IE Automatic Component Activation
Back in April 2006, Microsoft made a change in how IE handled embedded controls used on some web pages. These changes resulted in some sites requiring users to "Click to Activate" before they could interact with the control. Microsoft has now licensed the technologies from Eolas, removing the "Click to Activate" requirement in Internet Explorer.
This change does not require any modifications to existing web pages, and no new actions for developers creating new pages. It's just a reversion to the old behavior. Once IE is updates, all pages that currently require "Click to Activate" will just work - they will no longer require the control to be activated.
| | Prior to April 2006 | After April 2006 (IE ActiveX Update) | After April 2008 |
| Controls injected via Javascript | No "Click to Activate" | No "Click to Activate" | No "Click to Activate" |
| Controls loaded via HTML using the <object>, <embed> or <applet> tags | No "Click to Activate" | "Click to Activate" required | No "Click to Activate" |
So - when is all of this taking place? There will be an optional preview release, called the Internet Explorer Automatic Component Activation Preview which will be available via the Microsoft Download Center in December 2007. This change will also be included with the next pre-release versions of Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3. The behavior will also be rolled into the IE Cumulative Update in April 2008.
All of the info above is from the Internet Explorer blog, so stay tuned for any changes. Until next time ...
- CC Hameed
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About CC Hameed
I joined Microsoft as a Support Engineer on the Performance team in September 2005. Prior to that I spent a couple of years working the late night shift on our Platforms 24x7 team. Working for Microsoft was always a dream job - so I am living the dream! I was on the Windows Vista Beta team in 2006, which was one of the coolest projects I have ever worked on, until I took on the task of driving the AskPerf Blog.
As you can tell by my logo, I am a huge Manchester United fan and I have successfully managed to brainwash my two daughters into sharing my passion for the Red Devils much to the dismay of their mother! I also coach both my daughters' soccer teams. In addition I am an avid MMO gamer, and have an extensive DVD movie collection.
