ActiveX Controls
A brief description of this component

Without going into great lengths discussing the various ActiveX controls available, this FAQ will discuss the mechanics of what happens when this object is encountered and the various parameters that determine its' actions.
 
1st, we look at what happens when an ActiveX compatible browser encounters an ActiveX control.
  1. The browser checks the local system registry to see if that control is installed.
2. If it is installed, the browser displays the document and the control.
3. If the control is not installed, the browser attempts to find it, and installs it automatically on the local computer
4. If the control cannot be found or is refused by the user, the doc cannot use or display the control.
2nd, here is a quick look at the <OBJECT> tag, and the <PARAM> tag
as it applies to my usage for mouseovers.
  <OBJECT CLASSID="CLSID:812AE312-8B8E-11CF-93C8-00AA00C08FDF"
The ClassID of the control. The # identifies the control. Most Important!
ID="alxSpot" The name of this control
STYLE="LEFT:0;TOP:0" WIDTH=19 HEIGHT=19 HSPACE=0 VSPACE=0 >
(At this point it is wise to point to the <CODEBASE> attribute. You may include the following if you wish:
<CODEBASE="http://activex.microsoft.com/controls/MSpert10.cab
#Version=1,0,5,1">   Note**** This will auto download the control from MicroSoft. If the user has not installed a version of Explorer, there is a good chance this control will be missing.)

<PARAM NAME="ALXPATH" REF VALUE="hotspot.alx"> This points to the alx file that is used for properties. CLICK TO View it!
<IMG WIDTH=19 HEIGHT=19 SRC="spot1.gif" this is the mouseOut image.
USEMAP="#hSpot" NAME="HotSpot" BORDER=0 HSPACE=0 VSPACE=0 >
</OBJECT>

There are many pros & cons with ActiveX controls. If the client computer does not have the control loaded, it will have to be downloaded from the MS (or another 3rd party) site. This takes time of course and may lead to slow loading times. Some people do not like the idea of any application writing anything to their hard drive, thus do not view pages that pop up any alerts that ask them to download any non standard content, aps, etc.
On the other hand, ActiveX has the potential to become a very powerful development tool. The basic technology has roots in OLE, and has the ability to be used in applications unrelated to the Web. MicroSoft has made a major investment in this, and claims they will support this technology until....


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