Software released for fixing page rendering problems with upcoming Windows Internet Explorer

We previously reported that Apple published a paper called "Creating the Best User Experience for Active Web Content," warning Mac Web developers that in early 2004, Microsoft will make changes available that will provide a modified experience for users viewing 'active' content on web pages."

In Interent Explorer 6 SP1b, the behavior of Internet Explorer has changed for certain Microsoft ActiveX controls. Internet Explorer 6 SP1b prompts the user to determine whether a control is loaded or whether to display alternate content. This change will affect all active content, such as QuickTime, Macromedia Flash, Java and other ActiveX controls.

One small software developer has posted a program for automatically cleaning up code for the new version of Internet Explorer. The tool's author writes:

"Flash Animations, QuickTime Movies and Java Applets seamlessly integrated into the rest of the content on a webpage or Web Site has been the hallmark of the best web developers. But the coming version of MS Internet Explorer (in early 04) breaks that seamlessness by prompting the user before downloading each active content element (placed using object, embed, applet tags).

"(My software) is called IEWebFix. With a single click of a button IEWebFix scans the entire contents of a website and generates a list of files with offending codes. Then with another click the files are repaired. IEWebFix scans and repairs HTML, XHTML, XML, ASP, JSP, PHP, and CFM files."

IEWebFix v 1.0 is available for download from http://www.rnsoft.com/products/iewebfix/.

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