Lotus Rock Star :: Update on ActiveX activation, Microsoft, Eolas, DWA and QuickPlace

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Well the saga has been one for the books - history books that is. I've been working with some great folks at IBM -- Bill Rodrick and Susan Bulloch -- on the effect of the ActiveX activation change introduced with update 912945 - currently available on Microsoft Update, but ready to be forced on us next Tuesday.

For most, Domino Web Access will remain unaffected. The attachment ActiveX control in the edit and read mode of memos would have been susceptible, but apparently IBM coded around this almost a year ago. That doesn't mean there won't be any problems for anyone, but the majority will be avoided. Domino Webmail is affected, and they're working on it.

QuickPlace (all versions) are affected in only some "scenes" as they are called - the developers' name for different parts of the product. For most browsers, the user-facing rich text and attachment controls are not affected, because they are not coded on the back end using direct EMBED, OBJECT, or APPLET tags. Other scenes, however, are -- such as where you add a graphic to your rich text, or where you add and modify themes. The great news here is that Bill is on a search and destroy mission to get all of these areas taken care of, and his fix works -- I've tested it.

There seem to be a few client machines here at SNAPPS Galactic Headquarters that want to activate every ActiveX control, every time, whether it's a direct OBJECT tag or not. Rebuilding the updates on one of these machines (mine!) eliminated the problem. At least it wasn't an IBM problem.

We should applaud the response time and active involvement of the IBMers that were tasked with this problem. I have a feeling that we're all going to be having inconsistent browsing experiences for the next five years - no matter what Microsoft's spin control team has to say. Not every web developer or ISV is going to have the kind of rapid response that I've seen from IBM in he past two weeks. Some won't respond at all.

And we thought it would only be marketing that responds to Microsoft in 24 hours! Ha!

Comments

1 - Did your contacts at IBM say when this patch would be available to customers? Should we be contacting IBM support now?

Posted by Steve Smillie At 06:00:39 AM On 04/05/2006 | - Website - |

2 - No info on availability yet, I'll have to let the support folks tell you. I'd call and open a PMR now so you can receive the hotfix/patch when it's released.

If anyone has modified HaikuCommonForms.ntf, you'll need to integrate the customizations with the hotfix.

UPDATE - Susan says they're working on a fix that everyone can get, alright Susan!

Posted by Rob Novak At 07:45:06 AM On 04/05/2006 | - Website - |

3 - Do you have any idea if IBM are going to patch QP 6.5 as well as QP7 ?

Posted by Patrick Lambourne At 11:04:52 AM On 04/05/2006 | - Website - |

4 - I have to believe they will, it's still a very "live" version. 3.0.1 on the other hand - it's EOL is this month.

Still on 3.0.1? Time to upgrade...

Posted by Rob Novak At 12:49:52 PM On 04/05/2006 | - Website - |

5 - Hold off on calling Support to get the fix - we're working on a way to get the solution out where everyone can get it. Rob and I and many others will make sure you get the message on how to get it! Will be SOON, I promise.

Posted by Susan Bulloch At 07:19:01 AM On 04/06/2006 | - Website - |

6 - Susan,
Do you know if fixes are coming for Domino as well? The Applets and Richtext Active-X control appear to be affected as well.

Posted by Steve Smillie At 09:38:47 AM On 04/06/2006 | - Website - |