The following email message was sent by Wang Cheng, Call Center & Special Projects Manager, on April 12th, regarding important changes to the Internet Explorer Web Browser. Please note that these changes are currently effecting Synthenet's Content Management System (CMS). You will notice that when you open up a page to edit in the Synthenet CMS, a pop-up box appears instructing you to "Press space bar or enter to activate and use this control".
"Microsoft released an update to their Internet Explorer web browser which will change the way some web pages behave. This was part of a settlement to a lawsuit over patent violations. This update will install itself automatically on all your computers within the next few days.
The update affects most web pages that have plug-ins in them. Some examples of plug-ins are Java applets (like the ones used in Kronos and Blackboard Virtual Classroom), Flash (like the ones used in the animations and virtual tour on SHU's website), and media players (like websites with embedded movie players or music players).
This update is really a nuisance more than anything else: it requires a user to "activate" a control by clicking on it before using it. So for example: if you have a button that is part of a plug-in, that button is not immediately active. You have to click on it once to activate it, then click on it a second time to actually use it. This behavior will occur every time you access that page until it is corrected by the web designer.
The IT Department is correcting all the websites under our control as well as working with our vendors to correct the ones that are not under our control. We have completed updates to most of our systems. Currently only the following sites present the behavior described above:
- SHU Main Website: All Flash animations including our Virtual Tour. If you are a website owner, the editor used to update your site is also affected. Simply click once on any of these to activate it.
- Blackboard: Collaboration system (Virtual Classroom) is affected. Please click once on every section of the virtual classroom to activate it every time. We are awaiting a fix from Blackboard.
- Library website: Course reserves that use the online document reader are affected. Again simply click once on the article and then read it as usual.
In addition, if you have install the Google Toolbar, please download and install the latest version. The current toolbar crashes if you close your browser without activating a plug-in.
This is not a critical problem, more of an annoyance. However you will most likely encounter this issue with other websites that you visit, just keep in mind that this is not a problem with your computer, simply a behavior that is now "by design."
If you have any questions or issues, please feel free to contact the Call Center at x7575 from on campus or (203) 365-7575 from off campus, or 866-365-7575 from out of state.
Have a Blessed Easter,
Wang Cheng
Call Center & Special Projects Manager
Sacred Heart University
Technical Data:
Those of you who are web developers and would like to fix your own web pages here are some technical details:
The patch changes the way IE 6.0 handles <OBJECT>, <EMBED>, and <APPLET> tags when they are part of a the web page itself. To fix it, simply move those tags to a JavaScript file and include the .js file instead. To learn more about how to change your web page to work properly with IE, you can go here:
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