FP2000: How to Create a Channel Definition Format (.cdf) File to Work with FrontPage 2000 (241839)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft FrontPage 2000
This article was previously published under Q241839

SUMMARY

This article describes how to use Channel Definition Format (.cdf) files with FrontPage 2000.

MORE INFORMATION

As a content provider, you can create one CDF file for each type of channel that you want for your Web site. A CDF file allows users to subscribe to your FrontPage Web as a channel or a desktop component.

When users subscribe to your FrontPage Web as a channel, they can browse your Web offline, display updates to your Web on their screen saver, and download or receive e-mail notifications when pages in your FrontPage Web are modified. This feature is available only in Web browsers that support Channel Definitions, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 4.0 and later.

FrontPage 2000 does not include the Microsoft CDF Generator that earlier versions of FrontPage include. To create a .cdf, download and install the Microsoft CDF Generator (MCDFG) from the following Microsoft Web site:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/

To open the MCDFG, click Start, point to Programs, point to Internet Explorer, and click Microsoft CDF Generator.

Follow the instructions at the following location for creating a new CDF:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/delivery/cdf/cdfgen.asp

After you have created a CDF, save the CDF to a location on your hard disk drive.

To use the CDF with FrontPage 2000, import the CDF into your web by following these steps:

  1. With your web open in FrontPage, on the File menu, click Import.
  2. Click Add File, and browse to the location of the CDF file.
  3. Click Open.
  4. Click OK to close the Import dialog box.

To use the CDF in your web, open the page on which you want to include the CDF, and create a hyperlink to the CDF.

To create the hyperlink to the CDF, follow these steps:
  1. Type the text that you want to use as a hyperlink, and then select it. For example, type and select Add My Channel.
  2. Click the Insert menu and then click Hyperlink.
  3. Move to the location of the imported .cdf file.
  4. Click OK.

This adds a link to the .cdf file to your web page that users can click to add your web channel to their Microsoft Internet Explorer Channel Bar.

REFERENCES

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

173920 FP98: General Information about Active Channel Technology

For more information about Active Channel Technology, please visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/delivery/channel/overview/overview.asp

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:12/2/2000
Keywords:kbinfo KB241839
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