MSN Messenger Service Branding in IEAK 5.5

Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) 5.5 has the ability to include a customized version of Microsoft MSN Messenger. This article describes the customizations available for MSN Messenger distributed with IEAK.

NOTE: IEAK distributes the Microsoft Hotmail version of the MSN Messenger, not the Microsoft Exchange version.

MSN Messenger Service Branding

You can specify a product name for your customized messenger service client and a download Web address (URL) for your custom client.

Product Name

For your product name, choose one of the following options: Select option 1 to use "MSN Messenger Service" as the short product name. To create the long product name, include a "provided by your company" string to become "MSN Messenger Service - provided by your company." This option is recommended.

Select option 2 to specify a unique short product name. To create the long product name, combine "Your unique product name" with "(powered by MSN)" to become "Your unique product name (powered by MSN)." Type the short product name in the Product Name box. Note that your company is solely responsible for the selection of the product name and logo. Ensure that you have reviewed the name and logo that you have selected with your legal representative.

In the custom client, the short product name appears in the taskbar, in the process list, in online Help, and as inline text in several other product dialog boxes. The long product name appears in the About dialog box, in the primary window title bar, and in the Log On dialog box title bar. Do not use wildcards in a product name.

International Releases and Product Names

MSN Messenger Service is localized for 27 languages, but IEAK itself is localized for a smaller number. In some cases, the IEAK wizard might not display the localized string for some languages, but the resulting .ins file still contains the properly localized name. Also, the strings "provided by" or "(powered by MSN)" are properly localized for 27 languages even though the IEAK wizard may not display the localized strings. You should edit the Msmsgs.in_ configuration file to verify that the string is correct.

Download URL

Type a download URL for your customized client. IEAK produces a separate Setup package for the custom Messenger Service client. When a user runs the Add A Contact Wizard in the client, an e-mail invitation with a link to the download URL can be generated and sent to the new contact. The download URL you provide should point to an HTML page on your Web site that explains the Messenger Service client and how to install it. The HTML page should then link to the custom installation program on your site. If you do not provide a download URL, the default installation page from the MSN Messenger Service Web site is used.

MSN Messenger Service Branding (Media)

You can specify a custom logo to be used as a branding image in several areas of the Messenger Service client. You can also specify custom sounds for messaging events. In some cases, file names that you specify for the following items must be ASCII-only file names. Non-ASCII file names are replaced by default ASCII versions.

Logo

Type a location for your customized .gif image or click Browse to search for it. The image should be 234 pixels wide by 50 pixels high. The logo will appear in areas with a white background, so the logo's background color should also be white (255,255,255 RGB value) with no transparency layer. The logo is displayed in the Promotions area, in the About dialog box, and in the Add A Contact and First Time User Wizards You should provide your own logo for customization. If a logo is not provided, the MSN Messenger Service logo will be displayed instead.

Logo URL

Type an URL, such as your site's home page, to associate with your logo .gif file. If a user clicks your logo in the Messenger Service client's Promotions area, a new instance of the browser opens to the specified location. If no URL is provided, the logo image does not link anywhere.

Sound Files

For Contact Online, New E-mail, and New Message, type a .wav file location or click Browse to search for a sound file. Assigning sounds to these messaging events is optional. If sounds are not specified, the installation uses default sounds. Sounds can also be selected by users on the General tab in the Options dialog box in the client. The sample rate for these .wav files should be 11.025 kHz, 22.05 kHz, or 44.1 kHz. Test your sounds, making sure that their frequent play in regular use of the product does not adversely affect the user experience.

Contact Online

This sound is played when a person in the user's Contact list goes online.

New E-mail

This sound is played when a user receives new e-mail. This feature currently works only with MSN Hotmail e-mail.

New Message

This sound is played when a user receives a new instant message or receives subsequent messages in a hidden instant message window.

XML File

Type the URL of the XML document used to generate content for the Promotions area of the client. See "XML File Format for Messenger Service Promotions" for details about XML file format and definitions. See "Promoting and Advertising Your Messaging Service" for general information about promotional content in a messenger service client. If an XML file is not specified, the messenger service client displays MSN Messenger Service promotions content.

MSN Messenger Service Accounts

Passports and Logging on to the Messenger Service

Users logging on to servers must have a Passport account issued by one of the Passport domain authorities. Users are not required to have a Passport issued in a particular domain to log on; any Passport is equally acceptable. See the Passport Web site for more information about Passports and domain authorities, and for general questions about Passport and messenger service accounts.

Domain

Select a preferred Passport-issuing domain from the list. This becomes the domain that appears first in the domain list in the Log On dialog box, as well as in areas of the Add A Contact and First Time User Wizards. It is useful to specify this domain if you know that the majority of users will be using Passports issued by a particular domain authority. You should use either "hotmail.com" or "passport.com" as your domain authority.

NOTE: Additional Passport domain authorities that are not currently part of this list may come online in the future. If a domain authority does not appear in this list, type the domain authority name directly in the Domain box.

Signup URL

This field specifies the URL that is loaded into a browser window when a user clicks Sign Up on the Accounts tab in the Options dialog box in the client. The URL should be either a direct link to the registration page of a Passport domain authority or a link to a custom page you host that explains the Passport registration process to the user. This custom page should then include a link to the registration page of a Passport domain authority. If you want to use a signup domain other than hotmail.com or passport.com, you should specify the signup URL. If you do not specify a signup URL, the Get A Passport and Sign Up buttons in the client point to the hotmail.com registration server by default.

If your site has a Passport Site ID, you can add your Site ID and return URL to the URL that sends users to the Passport registration server to enable co-branding. See the Passport SDK or Passport developers' Web site for more information about Site IDs, co-branding, and accessing Passport domain authority Web pages.

Mail Servers

The Messenger Service client can be configured to use different mail servers for certain operations, most notably for the Mail button in the client toolbar and the Send Mail command that appears when you right-click a contact. The default mail service for a messenger service client is MSN Hotmail. Only the Hotmail e-mail option supports new e-mail notifications in the current version of the messenger service client. There are two other options for supporting mail servers in the client:

Click Provide an URL to the home page of an e-mail service if you are supporting a Web-based e-mail service. Type the URL of your mail service's mail composition page in the E-mail URL box. If a user clicks the Mail button or clicks the Send Mail command to send e-mail to a particular user, this URL opens in a new browser window. User-specific information is not passed through this URL, so unless your mail system is cookie-based and the user was previously signed on, it is likely that the user will have to re-enter authentication information within your mail system. Also, the contact e-mail address cannot be automatically entered in the To line using this option. New e-mail notifications are not available for this type of Web-based service setup. This option is typically most appropriate for ICPs.

Click Use the default mail client on the end user's computer to use the browser's default mail client. The default mail client is whatever is configured in the registry to use the <mailto:> protocol. It is usually a POP3 mail client. Type the computer name of your mail (POP3) server in the Incoming Mail Server box. Click Logon Using SPA if the POP3 mail server supports SPA exchange of credentials.

If a user clicks the Mail button or click the Send Mail command to send e-mail to another user, the default mail program is started. The MSN Messenger Service version 2.1 client currently does not support checking external POP3 servers for new mail notifications. Check the MSN Messenger Service Web site for updates.