Forum Moderators: DixonJones
This is the string I see, although I have also seen DigExt in combination with other browser;OS strings, but always MSIE {something} and Win {something}...
Looking up the string in Google and Yahoo, I have read that DigExt may mean that MSIE spits out this post-Client string when the target page has been bookmarked, but this does not seem possible, when the context that it appears sometimes is from a dynamic url, or a secure request {ie:webmail} that shouldn't or typically, wouldn't be bookmarked.
In hunting this issue down, I have found the WinRegistry key where this would be stored, and I haven't been able to make my version of MSIE spit out any other version than the one that appears in this registry key.
Is this a standard ID? and If so, what does it indicate [if anything]?
Could it be AOL's branded version of IE? I have noticed that this string commonly holds ISP tags, and sometimes hardware platform/vendor IDs. I have also tried checking to see if the WindowsMedia player kicks out such a thing...
I'm inclined to believe that AOL is using [setting] it [the proxy maybe?] but I can't verify that 4 sure.
Log crunchers out there --- What do ya say? :) cjw
[webmasterworld.com...]
As you stated in your post it should not be possibly to bookmark a webmail page, because as far as webmail goes, it's stored on the server, hence meaning you must be signed on to view it, correct? The only way I've ever been able to save an actual piece of hotmail is to do a screen capture of it. Otherwise, if you try to view it as a saved html document, it just comes up "this page temporarily unavailable."
OK, I just sent myself, via AOL, a tracked piece of mail to my Hotmail account. I went to hotmail, while logged onto AOL, and opened it. Of note, in the details where it states
"opened at apparent address of" - it gives a different AOL account of mine for which I am not currently logged on. Hmmm......
OK, next thing, I forwarded the mail to another AOL account of mine, and then logged off. I proceeded to log back on, via my laptop, which has a different platform, and see what details I get for that. I also attempted to save the page, via favorites, to be viewed offline, to see if the tracking would pick that up either. Here is what happened with that:
Guess what? I DID allow me to save the page and view it offline, which surprised me. BUT, for all the tracking and sending, and opening and saving that I did, on two different computers, NONE of the tracking details had DigExt in them. Go figure!
ANything else I can do from my end to try to solve this?
I'm still inclined to believe that it is static and has no other significance... that part of the string is considered arbitrary anyway, and it's presence or absence is probably not a cause for concern. In my Apache logs, it appears just as any other string, and a client displaying this string, displays it consisetntly throughout a session, in that it appears on ALL requests from a particular IP, immages, html, cgi, js... ALL...
As far as offline reading of web mail is concerned... If you set the "make available offline" tag on a page that requires authentication, MSIE will "remember" and authenticate in the background... I have found that with respect to HotMail and MSN .NET messenger, it uses a similar approach, making an http request to check inbox status. I don't know what browser string it would display, but this could be your culprit...
I think the javascript on the HotMail page makes it difficult to simply save to disk, since the javascript will run even if the file is launched from disk.... "print-friendly" versions are easier to save to disk [cut-and pasting the part you want will work], but you may still have to edit out javascript code to make the page viewable in a browser. cjw
Mike
