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ActiveX exes and Internet explorer

billionsOfBlisteringBarnacles 1 Reputation point
2022-02-02T19:56:03.91+00:00

Hi

I'm providing support to a company running a legacy system, and I'm trying to figure out what impact the internet explorer shutdown will have on the system.

The system is coded in VB6, and has a parent program which launches around 300 activex exes.

To launch an activex exe, the parent loads an instance of a form.
The form references Microsoft internet controls %system32%/ieframe.dll.
Embedded on the form is a browser control: 

Begin VB.Form frmProgBase
   Begin SHDocVwCtl.WebBrowser browserControl

To launch an activex exe Foo.exe, the folowing command is run: 

browserControl.Navigate docFoo.vbd.

After browserControl_DocumentComplete fires, the following command is run: 

Set browserControl.Document.Parent = Me

.. and execution continues in Parent<PropertySet> of the activex exe.

When the child is complete, it calls CloseDocument or DocumentAborted on the parent form, or alternatively the parent can send the child mnuFileClose.

The simple solution is just to recompile the parent program to use the edge control.
The problem is, the VB6 compiler is running in a windows XP virtual machine, and XP can't install edge.
So, I'd like to know if this is going to break in June, or continue to work?
I can set up a new VM running windows 10, and install VB6 in there, but it's all a bit painful.
Money is of course a great healer, so I'm going to treat my wounds when billing time comes, but if the existing system will keep working after June, I'd rather just not have bothered.

Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge
A Microsoft cross-platform web browser that provides privacy, learning, and accessibility tools.
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  1. XuDong Peng-MSFT 10,181 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor
    2022-02-03T09:23:58.947+00:00

    Hi @billionsOfBlisteringBarnacles ,

    Windows XP is too old that it no longer has any security updates and support accordingly. I recommend that you can upgrade to a supported version.

    So, I'd like to know if this is going to break in June, or continue to work?

    What you mentioned may not continue to work correctly after IE stopped supporting in June. If you want to keep using activeX control after IE ends support, you can use Edge IE mode. This will be supported until at least 2029. You could also simple refer to this doc: What is the Lifecycle policy for Internet Explorer?

    Additionally, we recommend that you can make your application compatible with modern browsers (like Chrome, Microsoft Edge, etc.) instead of being limited to IE or Edge IE mode. Because they usually have a better user experience. Of course, this is just a suggestion and it all depends on your needs.

    Best regards,
    Xudong Peng

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