Lucid 2.1 Professional

Lucid's HTML Render Options

Both the Lucid Player (Standard & Plus) and the Lucid Builder have the option of using one of two HTML render engines.

The two options are:

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or greater.
or
Mozilla HTML Render Engine.

To use the Internet Explorer as the HTML render engine in Lucid you must first have it installed. Internet Explorer 5.0 is supplied on the Lucid Professional CD ROM or the latest version can be obtained from the Microsoft web site.

Users who don't wish to install Internet Explorer can use the Mozilla HTML Render Engine. The Mozilla Render Engine is also supplied with Lucid Professional CD ROM and is installed by default under a typical setup.

Many people have asked why have two different browser options? The answer to this is quite simple. Many people and organisations have standardised with one browser. Either Internet Explorer or Netscape. Users generally don't want two browsers installed (or are not permitted in some organisations). Supporting two options gives the user a choice.

I should point out that Mozilla and Netscape are not the same thing. The Mozilla project is based on Netscape source code but is now a browser in its own right. (To read more on the Mozilla project click here.) Lucid only ships the render engine component of Mozilla, not the full Mozilla browser. We could not do this for Internet Explorer due to Microsoft's licencing agreement.

If you do have both Internet Explorer and the Mozilla component installed, it is possible to dynamically switch between them for rendering the HTML in the Lucid Player or Builder. Users of the Lucid Builder (and even Player users) should try to keep in mind that HTML rendered in one will not necessarily look the same in the other. It's up to you as the person constructing the key to development HTML that works in both or well in one and not the other. I recommend getting the HTML to work well in both. Yes, this has been the bane of many web developers, but there are now many products on the market that will produce HTML code that will work for either. While Lucid Professional has a HTML editor (actually a DHTML editor) it is really only a "notepad" equivalent compared to many other much more powerful tools that are available that can be associated with the Lucid Builder to create your HTML content.

Another common question I am asked is... Which HTML render engine do I think is better? My opinion is Internet Explorer. Not because I have any love for Microsoft, but because it does do a better job at rendering HTML and is more fault tolerant to missing HTML tags etc. This is not to say Mozilla or Netscape are not catching up.