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PRB: Pop-up Window Must Use a Unique HTML Help Object ID

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Article ID:196795
Last Review:March 16, 2005
Revision:1.1
This article was previously published under Q196795

SYMPTOMS

When you open a pop-up window using the HTML Help ActiveX control (HHCtrl.ocx), the following error message appears in Internet Explorer 4.0:
Error : Object doesn't support this property or method.

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CAUSE

This occurs when multiple instances of the HTML Help control are embedded on a Web page. When these controls use the same ID, Internet Explorer generates this error.

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RESOLUTION

To fix this problem, identify the HTML Help object that the pop-up window uses and change the object's ID to a unique name. See the MORE INFORMATION section of this article for an example.

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STATUS

This behavior is by design.

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MORE INFORMATION

You can use the following HTML code to embed the HTML Help control on a Web page. It also creates a hyperlink that calls the TextPopup() method of the control to display a pop-up window: 
   <SCRIPT>MyText="A Popup Example"</SCRIPT>
   
   <OBJECT ID=hhctrl TYPE="application/x-oleobject"
   CLASSID="clsid:adb880a6-d8ff-11cf-9377-00aa003b7a11">
   </OBJECT>
				


   <A HREF=
   JavaScript:hhctrl.TextPopup(MyText,"Verdana,10",9,9,-1,-1)>
   Click here to display an example of an HTML Help pop-up window!</A>.
   <P>
NOTE: The ID of this HTML Help object is "hhctrl." The error occurs when there are other HTML Help objects in the same file that share that ID.

In this example, you need to change the ID in two places. The <OBJECT> tag's ID parameter should be changed from "hhctrl" to a unique identifier name. This name is also used in the <HREF> tag to invoke the TextPopup method. The following code illustrates how to change the previous HTML code to use the identifier "hhcustom": 
   <SCRIPT>MyText="A Popup Example"</SCRIPT>
   
   <OBJECT ID=hhcustom TYPE="application/x-oleobject"
   CLASSID="clsid:adb880a6-d8ff-11cf-9377-00aa003b7a11">
   </OBJECT>
				


   <A HREF=
   JavaScript:hhcustom.TextPopup(MyText,"Verdana,10",9,9,-1,-1)>
   Click Here to Display an Example of an HTML Help pop-up window!</A>.
   <P>

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REFERENCES

The HTML Help Web site:
http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/workshop (http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/workshop)
For more information about pop-up windows, see the following documentation:

HTML Help Workshop Online Help: Using HTML Help Workshop; Create Help Windows; "Creating a pop-up window"

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APPLIES TO
•Microsoft HTML Help 1.3
•Microsoft HTML Help 1.0
•Microsoft HTML Help 1.1
•Microsoft HTML Help 1.21

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Keywords: 
kbprb KB196795

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