Editing Trident (software)

{{short description|Web browser engine by Microsoft first introduced in 1997}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Trident
| logo = 
| screenshot = 
| caption = 
| other_names = MSHTML<ref name="aka trident 1"/><ref name="aka trident 2"/><ref name="aka trident 3"/>
| developer = [[Microsoft]]
| released = {{Start date and age|1997|08}}
| latest release version = 8.0
| latest release date = 
| latest preview version = 
| latest preview date = 
| discontinued = yes
| replaced_by = [[EdgeHTML]]
| programming language = [[C++]]<ref name="ie8acid2"/>
| operating system = [[Microsoft Windows]]
| platform = 
| genre = [[Browser engine]]
| license = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]]
| website = {{Official URL}}
}}
'''Trident'''<ref name="aka trident 1">{{cite web |website=New York State Office of Information Technology Services |title=A Vulnerability in Microsoft MSHTML Could Allow for Remote Code Execution |url=https://its.ny.gov/2021-108 |date=2021-09-08 |df=mdy |access-date=2023-03-14}}</ref><ref name="aka trident 2">{{cite web |website=Microsoft Support |title=Internet Explorer - Trident Engine |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/725337/internet-explorer-trident-engine.html}}</ref><ref name="aka trident 3">{{cite web |title=RIP Internet Explorer: Microsoft's iconic browser is being killed off in June |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/394581/rip-internet-explorer-microsoft-killed-june-2022.html |website=PCWorld}}</ref> (also known as '''MSHTML'''<ref name="aka trident 1"/><ref name="aka trident 2"/><ref name="only mshtml name">{{cite web |website=Microsoft Security |title=Analyzing attacks that exploit the CVE-2021-40444 MSHTML vulnerability  |date=15 September 2021 |url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2021/09/15/analyzing-attacks-that-exploit-the-mshtml-cve-2021-40444-vulnerability/}}</ref>) is a [[Proprietary software|proprietary]] [[browser engine]] for the [[Microsoft Windows]] version of [[Internet Explorer]], developed by [[Microsoft]].

MSHTML debuted with the release of [[Internet Explorer 4]] in 1997. For versions [[Internet Explorer 7|7]] and [[Internet Explorer 8|8]] of Internet Explorer, Microsoft made significant changes to MSHTML's [[layout (computing)|layout]] capabilities to improve compliance with [[Web standards]] and add support for new technologies.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/ie/details-on-our-css-changes-for-ie7 |title=Details on our CSS changes for IE7 |department=IEBlog |website=[[Microsoft Docs]] |date=2006-08-22 |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/ie/overview-of-platform-improvements-in-ie8-rc1 |title=Overview of Platform Improvements in IE8 RC1 |department=IEBlog |website=[[Microsoft Docs]] |date=2009-01-29 |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/ie/microsofts-interoperability-principles-and-ie8 |title=Microsoft's Interoperability Principles and IE8 |department=IEBlog |website=[[Microsoft Docs]] |date=2008-03-03 |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref>

MSHTML will continue to receive security updates<ref>{{cite web |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/faq/internet-explorer-microsoft-edge |title=Lifecycle FAQ - Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge |department=Microsoft Lifecycle Policy |website=[[Microsoft Docs]] |date=2021-11-03 |access-date=2022-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613224114/https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/faq/internet-explorer-microsoft-edge |archive-date=2022-06-13 |url-status=live|quote=Microsoft is committed to supporting Internet Explorer mode in Microsoft Edge through at least 2029, on supported operating systems.}}</ref> for the IE mode of [[Microsoft Edge]] until at least 2029. However, support for new Web standards will not be added.

==Use in software development==
MSHTML was designed as a [[Component-based software engineering|software component]] to allow [[software developer]]s to easily add web browsing functionality to their own applications. It presents a [[Component Object Model|COM]] interface for accessing and editing web pages in any COM-supported environment, like [[C++]] and [[.NET Framework|.NET]]. For instance, a web browser control can be added to a C++ program and MSHTML can then be used to access the page currently displayed in the web browser and retrieve element values. Events from the web browser control can also be captured. MSHTML functionality becomes available by linking the file {{mono|mshtml.dll}} to the software project.

==Release history==
{| class="wikitable" style="width: 95%; text-align: center;"
|-
! MSHTML version
! MSHTML.dll version
! [[Internet Explorer]] version
! [[Internet Explorer Mobile]] version
! Notes
|-
| rowspan="6" | No version<ref name="ie9uagent"/>
| 4.0.x
| [[Internet Explorer 4|4.0]]
| {{n/a}}
| style="text-align: left;" | Initial version.
|-
| 5.0.x
| [[Internet Explorer 5|5.0]]
| {{n/a}}
| style="text-align: left;" | Improved [[CSS]] 1 support and had sweeping changes in CSS 2 rendering.
|-
| 5.5.x
| [[Internet Explorer 5.5|5.5]]
| {{n/a}}
| style="text-align: left;" | Corrected issues with CSS handling.
|-
| 6.0.x
| [[Internet Explorer 6|6.0]]
| {{n/a}}
| style="text-align: left;" | Corrected the [[Internet Explorer box model bug|box model]] and added [[quirks mode]] with [[Document Type Definition|DTD]] switching.
|-
| 7.0.x
| [[Internet Explorer 7|7.0]]
| {{n/a}}
| style="text-align: left;" | Fixed many CSS rendering issues and added partial [[Portable Network Graphics|PNG]] alpha support.
|-
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| [[Internet Explorer Mobile#Internet Explorer Mobile 6|6.0]]
| style="text-align: left;" | IEMobile 6 combines many features of IE 6, 7, and 8.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/155838/msft_mobile_browser.html |title=Microsoft Tackles the Mobile Browser |last=Cox |first=John |date=2008-12-21 |website=[[PC World]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129132739/https://www.pcworld.com/article/155838/msft_mobile_browser.html |archive-date=2021-01-29}}</ref>
|-
| 3.1<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.neowin.net/news/windows-phone-7-browser-is-based-on-internet-explorer-7/ |title=Windows Phone 7 browser is based on Internet Explorer 7 |last=Warren |first=Tom |date=2010-03-15 |website=[[Neowin]] |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/iemobile/ladies-and-gentlemen-please-welcome-the-ie-mobile-user-agent-string |title=Ladies and Gentlemen, Please Welcome... the IE Mobile User Agent String! |department=IE for Windows Phone Team Weblog |website=[[Microsoft Docs]] |date=2010-03-25 |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref>
| 7.0
| {{n/a}}
| [[Internet Explorer Mobile#Internet Explorer Mobile 7|7.0]]
| style="text-align: left;" | Second port on a mobile system of MSHTML. IE Mobile version for [[Windows Phone 7]].
|-
| 4.0<ref>{{citation |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/ie/the-internet-explorer-8-user-agent-string-updated-edition |title=The Internet Explorer 8 User-Agent String (Updated Edition) |department=IEBlog |website=[[Microsoft Docs]] |date=2009-01-09 |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref>
| 8.0.x
| [[Internet Explorer 8|8.0]]
| {{n/a}}
| style="text-align: left;" | First version to pass the [[Acid 2 test]].<ref name="ie8acid2">{{citation |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/ie/internet-explorer-8-and-acid2-a-milestone |title=Internet Explorer 8 and Acid2: A Milestone |department=IEBlog |website=[[Microsoft Docs]] |date=2007-12-19 |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref> Added full support for CSS 2.1.<ref name="CSS_Compatibility" />
|-
| 5.0<ref name="ie9uagent">{{citation |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/ie/introducing-ie9s-user-agent-string |title=Introducing IE9's User Agent String |department=IEBlog |website=[[Microsoft Docs]] |date=2010-03-23 |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref>
| 9.0.x
| [[Internet Explorer 9|9.0]]
| [[Internet Explorer Mobile#Internet Explorer Mobile 9|9.0]]
| style="text-align: left;" | Added support for [[Scalable Vector Graphics|SVG]], [[XHTML]], [[HTML5]], and [[CSS 3]]. Added a new hardware-accelerated [[JScript]] engine named [[Chakra (JScript engine)|Chakra]]. Scores 100/100 on the [[Acid3]] test. Included with IE 9 Mobile in Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango".
|-
| 6.0<ref>{{citation |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/ie/the-ie10-user-agent-string |title=The IE10 User-Agent String |department=IEBlog |website=[[Microsoft Docs]] |date=2011-04-15 |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref>
| 10.0.x
| [[Internet Explorer 10|10.0]]
| [[Internet Explorer Mobile#Internet Explorer Mobile 10|10.0]]<ref>{{citation |last=Lipskas |first=Vygantas |date=2012-06-20 |url=http://www.favbrowser.com/windows-phone-8-internet-explorer-10-detailed/ |title=Windows Phone 8: Internet Explorer 10 Detailed |website=FavBrowser.com |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref>
| style="text-align: left;" | More support for [[CSS 3]], [[HTML5]] and [[ECMAScript#5th Edition|ES5]]. Included in [[Windows Phone 8]]. Support for [[linear gradient]] CSS transitions.<ref name=PelBox>{{citation |last=Tudor |first=Ana |date=2018-06-01 |url=https://pelbox.com/blog/the-state-of-changing-gradients-with-css-transitions-and-animations/ |title=The State of Changing Gradients with CSS Transitions and Animations |department=blog |website=Pelbox Solutions |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref>
|-
| 7.0
| 11.0.x
| [[Internet Explorer 11|11.0]]
| [[Internet Explorer Mobile#Internet Explorer Mobile|11.0]]
| style="text-align: left;" | Support for [[WebGL]] and [[SPDY]]. Improved support for HTML5.<ref>{{citation |last=Anthony |first=Sebastian |date=2013-06-26 |url=https://www.extremetech.com/computing/159779-windows-8-1-and-internet-explorer-11-will-support-webgl-spdy-but-no-webrtc |title=Windows 8.1 and Internet Explorer 11 will support WebGL, SPDY, but no WebRTC |department=Computing |website=[[ExtremeTech]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref> Speed improvement.<ref>{{citation |url=https://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/internet-explorer-11-for-windows-7-launched-brings-improved-rendering-speed-443239 |title=Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7 launched: Brings improved rendering, speed |department=Internet News |website=Gadgets 360|publisher=[[NDTV]] |date=2013-11-08 |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref> Included in [[Windows Phone 8.1]].
|}

==Use cases==
All versions of [[Internet Explorer]] for Windows from 4.0 onwards use MSHTML, and it is also used by various other [[web browser]]s and software components (see [[Internet Explorer shell]]s). In [[Windows 98]], [[Windows Me]], and [[Windows 2000]], it is also used for the Windows file manager/shell, [[Windows Explorer]].<ref name="windows_explorer">{{cite web |url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/165695 |title=How to Add or Remove Windows Desktop Update |website=Microsoft Support |id=KB165695 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320035722/https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/165695 |archive-date=2016-03-20}}</ref> The Add/Remove Programs tool in Windows 2000 uses MSHTML to render the list of installed programs,<ref name="add_remove_2000">{{cite web |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-US/troubleshoot/windows-client/application-management/add-remove-programs-displays-programs-incorrectly |title=Add/Remove Programs tool displays installed programs incorrectly |department=Troubleshoot |website=[[Microsoft Docs]] |date=23 September 2021 |id=KB266668 |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref> and in Windows XP it is also used for the User Accounts Control Panel, which is an [[HTML Application]].<ref name="user_accounts_xp">{{cite web |url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/886617 |title="Internet Explorer Script Error" error message when you click User Accounts in Control Panel many times in quick succession on a Windows XP-based computer |website=Microsoft Support |id=KB886617 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319033605/https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/886617 |archive-date=2016-03-19}}</ref> MSHTML, however, was not used by [[Internet Explorer for Mac]] (which used [[Tasman (browser engine)|Tasman]] starting with version 5.0), nor by the early versions of [[Internet Explorer Mobile]].

Some other MSHTML-based applications include:
*[[AOL Explorer]], a web browser
*[[AOL Instant Messenger]] 6.x, which used MSHTML to render conversation and profile windows, and advertisement panels
*[[EA Link]], incompatible with MSHTML as of Internet Explorer 7 RC2
*Flashpoint Secure Player, uses MSHTML to run [[ActiveX]] based web games
*[[Google Talk]], which used MSHTML to render chat windows and profile cards
*[[GreenBrowser]], which is also presented at the [[BrowserChoice.eu]] page
*[[IE Tab]], a browser add-on used to render pages with MSHTML user interface (originally available for both Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome, now only for the latter)
*[[Impulse (content delivery)]], uses MSHTML to render "Explore" page, as well as several of the "Community" pages
*[[LimeWire]], which renders the page "New@Lime"
*[[Lunascape (web browser)|Lunascape]], developed by Lunascape Corporation
*[[Maxthon]], which used the MSHTML engine while adding features not built into IE7
*[[MediaBrowser]], customized browsers, especially for [[Nintendo]]
*MenuBox, a web browser
*[[Microsoft Compiled HTML Help]]
* Microsoft [[Encarta]] and related products
*[[Microsoft InfoPath]], a forms application
*[[Microsoft Outlook]], which uses MSHTML to render HTML Messages (prior to Outlook 2007) and the "Outlook Today" screen
* Microsoft [[Outlook Express]], which uses MSHTML to render HTML Messages
* Microsoft [[Visual InterDev]] 6 uses MSHTML in editing mode as visual HTML designer
* Microsoft [[Visual Studio]] 2002-2005 uses MSHTML in editing mode to provide visual ASP.NET/HTML designer
* Microsoft [[Visual Studio]] and [[Visual Basic]] to render the WebBrowser control
*[[MSN Messenger]], which used it to produce [[Adobe Flash|Flash]]-based "winks" and games, and for all advertisements shown in the advertisement banner
*[[NeoPlanet]], a web browser
*[[NetCaptor]], a web browser
*[[Netscape Browser]] (Netscape 8), which used MSHTML to render web pages in IE mode
*[[Pyjs]], a python Widget set Toolkit. Embedding IWebBrowser2 as an Active-X component and accessing the COM interface, Pyjs uses MSHTML for the Desktop version, through the python Win32 "comtypes" library.
*[[RealNetworks]] [[RealPlayer]], a multimedia player app
*[[Sleipnir (web browser)|Sleipnir]], a web browser
*[[SlimBrowser]], a web browser
*[[Skype]], software for [[VoIP]] that renders HTML data with MSHTML
*[[Tencent Traveler]], a web browser
*[[Valve Corporation|Valve]]'s [[Steam (service)|Steam]] client, previous versions of which used MSHTML to render the "Store", "Update News" and "Community" sections as well as the Steam in-game browser and [[motd (Unix)|MOTD]] screens in Valve games. The Steam client was updated to use [[WebKit]] instead of MSHTML for these features. Then was updated further to use the [[Chromium Embedded Framework]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Chromium Embedded Framework |url=https://developer.valvesoftware.com/w/index.php?title=Chromium_Embedded_Framework&oldid=169218#In_relation_to_Valve |website=developer.valvesoftware.com. Last edited on 25 June 2012 |access-date=9 April 2023}}</ref>
*[[Windows Live Writer]], which uses MSHTML for its editor
*[[Windows Media Player]], which uses MSHTML to render the "Media Information" pages
*[[WinRAR]], a [[Data compression|decompression]] program
*[[360 Secure Browser]], a web browser in China
*[[Baidu Browser]], a web browser in China, that also had a proxy for some websites

==Standards compliance==
Current versions of MSHTML, as of [[Internet Explorer 9]], have introduced support for CSS 3, HTML5, and SVG, as well as other modern web standards. Web standards compliance was gradually improved with the evolution of MSHTML. Although each version of IE has improved standards support, including the introduction of a "standards-compliant mode" in [[Internet Explorer 6|version 6]], the core standards that are used to build web pages (HTML and CSS) were sometimes implemented in an incomplete fashion. For example, there was no support for the <code><nowiki><abbr></nowiki></code> element which is part of the HTML 4.01 standard prior to IE 8. There were also some CSS attributes missing from MSHTML, like min-height, etc. as of Internet Explorer 6. As of [[Internet Explorer 8]] CSS 2.1 is fully supported as well as some CSS 3.0 attributes.<ref name="CSS_Compatibility">{{cite web |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions//cc351024(v=vs.85) |title=CSS Compatibility and Internet Explorer |website=[[Microsoft Docs]] |date=2011-03-09 |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref> This lack of standards compliance has been known to cause rendering bugs and lack of support for modern web technologies, which often increases development time for web pages.<ref>{{cite web |last=Shah |first=Anup |date=2007-12-14 |url=https://www.onenaught.com/posts/44/microsofts-internet-explorer-slows-down-web-development |title=Microsoft's Internet Explorer Slows Down Web Development |website=onenaught.com |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref> Still, HTML rendering differences between standards-compliant browsers are not yet completely resolved.

==Microsoft alternatives==
Apart from MSHTML, Microsoft also has and uses several other layout engines. One of them, known as [[Tasman (browser engine)|Tasman]], was used in [[Internet Explorer 5]] for Mac. Development of Internet Explorer for Mac was halted in roughly 2003, but development of Tasman continued to a limited extent, and was later included in [[Microsoft Office 2004|Office 2004 for Mac]]. [[Microsoft Office for Mac 2011|Office for Mac 2011]] uses the open source [[WebKit]] engine. Microsoft's now defunct web design product, [[Microsoft Expression Web|Expression Web]], as well as [[Visual Studio]] 2008 and later, do not use Internet Explorer's MSHTML engine, but rather a different engine.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mauceri |first=Rob |date=2007-04-11 |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/sharepointdesigner/office-live-and-sharepoint |title=Office Live and SharePoint |department=Microsoft SharePoint Designer Team Blog |website=[[Microsoft Docs]] |access-date=2022-01-01 |quote=SharePoint Designer doesn't use Trident. SharePoint Designer, Expression Web, and the next version of Visual Studio's Visual Web Designer (code name Orcas) all use the same standards-based web design component. This component was developed jointly by the three product teams for high fidelity rendering of web standards like CSS, XHTML, as well as ASP.net.}}</ref>

In 2014, MSHTML was [[fork (software development)|forked]] to create the engine [[EdgeHTML]] for [[Microsoft Edge Legacy|Microsoft Edge [Legacy]]] on [[Windows 10]]. The new engine is "designed for interoperability with the modern web" and deprecates or removes a number of legacy components and behaviors, including document modes, ensuring that pure, standards-compliant HTML will render properly in browsers without the need for special considerations by web developers.<ref name=ieblog-edge>{{cite web |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/ie/living-on-the-edge-our-next-step-in-helping-the-web-just-work |title=Living on the Edge – our next step in helping the web just work |department=IEBlog |website=[[Microsoft Docs]] |date=2014-11-11 |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref><ref name=ieblog-spartan>{{cite web |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/ie/project-spartan-and-the-windows-10-january-preview-build |title=Project Spartan and the Windows 10 January Preview Build |department=IEBlog |website=[[Microsoft Docs]] |date=2015-01-22 |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref> This resulted in a completely new browser called Microsoft Edge (later referred to as "Microsoft Edge ''Legacy''",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/announcements/m365-ie11-microsoft-edge-legacy |title=Microsoft 365 apps and services to end support for IE 11; End of support coming to the legacy version of Microsoft Edge |department=Microsoft Lifecycle Policy |website=[[Microsoft Docs]] |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref> with a flat blue "e" icon) which replaced [[Internet Explorer]] as Windows' stock browser and became the base of Microsoft's web related services, until its replacement with a [[Blink (browser engine)|Blink]] / [[Chromium (web browser)|Chromium]]<ref>{{citation |url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/download-the-new-microsoft-edge-based-on-chromium-0f4a3dd7-55df-60f5-739f-00010dba52cf |title=Download the new Microsoft Edge based on Chromium |website=Microsoft Support |id=KB4501095 |access-date=2022-01-01 |quote=The new Microsoft Edge is based on Chromium and was released on January 15, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Belfiore |first=Joe |date=2020-01-15 |url=https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2020/01/15/new-year-new-browser-the-new-microsoft-edge-is-out-of-preview-and-now-available-for-download/ |title=New year, new browser – The new Microsoft Edge is out of preview and now available for download |website=Windows Blog |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref>-based browser, also called [[Microsoft Edge]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Warren |first=Tom |date=2020-01-15 |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/15/21066767/microsoft-edge-chromium-new-browser-windows-mac-download-os |title=Microsoft's new Edge Chromium browser launches on Windows and macOS |work=[[The Verge]] |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hollister |first=Sean |date=2020-07-02 |url=https://www.theverge.com/21310611/microsoft-edge-browser-forced-update-chromium-editorial |title=With Edge, Microsoft's forced Windows updates just sank to a new low |work=[[The Verge]] |access-date=2022-01-01}}</ref> (with a brand new wave-like icon) in late 2020.

==See also==
*[[Comparison of browser engines]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}

{{Web browser engines}}
{{Microsoft APIs}}
{{Internet Explorer}}

[[Category:Internet Explorer]]
[[Category:Browser engines]]