Avant Browser

What works

- Pages render, but clicks on links don't do anything.

- Menus can be opened (e.g., 'Alt+f' opens the 'File' menu) with keyboard shortcuts but only after the focus has been delivered to the Address bar with 'Alt+D'.

- Installs, runs, and skins can be changed.

- URLs can be entered in the Address bar and but associated pages can't be viewed (see 'Additional Comments' for the installation of the Wine Gecko plug-in).

- Options can be changed and saved.

- Unchecking the 'Compact Style' option will show the menubar (right-click the tab bar to view and uncheck this option).

What does not

- If Avant browser is started and the Wine Gecko plug-in hasn't been installed, the user will be asked to install the plug-in.  However, the download and install fail.  Start the Wine-version of IE (which will trigger the download and install of the Gecko plug-in) and then Avant (after a restart) will display webpages.

- Clicking on links (the cursor changes to a 'hand' icon, but nothing happens when a click is delivered). This functionality works in the Wine-version of IE, but not in the Avant Browser.

- When the focus is delivered to the Address bar using the keyboard shortcut, Alt+D, the 'Alt' (sometimes) becomes sticky.  So, for example, if an 'f' is typed immediately after doing an 'Alt+D', the 'File' menu may open.  Make sure the blinking caret is visible in the Address bar before typing (this can be done by hitting 'Esc' after a 'Alt+D').  If the 'Compact Style' option has been unchecked, the focus (and, therefore, the possibility that typing on the Address bar will open a menu) for the menus can be seen on the menubar.

- The 'AD Blocker' can be enabled, but it doesn't seem to work.

- The various 'Disable...' options can be checked, but don't seem to work as well.

- The floating toolbar for images or ads doesn't show up (either in the default mode or if the 'Hold [Ctrl]' option [in the Tools menu] is checked).

- The 'Edit' menu can never be viewed.

- The Yahoo search page (the main Yahoo page doesn't show up), Google, and MSN accept input and appear to search for you, but don't go anywhere.  If window focus is moved off the browser then returned (i.e., switch to another window, then back again), the ability to enter text in the search box is not possible.  The only way to be able to enter text in a textbox (once window focus has been brought back to the browser) is to resubmit the URL in the 'Address' bar -- a refresh of the browser doesn't work.

- Submitting a page to be translated (Tools->Translate) is non-operational.

- (New with Wine1.1.14 and continuing) Seems you can't PgUp/PgDn pages anymore.

Workarounds

What was not tested

I'm sure there's a lot, but I'm not going to try to test every last thing.

Hardware tested

Graphics:

• GPU:
• Driver:

Additional Comments

In order to get Avant browser to render webpages, the Wine Gecko plug-in has to have been installed beforehand. Start up the Wine-version of IE. Doing so will (after asking if the user wants to do so) download and install the Gecko plug-in. Once this is done, the Avant browser can be started and will display webpages. Failing to do this will cause Wine to ask if the user wants to download and install the Gecko plug-in (and regardless of how the user answers, the download and install will not happen) every time Avant is started.

On versions of Wine prior to 0.9.8 (you shouldn't really be doing this, use the latest version of Wine), the operation of the browser appears to work better if:

1) You start-up the browser with the following command:

WINEDLLOVERRIDES='ole32=n' wine c:\program files\avant browser\avant.exe

2) And turn-off the 'Address' bar (View->Address Bar).  Once you turn-off the 'Address' bar, the UI seems to start responding more correctly (not perfectly, but more correctly).

The AvantBrowser will install and run under a default wine config in 0.9.34, but doesn't render websites. Therefore, use following install/run procedure:

1. Install IE (ies4linux works for me).

2. Download and install the Avant Browser to the ies4linux WINEPREFIX location (default WINEPREFIX location for ies4linux is, ${HOME}/.ies4linux/ie6).

3. Change to the Avant Browser install directory (default location is 'C:\Program Files\Avant Browser).

4. Start the browser:

WINEPREFIX=${HOME}/.ies4linux/ie6 wine avant.exe

(See Note below if you're using a pre-0.9.8 Wine version)

5. The browser will start and a splash screen will be displayed. If the splash screen doesn't disappear of its own accord, continue on. Else, if everything appears to be working fine, stop here.

6. Click the 'View' toolbar menuitem and uncheck the 'Address Bar' option. If you can't see the toolbar, just click where the toolbar would be (the row just below the titlebar). Eventually, you'll hit a toolbar menuitem (the default menuitems position is about two-thirds the way along the top bar when maximized [initial size] and about halfway along the top bar when 'restored'), and the other menuitems should show. Click 'View' and uncheck the 'Address Bar' option.

7. Things should start going then.

On versions of Wine prior to 0.9.8, the operation of the browser appears to work better if:

1) You start-up the browser with the following command:

WINEDLLOVERRIDES='ole32=n' wine c:\program files\avant browser\avant.exe

2) And turn-off the 'Address' bar (View->Toolbars->Address Bar).  Once you turn-off the 'Address' bar, the UI seems to start responding more correctly (not perfectly, but more correctly).

Note: This has _not_ been tested.  It was true of AB10.1, build 41, and I'm assuming it's going to be true of AB11.0, build 25.  I'm just too lazy to try it myself. *grin*

The AvantBrowser will install and run under a default wine config in 0.9.34, but doesn't render websites. Therefore, use following install/run procedure:

1. Install IE (ies4linux works for me).

2. Download and install the Avant Browser to the ies4linux WINEPREFIX location (default WINEPREFIX location for ies4linux is, ${HOME}/.ies4linux/ie6).

3. Change to the Avant Browser install directory (default location is 'C:\Program Files\Avant Browser).

4. Start the browser:

WINEPREFIX=${HOME}/.ies4linux/ie6 wine avant.exe

(See Note below if you're using a pre-0.9.8 Wine version)

5. The browser will start and a splash screen will be displayed. If the splash screen doesn't disappear of its own accord, continue to the next step. Else, if everything appears to be working fine, stop here.

6. Click the 'View' toolbar menuitem and uncheck the 'Address Bar' option. If you can't see the toolbar, just click where the toolbar would be (the row just below the titlebar). Eventually, you'll hit a toolbar menuitem (the default menuitems position is about two-thirds the way along the top bar when maximized [initial size] and about halfway along the top bar when 'restored'), and the other menuitems should show. Click 'View' and uncheck the 'Address Bar' option.

7. Things should start going then.

On versions of Wine prior to 0.9.8, the operation of the browser appears to work better if:

1) You start-up the browser with the following command:

WINEDLLOVERRIDES='ole32=n' wine c:\program files\avant browser\avant.exe

2) And turn-off the 'Address' bar (View->Toolbars->Address Bar).  Once you turn-off the 'Address' bar, the UI seems to start responding more correctly (not perfectly, but more correctly).

Note: This has _not_ been tested.  It was true of AB10.1, build 41, and I'm assuming it's going to be true of AB11.0, build 25.  I'm just too lazy to try it myself. *grin*