SPR

Technote

Problem:
What versions of Domino Web Access (DWA) will support IE7?

IE7 is supported in DWA 6.5.6.
IE7 will be supported with the following upcoming DWA versions: 7.0.3 and 8.0.
IE7 beta is not supported because it is beta code. Only the IE7 gold version
will be supported.

Are there any known issues?

Now that IE7 gold code has been released, it was tested against DWA 6.5.6 and
will be tested against upcoming releases 7.0.3 and 8.0. Versions of DWA that
do not support IE7 will possibly experience the following problems:

Note: These problems will not occur in DWA versions 6.5.6, 7.0.3, or 8.0.


RAGG6LSLQ9
IE 7 Beta 2, WIN XP: Go Offline Not Working BLOCKING Dols Testing
RAGG6LSKXA
IE 7 Beta 2, WIN XP: DWA Warning on Calendar BLOCKING CnS Testing
XMXL6NT5MF
IE6.0 only: some popup dialogs are not large enough by default to display all
controls
VSEN6MH3YD
IE7: Resizing columns in DWA views yield JavaScript error
FLFL6MM9TP
IE7 Beta 2: Reused windows is covered by the browser
LLGO6UW3E3
IE7 only: DWA warning,"Sorry, we were unable to process.." occurs when sending
an "Accept with Comment"
LCDL6UWB7J
IE7 only: DWA warning,"Sorry, we were unable to process.." occurs when invitee
send an "accept with comments" for meeting type
DJAG6TZMNT
IE7 closes with reuse child windows and 'open pop-ups in new tab' setting

Typical Cause:

Most of the issues found are related to the new support within IE 7.0 for the
native XMLHttpRequest object. This causes DWA to go down a path of code that
in the past was used only for Mozilla and Firefox browsers. There is an IE
Preferences setting to disable the native XMLHttpRequest object. Disabling this
option in IE7 will enable older versions of DWA to not have as many issues.

In at least one case, a customer using DWA 7.0.1 frequently received the DWA
warning "Sorry, we were unable to process your request.." while trying to
navigate through her calendar. Disabling the native XMLHTTP support resolved
the issue.


Steps to disable the native XMLHttpRequest object:

Note: This has been known as a viable workaround for SPR# RAGG6LSKXA in the
table above.

1. In browser, go to Tools > Internet options > 'Advanced' tab > 'Security'
section.
2. Disable the 'Enable native XMLHTTP support' checkbox.

Another Workaround:

Disabling the "Reuse Child Windows" option in the Server Configuration Window
can also help with some of the problems in IE7. "Reuse Child Windows" option
on the Domino Web Access tab of the Server Configuration document


Although not officially supported, DWA 6.5.5 and 7.0.2 have been shown to work
well with IE 7. Lotus Development is actively reviewing any regressions IE 7
has introduced into DWA.

Please note: Hotfixes are now available for DWA 6.5.5 and 7.0.2 which address
several of the IE7 issues listed in the table above. Refer to section I. in
the technote, Daylight Saving Time (DST) 2007 information for Domino Web Access
(#1241063) for information on the hotfixes.


Additional Information:

Native XMLHTTP support in IE7 was added to allow Asynchronous JavaScript and
XML (AJAX) applications the ability to use the new native XMLHttpRequest object
rather than rely on the ActiveX equivalent. It also allows for using the
XMLHttpRequest object in a similar manner as other browsers. Disabling Native
XMLHTTP request does not decrease IE7's security. Rather, the reverse is
actually true. When the "Enable Native XMLHTTP" setting is unchecked the
browser is considered "more secure" as less web pages can make non-visible
requests to servers using this technique.

Disabling ActiveX controls also increases security, as programs with much
greater privileges are prevented from running. However, this also means that
some of the more advanced functionality provided by certain web pages will not
be available.

DWA does not mandate ActiveX controls be enabled in order to work. Rather it
uses a prior native mechanism in IE called "XML islands" to make critical data
requests to the Domino server without disrupting the page. XML islands have
been a native means of achieving such capability since IE 5.0. More recently,
DWA does fall back and use the ActiveX version of XMLHttpRequest if various
errors occur while using XML islands (and provides an option that can be
configured to prefer using the ActiveX XMLHttpRequest over XML islands).

DWA does have an optional ActiveX control called the Domino Web Access control;
if installed and enabled, it allows for more advanced functionality:

Clearing the browser cache on logout
Providing a richer Attachments area within document pages which supports drag
and drop of files from other Windows applications
Allows registering DWA as the "default mail system" allowing mailto: links and
Send Attachments functionality (Simple MAPI integration) from other Windows
applications to work with DWA.

Additional information on the ActiveX control can be found in the document,
"Can the Domino Web Access ActiveX Upload Control (iNotes Class) be manually
placed on a workstation?" (#1161877).

Fix Packs are available for the latest Maintenance Releases which resolve prior
issues with DWA and IE 7 when native XMLHTTP is enabled. Therefore, there is no
longer a need to disable this setting just to get DWA to work. Upgrading to
this latest fix pack will resolve such IE7 compatibility issues. More >