Hello,

With regard to my previous post on SVG friendly browsers, I sure would appreciate some confirmation (or rebuttal) of my experience with Avant Browser and Flash Peak SlimBrowser.

Specifically, if you know that your SVG input is arriving as text/plain because of lack of SVG mime support by your ISP, could you please try read this .svg (animated) file:

"Straight" SVG URL

There will unfortunately, be no sound.

NOTE: Opera 7.21 released today (and a new release of Mozilla, ver. 1.5)

Here she goes, Derry,
Cheers,

Muzz

Hi Muzz,

I don't have Avant Browser and Flash Peak SlimBrowser at this time. However, I can confirm that with your favorite browser (IE) that it is giving an xml error.

- Derry

Thanks Derry,

Believe you me, it can get pretty discouraging around around here at times as regards SVG. In one sense I could care less if no else uses it; that is their loss --- but SVG usage has to grow in order that, efficacious as it is, SVG continue to develop to realize its full and considerable potential.

Also in "the believe you me" category is that I am very serious about being, in an official sense, the charter member of the "hiSVG" society: "xHTML Integrated Scalable Vector Graphics Society."

And the reason for the above two paragraphs, is that I am beginning to believe that I am the only serious user of SVG is this entire forum. If I am wrong, and I sure hope so, then would someone please prove it by downloading one of the two browsers and checking out the link.

D_L, where are you?

Muzz

Ok Derry,

I am putting SVG publications in this Forum, including Animation, on the line here. If no one, including VM staff, is willing to make a simple download to help me out on this matter,
then I have other things to do with my time than offer this forum information concerning, or relevant to, Web Engine SVG.

The message is too clear to do otherwise.

My drive will-be reformatted later this morning (finally!). If, when I return to operational status, I determine that support for SVG in this forum is as pathetic as I am beginning to think it is, then my published svg business goes elsewhere.

That will be a relief to many I am sure: but also for sure is that I am deadly serious and excuses about "too busy" etc. won't wash one sock with me.

Muzz

Could not view in IE6, Avant Browser..or Slim Just plain text.

No animation in Opera.

Using Web Engine 2 Beta

Funny, in my IE6 it opens as SVG even though it arrives as text/plain.

I have the Windows Exporer, File Type set to open .svg files with IE. Maybe that helps.

I believe mine is set the same, after loking, but all I get it text.

Using Web Engine 2 Beta

Must be technician's luck - everthing works when the technician is around.

BTW. Since Avante and SlimBrowser are both wrappers on Internet Explorer's rendering engine there is no reason that they would render any differently than IE.

Thanks Harpo and Andy, ...thanks a bunch.

The reason I asked for this test is that Opera and Macromedia are climbing into bed together, and I have major concerns as to what this means to Opera and Adobe SVG. It may mean nothing; or it may have major implications.

I was well aware of Avant's tie-in with IE, especially as Avant now advertises itself as an IE upgrade. And although it is clear that SlimBrowser uses IE's rendering engine, the connection there is less clear. For instance, IE is quite hostile to SlimBrowser in XP Custom mode -- much the same as with Opera.

The difference in our results may well rest on two facts: I am running in custom mode where IE is not the default browser; and I have the Windows Mime for both HTML and SVG set for Opera.

I now have 2 hard drives and several days work ahead of me re-establishing operational status. Major developments elsewhere are then going to keep me very busy for awhile. So I shall close this thread now as a bit of an enigma to be sorted out later.

Only one thing is for certain from my end; I have never, under any circumstances, been able to view SVG directly with IE; and only could with Opera when I switched from Mime to Extension in Preferences.

Andy, I have written to Opera about the lack of SVG animation and no solution is available in the immediate future...hence my dilemma.

However, as the sound file can only be loaded in HTML, I was not for a minute kidding about the "hiSVG" society as regards animation. The following are inescaple facts --- virtually metaphysical axioms if you will:

SUMMARY POSITION ON PUBLISHING SVG

(a) Mime Type: An SVG file has to be embedded in an HTML file to ensure that it may be viewed regardless of whether the SVG input is output by the ISP as image/svg+xml or text/plain.

(b) Animation with Sound: Regardless of other factors specific to individual browsers; sound effects can only be attached to SVG animation by embedding the sound file in an HTML file; and this can be the same file the raw SVG is embedded in -- i.e. an extra HTML file is not required.

(c) Browser Recommendations Because of the the uncertaintaies revolving around possible Mime settings, I can no longer recommend any browser as THEE SVG browser. Opera has lost that status because of its inability to view animated SVG and the problematic situation surrounding the Adove Viewer, version 6.0.

(d) Regardless, on a personal note, for "privacy" reasons which I will state elsewhere but not here, I shall run IE for purposes of verifying web-site display characteristics for clients on Win98 SE but not on XP. The latter will be run in Custom Mode, alternating between Opera and SlimBrowser as defaults depending on context.

With thanks but much sadness,

But, if you think for a minute that I have given up on SVG, then you just plain don't know what a stubborn donkey I am. I do not yield to blind fools!

Muzz

[This message was edited by RC on October 18, 2003 at 01:16 AM.]

Hi Harpo, Andy, Derry and ???

These are the only two certainties about displaying SVG:

(a) Opera is the only browser which will consistently display SVG directly. However, it displays animated SVG with sound as "one-frame unanimated" SVG with sound.

(b) I.E. and its tag-alongs will not display SVG directly on a consistent basis but will display embedded SVG including embedded animated SVG.

Someone working seriously with SVG thus needs to include Opera in their toolkit. I am (including the conclusion reached elsewhere) using Opera and FlashPeak SlimBrowser operating on XP in custom mode, IE excluded.

Muzz

WE V2 Beta

Hi Muzz,

You might want to check out the Yahoo SVG newsgroup if you have not already done so. The people who actually created the SVG spec, as well as representatives from all companies that have anything to do with SVG can be found there.

- Derry

Final words here,

It isn't just which program controls the the html, and svg settings which matters; the key to the high ground is which program controls the .xml file type (and possibly the .xsl stylesheet).

Muzz