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Problems with using WSpell on Web pages

This document describes some of the things you can try when you have problems getting WSpell to work in a Web page displayed using Internet Explorer.

Getting ActiveX controls to work in Internet Explorer is definitely non-trivial. Internet Explorer is very "fussy" about how things are set up, and if anything goes wrong, it generally displays the same message: "Object does not support this property or method." As far as we can tell, this message means IE was unable to create an instance of the control, so any attempt to refer to it in a script won't work. Unfortunately, a large number of problems can prevent IE from creating an instance of the control.

The topic "Using WSpell in Web Pages" in the WSpell Programmer's Guide contains detailed instructions on adding WSpell to a Web page. Instructions in this document should be followed carefully.

Here are some ideas, things to try, and general information that may be of use if you run into problems:

• Start with one of the examples in WSpell's ie\examples folder. These examples have been tested and are known to work.

• Starting with WSpell version 5.13, you must create an LPK file containing your WSpell license. The LPK file shipped with WSpell contains an expired evaluation license.

• Make sure you have added an "LPK" file to your Web page containing WSpell's licensing information. LPK files are created using LPK_Tool, which is available from Microsoft. WSpell is a licensed ActiveX control. A "license manager" object must be embedded in the HTML page before any controls that require licensing are embedded. The license manager has no visible representation on the page and refers to the LPK file through a PARAM attribute on its <OBJECT> tag:

<OBJECT CLASSID="clsid:5220cb21-c88d-11cf-b347-00aa00a28331">
<PARAM NAME="LPKPath" VALUE="thispage.LPK">
</OBJECT>

For more information on using licensed ActiveX controls, see MSKB article Q159923.

• Make sure the clsid of the license manager is correct (the clsid listed above is correct). Make sure the LPK file is in the same directory as the Web page, or that you use a correct path in the VALUE= parameter. Make sure the license manager object is declared correctly (no typos). Make sure only one reference to the license manager object is defined on the page.

• The CAB files shipped with the WSpell SDK (in the ie\examples folder) direct IE to install WSpell in the System32 directory on the client machine. Look for wspell.ocx in the System32 directory. If it's not there, then most likely IE could not find, access, or download the wspell.cab file from your server. If it is there, then the most likely cause of the problem has to do with licensing, which might mean IE couldn't find, access, or download the .lpk file, the .lpk file's contents were invalid, or the .lpk file does not contain a valid WSpell license.

• You can test your .lpk file by opening one of the example .html files in WSpell's ie\examples folder directly using your browser. The examples refer to wspell.lpk, so your .lpk file must be named wspell.lpk and must exist in the ie\examples folder. If the examples work, your .lpk file is OK.

• If you code your scripts using JScript rather than VBScript, note that JScript is case-sensitive while VBScript is not.

• In some cases Internet Explorer writes an error log to the Temporary Internet Files directory. This file is a text file that may contain diagnostic information that might help you to solve the problem. The file will have a name like this:

  ?CodeDownloadErrorLog!name={ACEFFC26-4628-11D1-B14A-105C01C13001}

  (the part after the "name=" is WSpell's clsid).

• If you test an HTML file containing wspell.cab on the same system that the WSpell SDK is installed on, IE will use the registered instance of wspell.ocx. It won't download or install wspell.cab. You can un-register wspell.ocx using regsvr32. For example, if your copy of the WSpell SDK was installed in c:\Program Files\wspell, un-register wspell.ocx like this:

  regsvr32 /u "c:\Program Files\wspell\wspell.ocx"

  (Earlier versions of the WSpell SDK installed and registered wspell.ocx in the "System" or "System32" directory.)

• While you are attempting to solve problems, do the following after making a change to force IE to re-download files:

  1. Delete IE's temporary Internet files. Select "Internet Options" from IE's Tools menu, then click the "Delete Files" button on the General tab.

  2. Un-register and remove wspell.ocx from the System32 directory. To un-register wspell.ocx, use regsvr32 /u as described above.

Security warnings and errors

Problem: Internet Explorer displays a security warning or error when you attempt to use WSpell on a Web page.

Following are some points that may help:

• If you install WSpell from a CAB file, make sure the CAB file contains an .INF file which directs the installation of WSpell on the client computer.

• Make sure the CAB file is digitally signed. A CAB file containing the American English dictionary, digitially signed by Wintertree Software, is available for downloading. If you want to include other dictionaries, you will have to create the CAB file and sign it using your own certificate.

• Starting with version 5.4, the WSpell control has been digitally signed by Wintertree Software. Contact Wintertree Software Sales about upgrading if you have an older version.

• Starting with version 5.11, WSpell is Safe for Scripting and Safe for Initialization when used in Internet Explorer. Contact Wintertree Software Sales about upgrading if you have an older version.

• Try lowering the browser's security level, or adjusting the security options.

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