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How to Produce CD-ROMs

1. INDEXING YOUR CONTENT

 1.1 Preparing your Content Directory

Create a directory on your PC that contains all of the files that will appear on your CD-ROM (say D:\TESTCD). Organise this directory in the way that you wish it to appear on the CD-ROM.

NOTE: It does not matter what drive letter is used when indexing as the drive letter is dynamically assigned when searching the CD.

 1.2 How to Create an Index of your CD-ROM Content

Before you can search for files you must create an index.

Once your content directory is prepared, perform the following steps to create the index:

1. Start the indexer wizard by clicking on Start->Programs-> AltaVista CD-ROM Toolkit->CD-ROM Toolkit Indexer Wizard. Or you can click on cdbldwiz.exe in the directory where you installed the CD-ROM Toolkit (by default this is C:\Program Files\DIGITAL\ AltaVista Search\My CD-ROM).

2. The Wizard will lead you through specifying your content directory, specifying what files in that directory to index, customizing your results page, creating an index, and running test searches.

NOTE: The Wizard prepares a directory called AVSCD containing the AltaVista index and search software, ready for inclusion on the CD. Using the above example, it would be D:\TESTCD\AVSCD.

3. Search your content. Click on the Search.exe program in the top level directory of your content. Using the previous example this would be D:\TESTCD\search.exe. This is the same program users must run to allow searches to be performed.

4. Cut a trial CD, and retest the search capabilities to ensure they are working to your satisfaction.

 1.3 Customizing the Welcome Page (initPage.html) or adding a Table of Contents

1.3.1 Steps followed to build the Plain Search Box Welcome Page
You can add your own content to the Welcome Page,  initPage.html,   in HTML format. The existing text in this file must be left as is, but the searchbox can be placed anywhere in the file. This is marked by HTML comments <!--Start_AVSearch--> and <!--End_AVSearch-->. All the links in initPage.html page should include the full path minus the drive letter.

NOTE: The file initPage.html cannot be renamed or moved from the top level directory of the CD.
NOTE: If a banner graphic is added to the search results page, it should also be added to the initPage.htm (using the standard image source tags).

1.3.2 Steps followed to build Table of Contents:

  1. Using the "CD-ROM Toolkit Indexer Wizard", index your content. Choose the "Table of Contents" option on screen 4 of 7 of the wizard. 
  2. Your content directory now contains:
    a. The index for your content
    b. Example HTML pages and a content directory to illustrate the construction of a custom Table of Contents.
    Following the instructions below, edit the following files to match your CD-ROM content: 

    initPage.html                        navframe.html                   topframe.html
    introDir.html                         topic1.html                      topic2.html
    topic3.html                           topic4.html

  3. Run search....

The html file initPage.html provides the user interface to AltaVista's Search CDROM product. This html file consists of three sub-sections which have been implemented as html frames.  The diagram below illustrates the location and names of these three html frames.

 

1.3.2.1 Search CD-ROM Files
 
Associated with each of these html frames is a corresponding html file.  Evoking initPage.html results in the topframe being loaded with the topframe.html file, the navframe being loaded with the navframe.html file, and the mainframe being loaded with the introDir.html file.   The producer can customize the Search CDROM product by changing the contents of these files. (The files topic1.html, topic2.html, topic3.html, topic4.html, and readmeDir.html are included for example).

1.3.2.2 Banner Graphic (topframe - topframe.html)

The topframe contains the banner graphic.   The topframe.html file loads the Solid_banner.gif graphic file located in the avscd/Intel/Images sub-directory.  The producer can insert their own graphic by replacing this graphic file with their own graphic file.

1.3.2.3 Table of Contents (navframe - navframe.html)

The navframe contains the navframe.html table of contents file.  The navframe.html file determines the topic labels displayed in the table of contents frame and makes the connection between these labels and their associated files.  (The files topic1.html, topic2.html, topic3.html, topic4.html, are included for example).  The producer can customize the table of contents by performing the edits to navframe.html illustrated below:

1.3.2.4 Directory Contents (mainframe - topic1.html)

Search results and targeted documents populate the mainframe viewing area.   You can use the topic1.html file as a example content page.  The search block code,  bracketed with “<!--Start_AVSearch--> <!--End_AVSearch-->”, needs to be inserted at the top of each page. This maintains consistency with the format of the search results pages. (The file topic1.html is included for example).The producer can customize the directory content pages by performing the edits to topic1.html illustrated below:
 

 1.4 How to start the search interface from your CD

The search interface should always be started using Search.exe, which is copied to the top level of your content directory after using the indexer wizard. You can add this to the autorun file on your CD, or run Search.exe from your own interface.

What Search.exe does
Search.exe will initially carry out first time processing that sets the browser proxy information. It then fires up the user's default browser with initPage.html and launches the dispatcher which processes the queries.

NOTE: The file initPage.html cannot be renamed or moved from the top level directory on the CD.

1.5 How to Install QuickView Viewers.

AltaVista Search CD-ROM Toolkit supports the previewing of documents using Inso Corporation's QuickView and QuickView Plus products. These are NOT supplied with AltaVista Search CD-ROM Toolkit.

There are two ways of obtaining these viewing products:

1. Purchase QuickView Plus from Inso Corporation. More information is available from http://www.inso.com/

2. Use the basic QuickView product that is included as an optional feature in Windows95 and Windows NT. To install the basic QuickView product do the following:

a. Go into the Windows95 or Windows NT Control Panel.
b. Double click on Add/Remove Programs.
c. Click on the Windows Setup tab.
d. Click on the Accessories item in the components list.
e. Click on the Details... button.
f. Scroll through the list of components until you find Quick View.
g. Click on the tick box beside Quick View to select it.
h. Click on OK in each window.