Via Codeplex

Feb 27, 2009 10:27 GMT  ·  By

The IE Browser Extension Creator is a project designed to streamline the process of registering browser extensions tailored to Internet Explorer. Hosted on Microsoft's open source repository, CodePlex, the solution automates the otherwise complex tasks associated with producing the registry entries for IE extensions. And because it is an open source project, the source code for the IE Browser Extension Creator is now up for grabs.

“For the first time, anyone can easily register their Internet Explorer Browser Extension. This program automatically creates all necessary registry entries based on a few simple questions. All assemblies were/are created with Visual Basic 2008 and the .Net Framework 3.5. The Module used to convert the keys to a Visual Studio readable string which will be used by the final wizard to publish the keys to a visual studio setup project,” reads the documentation accompanying the download on CodePlex.

Earlier this week, the first Alpha version of the IE Browser Extension Creator went live on CodePlex. At this point in time, only the source code of the solution is available for download, but the promise is that the full wizard will be offered “soon.”

“OK, but why should I use this program? Good question, simply put, this program with only a few clicks, can compile all the necessary registry entries to allow Internet Explorer to load your browser extension. It is possible to do this yourself. However, this can be very time consuming and confusing,” the description of the IE Browser Extension Creator adds.

Via browser extensions, developers are able to change the default graphical user interface of Internet Explorer with additional elements designed to allow users to easily access enhancements designed to run on top of the browser. Browser extensions were initially introduced for Internet Explorer with IE4.