TechNote (Archived)

Converting Active Content with the Dreamweaver 8.0.2 Updater

Note: Most of this TechNote's content is from the help system included with the Dreamweaver 8.0.2 Updater.

The Convert Active Content feature included with the Dreamweaver 8.0.2 Updater repairs web pages containing active content that requires users to click on the content in order to interact with it in the latest versions of Internet Explorer. Active content can include:

• Flash, Flash video, or FlashPaper content
• Shockwave or Authorware content
• Java applets
• Real Media content
• QuickTime content
• Custom ActiveX controls
• Other ActiveX controls or plug-ins

For more information on active content, please visit Adobe's Active Content Developer Center.

How the feature works

Whenever you open a page in Dreamweaver 8.0.2, Dreamweaver scans the page for active content. Dreamweaver then presents you with one of three options, depending on the type of active content in your page.

• If your page includes active content embedded withobject 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, as shown below:
  
  
• 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 causes Dreamweaver to locate existing object tags that contain param tags and/or embed tags, wrap those object tags in noscript tags, and add 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, placed at the root of your site) when you save the updated file. It is extremely important that you 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 (though embed tags wrapped inside object tags are adjusted by virtue of Dreamweaver wrapping the object tag). If your web pages contain embed or applet tags, Adobe recommends that you 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. For more information, see "Searching and replacing tags and attributes" in Dreamweaver Help.

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: There is no way to update all of the pages in a Dreamweaver site at once. Active content must be updated on a page-by-page basis. Adobe recommends that you do a site-wide search for object tags, open the pages containing those tags, and let Dreamweaver repair the pages. For more information, see "Searching and replacing tags and attributes" in Dreamweaver Help.

Converting custom content

It is important to keep in mind that 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 Dreamweaver's 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 deals with custom code. (If you wish, 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.

Here is a screen shot of the Active Content options in the Dreamweaver 8.0.2 Preferences dialog box:

Additional Information

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For more information on active content, please visit Adobe's Active Content Developer Center.

Search Support

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