Windows XP SP 2 Security Settings Internet Zone & Previewing Web Pages Locally with Internet Explorer
When Service Pack 2 was released it significantly changed the way Internet Explorer handled web pages locally. As a result many web designers who were used to previewing pages locally before uploading them to their website were getting security warnings about "active X controls" on pages that did not have any active x components. This error message is a bit misleading since the real issue is any sort of scripting, even something as harmless as a JavaScript rollover would trigger the error.
When I first saw this issue my first thought was to find a way to change the settings. After spending more time that I had anticipated exploring the new security settings it turned out to be a checkbox to allow active content to run on my local machine. Since this is a common issue I've seen appear on many web design mail lists I put together the following screenshots to illustrate what needs to be changed to allow you to test pages locally when there is javascript on the page.
Changes to Internet Explorer in SP 2
Default settings for Internet Security Zone - you do not need to make any changes to this section
Full Security Settings Options - this is the screen you get when you go to the Security
Changes to the Advanced tab - note the arrows for the new boxes.
Changes to the Advanced tab - note the arrows for the new boxes.
