Predefined Protocols
Windows Internet Explorer implements various protocols that can be used to identify certain information. A protocol is a set of rules and standards that enables two or more computers to communicate.
Note 'about:' is not a protocol as it does not enable two or more computers to communicate (see earlier definition). No data is being sent to the client — the client is simply being instructed to display a certain pre-defined set of information.
Predefined Protocols
| Topic | Contents |
|---|---|
| data Protocol | Specifies a data URI, which is a resource, typically an image, embedded in the URI as opposed to one loaded from an external URL. |
| file protocol | Opens a file on a local or network drive. |
| ftp Protocol | Opens a file transfer session with the specified site address. |
| gopher Protocol | Opens a gopher session with the specified site address. |
| http Protocol | Opens a hypertext transfer session with the specified site address. |
| https Protocol | Opens a secure hypertext transfer session with the specified site address. |
| javascript Protocol | Specifies that the URL is JavaScript code. |
| mailto Protocol | Opens a client's e-mail system and begins a new email message. |
| news Protocol | Opens a newsgroup in the client's default news application. |
| res Protocol | Specifies a resource that will be obtained from a module. |
| telnet_Protocol | Opens a terminal login session with the default Telnet client. |
| view-source Protocol | Obsolete for Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and later. For earlier versions, opens a Web page in the client's default HTML editor. |
Note Some of these protocols are no longer supported by Internet Explorer.