Iowa IDEA Supported Browsers and Settings

Iowa IDEA
Supported Browsers and Settings
July 1, 2013 Release
The Iowa IDEA applications are supported on the following platforms and browsers:
 Macintosh OS 10.6 or newer and:
o Firefox Versions 16.0.x and above
 Windows Vista or Windows 7 with:
o Internet Explorer 9.x
o Firefox 16.0.x and above

The following items must have their settings modified for the browsers to operate effectively on all systems:
 Printing
o Page margins
o Header/Footer control
o Print Background & Images
o Shrink to fit page width
 New window tab control
 Cache Control
 Cookie Control
 Popup Windows – not an issue any more
 Auto-complete Forms (IE only)
 Load Images Automatically (FF only)
Firefox 16 and above for Windows – pages 2-5
Firefox 16 and above for Macintosh – pages 6-10
Internet Explorer 9 and above for Windows – pages 13-15
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Firefox 16.0.x and above for Windows
Page Setup
Click on ‘Firefox’, select ‘Print’ and then select 'Page Setup'.
On the Format Options tab:
 Un-Check 'Shrink to fit Page Width'
 Un-Check 'Print Background (colors & images)
On the Margins & Header/Footer tab:
 Set all margins to .3"
 Set all Header & Footer content options to 'Blank'. This will prevent the date, web page URL, page number, etc.
from printing at the top and bottom of your printed pages.
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New Window Tab Control
Click on ‘Firefox, select 'Options' and then ‘Options’ again. On the Options screen, select 'Tabs'. If the box for 'Open new
windows in a new tab instead' is checked, it must be unchecked to navigate properly within the IDEA applications.
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Popup Windows, Load Images
On the Options screen, click on 'Content'. On the Content screen, all checkboxes on this screen should be checked. For
pop up window control, the 'Block pop-up windows' box should be checked and an allowed site entry made for
iep.aeaims.org as shown below. Use the 'Exceptions' button, and then you must type in the site address (iowaidea.org)
or copy and paste from the URL of the login page. Next, click on 'Allow' to add our site on the list of sites permitted to
utilize popup windows. In the Web IEP application, all Banks and the Print Menu utilize pop-up windows.
Load Images Automatically
The 'Load images automatically' checkbox should be checked. If you wish to not allow 'Load images automatically'
(indicated by unchecking this box), you will also need to enter an 'Exception' allowed site for iep.aeaims.org or you will
not see navigation buttons in the IEP application.
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Cache Control
For the IowaIDEA application, caching is an 'undesirable' browser feature. Your cache settings control the 'storing' of
pages you have accessed previously, so your browser doesn't need to download a previously accessed page every time
you navigate to that page. We don't want that to happen because anytime you save a page (Page A, Page B, etc.) we
want that 'new' data to reappear should you go back to that page. So we need to control what gets cached and what
doesn't get cached.
There are many options available to control cache in Firefox 16 and above. The primary choices we want to control are
Cache and Cookies. To get the desired options, we need to set FF to 'Use custom settings for history'.
For cookie control, you have an option to a) check 'Accept cookies from sites', which will accept cookies from every site
you browse to, or b) not check 'Accept cookies from sites' and enter an 'Exception' for iep.aeaims.org to allow just our
site to store a cookie on your computer. Our IowaIDEA cookie stores the last district and building you accessed and some
other information used to assist your navigation within the application.
For cache control we recommend checking the 'Clear history when Firefox closes' and then use the 'Settings' button to
refine what happens when you exit Firefox. On the 'Settings for Clearing History' window, make sure 'Cookies' is
unchecked and 'Cache' is checked.
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Firefox 16.0.x and above for Macintosh
Page Setup
From the File …. Dropdown menu, select ‘Page Setup’.
Click on the arrows next to “Format For:” and choose at the very top “Any Printer”
Then click on the arrows next to “Paper Size:” and click on “Manage Custom Sizes”
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At the bottom left click on the “+” sign to add a new one, doubleclick the word “Untitled” and rename it to “WebIEP”
Set all margins to ‘0.00’ and then click on ‘OK’.
Click on the arrows next to “Paper Size;” and choose “WebIEP”.
Click on the arrows next to “Settings” and choose “Save as Default”
Then click on ‘OK’.
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Printing
From the File …. Dropdown menu, select 'Print'. This brings up the Print dialogue box shown below. Select the 'Firefox'
options from the scrollable drop list.
 Un-Check 'Shrink to fit Page Width'
 Un-Check 'Print Background Colors'
 Un-Check 'Print Background Images'
 Set all Header and Footer options to '(Blank)'
 Click the 'Preview' button to save your changes. You may close the preview when it appears.
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New window Tab control
From the Firefox menu at the top of your screen, select ‘Preferences’. The preferences window will appear with button
on the top to select the setting group. Click on the ‘Tabs’ button. On the Tabs screen, the box for ‘Open new windows
in a new tab instead’ is checked – it must be unchecked to navigate properly within the IDEA applications.
Popup Windows, Load Images
Click on the ‘Content Tab’
Block Popups
It does not matter if you Check/Uncheck ‘Block popup windows’.
Load Images Automatically
The 'Load images automatically' checkbox should be checked. If you wish to not allow 'Load images automatically'
(indicated by unchecking this box), you will also need to enter an 'Exception' allowed site for www.iowaidea.org or you
will not see navigation buttons in the IEP application.
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Cookie / Cache Control
For the IowaIDEA application, caching is an 'undesirable' browser feature. Your cache settings control the 'storing' of
pages you have accessed previously, so your browser doesn't need to download a previously accessed page every time
you navigate to that page. We don't want that to happen because anytime you save a page (Page A, Page B, etc.) we
want that 'new' data to reappear should you go back to that page. So we need to control what gets cached and what
doesn't get cached.
For cookie control, you have an option to a) check 'Accept cookies from sites', which will accept cookies from every site
you browse to, or b) not check 'Accept cookies from sites' and enter an 'Exception' for www.iowaidea.org to allow just
our site to store a cookie on your computer. Our IowaIDEA cookie stores the last district and building you accessed and
some other information used to assist your navigation within the application.
For cache control we recommend checking the 'Clear history when Firefox closes', pictured above, and then use the
'Settings' button to refine what happens when you exit Firefox. On the 'Settings for Clearing History' window, pictured
below, make sure 'Cookies' is unchecked and 'Cache' is checked. Click on ‘Clear Now’.
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Internet Explorer 9.x and Above for Windows
Page Setup
From File dropdown menu, select 'Page Setup'.
On the Page Setup screen:
 Set all margins to .5”, you may need to adjust these margin settings after printing a few IEP pages.
 Set all options in the Header & Footer area to ‘-Empty-‘. This will prevent the date, web page URL, page number,
etc from printing at the top and bottom of your printed pages.
 Click on ‘OK’ to save your changes and close the window.
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New Window Tab Control
From the Tools … dropdown menu select 'Internet Options'. On the Internet Options screen, click on the 'General' tab.
Click on the 'Tabs - Settings' button, indicated below.
On the Tabbed Browsing Settings screen, we are only concerned about the items indicated by the red outline. Set these
items as indicated in the picture below. This will allow the Web IEP to utilize Tabs appropriately. Click 'OK' on both
windows after you have correctly set these options.
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Cache Control Settings
The cache control settings are also on the General tab.
For the IowaIDEA application, caching is an 'undesirable' browser feature. Your cache settings control the 'storing' of
pages you have accessed previously, so you don't need to download a previously accessed page every time you access
that page. We don't want that to happen because anytime you save a page (Page A, Page B, etc.) we want that 'new'
data to reappear should you go back to that page. So we need to control what gets cached and what doesn't get cached.
Click on the 'Settings' button for 'Browsing History'. On the Temporary Internet Files and History Settings screen, make
sure the 'Every time I visit the webpage' option is selected. Then select 'OK'. This will force a new page to be collected
from the server instead of a cached page from your computer. Click OK to return to the General tab. We would also
recommend that you check the 'Delete' button to remove existing cached pages from your computer.
We also want to control cached items that need deleted when you exit Internet Explorer. While still on the General tab,
make sure ‘Delete browsing history on exit’ is checked and then click on the ‘Delete’ button. This brings up the window
where items to be deleted on exit are set. Make sure all of the items indicated in red below are set as indicated. Other
setting items on the ‘Delete Browsing History’ do not affect performance of the Web IEP
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Autocomplete
Autocomplete saves entries into specific fields on forms. We need this feature turned off to prevent using
previously entered data for one student on a new form for a new student. Click on the Content tab and click on the
‘Settings’ button for ‘Autocomplete’. Uncheck the boxes for ‘Forms’ and ‘Usernames and passwords on forms’.
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Popup Windows
On the Internet Options screen, click on the Privacy tab. Although pop up window control is optional, we recommend
the 'Turn on Pop-up Blocker' box should be checked and an allowed site entry made for iowaidea.org as shown below.
Use the 'Settings' button, and then you must type in the site or copy and paste from the URL of the login page. Next,
click on 'Add' to add our site on the list of sites permitted to utilize popup windows. All Banks and the Print Menu utilize
pop-up windows.
'Add-on' utilities or tool bars, such as Google, FunWebProducts, Yahoo and others may also have their own settings for
Pop-up window control. The presence of these third party add-ons complicates pop-up window management. You may
need to consult your local technology coordinator if you have these settings pictured above properly set and you are not
able to see the Web IEP Print Menu or access your Banks of stored data. The first place to look would be any 'add-on'
toolbar and the pop-up window settings for that 'add-on'.
Note for LEA Technology Coordinators and Network Administrators
For those of you who have proxy servers deployed in your districts, we have learned that 'no cache' or 'ignore'
commands in the proxy configuration will help eliminate caching issues with pages entered and saved by your teaching
staff working on your network.
Iowa IDEA 2013 URL: https://www.iowaidea.org
Stand Alone IMS: https://www.aeaims.org/ims/aeaims.htm
Please configure your proxy to not cache traffic from these sites.
Email notifications: webidea@aea10.org & gwaea.org (domain)
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