CFS Browser Compatibility This document outlines the requirements for browsers certified by Oracle, for use with our current version of CFS. The information contained here has been consolidated from documents cited in the References Section Last updated on 01-May-2008 3rd Party Software Support Lifecycle Oracle's certification of the various third party client operating system and browsers aligns with the respective vendor's support lifecycle. Please contact the vendor if you require information on their support timelines for Operating Systems and browsers. Operating System Supported Browsers Plug-in Mac OS X MacOS X 10.4.7 or higher Safari 2.0.4 or higher JRE 1.5.0_06 and later MacOS X 10.3.9 Safari 1.3.2 or higher JRE 1.4.2_09 and later Windows XP SP2 Windows XP SP2 MSIE 7 Jinitiator 1.3.1.18 or later Windows XP SP2 MSIE 6 Jinitiator 1.3.1.18 or later Windows XP SP2 Firefox 2.0.x JInitiator 1.3.1.x Windows XP SP2 Firefox 1.5.x JInitiator 1.3.1.x Windows XP SP2 Netscape 7.2 JInitiator 1.3.1.x Page 1
Windows XP SP2 Mozilla 1.7.5 or higher JInitiator 1.3.1.x Windows XP Windows XP MSIE 6 JInitiator 1.3.1.x Windows XP Firefox 2.0.x JInitiator 1.3.1.x Windows XP Firefox 1.5.x JInitiator 1.3.1.x Windows XP Netscape 7.2 JInitiator 1.3.1.x Windows XP Mozilla 1.7.5 or higher JInitiator 1.3.1.x Windows 2000 Windows 2000 MSIE 6 JInitiator 1.3.1.x Windows 2000 Firefox 2.0.x JInitiator 1.3.1.x Windows 2000 Firefox 1.5.x JInitiator 1.3.1.x Windows 2000 Netscape 7.2 JInitiator 1.3.1.x Windows 2000 Mozilla 1.7.5 or higher JInitiator 1.3.1.x Additional Requirements, Restrictions, and Known Issues: Apple Macintosh OS X v10.4 To achieve optimal performance, you must have adequate CPU power and memory on the Mac OS X client. Oracle recommends the following configuration settings. Hardware Requirements The Mac OS X client must have 800 x 600 minimum display resolution (1024 x 768 is preferred). For a complete description of Mac OS X v10.4 requirements, go to the Apple Web site Page 2
Software Requirements The following software is required: Mac OS X v10.4.7 or higher, along with any other security and Java updates in the Software Update program started from the Apple icon menu on the client Safari 2.0.4 (or higher) The J2SE 5 plug-in on Mac OS X v1.5.0_06 (or higher) Oracle Applications 11i is not certified with the Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox, or Opera browsers on Mac OS X. Oracle Applications 11i on the 11.5.10 technology stack is not certified or supported with the Internet Explorer browser on Mac OS X. The Oracle Applications client on Mac OS X uses the native Java plug-in that is included with J2SE 5. Mac OS X Settings Specific to Oracle Applications 11i Use the following settings to improve client-side performance and usability. For Safari (under the Safari menu option): Under Preferences > Security > Web Content: o Select: Enable plug-ins, Enable Java, Enable JavaScript o Do not select: Block Pop-Up Windows Under Preferences > Advanced: select Press Tab to highlight each item on a webpage For the Java Plug-in: On the Cache tab in Finder > Applications > Utilities > Java > J2SE 5.0 > Java Preferences: select Enable Caching For System Preferences (in the desktop's dock): In Displays > Resolutions: select 1024 x 768 or higher (recommended), or 800 x 600 (minimum) In Displays > Colors: select Millions In Dock: select Automatically hide and show the Dock (for users with limited screen area) General Restrictions and Issues The Oracle Applications 11i client is certified with Mac OS X for the U.S. English version only. Users must use caution when defining a function key resource because it will affect function key use in Oracle Applications. The Mac OS X v10.4 client also includes a feature called Expose, which redefines certain keys (F9, F10, F11) to perform particular desktop shortcuts by default. This will affect some shortcut function key use in Forms like Query Mode. Use of mnemonic shortcuts (with the Alt key as in Windows) is not supported on the Mac OS X user interface and therefore does not work with Oracle Forms-based applications. Oracle Applications 11i ADI and Web ADI are not certified for Mac OS X Page 3
Apple Macintosh OS X v10.3 To achieve optimal performance, you must have adequate CPU power and memory on the Mac OS X client. Oracle recommends the following configuration settings. Hardware Requirements 200 MHz PowerPC G3 or higher 256 MB RAM or higher 10/100 Base-T networking 800 x 600 minimum display resolution; 1024 x 768 is preferred Software Requirements The following are software requirements: Mac OS X version 10.3.9, along with any other security and Java updates in the Software Update program started from the Apple icon menu on the client Safari 1.3.2 (v312.5) or higher Java 1.4.2 plug-in on Mac OS X (version v1.4.2_09 or higher) Note: o o o Oracle Applications 11i is not certified with the Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox, or Opera browsers on Mac OS X. Oracle Applications 11i on the 11.5.10 technology stack is not certified or supported with the Internet Explorer browser on Mac OS X. On the Windows client, Oracle provides J-initiator to provide the local Java VM functionality for Oracle client-side Java support. On the Mac OS X client, Oracle J- initiator is not required because Oracle uses the Java Runtime from Apple to provide the Oracle Applications client-side Java requirements. Apple-Specific Environment Settings Use the following settings to improve client-side performance and usability. For Safari (under the Safari menu option): Under Preferences>Security>Web Content, ensure the following options are selected: Enable plug-ins, Enable Java, Enable JavaScript Under Preferences>Advanced>Universal Access, ensure the following option is selected: Press Tab to highlight each item on a webpage Ensure the following is not selected: Block Pop-Up Windows Page 4
For the Java Plug-in (in Finder>Applications>Utilities>Java>Java 1.4.2 Plug-in Settings): In the Cache tab, ensure the following is selected: Enable Caching For System Preferences (in the desktop's dock): In Displays>Resolutions, select 1024 x 768 or higher (recommended), or 800 x 600 (minimum) In Displays>Colors, select Millions In Dock, select Automatically hide and show the Dock for users with limited screen area General Restrictions and Issues The Oracle Applications 11i client is certified with Mac OS X for the U.S. English version only. Users must use caution when defining a function key resource because it will affect function key use in Oracle Applications. The Mac OS X v10.3 client also includes a feature called Expose, which redefines certain keys (F9, F10, F11) to perform particular desktop shortcuts by default. This will affect some shortcut function key use in Forms like Query Mode. Oracle Applications 11i ADI and Web ADI are not certified for Mac OS X Mac OS X 10.3, Safari 1.3.2, Java 1.4.2 Restrictions and Issues The following restrictions apply to Safari and Java: The Indent/Outdent, Ordered/Unordered List, and Paste features of the rich text editor component in Oracle Applications Framework are not enabled due to browser limitations. Oracle Contracts Core product users can set the user-level profile option of Self Service Accessibility Feature to Standard Accessibility to enable plain-text mode editing of clauses. The TextEdit program (the default text editor on the Mac OS X client) has a limitation on Mac OS X version 10.3 where a particular required Oracle rich text format tag is not preserved when saving files (Apple bug 4394198). Certain Oracle Applications products such as Oracle Contracts (OKC) allow the generation of rich text format (.rtf) files for the editing of contract terms, and so on. Such files must be edited and saved with Microsoft Word on Mac OS X version 10.3 by rightclicking on the file (using Control Click), and selecting: Open with>microsoft Word. The Apple Command (Cmd) key (with the Apple icon next to the space bar) is the functional equivalent to the Windows Control (Ctrl) key for keyboard shortcuts such as cut, copy, and paste. For example, on Apple Macintosh, Cmd-x is the same as Ctrl-x on Windows. These shortcut keys do not work with the Apple Java 1.4.2 implementation of the Java runtime in Oracle Forms. Use the cut, copy, and paste options from the Edit menu in place of these shortcuts when using Oracle Forms. Use of mnemonic shortcuts (with the Alt key as in Windows) is not supported on the Mac OS X user interface and therefore does not work with Oracle Forms-based applications. Security Zones Recommended MSIE Browser Settings Microsoft Internet Explorer offers four different security zones to run your application through. The zone is used is dependent on how you are accessing your site (Internet or Local Intranet) and set up within the zones themselves (Trusted sites & Restricted sites). Page 5
Each zone has its own default security level that may need to be adjusted when accessing Oracle E- Business Suite through them. The defaults are as follows; Zone Usage Default Internet Web sites not placed in other zones IE 6 - Medium IE 7 - Mediumhigh Local intranet Web sites on your organization's intranet Medium-low Trusted sites Restricted sites Web sites you trust not to damage your computer Web sites that could potentially damage your computer IE 6 - Low IE 7 - Medium High It is recommended that Oracle E-Business Suite is run through the 'Trusted Sites' zone, with a 'Medium' Security Setting. Oracle E-Business Suite can be set to run through the 'Trusted Sites' zone, with a 'Medium' security setting as follows; 1. Select Tools -> Internet Options -> Security tab -> Trusted Sites icon. 2. Set the 'Security Level for this Zone' to 'Medium' if it is not set already. 3. Select Tools -> Internet Options -> Security tab -> Trusted Sites icon -> Sites button. 4. In the 'Add this Web site to the zone:' field, enter the 'hostname and domain' of the environment you are running Oracle E-Business Suite from, i.e. https://<hostname>.<domain name>, then click the 'Add' button. Alternatively you can simply add the domain name preceded by '*', so that all sites under that domain go through this zone. i.e. *.<domain name> (If you are entering an 'http://...' or '*.' domain address, you must ensure that the 'Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone' is not checked). JInitiator 1.3.1.x (Supported For MSIE 6 & 7) JInitiator 1.3.1.x versions will download and install from the webserver on any security setting except High, therefore the security setting should not need any adjustments at download and install time. Shared Desktop Security (Applicable To MSIE 6 & 7) If multiple users share the same desktop, they may be able to view a previous users browser content by pressing the 'Back' button on the browser. To fix this you must set the Applications 11i 'Force Page Refresh' profile option to 'Yes'. For security reasons, if a PC is shared by multiple users it is also advisable not to save encrypted pages onto the drive. To set this option please go to Tools -> Internet Options -> Advanced tab -> Security settings and tick 'Do not save encrypted pages to Disk'. AutoComplete in Internet Explorer (Applicable To MSIE 6 & 7) Page 6
IE can automatically show previous values entered in the same form field. For privacy and security reasons this feature should be disabled as follows; Go to Tools - > Internet Options -> Content Click the AutoComplete button Uncheck the 'Forms' and 'User names and passwords on forms' boxes. HTTP 1.1/Keep Alive Settings Customers must have HTTP 1.1/Keep Alive enabled. To enable 'HTTP 1.1/Keep Alive' in MSIE, go to Tools - > Internet Options -> Advanced tab -> HTTP 1.1 Settings. Please ensure 'Use HTTP 1.1' and Use HTTP 1.1 through proxy connections' are both ticked. Microsoft Internet Explorer 'Live Toolbar' Enabling Microsoft Internet Explorer Live Toolbar within the browser, may cause the browser to crash, whilst trying to login to Oracle E-Business Suite when using Oracle JInitiator. This toolbar does work okay if using the Sun JRE (Native Plug-in). If you are using JInitiator, please remove the toolbar from the browser as follows; On the Start menu, click Control Panel Double-click Add or Remove Programs Click Windows Live Toolbar Click the Remove button NOTE: Depending on the Plug-in version being used, other 'Browser Helpers' such as this, may also cause the browser to crash when trying to Launch Oracle E-Business Suite. Tabbed Browsing in MSIE 7 Forms Windows MSIE 7 provides a tabbed browsing facility, which van be enabled from the browser menu through Tools - > Internet Options -> General Tabs -> Settings. Forms in Oracle E-Business Suite are supported and launched through a separate frame. Therefore, even with tabs enabled, the forms navigator and the forms windows will continue to open in a new window and not in a new tab. This is intended functionality and is not a bug. Web Based LOV's If the 'Always Open Pop-Ups in a New Tab' option within MSIE7 is selected, Web based LOV's can lose focus. To regain focus within the pop-up window press 'Ctrl & Tab'. This option is set in MSIE7 through Tools -> Internet Options -> Tabs -> Settings -> Always Open Pop-Ups in a New Tab. Exporting Data and Opening Attachments The file type that you wish to export from E-Business Suite must be associated with the browser. If the file type is not associated, the Window will not open or will briefly open and then close immediately. This may occur for example, when using 'File -> Export' to an excel spreadsheet or when opening an attachment from E-Business Suite. Page 7
To fix this issue, using the 'Trusted Sites' zone as an example, (which is recommended for running Oracle E-Business Suite through); 1. Select 'Tools' -> 'Internet Options' -> 'Security' (tab) -> 'Trusted Sites' -> 'Custom Level' (button) -> 'Downloads' from the browser menu. 2. Set 'Automatic prompting for file downloads'> to 'Enable'>. 3. Save the setting and close the browser window. 4. Start a new browser session and login to Oracle E-Business Suite. 5. This time, when trying to open the attachment or export data you should see a pop up windows titled 'File Download'>. 6. Uncheck the checkbox labelled, >'Always ask before opening this type of file'> and click the >'open'> button. 7. The file should now display correctly. 8. After this has been done, the file extension type is registered and you may set the >'Automatic prompting for file downloads' back to >'disable', accessing such files in future will now work correctly with that setting. Clients running Dual Core AMD Processors Users with client machines running dual core AMD processors may encounter browser hangs and crashes when running Oracle E-Business Suite with Oracle JInitiator. A fix for JInitiator cannot be obtained as the java JDK 1.3 stream is no longer supported by Sun. Recommended Firefox Browser Settings NOTE: Firefox 1.0.x and Firefox 1.5.x are no longer supported by the vendor. Oracle will continue to offer support for this browser with E-Business Suite on a 'Best Effort' basis only. Consequently, where issues are due to problems with the browser, we may, where necessary, require customers to upgrade or change their browser to resolve the issue. If multiple users share the same desktop, they may be able to view a previous users browser content by pressing the 'Back' button on the browser. To fix this you must set the Applications 11i 'Force Page Refresh' profile option to 'Yes'. Java Applets If you are using Jinitiatior with Firefox 1.5 or higher, you must disable Java from within the Firefox Browser: To disable Java, from the Firefox menu bar, go to; Tools -> Options -> Content Uncheck the 'Enable Java' option so that the Sun JRE plug-in is not enabled (this ensures that the Jinitiator plug-in is used instead). Known Issues for Firefox Users Multiple Sessions Page 8
You may only access a single Oracle E-Business Suite instance from a single desktop session when using the Firefox browser. Currently 'Internet Explorer' is the only browser that allows you to access multiple instances or multiple Application Responsibilities concurrently from the same desktop session, through the use of multiple browser sessions. Multiple JInitiator Versions (oajinit.exe Download) If, when logging into Oracle E-Business Suite you find that you are asked to download the oajinit.exe file despite having previously downloaded and installed it on your desktop, please request patch 5397653 be applied by your DBA. (You can check which versions of JInitiator you have installed in the browser by typing 'about:plugins' in the URL line of the browser) Tabbed Browsing in Firefox Firefox 2.0.x uses tabbed browsing by default. This facility can also be enabled in Firefox 1.5.x from the browser menu through Tools > Options > Tabs. Forms in Oracle E-Business Suite are supported and launched through a separate frame. Therefore, even with tabs enabled, the forms navigator and the forms windows will continue to open in a new window and not in a new tab. This is intended functionality and is not a bug. Personal Homepage Setting The ICX 'Personal Homepage' setting is not supported with the Firefox browser. Rich Text Editing The Cut, Copy and Paste buttons within the Rich text Editor on Oracle Applications Framework do not work by default when using a Firefox browser. This is due to a security feature within Firefox. We recommend that the keyboard shortcut keys, which do still work by default are used for this functionality. If you still wish to use the buttons, this can be enabled by editing the users Firefox preference file. Further information is available at, http://www.mozilla.org/editor/midasdemo and http://www.mozilla.org/editor/midasdemo/securityprefs.html. Recommended Netscape Browser Settings NOTE: Netscape 7.2 is no longer supported by the vendor. Oracle will continue to offer support for this browser with E-Business Suite on a 'Best Effort' basis only. Consequently, where issues are due to problems with the browser, we may, where necessary, require customers to upgrade or change their browser to resolve the issue. No future certification of the Netscape browser is currently planned by Oracle. Firefox browser by Mozilla.org is certified for E-Business Suite. Recommended Netscape Browser Settings HTTP 1.1/Keep Alive Settings Page 9
Customers using Applications 11.5.9 or later must have HTTP 1.1/Keep Alive enabled. To enable 'HTTP 1.1/Keep Alive' in Netscape, go to Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> HTTP Networking. Ensure 'Enable Keep-Alive' is ticked under 'Proxy Connection Options'. Initial JInitiator Download Directory Requirements For the correct directory to be used when downloading JInitiator to the client, the 'Plug-in Finder Service' parameter must be unchecked. To set the 'Plug-in Finder Service' parameter, go to Edit -> Preferences -> Navigator -> Helper Applications -> Plug-in Finder Service and uncheck 'Always use the Netscape Plug-in Finder Service (PFS) to get Plug-ins'. Page Refresh When using Oracle Self-Service products it is important to ensure that the most current data is being viewed. You may check if the page has been updated since your last visit by manually refreshing the page, however it is desirable for this to be done automatically through Netscape. To set this, go to Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Cache -> 'Compare the page in the cache to the page on the network:' and select 'Every time I view the page'. Shared Desktop Security If multiple users share the same desktop, they may be able to view a previous users browser content by pressing the 'Back' button on the browser. To fix this issue, please set the Applications 11i 'Force Page Refresh' profile option to 'Yes'. Java Applet If you are using Jinitiatior with Netscape 7 or higher, you must disable Java from within the Netscape Browser: To disable Java, from the Netscape menu bar, go to; Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced Uncheck the 'Enable Java' option so that the Sun JRE plug-in is not enabled (this ensures that the Jinitiator plug-in is used instead). Known Issues for Netscape Users Multiple Sessions Page 10
You may only access a single Oracle E-Business Suite instance from a single desktop session when using the Netscape browser. Currently 'Internet Explorer' is the only browser that allows you to access multiple instances or multiple Application Responsibilities concurrently from the same desktop session, through the use of multiple browser sessions. Multiple JInitiator Versions (oajinit.exe Download) If, when logging into Oracle Applications you find that you are asked to download the oajinit.exe file despite having previously downloaded and installed it on your desktop, please have your DBA apply patch 5397653 or later. (You can check which versions of JInitiator you have installed in the browser by typing 'about:plug-ins' in the URL line of the browser). Personal Homepage Setting The ICX 'Personal Homepage' setting is not supported with the Netscape browser. Recommended Mozilla Browser Settings NOTE: Mozilla 1.7.x is no longer supported by the vendor. Oracle will continue to offer support for this browser with E-Business Suite on a 'Best Effort' basis only. Consequently, where issues are due to problems with the browser, we may, where necessary, require customers to upgrade or change their browser to resolve the issue. No future certification of the Mozilla browser is currently planned by Oracle. Firefox browser by Mozilla.org is certified for E-Business Suite. HTTP 1.1/Keep Alive Settings Customers using Applications 11.5.9 or later must have HTTP 1.1/Keep Alive enabled. To enable 'HTTP 1.1/Keep Alive' in Mozilla please go to Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> HTTP Networking. Please ensure 'Enable Keep-Alive' is ticked under 'Proxy Connection Options'. Initial JInitiator Download Directory Requirement For the correct directory to be used when downloading JInitiator to the client, the 'Plug-in Finder Service' parameter must be unchecked. To set the 'Plug-in Finder Service' in Mozilla, go to Edit -> Preferences -> Navigator -> Helper Applications -> Plug-in Finder Service and uncheck 'Always use the Netscape Plug-in Finder Service (PFS) to get Plug-ins'. Page 11
Page Refresh When using Oracle Self-Service products it is important to ensure that the most current data is being viewed. You may check if the page has been updated since your last visit by manually refreshing the page, however it is desirable for this to be done automatically through Mozilla. To set this, go to Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Cache -> 'Compare the page in the cache to the page on the network:' and select 'Every time I view the page'. Shared Desktop Security If multiple users share the same desktop, they may be able to view a previous users browser content by pressing the 'Back' button on the browser. To fix this issue, please set the Applications 11i 'Force Page Refresh' profile option to 'Yes'. Java Applets If you are using Jinitiatior with Mozilla 1.7.5 or higher, you must disable Java from within the Mozilla Browser: To disable Java, from the Mozilla menu bar, go to; Edit -> Tools -> Advanced-> Uncheck the 'Enable Java' option so that the Sun JRE plug-in is not enabled (this ensures that the Jinitiator plug-in is used instead). Known Issues for Mozilla Users Multiple Sessions You may only access a single Oracle E-Business Suite instance from a single desktop session when using the Mozilla browser. Currently 'Internet Explorer' is the only browser that allows you to access multiple instances or multiple Application Responsibilities concurrently from the same desktop session, through the use of multiple browser sessions. Multiple JInitiator Versions (oajinit.exe Download) If, when logging into Oracle E-Business Suite you find that you are asked to download the oajinit.exe file despite having previously downloaded and installed it on your desktop, ask your DBA to apply patch 5397653 or later. (You can check which versions of JInitiator you have installed in the browser by typing 'about:plugins' in the URL line of the browser) Page 12
Personal Homepage Setting The ICX 'Personal Homepage' setting is not supported with the Mozilla browser. Rich Text Editing The Cut, Copy and Paste buttons within the Rich text Editor on Oracle Applications Framework do not work by default when using a Mozilla browser. This is due to a security feature within Mozilla. We recommend that the keyboard shortcut keys, which do still work by default are used for this functionality. If you still wish to use the buttons, this can be enabled by editing the users Mozilla preference file. Further information is available at, http://www.mozilla.org/editor/midasdemo and http://www.mozilla.org/editor/midasdemo/securityprefs.html. Recommended Safari Browser Settings From the Safari Menu, go to 'Preferences -> Security -> Web Content' and select; 'Enable Plug-ins', 'Enable Java' and 'Enable JavaScript'. Do not select 'Block Pop-Up Windows'. (Selecting this will cause Oracle E-Business Suite not to open). From the Safari Menu go to 'Preferences -> Advanced' and select 'Press Tab to highlight each item on a webpage'. References (Oracle Metalink Account Required) Certify pages on MetaLink Metalink Note: 285218.1 Recommended Browsers for Oracle E-Business Suite 11i ---- End of Document ---- Page 13