1.1 What does an AvantGo channel do, exactly?

Basically, when a user syncs his or her AvantGo account, we go out and grab web pages off of the sites they subscribe to, and send a compressed version of these pages to the user's mobile device where the user can browse them at his or her leisure. You can think of an AvantGo channel as a combination of a web spider, mobile device browser, and a translation tool. For a detailed description of how a channel works, see What is an AvantGo channel?.

1.2 If I want to create an AvantGo channel, does that mean I have to start using your server to serve my web pages?

No. You continue using the same web server that you have been using. We host all of the sync servers ourselves. There is no need for you to purchase any software from us, unless you need to deliver your content from behind a firewall.

1.3 So what work do I need to do to create an AvantGo channel?

Your job is to basically create a "lite" version of your website in HTML that looks good on a small screen, optimized for at least two device types (Palm and Pocket PC), and serve it from your web server. The AvantGo sync server will take care of downloading the pages, compressing them, and displaying them for whatever mobile device the user has. See Creating your first channel, and CHAPTER 4. Creating channel content.

1.4 Does an AvantGo channel work with ASP? What about ColdFusion? Vignette? PHP?

An AvantGo channel will work with any publishing system you have, as long as it is outputting HTML pages.

1.5 I want to test AvantGo channel, but I do not have a Palm OS or Pocket PC device. What should I do?

There is a nice emulator available at Palm's website, although you have to jump through a few legal hoops to get access to their ROMs. Our advice would be to convince a friend to lend you their Palm device or Pocket PC machine for a week or two. It will give you a better sense of how people will really use your AvantGo channel. Or just go buy a mobile device of your own — they are fairly inexpensive these days. (And if you are lucky, you might be able to expense it.)

1.6 Once I have created AvantGo channel, do I need to send the pages to AvantGo?

No. You keep the pages on your web server. Our servers will retrieve them from your website. If you are an AvantGo media channel customer, contact your AvantGo sales representative to have AvantGo to QA the channel before it goes live.

1.7 How do I design a page that looks nice on a small screen?

Just follow a few simple guidelines about which HTML tags to avoid and how to optimize graphics for different platforms. See Designing pages for the channel site and Designing graphics for channel pages.

1.8 How do I preview my channel before I take it live?

You can just create a custom channel using the URL of the channel you are developing. See Creating your first channel.

1.9 How large can my channel be?

You can specify your maximum channel size to be anything you would like, to a reasonable limit. Most channels have a 100KB maximum size by default. While some channels choose to have a maximum size as large as 500KB, we recommend trying to stay closer to the 100-250KB range. See Size limit issues.

1.10 Do you support (insert HTML tag here)?

For a list of the specific HTML tags and JavaScript elements that are available for you to use in your channel pages, see APPENDIX B. HTML 3.2 support in AvantGo Client 4.x, and when you're ready to support users with AvantGo Client 5.x, see APPENDIX A. HTML 4 support in AvantGo Client 5.x.