"Click to activate this control" problem

G

Gregg Hill

Hello!

I am trying to help someone who has a web site with menu buttons created by
FrontPage and using Java. The buttons used to change color when you placed
the mouse over them, but since the IE update that makes you click to
activate ActiveX controls, etc, the buttons do not work unless clicked on.
The buttons use the fphover.class and fphoverx.class files.

I have Googled and read for hours, trying many different "fixes" that
supposedly work but never do.

Here is the code from a sample test page:

<html>
<head>
<title>test page </title>
<base TARGET="main">
<meta name="robots" content="NOINDEX">
<meta name="rating" content="GENERAL">
<style fprolloverstyle>A:hover {color: #0000FF; text-decoration: underline;
font-weight: bold}
</style>
</head>
<body leftmargin="5" topmargin="10" link="#0000FF">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse:
collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="152" id="AutoNumber1">
<tr>
<td width="100%">
<applet code="fphover.class" width="150" height="41">
<param name="color" value="#000080">
<param name="hovercolor" value="#0000FF">
<param name="textcolor" value="#FFFF00">
<param name="effect" value="glow">
<param name="fontstyle" value="regular">
<param name="fontsize" value="14">
<param name="target" value="main">
<param name="bgcolor" value="#000080">
<param name="font" value="TimesRoman">
<param name="text" value="Show My IP Address">
<param name="url" valuetype="ref"
value="http://dynamic.thisgoessomewhere.com/checkip.html">
<a href="http://dynamic.thisgoessomewhere.com/checkip.html">Show My IP
Address</a>
</applet></td>
</tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>

How can I stop this wonderful new behavior? All of the fixes I have tried so
far have not made my IE6 browser with the latest Sun Java work properly. Is
still have to click to activate.

Gregg Hill
 
T

Thomas A. Rowe

You will need implement another menu solution that doesn't use Java.

--
==============================================
Thomas A. Rowe
Microsoft MVP - FrontPage
==============================================
Agents Real Estate Listing Network
http://www.NReal.com
==============================================
 
M

Mike Mueller

Best solution: don't use hover buttons!




: Hello!
:
: I am trying to help someone who has a web site with menu
buttons created by
: FrontPage and using Java. The buttons used to change color
when you placed
: the mouse over them, but since the IE update that makes
you click to
: activate ActiveX controls, etc, the buttons do not work
unless clicked on.
: The buttons use the fphover.class and fphoverx.class
files.
:
: I have Googled and read for hours, trying many different
"fixes" that
: supposedly work but never do.
:
: Here is the code from a sample test page:
:
: <html>
: <head>
: <title>test page </title>
: <base TARGET="main">
: <meta name="robots" content="NOINDEX">
: <meta name="rating" content="GENERAL">
: <style fprolloverstyle>A:hover {color: #0000FF;
text-decoration: underline;
: font-weight: bold}
: </style>
: </head>
: <body leftmargin="5" topmargin="10" link="#0000FF">
: <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"
style="border-collapse:
: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="152"
id="AutoNumber1">
: <tr>
: <td width="100%">
: <applet code="fphover.class" width="150" height="41">
: <param name="color" value="#000080">
: <param name="hovercolor" value="#0000FF">
: <param name="textcolor" value="#FFFF00">
: <param name="effect" value="glow">
: <param name="fontstyle" value="regular">
: <param name="fontsize" value="14">
: <param name="target" value="main">
: <param name="bgcolor" value="#000080">
: <param name="font" value="TimesRoman">
: <param name="text" value="Show My IP Address">
: <param name="url" valuetype="ref"
: value="http://dynamic.thisgoessomewhere.com/checkip.html">
: <a
href="http://dynamic.thisgoessomewhere.com/checkip.html">Show
My IP
: Address</a>
: </applet></td>
: </tr>
: </table>
: </body>
: </html>
:
: How can I stop this wonderful new behavior? All of the
fixes I have tried so
: far have not made my IE6 browser with the latest Sun Java
work properly. Is
: still have to click to activate.
:
: Gregg Hill
:
:
 
A

Andrew Murray

Turn it off in IE (if possible but may not be as it could be a permanent
"feature" of IE).
 
K

Kevin Spencer

As an informational side note, this feature also affects ActiveX controls
and Flash swfs in IE.

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
Professional Chicken Magician

A man, a plan, a canal.
a palindrome that has gone to s**t.
 
G

Gregg Hill

Apparently, none of you folks have Googled the "Click to activate and use
this control" phrase. There are dozens of responses
http://groups.google.com/groups/sea...te+and+use+this+control"&safe=off&qt_s=Search
pointing to claimed fixes that work for Java, SWF, Flash, and ActiveX. Most
of them point to "flash-fix.js" or "ieupdate.js" as their fix. I tried
several, but none of them make the FrontPage-generated Java hover-buttons
work as they did a few months ago. Of course, they work fine in FireFox.

Have any of you actually tried to fix a web site that has these problems,
rather than fixing just your own IE? I am trying to fix it for all visitors
and make it work as it did a few months ago.

Gregg Hill
 
M

Murray

I have. It works.

But for the original poster, the real answer is to not use hover buttons (or
anything Java, for that matter).
 
G

Gregg Hill

Murray,

Which fix worked for you? Most of those fixes refer to an "object" tag, yet
none of the code in the FrontPage hover-button has any tag called "object."

The real answer is to use Firefox...until they get sued by Eolas! However
good Firefox may be, it is not used by many people, so web developers (which
I am not) need to make their sites compatible with IE or risk losing
business.

That is all I am trying to do. The update from Microsoft kills Flash,
ActiveX, and Java, which covers a lot of sites.

Gregg Hill
 
M

Murray

Don't use hover buttons. They rely on Java and many (most?) people do not
have Java installed. Not only will they not see your buttons, they won't
get the link, either. But worst of all, neither will the search engines.

That's the way to solve the hover button issue - by not using them.
 
G

Gregg Hill

Murray,

Using that logic, the way to get around the whole IE update blocking stuff
is to use Firefox. Gee, let's tell 90% of users to download and install
Firefox. We may as well tell users to dump all Microsoft software from their
systems, that way they never have a problem. Yeah, right!

You said you made the fixes work, now you just say not to use the hover
buttons. Well, I could do that, but they worked fine for three years, and
anyone who did not have Java installed just had the same items in plain text
with standard hyperlinks.

I asked, "Have any of you actually tried to fix a web site that has these
problems, rather than fixing just your own IE? I am trying to fix it for all
visitors and make it work as it did a few months ago."

You stated, "I have. It works."

When asked how, you said not to use the buttons. That is not an answer, it
is a cop-out. Either you did or you did not fix the web site itself to work
as it did in the past with hover buttons. Which one is it? I think I already
know. You did not fix it, but claimed that you had. I don't know why you
would claim it if you have not done it.

Gregg Hill
 
T

Tom Willett

<sigh>
Best of luck, Gregg.

Gregg Hill said:
Murray,

Using that logic, the way to get around the whole IE update blocking stuff
is to use Firefox. Gee, let's tell 90% of users to download and install
Firefox. We may as well tell users to dump all Microsoft software from
their systems, that way they never have a problem. Yeah, right!

You said you made the fixes work, now you just say not to use the hover
buttons. Well, I could do that, but they worked fine for three years, and
anyone who did not have Java installed just had the same items in plain
text with standard hyperlinks.

I asked, "Have any of you actually tried to fix a web site that has these
problems, rather than fixing just your own IE? I am trying to fix it for
all visitors and make it work as it did a few months ago."

You stated, "I have. It works."

When asked how, you said not to use the buttons. That is not an answer, it
is a cop-out. Either you did or you did not fix the web site itself to
work as it did in the past with hover buttons. Which one is it? I think I
already know. You did not fix it, but claimed that you had. I don't know
why you would claim it if you have not done it.

Gregg Hill
Click to expand...
 
M

Murray

Using that logic, the way to get around the whole IE update blocking stuff
is to use Firefox. Gee, let's tell 90% of users to download and install
Firefox. We may as well tell users to dump all Microsoft software from
their systems, that way they never have a problem. Yeah, right!
Click to expand...

No. It's not. One should not use hover buttons because they rely on Java.
The Java engine is no longer distributed with Windows (and hasn't been since
at least 2003). This means that unless people KNOW to get and install the
Java engine, not only will they not see your buttons, but they will have no
navigation to your site. At all. Java was a poor choice in the first
place, and this fact makes it even worse. Had you posted "Should I use
Hover buttons" you would have gotten a resounding "NO" from the community
here.
You said you made the fixes work, now you just say not to use the hover
buttons. Well, I could do that, but they worked fine for three years, and
anyone who did not have Java installed just had the same items in plain
text with standard hyperlinks.
Click to expand...

Unless you made it that way, that is not how it happens.
You stated, "I have. It works."
Click to expand...

I have. Check http://www.neapco.com/n_why-neapco.php

There is a streaming FLV and a Flash movie on that page - neither have the
Click to activate prompt.
You did not fix it, but claimed that you had. I don't know why you would
claim it if you have not done it.
Click to expand...

How rude.
 
G

Gregg Hill

Tom,

I am just glad he is not my doctor. I can hear that conversation now.

G: "Hey, doc, my toe hurts."

M: "Oh, I can fix that. WHACK!!! I just cut off your leg."

G: "But now I am crippled and cannot walk as I used to do three months ago!"

M: "Well, does your toe still hurt?"

G: "Gosh, no it doesn't, but...."

M: "Wow, it looks as though I fixed another aching toe!"

Sometimes a small adjustment makes more sense than to lop of the whole
thing.

The only way his answer would be valid is if it is impossible to fix the
problem, sort of like having massive gangrene in the toe that has started to
spread. But he didn't say that...he said he got it to work ("I have. It
works.")

If it is not possible to make it work with a little added code, just say so.
That's all I ask.

Gregg Hill
 
T

Tom Willett

You just don't get it.

Gregg Hill said:
Tom,

I am just glad he is not my doctor. I can hear that conversation now.

G: "Hey, doc, my toe hurts."

M: "Oh, I can fix that. WHACK!!! I just cut off your leg."

G: "But now I am crippled and cannot walk as I used to do three months
ago!"

M: "Well, does your toe still hurt?"

G: "Gosh, no it doesn't, but...."

M: "Wow, it looks as though I fixed another aching toe!"

Sometimes a small adjustment makes more sense than to lop of the whole
thing.

The only way his answer would be valid is if it is impossible to fix the
problem, sort of like having massive gangrene in the toe that has started
to spread. But he didn't say that...he said he got it to work ("I have.
It works.")

If it is not possible to make it work with a little added code, just say
so. That's all I ask.

Gregg Hill
Click to expand...
 
P

P@tty Ayers

More like:

G: Hey doc, my head hurts from banging it against a brick wall.

M: Well then, stop.

G: But I Googled "cures for headaches" and there are lots of fixes! Has
anyone ever tried a headache cure? Do they work?

M: Yes, they work. But you should stop banging your head against the brick
wall.
 
G

Gregg Hill

Patty,

You a WAY off base with your answer.

People are not saying they stopped the use of Java, Shockwave, Flash, or
SWF. They are claiming that they still use it, but have it working as it
once did before the update, by adding a small .js file and one line of code
to their pages.

That is the equivalent of the doctor removing the piece of glass in my toe,
cleaning and bandaging the wound, and letting me keep my leg.

If you are going to use my analogy, at least make it fit the situation. You
are still suggesting cutting off the leg, when others have just fixed the
little wound and made it work as it once did.

Had any one of those folks said it cannot be done, then I would have stopped
trying, but they say it CAN be done, and HAS BEEN DONE.

Gregg Hill
 
G

Gregg Hill

Tom,

Yes, I do get it. I asked for a solution to make the hover buttons work as
they had a few months ago. He said he had made it work. Then he says to
eliminate the buttons. That means he did NOT get it to work as he claimed he
did.

He could have just said that the first time through, instead of saying, "I
have. It works."

Had he, or any of the multiple solutions on the Internet said it cannot be
done, I would have stopped. But that is not the case. They say they can and
have made their sites work just as they did before the update.

Gregg Hill
 
G

Gregg Hill

Murray said:
No. It's not. One should not use hover buttons because they rely on
Java. The Java engine is no longer distributed with Windows (and hasn't
been since at least 2003). This means that unless people KNOW to get and
install the Java engine, not only will they not see your buttons, but they
will have no navigation to your site. At all. Java was a poor choice in
the first place, and this fact makes it even worse. Had you posted
"Should I use Hover buttons" you would have gotten a resounding "NO" from
the community here.
Click to expand...

Murray,

As I noted in my last post, if there is no Java on their systems, they get
standard hypertext links. Works fine, just doesn't look as good. Perhaps if
I were a programmer, which I previously stated I am not, then I would have
known to ask whether or not the buttons should be used.

My questions were based upon multiple newsgroup posts of people claiming
they got it to work with Java, Flash, Shockwave, etc, that had been blocked,
so I assumed that it could be done. Not one of those posts said it cannot be
done with Java.


Unless you made it that way, that is not how it happens.
Click to expand...

This code shows the hyperlink if they do not have Java:

<param name="text" value="Show My IP Address">
<param name="url" valuetype="ref"
value="http://dynamic.thisgoessomewhere.com/checkip.html">

That was done by FrontPage, not by me.



I have. Check http://www.neapco.com/n_why-neapco.php

There is a streaming FLV and a Flash movie on that page - neither have the
Click to activate prompt.
Click to expand...

I was asking specifically about Java hover buttons. You stated, "I have. It
works." in response to my question regarding getting Java to work, so I
thought you had done it, because you just told me you had. But now you are
telling me to look at a Flash page that works. That is all fine and dandy,
but it is not the Java to which I initially referred, and to which you
replied that you had gotton it to work. Understand my confusion?

Speaking of confusion, it has become evident that Java and JavaScript are
not the same thing. Maybe that helped with my confusion.

How rude.
Click to expand...

Not rude. Just not clear why you would claim to have done it if you had not,
**with Java** that I was asking about.

Gregg Hill
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Similar Threads

problem with front page... 1
Java applet does not work with XP home 1
Picture won't stay in cell 1
select value form combo box on a web page 0
Frames & Hover Buttons 2
Hoover button- using javascript to open two frames? 7
Hoover Button - using Javascript to open two frames? 0
Image Size 4

Top