Lesson 2: Accessing SharePoint Sites

	Excerpt from Sams Teach Yourself SharePoint 2007 in 10 Minutes.
Published by Sams ISBN-10: 0-672-33036-9 ISBN-13: 978-0-672-33036-0

In this lesson you will learn about the browsers that are most compatible with SharePoint, learn some tips about configuring IE 7.0 for optimal use with SharePoint, how to create a network location for a SharePoint site, and some tips for quickly navigating to SharePoint sites of interest.

Supported Browsers

Most users are familiar with how to use Internet Explorer (IE) to access sites on the Internet, and the same basic skills are required to access SharePoint sites. It is assumed that you know how to open a browser, enter in a URL, and understand that there is a difference between a URL that starts with http:// and one that starts with https://. It is also assumed that you know how to create favorites and change the default home page for your browser.

SharePoint supports access from other browsers, but IE 6.0 or 7.0 for Windows are recommended because Microsoft rates these browsers as “Level 1 Web Browsers” that will provide the most complete user experience due to their support of ActiveX controls. So users of these browsers are essentially guaranteed that all of the tools available in SharePoint will work reliably.

Microsoft rates a number of other browsers as Level 2 Web Browsers which may provide a different user experience based on their design and lesser support for ActiveX. The following browsers are supported, some with limitations:

• Firefox 1.5 (Windows, Linux/UNIX, Macintosh OSX)

• Mozilla 1.7 (Windows)

• NetScape Navigator 7.2 (Linux/UNIX)

• NetScape Navigator 8.1 (Windows)

• Safari (Macintosh OSX)

Browsers not listed as either a Level 1 or Level 2 browser are not technically supported by Microsoft, for example older versions of IE (5.x) or older versions of the browsers listed in the list above. Microsoft gives additional information about exactly which features are compatible with the different browsers on the following page: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc263526.aspx.

This chapter will only cover IE 7.0 due to space limitations and since it tends to be the standard in most organizations. This chapter won’t cover IE basics, such as entering a URL or saving a favorite as those should processes should be familiar to most readers.

Tips for Internet Options Settings for IE 7.0

Hidden under the Tools menu in IE 7.0 is the Internet Options tool. Within the Internet Options dialog box is an extensive set of tools that affects how IE behaves relative to SharePoint sites. This section will give a couple of tips to make IE more friendly with SharePoint sites. Bear in mind, of course, that extensive experimentation with IE settings can have unexpected results, so tread lightly and make changes one at a time if possible.

The first tip involves a quick configuration that changes how IE 7.0 refreshes pages when accessing a SharePoint site. This guarantees that the page is redrawn every time you visit it, rather than only when IE is started, or “automatically.” This can be especially useful when looking at different versions of the same page during the editing process.

1. Open IE 7.0 and access the Tools drop-down menu next to the tabs (or click the Alt key to expose the menus, and click the Tools menu)

2. Click on Internet Options.

3. As shown in Figure 2.1 then click on the Settings button in the Browsing History section and select Every time I visit the webpage.

4. Click OK and then OK again to close the Internet Options window.

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Caution - Before changing any of the settings in the Internet Options dialog box, check with your Site Administrator or help desk to see whether it’s okay to do so. Some organizations lock down the settings in IE, and you won’t be able to change any settings, whereas others have standards and guidelines they follow and simply discourage any changes.

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Figure 2.1
Changing the Check for new versions of stored pages setting in IE 7.0.

The next tip can be handy if you are constantly prompted to enter your user name and password when accessing a SharePoint site. IE 7.0 has multiple security zones that can be managed in the Internet Options tool discussed in the previous section. IE has settings that enable it to “know” when a site should be in the Local Intranet zone, but sometimes it does not include the SharePoint site you need to access. Follow the following steps to resolve this issue:

1. Open IE 7.0 and access the Tools drop-down menu next to the tabs (or click the Alt key to expose the menus, and click the Tools menu)

2. Click on Internet Options.

3. Click on the Security tab and select the Trusted Sites icon from the list of zones.

4. Click on the Sites button and add your SharePoint site to the list by typing it in the “Add this website to the zone” field, and clicking the Add button. You may need to uncheck the “Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone” if you receive and error message. Then click Close.

5. Click on the Custom Level button near the bottom of the screen, as shown in Figure 2.2, and then scroll down to the bottom of the Security Settings window that opens, and select Automatic logon with current user name and password.

6. Click OK and then OK to close the Internet Options window.

Figure 2.2
Changing logon settings for the Trusted Sites zone in IE 7.0.