Web-browser set-up

Instructor: G. Barrick

B R O W S E R S E T U P

These instructions describe how to set-up two of the most common internet browsers so that they can successfully read and print the pages on this site that implement mathematical text via MathML. My emphasis here is on the Windows group of operating systems. Test your browsers first by clicking on this link. If your browser has difficulty either opening .xhtml files, or displaying the mathematics symbols, then follow these recommendations.

Firefox 3.x (or SeaMonkey ≤ 2.1 alpha) under Win2K/WinXp/WinVista/Win7:
1. Download the STIX 1.0 fonts plus additional STIX beta fonts, as described in the web-page at http://www.mozilla.org/projects/mathml/fonts/. The file that you will actually pull down is https://developer.mozilla.org/@api/deki/files/4719/=STIX-mozilla1.9.zip.
2. Un-zip the file packet that you have downloaded into one of your user-directories. Install the fonts using the dialog box under Start –> Settings –> Control Panel –> Fonts as described by the web-site http://www.dafont.com/faq.php#win.
3. At the URL about:config on the Firefox browser, set the variable font.mathfont-family to have the list of values STIXNonUnicode, STIXSizeOneSym, STIXSize1, STIXGeneral, Symbol, DejaVu Sans, Cambria Math.
4. Set the default font via the Firefox pull-down menu under Tools –> Options –> Content –> Fonts & Colors –> Default font: to the selection called "Lucida Sans Unicode", and choose the entry in the Size: box to be 15.
Firefox 4.x (or SeaMonkey 2.1 beta & SeaMonkey 2.1) under Win2K/WinXp/WinVista/Win7:
1. Download the STIX 1.0 fonts as described in the web-page at http://www.mozilla.org/projects/mathml/fonts/. The file that you will actually pull down is https://developer.mozilla.org/@api/deki/files/4720/=STIXv1.0.0.zip.
2. Un-zip the file packet that you have downloaded into one of your user-directories. Install the fonts using the dialog box under Start –> Settings –> Control Panel –> Fonts as described by the web-site http://www.dafont.com/faq.php#win.
3. At the URL about:config on the Firefox browser, set the variable font.mathfont-family to have the list of values STIXNonUnicode, STIXSizeOneSym, STIXSize1, STIXGeneral, Symbol, DejaVu Sans, Cambria Math.
4. Set the default font via the Firefox pull-down menu under Tools –> Options –> Content –> Fonts & Colors –> Default font: to the selection called "Lucida Sans Unicode", and choose the entry in the Size: box to be 15.
Firefox 5.x (or SeaMonkey ≥ 2.2 beta) under Win2K/WinXp/WinVista/Win7 — Do nothing! These browsers support xhtml+MathML and html5, and have all of the necessary fonts pre-installed.
Internet Explorer 6, 7 or 8 under Win2K/WinXp/WinVista/Win7:
1. Visit the site http://www.dessci.com/en/products/mathplayer/ to download and install the MathPlayer browser plug-in for Internet Explorer. You can download the installation package directly from the following link: http://www.dessci.com/en/dl/MathPlayer2.2setup.exe. Run the installer and follow its prompts.
2. After installation, re-start Internet Explorer, navigate to the Tools –> Internet Options –> General –> Apearance –> Fonts menu, and set the Webpage font: to the "Lucida Sans Unicode" setting; make the Plain text font: choice be "Lucida Console".
3. Have Internet Explorer load a page that has embedded MathML. No special font installation setup is required. MathPlayer automatically installs the necessary fonts.
Internet Explorer 9 under Win7:
- I have not yet laid my hands on a computer that uses this browser, and so I am not certain how MathML support will play out.
- It is possible that users of IE9 will still have to install the MathPlayer 3.0 plug-in in order to get full MathML capabilities under html5.
- I just do not yet know!