Browser and System Requirements

Last Updated 29-Apr-2004

General Description

This guideline lists the basic browser and system requirements recommended to view and use Oracle HTML Applications. These requirements are determined at an executive level. Each UI guideline and complimentary UIX component are optimized using these base requirements. The basic browser and system requirements are:

Browser Requirements
- Supported Browser Versions
- Browser Functionality Expectations
System Requirements

Guideline Attributes

Spec Version # - 3.1
Spec Contributors - Betsy Beier, Mervyn Dennehy, Craig Louis
UI Models - all models
Example Products - all products
Related Guidelines - all are developed with these constraints in mind

Browser Requirements

Supported Browser Versions

BLAF applications are supported on any platform with a Java Virtual Machine version 1.2 or higher (installed by default with the newer browsers).
UIX is only tested on various Windows and Solaris browser versions, but it has also been verified to run on Linux and Mac OS X.
Where needed, UIX uses DIV tags to modify HTML code to match individual browsers and user style sheets. Examples of this include:
- Enabling/disabling of Partial Page Rendering (PPR)-- Partial page rendering is currently only supported in IE 5.5 and 6.0 on Windows and Mozilla 1.0 or above (any platform)
- Rendering certain page elements with Netscape or IE-specific HTML tags.
- Rendering a reduced set of page elements on handheld devices.
- Accessibility support, including the JAWS screen reader.
If a BLAF application is launched in an unsupported browser, the Browser Incompatibility Template is displayed. This warning page recommends that users upgrade their browser, and gives them the option to connect to a Netscape or Microsoft site, or to continue. If users choose to continue, the warning page will not be displayed again.

The UIX client is currently supported in the following browsers:

Browser	Operating System
Browser	Windows	Solaris	Mac OS 9	Mac OS X	Red Hat Linux	PocketPC	Palm OS
Netscape Navigator	4.73	4.73	---	---	---	---	---
Internet Explorer	5.0, 5.5, 6.0	---	---	5.2.2	---	2000, 2002	---
Mozilla	1.5	---	---	---	1.5	---	---
ICE Browser	5.0	---	---	---	---	---	---
WebPro (Mobile)	---	---	---	---	---	---	3.0
Blazer (Mobile)	---	---	---	---	---	---	3.0

NOTE: Third party accessibility software such as JAWS works only with MSIE 5.0 and above.

Browser Functionality Expectations

Browser Buttons

Since Oracle Web-based applications run within a browser, and the browser's functionality is exposed to the user (the browser is not in kiosk mode), it is important to specify browser functionality while the user is working with the application. The buttons for each browser (Netscape Communicator, Microsoft Internet Explorer) should maintain their standard behaviors. The following is a quick summary of the buttons and functionality:

Back - Takes the user back through the browser History to the last visited page. Note that PPR is not included in browser History; see the PPR guideline for details.
Forward - If the user has already used the Back button, the Forward button takes the user to the next viewed page in the browser History.
Reload (Netscape)/Refresh (MSIE) - Reloads the contents of the page.
Home - Navigates a to user-specified home page (set up in browser preferences)
Search - Takes the user to browser-specified search site.
My Netscape (Netscape only) - Takes user to Netscape home page (user configured)
Print - Prints contents of entire page. (This is true unless frames are used, then only active frame is printed. Note: Frame usage is not recommended.)
Security - Takes user to security setup of browser.
Stop - Stops the transfer of data from the server.
Favorites (MSIE) - Displays user-specified favorites list.
History (MSIE) - Displays the History list of previously-viewed web pages.
Mail (MSIE) - Opens MSIE mail portion of browser application.

Other Browser Functionality

If a user sets his or her browser preferences, these preferences should be maintained in the application. (This is applicable for both Navigator and Internet Explorer.)

Link color options
Font face, size and style options
Setup of third party applications
Mail client configuration

System Requirements

Screen Size

Page layouts are optimized for a maximum screen width of 1024 pixels. Many BLAF page designs may scroll vertically (depending on content), but it is recommended at all times to avoid horizontal scrolling (more than 1024 pixels wide.)

Even though many systems now support widths higher than 1024 pixels, BLAF applications must be designed for a width of less than 1024 pixels, and wherever possible should fit within an 800 pixel-wide window:

Some users, especially on older laptops, may not be able to see the entire page without horizontal scrolling.
Applications are frequently displayed with overhead projectors in sales and other presentations. Many overhead projectors can only display an 800 x 600 pixel wide screen, so wider applications must be scrolled to see all content. This both disturbs the flow of the presentation and reflects poorly on the usability of the application.
Any calculation of page width must reserve horizontal space for vertical scroll bars, window borders, and page borders, which vary depending on operating system and browser.
Translated applications require more space for text elements. If the English-language version of an application is designed for a 1024 pixel-wide window, versions in other languages, such as German, will exceed the 1024 pixel limit.
More is not necessarily better. BLAF pages designed for widths of 800 pixels have proven usability metrics, whereas pages designed for 1024x768 can easily become so cluttered that users overlook some page elements.
Experience shows that even when designers target a width of 800, their pages frequently require horizontal scrolling when viewed at that resolution. If page designs have an initial target width of 1024, then many pages will exceed that limit as well, resulting in horizontal scrolling on most systems.

NOTE: Horizontal scrolling has proven to be problematic in usability tests, so many UI components have been developed to prevent or reduce this. Horizontal scrolling is occasionally unavoidable, but should only be permitted when there is no other viable alternative. See Horizontal Scrolling in the Content Layout Templates guideline for details.

Color Depth

The base color depth required to run an HTML application is 8 bit, or 256 colors, though applications run best at 16 bit color depth, with the capacity to display thousands of colors.

Optimal Color Palette

BLAF applications primarily utilize colors from the Web-safe 216 color palette, with several exceptions, such as the "sand" color. However, BLAF applications do not use the full range of the Web-safe palette, so these exceptions can be substituted for unused colors, without causing any display problems.

Almost every graphic should be optimized and saved using the web-safe 216 palette, except where specifically noted in the Color Palette guideline.