Browser Compatibility and Hints
You may access the
Media Catalog Search
from here.
You may access the
Order Form
from here.
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Recommended Browser Versions and Setup
We recommend the following browser versions:
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.02 or better, or
Netscape 3.0 or better. Additionally, JavaScript
should be enabled and cookies supported and enabled.
If you are using a different browser (or have JavaScript turned
off) some of the non-essential order form features will not be available:
-
Automatic placement of the cursor in the field you are most
likely to modify when the order form is displayed.
- Automatic login to the Medianet Options page when
accessed via the button on the Order Form.
More features using JavaScript functionality are likely to be added
in the future. We do though intend to support earlier versions of
Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer as long as they
are widely used in our client base.
If you are using a browser that does not support cookies (or have
cookies turned off) the order form will not function. In this case
you will notice that you are asked
to log in every time you return to the order form. For more
information on cookies, see the section on Internet Security in
Microsoft's Web
Tutorial.
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Problems with early versions of Netscape on older Macintosh computers
There have been some problems with accessing the online order form
using older Netscape browsers (1.x and 2.x) on older Mac platforms.
One problem was the users encountered JavaScript errors. In
Medianet Web 3.2 we
added exception code to our CGI scripts to suppress the JavaScript for
early Web Browsers so once 3.2 or better is installed on such sites,
users will no longer see the warning. See above
Recommended Browser Versions and Setup
for details on JavaScript.
Other sites with these early versions of Netscape have reported
Netscape freezing or crashing their computers, or other problems with
loading the order form web page. These problems seem to be
environment-specific: they do not occur at every site using these
versions of Netscape. Because of this, it is difficult to
determine the cause.
From an Internet search we have found that earlier versions of
Netscape on Macintosh computers have been known to have trouble
loading certain sites, especially feature rich sites. Some of the
suggested solutions are:
-
Ensure the preferred memory allocation for Netscape is at least
6000. If problems persist, try 8000. This can be done via
Netscape's file menu: choose file then get info.
-
Apple also suggests increasing the size of the Memory Control
Panel's disk cache from 256K to 1024K.
If problems persist there is a very good FAQ on Netscape on the MAC at:
If you find any magic bullets that we should include in our hints,
please pass them on to us.
Upgrading to a more recent version of Netscape may also solve any
problems with the online order form. Upgrading to the latest version
of Netscape requires System 7.6.1 or later, BUT earlier versions
(3.x) are also available for Mac's with older operating systems.
Netscape browsers are available for download at
www.netscape.com:
- Choose the Download link at the top of the page
- Choose Netscape Browsers from the Download box.
- Click on the appropriate version for Netscape 4.x,
or choose Netscape Product Archive in the
Download Netscape Browsers and Accessories section, for
older versions of Netscape.
When you encounter problems, it is important to get as much
information as possible to Dymaxion, to help us track and
isolate the cause. Please use the standard questionnaire
Medianet Web Browser
Problem Questionnaire as a guide to reporting these
types of problems.
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Specific Browser Problems
A warning box asking whether a cookie should be accepted appears.
- The order form relies on cookies to keep track of the current
state of your order. Choose Yes/Ok
on this box.
- If you do not want to see this box you must turn off the
"warn before accepting cookies" option in your browser.
- In Netscape this is accessed by
clicking on the Edit
menu and choosing Preferences.
The "warn before accepting cookies" option is in
the Advanced section of the preferences box.
- In Microsoft Internet Explorer this
is accessed by clicking on the
View menu and choosing
Options . The "warn before accepting
cookies" option is in the Advanced section.
The login page indicates that cookies are not available on my machine.
I can't press `enter' on the keyboard to submit my
username and password on the login form.
- Browsers determine whether or not to allow users to
submit a form using `enter' on the keyboard in
different ways.
- Older versions of Internet Explorer allow you to
press `enter' to submit any form.
- Netscape and Internet Explorer 4.x only allow you
to press `enter' to submit forms with only one data element
(text field/radio button/checkbox). Thus, because the
login form requires both a username and a password,
you will not be able to use `enter' on the
keyboard to submit this form if using these browsers.
You may click OK instead.
In pre 4.5 versions of Netscape, printing the order page or the
thank-you order confirmation doesn't seem to work.
- The order page is handled in a special way to ensure you do not
see dated information when you access it. Older versions of
Netscape have problems printing pages that are handled in this
way.
- Newer versions of Netscape (eg. 4.5 and up) do not have this
problem.
The date a title was added to the collection is not displayed when I
rest the pointer over the "new" icon.
- You must turn on the "ToolTips" option in your browser
to see the alternate text for an image.
- In Netscape this is accessed by
clicking on the Edit
menu and choosing Preferences.
The "Show ToolTips" option is in
the Appearance section of the preferences box.
- In Microsoft Internet Explorer ToolTips
are always enabled.
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Reporting Browser Problems
To report browser problems encountered while using the Medianet Web
modules, please use the following questionnaire:
