Kiosk Mode for IE6

[rzarr]

With the release of XP SP2, along with IE 6.0 SP2 there is a problem
for Kiosks based on a web server that require full screen - the status
bar no longer can be turned off (as far as I can tell). By editing
the registry, you can turn off the FEATURES_WINDOW_RESTRICTIONS
settings, but the status bar remains (contrary to what Microsoft says
in their documentation). I will need to re-write my entire
application to use Opera, Firefox or another browser if I cannot find
a work around. The browser is never pointed to anything other than a
dedicated server on an intranet (not public). Anyone have any ideas
on how to get rid of the status bar in FULL SCREEN (kiosk) mode?

 

[Rob ^_^]

Hi RZARR,

My test plan, WinXP Pro, SP2, IE7 all latest patches.

Opening IE in kiosk mode the status bar initially does not appear, however
subsequent navigation to a new location the bar appears....

Open IE in normal mode and select the View>Status Bar menu to hide the
status bar. Close the browser to save the setting.

Start IE in Kiosk mode.... status bar does not appear even after navigation.

Let us know if that works on IE6.

Regards.

 

[Rob ^_^]

Hi Again,

Interestingly, you can display an explorer bar or the search pane in your
kiosk window. First open a normal instance of IE and select the Explorer Bar
from the View>Explorer Bar menu. Close the browser to save the changes. Open
IE in kiosk mode...
Ofcoarse this does not work for toolbars.

This may be an application where you can place your site navigation menu in
a side bar an utilize the horizontal screen space of wide screen displays.

Your question led me to some interesting experimentation...

Regards.

 

[rzarr]

Hi Again,

Interestingly, you can display an explorer bar or the search pane in your
kiosk window. First open a normal instance of IE and select the Explorer Bar
from the View>Explorer Bar menu. Close the browser to save the changes. Open
IE in kiosk mode...
Ofcoarse this does not work for toolbars.

This may be an application where you can place your site navigation menu in
a side bar an utilize the horizontal screen space of wide screen displays.

Your question led me to some interesting experimentation...






- Show quoted text -

I have tried all the standard things. The first thing I tried was the
VIEW - STATUS BAR to remove it from normal view. Now when I press F11
and go to FULL SCREEN mode the status bar reapears on the bottom.
Nothing I have tried - even edits to the registry to turn off the
LOCKDOWN on the system (released in SP2) does not make it go away even
though Microsoft claims it will. This is a real problem for my
application and may require moving to a new non-microsoft browser (and
re-writing my javascript and ASPs) if this also happens in IE7....

 

[Jon Kennedy]

Are you using this key to turn off the status bar?

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
Key - "Show_StatusBar"
REG_SZ value - "No"

 

[Rob ^_^]

Hi RZarr,

There is a difference between full screen and kiosk mode. F11 = toggle full
screen mode (not the same as maximize the browser window = Alt+m)

To run IE in Kiosk mode you need to add the command line parameter -k to
your IE desktop shortcut.

If you are securing your server and only want to allow access via the
browser you should look at using Group Policy settings or try the MS Shared
Computer Toolkit to only allow acces via the browser in Kiosk mode.

Regards.

 

[rzarr]

Are you using this key to turn off the status bar?

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
Key - "Show_StatusBar"
REG_SZ value - "No"
--

Jon R. Kennedy MS MVP/IE
Charlotte, NC USA
(e-mail address removed)






- Show quoted text -

Yes, that was tried a long time ago... this used to work, but
something has changed and now I can no longer get rid of the status
bar. It is not shown ever in normal mode, but as soon as I enter FULL
SCREEN mode, it reappears - VERY DISTRACTING to my application....

 

[rzarr]

Hi RZarr,

There is a difference between full screen and kiosk mode. F11 = toggle full
screen mode (not the same as maximize the browser window = Alt+m)

To run IE in Kiosk mode you need to add the command line parameter -k to
your IE desktop shortcut.

If you are securing your server and only want to allow access via the
browser you should look at using Group Policy settings or try the MS Shared
Computer Toolkit to only allow acces via the browser in Kiosk mode.







- Show quoted text -

The -k switch fixed the issue!!! Thanks! It's even better since it
does not allow the navigation bar to be present! Does this also work
with IE7?

 

[Rob ^_^]

Yep, my original test plan was on an XP/IE7 machine. Works like a charm
doesn't it. I learnt something new answering your question.

Regards.