Photographs courtesy of Toby Watt - lawyer, friend and photographer extraordinaire...

 

Welcome to IE-Vista

Dedicated to providing advice and support to users of IE7 and IE8

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Breaking news

14 April 2007

www.ie-vista.com is mentioned in PCWORLD - the URL find.pcworld.com/56797 redirects to ie-vista.

 

18 March 2007

IE7 and "shrink to fit" problems - emails printing very small - hotfix released
http://msmvps.com/blogs/spywaresucks/archive/2007/03/18/689883.aspx

Article also refers to a hotfix for missing headers when printing

25 February 2007

After numerous emails requests for a search facility for www.ie-vista.com, I've added a Google search pane to right of screen.  Frontpage's inbuilt search feature has broken a few times on my other site on this server, so we'll stay away from that and see how Google Search goes.  Now that Google is trying to flag search results that may lead to malware sites with a warning, I feel a bit more confident about letting the Search feature on to my site.

Feel free to let me know what you think by clicking on the Contact Sandi link to left of screen.

18 February 2007

The email message header does not print when you try to print an email message by using either Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or Microsoft Outlook Express
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/931657

 

12 January 2007

8 January 2007 = 100 million IE7 installations

Party!!!  Take that Firefox  Party!!!

http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2007/01/12/100-million-ie7-installations.aspx

 

8 December 2006

Can you help us work out why some people have trouble printing emails after installing IE7?

There are reports that IE7 is causing problems when printing emails from Outlook or Outlook Express such as:

  • OE6 emails print without headers
  • Messages appearing in tiny font at the top left of page

Unfortunately we cannot reproduce the problem. If we can't make it happen on our computers, then we can't work out what's wrong, and we can't tell you how to fix it.

So, this is what we need from you.

If, for example, you have an Outlook email that loses its headers when printed please save the email as a .msg file and send it to me. Similarly, if you have an Outlook Express email that prints with very tiny fonts, save the email as an .eml file and send it to me.

I understand that by doing this I am asking you to send to me stuff that you may feel is personal and private, but all I can do is ask you to trust that I, and the IE team, will not abuse your good faith, and hope that you have an email available, such as spam or something from a mailing list, that you feel more comfortable sending to me.

When you send the emails to me please tell me:

  1. What version of IE you are running.
  2. What type of printer you have (exact model and make).
  3. Tell me if you have installed the latest printer drivers.
  4. Have you tried adjusting your print margins, which has been known to help the problem.
  5. Please tell us exactly what problem you are having. That is, don't say "this won't print properly". We need to know exactly what you mean by "won't print properly".

3 November 2006

I was honored when Eriq Neale, SBS MVP asked me to take part in a couple of podcasts about IE7 for his weekly internet radio show on small business computer technology.

Be gentle with me; they were recorded late at night and I may have uttered a discrete technical faux pax or two [:$]

The individual episode links are:

http://www.eoncall.com/tabid/55/mid/376/view/detail/ItemId/95/default.aspx (part 1)
http://www.eoncall.com/tabid/55/mid/376/view/detail/ItemId/96/default.aspx (part 2)

Hopefully there will be more podcasts in the future; there is so much we can talk about with regards to the changes that come with IE7 - new features, new UI and security improvements, and spyware, malware and online security in general.

 

1 November 2006

IE7 has been released via Automatic Updates:
http://msmvps.com/blogs/spywaresucks/archive/2006/11/02/236985.aspx

Also, WSUS:
http://msmvps.com/blogs/spywaresucks/archive/2006/11/02/237331.aspx

 

19 October 2006

Visits to www.ie-vista.com have increased sharply since IE7 went live.

The most popular pages are Tabs, Tab Groups, Known Issues and History

18 October 2006

Watch my blog for the latest breaking news:
http://msmvps.com/blogs/spywaresucks/Default.aspx

24 August 2006

IE7 Release Candidate 1 has gone live.  That's right gals and guys.. go and get it.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx 

Important points to note are:

  1. IE7 includes an automatic uninstaller so that if you have a build of IE7 already installed on your machine, it will be removed to allow RC1 to install.
  2. CSS platform changes are complete, and there is added language support.  A comprehensive post about CSS changes has been made by the IE team, available here:
    http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/08/22/712830.aspx|
  3. Localised versions are slated to ship on or about 12 September 2006 including Arabic, Finnish, German, and Japanese as well as the French and Spanish.
  4. MS asks Web Developers and designers to take advantage of the Readiness Toolkit to ensure that their sites are ready for IE7:
    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=D13EE10D-2718-47F1-AA86-1E32D526383D&displaylang=en
  5. The CNN crash on zoom bug is fixed and I think you'll be pleased at some of the other improvements to zoom.  On my test bed, pages that were off center on zoom in are no longer exhibiting that behaviour.  Not only that, the problem wherein IE7's RSS feeds would stop updating if a PC was not rebooted for a certain period of time seems to be resolved.
  6. BTW, if you want to see how your RSS feeds are going, go to Control Panel, Scheduled Tasks.  Turn on the option to view hidden tasks (Advanced menu) and you will be able to see the User Feed Synchronization task.

 

19 August 2006 +0800GMT

As mentioned on my Blog:
http://www.msmvps.com/spywaresucks

There has been a regularly recurring problem with users being unable to remove IE7 Beta 2 because their uninstall directory is missing.  These people were forced to either keep IE7 Beta 2 or source uninstall directories from elsewhere. 

I have always said that it is dangerous to source system files from third party sources because the danger of assembly hijacking, viruses etc, not to mention the question of whether or not distributing uninstall directories is legal under the EULA.

Microsoft  has been well aware of the problems, and have addressed the issue by providing a new Uninstaller Kit which  "Forces uninstall of Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 using default files and settings.   This toolkit will uninstall Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 using default files and settings from Microsoft. It is only intended for use if normal uninstallation methods failed. See KB 923721 for more information."

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=671baf16-52a3-410c-85a8-931ea6de5ff8

The MS uninstaller will run on releases besides Beta 2, but it won't be a complete uninstall because other releases backed up a slightly different set of files and reg keys than Beta 2.  Therefore, it is not recommended that the uninstaller be used with anything other than Beta 2.

Remember, there is a risk to sourcing files from an unknown third party. Always go to the original source.

5 August 2006, +0800GMT

The IE team have changed their mind about the name for Internet Explorer 7, in Windows Vista.  They're dropping the +.
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/08/04/688899.aspx

 

26 July 2006, +0900GMT

Microsoft will distribute Internet Explorer 7 as a high-priority update via Automatic Updates soon after the final version is released for Windows XP, planned for the fourth quarter of 2006. Sorry... when it comes to precise dates, those who know will not say, and those who say cannot know ;-)

Some important notes... firstly, although IE7 will be offered via Automatic Updates, Automatic Updates will first notify users when Internet Explorer 7 is ready to install and then show a welcome screen that presents key features and the choices to “Install, “Don’t Install” or “Ask Me Later.” In short, you won't be forced to install it, it won't be a silent install, it won't be a hidden install.

Secondly, I will have another gem to share with you regarding the installation, but can't tell you what that is without permission.. suffice to say the team has been reading the IE groups, and has been taking on board what is being said, and has addressed a pretty important issue.... there are a lot of people who are going to be awfully pleased. 

Thirdly, Microsoft will provide a free Internet Explorer 7 Blocker Toolkit for enterprise customers who may want to block automatic delivery of Internet Explorer 7 in their organization. The Blocker Toolkit will *not* expire and will include a Group Policy template and an executable script. The Blocker Toolkit will be/is available from the Microsoft Download Center to provide ample lead time for deployment. Additional information for IT administrators will be/is at the Windows Update/Microsoft Update site on TechNet.

More info and screenshots are available on the IE blog:
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/07/26/678149.aspx

 

May 27 2005

Internet Explorer 7, in Windows Vista, will be called Internet Explorer 7+

April 25 2006

Lucky me.  Something changed in IE7 Beta 2 that broke IE-Vista when viewed using that Beta (details here). 

Obviously my priority must be that the IE-Vista displays properly for its target audience, therefore some code has been added to fix the problem in IE7 Beta 2, but that code also breaks the site's left column in IE6 and earlier.

If you use Internet Explorer 6 or earlier, please scroll down the page to find this site's navigation menu.  Alternatively, use the Table of Contents link at the top of the page.

April 5 2006

IE-Vista is now a Featured Sponsor of The Hive, an online community created as a place to have conversations with community leaders and Microsoft - all with a distinct end-user focus
http://hive.net/Member/About/sponsors.aspx

My other site, http://inetexplorer.mvps.org, has been a Featured Community for a year or so now.

Wednesday 1 February 2006 at 2.00pm

Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview has been released. 

You heard it here first.... There's a fantastic, funny video advertisement "Everyday tasks made easier with IE7" available for viewing at the URL below - be one of the first to see it :o)
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2693343?htv=12

Wednesday 26 January 2006 at 10.30pm

IE-VISTA is going through a major update in preparation for the public release of Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2.  As soon as the public beta goes live, I'll upload the updates, and not before.  Yes, I know a build has leaked, but that doesn't mean I'm going to publish early.

There's going to be a lot of detailed content, and new screen shots.  As a consequence of the unpublished updates, some links on the page to left of screen may not work from time to time - sorry 'bout that.

Friday 2 December 2005 at 5.00pm PST

Please review my Blog for information about upcoming changes to current versions of Internet Explorer.
Important changes to Internet Explorer

Saturday 29 October 2005 at 9.00pm PST

Yes, I know that the CSS used by IE-Vista is breaking in Internet Explorer when the site is displayed on smaller monitors/high resolutions and/or when there are larger graphics in a DIV - I'm working on it :o(

Saturday 22 October 2005 at 700am PST
Windows Vista Build 5231 released to MSDN

Ok, I know I'm a little slow with this, but my new nephew was born by emergency caesarean section last week, 6 1/2 weeks premature, so I've been otherwise occupied... yes, mother, father and baby are now doing fine :o)  Welcome to the world Jordan Blake.


Saturday 17 September 2005, 2.00am PST

Ok, so its not IE related, but it is still interesting.

Bryan Starbuck, the Dev Lead for Outlook Express and all around nice guy, has survived being interviewed by Robert Scoble for Channel 9.

Outlook Express will be renamed to Windows Mail in Windows Vista.

The video interview includes shots of OE in Windows Vista in action - go check it out:
http://channel9.msdn.com/showpost.aspx?postid=116711

Side note: Its quite ironic that OE will finally have a spam filter.  Some of us remember how OE *nearly* had a spam filter back when OE5 was being readied for release, until Blue Mountain sued Microsoft, forcing the removal of the filter.

Nowadays Microsoft (or more precisely MSN) are friends with Blue Mountain again - Blue Mountain provides the animated winks and backgrounds for MSN Messenger.  How times change.

Wednesday 13 September 2005, 3.00am PDT

The Internet Explorer team released information while I was stuck at work today about the "very clever, yet-to-be-revealed treasure" mentioned below - Quick Tabs.

Terri and I were very impressed when Quick Tabs were shown to us back in July, and we've been waiting with bated breath for the feature to go public since then. I am really looking forward to a new build being released so that everybody can have a play.

Friday 12 August 2005, 3.30pm PST

IE-VISTA is very excited and privileged to be given the opportunity to be the first web site in the world to unveil the new Internet Explorer logo.   The return of the yellow swoosh is a blast from the past, hearkening back to the days of the spinning logo of Internet Explorer 3.

Terri and I first saw the new logo when we were last in Seattle in July, and we've been on tenterhooks ever since waiting for the green light to go public.

Full size logo can be seen here

But wait...there's more to come... the "very clever, yet-to-be-revealed treasure" that I mention in my Blog is yet to see the light of day.

Update: 4.56pm

The IE team have now posted about the new logo to their Blog.


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