With the release of Microsoft's ActiveX Security Update, websites containing Flash objects have been bombarded with the annoying message "Click to activate and use this control". In this article, I talk about how to remove this annoying popup message. Also, I talk about the challenges that I faced when implementing the fix on DotNetNuke websites.
Get your flashy website into the seamlessness that it deserves. Follow the steps below to remove the activation popup message from all of your flash objects.
The Culprit:
Microsoft Internet Explorer’s Security Update for ActiveX Controls.
Microsoft’s release of a software update to Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 for Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) changed the way in which Internet Explorer handles some Web pages that use ActiveX controls and Java applets. After installing this update, you cannot interact with ActiveX controls from certain Web pages until these controls are enabled.
To read more about the Internet Explorer ActiveX Update, click here.
The Solution:
STEP 1: Setup the file system. Create a new subdirectory folder in the website's root folder.
STEP 2: Get your tools into place. Copy this javascript file, swfobject.js, into the new 'js' subdirectory folder.
STEP 3: Reference the javascript file on each page that contains the flash embedded object. Put the javascript reference inside the HEAD tag.
example:
FINAL STEP: Replace your flash OBJECT tags. Put this code inside the BODY tags where you want the flash to appear.
**Note: The swfobject() below takes the following 6 parameters:
[flash path/filename],
[flash id],
[width],
[height],
[default flash version],
[background color]
example:
The DotNetNuke Solution.
To implement this flash fix for a DotNetNuke website, there are a couple of changes that have to be made to the basic instructions.
· Instead of creating a new folder to house the 'swfobject.js' file. Copy and paste all of the files contents inside the 'dnncore.js' file. Note: Be careful not to overwrite any of the code inside the dnncore.js file. You are not replacing any code inside the dnn file, but merely adding new code to it.
· Make sure that DNN can find you flash file in the portal folder system. Use root relative paths to direct DNN to your flash file. For example, if your flash file was uploaded as part of a *.zip skin package, the .swf file will be sitting in your portal root /skins/skin folder, your code may look something like this:
Look at our website for living proof of a DotNetNuke/Flash website that has eluded the Active X restriction!