IE7 for Windows Vista: Protected Mode Annoyance

I like the fact that IE7 for Windows Vista will have a Protected Mode that it will run in by default for any untrusted security zone. This is actually very similar to something that I blogged about last year before installing Vista or even IE7. It just makes sense.

But, something that doesn't make sense to me at the moment is really hurting the WAF of running Vista: it seems that the Protected Mode also affects File Upload capabilities of web sites by limiting what you have access to.

You see, Tina uses the web-based GMail almost exclusively. She also does a lot of work in Microsoft Publisher, and often needs to email files to her friends. These are saved as simple flat files (i.e., TIFF or JPEG).

But, when she is in GMail, and needs to attach a file, the Open File dialog just shows empty directories. That is, unless she goes into Internet Options and turns off Protected Mode.

It very well could be that I just need to change a magic checkbox setting or something. But, there has to be a balance between running in a protected mode sandbox and allowing access to files for email attachment purposes, etc.

Has anyone else beta testing Vista come across this same issue?