A plugin object represents a single plugin that is registered with the browser at launch time. Access to a single plugin is normally via the navigator.plugins array. It is also common to use the navigator.mimeTypes array and associated properties to uncover whether the browser has the desired plugin installed before loading external content. Most of the properties provide scripted access to information normally found in the About Plug-ins window available from Navigator's Help menu and IE/Macintosh File Helper preferences. IE for Windows uses a different technique (involving the object element loading ActiveX controls) to determine support for playing external media.

Provides a brief plain-language description of the plugin supplied by the plugin manufacturer.

Returns the filename of the plugin binary. In Win32 versions of Navigator, the full pathname is returned; for the Mac (both Navigator and IE), only the filename is returned.

Returns the number of MIME types supported by the plugin. Don't confuse this property with the length property of the entire navigator.plugins array, which measures how many plugin objects are known to the browser.

Returns the name of the plugin assigned to it by its manufacturer. You cannot, however, be guaranteed that a plugin designed for multiple operating systems has the same name across all versions.

Instructs the browser to reregister plugins installed in the plugins directory. This allows a browser to summon a newly installed plugin without forcing the user to quit and relaunch the browser.