The Omni Group has released OmniWeb 4.2, an update to their Web browser for Mac OS X. The company also offered details on their work on OmniWeb.
OmniWeb 4.2 now supports Macromedia Shockwave for Director and PDF Browser plug-ins from Schubert-it. The new version of the browser also sports new preferences with better management for Internet and OmniWeb plug-ins, and more control over downloading files.
AppleScript access to bookmarks is now supported, and support for ICC profiles embedded in some Web-based images has also been added. A new “Send Link” function shares Web page addresses by e-mail and the “Zoomed Text Editor” simplifies text input into forms. And support for the Shared Menus OS X protocol makes OmniWeb integrate with other Internet applications. The software’s online help content has been enhanced too.
In related news, The Omni Group offered information about its work on the forthcoming OmniWeb 4.5 release, already in development. The new version of OmniWeb will incorporate functionality previously mentioned by The Omni Group as intended for a 5.0 release.
OmniWeb 4.5 will be based on Apple’s WebCore and JavaScriptCore frameworks — the KHTML-based technology that Apple has developed for its own Safari browser. This will bring enhanced support for CSS, HTML, XHTML and JavaScript to OmniWeb, according to the developer.
OmniWeb 4.5 is planned as a free upgrade for OmniWeb 4.x owners, and should be available later this quarter, according to The Omni Group. Current 4.x-licensed OmniWeb users can download the new “Sneaky Peek” 4.5 release from The Omni Group’s Web site now. It’ll run only in licensed mode — a demo is not available.