What browsers are supported by SQL Server Reporting Services? This was a question recently from a student in one of my Business Intelligence classes. With the advent of newer browsers like Firefox this is a valid question. Not everyone wants to use Internet Explorer and most shops certainly would prefer to leave their options open. Well, the answer is: “it depends”.
If you plan on using Report Manager as your end-user portal, then the supported browser is Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 or 7.0. This ASP.Net application was written and tested to IE specifications. You will need to enable scripting if the default setting has been changed.
However, Report Manager is not as popular as first thought, so what if you are rendering your reports outside of Report Manager? Well, then you can use other browsers – with certain reservations. For instance, if you use a third-party browser like Firefox, Safari or Mozilla you can view your report but the zoom control will not be supported. If you are using Safari 1.3 or 2.0, the ActiveX calendar control for datetime parameters will be disabled so users will have to enter a date manually and the client-side print control will not be available. Interestingly, if you are using a Mac, Microsoft recommends Safari anyway, since Reporting Services does not support IE 5.0 for the Mac. Full details.
These days, SharePoint Server is a popular method for publishing reports. The story is the same here. In Microsoft’s words: “certain browsers might cause some Office SharePoint Server 2007 functionality to be downgraded, limited, or available only through alternative steps”. Full details.
Obviously, this is a moving target so just make sure you test your report rendering against all the browsers you wish to support and see for yourself. Then you can give a heads-up to your users and play the hero.
Cheers
Brian
