com/.
You can also create a custom schedule, using a dizzying variety of options. For example, if you have a favorite business-oriented site, you can set a subscription to update once an hour, from 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m., every weekday. You can update a subscription every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You can even specify that a site update at 9:00 a.m. on the second Tuesday of every other month. When you save a custom schedule, you can reuse the schedule with other subscriptions as well.
To create a custom schedule for updates, follow these steps:
FIG. 33.12 Be sure to give each custom schedule a descriptive name, so you can reuse the schedule with other subscriptions.
Updating Subscriptions Manually
IE4 lets you manually update all of your subscriptions with the click of one button. This capability is especially useful if you are about to leave on a trip and you want to make sure your notebook computer contains the most current versions of all your web subscriptions. You can also update an individual site if you know there's new content and you don't want to wait for the next scheduled update. To manually update all subscriptions, follow these steps:
To update an individual subscription, follow these steps:
FIG. 33.13 If you don't see this full status window, click the Details button.
If you subscribe to a site that rarely changes or one you rarely visit, you can tell IE4 to update that subscription only when you manually choose to do so. Right-click the subscription icon and choose Properties. Click the Schedule tab and choose the option labeled Manually. The Update Now button at the bottom of this dialog box also lets you refresh the subscription with the most current content.
Subscribing to Password-Protected Sites
Sites like the Wall Street Journal (http://www.wsj.com) require that you enter a username and password before browsing their site. If you're using IE4 interactively, you can type the information directly into a login text box. When you subscribe to a password-protected site, IE4 lets you include the login information so that you can get the information you're looking for automatically. You do not have to subscribe to the specific page that includes the login screen. You can subscribe to a page above the login screen and specify a depth of delivery that reaches below the login screen. When IE4 reaches the page that requests your user ID and password, it supplies them and continues updating the subscription.
To enter a username and password for use with a web subscription, follow these steps:
FIG. 33.14 Enter login information here for IE4 to gain access to password-protected sites when updating a subscription.
After setting up a subscription to a password-protected site, it's a good idea to verify that it works. Update the subscription manually; if the update fails because of an incorrect username or password, try logging in manually to make sure the site is working and the information you enter is correct. Then edit the subscription's username and password to match those you've tested.
If you're about to hit the road and you're running short on time, two shortcuts can dramatically reduce the time it takes to update all the subscriptions on your notebook. First, cut the update list to the bare minimum. Choose Favorites, Manage Subscriptions, and hold down the Ctrl key as you select the sites you want to update. When you're finished, right-click and choose Update Now from the shortcut menu.
To speed the update process even more (and save precious disk space), tell IE4 to concentrate on text and ignore large graphics and media files. Note that some sites use images for navigation, and at other sites images might contain important information; as a result, the pages you end up with when you use this technique might be of limited use. Still, when time is short, you can follow these steps:
Channels are prepackaged subscriptions. Instead of indiscriminately delivering web pages to your hard disk, a webmaster can put together a collection of pages, just as a newspaper publisher assembles a daily paper. When you subscribe to an Active Channel, you download a single file that was created using the Channel Definition Format (CDF). Channel files typically include multiple HTML files, graphics, a map of the web site (including links to pages not included in the CDF file), and a publisher's recommended schedule for updates.
By default, Windows 98 adds a Channel bar that contains shortcuts to dozens of brand-name channels to your desktop. Note that you don't have to subscribe in order to view the content in a channel.
The Channel bar contains an Internet shortcut that takes you to Microsoft's Active Channel Guide. Browse through this lengthy list by category, or search for keywords using the built-in search button. The Active Channel Guide is updated frequently (see Figure 33.15).
FIG. 33.15 Microsoft maintains this exhaustive list of channels to which you can subscribe.
ON THE WEB: If you inadvertently delete the Channel Guide shortcut from the Channel bar, don't worry. You'll find the latest list of Active Channels at
http://www.iechannelguide.com
Most channels include an Add Active Channel button that allows you to add its shortcut to the Channel bar. When you add a channel to the Channel bar, you typically have the option of subscribing to the channel. You can use the publisher's recommended schedule or a custom schedule of your choosing; if there's no Add This Channel button on the preview pane in the Channel Guide, right-click and choose Subscribe from the site icon at the left.
When you click a shortcut in the Channel bar on the Windows desktop, Internet Explorer opens in full-screen mode, with the Channel bar visible along the left side of the browser window.
Although the Channel bar in the browser window includes the same sites as its desktop counterpart, the two bars behave differently. In the browser's Channel bar, for example, the icon for each channel is black and white until the mouse pointer passes over it. When you click a shortcut, the channel's home page opens in the pane to the right. If the CDF file for that channel includes a site map, clicking the channel button opens the list of available pages.
TIP: You can view channels as ordinary web pages, as desktop components, or in full-screen mode. To specify whether IE4 should use full-screen mode for all channels, choose View, Internet Options, click the Advanced tab, and check the option labeled Launch Channels in Full Screen window.
Some channels include a Screen-Saver view. You might see this option during the initial Channel setup. To enable, disable, or adjust the Channel screen saver at any time, right-click the desktop, choose Properties, click the Screen Saver tab, and choose the Channel Screen Saver option.
When you view a channel in full-screen mode, the Channels bar slides off the screen when you read the page; it reappears when you move the pointer to the left edge of the screen. If you're running at a high screen resolution, use the pushpin icon to lock the Channels bar in place (see Figure 33.16).
To view Channels and other subscriptions without making an active Internet connection, choose File, Work Offline. Like all subscriptions, Active Channels share the Temporary Internet Files with pages you browse interactively. When the cache fills up, IE4 pitches the oldest pages to make way for the newest ones.
If you encounter frequent error messages when you attempt to update or view subscriptions, you might have used all the available space in your Temporary Internet Files folder. To make room for more content, increase the size of the web cache.
NOTE: Don't be surprised when you discover that some channels provide only a table of contents and links. Although these sites can give you a good idea of what's available when you go back online, you won't find enough information to justify keeping a subscription to this sort of channel.
FIG. 33.16 Watch the colorful logo appear when the mouse pointer passes over each entry in the Channel bar.
The Channel bar appears on the Desktop when you install Windows 98. It also appears as an Explorer bar within the browser window when you click the Channels button.
By default, the Channel bar includes built-in shortcuts to channels delivered by some well-known companies, including Disney, America Online, and MSNBC (see Figure 33.17). There are also shortcuts to categories--news, entertainment, and business, for example--which include shortcuts to additional channels.
Although the Channel bar initially gets a place of honor on the Windows desktop, it's just another HTML component on the Active Desktop. That means you can customize its look and feel to suit your computing style. After you've sampled the selection of built-in channels and subscribed to a handful, give your Channel bar a makeover (see Figure 33.18).
FIG. 33.17 Out of the box, the Channel bar includes these preset selections. You can change the collection of shortcuts and rearrange the Channel bar itself.
FIG. 33.18 After deleting unnecessary channels and changing its size and orientation, this Channel bar looks vastly different from its default settings.
CAUTION: Be careful when deleting any of the category icons on the Channel bar. If you've subscribed to a channel within that category, you'll lose easy access to the channel.
TIP: The Channel bar on the desktop is identical to the one that appears in the browser window. When you add or remove channels from one, the other changes accordingly. If you'd rather use the Windows desktop for other items, close the Channel bar there and use the Channels button on the Internet Explorer toolbar when you want to work with channels.
Of all the features in Internet Explorer, the Active Desktop is by far the most controversial. Some organizations, in fact, prefer to disable all active Internet features, including the ability to display live content on the desktop, to use Active Channels, or to create subscriptions that update automatically. It's easy to turn off the display of live Internet content on the Active Desktop, but clearing out other active features takes a determined effort. To eliminate most active features, follow this seven-step program:
TIP: A knowledgeable user can easily circumvent most of the steps outlined in this section and restore virtually all of IE4's active features. For sites where security is a high priority, use the Internet Explorer Administration Kit to enforce strict Internet access policies. Full details about this program are available at http://ieak.microsoft.com.
TIP: The TweakUI utility includes an IE4 tab that lets you adjust some of the options listed here. For example, clearing the check box labeled Active Desktop enabled removes the Active Desktop option from the desktop's shortcut menu, and it also hides the web tab on the Display properties sheet. For more details about TweakUI, see Appendix C, "Using Power Toys."
TIP: Unfortunately, there's no way to remove the Channels button from the Internet Explorer toolbar. Likewise, you'll waste your time trying to delete the Channels folder from the Favorites menu, because IE re-creates this file the next time you restart your computer.
FIG. 33.19 To completely disable IE4's ability to view Active Channels, rename the Cdfview.dll file. When you attempt to open a channel, you'll see this error message instead.
5. Remove the Channels shortcut from the Quick Launch bar. Although it's impossible to remove all traces of the Channels icon, this one is easy to get rid of. Right-click the icon and choose Delete from the shortcut menu.
TIP: The Windows 98 Start menu includes a cascading Favorites menu that includes the Channels folder. If you'd prefer not to see this cascading menu, you can remove it by editing the Registry. Open RegEdit and navigate to the following Registry key:HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ExplorerAdd the DWORD value NoFavoritesMenu and set its data value to 1.
The TweakUI utility (described in Appendix C) includes a check box that will make this modification for you.
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