Connexion browser known problems

1. Collect information.

The following questions will help you define the problem:

• What are the symptoms?
• When did this problem start?
• Can you recall any exact error message text:?
• Does this function work properly when you use Connexion browser on other computers in your office?
• Has Connexion browser ever worked on this computer without these problems?
• Does the problem occur in the same place every time, such as clicking a particular link or performing a search with specific data?
• Can you provide the HTML source for the screen you were using?

First step (any browser): Right-click within the frame (screen area) that shows the problem, such as record text or a results list; do not right-click on the navigation bar, header bar, jump bar or command list. Then follow the procedure for your browser.

Internet Explorer: On the popup context menu select View Source. In the window containing the HTML code, open the File menu and select Save As. In the Save As dialog box, specify a location and then click Save.

Submit the source file with your problem report. Screen captures can be useful as well, to document complex error messages or dialog boxes.

• Are you using PopNot or another program that prevents pop-up windows from opening? Such a programs may reside under your browser’s toolbar.

 Note: A bug in PopNot prevents it from working properly with some Connexion screens. When you turn off PopNot by right-clicking its icon (so that the light bulb icon is visible on the taskbar but dimmed), the program remains resident and can still cause problems. You must completely exit or stop PopNot to avoid these problems.

2. Verify that you are using supported versions of your operating system and browser.

• For the Microsoft Windows version, click the Start button on the taskbar and look at the left side of the start menu. Or right-click on My Computer, click Properties, and select the General tab; operating system and service pack versions are listed under System.
• For the Internet Explorer version, open the Help menu and select About Internet Explorer.

3. Confirm that you are not using the Back button, Refresh button, or Stop button within OCLC Connexion browser.

Using these buttons can cause errors because what appears on your screen does not match what the servers are doing behind the scenes.

4. Check the browser's cache settings.

Using the recommended settings can improve browser performance by instructing the browser to display stored pages, rather than download fresh pages from the server, when revisiting a site.

Recommended cache settings

• Set your browser to refresh Web pages automatically when necessary. Do not specify that the browser refresh a page each time you view it.
• Allocate adequate disk space for the browser cache. 10 MB is recommended. Do not specify zero space for the cache, and avoid allowing it to be larger than 50 MB.
• Do not configure Internet Explorer to clear the cache each time you exit the browser
• Retain the browser's History (log of recently visited sites) for 4 days.
• Before changing settings. Before changing cache/history settings, write down your current settings so that you can restore them if the new settings cause problems.
• If you experience problems with Connexion browser or with other web-based applications when using the recommended cache settings, see 6. Resolve caching problems.

Internet Explorer

1. On the Tools menu click Internet Options.
2. On the General tab, under Temporary Internet Files, click Settings.
3. In the Settings dialog box, under Check for newer versions of stored pages, click Automatically.
4. Under Amount of disk space to use, type 10 in the text box.
5. Then click OK to close the Settings dialog box.
6. On the General tab, under History, for Days to keep pages in history, type 4 in the text box.
7. On the Advanced tab, under Security (the last group of items in the list), clear (uncheck) the check box labeled Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed.
8. Click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box.

5. Clear the browser cache.

Work through all of the steps for your browser and then restart your browser; do not restart after each configuration change.

If your institution uses a firewall or proxy server, that program may also have a cache.

• If you experience JavaScript errors immediately after a Connexion release, try refreshing affected pages first, or clear your cache once rather than changing your settings.
• Other symptoms of caching problems include: old data repeatedly appearing; check boxes not remaining selected; and changes not being retained.
• For best browser performance, do not clear the cache more often than necessary.
• If clearing the cache does not solve a persistent caching problem, see 6. Resolve caching problems.

Internet Explorer

1. Log off Connexion browser.
2. Close all Internet Explorer windows, including popups. This step is essential for your cache to be cleared completely.
3. Start just one Internet Explorer window and navigate to a non-OCLC site such as Yahoo or Google. Do not start any other IE windows until after you complete the cache-clearing procedure.
4. On the Tools menu click Internet Options.
5. On the General tab, under Temporary Internet Files, click the Delete Files button.
6. In the Delete Files dialog box, select the Delete all offline content check box and then click OK.
7. Click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box.
8. Close, and then restart, Internet Explorer.

Note on cache size

By default, recent versions of Internet Explorer assign a very large value for cache size. In some cases it may be 200 MB or higher. Unless you regularly download many large video or Flash files, we recommend that you reduce the value for 'Amount of disk space to use' to 10 MB. This is more than sufficient for most users and greatly reduces browser overhead for maintaining the cache.

Mozilla and Firefox generally default to between 5 and 50 MB of cache. You can accept their defaults unless you experience performance problems. To improve performance, it may help to change the cache size to 10 MB. A cache that is too large often causes just as many problems as one that is too small.

6. Resolve caching problems.

• If after using the previously recommended cache settings and occasionally clearing the cache, you observe caching problems, you may need to change cache settings to correct the problem.
• Suggested changes. This section recommends that you set your browser to refresh pages every time you visit a page. Using the settings given in this section slows performance but can improve reliability when a workstation has a cache problem that causes the browser to display expired pages or incorrect data.
• These settings should be compatible with other web-based applications, including the following OCLC services: FirstSearch and NetLibrary.
• Before changing cache settings. Before changing cache settings, write down your current settings so that you can restore them if the new settings cause problems.

Internet Explorer

1. On the Tools menu click Internet Options.
2. On the General tab, , click Settings.
3. In the Settings dialog box, under Check for newer versions of stored pages, click Every visit to the page.
4. Then click OK to close the Settings dialog box.
5. On the General tab, under Temporary Internet Files, click the Delete Files button.
6. In the Delete Files dialog box, select the Delete all offline content check box and then click OK.
7. On the Advanced tab, under Security (the last group of items in the list), select (check) the check box labeled Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed.
8. Click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box.

7. Does the problem happen only when you perform a specific workflow?

If so, test with the same operating system version and browser version to verify the problem can be duplicated on a separate computer and/or that the problem can be duplicated by your technical staff. If you plan contact OCLC Customer Support, write down the steps that produce the problem (your workflow) so that CSD staff can use the same system and browser versions and follow your exact workflow to verify the problem.

8. Check with your system administrator to determine whether a firewall or proxy server is caching Web sites.

If so, have the administrator exclude any caching for OCLC Web sites. It is preferable to exclude the entire oclc.org domain if the firewall supports this approach. If you cannot exclude the entire domain, exclude the following specific addresses: connexion.oclc.org, illweb.oclc.org, firstsearch.oclc.org, catexpress.oclc.org, and www.oclc.org.

9. Check the browser's security and privacy settings.

Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer has security options that you can customize to provide different levels of security for different categories of Web sites. The best strategy is to add the OCLC sites to the Trusted Sites zone so security to other sites is not affected.

1. On the Tools menu click Internet Options.
2. Choose the Security tab and select the Trusted Sites icon.
3. Set the security level to Low. If security for Trusted Sites is set to Custom, click the Custom Level button. In the Security Settings dialog box, in the Reset to: list, select Low and then click the Reset button.
4. Click the Sites button and clear the Require server verification check box.
5. Add http://*.oclc.org to the Trusted Sites zone.
6. Click OK to exit the Trusted Sites dialog box.
7. On the Privacy tab, adjust the setting to Medium or Medium High.
8. Click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box.
9. Restart Internet Explorer to ensure changes take effect.

10. Check the browser's proxy settings, connection options, and other network preferences.

Internet Explorer

1. On the Tools menu click Internet Options.
2. Click the Connections tab.
3. If you are connecting through a local area network, there should be no dial-up sites listed in the Dial-up Settings box. If you are connecting through a dial-up connection, verify the correct connection is selected.
4. For a LAN connection, select the LAN Settings button. For a dial-up connection, select the correct connection and click the Settings button.
5. Clear the Automatically detect settings, Use automatic configuration script, and Use a proxy server check boxes if they are selected.
6. Click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box.
7. Restart Internet Explorer to ensure changes take effect.

11. Check that content managers are not being used.

Content managers or filters can interfere with the display of OCLC content. Products such as Cyber Patrol, Net Nanny, Cyber Sitter, SurfWatch, and WebSense filter out or limit content from Web sites based on certain criteria. These products can erroneously deny access to OCLC's Web interfaces. Or they may prevent the use of certain features, producing strange results. In Internet Explorer, check the Content tab in the Internet Options dialog box. Ask your system administrator whether any content managers are in use, and provide addresses for the OCLC Web interfaces you use. All content managers should be disabled while using Connexion browser.

12. Ask your system administrator to rule out network problems.

Administrators can test by using the ping and tracer functions and network troubleshooting tools.