Please note that this page will be updated regularly with new information about the "Java Plug-In" issue.
As a result, you should visit this page prior to installing the Internet Explorer cumulative security update from Microsoft issued April 11th, 2006.
Installing the April Internet Explorer cumulative security updates from Microsoft may cause the browser
to exit prematurely when loading Java applets. As described by Microsoft, after the Internet Explorer update
is installed, all plug-ins will be viewable but inactive on page load, and the plug-in must be clicked in order to activate it. This issue does not corrupt data, but may impact productive utilization of the software.
This issue affects all releases of Windchill and Windchill-based solutions, including Windchill PDMLink, Windchill ProjectLink, Windchill Foundation & PDM, Windchill DynamicDesignLink, and Pro/INTRALINK 8.0 and higher; ProductView clients may also be affected. This issue affects the Internet Explorer browser, including the Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire embedded browser on Windows workstations. If your users accept Microsoft updates directly, or if your IT department pushes updates out to user workstations automatically, your production environment may be impacted.
Anticipated effect on PTC's web-enabled products
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Loading the Java plug-in from an updated Microsoft Internet Explorer browser may cause the browser to exit prematurely.
Windchill uses the Java plug-in to run applets. While a fix for this issue will be available from Microsoft in a future cumulative update, PTC is creating a server-side patch as a workaround to address this java plug-in issue for PTC products; click here to download this patch.
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Loading the ProductView Lite plug-in from an updated Internet Explorer browser behaves as described.
Windchill uses ProductView Lite as a plug-in for interacting with viewable data and 3D thumbnails. After the Internet Explorer update is installed, any embedded viewables such as the 3D thumbnail must be clicked before they become interactive if the "Disable Script Debugging" option is enabled for Internet Explorer.
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Launching ProductView Standard Edition plug-in from an updated Internet Explorer browser may cause the browser to become unresponsive.
After the Internet Explorer update is installed, launching ProductView Standard Edition in "embedded" mode from the DIVISION Graphics Server may cause the browser to become unresponsive. PTC is creating a server-side patch as a workaround to address this issue; click here to download this patch.
PTC recommends that you first address this Java plug-in issue, and then deploy the Internet Explorer update to user workstations. Both should be addressed as soon as possible.
Additional Resources
- Microsoft Support's KB resources page for this issue
This Microsoft Support Knowledge Base site contains some general information on the issue, as well as a downloadable "test" version of the Internet Explorer updates specific to this plug-in issue.
- Microsoft's MSDN resources page for this issue
This Microsoft Developers Network site contains information on why this change is being introduced, as well as information on what the new plug-in behavior will be and information on how to update plug-in initialization tags to work around this issue.
- Microsoft's Security Advisory page for this issue
This Microsoft Security Advisory page contains some general information on the issue as it relates to security, as well as details on a Compatibility Patch which Microsoft will release as an optional patch concurrent with the security update.
- PTC Technical support site for downloading server-side workaround patches for plug-in issues
This PTC Technical Support page contains downloadable software updates with workarounds for these plug-in issues, including a Windchill Solutions patch which contain the Java plug-in server-side workaround, and a GraphicsServer patch which contains the ProductView Standard server-side workaround.
- Frequently Asked Questions
This PTC Technical Support page contains additional questions with detailed answers regarding this issue.
Important Notice for PTC Customers
Supplemental Notice for PTC Customers
Revision History
- April 12, 2006: Added additional information on ProductView client impacts.
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