Thank you for choosing Microsoft Internet Explorer for Macintosh. Although Internet Explorer 3.01 has dozens of new features, by the time you read this, there may already be a new version of Internet Explorer, so please check out http://www.microsoft.com/ie/mac periodically for updates.
Microsoft¿ Internet Explorer is a World Wide Web (WWW) browser for the Macintosh. The WWW is the fastest growing component of the Internet today. 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.
Microsoft Internet Explorer also comes with Microsoft Internet Mail and News, our small and fast e-mail client, and Microsoft Personal Web Server, which turns any Mac into a Web serving solution. If you did not download these products, you can do so by visiting http://www.microsoft.com/ie/mac.
If you performed a Custom or Minimal Install, Java, Internet Mail and News, and Personal Web Server issues discussed in these Release Notes might not apply to you.
Redistribute Microsoft Internet Explorer--royalty free!
With the Internet Explorer Administration Kit 3.0 for the Macintosh, users can deploy Internet Explorer across an organization, or distribute it with their applications. You do not have to pay royalties when redistributing Internet Explorer, just a small fee for shipping and handling on the CD. To receive the Internet Explorer Administration Kit, check out http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ieak.
We've made it even easier for you to register Internet Explorer 3.01. The first time you open Internet Explorer, you will automatically visit our online registration site at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ie_reg.htm. Remember that this only occurs the first time you open Internet Explorer after installation. The next time you open Internet Explorer, you will visit your default home page.
If you still have a beta copy of Internet Explorer, discontinue using it at this time. For more information, see the License Agreement.
Ñ 7 MB of hard disk space when Internet Explorer is installed only. If you are performing a full install, which includes Java¬, Internet Mail and News, and Personal Web Server, 15 MB of hard disk space is required.
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
Ñ Open Transport 1.0.8 or greater (Extension) or Mac TCP
Ñ If you are a dial-up user, Config PPP or similar PPP connection software (Control Panel) with PPP (Extension)
Version 3.01 of Internet Explorer represents a surprisingly large number of new features--so be sure to take a look at the following:
JavaScript
JavaScript is the easiest and fastest way for Web authors to add interactivity to a Web site. Unlike Java, which is based on separate software components, JavaScript is a scripting language whose programs are embedded right in the HTML. You can use the Preferences dialog box to turn scripting on and off.
Choose your Java¬ virtual machine
Settings in the Preferences dialog box give you greater control over the use of Java:
Ñ You can choose which Java¬ virtual machine you would like to use: Microsoft VM or Microsoft JIT. If Apple MRJ is already installed on your machine, you can choose it.
Ñ You can specify whether a warning should be displayed if there are errors in the Java applet or whether the browser should save the output text from the Java applet.
For more information on Java, please read the Java Users Readme.
Downloading Files
The Download File command in the File menu, lets you download files from the Internet while you continue to browse other Web pages. Once you have typed the URL of the file you want to download, the Download Manager will open and give you information on the status, size, and download time of the file. The Download Manager is also available from the File menu and it keeps a history of the files you have downloaded. You can double-click the downloaded item in the Download Manager for more information.
Internet Explorer now supports folder downloads from FTP and Gopher sites. Drag and drop the folder to the Finder to download the contents of the folder. You can also press and hold down the mouse button over an item on the Web page, and then choose Download Link to Disk from the context menu.
Enhanced download options include automatically decoding BinHex and MacBinary files while the file is being downloaded.
Manage site passwords and user names
The Site Passwords page in the Preferences dialog box maintains a list of the user names and passwords you have used to access a site. Now, you can change access information without going to the site.
Receive updates to your favorite pages
When you mark favorite pages as "subscribed pages," Internet Explorer will monitor those sites and notify you, when and if a subscribed page changes. To select how often you want Internet Explorer to look for changes, and how you want to be notified of changes, choose Subscription Options from the Favorites menu.
Note: This is a subset of the "Subscription" functionality that will be included in the Internet Explorer 4.0 platform preview.
Improved favorites
You can sort favorite items, rename the path, and resize the columns in the favorites list. In addition, you can turn a subscription to a favorite page on and off by clicking in the Subscriptions column (the left most column in the Favorites window). To change subscription information for a particular item, double-click the subscriptions icon located beside the favorite item.
Manage Cookies
A cookie is a small piece of information that a Web site downloads on your hard disk for future reference. For example, a cookie might be used to store a customized view of a Web site or ensure that you never see the same advertisement twice. Settings in the Internet Explorer Preferences dialog box let you control the download of cookies. For example, you can choose to always accept cookies or you can choose to always display an alert when a Web site wants to download cookies.
Autosearch
Internet Explorer has made searching the Internet even easier with the Autosearch feature. Simply, type "go" or "?" and the topic you'd like to search for in the Address Bar, and Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) will search its databases for matching topics and display them for you. For example, type "? cooking" to find all references to cooking in the Yahoo! database.
Fetch Bookmarks
Do you have Fetch bookmarks? Now, you can import them into Internet Explorer. Drag and drop your Fetch bookmarks into the Favorites window of Internet Explorer.
Type ahead in the Address bar
Type an address into the Address bar, Internet Explorer can attempt to complete the address using the contents of your favorites and history lists. First, Internet Explorer will review the names and addresses in your favorites list, and then, if it doesn't find a match, it will review the names and addresses in your history list. For example, if you recently visited the Microsoft site at http://www.microsoft.com, you might need to type only the letters "Mic" or "http://www.mic" before Internet Explorer displays the complete address for you.
You can turn off this option by choosing Preferences from the Edit menu, clicking Browser Display under Web Browser, and then clearing the Auto-Complete Addresses check box.
Refreshing a Web page from the context menu
You can reload a Web page quickly by using the Refresh command from the context menu. This feature is especially useful when you want to refresh the contents of a file contained in a frame. Simply, click inside the frame, hold down the mouse button, and choose Refresh from the context menu.
Preferences and Internet Config
Internet Explorer is now more closely integrated with Internet Config and works with the preferences file for Internet Config directly. You no longer have to select whether or not you want to use Internet Config. Any settings you change in the Internet Explorer Preferences dialog box automatically goes to the Internet Config Preferences file. If you currently use the Internet Config application, you can continue to do so and the changes you make will automatically appear in Internet Explorer.
More preferences are now available from the Preferences dialog box to better customize your browsing experience. You can control animated GIFs, file downloads, Java VMs, proxies and other features.
ActiveX update
We now have new version of the ActiveX SDK that supports ActiveX scripting. For more information on this feature, please go to the ActiveX SDK site at http://www.microsoft.com/intdev/sdk/mac.
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.
A 68K JIT is not available at this time. If you are a 68K user make sure that you choose the MSIE/MW VM or the Apple VM (if installed). Please visit http://www.microsoft.com/ie/mac for updates.
Java¬ users should read the Java Users Read Me for additional information.
International character support for Microsoft Java VM
If you experience problems viewing international characters in Java applets, make sure that the Apple Text Encoding Converter is installed on your computer. To do so, check your Text Encoding folder in your System folder. You can also look for the Text Encoding Converter file in your Extensions folder (located in your System folder). The Apple Text Encoding Converter version 1.1 has been shipping with the Mac OS since version 7.6. For more information, visit http://macos.apple.com.
ActiveX
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.01 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.
Some Web pages may have ActiveX controls that don't support Mac OS. If this happens and you are unable to view the page you can turn off viewing of ActiveX content. To do so, choose Preferences from the Edit menu, click Web Content under Web Browser, and then clear the Enable ActiveX check box.
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.
Protocol Helpers
You can use Preferences dialog box to assign protocol helpers. When you do so, please note that the Use Current Application If Possible check box is turned on by default so that if Internet Explorer can handle the protocol, it will be used instead of the assigned helper. For example, if you have assigned Fetch as your current FTP (File Transfer Protocol) helper and have not cleared the Use Current Application If Possible check box, when you click an FTP link in Internet Explorer, Internet Explorer will be used to download the file, not Fetch.
If you do not want Internet Explorer to handle a protocol, be sure to clear the Use Current Application If Possible check box.
Real Player 4.0b1
The current beta version of the Real Player 4.0b1 installer may corrupt the Internet Preferences file, in which Internet Explorer stores its preferences. If this occurs, delete the Internet Preferences file (located in your Preferences folder inside your System folder). The next time you open Internet Explorer, a new Internet Preferences file will be created.
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.
QuickTime and QuickDraw 3D
If you use the Extensions Manager to disable QuickTime and QuickDraw 3D, you need to remove the appropriate QuickTime and QuickDraw 3D libraries.
VRML
If you are using Internet Explorer to view VRML pages, you must have QuickDraw 3D version 1.5 or later installed. QuickDraw 3D is available for download from http://quickdraw3d.apple.com/.
Plug-ins
If Navigator is installed on your computer, Internet Explorer will use the contents of the Navigator Plug-ins folder. As a result, some plug-ins may require more memory to run from Internet Explorer. If you experience problems accessing a page that uses plug-ins, you may need to increase the memory alloted to Internet Explorer. To do so, quit Internet Explorer if it is running, select the Internet Explorer icon, and then choose Get Info from the File menu. (Make sure you select the icon for the Internet Explorer application, not an alias to the application.) Try increasing the Preferred Size to 8000K.
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:
Ñ 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.
Ñ 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.
Ñ 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 "View with Browser," 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.
Internet Explorer Help is available from the Help (?) menu and will give you the information you need to use the powerful features of Internet Explorer.
Ñ Click a topic area on the left to see a list of related procedures. To open the procedures in a separate window, press and hold on the topic area link, and then choose Open Link In New Window from the menu that appears.
Ñ Click Index to see the Index. Use the Index just as you would an index in a book.
Ñ Click Tips & Tricks for information about a particular menu item and its keyboard shortcut.
Ñ Internet Explorer Help is best viewed in Internet Explorer.
Ñ Click the Internet Explorer logo at the bottom of the topics list visit the Internet Products home page at www.microsoft.com/ie/mac.
Ñ For best viewing, choose Preferences from the Edit menu, click Web Content under Web Browser, and make sure Allow Page To Specify Colors is selected.
Ñ To print, click in the frame that contains the information you want, and then choose Print from the File menu.
Microsoft offers 90 days of product support at (206) 635-7123 in the U.S. and (905) 568-4494 in Canada. This support is free of charge, except for the cost of the telephone call.
Join the Internet Explorer for Macintosh newsgroup
Interact with other users of Internet Explorer for Macintosh by joining microsoft.public.inetexplorer.mac. For more information, please visit the Microsoft Technical Support Newsgroup page at http://www.microsoft.com/support/news/.
