BIRT dashboards rely on the user’s web browser to present information. Using supported web browsers assures a consistent display of dashboards and gadgets. Although external resources can display in a dashboard, the web browser manages security settings and browser plug-ins such as Adobe Flash Player.

Dashboard developers must verify with their local network administrator that any needed security requirements and add‑ons are available on user web browsers. For example, install Adobe Flash Player to access any web content that uses Adobe Flash, such as chart or Flash gadgets.

The following web browsers are supported for use with Information Console:

Web browsers support different screen sizes and enable users to change the size of the web browser. When planning gadget layout and design, it is important to consider the screen size of all expected users. Web browsers can override several layout features for a web page such as font size, background color, or a cascading style sheet.

Some browsers support internet protocols differently. While Mozilla Firefox and Safari support many HTML5 features and SVG graphic files, Internet Explorer does not currently support them. This difference is an important consideration when displaying content from external web sites or embedding HTML code in gadgets.

Web links in a gadget window open the linked page within the gadget window but can also open in a new web browser window. Web sites and web browsers can override this configuration. Some external content may not support display from within a gadget. For example, trying to embed the URL http://www.google.com into an HTML gadget opens the Google web page in place of the dashboard.

Information Console has time-out values to close a user’s session after a certain time of inactivity. When a time out occurs in Information Console, the user’s session closes but the web browser with its cached dashboard may continue to display the last information received.