Browsers and Javascript

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Enabling JavaScript

(review these settings as they may effect your online security)

• For Netscape Navigator 4, go to the Edit | Preferences... menu and click on Advanced. Make sure the Enable JavaScript checkbox is on.
• For Netscape Navigator 3, go to the Options | Network Preferences... menu and click on the tab marked Languages. Make sure the Enable JavaScript checkbox is on.
• For Netscape Navigator 2, go to the Options | Security Preferences... menu and click on the tab marked General. Make sure the Disable JavaScript checkbox is off.
• For Microsoft Internet Explorer 4+, your security settings may be to high. If you go to the Tools | internet options... menu and click on the tab marked Security, there is a slider option for security set it medium.
• For Microsoft Internet Explorer 4+, you may have javascript disabled. If you go to the Tools | internet options... menu and click on the tab marked Security, Cick Custom -> Active Scripting -> enable.

NB: JavaScript is generally considered fairly safe. However, if you are browsing from work with a company PC, both JavaScript and Java may have been disabled as a matter of security policy. Note that security issues for Java do not affect JavaScript, and vice versa. They are entirely different, despite the confusing similarity of names.

Do you have JavaScript enabled?

If not, some features might not work.

(If it says both "yes" and "no", the answer is "yes" and you are probably using Netscape Navigator version 2.0, 2.01, or 2.02. Consider upgrading.)

Most people use browsers that automatically provide built-in JavaScript capability (Netscape Navigator 2.0 or higher, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or higher, Opera 3.0 or higher). However, JavaScript can be disabled. A few companies do this as a matter of security policy.

JavaScript is not the same thing as Java. Originally it was called LiveScript, but the name was changed for marketing reasons, causing no end of confusion. Microsoft's version of JavaScript is called JScript, and a new, standard version is known as ECMAScript. Broadly speaking, they are all quite similar (and all are different from Java).

JavaScript bugs

Older versions of Netscape Navigator (particularly version 2.0) have some JavaScript bugs. As of version 3.20, the Opera browser has many significant JavaScript bugs, so check for later versions.

If reporting JavaScript-related problems, please include the version information for your browser.