Internet Explorer 3.0 for Macintosh Release Notes File

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.0 for Macintosh

SUMMARY

This article contains a copy of the information in the Release Notes file included with Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 for Macintosh. Setup copies this file to the folder in which you install Internet Explorer.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft(r) Internet Explorer 3.0 for Macintosh(r)

Welcome

Microsoft(r) Internet Explorer is a World Wide Web (WWW) browser for the Macintosh. The WWW is the fastest growing component of the Internet today and the first to display styled text and graphics. In order to use a WWW browser, you will need a modem or network access, access to the Internet, and software that enables your computer to communicate with the Internet.

Requirements

System Requirements

• Power Macintosh
• System 7.1 and above
• 8 MB of RAM
• 2-5 MB of hard disk space

Access to the Internet

You must have access to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider or the network to which your computer is connected.

Internet software

• Open Transport 1.0.8 or greater (Extension) & TCP/IP (Control Panel)
• If you are a dial-up user, Config PPP or similar PPP connection software (Control Panel) with PPP (Extension)

New and Improved Features in version 3.0

Java(r)

Java is one of the most important new technologies appearing on the Web. Java applets are actual downloadable software components that can bring new and powerful functionality to Internet Explorer. Java applets can be as rich and varied as any Macintosh application but with the size and variety of the Internet behind them. With the power of downloadable software components come new concerns for the privacy and security of your system. Internet Explorer gives you peace-of-mind by providing you with complete control over what a Java applet can do and cannot do. At the highest security level, you can prevent Java applets from accessing your local hard disk and sending and receiving information over the Internet, thus guaranteeing the integrity and privacy of your personal data. Alternatively, you can choose to lower the security on applets you trust.

For more information on Java, visit http://www.microsoft.com/workshop/java/java.htm.

Note: Java is turned off by default, to turn it on:

   1. Choose Preferences from the Edit Menu.
   2. Click the Web Content tab.
   3. Enable the Java check box.

Style sheets make Web pages come alive through their support of fonts, spacing and margin control, color, and image backgrounds. This new specification from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) gives Web page designers greater design flexibility by describing a whole new set of tags for adding visual features to HTML. Most importantly, you can control the entire appearance of a Web site from a single file, thereby allowing you to update the look of every page on your site simultaneously. It eliminates the need of GIF/JPEG images to show styles and reduces download time and memory requirements significantly.

For more information on style sheets, visit http://www.microsoft.com/workshop/author/howto/css-f.htm.

Internet Ratings Support

Internet ratings support allows users/parents to filter out Web sites that could be inappropriate for minors. Parents can use password protected categories and rating levels assigned by the Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC). For example, parents can specify whether their child may view sites that contain profane language, nudity, or violence.

Customizable Toolbar

A new customizable toolbar lets you control the size and placement of the Favorites Bar, Button Bar, and Address Bar. The Favorites Bar is a new addition to the toolbar. You can drag items from your desktop or the Favorites window and drop them onto the Favorites Bar for quick and easy access to frequently used sites.

ActiveX

ActiveX native support provides a rich environment for Macintosh developers to create content-rich, interactive Web pages. You can use the Preferences dialog box to turn ActiveX support on and off and to determine whether to show an alert before downloading an ActiveX control.

For more information on ActiveX, visit http://www.microsoft.com/intdev/sdk/mac.

Internet Config Support

If Internet Config is not already installed on your machine, Internet Explorer 3.0 will install it and store Internet Config preferences in the Internet Preferences file. This allows you to share your preferences with other Internet applications such as Internet Mail & News and Personal Web Server. You can change your Internet Preferences using Internet Explorer or Internet Config.

Other Improvements

URL Expansion: You can now type browserwatch in the Address bar and it will expand it to http://www.browserwatch.com.

Known Issues

Java

You may experience problems running a Java applet when Java is enabled. If this happens, then the applet is most likely failing byte code verification.

If you would still like to run the applet:

   1. Choose Preferences from the Edit Menu
   2. Click the Web Content tab.
   3. In the Enhancements section, change the Byte Code verification to
      Don't Check Code.

You may not be able to view large Java applets on 8MB machines when there is not enough system memory free. This occurs because the Java Virtual Machine is loaded and unloaded dynamically in the System memory. Memory is used only when you view pages with Java applications.

ActiveX

Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 for Macintosh has native ActiveX support, and does not require the use of a plug-in. The Microsoft ActiveX Plug-in included with this installer is for use with older versions of Internet Explorer or other browsers that use plug-ins and do not have native support for ActiveX.

Note: Please be aware that in this release, Internet Explorer cannot verify the integrity of ActiveX controls. Download and use ActiveX controls from trusted servers only.

QuickTime and PowerPlug

If you have QuickTime installed, Internet Explorer requires that the QuickTime PowerPlug be installed in your Extensions folder in your System folder. QuickTime extensions are available for download from http://quicktime.apple.com.

Internet Config File Mappings table

Internet Explorer maintains an internal list of viewers that tell it how to handle different types of documents. In this release, this list is exported and merged with the Internet Config File Mappings table. As a result, please consider the following:

• Internet Explorer's list of viewers is indexed by the MIME types (Multimedia Internet Mail Extensions) of incoming documents. Since Internet Explorer cannot use a viewer without a MIME type, it will ignore them, but not delete or alter file mappings in Internet Config that do not contain a MIME type.
• Internet Explorer maintains only one table entry per MIME type. If you have multiple file mappings in Internet Config with the same MIME type, Internet Explorer will use only the last setting in the table.
• Internet Explorer adds a small amount of information to each file mapping in Internet Config to store its "How to Handle" setting. When you choose "Use Explorer as a Viewer," Internet Explorer always attempts to handle the document type, regardless of the settings in Internet Config. Most file formats use the viewer specified in Internet Config, however, certain file formats like GIF and JPEG are handled by Internet Explorer regardless of your Internet Config setting.

Microsoft offers 90 days of no-charge product support at (425) 635-7123 in the US and (905) 568-4494 in Canada. Visit the online Product Support page for more information.

QuickTime, QuickTime VR, and the QuickTime logo are all trademarks of Apple(r) Computer Inc.