Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 introduces powerful new features while retaining the superior performance and stability of Internet Explorer 5.5.
Platform Features
For developers, Internet Explorer 6 builds on Internet Explorer 5.5 to provide a fast and robust development platform that includes the following new features.
- Internet Explorer 6 offers extended Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) 2.0
HTML+TIME (Timed Interactive Multimedia Extensions) functionality, which now includes the transitionFilter element. This enables HTML declarations to provide full-feature animated transitions without using script. - Internet Explorer 6 provides additional support for the Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1 and Cascading Style Sheets, Level 1 (CSS1) standards. For more information, see CSS Enhancements in Internet Explorer 6 .
- Internet Explorer 6 provides expanded functionality for custom cursors, including new cursor styles.
- Authors can restrict the SECURITY of Iframes. Setting an iframe to restricted security prohibits script from running in that iframe.
- Web developers can intercept navigation errors with the NavigateError event of the WebBrowser control. Users can then be redirected to an error site chosen by the Web developer.
- Internet Explorer 6 implements the onmousewheel event, allowing Web developers to add localized mouse wheel functionality to their pages, and permitting a richer user experience.
- Rendered elements that overflow in width now show ellipses (...).
- Additional focus events are available that provide feedback as the user moves focus between browser windows, or outside the browser application and back.
- Element behaviors now permit nested literal content.
User Features
New user features, like those that offer greater privacy support, provide the best Web experience yet. Internet Explorer 6 includes the following user features.
- My Pictures toolbar makes Web images more available to the casual user. The toolbar appears when the user moves the mouse over large images, and enables the user to save the image, print it, or send it as an e-mail message.
- The Media Bar toolbar integrates media into the browsing experience. Users can select and play sound media from the browser without opening a separate application.
- Users can now set the level of privacy they want when browsing by specifying whether Web hosts can collect client information through cookies.
These features build on the functionality introduced in Internet Explorer 5.5. Highlights of Internet Explorer 5.5 included an enhanced HTML component that uses element behaviors and Viewlink, print preview support, new HTML editing features, and improved rendering and layout interfaces for binary behaviors.
Download Service Pack 1
Internet Explorer 6 has been updated as part of Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). Because Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 is now available, Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 (SP1) is recommended for systems running versions of Windows prior to Windows XP.
Click to download: Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1
Related Topics
To learn more about Internet Explorer 6 and how Web authors and C++ developers can use its new features, see the following topics.