One of the most perplexing and potentially aggravating situations a novice netizen encounters when first surfing the web is downloading files. A number of pitfalls exist that can keep a new user from getting from step A, downloading an application, to step B, actually using the app. The first and most common occurs once the user has clicked on a web link to download a program. Unless the user notes the directory path that the file is being saved into, the file is all too often lost to the black hole of the computer's file and directory system. Even if the user makes it past this quagmire, they still have several more hurdles to leap over before being able to run the program, especially if the file is in a compressed format (a ZIP archive, for example). While installation programs from developers like WISE and InstallShield have made inroads toward resolving the problematic process of installing new applications, for the end user there still exists the critical gap between saving the file from the web and actually being able to find where the file has been saved. Several solutions have been proposed, but one of the best is already available in the form of Install Shield's InstallfromtheWeb (IFTW). By using IFTW, you give your users the opportunity to download, decompress, and install programs automatically from the web without the possibility of getting bogged down by a lost program file, the inability to decompress an archive, or any number of similar problems. InstallfromtheWeb handles all the details of creating a downloadable package for you, including publishing a web page that allows users to access, download, and install IFTW-enabled programs directly from your web site. IFTW also allows you to test entire installations locally before you set them up on your web site so that you can make sure everything is in order before launching the installation on the web. You can see an IFTW web page in action on Microsoft's web site for downloading their latest web graphics tool, Liquid Motion. A variety of options allow you to customize the InstallfromtheWeb interface to your liking. You can password protect programs, display license agreements before installation, restrict users to only installing or only saving programs, create welcome panels to help users through the installation process and to inform them of critical information, give your users the choice of multiple configuration modes (minimal and full installation modes, for example), give your users the choice of multiple sites to download programs from, and digitally sign your programs using Microsoft Authenticode Technology. Once you have made your InstallfromtheWeb-enabled program available for download on the web, all your users need in order to retrieve it is the free InstallfromtheWeb client. If your users are running Internet Explorer, the InstallfromtheWeb client is automatically downloaded for them. If they are instead using Netscape and don't already have the IFTW client, they will first have to click on a link from your web page to download the plug-in client and then follow step-by-step instructions for installing it. In other words, your users run the same risk of being unable to run the software if they don't remember where the file is saved and are unable to run the program after downloading it. The step-by-step directions make it relatively easy for users to successfully navigate the client download and installation, but you still have to rely on your users actually reading and following the directions. Unfortunately, there's no way around this potential problem other than to recommend that your users access the web with Internet Explorer rather than Netscape Communicator. Assuming all does goes well, once the IFTW client has been downloaded and installed, the user sees the above button on your web page. From this point a single click on the button launches the IFTW client and automatically goes about downloading, decompressing, and installing your program on the user's computer. InstallfromtheWeb costs $395 and allows you to make an unlimited number of IFTW-enabled programs available for download from your site. If you are concerned about a significant percentage of your users not being able to install your program from the web, InstallfromtheWeb is the most effective solution currently available for ensuring that your users are able to get up and running with new software quickly and painlessly. Pros: Automatically downloads, decompresses and installs programs on the web; extensive configuration options Cons: Netscape users must first download and install the IFTW client in order to run IFTW-enabled programs For the latest information on InstallfromtheWeb, check out: http://cws.internet.com/32auxx.html#installweb apps conference Main Menu