# website changes don't appear correctly in IE but are fine in other browsers



## LucyBrown (Dec 27, 2011)

I built a website using MS Publisher 2007. Im using Filezilla to upload changes to the site. Everything works great. Except:
When I use a computer which runs on Vista, and I upload the changes, all the changes are good on IE, Firefox and Chrome.

However (and heres the very strange part), when I upload the changes on a computer running Windows 7, the changes are all good on Firefox and Chrome but on IE, the menu bar down the left side doesnt show up which, of course, means that anyone viewing the site on IE cant go to other pages. Ive tried to upload the changes using another computer running Windows 7 to be sure it wasnt just my computer and the same thing happened. 

I also checked to see if it was just IE9 that was the problem but IE8 does it also. I've asked so many people and nobody seems to know how to fix this. I hope I've explained this very strange problem correctly. Thanks


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## sonexpc (Mar 31, 2011)

is the menu by javascript or not .... better have a temp live site so we can check it out...


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## LucyBrown (Dec 27, 2011)

I'm going to say it's not javascript but I don't really know for sure. I built it in MS Publisher - nothing fancy as I don't know how to do anything fancy.. no coding or anything like that. Somebody told me that it's an IE issue but even though that may be true, it doesn't help the problem.


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## sonexpc (Mar 31, 2011)

I would if we cannot see the code we 've no idea what's going on can you upload to a temp dir..so we can see teh problem first..


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## sonexpc (Mar 31, 2011)

Ohh... find some related information ... http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...c3?msgId=633b165b-96f1-4801-a56c-26ed37d41fc7

Hope the person what ask question in there is not the same as you...


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

Chances are it's a HTML coding issue. The fact you were using MS Publisher makes me think this is the most likely culprit. On the Windows Vista system, IE7 was probably the version of IE used. On Windows 7, IE8 is the default version and IE8 and iE9 are much better at supporting web standards than IE7.

So, I would suggest starting with fixing the HTML. Look at the top of the page and see if there is a proper DOCTYPE coded. If there isn't, code a proper one for the kind of HTML you're coding in the page and see what breaks in all of the browsers you're testing.

By coding a proper DOCTYPE, you force the browser into "Standards" mode and that will ensure as much cross browser compatibility and consistency WITHOUT special coding as possible. Using a proper DOCTYPE won't "fix" anything but should help in identifying HTML coding errors and other things which can result in inconsistent results across browsers.

You can search this forum or the web for 'DOCTYPE' to read more about it. There is a great article on using a DOCTYPE at AListApart.com.

Hope that helps! 

Peace...


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## LucyBrown (Dec 27, 2011)

Unfortunately, I don't really understand what you're saying. I built the website using MS Publisher because I don't know HTML coding etc. Using Publisher to build the website was pretty easy - you don't need to know anything really. What doesn't show up in IE, when I upload from my computer (Win 7), is the menu bar down the left side of the page. The rest of the front page shows up fine. Unfortunately, when if you can't see the menu bar, then you can't navigate to other pages so I have no idea if the other pages would look fine or not. I don't know if that helps you in determining what the problem could be or not but I do appreciate you trying to help me a LOT. I just don't understand what you're saying unfortunately. I've purchased a program called WebEasy8 Pro and I'm going to see if I can build the same website using that program so maybe it will solve the problem. WebEasy isn't quite as "easy" as they made it out to be but I'm still trying.


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

Yes, I understand that MS Publisher is easy to use. The problem is it doesn't do a good job AT ALL of generating HTML that works across browsers. I was once called in to repair a broken website that was also created using MS Publisher. After ripping out all of the unnecessary stuff Publisher injected, I was able to get the site working consistently across browsers.

If you're going to use another tool for the site, that will hopefully correct the problem. Without being able to see the actual HTML in question, it's near impossible to troubleshoot with any accuracy. See if using WebEasy resolves your problem. If it doesn't. post a link to the site here (if you can) and we can hopefully figure out what is going on and make better recommendations or suggestions. 

Peace...


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## LucyBrown (Dec 27, 2011)

Thank you. For now I'll use the laptop and Vista to upload and hopefully I'll have time to build a new site using this other program and see what happens. I appreciate your responses and your attempts. I was hoping that somebody would know immediately why this was happening as I think it's so strange but I guess I've stumped the best! LOL Stay tuned...


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

We haven't been stumped. We just don't have anything to go on. If you could post a link to the site, we could see the HTML and better determine what's going on.

Good luck!

Peace...


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## LucyBrown (Dec 27, 2011)

Ok, here ya go!
www.uhmc.ca


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

Thanks!

Peace...


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

Ok, I've viewed the site in IE8 (Windows XP) and IE9 (Windows 7) and the navigation menu appears just fine. Attached are some screenshots.

The page does NOT have a DOCTYPE coded but the VML Publishers uses to "paint" the navigation menu shouldn't be affected by the DOCTYPE because the VML stuff is for IE only.

So, I'm not seeing anything wrong with the navigation menu not appearing. Are you saying when you view the home page of the site, the navigation menu doesn't appear in IE on Windows 7 for you?

Peace...


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## LucyBrown (Dec 27, 2011)

The page will look fine right now because I re-loaded it from the Vista computer. When I load it from the Win 7 computer, that's when the side menu/front page doesn't show up. It's not just on my computer that it doesn't show up, but on everyone's computer regardless of what they seem to be running or using. I know this sounds very strange but...
If you're still there, I will upload it from my computer now and you can see what I mean, but I don't want to leave it like that for too long because the client wouldn't like not being able to view it in IE properly if he happens to go on it. Let me know. I'll stay here for another few minutes. Thanks!


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

Ok, I'll be around for a bit. Go ahead and upload the "broken" version so I can take a look.

Peace...


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## LucyBrown (Dec 27, 2011)

Oh, and one more thing. When I do an "publish to the web" and view it via my 'index' file on my computer, it looks fine. But it's when I actually upload it - that's when it doesn't appear.


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

Well, that could be a clue. Maybe what's being uploaded is different from what's on your computer. Are you using the same version of Publisher on both the Vista and W7 machines?

Peace...


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## LucyBrown (Dec 27, 2011)

ok.. done


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## LucyBrown (Dec 27, 2011)

Yes, same version of Publisher on both computers


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## LucyBrown (Dec 27, 2011)

and when I make changes to the site I'm transferring the file back and forth via a travel disk so it's the exact same file as well


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## LucyBrown (Dec 27, 2011)

In Publisher, there is an option under 'web' - "encoding' It says "save this publication as (and the drop down shows) Western European (Windows). Then there is a box UNchecked that says "always save web pages in the default encoding. 
There is also a box above it the "Saving" section that IS checked and says "Allow PNG as a graphics format to improve graphics quality (requires Internet Explorer 6.0 or later to view the web site). Also checked off under "Saving" is "Enable incremental publish to the web. Do you think any of this could impact the problem?


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

Ok, I have copy of the broken page saved, so you can revert back to the good version.

Peace...


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## LucyBrown (Dec 27, 2011)

ok, thanks!


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

LucyBrown said:


> In Publisher, there is an option under 'web' - "encoding' It says "save this publication as (and the drop down shows) Western European (Windows). Then there is a box UNchecked that says "always save web pages in the default encoding.
> There is also a box above it the "Saving" section that IS checked and says "Allow PNG as a graphics format to improve graphics quality (requires Internet Explorer 6.0 or later to view the web site). Also checked off under "Saving" is "Enable incremental publish to the web. Do you think any of this could impact the problem?


I have no idea since I'm not a Publisher user. I have found some differences in the generated HTML between the two installations of Publisher. Part of the problem is, Publisher wants to "paint" the navigation menu for IE and use images for non-IE browsers. Ideally, the menu should be generated the SAME, regardless of browser being used but Publisher doesn't do this.

Here is an example of what I found.

Good page:

```
<v:textbox style='mso-column-margin:5.76pt' inset="2.88pt,2.88pt,2.88pt,2.88pt">
   [b]<div dir=ltr [color=red]style='padding-top:.12pt'[/color]>[/b]
   <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:center;line-height:113%;text-align:
   center'><span lang=en-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:113%;
   font-family:Arial;color:white;font-weight:bold;language:en-US'>Funerals</span></p>
   </div>
  </v:textbox>
```
Bad page:

```
<v:textbox style='mso-column-margin:5.76pt' inset="2.88pt,2.88pt,2.88pt,2.88pt">
   [b]<div dir=ltr>[/b]
   <p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:center;line-height:113%;text-align:
   center'><span lang=en-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:113%;
   font-family:Arial;color:white;font-weight:bold;language:en-US'>Funerals</span></p>
   </div>
  </v:textbox>
```
In the "good" version, we can see the top padding on the DIV. In the "bad" version, it's not there. I'm not saying this IS the culprit but evidence that difference HTML is being generated from the two installations of Publisher. So, make sure both installations are configured the exact same way. I don't have time to look into this more now but I'll look more as I have more time and will report back if I find anything else later.

I WAS able to confirm the misbehavior in IE8 on Windows XP.

Peace...


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## LucyBrown (Dec 27, 2011)

I posted something else (in between all of this) - in case you missed it - maybe this has something to do with the problem? In Publisher, there is an option under 'web' - "encoding' It says "save this publication as (and the drop down shows) Western European (Windows). Then there is a box UNchecked that says "always save web pages in the default encoding. 
There is also a box above it the "Saving" section that IS checked and says "Allow PNG as a graphics format to improve graphics quality (requires Internet Explorer 6.0 or later to view the web site). Also checked off under "Saving" is "Enable incremental publish to the web. Do you think any of this could impact the problem?

Thank you so much for your time and patience. Enjoy your day!


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

LucyBrown said:


> I posted something else (in between all of this) - in case you missed it - maybe this has something to do with the problem? In Publisher, there is an option under 'web' - "encoding' It says "save this publication as (and the drop down shows) Western European (Windows). Then there is a box UNchecked that says "always save web pages in the default encoding.
> There is also a box above it the "Saving" section that IS checked and says "Allow PNG as a graphics format to improve graphics quality (requires Internet Explorer 6.0 or later to view the web site). Also checked off under "Saving" is "Enable incremental publish to the web. Do you think any of this could impact the problem?
> 
> Thank you so much for your time and patience. Enjoy your day!


As I posted above, in response to your asking this above, I have no clue since I'm not a Publisher user. What I did find is a difference in the HTML being generated so make sure the settings between the two installations are the same. The character set encoding shouldn't impact the HTML generated in the way I showed above but if that's a setting that is different between the two installations, that's something worth making the same.

So, make sure the settings and options in Publisher on Windows 7 are the same as those in Publisher on Windows Vista.

Good luck!

Peace...


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

Ok, I've been looking at the pages and it looks like Publisher on Windows 7 is simply generating different HTML and VML than Publisher on Windows Vista, for whatever reason. I tried changing the "encoding" used on the page that is broken to the "encoding" used on the page that works and the menu still didn't appear. Then, I noticed some syntax errors in the VML code as well as some code in the "broken" page that's not in the page that works.

That tells me Publisher is doing something different when you're publishing the page on the Windows 7 system. I can't tell you exactly what it's doing or why but I CAN tell you that it certainly is doing something different. I can provide some examples of the differences I'm seeing if you want to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

The sooner you can ditch Publisher in favor of a real web design tool, the better off you'll be. 

Sorry I couldn't be of any more help.

Peace...


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## LucyBrown (Dec 27, 2011)

Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it! I guess I'll try to learn that new program asap and hopefully that will resolve this issue. Very strange, but then Publisher, contrary to it's name, probably isn't the best publishing program - at least not with the newer systems like Win 7. 
Thanks again


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

LucyBrown said:


> Very strange, but then Publisher, contrary to it's name, probably isn't the best publishing program - at least not with the newer systems like Win 7.


Microsoft Publisher is a *desktop publishing* tool, not a web design tool. Yes, it can generate HTML but it's strong point is in creating brochures, flyers, newsletters, etc. Microsoft makes a free web design tool, but I'm not totally sure.

There are plenty of free web design tools for Windows available so you can try them until you find one you like.

Good luck!

Peace...


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