Dreamweaver

Converting active content

Dreamweaver repairs web pages that contain active content—content that requires users to click on it in order to interact with it in the latest versions of Internet Explorer. Active content can include:

  • Adobe® Flash®, Adobe® Flash® Video, or Adobe® FlashPaper™ content

  • Shockwave® or Authorware® content

  • Java applets

  • Real Media content

  • QuickTime content

  • Custom ActiveX controls

  • Other ActiveX controls or plug‑ins

Whenever you open a page in Dreamweaver, the page is scanned for active content. You are then presented with one of three options, depending on the type of active content in your page.

  • If your page includes active content embedded with object tags, and those object tags contain only param tags and/or embed tags, then Dreamweaver offers to convert all of the active content on the page for you.

  • If your page is the same as the above, but also includes active content embedded with object tags that contain other kinds of tags, then Dreamweaver offers to convert only the object tags that contain param tags and/or embed tags.

  • If your page includes only active content embedded with object tags that contain more than just param tags or embed tags, then Dreamweaver gives you a warning message and tells you that it cannot convert these tags.

Clicking Yes in either of the first two Convert Active Content dialog boxes locates existing object tags that contain param tags and/or embed tags, wraps those object tags in noscript tags, and adds script tags that enable the expected functioning of active content by calling JavaScript functions in an external file. Dreamweaver creates this external file (AC_RunActiveContent.js) and places it in a new folder (called Scripts, at the root of your site) when you save the updated file. You must upload the AC_RunActiveContent.js file when you upload the updated page, either manually or by clicking Yes in the Dependent Files dialog box.

Note: When inserting an Active X object in a document, Dreamweaver creates two external files: AC_RunActiveContent.js and AC_ ActiveX.js. You must upload both files when you upload the updated page, either manually or by clicking Yes in the Dependent Files dialog box.

Dreamweaver only adjusts object tags, and does not adjust independent embed or applet tags that might have been used to insert active content in older pages (however, embed tags wrapped inside object tags are adjusted by wrapping the object tag). If your web pages contain embed or applet tags, you should convert those tags to object tags, and then open those pages so that Dreamweaver can perform the conversion for you. You can easily locate embed and applet tags in your web pages by conducting a search.

The feature is extensible and allows you to use third-party extensions to convert web pages that might use specific kinds of plug‑ins (for example, RealPlayer or Windows Media Player content).

You can also access the Convert Active Content feature by selecting File > Convert > Active Content.

Note: Active content must be updated on a page-by-page basis; you cannot update all of the pages in a site at once. It’s best to do a site-wide search for object tags, open the pages containing those tags, and let Dreamweaver repair the pages.

For more information on active content, visit www.adobe.com/devnet/activecontent/.

Converting custom content

Dreamweaver only converts param and embed tags that are contained within the identified object tags. If you've customized your code (for example, if you've added an img tag, or any other kind of tag inside your object tag), the JavaScript functions do not write out the appropriate strings for that content at run time because the Dreamweaver JavaScript function only generates attribute-value pairs for param and embed tags. If you want your custom code to render properly at run time and still work as expected in Internet Explorer, you will need to do one of the following:

  • Write your own JavaScript function that works with custom code. (If you want, you can also turn off the Dreamweaver Convert Active Content feature by selecting Edit > Preferences > Code Rewriting.)

  • Develop an extension that lets the generateScript() function look for other kinds of information within the object tag, and that passes that information along to a JavaScript function for the processing of different kinds of arguments.

For more information on active content, visit www.adobe.com/devnet/activecontent/.