Browser Features

In a WCC application, the user can specify whether work item forms are opened in the Preview Pane or in a floating work item form. This can be set from the View > Preview menu on the work item list.

If the user chooses to display floating work item forms, he can further specify that the floating form be displayed in either a dialog or a separate browser window. This can be specified in User Options. Note, however, that the user can control whether the form is displayed in a dialog or separate browser window via User Options only if the configuration in this section gives the user the ability to do that (see the description of the dialog check box below).

The configurations specified here allow you to set the behavior of the window (things such as whether the window is resizable, whether or not a status bar is displayed, etc.) when the form is opened in a separate browser window.

The following describes the differences in behavior between dialogs and separate browser windows:

  • Floating Window Outside Application Window:
    • Separate browser windows can be floated outside the parent application's window.
    • Dialogs cannot be floated outside the parent application's window.
  • Close as child window:
    • Separate browser windows do not close (or minimize) when the parent is closed (or minimized).
    • Dialogs are children of the parent window. Therefore if the parent window is closed (or minimized), the dialog is also closed (or minimized).
  • Browser Feature Attributes:
    • Separate browser windows can be further controlled using the configuration options described in this section.
    • Dialogscannot be controlled using the configuration options described in this section.

The following illustrations show you the general differences in appearance between a form in a dialog and in a separate browser window.

Work Item Form in a Dialog

Work Item Form in a Separate Browser Window

Also, the extent to which you can customize the browser window appearance depends on the type of browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, or Chrome) you are using, as described below.

Procedure

  1. In the Configuration Administrator, click config.xml in the left pane.
  2. In the Graphical Editor tab, click in the Browser Features section:
  3. Configure the browser features using the following selections that appear in the right pane:
    • channelMode - (applicable to IE only) Specifies whether or not to display the window in “theater mode”, that is, as a maximized window.
    • dialog - (applicable to all browsers) Specifies whether or not to display the window as a “dialog”. If checked, it forces work item forms to be displayed in a dialog, regardless the setting in User Options. If unchecked, the user can control whether or not the form is opened in a dialog or separate browser window via a setting in User Options.
    • directories - (applicable to Firefox only) Specifies whether or not to display the "Bookmarks Toolbar". (Firefox users can force new windows to always render the Bookmarks Toolbar by setting dom.disable_window_open_feature.directories to true in about:config or in their user.js file.)
    • location - (applicable to all browsers) Specifies whether or not to display the "Navigation Toolbar" in Internet Explorer, the "Location Bar" in Firefox, or the "Toolbar" and "Bookmarks Bar" in Safari. (Firefox users can force new windows to always render the Navigation Toolbar by setting dom.disable_window_open_feature.location to true in about:config or in their user.js file.
    • menubar(1) - (applicable to all browsers) Specifies whether or not the browser window should display a “Menu Bar”. (Firefox users can force new windows to always render the Menu Bar by setting dom.disable_window_open_feature.menubar to true in about:config or in their user.js file.)
    • resizable - (applicable to IE only) Specifies whether or not the browser window can be manually resized using the lower right corner of the window.

      Note - This configuration may not work as expected. Tests on various systems has shown that on some the window can be resized, while on others, it cannot. The exact cause(s) of the unexpected behavior remains unknown, although it is thought to be a combination of the browser being used, the browser version, and browser security settings.

    • scrollbars1 - (applicable to IE and Firefox only; scrollbars are always displayed, if needed, in Safari and Chrome) Controls the display of scrollbars, on work item forms opened in a separate browser window, when the form content overflows the browser dimensions.
    • status1 - (applicable to IE only) Specifies whether or not the browser window displays a status bar on the bottom of the window. (Firefox always displays the status bar.)
    • toolbar1 - (applicable to all browsers) Specifies whether or not to display the Toolbar across the top of the window. This bar contains buttons/icons for Back, Forward, Refresh, Home, etc.

      In Internet Explorer this bar is referred to as the “Command Bar”, in Firefox it’s the “Tab Bar”, and in Safari it’s the “Toolbar” and “Bookmarks Bar”.

      Firefox users can force new windows to always render the Tab Bar by setting dom.disable_window_open_feature.toolbar to true in about:config or in their user.js file.

1

Selecting menubar, scrollbars, status, or toolbar when using Chrome causes the form to open in a new tab rather than a separate browser window.