Accessing Wireless Markup Language (WML) websites using Pocket Internet Explorer

Applies To

• Handheld PC 2000

Overview

When you attempt to access a WML coded website, Pocket Internet Explorer attempts to access the WML files as a download, instead of rendering it as a web page. This article discusses how to alter the Pocket Internet Explorer MIME registration to force Pocket Internet Explorer to render WML web sites designed for WAP connections.

How-to Guide

HPC:Factor has discovered that it is possible to force Pocket Internet Explorer to render some WML page content, without requiring a WAP Browser.
In order to force Pocket Internet Explorer to read WML documents as page content, the file type must be associated with the Pocket Internet Explorer Hypertext Parser. This association registers the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) type with Pocket Internet Explorer as being a valid document.

The following steps require the use of a registry editor. For more information on obtaining a registry editor see CESDS0082.

1. Close all Pocket Internet Explorer sessions
2. Open your devices registry editor
3. Navigate through the hierarchy to:
   HKEY_CLASS_ROOT
4. Create a new Key Value named:
   .wml
5. Create a new String value in the .wml key named Default and set the value to:
   htmlfile
6. Create a second String value in the .wml key named Content Type and set the value to:
   text/html
7. Close the registry editor and soft reset your device

Once you have soft reset your Handheld PC, Pocket Internet Explorer will attempt to render WML files as valid page content.
It is important to understand that not all WML markup can be parsed by the HTML Engine of Pocket Internet Explorer, and in that there is no certainty that all WML pages will display correctly.