This topic describes how to successfully install and use the Altia ProtoPlay web browser plug-in with Internet Explorer (IE) on Windows Vista.
Before executing the ProtoPlay plug-in installation program on Windows Vista (typically
altplug.exe if ProtoPlay was downloaded from the Altia web site), first make sure the logged-in user is an administrator. The program needs to run as administrator because it needs to copy files into the Internet Explorer software folder. Typically, this folder can only be modified by an adminstrator on Windows Vista.
Also before executing the ProtoPlay plug-in installation program on Windows Vista, it is necessary to manually create a
PLUGINS folder in the Internet Explorer software folder. For all previous versions of Internet Explorer, the
PLUGINS folder was a standard component of Internet Explorer. It is not for IE on Vista (for reasons yet unknown).
To create the
PLUGINS folder in IE, open a file browser window and go to the IE software folder. This folder is usually
c:\Program Files\Internet Explorer. Right click, choose the
New option and then the
Folder option. Rename the new folder to
PLUGINS.
Now execute
altplug.exe to install the Altia ProtoPlay. It should detect
c:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\plugins as the standard web browser plug-in directory.
IE for Vista has something called Protected Mode. When this mode is on, which it is by default, the IE process, and any process IE spawns, runs at a very low security level. This level is insufficient for the Altia ProtoPlay plug-in. To resolve this problem, it is necessary to give a higher security level to the web site from which ProtoPlay is invoked. This is done by added the web site to the IE list of trusted sites. This should only be done for web sites considered trustworthy. Another option is to completely disable Protected Mode (not recommended, but certainly an option).
For example, to run the Altia ProtoPlay demos on the Altia web site, it is necessary to make
http://www.altia.com a trusted site. To do this, use the following steps:
1. From the IE
Tools menu, choose
Internet Options and then the
Security tab.
2. In the Security settings screen, select
Trusted sites as the zone and then press the
Sites button.
3. Enter
http://www.altia.com in the
Add this website to the zone: field. Make sure to also disable the
Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone check box. Finally, press the
Add button and then the
Close button.
4. After step #3, the Security settings screen should be showing with the
Trusted sites zone still selected. Select it if it is not the selected zone and make sure the
Enabled Protected Mode check box is disabled. Now press the
OK button in the Security settings screen.
5. Exit IE and restart it.
Now
http://www.altia.com and all of its pages will run as a trusted site and this allows the Altia ProtoPlay plug-in to run (for example, from the
http://www.altia.com/products_design_demos.php page).
