Browser Advice for NCBI Web Pages

See other browser suggestions below.

Your browser version may not work well with NCBI's Web applications. Please consider upgrading your browser to one of the versions listed below.

Browser support

Windows Macintosh *NIX^[1]

Exhaustively tested

Internet Explorer 6.0 and above Firefox 2.0 Opera 9

Safari versions 1.3 and above (312-523+) OS X 10.3 and above FireFox 2.0 on OS X 10.2-10.4 Opera 9

FireFox 2.0 Opera 9 SeaMonkey 1.0.9 and above

Work reasonably well ^[4]

FireFox 1.5 SeaMonkey 1.1.2 and above Netscape 8.2 & 9.0

FireFox 1.5 iCab on OS 9 ^[2]

Require upgrade ^[5]

Netscape 7.2 and below Mozilla 1.7 and below Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2 and below

Safari version below 1.1 (85-100.1) Mozilla 1.7 and below Internet Explorer, all versions ^[3]

Notes

Tested on Sun OS 10 and Fedora Linux. Seamonkey was tested on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9sp3. These browsers are also likely to work with other Unix and Linux variants. iCab works partially on OS 9. Microsoft no longer supports Internet Explorer on Macintosh. These browsers are not intensively tested, but brief examination revealed no problems. These browsers have known limitations that prevent their use with NCBI web applications.

Download Supported Browsers

Mozilla Firefox 2 Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 Opera 9 Safari 3

Enable Cookies

A "cookie" is information stored by a Web site server (e.g., PubMed) on your computer. See the NLM Privacy Policy for additional information.

In the case of PubMed, it is information about your interactions that may be needed later to perform a function. Cookies allow PubMed to provide more interactive features such as Preview/Index, Clipboard, History, My NCBI and paging through results. Cookies placed by PubMed are removed from your computer after a set time period unless you choose to use a persistent cookie with the My NCBI automatic sign in function.

To use these interactive features you need to enable cookies on your computer. Please consult your browser's Help for information on enabling cookies. If you have problems using cookie-dependent features of PubMed even after enabling cookies, possible reasons may include:

Cookies are blocked by your provider or institution. Check with your Internet provider and/or the system administrator at your institution to see if cookies can be accepted. Even if you have them enabled in your Web browser, if they are blocked by your provider or institution (e.g., by a firewall, proxy server, etc.), cookie-dependent features of PubMed won't work. Your computer's date and time settings are incorrect. Check your computer's time settings to ensure that they are correct.

Enable Javascript

The NCBI web site requires JavaScript for full functionality. The following instructions explain how to enable JavaScript in each of the supported browsers: Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari.

Firefox 2.0

Select Options from the Tools menu. Click the Web Features icon. Check "Enable JavaScript". Click OK. Click Reload.

Internet Explorer 6.0 and above

On the menu bar click on Tools then Internet Options. From Internet Options, select the Security tab. Click Custom Level. Scroll down to Scripting, make sure Active Scripting is set to Enable. Click OK. Click Yes or OK when asked, "Are sure you wish to change the security settings for this zone." Click OK on the Internet Properties window. Close all open Internet Explorer windows and then relaunch Internet Explorer.

Opera 9

Select Quick Preferences from the Filemenu. Make sure Enable JavaScript is checked. Click Reload.

Safari for Mac OS X, version 2.0 and higher

Select Preferences from the Safari menu. Click Security. Check Enable JavaScript. Close the Preferences window. Click Reload.

Resolving Page Expired Error Message in PubMed

NCBI is using HTTP1.1 compression/content encoding with Entrez databases (e.g., PubMed). Data compression allows data to be sent faster - a big help for users who have slower connections.

Most recent versions of popular browsers are by default enabled to use HTTP1.1. If, however, users see the message, "Warning: Page has Expired," after using the back button in their browser, they should enable HTTP1.1 compression in their browser. The steps to enable HTTP1.1 compression in MicrosoftÂ® Internet Explorer (MSInternet Explorer) are:

From the Tools menu, select Internet Options. Click the Advanced Tab. Scroll down to HTTP1.1 settings. Check the following checkboxes: Use HTTP1.1 and Use HTTP1.1 via proxy connections. Click OK. Close MSInternet Explorer and re-open it.

If, after enabling HTTP1.1 compression (be sure to close and re-launch the browser), users still see the "Warning: Page has Expired" message, it is possible that another application is responsible. For example, we have determined that, even with HTTP1.1 compression enabled, Symantec's firewall program, Norton Internet Securityâ„¢ can cause the browser to display the error message if the firewall is configured to monitor HTTP connections, which is the default configuration.

If, in the case of a firewall program, users wish to disable HTTP monitoring, they should fully understand the consequences of doing so. We suggest users either consult the product documentation or contact the vendor.

Page last updated October 11, 2007