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| Active Desktop | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Microsoft |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Successor | Windows Sidebar andWindows Desktop Gadgets |
Active Desktop was a feature ofMicrosoftInternet Explorer 4.0's optionalWindows Desktop Update that allowed users to addHTML content to thedesktop, along with some other features. This function was intended to be installed on the then-currentWindows 95 operating system. It was also included inWindows 98 and later Windows operating systems up through 32-bit XP, but was absent fromXP Professional x64 Edition (forAMD64) and all subsequent versions of Windows. Its status onXP 64-bit edition (forItanium) and on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003 is not widely known. This corresponded to versionInternet Explorer 4.0 to6.x, but notInternet Explorer 7.[1]
HTML could be added both in place of the regularwallpaper and as independent resizabledesktop items. Items available online could be regularly updated and synchronized so users could stay updated without visiting the website in their browser.
Active Desktop worked much likedesktop widget technology in that it allowed users to place customized information on their desktop.
The introduction of the Active Desktop marked Microsoft's attempt to capitalize on thepush technology trend led byPointCast.[2]
Active Desktop allowed embedding a number of "channels" on the user's computerdesktop that could provide continually-updated information such as web pages, without requiring the user to open dedicated programs such as aweb browser. Example uses include overview over news headlines and stock quotes. However, its most notable feature was that it allowedMotion JPEGs and animatedGIFs to animate correctly when set as the desktop wallpaper.
Active Desktop debuted as part of an Internet Explorer 4.0 preview release in July 1997,[3] and came out with the launch of the 4.0 browser in September that year.[4] for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, as a feature of the optionalWindows Desktop Update offered to users during the upgrade installation. While the Windows Desktop Update is commonly referred to (improperly) as Active Desktop itself, it is actually an entire Windows shell upgrade from v4.0 to v4.71, or v4.72, with numerous changes to the Windows interface, resulting in an appearance and functionality level nearly indistinguishable from the then yet-to-be-released Windows 98. Features include the ability to minimize foreground windows by clicking their button on the taskbar,[5], QuickLaunch mini-buttons on the Taskbar next to the Start button, deskbands (custom toolbars on the taskbar and floating desktop toolbars)[6], taskbands[6] (custom toolbars in Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer), Explorer bars[6] (a separate vertical or horizontal pane or panel in Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer), an upgraded Start Menu allowing drag and drop item reordering and allowing right-click context menus for item renaming option, allowing uppercase filenames (the old v4.0 desktop would forcibly display uppercase filenames in title case), configurable one-click hot-tracking file selection, customizable per-folder HTML display settings, etc. With the update, Windows Explorer featured an Address bar in which Internet addresses can be entered and seamlessly browsed.
SinceWindows XP, if a non-BMP image is used asWindows Desktop wallpaper, Windows will convert non-BMP image to BMP image in background.
Active Desktop never attained any significant degree of popularity,[7] as its drawbacks included high use of system resources and reduced system stability[citation needed]. The component was retained inWindows XP[8] but was replaced by a feature namedWindows Sidebar inWindows Vista.[9] Sidebar in turn was calledWindows Desktop Gadgets inWindows 7, which also allows components to be added to the desktop, but it was also discontinued due to security issues.Windows 8 (also8.1 and10) partially replaced their functionality with "live tiles" in the Start screen (or Start menu). Finally, such functionalities have now been partially replaced with Widgets inWindows 11. Windows Server 2003 R2 32-bit is the most recent Microsoft operating system to support Active Desktop. It appears that the 64-bit version of Windows XP no longer supports Active Desktop. However, it still provides the option to display Web pages and channels built with Microsoft'sChannel Definition Format (CDF) on the desktop.
The HTML displaying capabilities are now mainly used for creating original wallpapers and adding search boxes to the desktop. For example, a user could copy the following code to display Wikipedia's search-box on the desktop:
<formaction="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search"id="searchform"name="searchform"><inputaccesskey="f"id="searchInput"name="search"type="text"value=""/><inputid="searchGoButton"name="go"type="submit"value="Go"/></form>
