Get Rid of the Ugly Boxes Around Flash Content in Recent Versions of Internet Explorer (the Easy Way)
Posted by: Tim Ambler | July 27, 2006
If you've updated your copy of Microsoft Internet Explorer recently, you've probably noticed one very annoying change: Flash content is now surrounded by really annoying boxes that require the user to click them before the user can interact with the content. Why? Well, apparently Microsoft has lost yet another lawsuit (surprise, surprise) in regards to the method in which Internet Explorer handles ActiveX content. It's not really important why... the important thing is that there's a simple fix.
You can download dispFlash here. "dispFlash" is a small PHP function that I've created. You use it like so:
dispFlash($path, $width, $height);
The variables this function accepts include the following:
$path - The path to the .SWF file that you want to display.
$width - The width of the .SWF file.
$height - The height of the .SWF file.
Used correctly, dispFlash will create some nasty JavaScript for you that's now required by newer versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer in order to get rid of the ugly boxes surrounding Flash content. A huge pain, I know, but that's Microsoft for you...
Note: The "dispflash.zip" file that I've linked to above contains two additional files: AC_ActiveX.js and AC_RunActiveContent.js. You must include these JavaScript files in the header of the document you are working with in order for this to work.
Tim Ambler serves as the Director of Client Development for MediaJolt, a Nashville web site design and search engine marketing company based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Tim can be contacted directly at tim@mediajolt.com
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