Client Browser Support

Supported Browsers

ExtraView for this release is certified to support the following browsers.

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer is supported using versions 9, 10, 11
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Mozilla Firefox is supported using version 25 and greater
  • Apple Safari (on Macintosh only) is supported, using version 5.1 or greater
  • Google Chrome is supported, using version 30 or greater.

These browsers are supported on the following platforms (where available) – Windows 8.1, 10.0, Apple Macintosh, and Linux. The exception is Apple Safari which is not supported on Microsoft Windows platforms.

Screen Resolution

The resolution of the monitor or screen on which users should use ExtraView should be a minimum of 1024 x 768 pixels. While ExtraView will work at lower resolutions than this, users may have to scroll up, down and sideways more than they would like. The administrator can make decisions in the design phase that will affect this. For example, the settings in the style sheets that control the small, medium and large font sizes can be tailored, as can the number of columns and rows that appear on screen layouts. If the users are utilizing the Workspace feature, the recommendation is for a minimum screen resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels. The recommendation is that administrators should design their layouts to fit within a resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels. This covers the widest majority of monitors that users own.

Cookies in the Browser

Most browsers have cookies turned on as a default setting and this is what ExtraView expects. If they are not turned on, ExtraView will warn the user that cookies are not turned on, and will not function until they are turned on. ExtraView only uses session cookies, and no cookie or other information is ever stored within the client browser after the ExtraView session is complete.

JavaScript in the Browser

JavaScript must be turned on within the client browser.

Java in the Browser

This is an optional component that is only needed for the Java applet file attachment upload feature.  It is not recommended that you enable the Java applet file upload utility.  If you do enable this, you require the most recent version of Java compatible with your browser.  At the moment, browser authors change this frequently, so check with your browser author.

Google has indicated that it will drop support for client-side Java within Chrome at some point in the future and beginning with Chrome v42, there is an extra step required to enable Java.  See the documentation at https://java.com/en/download/faq/chrome.xml#npapichrome.

ExtraView 10 has a new feature for file attachment uploads that does not use Java applet technology.

The Browser Back Button

Users should never use the browser’s back button within ExtraView. They should only navigate by the buttons that are displayed on ExtraView’s menus. The reason is that ExtraView must maintain integrity of its information at all times. For example, if you press the button on ExtraView’s Add Issue screen to add a new record, then pressed the back button and pressed the add button again, you will have two records inserted. Similar problems occur if the user attempts to go back to a record he has edited, or to go back to a screen that was refreshed from the server during adding or editing an issue.

The Browser Refresh Button

Similar to the Back button, the Refresh button within your browser should not be used. At the times that a Refresh is allowable, ExtraView will offer a Refresh button in its menu bar.

Character Sets within the Browser

ExtraView must work consistently with a single character set, in order that information entered within different browsers across an organization will be compatible, and can be stored on and retrieved from the ExtraView server in a consistent manner. This is less of a problem with languages based on the Roman alphabetic, but is an essential ingredient of correctly configuring a system where users use double-byte languages such as Japanese and Chinese. There is a behavior setting (see the following section) named HTTP_CHARSET that defines the character encoding for input from all browsers, for all users of the ExtraView instance. By default this is set to UTF-8, a character set that is universal and supports all languages. The recommendation is to have all users set their local browser character set to UTF-8. If this is to be changed, then it must be changed on the server and in every client browser.

Note: It is strongly recommended that HTTP_CHARSET is set to a value of UTF-8, and that all users only set their browser character set to UTF-8, so that characters will be displayed correctly and consistently.