Problems with Editing Text - Microsoft SharePoint and Moodle

[BellesHere]

Hello,

New to mac and I love it but it's not (at least so far) work friendly for me. I am a public school teacher and I also teach online courses. My school system uses Microsoft SharePoint, where I am required to maintain a website (well, such as it is) and that is where our shared documents are stored for web access. We use Microsoft OWA for mail/calendar. I use Moodle for online courses that I teach.

Problems....

Microsoft Sharepoint -
Problem 1: I cannot add a new web part or bring back a closed web part.
What happens: I click on Site Actions, then Edit Page, then Add a Web Part.
At this point, the desired pop up appears but when I click any option, nothing happens.

Problem 2 - No text editing tools will appear when I try to edit a visible web part.
What Happens: I click the arrow to edit (oddly enough the word EDIT does not appear next to the arrow as it does in Explorer). The text box appears but no tools for Rich Text Editing. (correct terminology?) I have to enter everything in HTML.

Moodle -
Problem 3 - No text editing tools - same as described above.

I was excited when I opened this new thread to see the editing tools but quickly discovered that using them adds the HTML code to my post. Now, I'm guessing that Safari doesn't support Rich Text Editing??? Is this an add-on or something that can get to work with Safari?

Microsoft Exchange OWA -
Problem 4 - I can only view the "light" version which limits functions that I need access to.

I know that I can download Firefox but I really don't want to do that, if possible. I have so much time invested in Safari with my bookmark tabs and such. Also, FF only supports the light version of OWA.

Running Windows and OS X would be way beyond my capabilities or desire. I couldn't take the switching back and forth.

If nothing can be done to "fix" these problems, can one of you suggest a HTML edition that I can download. I know a little html but not nearly enough! That would at least allow me to edit some of the web parts that I can see from my Mac.

I've also encountered server problems that I posted on earlier. I still don't have a "fix" for that. As you can see, I need a friendly mentor!

Thanks!!
Belle

 

[cromwell64]

These are all based on the sofware being written with specific browsers in mind. Sharepoint is designed to work with Internet Explorer, many of the features are missing if you use another browser.

As for Moodle, I know that some functionality is also missing if you use Safari. It might work better with Firefox. I would check their support pages to see what browsers they say they support.

 

[samh]

Belle,

I can't speak to SharePoint, never used it in my journeys on either platform.

As to Moodle, I'm the IT Director and Webmaster at a graduate school that makes extensive use of Moodle. I have no problem with Rich Text editing in Safari.

I logged in and clicked my username in the top right corner to view my basic profile, then clicked the "Edit Profile" tab. About midway down in the "General" section, here are the options I have set. Please confirm yours match.

When editing text: Use HTML editor (some browsers only)
AJAX and Javascript: Yes, use advanced web features

 

[dduggan]

The WISIWIG editor on my Joomla installation doesn't work in Safari for some reason, but it does work (though not without its own little issue) with Firefox. Switching browser might be your easiest solution.

 

[blevins321]

These are all based on the sofware being written with specific browsers in mind. Sharepoint is designed to work with Internet Explorer, many of the features are missing if you use another browser.

Yeah, and same with Exchange. They all make use of IE's enhanced ActiveX API, which no other browser (Windows or otherwise) supports besides Internet Explorer. Your best bet for those enhanced features would to setup Mac Mail or Microsoft Outlook/Entourage to do your email.

 

[BellesHere]

Belle,

As to Moodle, I'm the IT Director and Webmaster at a graduate school that makes extensive use of Moodle. I have no problem with Rich Text editing in Safari.

I logged in and clicked my username in the top right corner to view my basic profile, then clicked the "Edit Profile" tab. About midway down in the "General" section, here are the options I have set. Please confirm yours match.

When editing text: Use HTML editor (some browsers only)
AJAX and Javascript: Yes, use advanced web features

Thanks for the replies. I don't have a choice on this option. I just have...
No: use basic web features.

 

[BellesHere]

Your best bet for those enhanced features would to setup Mac Mail

That's another thread of questioning! I'm still trying to figure out the difference between a Mailbox and a Smart Mailbox.

 

[Daffodil]

I'm still trying to figure out the difference between a Mailbox and a Smart Mailbox.

A smart mailbox updates automatically whenever you get a piece of mail that matches a set of conditions that you've chosen (e.g. from a certain person and/or with a certain topic, etc.). Every time you get a new piece of mail, it'll automatically show up in that mailbox (in addition to inbox), so you don't have to move it over yourself to be sorted with similar messages.

By contrast, mailboxes are something you maintain yourself, e.g. you move over all messages pertaining to a certain topic. I suppose that might be better if you want to group a bunch of messages that don't have anything obvious in common.