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Download the Zeepe SDK

The Zeepe 7.2 SDK contains the redistributable Zeepe framework (including ScriptX 7), the Zeepe Programmers' Guide compiled as an .exe using the Zeepe Application Packager (also included) and sources to various samples and utility code.

If you have downloaded a previous version of the SDK, please note the latest SDK will not overwrite previous versions; the latest SDK is installed in its own directory. To remove any old SDK, please use Control Panel|Add/Remove Programs.

The current version of the Zeepe framework is 7,2,6,298.

If you would like to register with us and receive notifications of updates, please complete the following form - you will receive an email upon succesful registration with details on where to obtain the SDK.

Alternatively, you may directly download Zeepe SDK 7,2,6,298

Support

We provide a number of routes for support of the Zeepe framework and welcome feedback with your thoughts or wishes for improvement. As can be seen below, Zeepe is actively developed in response to customer requests.

• Forums. The Zeepe newsgroup provides a space for discussion of problems and ideas.
• Contact support. Full and priority email support is provided to our licensees, but we are always willing to help.

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We continually strive to improve Zeepe as a result of feedback from our customers:

What's new in Zeepe 7.2.6

This release is fully compatible with Vista and IE 7.

A number of other problems have been resolved - the SDK documentation has the details.

HTA Support

The Microsoft <HTA:Application /> element from Microsoft HTML Application files (.hta) is supported and provides an alternative to window styles in a <zeepe:window /> element. The element is supported to provide simple compatibility with HTA files; a file can simply be renamed and run. With just the addition of a suitable license, an HTA application can be run directly from a web site.

New window style attributes

A number of new style attributes have been added; border, borderStyle, innerBorder, sysmenu, scroll, scrollflat, selection and windowstate.

Dialogs

Within the Zeepe host, when a <zeepe:window /> element is present and Zeepe Application permission, both window.showModalDialog() and window.showModelessDialog() are implemented by Zeepe to provide dialogs without security adornments such as url bars and status bars. For modal dialogs, there is no difference between zpmObject.ShowHTMLDialog() and window.showModalDialog().

Zeepe:browser - Top Level Browser control.

• Combined security mode (_hostFlags attribute value 64) of the Zeepe:browser element has been improved to include the outer host license is automatically inherited if the content displayed is covered by the license (e.g. same domain).
• As for the Zeepe host window, the zeepe: namespace is declared to the Zeepe:browser element so that license, window, scriptx and maxipt elements can be used without requiring a namespace implementation declaration (as is required in IE).

The changes improve the utility of zeepe:browser when moving Internet Explorer based apps into Zeepe.

ScriptX 7

• When running with the IE 7 components installed, ScriptX 7 defaults to using a print template with the same features as the IE 7 template - in particular enhanced print preview and automatic scale to fit printing.
• An IE 7 style template can be specified when IE 5.5 or later components are installed.
• A frame can be previewed - does not require MaxiPT.
• SetPreviewZoom() added to provide control over the zoom factor used on print preview.
• SetPrintScale() added to provide control over the scaling used when printing - IE 7 style template only.

Windows Vista 'Per-user' installs

With the advent of User Account Control, installation of applications on Windows Vista has become more secure with prompts for administrator credentials - either confirmation of operation when logged in with an administrator account or provision of credentials when running as standard user. By default, installs using installation scripts (MSIs) built for prior operating systems will perform a 'per-machine' install.

To provide for 'per-user' installs on Vista, additional re-distributable MSIs for Zeepe and ScriptX 7 are provided; ZeepeUser.msi  and ScriptXUser.msi. These installers will install 'per-user' whether or not the user is an administrator and will not display elevation prompts/dialogs.

It should be noted that for the use of ScriptX 7 within Internet Explorer, the user will then be required to approve the use of the controls. This will occur the first time the controls are used.

What's new in Zeepe 7.2.5

This release fixes a number of problems that have arisen with the 7.2.4 release and adds a new event - the SDK documentation has the details.

This release is required in order to resolve problems with accepting new licenses.

What's new in Zeepe 7.2.4

This release is compatible with Microsoft Windows Update KB912812. When this update is installed,  previous releases of the Zeepe framework will not be able to use the zeepe:browser element. This release is also compatible with Internet Explorer 7 Beta and Vista CTP February 2006.

A number of other problems have been resolved - the SDK documentation has the details.

ScriptX 7

Cab and msi files are now available for installing the ScriptX 7 components rather than the whole framework.

Printing

Enhanced print templates as to be available with Internet Explorer 7 are available in this release - but for all Internet Explorer versions since, and including, 5.5.

Preview of frames (in previous versions this required MaxiPT).

Setup/Installation

Due to changes in Vista, the MeadCo Setup control is now deprecated. An Internet Component Download .cab is provided for installation of the framework (as for ScriptX 7) but the recommended installation is through download and run of the Windows Installer file (zeepe.msi) or similar installer developed with the merge modules.

What's new in Zeepe 7.2.3

A number of problems have been resolved - the SDK documentation has the details.

Window Controller

A number of new convenience properties and methods have been added for simpler scripting of the host frame window.

New properties unsecuredDataTransfer and unsecuredClipboard provide enhanced access to dag'n'drop and clipboard data - these properties require a license.

Toolbars

A number of new features have been added to improve consistency of behaviour across OS versions along with additional control. The SDK documentation has the details.

What's new in Zeepe 7.2.2

Alpha blended image backgrounds for widgets

Zeepe 7.2.2 brings first class HTML Widgets to the Windows platform; with Zeepe 7.2.2 great looking cool apps and widgets are possible:

And widgets can be delivered over the Internet, no need for users to download and install each one. See the Zeepe samples page, widgets section for this Radio Player. The BBC do not endorse this player, we do not use their original channel graphics and we are not trying to pass this off as a BBC product. But ssshhhh, but just as an excercise, we cloned their Apple Dashboard Listen Live player ...

... which looks great and behaves really nicely, with some enhancements for Windows like minimise to the tray. Since the player looks just like the BBC offering, and it isn't from the BBC, it isn't available here.

What's new in Zeepe 7.2.1

Events

A number of new events have been added to the Zeepe window controller - these events provide information on system changes such as the display (size, colour depth and theme), power management and system shutdown.

Browser

Quit() support added to element and fires the onbeforeunload event. If the current document requests an option to stop the quit through a onbeforeunload handler and the user does cancel then an error is thrown - this should be caught and the browser not closed.

Window Icon

The new attribute application on the element of a style definition specifies, when its value is "true", that the icon should be used for all subsequent Zeepe host windows created in the application. (Default value is false).

For example: <ICON application="true" path="images/app.ico" />

Pluggable protocol

The framework defines the pluggable protocol runzeepe: to enable launching of Zeepe applications from within either the Internet Explorer or Firefox browsers. Alternative protocols may now be defined.

See MS Pluggable Protocols for details of the registry settings required. For the verb, set the default value of the command key to <pathto zeepe711.exe> //oemprotocol:%1.

Printer Control

The printerControl property of the ScriptX print object returns an object providing extensive information about, and control of, a printer.

Fully branded host

The SDK contains an extended application stub (zapfstubex.exe) for the packaging of applications that may be used in place of the simple stub - with the extended stub it itself provides the custom host windows rather than the standard installation (zeepe711.exe) and therefore download windows, error boxes etc, grouped taskbar tabs etc all use the icon and description from the application. The extended stub may also be used by OEM installers to provide complete branding - in such cases they should implement their own pluggable protocol as described above.

Also note all message boxes (including script errors) from a element now use the title from the hosting window rather than "Internet Explorer".

Debugging

Two features have been added to aid debugging:

• If the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/MeadCo/Zeepe/MiniDump is a DWORD with a non-zero value then a crash mini-dump is created in the event of a crash in the Zeepe host application. Please return the mini-dump to MeadCo to help us determine the cause of the crash.
• The window.external.TraceDebug(string) method will output the given string to the Win32 API OutputDebugString(). Such output can be collected by applications such as DebugView.

What's new in Zeepe 7.2

Menus

The menu object, the <menu> element within a zeepe:menubar element has gained new methods InsertItem() and RemoveAll().

The <menuitem> element has a new attribute default.

Notification icon (taskbar tray icon)

The zeepe:notifyicon element provides complete coverage of the functionality available from the Win32 API Shell_NotifyIcon() allowing creation of an icon in the taskbar status area with tooltip, balloon tooltips, context menus, updatable icon etc etc.

Single Application Instance

The singleInstance attribute of the UI definition for a window style specifies that only a single instance of the application owning the window should be allowed. If another instance of the Zeepe application is started, the previous instance is bought to the front.

New format to replace MS HTML Help

Zeepe now provides its own compressed file format and access protocol (mc-zapf:) to replace the use of MS HTML Help format files (Zeepe publications, .zpx). The new protocol has a number of advantages:

• Files cannot easily be deconstructed (a de-compiler does not exist).
• Content cannot easily be accessed via url - only the Zeepe host can access content.
• Does not 'pollute' the users Temporary Internet Files cache.
• Can be packaged as an executable file.

To support the creation of Zeepe packages, the package builder is now included with the SDK.

Miscellaneous

• The command line used to start the Zeepe host is available as the commandLine property of the customBrowser object.
• The snaptoedge attribute of the UI definition for a window style specifies that the window should snap to the desktop/monitor edge when the window moves to within the specified distance from an edge.

What's new in Zeepe 7.1.1

Zeepe Frame Window

• When running under Windows XP SP2 full security as for Internet Explorer is enabled, e.g. Local Machine Lockdown. These features are disabled in the presence of a suitable license conferring Zeepe Application permission. Note that since Zeepe Application permission is provided by default for content opened from the local hard disk (i.e. double click a zpa file) then Local Machine Lockdown does not apply - however it does apply to content loaded from the local disk and displayed in a zeepe:browser element.
• When running under Windows XP SP2 pop-window control is entirely in the hands of the author - implement a handler for the NewWindow3 event in order to disallow pop-ups (by default they will be allowed).
• Navigations within Zeepe do not update browser history. Due to problems within the IE components supplied with Windows Server 2003, this feature will cause Zeepe to crash. When running on Windows Server 2003 set HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\MeadCo\Zeepe\History (DWORD) value to non zero.

Zeepe:browser - Top Level Browser control.

An additional value has been added to the _hostFlags attribute for the zeepe:browser element to provide control of Pop-up blocking behaviour.

Custom Installations

The SDK includes the re-distributable components and Wix based scripts for creation of a Windows Installer script (msi). The scripts provide for generating the required registry entries for 'branding' by OEMS or within an organisation of Zeepe and displayed dialogs.

What's new in Zeepe 7.1

Zeepe Frame Window

• Sends a user agent string including "Zeepe 7.1" - this is embedded within the usual IE user-agent string. This can be used by server side code to customise output. Note: the zeepe:browser web browser control to continues to send the standard IE user agent string.
• Calls to window.close() by documents displayed within the Zeepe Frame Window closes the window without the IE query (i.e. acts as HTA).

Zeepe Window Controller.

A number of features have been added to the Zeepe Window controller:

Attributes

Attribute	Value
browserRestart	If specified as true, then if the page is displayed in a browser other than the Zeepe Custom Host, the page will be restarted as a Zeepe application.

Methods

UpdateUI	Call this method if a user interface element is updated (for example, the disabled state of a toolbar button) but the update does not reflect on screen. Zeepe normally updates display state in the background, but on rare occasions the update may not reflect quickly enough - this method forces the update.
SpecialFolder	Retrieves the full path of the requested special folder. Zeepe application permission is required.

Properties

licenseManager	Retrieves the Security Manager object for the document (which may have been inherited from a previous document displayed in the host).
browserHistory	Retrieves the 'Travel Log' for a browser; typically a <zeepe:browser> element, but may be the Zeepe Host browser. The Travel Log lists the backwards or forwards navigations available from the current point.

Menubar User Interface Element

• Multiple menubars could not be displayed within a single window. Within Zeepe 7.1 multiple menubars can be declared (for example within zeepe:rebar elements) but only a single menubar can be active at any time. The <zeepe:menubar> element has a new property active, which defaults to true. Declare as false for all menubars other than the first to be displayed and flip the property value as approriate to deactivate/activate menubars.
• The LoadMenu() method will now replace a menu. To declare a complete menu, a top level element must be declared in the passed XML.

Dialogs

The Zeepe Window Controller method ShowHTMLDialog() now supports cascading dialogs. The dialog shown by ShowHTMLDialog() does not support the use of the Zeepe User Interface elements or the Zeepe Window Controller but does support the method ShowHTMLDialog() on the DHTML window.external object.

A method MessageBox() is provided on the DHTML window.external object, this method provides extended alert style dialogs.

MaxiPT

MaxiPT is a set of custom print templates that provide advanced control of the printing process including the ability to preview individual frames and provide page headers/footers that include HTML.  To declare MaxiPT on a document within Zeepe, use <zeepe:maxipt id="maxipt" />.