The Dynamic Sector Newsletter

What Browser Works Best?

Microsoft SharePoint (Microsoft Office SharePoint Server/MOSS 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0) works best with Internet Explorer 7, from Microsoft.

Why Does the Browser Choice Matter?

There are lots of choices of web browsers out there, from Microsoft, Apple, Google and others, for browsing and collaborating with Internet websites.  But let’s face it; the most important product in Microsoft’s history is going to run best with a Microsoft browser.  Functionality such as ASP.NET, ActiveX controls, etc. plus the internal testing by Microsoft before any release is always going to be more closely integrated with Microsoft’s browser (Internet Explorer) than any other.  As well, just like  Microsoft is biased towards their products working best with their other products (SharePoint and IE), other browser vendors in the Open Source Market are just as happy to not worry about what Microsoft is up to (such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera, etc.).

Now What?

Ensure you insist on using Internet Explorer 7, patched to the latest security and compatibility updates, in your corporate environment.  Internet Explorer 7 (IE) represents the current best of breed browser product from Microsoft and supersedes IE6 in both quality and security.  The addition of Tabs and other features is also valuable.  While many individuals may prefer other browsers such as Firefox, to ensure full SharePoint functionality (in particular integration/functionality within Document Libraries), you should use IE7.  You can certainly use more than one Internet browser on a single computer – worst case, use IE7 for SharePoint and other browsers for all other websites.

------------------------------------------