This category of extension is invoked specifically by Windows Internet Explorer content. It includes Microsoft ActiveX controls, binary behaviors, and Active documents.

• ActiveX Controls. ActiveX controls are a very powerful mechanism for extending the abilities of HTML. For more information, see Introduction to ActiveX Controls.

• Behaviors. The Behavior technology in Internet Explorer allows even deeper integration with the HTML rendering engine than ActiveX controls. The first category of behavior is script-based and uses HTML Component (HTC) files. While these are useful, they are not true extensions to browser functionality. However, you may want to consider script-based behaviors with HTC files before using a full browser extension as they provide a way to componentize and reuse HTML content. For more information, see Introduction to DHTML Behaviors.

  Binary behaviors are the second category of behavior extensions. Binary behaviors are similar to ActiveX controls in that they are Component Object Model (COM) objects, but they are more deeply integrated with the HTML parser and renderer. Examples of binary behaviors include extensions for MathML and Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), which allow the markup for math or vector graphics to be easily mixed in with HTML. For more information, see Binary Behaviors Overviews and Tutorials.

• Active Documents. Active documents are sometimes called Doc Objects. If you plan to replace HTML with your own rendering of specific content, an active document may be appropriate. For example, when a user navigates from an HTML page to a Microsoft Word document, the Mshtml.dll Active document is swapped out for Word's active document viewer. Internet Explorer's support for active documents includes the ability to merge menus so that Internet Explorer's menus reflect the functionality available in the new active document. For more information, see Active Documents.

• Windows Forms Controls. As managed code and the Microsoft .NET Framework have been established as the developer framework for the future, they are also available to developers wishing to develop controls for Internet Explorer. For more information, see Windows Form Controls

• Pluggable Protocols. Pluggable protocols Internet Explorer to support custom communication protocols and are generally specific to the data they support. For more information, see Asynchronous Pluggable Protocols.

Topics

About Asynchronous Pluggable Protocols

Asynchronous pluggable protocols enable developers to create pluggable protocol handlers, MIME filters, and namespace handlers that work with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 and later and a URL moniker. This article covers the pluggable protocol functionality exported by the Urlmon.dll DLL.

Filters Overviews and Tutorials

This section contains overviews and tutorials for Microsoft DirectX Transform filters.

Implementing Binary DHTML Behaviors

This article focuses on the binary version of behaviors and outlines the steps for creating binary behaviors using Microsoft Visual C++ version 5, Active Template Library (ATL) version 5, and ATL Service Pack 3 (SP3).

Introduction to ActiveX Controls

The purpose of this topic is to provide guidelines for implementing ActiveX Controls that interoperate well with containers and other controls. This article defines the minimum set of interfaces, methods, and features that are required of ActiveX Controls to accomplish seamless and useful interoperability.

Introduction to the Hit Logging API

Obsolete. The Channel Definition Format (CDF) files allow content providers to determine which hits get logged for the items included in the CDF file. These logs are posted to the server during a scheduled update and cleared. This API allows developers to verify if hit logging is enabled and write customized entries in the log.

Shell Helper API Overviews and Tutorials

This section contains overview and tutorial articles available for the IShellUIHelper API.

Timer API

Timers are essential to multimedia and animation applications. Good animation depends on timer accuracy and synchronization between multiple time-dependent components. Developers can use the Microsoft Timer API to synchronize time-dependent components such as audio and video clips.