I'm having a brain cramp

acornwebworks · #1 (**permalink**) 03-17-2004, 11:37 AM

so what better place to come than the Break Room.

I created a property website for a client. She says that there is a hyperlink for the word "flowers" on the page and that, when you click it, you are taken to a florist website. Of course there isn't such a link on the site I created.

This has got to be related to that - and here's where the brain fart comes in - contextual linking stuff where a word could be bought and linked to a commercial site. I forget the name for this. I also forget what services/tools offer this. I want to know so that I can tell her "here's what the problem is and here's how to make it stop."

Help!

Kendall who is having a Senior Moment

paulhiles · #2 (**permalink**) 03-17-2004, 12:40 PM

Hi Kendall,

Hope you're over your 'moment'!! I think the elusive link that you describe above sounds like a MS SmartTag. The best way to check is if it's only visible on that one machine, but not on others. You can disable their use by including the following tag on your pages:
<meta name="MSSmartTagsPreventParsing" content="TRUE">

Here are a few links for you if you want to do some further reading.
Much Ado About Smart Tags: A List Apart
All My FAQs Wiki: Microsoft SmartTags
Microsoft implementing 'Smart Tags' in IE release
Internet Explorer 6 Smart Tags - Dumb Idea?
How to Disable Smart Tags

Please note that most of these articles are 2-3 years old.. I wasn't aware that Smart Tags were still an issue, but I'm sure someone here will prove otherwise! :o) Reading through the articles, it seems as though IE6 shouldn't display Smart Tags, although there may still be an issue with Office XP.

Hope that helps,

Paul

acornwebworks · #3 (**permalink**) 03-17-2004, 01:21 PM

Thanks!! That's just the information I was after. In fact, now I know how to disable it for everyone so I got a bonus! What a treasure trove for St. Paddy's Day.

Kendall - who is now off to see the parade