The final “released” version of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) contains a bug which affects the PaperVision Enterprise document viewer, workflow viewer, and administrative ActiveX controls, in which the browser window appears to lock up, but is actually disabled. During the beta and release-candidates (including the final release candidate from February 2011) of IE9, Digitech Systems’ QA team had diligently verified that all ActiveX controls worked properly with the new version of the browser. However, between the February Release Candidate and the March release, an IE9 bug was introduced which caused the above listed problem. This problem is not limited to the PaperVision Enterprise ActiveX controls, but appears to affect any ActiveX control that uses modal forms (dialog boxes), thereby affecting thousands of applications.

Microsoft is fully aware of the issue and has verified that they do, in fact, have a bug which is affecting numerous customers. In fact, although we opened a case when we identified the issue on March 29, Microsoft had been aware of the bug since March 21, 2011. The case is currently assigned to a Microsoft developer to investigate a fix, and has been given the highest priority that a bug can be given within Microsoft (Severity 1). As of the posting of this article, Microsoft has not provided a release date for a public (or private) hot fix to address the issue. As updated information becomes available, we will update this article to reflect that.

In the meantime, Microsoft has recommended a temporary work-around which involves adding a registry key. You should always backup the registry prior to making any changes.

There are two methods of adding the registry key recommended by Microsoft as a temporary work-around to the bug. The first, and easiest, method simply requires obtaining a file which creates the registry entry automatically (assuming you have local security permissions to do so):

1. Visit http://download.digitechsystems.com/download/DetourDialog.zip and download the file.
2. Once the file has downloaded, open the file.
3. Within the DetourDialog.zip file is a DetourDialog.reg file. Double-click on the DetourDialog.reg file to run it.
4. You will be prompted by the User Account Control to ensure that you want to allow the Registry Editor to make changes to your computer. Select Yes.
5. You will be prompted with a warning to ensure you want to continue. Select Yes.

You should be prompted with a message indicating that the key and value were successfully added to the registry.

The second method of adding the registry key is a bit more complicated as the key is being added manually. Once again, you should always backup the registry before making any changes.

1. Select Start, then Run. Enter regedit and select OK.
2. You will be prompted by the User Account Control to ensure that you want to allow the Registry Editor to make changes to your computer. Select Yes.
3. Within the Registry Editor, expand HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerNew Windows
4. Right click on New Windows and select New, thenString Value.
5. Enter the name “DetourDialogs” (without the double quotes or any spaces) for the name and hit Enter.
6. Right click the newly created DetourDialogs key and choose Modify.
7. Set the Value data to “no” (without any double quotes) and click OK.

The key should resemble the above screenshot.

Regardless of how the key is created, once the key has been added, you should be able to launch Internet Explorer, login to PaperVision Enterprise, and all functions should work as expected.