First hotfix for IE 7

Autodesk plans to release a patch for two products that aim to remedy compatibility problems with Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 7.

The "hotfix", or patch targeting a specific issue, will be issued for Autodesk Design Review 2007 and Autodesk DWF Viewer 7.0 later this week, said a spokeswoman for Autodesk. The applications are for viewing and printing 2D and 3D designs in the Autodesk Design Web Format (DWF).

She said: "We have been working with Microsoft and had a service pack planned to release on 7 November. We didn't think the IE 7 issue was that significant for our customers, and we thought the delay would be fine."

Some Autodesk users had complained websites that include DWF files no longer worked using IE 7. Microsoft made the IE 7 update available for download last week and plans to push it out to users of Windows XP with Service Pack 2 next month. IE 7 is the first major new version of Microsoft's web browser software in about five years.

A beta, or test, version of the Autodesk fix is available via the blog of one of the company's employees. The final version is due to be released later this week, after some more vetting, the spokeswoman said. The patch will also be included in Autodesk's service pack update, which is still slated for November, she said.

Joris Evers writes for CNET News.com