Websites look wrong

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Revision as of 12:53, 27 February 2005 by Mozcerize (talk | contribs) (JavaScript)
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Gecko-based applications, like the Mozilla Suite and Mozilla Firefox are designed from the bottom up to support sites written with W3C standards. However, other browsers sometimes use alternate methods to format pages which are not supported by the Suite or Firefox. The best long term solution is to respectfully ask the website developer if they can make their page work in Mozilla. For help on doing this, visit the Mozilla Site Evangelism page. If this is not possible, there are a few things you can try to get the site to work as designed.

Possible Solutions for Users

  • Make sure your firewall isn't blocking the Suite or Firefox from getting page content.
  • Install a user agent spoofer, such as User Agent Switcher, to make the web site think you are using a different browser.
  • The page may require cookies or popup windows. Enable these features via "Tools->Options". (see also [1].)
  • The page may require JavaScript. Configure JavaScript via "Tools->Options->Web Features (->Advanced)".
  • The page may require Java. Enable Java via "Tools->Options->Web Features". Alternatively, try installing Sun's Java (J2SE JRE). Detailed help for Mozilla Firefox (but this can also be used for the Mozilla Application Suite).
  • If the problem is with a plugin, like Flash or Windows Media Player, look at this forum thread.
  • If everything else fails, on Windows, you can install IE View which will allow you to right-click open pages in IE.

Suite and Firefox Limitations

  • Cannot use Microsoft's JVM. Use an alternative, such as Sun's Java VM.
  • Cannot render VML or do VML scripting. Try using SVG instead.
  • Menus and other scripts that use document.all or document.layers will not work. Developers: see this site for more information.
  • ActiveX controls are not supported in most Mozilla-based browsers. If possible, use a plugin interface instead, which is possible with Windows Media Player.
  • Microsoft Windows Update must, by design, be run in Windows on Internet Explorer. However, you can find updates manually on Microsoft's download site.