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Guide to Customizing and Distributing Mozilla 1.4.1
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Chapter 8   Preparing to Customize the CD Autorun Screen

The CCK tool screen called Customize the CD Autorun Screen specifies background image and text customizations for the CD autorun screen, which appears automatically when users insert your customized Mozilla CD into a CD-ROM drive.

This chapter describes the information and files you need to prepare if you want to customize the CD autorun screen. It includes these sections:

What Is the CD Autorun Screen?
Customizing the CD Autorun Screen's Background Image
Customizing Text for the CD Autorun Screen
Customizing the Installation Document
Checklist for Customize the CD Autorun Screen

What Is the CD Autorun Screen?

If you plan to create Mozilla installers for CD distribution, you can provide a CD autorun screen that automatically appears when the user inserts your customized Mozilla CD into a CD-ROM drive.

The CD autorun screen makes it easy for your users to install Mozilla or to read installation instructions before they begin the installation process.

About the Default CD Autorun Screen

The CCK tool provides a default CD autorun screen that's ready to use:



Customizing the Standard CD Autorun Screen

Customizing the standard CD autorun screen is optional. If you wish, you can use the CCK tool to customize the following items in the standard CD autorun screen:

Here is an example of a CD autorun screen that was customized by the CCK tool:



After you create your CD-based installer using the CCK tool, you can make additional manual customizations to the CD autorun screen, such as adding new screens or buttons. For more information, see Chapter 11 "Manually Customizing the CD Autorun Screen"

Customizing the CD Autorun Screen's Background Image

You can customize the CD autorun screen's background image if you want to add your company logo or add other images that promote your company's identity.

The standard background image for the CD autorun screen consists of a 640 pixel by 480 pixel bitmap (.BMP) file, as illustrated here:


The easiest way to customize the background image is to edit the existing background image, called install.bmp, as described in the next section. If you prefer, you can substitute your own custom file as described under "Creating Your Own Custom Background Image."

Editing the Standard Background Image

To edit the standard background image:

  1. Locate the standard background bitmap file:

    2. installation_directory\CCKTool\Configs\my_config\Workspace\Autorun\ Shell\bmps\install.bmp

where installation_directory is the directory where you installed the CCK tool and my_config is the name of the configuration you are customizing.

  1. Using a graphics editing program, open the isntall.bmp file and make your changes to it. For example, you might want to add your company's logo and name.

    2. Note: Do not add text or graphics within the black border area at the bottom of the CD autorun screen. This area is reserved for the CD autorun screen's Browse CD, Back, and Exit buttons.
     
  2. Save your changes, making sure to save the file in .BMP format. If you want, you can save the file using another name.

    3. In the CCK tool, go to the screen titled "Customize the CD Autorun Screen."
     
  3. Under Background Bitmap, click Choose File and browse to the location of your custom background image to include it.

Creating Your Own Custom Background Image

To create your own custom background image for the CD autorun screen:

  1. Using a graphics editing program, create a bitmap image that's 640 pixels wide and 480 pixels high.

    2. Keep the size of the file as small as possible (325 Kbytes or less) by reducing the number of colors in the file, or by removing or flattening the layers (if you created the image in Photoshop). If your file size is too large, it may not appear in the CD autorun screen.
     
  2. At the bottom of the background image, create a rectangular border at least 40 pixels high and 640 pixels wide. The CD autorun screen will use this area to display the CD control buttons (Browse CD, Back, and Exit).

  3. Save the image as a .BMP (bitmap) format file here:

    4. installation_directory\CCKTool\Configs\my_config\Workspace\Autor un\Shell\bmps\isntall.bmp

    where installation_directory is the directory where you installed the CCK tool and my_config is the name of the configuration you are customizing.
     

Your background bitmap image is now ready to specify when you run the CCK tool.

Customizing Text for the CD Autorun Screen

The CCK tool's CD autorun screen specifies two text strings for the CD Autorun Screen:

You should decide on the exact wording of these strings before you run the CCK tool.

Customizing the Installation Document

The CD autorun screen includes a button that, when clicked, opens a text document that contains instructions for installing Mozilla. You might want to include additional information in this document that you want your users to know before they install.

For example, you could add information on your products and services, and tell users how they can contact you for more information. If you're planning to include installers for additional programs as part of your Mozilla installer, this document is a great place to tell your users about the additional programs you're providing.

To edit the installation document:

  1. Locate the standard installation document:

    2. installation_directory\CCKTool\Configs\Default\Workspace\Autorun \install.txt

  2. Make a copy of this file and save here:

    3. installation_directory\CCKTool\Configs\my_config\Workspace\Autor un\install.txt

    Open the install.txt document using a standard text editor, such as WordPad.
     
  3. Edit the install.txt document and save your changes.

Your background bitmap image is now ready to specify when you run the CCK tool.

Checklist for Customize the CD Autorun Screen

The Customize the CD autorun screen specifies the following:



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Last Updated October 05, 2001