Microsoft® recently released an update to Internet Explorer that changes how Internet Explorer handles some web pages that use interactive controls. Interactive controls are ActiveX controls that provide user interfaces. When a web page uses the APPLET, EMBED, or OBJECT elements to load an ActiveX control, the control's user interface is blocked until the user activates it. If a page uses these elements to load multiple controls, each interactive control must be individually activated. For this reason, certain web pages, including the default Flash Player web page, may require users to manually activate ActiveX controls by clicking on the control or using the TAB and ENTER keys.
For more information on this change, please see Microsoft’s Web site at http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/workshop/author/dhtml/overview/activating_activex.asp.
To eliminate the need to first activate the Flash Player so users can interact with Flash content, Adobe® has created the Flash Active Content Update extension, which installs two HTML templates that Flash authors can use to embed their Flash SWF files. Using these templates, embedded SWF files will activate seamlessly without the need for an additional mouse click or other user activation.
Adobe Active Content Developer Center
If you have custom HTML pages that include Flash SWF files or other interactive controls (for example, HTML pages you’ve created using Dreamweaver® software and have embedded Flash or other interactive content within), you will need to update those web pages to address the changes made by Microsoft to Internet Explorer. To learn more about how you can modify your existing HTML to automatically activate ActiveX controls, see the information and FAQ on the Adobe Active Content Developer Center page at: http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/activecontent/
To install the Flash Active Content extension
- Download the Flash Active Content Update extension from the Macromedia Flash Exchange website. You can go to the site by selecting Help > Flash Exchange from the Flash application, or navigate to the following URL: http://www.macromedia.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm
- Locate the Flash Active Content Update extension, and download the installation file.
- You can download the extension to your desktop, and double-click it to install it, or you can install the extension using the Extension Manager during download.
- Read the Macromedia extensions disclaimer and any third-party extension license that may be included.
- Select Accept to continue with the installation, or select Decline to cancel the installation.
- Restart the Flash application for the installation to take effect.
To publish Flash content using an Active Content HTML template
- Open the Flash movie you want to publish using the new Active Content HTML templates.
- Do one of the following to open the Publish Settings dialog box:
- Select File > Publish Settings.
- In the Property inspector for the document (which is available when no objects are selected), click the Settings button.
- On the Formats tab, the HTML file type is selected by default. In the File text box for the HMTL file, either use the default filename, which matches the name of your document, or enter a unique name, including the .html extension.
- Click the HTML tab to display the HTML settings.
- Select an installed Active Content template to use from the Template pop-up menu. The Active Content templates are:
_Active Content Update – HTTP |
Basic HTML template to display your Flash content. |
_Active Content Update – HTTPS |
Displays your Flash content in HTML and directs users who don’t have Flash Player installed to a secure HTTPS server to download the latest version of Flash Player. |
- For information on completing the rest of the Publish Settings options, and publishing your Flash SWF file, refer to the Flash documentation.
- Click the Publish button to publish your HTML file.
- Run “Apply Active Content Update” from the Commands menu. This copies AC_RunActiveContent.js to the HTML output folder (the folder containing your published SWF file and the HTML template). You only need to perform this action once per folder.
- Upload the SWF file, HTML template, and AC_RunActiveContent.js file to your website.
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