Configure ActiveX Controls

  • Article

Commonly used ActiveX controls are listed in the Axaa.adm file, which is installed with Internet Explorer Administration Kit 7 (IEAK 7) in <systemdrive>:\Program Files\Microsoft IEAK 7\policies\<processor>\<language>. As an administrator, you should assess which, if any, of these controls are appropriate to use within your organization. You can edit this file directly with a text editor to add any new controls that you want to use. By default, no controls are listed as approved. You can then configure ActiveX controls for each zone by using Internet Options.

To add approved ActiveX controls

  1. Review the ActiveX control settings in the Axaa.adm file. If you want to add more controls to this list, such as controls that your organization has created, use a text editor to edit the Axaa.adm file.

    We recommend that you make a backup copy of this file in case you want to restore the original settings.

  2. In Internet Explorer, click Tools, and then click Internet Options.

  3. On the Security tab, click the zone for which you want to manage ActiveX controls, and then click Custom Level.

  4. Scroll to Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins, and then click Administrator approved.

  5. Repeat the last two steps until you have configured all the zones you want.

  6. When you run Internet Explorer 7 Customization Wizard to create a custom package, on the Additional Settings page, click Control Management to expand its contents, and then select the check boxes for the controls you want to approve.

Note

If you are a corporate administrator and you want to add more controls after your users install Internet Explorer, you can use Additional Settings in IEAK Profile Manager to edit the settings.

Additional references

For more information about Internet Explorer 7 and ActiveX controls, see ActiveX Security: Improvements and Best Practices (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=68946).