png puzzle, Microsoft Reader add in for Word

[ffutures]

Can anyone think why Internet Explorer 5 on a Mac wouldn't display .png images? According to the .png compatibility page it should, but the guy who says this (fortunately he's complaining about someone's web site, not mine) seems to be reasonably sure of the version he's using etc.

It isn't currently a problem for me, haven't had any complaints on this score, but there are some png images on the current game release etc. so it is a little worrying.

Also, does anyone know how to make the Microsoft Reader add-in thingy for Word work? I've tried using it to create an e-book and it just doesn't seem to do anything at all. Alternatively, can anyone suggest an alternative to Reader Works, which is fairly expensive in its registered version and a pain to use.

Comments

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

My IE for Mac certainly displays PNG images. Less incorrectly than IE/Win, too.

The real question (in my mind, at least) is why anybody would ever use IE/Mac, considering the wide selection of better browsers available (one of which is even pre-installed and set up as the default browser).

[akicif.livejournal.com]

Mimetype problem? Is there anything else on the machine that uses .png as a filetype?

Or there's a problem with transparency and .png files that we used to get when I was at Playstation - the IE rendering was slightly broken (and as IE$N on a Mac was IE($N-1) on a PC more or less, I can believe this problem still exists in IE5).

Finally, there's png files and png files - the plain graphics ones, and the complex multi-layerable ones that Macromedia Fireworks produces. If the renderer thinks it has the first, and it has the second, hijinx may ensue....

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Thanks - if you don't mind I'll copy this to the list where the query appeared, see if it helps at all.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

No idea - seems daft to me too.

[akicif.livejournal.com]

Not sure if it'll help at all, but yeah, sure - go ahead!

[sirernest.livejournal.com]

He might be using an older Mac where the wide selection of better browsers is not really an option.

[dsample.livejournal.com]

I imagine that IE just hands PNG images over to Quicktime, and lets it draw them. That's how most Mac programs do it. It's possible that he has turned off Quicktime's handling of that image type. You can turn it on and off through the MIME Settings dialog in the Quicktime System Preferences pane.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Thanks - I'll pass that on too.