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Guide to Customizing and Distributing Mozilla 1.4.1
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Chapter 5   Preparing to Customize the Mozilla Browser

The CCK tool presents three screens that allow you to customize different aspects of the Mozilla browser. This chapter describes the information and files you need to prepare for these three screens.

This chapter contains these sections:

Creating a Custom Animated Logo
Determining a Help URL and Menu Item
Determining the Name of the Program Folder in the Windows Start Menu
Preparing a Customized Read-me File
Creating Your Own Sidebar Tab
Specifying the Default Home Page
Preparing Your Customized Bookmarks and Personal Toolbar
Determining Text for the Browser Window's Title Bar
Checklists for Customizing the Browser

Creating a Custom Animated Logo

You can replace the standard Mozilla animated logo that appears in the browser and mail windows with an animated logo for your own company, such as this one for MyISP:



If you wish, you can also change the URL for the animated logo button to the URL for your home page, so that when users click the animated logo, they go to your home page instead of www.mozilla.org.

The animated logo consists of a composite .GIF file that contains two or more individual .GIF images, or frames, laid end-to-end. When the individual frames in the composite .GIF file are displayed in rapid succession, one after the other, the logo graphic takes on the appearance of motion.

Here is a series of separate .GIF files that can be used to construct an animated .GIF file:



To create your own animated logo, you'll need these tools:

You'll need to create the following:

The browser uses the static .GIF file whenever the animated logo is at rest (not animating). When both files are ready, put them in the Workspace\AnimLogo directory for your configuration.

The sections that follow outline the steps involved in creating your static and animated .GIF files.

Step 1: Create the Animation Frames

You'll need to create the following .GIF files (frames):

Using a graphics editing program or a 3D animation program, create and save each individual animation frame as a separate .GIF file. Keep the animation as simple as possible by using the fewest number of frames that convey the motion you want to achieve.

Follow these guidelines:

Step 2: Assemble Your Frames Using a GIF Animation Program

Using your GIF file animation program:

  1. Assemble the animation frames in the order in which you want them to appear.

  2. Set the duration that each frame will appear.

  3. Set the animation to loop infinitely.

  4. Preview the animation and make any changes until you're satisfied with the results.

  5. Save the animation as a .GIF file.

  6. Optimize the animation file. Most .GIF animation programs allow you to perform some optimization operations that will reduce the size of your animation file.

Note: The animation will play more slowly on computers with slower processors.

Determining a Help URL and Menu Item

The CCK Tool allows you to add a Help menu item to the Help menu. The name you specify appears as a new menu item above the Release Notes menu item near the bottom of the browser's Help menu. For example: My ISP Customer Support.

If you specify a new Help menu item, you must also specify a live URL for the page to which your menu item will take users and provide appropriate content for that page.

Determining the Name of the Program Folder in the Windows Start Menu

To increase customer awareness of your company name and promote your company's identity to your customers, you can add your company name to the Mozilla 1.4.1 program folder name in the Windows Start menu.

For example, if you specify MyIsp for use with the Start menu, the program folder name in the Start menu appears as "Mozilla by MyIsp" as shown here:



Preparing a Customized Read-me File

Mozilla includes a standard read-me file, which you might want to customize if you want to provide additional information to your customers.

Under the terms of the Browser Customization Guidelines, you can edit the existing read-me file or replace it with one of your own, but you must not rename it.

To edit the read-me file:

  1. Locate the standard Mozilla Read Me (readme.txt) file:

    2. installation_directory\CCKTool\Configs\Default\Workspace

    where installation_directory is the directory where you installed the CCK tool.
     
  2. Copy the readme.txt file to your own Workspace directory

    3. installation_directory\CCKTool\Configs\my_config\Workspace

    where my_config is the name of the configuration you are customizing.
     

Using a standard text editor such as WordPad, edit readme.txt or replace its contents with your own information. When the file is ready, put it at the top level of the Workspace directory for your configuration (for easy access when you run the CCK tool).

Creating Your Own Sidebar Tab

Sidebar tabs provide a place within the Mozilla 1.4.1 browser for users to keep connected to what is most important to them. Tabs are a great place for favorite information, such as stock quotes, local weather, news headlines, sports headlines, local events, or horoscopes. Users can choose from a wide variety of tabs in the Sidebar Directory.

Mozilla 1.4.1 comes with several sidebar tabs already set up. However, you can customize the browser by adding, removing, and rearranging tabs for your users. By creating a sidebar tab, you give your content constant presence within the user's client software. This means that users always have access to your service or content even when they are on another web site or using email. Links in your tab can lead back to your web site, driving increased traffic; and you can reduce service calls by making technical information easily accessible through your sidebar tab.

The sidebar can appear on the left side of browser and mail windows of Mozilla 1.4.1. Here's an example of a custom sidebar tab for MyISP:



To create a sidebar tab, see the instructions posted at

http://home.netscape.com/sidebar

To add or rearrange the tabs that appear, see the following sections. After you have created your own sidebar tab and made other modifications to the sidebar tabs displayed, you should store the file panels.rdf in your Workspace/Sidebar directory for easy access when you run the CCK tool.

Adding Sidebar Tabs

In addition to providing your own sidebar tab, you can select from a wide range of existing sidebar tabs to customize the default tabs available when your customers open a new Mozilla profile for the first time.

For a continuously updated directory of available sidebar tabs, see

http://channel.netscape.com/sidebar/sbd/index.tmpl

For additional information about developing sidebar tabs, see

http://developer.netscape.com/evangelism/sidebar/

It possible to add a sidebar tab simply by clicking a link. You can also control which sidebar tabs appear from within the Sidebar frame itself:

  1. Start the Mozilla browser.

  2. Click Tabs at the top of Sidebar, then choose Customize Sidebar.

  3. Select one or more tabs from the list on the left. You can open and close folders by double-clicking their names.

  4. Click Add.

  5. Click OK to finish.

Rearranging Sidebar Tabs

To change the position of one of the Sidebar tabs displayed by the browser, follow these steps:

  1. In the browser, click Tabs at the top of Sidebar, then choose Customize Sidebar.

  2. Select a tab from the list on the right.

  3. Click Up or Down to change the tab's placement.

  4. Click OK to finish.

All the changes you make to Sidebar are stored in the panels.rdf file, which is located in the directory for the Mozilla profile you were using when you made the changes. For information on the location of Mozilla profiles on different platforms, see Appendix C "Mozilla Profile Locations by Platform."

When you are finished making your changes, put panels.rdf in the Workspace\Sidebar directory for your configuration (for easy access when you run the CCK tool).

Specifying the Default Home Page

If you wish to change the home page to a URL of your choice, you can do so by typing the URL in the CCK tool screen entitled "Customize the Browser - Part Three." The URL you specify determines both the first page launched and the page users will see when they click the Home button.

Preparing Your Customized Bookmarks and Personal Toolbar

You can create a complete set of customized bookmarks (URLs that direct users to web pages) for your users. You can also customize the buttons that appear in the Personal Toolbar. Bookmarks and Personal Toolbar buttons are stored together in the Bookmarks menu.

You can use Personal Toolbar buttons to call attention to value-added services you provide and to make it easy for users to find information you want them to see:



Note: For new users who are installing Mozilla for the first time, your customized bookmarks remain visible even if the user subsequently upgrades to a later version. However, users who are upgrading from a previous version of Mozilla or Netscape Communicator to the version you are providing will not get your customized bookmarks because, for upgraders, Mozilla preserves their existing set of bookmarks. Therefore, for upgraders, you may want to create a Sidebar tab that includes some of the links you want to make available to customers. For details, see "Creating Your Own Sidebar Tab."

To customize Navigator's bookmarks, you'll first create a new user profile that contains the default set of bookmarks that come with Mozilla. You'll then modify the default bookmarks list so that it includes your custom bookmarks.

Creating a New User Profile

To create a new user profile, follow these steps:

  1. Quit Mozilla if it is running.

  2. Open the Start Menu, choose Programs, Mozilla 1.4.1, and then Profile Manager.

  3. Click Create Profile to create a new user profile.

  4. Enter a name for the profile, for example, "bookmarks", and click Next.

  5. Follow the instructions to finish entering profile information.

  6. When you click Finish, Mozilla starts using the new profile.

Creating Custom Bookmarks and Personal Toolbar Buttons

To create a set of custom bookmarks and Personal Toolbar buttons using your new profile:

  1. Choose Manage Bookmarks from the Bookmarks menu. A window similar to this appears:





    2.  
  2. Use the Bookmarks window to add, delete, import, and rearrange (drag) bookmarks to produce the set that you want.

  3. To add an item to the Personal Toolbar, either drag and drop a bookmark onto the Personal Toolbar folder, or highlight the Personal Toolbar folder and use the File menu options to add a new bookmark. Bookmarks you create in the Personal Toolbar folder will appear as buttons on the user's Personal Toolbar.

  4. To remove an item, highlight the associated bookmark in the Toolbar Folder and press Delete, or go to the Edit menu and select Delete.

  5. Close the Bookmarks window when you are finished.

You can also add a bookmark button to the Personal Toolbar for the page currently displayed in your browser by dragging the bookmark icon (located to the left of URL in the Navigation Toolbar) to a desired place on the Personal Toolbar:



The pointer changes from an arrow into a hand when it is pointing at the bookmark icon

Mozilla 1.4.1 creates the customized bookmarks.html file in the directory for the profile you were using when you set up your customized bookmarks. For information on the location of Mozilla profiles on different platforms, see Appendix C "Mozilla Profile Locations by Platform."

When you are finished making your changes, put bookmarks.html in the Workspace\Bkmks directory for your configuration (for easy access when you run the CCK tool).

Determining Text for the Browser Window's Title Bar

You can add your company name to the browser window's title bar, so that your company name appears at the top of every browser window. For example, this illustrates the customized browser window's title bar for a company called MyIsp:




If you decide you want to customize the browser in this way, you simply specify your company name when the CCK tool displays the screen entitled "Customize the Browser - Part Three."

Checklists for Customizing the Browser

Customize the Browser - Part One

The screen called Customize the Browser - Part One specifies the following:

Customize the Browser - Part Two

The screen called Customize the Browser - Part Two specifies the following:

Customize the Browser - Part Three

The screen called Customize the Browser - Part Three specifies the following:



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Last Updated July 30, 2003