Microsoft has released new versions of its Windows operating system, Internet Explorer web browser and Office products suite. Information Services (IS) is testing these products for use on the campus and plans to use this web page to keep you informed of our progress.
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is the newest version of Microsoft's desktop operating system and will replace Windows XP. It has a new look, new features, and promises to be more secure than Windows XP. Click here to review Windows Vista on the Microsoft website.
IS has started testing Windows Vista for use on campus, but there are many new features and it will take several months to ensure all software applications operate successfully on the new system. After testing is completed, IS will prepare Vista computer images that include all standard software installed on faculty and staff computers and on all student lab computers which will also take several months to complete.
Due to the amount of effort required to ensure a successful rollout of Windows Vista, IS does not have an estimated rollout date, at this time. Until the rollout is completed, faculty, staff and student lab computers will continue to use Windows XP or older versions of Windows.
Windows Vista - Application Compatibility Issues
Internet Explorer 7
Internet Explorer 7 is the newest version of Microsoft's web browser and is included with the Windows operating system. IE 7 has a new user interface with tabbed browsing, RSS support and enhanced security features. Click here to view Microsoft’s web-based tour of IE 7.
IS has successfully tested IE 7 with PeopleSoft and other web-based applications and it is available upon request through the IS Helpdesk. It is also included on a faculty and staff image and student lab computer image.
Progress Notes:
1/18/2007: Favorites and PeopleSoft
PeopleSoft (Palomar’s Student/HR and eServices) users who use favorites to navigate to specific pages may notice that some of your favorites no longer work after upgrading to IE 7. If you recreate a PS favorite in the new IE 7 you might find that some favorites only work until you close IE 7. Some favorites may stop working if you log into a different tab (Student, Faculty, Staff). In order to create reliable IE 7 favorites in PS pages, you should follow this new procedure:
1)
Click the
button to
create a new favorite. It does not matter where you are at this point.
Name the new favorite with an appropriate name and click OK. We will
change the address of this favorite in the next few steps.
2) Navigate to the blue underlined link in PeopleSoft that you want your favorite to open, but don’t click it. Instead, RIGHT-click the blue link and choose Copy-Shortcut.
3) Then
click the
button
again and choose Organize Favorites. Find the favorite you just created
in step 1 above. RIGHT-click on it and choose Properties. Then press
Ctrl-V (paste) to replace the URL on the Web Document tab of the
Properties window. Then click OK and Close.
One side-effect of using this type of favorite is that you will loose the black and red banner at the top of your window which contains the sign-out button. Instead, simply close the browser to sign-out.
In 2008, we plan to upgrade to PeopleSoft 9.0 which has its own favorites technique similar to our current PeopleSoft Financials (version 8.9) system that is much easier to use and will work regardless of the Internet Explorer version.
Office 2007
Microsoft Office 2007 is the newest version of the Office products suite and will replace Office 2003. The user interface has been redesigned to make it more intuitive. Click here to review Office 2007 on the Microsoft website.
IS has successfully tested Office 2007 for Windows XP and it is available upon request through the IS Helpdesk. The upgrade to Office 2007 will require your computer to be re-imaged and it will not be installed on an earlier version of Windows.
Office 2007 - Application Compatibility Issues
Progress Notes:
2/1/2007: PeopleSoft Financials nVision reports in Excel 2007
4/20/2007: Office 2007 Computer Image now available
4/20/2007: Excel, Outlook and Word 2007 training available in May 2007
Last Revised: 05/04/2007