Enhancing a Web Site with Advanced CSS - HTML, CSS, and Dynamic HTML - page 559

In order to bring the filter style into compliance with the syntax for CSS browser
extensions, Microsoft introduced the following -ms-filter browser extension starting
with Internet Explorer version 8:

-ms-filter: “progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft. filter ( param )”;
Note that the text of the -ms-filter browser extension is the same as the text of
the Internet Explorer filter style. For complete support across all versions of Internet
Explorer, you should include both formats, starting with the -ms-filter browser exten-
sion form for the current browsers, followed by the filter style for versions of Internet
Explorer before version 8.
Figure 8-10 shows examples of some of the Internet Explorer filters applied to a
sample image.

figure 8-10 examples of ie filters

Alpha(style=2) BasicImage(invert=1) Emboss()

Engrave() Pixelate(maxSquare=10) Wave(freq=3, strength=10)

You can also view an interactive demo of the Internet Explorer filter styles using the
demo_ie_filters.htm file in the tutorial.08/demo folder.
Internet Explorer filters can be applied only to objects that have a defined layout on
the page. This can be achieved by floating an object, specifying the object's width or
height, or placing the object using absolute or fixed positioning. In addition, page ele-
ments that are responsible for arranging their own content will always have a defined
layout; this includes objects such as tables, table cells, table rows, inline images, embed-
ded objects, and the entire page body itself.

The filter style should
be entered on a single
line with no hard returns
within the code; other-
wise, Internet Explorer will
not be able to correctly
parse the style statement.

The Shadow and DropShadow Filters
Internet Explorer supports two styles for applying shadows to objects: the Shadow filter
and the DropShadow filter. The Shadow filter has the syntax

Shadow(direction= angle , strength= value , color= color )